!» •»-*f.?V?'£*" 'W^f'" '»*■'""■''.•> 

 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 > 
 
 ^ 
 
 ho
 
 (E Stott Library 
 
 HO\VKLi;s FAMILIAR LETTERS
 
 THE OKE !S FELD, THE ROGE 
 TWIXT CIPRESSES i WILLOWE 
 
 oHOTOMEZZOTVPE 
 
 LILLY'S GONE. 
 NOW I MONE.
 
 EPISTOL^ 
 
 HO-ELIAN^ 
 
 THE FAMILIAR LETTERS 
 
 OF 
 
 JAAIES HOWELL 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 Hdited hy 
 W. ?L BENNETT 
 
 ^H 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^^^^^ 
 
 ^^^T^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 \v^^i^^ 
 
 ^^^>p/ 
 
 ^^^^ 
 
 ^E© 
 
 ^P^ 
 
 ^a^i 
 
 LONDON 
 
 DAVID STOTT, 370 Oxford Strket, W. 
 
 1890
 
 MIN, 
 
 PR: 
 
 36)7 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 * Montxiignc and Howell's Letters are my 
 bedside books. If I wake at nigbt, I 
 have one or other of them to prattle me to 
 sleep agahi. They talk about themselves for 
 ever, and don't Aveary me. I like to hear them 
 tell their old stories over and over again. 
 I read them in the dozy hours, and only half 
 
 ^* remember them I love, I say, and 
 
 ^ scarce ever tire of liearing the artless prattle 
 ::, of those two dear old friends, the Perigonrdin 
 - gentleman, and the priggish little clerk of 
 V. King Charles's Council. ' 
 
 ^ So said Thackeray, and yet, while every one 
 knows the 'Perigonrdin gentleman,' at least 
 by name, if not intimately, the author of the 
 Epistolce Ho-EliancG and his surprisingly in- 
 teresting letters are almost entirely unknown 
 to any save the frequenters of one of the least 
 trodden of the bye-paths of English litera- 
 ture. 
 
 a
 
 VI BIOGRAPHICAL INTEODUCTION. 
 
 From 1645— the date of publication of 
 the first volume of these delightful letters 
 — until 1754, no less than eleven editions 
 were called for, when, oddly enough, a tide of 
 comparative oblivion seems to have swept 
 both letters, and all general interest in their 
 author, into a backwater of unmerited 
 neglect. 
 
 There can be little doubt that the Familiar 
 Letters of the elder Balzac, which are so con- 
 temptuously referred to by Howell in his 
 initial letter, suggested the publication of a 
 like collection ; but to Howell belongs the 
 credit of being the author of one of the 
 earliest volumes of English epistolary litera- 
 ture. 
 
 These letters afford excellent specimens of 
 the ' News Letter ' of their period — the closing 
 decade of the reign of James I. , and the event- 
 ful years that marked the reign of Charles I. — 
 being largely interspersed with lively accounts 
 of the stirring political events of the day, 
 and wonderfully graphic pictures, drawn 
 with the pen of a sagacious and subtle observer, 
 of the ways and manners of such of our
 
 BIOGEAPHICAL INTRODTJCTION. Vll 
 
 continental neighbours as their author came 
 into contact with during liis 'forreine tra veils.' 
 Of the greatest interest to the student, by 
 reason of the side-lights he throws upon 
 many of the important historical dramas then 
 taking place, Howell will be found the most 
 fascinating companion for an idle hour ; for, 
 possessing the facile pen of the readiest of 
 writers, he passes from grave to gay, and from 
 jest to earnest, with an inimitable quaintness 
 that never ceases to give zest to the reader's 
 appetite. Agreeable gossip and amusing- 
 anecdote— sometimes, it cannot be denied, 
 a little too freely flavoured with the custo- 
 mar}' outspokenness of the seventeenth 
 century — follow severe monitory epistles, 
 dictated by a manly aversion to the vices 
 he castigates, but never more severel}- 
 in others than in himself, for in his naive 
 confessions of his own shortcomings Howell 
 never spares himself. Alternating with grave 
 philosophical disquisitions, that will be 
 amusing enough to the scientist of to-da}*, 
 will be found flights of an imagination that is 
 always indulging itself in ' airy odd thoughts. '
 
 viii BTOGRAPHICAL INTEODTJCTTON. 
 
 Of an affectionate, impulsive disposition, 
 Howell not only made friends, but kept them 
 to the end of his days. He was an ardent 
 Royalist, Avithout being blind to the faults of 
 Charles ; a loyal Churchman, without 
 bigotry ; religious, but no pietist ; a scholar, 
 but not pedantic ; and a humorist without 
 cynicism. In short, in spite of all his faults, 
 which certainly included a tendency towards 
 the extravagant foppery and the roystering 
 joviality of the Stuart period, he was clearly 
 blessed with one of those happy, genial 
 natures, that, together with an all-round 
 knowledge of the world, and an easy con- 
 fidence in himself, made him a general 
 favourite Avith his contemporaries. 
 
 Of James Howell's earliest days we know 
 very little with any degree of certaint}'-. He 
 was evidently of gentle birth, for his father, 
 without being sufficiently well-to-do to 
 avoid the necessity of apprenticing some of 
 his younger sons to trades, assuredly could 
 not have been entirely dependent upon 
 the one or more livings he held in South 
 Wales. Moreover, Howell refers to the arms
 
 BIOGEAPHICAL INTEODUCTION. IX 
 
 of both liis father and mother— the only 
 r-j Terence he ever makes to his mother — and we 
 find him writing to his uncles. Sir Sackville 
 Trever and Sir John Vanghan, and his nephew, 
 31r. William Blois, of Grundisburgh Hall, 
 Suffolk, the son-in-law of Sir Thomas Wing- 
 fold. He was born in 1594,^ ' about the midst 
 of the dog-days,' and was one of fifteen chil- 
 dren, probably the second son, his elder 
 brother, Thomas, afterwards Bishop of 
 Bristol, being his senior by three or four 
 years. Anthony a Wood, in his Athcnce 
 Oxonienses, states that Howell was born in 
 Caermarthenshire, 'particularly, as I conceive,' 
 he says, 'at Abernant, of which place his 
 father was minister. ' But in opposition to this, 
 Fuller distinctly states that Howell's elder 
 brother was born upon the Byrnn of Llan- 
 
 1 This, with uearly every other date of Howell's 
 personal chronology, can only be taken as being 
 approximately correct, for the only comparatively 
 fixed point of departure is Wood's " statement that 
 Howell was sixteen years old when he entered Jesus 
 College in 1(310 ; and this must be understood to 
 mean nenrly sixteen ; for Howell, in a letter evi- 
 dently written in the spring of 1644, refers to his age 
 in words showing that he had not then quite reached 
 his fiftieth year.— Tit^t' vol. ii., p. 33(3.
 
 X BIOGRAPHICAL INTEODrCTIOX. 
 
 gammarcli in Brecknockshire, and as Howell 
 never once mentions Abernantor its neighbour- 
 hood, although he concludes a letter to his 
 father ' with all my love to all my brotlicrs 
 and sLsters at the Brynn, and near Breck- 
 nock,' besides other references to the same 
 district, the evidence all goes to prove that 
 he, too, was born at Llangammarch. His 
 own statement 'that the ground whereon I 
 was born was the belly of a huge hill ' also 
 fits in -with this theory, which has been 
 already advanced by the writer of the article 
 on James Howell in the Biographia Brl- 
 fannica. At a comparatively early age he 
 was sent to Hereford, where he attended 
 the Free School of that town and was educated 
 in •' grammar learning.' He speaks of this as a 
 ' choice methodical school — so far distant from 
 your (his father's) dwelling,' — and quaintly 
 alludes to its ' learned (tho' lashing) master. * 
 He was evidently a child of promise, for 
 in the same letter just quoted, he refers to 
 ' that most indulgent and costly care ' which 
 his father had 'been pleased (in so extra- 
 ordinary a manner) to have of my breeding.'
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. XI 
 
 The only other reference he makes to his 
 schooldays is a passing allnsion to the time 
 when he carried 'a calf-leather satchel to 
 school in Hereford. ' 
 
 Early in 1610, when he was nearly sixteen, 
 he commenced his University career at Jesus 
 College, Oxford, then in the first half 
 century of its existence. Its charter was 
 conferred in 1571, by Elizabeth, and it was 
 the first college founded on distinctly Pro- 
 testant lines. Its first endowment came 
 from Dr. Hugh Price, and many, if not most, 
 of its fellowships and scholarships were con- 
 fined to Welshmen. Howell was in all proba- 
 bility the holder of one of these scholarships, 
 but still partly dependent on his father, whom 
 he speaks of as 'holding him up by the 
 chin, until he could swim without bla-lders.' 
 He acquired the ' patrimony of a liberal 
 education,' by passing 'thro' the briars of 
 Logic, the fair fields of Pliilosophy, and 
 the Mathematics.' Here he doubtless attracted 
 the friendly interest of Sir Eubule Thelwall, 
 Sir Francis Mansell, and Dr. Thomas 
 Prichard, the first two of whom were both
 
 XU BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 subsequently Principals of Jesus College. 
 At this time the College estates in Breck- 
 nockshire were so unproductive that the 
 Society consisted only of a Principal, two or 
 three Fellows, and a few Commoners, Avho 
 lived in tenements not then brought into 
 quadrangular form. Here Howell wooed the 
 Muses, and, we may well believe, lived 
 plainly, and 'wore his lambskin hood' (for he 
 became a B.A, in December, 1613), at the 
 age of nineteen. ^ Here also he formed the close 
 friendshi[) with his frequent correspondent 
 Dan. Caldwell, that lasted until the death of 
 the latter. He scarcely ever speaks of Oxford 
 except as ' his dearly honoured mother, ' and 
 he always retains the most lively feeling of 
 affection for his Oxford friends. 
 
 Being ' a pure cadet, a true cosmopolite ; 
 not born to land, lease, house, or office,* 
 on leaving college he has to think of ' swim- 
 ming without bladders,' and we next find him 
 in London, where, doubtless, through the 
 influence of Sir Francis Mansell, he obtained 
 
 1 He was made a Fellow of his College in Novem- 
 ber, 1623, duriug his absence in Spain,
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL TNTRODTJCTTON. XIU 
 
 the position of steward of a Glass-liouse in 
 Broad Street. This Glass-house belonged to a 
 company possessing a patent granting a 
 monopoly for the manufacture of glass with 
 coal furnaces. In 1615 the name of Sir 
 Robert Mansell (the uncle of Sir Francis) 
 was introduced into the patent, and no 
 doubt at this time Howell entered upon 
 his post. He was hard put to hold his 
 own, however ; for he found himself ' too 
 green for such a charge,' and in danger of 
 ' melting away to nothing among those hot 
 Venetians.' A process that is apparently 
 accelerated by the 'wits of the Court,' his 
 friends of the Middle Temple and Gray's Inn, 
 and his ' boon companions ' Tom Bowyer, 
 Jack Toldervy — whom Howell especially en- 
 joins not to make the ' Fleece,' in Cornhill, his 
 thoroughfare too often — and Tom, afterwards 
 Captain, Porter, and the rest of the young 
 ' bloods ' that took part in the making-merry 
 that went on aboard the 'Ship' behind the 
 Exchange. So, after a few months, he is des- 
 patched as a travelling agent to engage work- 
 men in Italy, and to buy material in Spain, 
 France, and ' other foreign countries.'
 
 XIV EIOGRAPHICAL rNTEObUCTION. 
 
 In this capacity he is clearly a paid official ; 
 for, in writing to his father, he says, ' If I 
 happen, by some accident, to be disappointed 
 of that alloAvance I am to subsist by, I must 
 make my address to yon, for I have no other 
 rendezvous to flee unto ; but it shall not be 
 unless in case of great indigence.' 
 
 He starts upon this ' first transmarine 
 voyage' in the early spring of 1616,^ hoping 
 to have opportunity, by the nature of his em- 
 ployment, to study men, as well as books. 
 He modestly disclaims having more than ' a 
 little of school language,' and starts with oidy 
 *some smatterings of the Italian tongue, ' in the 
 way of ' preparatives ' for travel. He obtains 
 *a warrant from the Lords of the Council to 
 travel for three years anywhere, Kome and 
 St. Omers excepted.' In his Letters he gives 
 full particulars of this first torn*. He 
 spends four months ' in motion to and fro ' in 
 the Low Countries, by which time he begins 
 ' more and more to have a sense of the sweet- 
 
 1 The date pven in the Letters as 1618 is obviously 
 incorrect, as it does not allow the necessary time for 
 the events that occurred iu Howeirs life between it 
 and his starting for Spain in March, 1622.
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. XV 
 
 ness and advantage of foreign travel ; ' and 
 remains in France long enoiigli to 'get the 
 language/ making an 'autumnal journey' 
 over the Pyrenees into Spain, where he 
 appears to have spent the best part of the 
 following year. Going on to Venice in the 
 spring of 1618, and after remaining the 
 summer there, he takes the road of Lom- 
 bardy, visiting the principal towns of Italy, 
 including Rome, — in spite of the Lords 
 of the Council. Returning over the Alps, 
 which he calls 'high and hideous,' 'uncouth, 
 huge, monstrous excrescences of Nature,' and 
 being brought on one occasion ' to such an ex- 
 treme low ebb in money,' he is forced to ' foot 
 it along with some pilgrims,' paying a flying 
 visit to Geneva, taking the Loire route to 
 Paris, and thence for England ; where he 
 arrives after nearly three years' absence, at 
 the close of 1618. Although he comes back 
 safely, he comes sickly, suff'ering from the 
 effects of an illness that had troubled him 
 at Oxford, and which had been renewed during 
 his tedious forty days' voyage from Spain to 
 Italy. He makes special mention of the care
 
 XVI BIOGRAPHICAL IXTEOPrCTION'. 
 
 his brother bestows upon him after his return. 
 This brother, there is little doubt, was 
 Thomas, who had become rector of West 
 Horsley, in Surrey, and of St. Stephen's, 
 Walbrook. Howell consults his physician, Dr. 
 Harvey, who warns him, that unless he has 
 an issue in his arm stopped, he is in danger 
 of falling into a consumption. But English 
 air and the sight of old friends work marvels, 
 and he 'picks up his crumbs apace,' and is 
 soon on 'the point of a perfect recovery.' 
 
 His father now adWses him 'to hearken after 
 some other condition,' fearing that 'this glass- 
 employment ' will prove ' too brittle a founda- 
 tion ' for him ' to build a fortune upon, ' and he 
 makes application ' to go secretary to Sh John 
 Ayres to Constantinople,' but he is too late. 
 
 In seeking after ' a new course of emploj'-- 
 ment,' a new employment finds hini^; and 
 through the influence of his father's friend, 
 Sir James Crofts, who appears to have been 
 the good genius of the famih^, and to have 
 occupied an almost paternal position in young 
 Howell's regard, he is engaged as travelling 
 1 Early in 1619.
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. XVll 
 
 tutor to the two sons of Lord Savage, atLong- 
 Melford, in Suffolk. He speaks of this family 
 with the greatest admiration, as 'civil and 
 noble, and virtuous and regular, as any in 
 the land.' Such a dainty race of children he 
 has never seen before, and the house and its 
 arrangements he is 'mightily taken with.' He 
 proves, however, 'too young for such a charge,' 
 being then but twenty-five years old, and finds 
 a difficulty in harmonizing his own religious 
 views Avith those of his Roman Catholic pupils, 
 besides feeling an objection to be bound to 
 stay abroad, as he says he would have been, 
 for another three years. But it says much 
 for the good opinion this family formed of him, 
 that their friendly interest continued over the 
 long period covered by his letters. Leaving 
 Long-Melford, Howell next Avrites from St. 
 Osyth, where he is apparently the guest of 
 Earl Rivers, the father of Lord Savage, 'a 
 nol)le and great knowing Lord.' 
 
 He returns to town early in January, 1620, 
 and we next find him starting on his second 
 transmarine voyage ' as travelling companion 
 to his friend, Richard Altham, ' Baron Altham's
 
 XVlll BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ion, whom Howell describes as being ' one of 
 the hopefullest young men of this kingdom 
 for parts and person.' He goes over much of 
 the ground of his previous travels ; is sick 
 forty days at Paris, so dangerously, that he 
 thought he would never be able to write to his 
 father again. This illness appears to have 
 been brought on through his determination to 
 read a fixed number of books in a definite 
 time, which necessitated his ' watching many 
 nights together, tho' it was in the depth of 
 winter,' the result being severe cold in the 
 head, for which he was cauterized in the cheek ; 
 had an issue made to give vent to the 'impos- 
 thume ; ' and was finally bled ! No wonder he 
 gave up all hope of ever writing again. 
 
 This ' voj-age ' seems to have lasted a year, 
 which brings us to the spring of 1621, Avhen 
 we find Howell in London, again * at a dead 
 stand ' in the course of his fortunes. How the re- 
 mainder of this year was spent is not very 
 clear, but towards its close we find him pre- 
 paring to go to Spain, in company with the 
 Ambassador — Lord Digby, afterwards Earl of 
 Bristol — as Royal Agent, an appointment for
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. XIX 
 
 which he states that he has to kiss ' the King's 
 hands. ' 
 
 The object of his commission was to bring 
 about a settlement of the long-standing claim 
 of some merchants of the Turkey Company 
 against the Sj^anish Crown, arising out of the 
 alleged illegal seizure of the Vineyard by the 
 Viceroy of Sardinia. Howell starts on this 
 expedition in March, 1622, not with, but 
 three weeks after. Lord Digby, he having been 
 delayed by the ' misfortune which befel Mr. 
 Altham and me, of wounding the Sergeants 
 in Lombard Street,' most likely the result of 
 a disreputable fracas with which his boon 
 companions of the 'Ship behind the Exchange' 
 had something to do. Nevertheless, he arrives 
 at Madrid in time to attend ' my Lord Am- 
 bassador to Court at his first audience.' Here 
 he throws himself with impetuous and 
 characteristic vigour into his ' great business, ' 
 and soon writes to say that he has perused all 
 his predecessor's papers 'touching the ship 
 Vineyard ;' which he finds are higher than 
 himself in bulk. For a time all goes well, 
 the English are in good odour in Spain,
 
 XX BTOGEAPHTCAL USTTEODrCTIOX. 
 
 * because of the hopes there are of a Match.' 
 By the spring of 1623 he is preparing to 
 start for Sardinia, in the fond hope of bringing 
 his business to a settlement, when the Englisli 
 officials at Madrid are astounded by the un_- 
 expected arrival of Prince Charles and Buck- 
 ingham. Of this event, which caused so much 
 'wonderment,' and its effects, Howell gives a 
 detailed and intensely interesting account. 
 Very soon all further progress in the Vineyard 
 business is put an end to, for Sir Francis Cot- 
 tington, the Prince's secretary, requires Howell 
 'to proceed no further herein, till he (the 
 Prince) was departed.' Howell tells the story 
 of the failure of the Spanish ^latch negotia- 
 tions with all the fidelity of an acute and 
 observant eye-witness, and goes on to state 
 that he and ' all here are in a sad disconsolate 
 condition, 'and 'how the merchants shake th 'ir 
 heads up and down, out of an apprehensioi. of 
 some fearful war to follow. ' The ' neck of all 
 business is broken,' and mine, he writes, 
 'suffers as much as any ; ' for the Spaniard-;, 
 in-itated at the breaking off of the famous 
 Match, were in no mood for concessions. He
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. XXl 
 
 perseveres, nevertheless, until the last ' breath 
 of hope ' is gone, and remains at Madrid until 
 the fall of 1624, when he returns Avith Mr. 
 Wiches in convoy of the Prince's jewels, 
 valued at 400,000 crowns, and immediately on 
 landing at Plymouth he posts to Theobalds 
 *to bring his Majesty news of their safe 
 arrival. ' 
 
 Touching the employment upon which he 
 went to Spain, he had his charges borne all 
 the while, ' but that was all. ' He now casts 
 about for another fortune, and is in hopes 
 that ' the Duke of Buckingham, now in high 
 favour because of his share in breaking of the 
 Match,' will obtain him suitable employment. 
 Upon the evidence of a letter preserved in the 
 Public Record Office, we find him writing 
 to Lord Conway to warn him of one * James 
 Wadesworth, a busie pragmaticall fellowe,' 
 whom he suspects to be in the pay of Gondo- 
 mar. This letter is dated from the ]\Iiddle 
 Temple, where Howell was possibly the guest 
 of his ' choice ' friend Robert Brown. 
 
 It was his fortune to be at Theobalds in 
 March, when the death of James occurred. 
 
 h
 
 XXU BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Charles being proclaimed witliiu a quarter of 
 an hour of liis father's death, Howell takes 
 horse for towoi instantly, but finds the gates 
 shut, he having been forestalled. He describes 
 the proclamation of Charles, which took 
 place at AVhitehall, in a ' sad shower of rain, ' 
 and gravely adds, 'the weather was suit- 
 able to the condition wherein he finds the 
 kingdom, which is cloudy.' He writes at this 
 time, ' I am not settled yet in any stable con- 
 dition, but I lie wind-bound at the Cape of Good 
 Hope, expecting some gentle gale to launch 
 out into any employment ; ' and he soon adds 
 that he is ' weary of walking up and down 
 idly upon London Streets.' The Plague 
 begins to ' rage mightily,' but a brighter note 
 isstruckwith 'the gallant news' of the comple- 
 tion of the negotiations for the marriage of 
 Charles to Henrietta, which takes place in 
 June of this year. Later in the same year we 
 find him ^^Titing to Dr. Field, the Bishop of 
 Llandaflf, thanking him for the * worthy 
 hospitable favours ' he had receiv'd at the 
 prelate's lodgings in Westminster. Howell 
 appears to have been living in expectation
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. XXlll 
 
 of official favour at this time, for lie is at 
 Oxford in attendance on the Court, from 
 whence he pays a visit in August to Wales, 
 to fetch, as he wi'ites, ' my good old father's 
 blessing.' For this journey he Avas supplied 
 with a Royal Post-Avarrant. 
 
 Howell fails to obtain any post at the hands 
 of Buckingham, for the reason that he is be- 
 lieved to be too much Dighyfied —wliich. was 
 not at all improbable ; for he was much more 
 likely to be of Digby's party than of Buck- 
 ingham's, as far as their respective Spanish 
 policies were concerned. At this crisis — the 
 autumn of 1625 — Mr. Secretary Conway sends 
 for him and ' proposes ' to him ' that the King 
 had occasion to send a gentleman to Italy in 
 nature of a moA^ng agent. ' He summons his 
 thoughts to council, and Avrites a very 
 judicious letter to Lord ConAvay, the point of 
 Avhich is that as he is a cadet, AAithout other 
 patrimony or support but his 'breeding' — 
 used here in the sense of experience— he 
 must be able ' to breathe by the employment. ' 
 He offers to accept the duties for 100? a 
 quarter, and leaves the matter to Lord Con-
 
 XXIV BIOGKAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 way's ' noble consideration, ' witli the result 
 that his lordship demurs to the salary pro- 
 pounded, but Howell states that he comes off 
 fairly with ' my Lord ;' for he has a ' stable 
 home employment proffered him by Lord 
 Scroop (afterwards Earl of Sunderland), at that 
 time Lord President of the North. 
 
 He quickly comes to terras with Lord 
 Scroop, and agrees to go with him to York, as 
 his secretary. This arrangement appears to 
 have been concluded in the autumn of 1625, 
 Avhen Howell had arrived at the age of thirty - 
 one. 
 
 At York he lives well contented, having a fee 
 from the King, diet for himself and two 
 servants, livery for a horse, and a part of the 
 King's house for his lodging, with other pri- 
 vileges which no former secretary — he is 
 told — ever had. He builds himself a new study 
 here, and becomes ' a right Northern man.' 
 
 In March, 1628, he is chosen burgess for 
 the neighbouring town of Richmond, 'the' 
 Master Christopher Wandesford, and other 
 powerful men, and more deserving than I,' he 
 modestly adds, ' stood for it. '
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. XXV 
 
 He at once takes his seat in the Parliament 
 of which Wentworth was leader, and doubtless 
 becomes one of his supporters. With reference 
 to this year, there is a letter of great interest 
 existing in the Stafford Collection ; it bears the 
 date of December 15, and was written by the 
 Earl of Sunderland (Lord Scroop) from Wor- 
 cester House, in St. Martin's Lane, to Went- 
 worth, who had succeeded him as President of 
 the North. He says, ' I understand your 
 Lordship hath bestowed the next Attorney's 
 place (at York) in reversion uj)on James 
 Howell, my secretary. I must thank you for 
 it, and the rather because he hath deservingiy 
 and faithfully served me in that place, wherein 
 I hear your Lordship hath succeeded me.' Li 
 the same Collection a letter also exists, dated 
 ^tlay 5, 1629, from Howell to Wentworth, 
 thanking ' his ever honoured good Lord ' for 
 this ' free and noble favour ' in deeply grate- 
 ful terms. 
 
 Up to 1632, Howell appears to have re- 
 tained his position as Lord Sunderland's 
 secretary, an appointment which probably 
 lost its official character when Lord Sunderland
 
 XXVI BIOGRAPHICAL INTEObrCTION. 
 
 ceased to be President of the North, 
 and returned to London. This is the 
 more likely, as Lord Sunderland at this 
 time falls into a 'languishing sickness,' and 
 Howell evidently becomes very necessary to 
 him. We find many references to the various 
 ways in which he manages the Earl's affairs 
 for him, not altogether, however, to his 
 o-\vn satisfaction, for his remuneration 'came 
 far short,' he writes, 'of what he promised 
 me at my first coming to him.' As late as 
 1635, Howell writes to the Countess of 
 Sunderland with regard to his claims, wliich 
 were then still unsettled. 
 
 In -May, 1632, the Earl of Leicester and 
 Lord Weston are about to start as Ambassadors 
 Extraordinary on a mission to Christian IV., 
 'to condole the late death of the Lady Sophia, 
 Queen-Dowager of Denmark, the giandmother 
 of Charles,' Howell is offered, by Leicester, ' to 
 go Secretary in the Ambassage,' and being 
 assured that the journey will tend to his 
 profit and credit, he accepts the ofler. 
 
 Before he leaves England, he receives the 
 sad tidings of his father's death. He speaks
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTKODUCTIOlSr. XXVll 
 
 of this, in a singularly beautiful letter, as the 
 'heaviest news' that ever was sent him ; and, 
 judging from the panegyric he expresses, his 
 father must have been a most estimable man, 
 and very nearly approaching the ideal country 
 jiarson. 
 
 His letters give evidence of the industrious 
 and suitable preparations he makes for this 
 journey, and in September Howell goes aboard 
 'one of his Majesty's ships at Margets' and 
 quickly arrives at Hamburgh, where ' matters 
 being off the hinge twixt the King of Den- 
 mark and this town,' he finds himself ' inter- 
 pell'd by many businesses.' Upon reaching 
 the Danish Court, he is employed as orator, 
 and he makes ' a long Latin speech, alta voce, 
 to the King, ' on the occasion of the Embassy, 
 and in praise of the deceased Queen. AVith 
 pardonable pride he refers to the failure of 
 Secretary Naunton, who thirty years pre- 
 viously, having a similar office to fulfil, was 
 at the very commencement of his speech 
 ' dash'd out of countenance, and so gravell'd 
 that he could go no further.' We may be 
 sure that Howell suff"ered from no such excess
 
 XXVlll BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of modesty. Here tliey sta}- near upon a 
 month, feasting and being feasted ; drinking 
 on one occasion no less than thirty-five healths 
 in one evening, Avith the result that the King 
 was taken away at last in his chair, ' but my 
 Lord of Leicester bore up stoutly all the 
 while.' Howell makes another speech, also 
 in Latin, and is so eloquent, that he makes 
 the tears run down the Duchess of Holstein's 
 cheeks. A'arious dij^lomatic difficulties are 
 arranged, and in less than three months the 
 Embassy returns to London. 
 
 On the way home Howell hears the news 
 of the death of Gustavus Adolphus, Avhich 
 he finds is not believed in London, the 
 Exchange being full of people ready to " lay 
 wagers he is not yet dead,' for so uninter- 
 rupted had been his career of victory that its 
 sudden collapse seemed quite incredible. 
 
 After his return, Howell was apparently 
 still officially employed ; for in the Public 
 Record Office a letter exists, dated August 23, 
 1633, written by Howell to Sir Francis 
 Windebauk, at that time princijjal Secretary 
 of State, in which he refers to a flvinff v-isit to
 
 BIOGEAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. XXIX 
 
 Orleans, made at the request of Sir Francis, 
 from which he hopes to receive some fruits 
 hereafter. 
 
 The letters written about this time give 
 evidence of his intimate relationship Avith 
 the English Court, but there is also an allu- 
 sion to a thick cloud of melancholy Avhich 
 overcasts him, suggestive of his still being 
 without an income equal to his expenditure. 
 
 At this period we have interesting allusions 
 to his friendship with his ' contiguous neigh- 
 bour' Ben Jonson, Avhom Howell thanks for 
 the regalo he received at the poet's house at 
 Westminster, and the good company he met 
 there. "We may be sure that Howell Avould 
 not have found a place at such symposia 
 unless he had been a wit and hoii vivant of the 
 first water. 
 
 It is Avorth}' of note that Howell addresses 
 Jonson Avith a critical freedom that could 
 only haA'c been possible on the supposition 
 that he AA'as esteemed by the poet, not only 
 as an intimate friend, but also as a man of 
 considerable ability, and possessing matured 
 poAvers of judgment.
 
 XXX BIOGEAPHICAL INTRODTTCTIO^r. 
 
 Among the Stafford Letters, there is one 
 of Howell's to Wentworth, dated from West- 
 minster, November 28, 1635. Although it 
 throws little light upon Howell's life at this 
 point, yet it is of gi'eat interest, as being un- 
 doubtedly authentic and quite in keeping with 
 the considerable number of others of a like 
 nature. These ' News-Letters ' suggest the 
 idea that Howell received some return from 
 his numerous official patrons ; and this is the 
 more likely, for from 1633 to 1639 there is 
 no positive evidence of his being in receipt 
 of an income from any fixed employment. 
 This theory is supported by the following lines 
 from Webster's ' White Devil ' — 
 
 ' His Holiness hath sent you a thousand crowns. 
 And wills you, if you travel, to make him 
 Your patron for intelligence.' 
 
 Here we have evidence that payment for 
 * News-Letters ' was not unknown, and 
 Howell's special opportunities of cultivating 
 a foreign correspondence would render his 
 letters of considerable value. 
 
 Towards the close of this period he writes, 
 that he has had ' too long a supersedeas from
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTROBIJCTION. XXXI 
 
 employment,' having engaged himself 'to a 
 fatal man at Court' — possibly Secretary 
 Windebank — and in 1639 he turnshis thoughts 
 towards Ireland, where Wentworth is Lord 
 Deputy. 
 
 He takes Bath on his way, for the sake 
 of the waters, and then visits Brecknock, 
 arriving safely at Dublin, where he makes 
 'an humble motion to my Lord,' and re- 
 ceives an answer ' full of good respect ' that 
 he shall have the next clerkship of the Coun- 
 cil. The aged and decrepit state of its 
 occupant. Sir William Usher, leads him to 
 think this office Avill not be long in coming. 
 He is sent to Edinburgh, most likely as a 
 7nessenger from Wentworth to the leaders of 
 the National Assembly. He returns to Dublin, 
 and 'so to London,' his appointment of Clerk 
 to the Irish Council having presumably fallen 
 through, and the subsequent fall of Strafford 
 putting an end to all hopes in that quarter. 
 
 He now turns his attention to literature, 
 and in 1640 publishes his first work Aevdpo- 
 Xoyla, otherwise I)oclo7ia's Grove: or the Vocal 
 Forest, a quaint but laboured and somewhat
 
 XXXll BTOORAPmCAL TNTEODUCTION. 
 
 inflated allegory, of which the chief interest 
 lay in its covert allusions to current events. 
 
 In January, 1642, he issued a poem, 'The 
 Vote ' dedicated to King Charles as a ' Xew 
 Year's Gift,' and on August 30, of the same 
 year, he is at last appointed Clerk of the 
 Council in Extraordinary. The Privy Council 
 minutes record that this event took place 
 'att the Court att Nottingham.' 
 
 But, alas, his good fortune soon deserts liini, 
 for before the year ends he is a prisoner in the 
 Fleet. 
 
 Anthony a Wood states that ' being prodi- 
 gally inclined, and therefore running much into 
 debt, he was seized on by the order of a 
 certain committee,' and clearly infers that he 
 was imprisoned for debt. Howell himself 
 implies that he was imprisoned because of his 
 Royalist sympathies. He speaks of the 
 seizure of all his papers and letters, and any- 
 thing that was manuscript, by armed men, 
 with swords, 2>'istols and hills, upon a warrant 
 from the Parliament ; of his examination before 
 a close committee ; of the report of one Mr. 
 Corbet, who was appointed to peruse the
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION'. XXXUl 
 
 papers, and who in his report to the House 
 could find nothing that might give offence. 
 In sj)ite of this, he states ' such was my hard 
 hap, that I was committed to the Fleet,' 
 under close restraint. In the same letter he 
 refers to ' these ruptures (between the King 
 and the Parliament) which threaten so much 
 calamit3\' Later, he says, 'I am resolved 
 that, if innocence cannot free my hody, yet 
 patience shall preserve my mind.' He refers 
 several times to his enemies, scarcely the term 
 he could fairly apply to mere creditors. 
 Again, he alludes to the 'choice gentlemen who 
 are my co-martyrs.' He also says, in writing 
 to his friend "My. E. P. — Endymion Porter, 
 who was Charles' Secretary during the roman- 
 tic trip to Spain — that he dares not adventure 
 to send any London intelligences, she ' being 
 now a garrison town ; and you know,' he adds, 
 ' as well as I, what danger I may incur. ' Again, 
 in a later letter to the same intimate friend, 
 he writes, 'I cannot correspond with you in 
 that kind (news) as freely as I would.' If any 
 credence at all is to be given to Howell's 
 statements, and unless he is to be charged
 
 XXXIV BIOGEAPHICAL IlfTRODrCTION. 
 
 with wilful perversion of the truth, his own 
 evidence very sti'ougly points to his incarcera- 
 tion being due to political and not to civil 
 causes. His connection with Strafford alone 
 would have been quite enough to render hini 
 an object of suspicion to the Parliamentarians. 
 Add to this his being a Royalist official, an 
 Oxonian, the friend of Sir Kenelm Digby (one 
 ot the most ardent and faithful adherents of 
 tlie Royalist party), and a staunch Churchman, 
 and there is no improbability in his own state- 
 ment as to the causes of his imprisonment. 
 Doubtless Anthony a "Wood relied too strongly 
 upon the belief that the Fleet was onl}' used 
 as a debtors' prison, whereas, as a matter of 
 fact, it was not used for that purpose at all 
 until 1640 ; and as late as 1681, the date of 
 the publication of the Present State of 
 London, its author, Delaune, states that ' the 
 prisoners there (the Fleet) are commonly such 
 as are sent thither from the Court (Chancery) 
 for contempt of the King, his laws, or such as 
 will not pay their debts. '^ So that Anthony k 
 
 1 It is also on record that the victims of the Star 
 Chamber were immured in the Fleet during the reign
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTKODTJCTION. XXXV 
 
 Wood's uncalled for insinuation may be 
 justly considered to be wanting in corrobor- 
 ation. That Howell was in debt at this 
 time is exceedingly likely, and it is even 
 possible that his creditors, seeing him de- 
 prived of all means of paying them, may have 
 become troublesome, for in a letter written 
 during the period to Sir E. Savage he ex- 
 presses the belief that he will overcome all 
 these pressures, survive his debts, and sur- 
 mount his enemies. 
 
 And he sets bravely to work to do this, and 
 during the eight years that elapsed before his 
 release in 1650, he devoted himself to litera- 
 ture as a means of livelihood with remarkable 
 industry. His first prison book was the In- 
 structions for Foreign Travel, the first English 
 guide-book to the Continent ; and in spite of 
 a serious illness Avhich he states left 'both 
 mind and body somewhat crazy, ' he wrote no 
 less than twenty distinct works, mostly of a 
 polemical nature, and not of lasting interest, 
 besides which, he collected and edited the first 
 
 of Cliarles I., and that it was used in the following 
 reign as a place of imprisonment for numbers of 
 Puritans,
 
 XXXVl BIOGRAPHICAL INTEODUCTION. 
 
 two volumes of his Letters. With regard to 
 their authenticity considerable doubt has been 
 expressed. Anthony a Wood roundly states 
 that 'many of the said letters were never 
 written before their author was in the Fleet, 
 as he pretends they were, only feigned (no 
 time being kept with the dates), and pur- 
 posely published to gain money to relieve his 
 necessities.' 
 
 It may be urged in defence of Wood's 
 charge, that Howell says all his papers and 
 letters were taken from him when he was first 
 imprisoned. He never states, however, that 
 they were not returned, at least in part, and he 
 does state that nothing could be found in his 
 papers ' that might give offence.' Moreover, 
 in a prefatory note to be found in the second 
 volume of Letters, issued in 1647, Humphrey 
 Moseley, Howell's publisher, states, ' It 
 pleased the author to send me these ensuing 
 Letters as a supplement to the greater volume 
 of Epistolce Ho-Eliancc, where they could not 
 be inserted then, because most of his papers, 
 whence divers of these Letters are derived, 
 were under sequestration.'
 
 BIOanAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. XXXVll 
 
 The inference is clear that the Letters Avere 
 * derived ' from documentary sources, and it is 
 quite certain that Howell kept a very full 
 Ephemerides or Diary, in which he most 
 probably either copied or drew up the first 
 draft of his letters. The following remarks, 
 extracted from his Instructions for Foreign 
 Travel, bear materially on this point. He 
 says, ' He (the traveller) must always have a 
 Diary about him.' Again, ' He must couch 
 in a fair alphabetique paper-book the notablest 
 occurrences ;' and also, ' One thing I must re- 
 commend to his special care, that he must be 
 very punctual in writing to his friends . . . , 
 which he must do exactly, and not in a care- 
 lesse perfunctory way .... not to scribble a 
 few cursory lines, but to write elaborately 
 and methodically.' 
 
 These references, with many others existing 
 in the Letters themselves, all tend to prove 
 that Howell possessed very full notes, if not 
 co})ies of his letters, to say nothing of the 
 possibility of his friends returning his letters 
 to him when it was known that he intended 
 to publish them.
 
 XXXVlll BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODrCTION". 
 
 It should be mentioned that only one letter^ 
 was dated in the first edition, yet the dates 
 that now ajjpear were inserted in an edition 
 (the third) published during Howell's life- 
 time. The anachronisms are, however, so 
 obvious, that it is impossible to believe he was 
 personally responsible for such gross blunder- 
 ing. 
 
 At the same time, it is perfectly certain 
 that Howell, especially in the earlier letter, 
 carelessly interpolated references to past 
 historical events, that cannot be made to 
 harmonize with the chronological sequence of 
 the story of his outi life. 
 
 Of the substantial truth of that story, and 
 of the accuracy of his descriptions of the 
 historical events referred to, there is little 
 room for doubt ; and, after a most careful in- 
 vestigation of the question, the present editor 
 has come to the conclusion that, although 
 many of Howell's letters were possibly com- 
 piled from notes, or even re-written from 
 memory, there is suificient evidence to 
 
 1 Letter XII., Sect, iv., p. 58, vol. ii. The date 
 at the head of this letter is that given in the first 
 edition ; the date at the foot of the letter, -which is 
 incorrect, appeared first in Ihe third edition.
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. XXxix 
 
 wan-ant the belief tliat the greater number of 
 them were authentic in the strictest sense of 
 the word, for it should be remembered most 
 of the persons to whom these letters had been 
 written were alive at the time of their publica- 
 tion. The inference is obvious. 
 
 The first volume, published in 1645, was 
 dedicated to the King. The second volume 
 was published in 1647, and the third and 
 fourth in 1655, the year in which the first 
 complete edition appeared. In the second 
 edition, dedicated to the Duke of York, 
 afterwards James II., Howell writes, 'This 
 book was engendered in a cloud, born a 
 captive, and bred up in the dark shades 
 of melancholy ; he is a Benoni, the son 
 of sorrow, nay, which is a thing of won- 
 derment, he was begot in the gi-ave by one 
 who hath been buried quick any time these 
 five-and-fifty months.' In this doleful state 
 he languishes for over eight years, being re- 
 leased under baiP in 1650. 
 
 After this, and during the whole of the 
 
 1 C'owiey, ■who, it will be rememborod, was also iiii- 
 prisoned by tlio Cromwellians, was siinilavly not 
 relPRso'l until substantial security had been provided.
 
 Xl BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODITOTION". 
 
 Commonwealth period, lie appears to have 
 devoted himself entirely to literature, 
 successfully maintaining himself by the pro- 
 ceeds of his pen. In 1655 he published a 
 work entitled Some Sober Inspections made 
 into the Carriage ami Consults of the late Long 
 ParUamcrd, This he dedicated to Cromwell, 
 whom he compares in complimentary terms to 
 Charles Martel. The stress laid by AVood 
 upon this incident must be attributed to pre- 
 judice, for there is no proof that om- author 
 wasdirectly treacherous to his old party, nor can 
 any stronger charge be fairly brought against 
 him for his apparent compliance than that he 
 did what all the nation did. Indeed, Howell's 
 enforced seclusion, as well as his scholarly 
 tendencies during the preceding period, must 
 have induced him to adopt rather the philo- 
 sophic suave mari attitude than the fervid 
 enthusiasm of an active political partisan. 
 
 In the Bodleian Library there is a copy of 
 Dodona's Crov'\ which bears an inscription, 
 dated 1652, showing that it was presented by 
 the author to Selden, and among the Manu- 
 scripts in the British Museum the following
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. xli 
 
 letter, which evidently accompanied it, may 
 be seen : — 
 
 ' Sir, — The principal aim ofthis small present 
 is to bring yon thanks for the pleasnre and 
 profit I have received from yonr works where- 
 with you have onrichod the v,'hole common- 
 wealth of learning, and wherein may be dis- 
 covered such a fulness and universality of 
 knowledge that it may well be said Quod 
 Seldcnns nescit, nemo scit. And this was a kind 
 of character that some of the renowndest men 
 beyond the seas gave of you in some discourse 
 I mingled with them. Moreover, these small 
 pieces (which I shall be bold to pursue Avith a 
 visit) come to introduce me to your knowledge, 
 not you to mine, for it were an ignorance 
 beyond barbarism not to know you. May you 
 please, when (having nothing to do) you have 
 cast your eyes upon them, to throw them into 
 some corner of the lowest shelf that stands in 
 your librar}'^, where it will be an honour for 
 them to be found hereafter ; and if these be 
 admitted, I have more to follow. So, hoping 
 that this obligation will not be held an 
 intrusion, I rest, sir, — Your most humble and 
 ready servitor, ' Jamks Howell.'
 
 xlii BIOGKAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 During this period lie published his well- 
 known LuiidiiW2}olis, a work which he states 
 he mostly took ' IVoni Stow and his continua- 
 tors.' In 1659 he imblished his Lexicon 
 Tctraglotten. This \\ov\i consisted of ' an 
 English-French-Italian-Spanish Dictionary ; a 
 collection of * Proverbs ; or old sayed saws 
 and adages,' in the same languages. To each 
 of these collections Howell prefixed letters 
 composed entirely of proverbs * running in 
 one congruous and concurrent sense.' 
 
 In Mr. A. ^lorrison's Autograph Collec- 
 tion there exists a letter of Howell's to 
 Sir Edward Walker, then at the English 
 Court at Brussels, dated March, 1659. 
 Herein he expresses the opinion that the 
 troubles from Avhich London is suffering 
 will not be ended except 'by calling in 
 King Charles.' He also anxiouisly inquires 
 for news of his old patron, the Earl of 
 Bristol (Lord Digby). 
 
 Of the details of Howell's life subsequent to 
 the date of his release very little is known 
 with any certaint3^ At the Restoration we 
 find him petitioning Charles II. that his
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. xlii 
 
 appointment as one of the Clerks of the Privy 
 Council may be confirmed, as far as we know 
 without result. Wood suggests, as a reason 
 for this neglect, Howell 'having before flattered 
 Oliver and sided with the Commonwealth's 
 men ' ; but as Charles afterwards gave him the 
 office of 'Historiographer Royal,' this in- 
 sinuation seems to be of a gratuitous nature, 
 the more so, because there is evidence that a 
 royal grant of 200Z was made in February, 
 1661, to Howell ' as of his Majestie's free gift 
 without account.' Later in the same year 
 Howell petitioned Lord Clarendon that he 
 might become tutor to Catherine of Braganza 
 in the following terms : ' Your Lordship 
 having been pleased to promise me the 
 contribution of your favour, I take the great 
 boldness to desire your Lordship would please 
 to move his Majesty that I may attend tlie 
 Lady Infanta (who comes to be our Queen) in 
 quality of her tutor for languages. For having 
 the Spanish tongue (with the Portuguese 
 dialect), as also the Italian and French, both 
 for the practice and theory so far that I have 
 published a Great Dictionary, Avith grammars
 
 xliv BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION". 
 
 to all the three, dedicated to the Kiug at his 
 first coming (for which his ^klajesty promised 
 to set a mark of his favour upon me), of which 
 Dictionary I was not wanting to present your 
 Lordship with one. Having also a compen- 
 dious choice method of instruction, I hope I 
 shall he thought ^;«r negotio.' It is, however, 
 to he feared that the sun shone no more on 
 James Howell, for his office of Historiographer 
 Royal seems to have been purely honorary, 
 and we find him writing to the last. 
 
 His will bears the date of October 14, 1666, 
 and he died in the following month, being in 
 his seventy-secondy ear. He was buried, in 
 accordance with his own wish, on the north 
 side of the Temple Church, near the round - 
 walk. Shortly after his death a monument 
 was erected to his memory, bearing the follow- 
 ing inscription : Jacobus Hoicell Camhro- 
 Britannns, Regius Historiographus [in Anglia 
 2rnmvs), qui post varias _^J(?/ri7r^?^«c^one5, 
 tandem tiaturce cursum 'peregitjsatiir annorum 
 rt fama;, dmni foris que hue v.sqv.e erraticus, 
 Ilk p'us 1666.' When the Temple Church 
 was under re]>iiir in lfiS8, this mnnuiiK'nt
 
 BIOGKAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. xlv 
 
 was removed from its place over the grave, 
 and it is now to Ite found in the north 
 gallery. 
 
 It is impossible in this brief sketch to 
 attempt the review of this remarkably versatile 
 author's works, they being more than three- 
 score in number. In spite of the morose 
 and prejudiced judgment which Anthony a 
 AN'ood passed upon them, they were highly es- 
 teemed by Howell's contemporaries, judging 
 by the following extract from the preface 
 to a collected edition of his poems, published 
 two years before his death. 
 
 'Not to know the author of these poems,' 
 says their editor, Peter Fisher, 'were an ignor- 
 ance beyond barbarism, as 'twas said of a famous 
 person in France : yet I held it superfluous to 
 prefix his name in the title-page, he being 
 known and easily distinguished from others 
 
 by his genius and stile He may be 
 
 called the prodigie of his age, for the variety 
 
 of his volumes And 'tis observed, that 
 
 in all his writings there is something still new, 
 either in the matter, method, or fancy, and in an 
 uiitvodd(Mi tract. Moreover, one may dis-
 
 xlvi BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cover a kiude of vein of poesie to run tliroiigli 
 the body of Lis prose, in the concinnity and 
 succintness thereof all along. He teachetli a 
 new way of epistolizing ; and that Familiar 
 Letters may not only consist of words, and a 
 bombast of compliments, but that they are 
 capable of the highest speculations and solidest 
 kind of knowledge.' 
 
 As a later 'sn-iter has well said, ' Howell is 
 one of the few whose genius, striking in the 
 heat of the moment onl}- current coin, pro- 
 duced finished medals for the cabinet.' 
 
 Dr. Paley was in the habit of saying that 
 the true e])istolary style was to speak 
 directly to the jioint ; if this be so, Howell's 
 letters are certainly models, for his style is as 
 forcible and direct as it is nervous and idio- 
 matic, and justly entitles him to be considered 
 as belonging to the grand Elizabethan period 
 of English writers. 
 
 In spite of the charge that has been brought 
 against him of affectation, the unprejudiced 
 reader must feel that ' he writes as if his hand 
 were the secretary of his heart,' and that he 
 was true to his own motto :
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. xlvii 
 
 Ut clavis portam, sic pandit Epistola pectus ; 
 Clauditur Ilcec cera, clatiditur ilia sera. 
 
 ' As keys do opeu chests, 
 So letters open breasts.' 
 
 Before closing tliis sketch, Howell's In- 
 structions for Foreign Travel demands a note 
 of special attention. It abounds with dis- 
 cursive allusions and fine passages that go 
 interwoven Avith the author's ' instructions, ' 
 that certainly show Howell at his very best. 
 One such passage we must quote. After 
 summing up the advantages that accrue to the 
 traveller, he comes to the following striking 
 conclusion : ' All this is but vanity and super- 
 ficial knowledge, unless the inward man be 
 bettered hereby ; unless by seeing and })erusing 
 tlie volume of the great world, one learn to 
 know t\\Qlittlc,\x\v\Q\\ is himself, unless onelearn 
 to govern and check the passions, our domestic 
 enemies, than which nothing can conduce 
 more to gentleness of mind, to elegancy of 
 manners, and solid wisdom. But principally, 
 unless by surveying and admiring his works 
 abroad, one improve himself in the knowledgi^ 
 of Ids ('i-<!ator, pr(r, quo qvlsquilm coctera ; in
 
 xlviii BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODTJCTION. 
 
 comparison whereof the best of sublunary 
 blessings are but baubles, and this indeed, 
 this Unum necessarium, should be the centre 
 to which Travel should tend.' 
 
 The present editor wishes to acknowledge 
 his indebtedness to the kind assistance of his 
 friends Mr. A. H. Bullen and Mr. F. W. 
 AValdock. To secure as perfect a text as 
 possible, this reprint has been collated Avith 
 four various editions, and in all doubtful pas- 
 sages special references have been made to the 
 cditio 2r/-ince2)s, with the result that several 
 misreadings that had become stereotyped have 
 been corrected. 
 
 W. H. BENNETT. 
 
 Juli/, 1890.
 
 DEDICATION. 
 
 €o §b Pajcstg ^itig Charles the Jfirst. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 These Letters addressed (most of them) 
 to your best degrees of subjects, do as so many lines 
 drawn from the circumference to the centre, all 
 meet in your Majesty ; wlw as tlie laio styles 
 you the fountain of honour and grace, so you 
 should be the centi'e of our happiness. If your 
 Majesty vouchsafe them a gracious aspect, they 
 may cdl ptrove letters of credit, if not credadial 
 letters, which sovereign ^;?-»?crs use only to 
 authori::c. They venture to go abroad into the 
 vast ocean of the world, as letters of mart, to try 
 their fortunes ; and your Majesty being the 
 greatest Lord of sea under heaven, is fittest to 
 protect them ; ami then they ivill not fear any 
 human poioer. Moreover, as this royal protec- 
 tion secures them from all danger, so it will
 
 1 DEDICATION. 
 
 infinitely cond.uce to the 'prosperity of their 
 voyage, aiul hring them to safe port with, rich 
 returns. 
 
 Nor would these letters he so famiiliar, as 
 to presume iqwn so high a patrona.ge, were not 
 many of them records of your ourii royal 
 actions. And 'tis well known, that letters can 
 treasure up, and transmit matters of State to 
 posterity, ivith as rmieh faith, and he as 
 avihentic registers, and safe repositories of 
 truth as any story whatsoever. 
 
 This hrings them to lie 2Jrostrate ai your feet, 
 with their Author, wlw is, Sir, your Majesty's 
 most loyal subject and servamt, 
 
 J. HOWELL.
 
 EPISTOLZE HO-ELIAN^ : 
 
 BEING THE FAMILIAR LETTERS OF 
 JAMES HOAVELL. 
 
 Section I. 
 
 To Sir J. S. at Leeds Castle. 
 
 Sir, — It was a quaint difference the ancients 
 did put 'twixt a letter and an oration ; that 
 the one should be attir'd like a woman, the 
 other like a man: the latter of the two is 
 allowed large side robes, as long periods, 
 parentheses, similes, examples, and other 
 parts of rhetorical flourishes : but a letter or 
 epistle should be short-coated, and closely 
 couch'd ; a hungeiiin^ becomes a letter more 
 handsomely than a gown. Indeed we should 
 
 1 A short, furred cocat. So called from its Hungarian 
 origin, 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 2 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 write as we speak : and that's a true familiar 
 letter which expresseth one's mind, as if he 
 were discoursing with the party to whom he 
 writes, in succinct and short terms. The tongue 
 and the pen are both of them interpreters of the 
 mind ; but I hold the pen to be the more 
 faithful of the two. The tongue, in udoposita, 
 being seated in a moist slippery place, may 
 fail and falter in her sudden extemporal 
 expressions ; but the pen having a greater 
 advantage of premeditation, is not so subject 
 to error, and leaves things behind it upon 
 firm and authentic record. Is'ow letters, 
 tho' they be capable of any subject, yet com- 
 monly they are either narratory, objurgatory, 
 consolatory, monitory, or congratulatory. 
 The first consists of relations, the second of 
 reprehensions, the third of comfort, the last 
 two of counsel and joy. There are some who 
 in lieu of letters ^^^■ite homilies, they preach 
 when they should epistolize. There are others 
 that turn them to tedious tractates ; this is to 
 make letters degenerate from their true nature. 
 Some modern authors there are who have 
 exposed their letters to the world, but most
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. .3 
 
 of them, I mean among your Latin epistol- 
 izers, go freighted with mere Bartholomew 
 ware, with trite and trivial phrases only, 
 listed with pedantic shreds of school-boy 
 verses. Others there are among our next 
 transmarine neighbours eastward, who write 
 in their own language, but their style is so soft 
 and easy, that their letters may be said to 
 be like bodies of loose flesh without sinews, 
 they have neither joints of art, nor arteries 
 in them ; they have a kind of simpering and 
 lank hectic expressions made up of a bom- 
 bast of words, and finical, affected compli- 
 ments only: I cannot well away with such 
 sleazy stuff, with such cobweb-compositions, 
 where there is no strength of matter, nothing 
 for the reader to carry away with him, that may 
 enlarge the notions of his soul. One shall 
 hardly find an apothegm, example, simile, or 
 any thing of philosophy, history, or solid 
 knowledge, or as much as one new created 
 phrase, in a hundred of them : and to draw 
 any observations out of them, were as if one 
 went about to distil cream out of froth ; inso- 
 much that it may be said of them, what was
 
 4 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 said of the Echo, 'That she is a mere sound, 
 and nothing else.' 
 
 I return you your Balzac ^ by this bearer : 
 and when I found those letters, wherein he 
 is so familiar with his King,^ so flat; and 
 those to Richelieu, so puffd with profane 
 hyperboles, and larded up and down Avith 
 such gi'oss flatteries, with others besides, 
 which he sends up and down the world for 
 discovery of the crazy condition of his body, 
 I forbore him further. So I am — Your most 
 affectionate servitor, J. H. 
 
 Westminster, 25 July, 1625. 
 
 II. 
 
 To my Father upon tny first going beyond 
 sea. 
 
 Sir, — I should be much wanting to myself, 
 and to that obligation of duty, the law of 
 God and his handmaid Nature hath imposed 
 upon me, if I should not acquaint you with 
 the course and quality of my attairs and 
 
 1 The • Familiar Letters ' of Jean L. G. de Balzac. 
 
 2 Louis XIII.
 
 FAMILIAE LETTERS. O 
 
 fortunes, specially at this time, that I am 
 upon point of crossing the seas to eat my 
 bread abroad. Nor is it the common relation 
 of a son that only induc'd me hereunto, but that 
 most indulgent and costly care you have been 
 pleased (in so extraordinary a manner) to have 
 had of my breeding (tho' but one child of 
 fifteen) by placing me in a choice methodical 
 school^ (so far distant from your dwelling) 
 under a learned (tho' lashing) Master ; and by 
 transplanting me thence to Oxford, to be gradu- 
 ated ; and so holding me still up by the chin, 
 until I could swim without bladders. This 
 patrimony of liberal education you have been 
 pleased to endow me withal, I now carry along 
 with me abroad, as a sure inseparable treasure ; 
 nor do I feel it any burden or encumbrance 
 unto me at all : and what danger soever my 
 person, or other things I have about me, do 
 incur, yet I do not fear the losing of this, 
 either by shipwreck, or pirates at sea, nor by 
 robbers, or fire, or any other casualty ashore : 
 and at my return to England, I hope at least- 
 wise I shall do my endeavour, that you may 
 1 The Free School of Hereford.
 
 6 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 find this patrimony improved somewhat to 
 your comfort. 
 
 The main of my employment is from that 
 gallant knight, Sir Robert Mansell, who, with 
 my Lord of Pembroke, and divers other of 
 the prime Lords of the Court, have got the 
 sole patent of making all sorts of glass with 
 pit-coal, only to save those huge proportions 
 of wood which were consumed formerly in 
 the glass furnaces : and this business being 
 of that nature, that the workmen are to be 
 had from Italy, and the chief materials from 
 Spain, France, and other foreign countries: 
 there is need of an agent abroad for this use ; 
 (and better than I have offered their service 
 in this kind) so that I believe I shall have 
 employment in all these countries before I 
 return. 
 
 Had I continued still Steward of the Glass- 
 house in Broad-street, where Captain Francis 
 Bacon hath succeeded me, I should in a short 
 time have melted away to nothing amongst 
 those hot Venetians, finding myself too green 
 for such a charge ; therefore it hath pleased 
 God to dispose of me now to a condition more
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. / 
 
 suitable to my years, and that will, I hope, 
 prove more advantageous to my future for- 
 tunes. 
 
 In this my peregi'ination, if I happen, by 
 some accident, to be disappointed of that 
 allowance I am to subsist by, I must make my 
 address to you, for I have no other rendezvous 
 to flee unto ; but it shall not be, unless in case 
 of great indigence. 
 
 Touching the news of the time : Sir George 
 Villiers,^ the new favourite, tapers up apace, 
 and grows strong at Court : his predecessor the 
 Earl of Somerset^ hath got a lease of ninety years 
 for his life, and so hath his articulate Lady,^ 
 called so, for articling against the frigidity and 
 impotence of her former Lord.'* She was afraid 
 that Coke, the Lord Chief Justice (who had 
 used such extraordinary art and industry in 
 discovering all the circumstances of the 
 poisoning of Overbury^), would have made 
 
 1 Afterwards created Duke of Buckingham. 
 2 Eobert Carr. 3 Frances Howard. Countess of 
 Essex. 4 The third Earl of Essex, ' 5 Sir Thomas 
 Overbury, poisoned in the Tower of London at the 
 instigation of the Countess of Essex, in revenge for 
 his opposition to her marriage with his friend, the 
 Earl of Somerset, then Earl of Rochester.
 
 8 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 white broth of them, but that the prero- 
 gative kept them from the pot : yet the 
 subservient instruments, the lesser flies, could 
 not break through, but lay entangled in the 
 cobweb ; amongst others Mistress Turner, the 
 first inventress of yellow starch, was executed 
 in a cobweb lawn ruff of that colour at 
 Tyburn : and with her I believe that yellow 
 starch, which so much disfigured our nation, 
 and rendered them so ridiculous and fantastic, 
 will receive its funeral. Sir Gervasc El ways 
 Lieutenant of the Tower, was made a 
 notable example of justice and terror to all 
 officers of tmst : for being accessory, and that 
 in a passive way only, to the murder, yet he 
 was hanged on Tower-hill : and the caveat is 
 very remarkable which he gave upon the gal- 
 lows : ' That people shoidd be very cautious 
 how they make vows to Heaven, for the 
 breach of them seldom passes without a 
 judgment, whereof he was a most ruthful 
 example : for being in the Low Countries, and 
 much given to gaming, he once made a 
 solemn vow (which he brake afterwards), 
 that if he play'd above such a sum, he might
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. \f 
 
 be hanged.' My Lord (\Yilliam) of Pembroke 
 did a most noble act, like himself; for the 
 King having given him all Sir Gervase 
 Ehvays' estate, which came to above a thou- 
 sand pound 2Jer an. , he freely bestoAved it on 
 the widow and her children. 
 
 The latter end of this week I am to go a 
 ship-board, and first for the Low Countries. 
 I humbly pray your blessing may accom- 
 pany me in these my travels by land and sea, 
 with a continuance of your prayers, which 
 will be as so many good gales to blow me to 
 safe port ; for I have been taught, that the 
 parents' benedictions contribute very much, 
 and have a kind of prophetic virtue, to make 
 the child prosperous. In this opinion I shall 
 ever rest — Your dutiful son, J. H. 
 
 Broad-street, in London, this 1 March, 1618. 
 
 IIL 
 
 To Dr. Francis Mansell, since Principal of 
 Jesus College in Oxford. 
 Sir, — Being to take leave of England, and 
 to launch out into the world abroad, to
 
 10 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 breathe foreign air awhile, I thought it very 
 handsome, and an act well becoming me, to 
 take my leave also of you, and of my dearly 
 honoured mother Oxford. Otherwise both of 
 you might have just grounds to exhibit a bill 
 of complaint, or rather a protest against me, 
 and cry me up ; you for a forgetful friend ; 
 she for an ungrateful son, if not some 
 spurious issue. To prevent this, I salute 
 you both together : you with the best of my 
 most candid affections : her with my most 
 dutiful observance, and thankfulness for the 
 milk she pleased to give me in that exuberance, 
 had I taken it in that measure she offered it 
 me while I slept in her lap : yet that little I 
 have sucked, I carry with me now abroad, and 
 hope that this course of life will help to con- 
 coct it to a greater advantange, having oppor- 
 tunity, by the nature of my employment, to 
 study men as well as books. The small time 
 I supervis'd the Glass-house, I got among 
 those Venetians some smatterings of the 
 Italian tongue, which besides the little I 
 have, you know, of school-language, is all 
 the preparatives I have made for travel. I
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 11 
 
 am to go this week doAvn to Gravesend, and 
 so embark for Holland. I have got a -warrant 
 from the Lords of the Council to travel for 
 three years any where, Rome and St. Omer 
 excepted. I pray let me retain some room, 
 though never so little, in your thoughts, during 
 the time of this our separation ; and let our 
 souls meet sometimes by intercourse of letters : 
 I promise you that yours shall receive the best 
 entertainment I can make them, for I love 
 you dearly, dearly well, and value your friend- 
 ship at a very high rate. So with apprecia- 
 tion of as much happiness to you at home, as 
 I shall desire to accompany me abroad, I rest 
 ever — Your friend to serve you, J. H. 
 
 London, 20 March, 1618. 
 
 IV. 
 
 To Sir James Crofts, Knight, at St. OsitJi. 
 
 Sir, — I could not shake hands with England, 
 without kissing your hands also ; and because, 
 in regard of your distance now from London, 
 I cannot do it in person, I send this paper for 
 my deputy.
 
 12 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 The news that keeps greatest noise here now, 
 is the return of Sir "Walter Raleigh from his 
 mine of gold, in Guiana, the south parts of 
 America, which at first was like to be such a 
 hopeful boon voyage, but it seems that that 
 golden mine is proved a mere Chimera, an 
 imaginary airy mine ; and indeed his majesty 
 had never any other conceit of it: but what 
 will not one in captivity (as Sir "Walter was) 
 promise, to regain his freedom? "Who would 
 not promise, not only mines, but mountains of 
 gold, for liberty ? And 'tis pity such a 
 knowing well-weigh'd knight had not had a 
 better fortune ; for the Destiny (I mean that 
 brave ship which he built himself of that 
 name, that carry'd him thither, ) is like to prove 
 a fatal destiny to him, and to some of the 
 rest of those gallant adventurers which 
 contributed for the setting forth of thirteen 
 ships more, who were most of them his 
 kinsmen and younger brothers, being led into 
 the said expedition by a general conceit the 
 world had of the A^dsdom of Sir "Walter 
 Raleigh ; and many of these are like to make 
 shipwreck of their estates by this voyage.
 
 FAMILIAE LETTERS. 13 
 
 Sir Walter landed at Pl3miouth, whence he 
 thought to make an escape ; and some say he 
 hath tampered with his body by physic, to 
 make him look sickly, that he may be the 
 more pitied, and permitted to lie in his own 
 house. Count Gondamar, the Spanish Am- 
 bassador, speaks high language ; and sending 
 lately to desire audience of his majesty, he 
 said he had but one word to tell him : his 
 majesty wondering what might be delivered in 
 one word. When he came before him, he said 
 only, Pircdcs, Pirates, Pirates, and so de- 
 parted. 
 
 'Tis true that he protested against this 
 Voyage before, and that it could not be but 
 for some predatory design : and that if it be 
 as I hear, I fear it will go very ill with Sir 
 Walter, and that Gondamar will never give 
 him over, till he hath his head off his 
 shoulders ; which may quickly be done, 
 without any new arraignment, by virtue of 
 the old sentence that lies still dormant 
 against him, which he could never get off by 
 pardon, notwithstanding that he mainly la- 
 boured in it before he went : but his majesty
 
 14 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 could never be brought to it, for he said lie 
 would keep this as a curb to hold him within 
 the bounds of his commission, and the good 
 behaviour. 
 
 Gondamar cries out, that he hath broke the 
 sacred peace 'tsnxt the two kingdoms ; that 
 he hath fired and plundered Santo Thoma, a 
 colony the Spaniards had planted with so 
 much blood, near under the line, which made 
 it prove such hot service unto him, and 
 where, besides others, he lost his eldest son in 
 the action. And could they have preserv'd 
 the magazine of tobacco only, besides other 
 things in that town, something might have 
 been had to countervail the charge of the 
 voyage. Gondamar allegeth farther, that 
 the enterprize of the mine failing, he pro- 
 pounded to the rest of his fleet to go and 
 intercept some of the plate galleons, with other 
 designs which would have drawn after them 
 apparent acts of hostility ; and so demands 
 justice : besides other disasters which fell out 
 upon the dashing of the first design. Captain 
 Rendsh,^ who was the main instrument for dis- 
 1 An evident misprint for Keymis.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 15 
 
 covery of the mine, pistoled himself in a 
 desperate mood of discontent in his cabin, in 
 the Convert ine. 
 
 This return of Sir Walter Raleigh from 
 Guiana, puts me in mind of a facetious tale I 
 read lately in Italian (for I have a little of 
 that language already) how Alphonso King of 
 Naples sent a Moor, who had been his 
 captive a long time, to Barbary, with a 
 considerable sum of money to buy horses, and 
 return by such a time. Now there was about 
 the King a kind of buffoon or jester, who had 
 a table-book or journal, wherein he was used 
 to register any absurdity, or impertinence, or 
 merry passage that happened upon the Court. 
 That day the Moor was dispatched for Barbary, 
 thesaid jester waiting upon the King at supper, 
 the King call'd for his journal, and asked what 
 he had observ'd that day ; thereupon he pro- 
 duc'd his table-book, and among other things, 
 he read how Alphonso King of Naples had 
 sent Beltram the Moor, who had been a long 
 time his prisoner, to Morocco (his own 
 country) with so many thousand crowns, to 
 buy horses. The King asked him why he
 
 16 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 inserted that ; ' because, ' said he, ' I think he 
 will never come back to be a prisoner again, 
 and so you have lost both man and money. ' 
 'But if he do come, then your jest is marr'd,' 
 quoth the King : 'No, Sir ; for if he return I Avill 
 blot out your name, and put him in for a fool.' 
 
 The application is easy and obvious. But 
 the world wonders extremely that so gi'eat a 
 wise man as Sir Walter Raleigh would return 
 to cast himself upon so ine\dtable a rock, as I 
 fear he will ; and much more, that such choice 
 men, and so gi'eat a power of ships, should all 
 come home and do nothing. 
 
 The letter you sent to my father, I con- 
 veyed safely the last week to Wales. I am 
 this week, by God's help, for the Netherlands, 
 and then I think for France. If in this my 
 foreign employment I may be any way 
 serviceable unto you, you know what power 
 you have to dispose of me, for I honour you 
 in a very high degree, and will live and die — 
 Your humble and ready servant, J. H. 
 
 London, 28 March, 1618.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 17 
 
 V. 
 
 To my Brother, after Br. Hoiccll, and now 
 Bisliop of Bristol ; from Amsterdam. 
 
 Brother, — I am newly landed at Amster- 
 dam, and it is the first foreign earth I have 
 ever set foot upon. I was pitifully sick all 
 the voyage, for the weather was rough, and 
 the wind untowards ; and at the mouth of 
 the Texel Ave were surprised by a furious tem- 
 pest, so that the ship was like to split upon 
 some of those old stumps of trees whereAvith 
 that river is full ; for in ages past, as the 
 skipper told me, there gi'ew a fair forest in 
 that channel where the Texel makes now her 
 bed. Having been so rocked and shaken at 
 sea, when I came ashore, I l.iegan to incline to 
 Copernicus his opinion, Avhich hath got such 
 a sway lately in the world, viz : that the 
 earth, as well as the rest of her fellow- 
 elements, is in perpetual motion, for she 
 seemed so to me a good while after I had 
 landed. He that observes the site and 
 position of this country, will never hereafter
 
 18 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 doubt the truth of that philosophical problem 
 ^vhich keeps so great a noise in the schools, 
 viz: that the sea is higher than the earth, 
 because, as I sailed along these coasts, I 
 visibly found it true ; for the ground here, 
 which is all 'twixt marsh and moorish, lies 
 not only level, but to the apparent sight of 
 the eye far lower than the sea ; which made 
 the Duke of Alva say, ' that the inhabitants 
 of this country were the nearest neighbours to 
 hell (the greatest abyss) of any people upon 
 earth,' because they dwell lowest. Most of 
 that ground they tread, is pluck'd, as it were, 
 out of the very jaws of iSTeptmie, who is after- 
 wards penned out by high dikes, which are 
 preserved with incredible charge; insomuch that 
 the chief Dike-Grave here, is one of the great- 
 est officers of trust in all the province, it 
 being in his power to turn the whole country 
 into a salt-lough when he list, and so to put 
 Hans to swim for his life ; which makes it to 
 be one of the chiefest parts of his litany. 
 From the Sea, the Spaniard, aiid the Devil, the 
 Lord deliver me. I need not tell you who 
 preserves him from the last, but from the
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 19 
 
 Spaniard, his best friend is the sea itself, 
 notwithstanding that he fears him as an 
 enemy another way : for the sea stretching 
 himself here into divers arms, and meeting 
 with some of those fresh rivers that descend 
 from Germany to disgorge themselves into 
 him through these provinces, most of their 
 towns are thereby encompassed with water, 
 wliich by sluices they can contract or dilate 
 as they list. This makes their towns in- 
 accessible, and out of the reach of cannon ; 
 so that water may be said to be one of their 
 best fences, otherwise I believe they had not 
 been able to have born up so long against the 
 gigantic power of Spain. 
 
 This city of Amsterdam, tho' she be a great 
 staple of news, yet I can impart none unto you 
 at this time^ I will defer that till I come to 
 the Hague. 
 
 I am lodg'd here at one Mons. de la Cluze, 
 not far from the Exchange, to make an in- 
 troduction into the French : because I believe 
 I shall steer my course hence next to the 
 country where that language is spoken ; but I 
 think I shall sojourn here about two months
 
 20 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 longer, therefore I pray direct your letters 
 accordingly, or any otlier you have for me. 
 One of the prime comforts of a traveller is to 
 receive letters from his friends, they beget new 
 spirits in him, and present joyful objects to 
 his fancy, when his mind is clouded some- 
 times with fogs of melancholy : therefore I 
 pray make me as happy as often as your con- 
 veniency will serve with yours : you may send 
 or deliver them to Captain Bacon at the Glass- 
 house, who will see them safely sent. 
 
 So my dear brother, I pray God bless us 
 both, and send us after this large distance, a 
 jovful meeting. — Your loving brother. 
 
 J. H. 
 
 Amsterdam, 1 April, 1619. 
 
 VI. 
 
 To Ban. Caldwell, Esq. ; frmn Amsterdam. 
 
 My dear Dan., — I have made your friend- 
 ship so necessary unto me for the contentment 
 of my life, that happiness itself would be but 
 a kind of infelicity without it : it is as needful 
 ro me. as fire and water, as the very air I
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS, 21 
 
 take in, and breathe out ; it is to me not 
 only necessitudo, but neccssUas: therefore I 
 pray let me enjoy it in that fair proportion, 
 that I desire to return unto you, by way of 
 correspondence and retaliation. Our first 
 league of love, you know, was contracted 
 among the muses in Oxford ; for no sooner 
 was I matriculated to her, but I was adopted 
 to you ; I became her son, and your friend, at 
 one time : you know I foUow'd you then to 
 London, Avhere our love receiv'd confirmation 
 in the Temple, and elsewhere. "We are now 
 far asunder, for no less than a sea severs us, 
 and that no narrow one, but the German 
 Ocean. Distance sometimes endears friendship, 
 and absence sweetneth it ; it much enhanceth 
 the value of it, and makes it more precious. 
 Let this be verify'd in us ; let that love 
 which formerly us'd to be nourish'd by 
 personal communication and the lips, be now 
 fed by letters ; let the pen supply the office of 
 the tongue : letters have a strong operation, 
 they have a kind of art like embraces to 
 mingle souls, and make them meet tho' 
 millions of paces asunder ; by them we may
 
 22 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 converse, and know how it fares with each 
 other, as it were by intercourse of spirits. 
 Therefore among yovir civil speculations, I pray 
 let your thoughts sometimes reflect on me 
 (your absent self), and wrap those thoughts in 
 paper, and so send them me over ; I promise 
 you they shall be very welcome, I shall 
 embrace and hug them with my best affec- 
 tions. 
 
 Commend me to Tom Bowyer, and enjoin 
 him the like : I pray be no niggard in 
 distributing my love plentifully among our 
 friends at the Inns of Court. Let Jack Tol- 
 dervy have my kind commends, with this 
 caveat, that the pot which goes often to the 
 water, comes home crack'd at last : therefore 
 I hope he will be careful how he makes the 
 ' Fleece ' in Cornhill his thoroughfare too 
 often. So may my dear Daniel live happy 
 and love his J. H. 
 
 Amsterdam, 10 Ajrril, 1619.
 
 TAMILIAR LETTERS. 23 
 
 VII. 
 
 To m/y Father ; from Amsterdam. 
 
 Sir, — I am lately arriv'd in Holland in a 
 good plight of health, and continue yet in 
 this town of Amsterdam, a town I believe, 
 that there are few her fellows, being from a 
 mean fishing-dorp, come in a short revolution 
 of time, by a monstrous increase of commerce 
 and navigation, to be one of the greatest 
 marts of Europe. 'Tis admirable to see what 
 various sorts of buildings, and new fabrics 
 are now here erecting everywhere ; not in 
 houses only, but in whole streets and suburbs ; 
 so that 'tis thought she will in a short time 
 double her proportion in bigness. 
 
 I am lodg'd in a Frenchman's house, who 
 is one of the deacons of our English Brownists'^ 
 church here ; 'tis not far from the synagogue 
 of Jews, who have free and open exercise of 
 their religion here. I believe in this street 
 where I lodge, there be well near as many 
 religions as there be houses ; for one neigh - 
 
 1 The followers of Robert BroAvn, the Separatist.
 
 24 JAMES HO^VELL. 
 
 bour knows not, nor cares not much wliat 
 religion the other is of ; so that the number of 
 conventicles exceed the number of churches 
 here. And let this country call itself as long 
 as it will the United Provinces one way, I 
 am persuaded in this point, there's no place 
 so disunited. 
 
 The Dog and Rag-]Market is hard by, 
 where every Sunday morning there is a kind 
 of public mart for those commodities, not- 
 withstanding their precise observance of the 
 Sabbath. 
 
 Upon Saturday last I happen'd to be in a 
 gentleman's company, who shew'd me as I 
 walk'd along in the streets, a long-bearded old 
 Jew of the tribe of Aaron ; when the other 
 Jews met him, they fell do\\Ti, and kiss'd his 
 foot : this was that Rabbi, Anth whom our 
 countryman Broughton^ had such a dispute. 
 
 This City, notwithstanding her huge trade, 
 is far inferior to London for populousness ; 
 and this I infer out of their Aveekly bills of 
 mortality, which come not at most but to 
 
 1 Hugh Brougliton (15i9-1612), the learned Hebrew 
 scholar and controversialist.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 25 
 
 fifty or thereabout ; wliereas in London, tlie 
 ordinary number is betwixt two and three 
 hundred, one Aveek with another. Nor are 
 there such wealthy men in this town as in 
 London ; for, by reason of the generality of 
 commerce, the banks, adventures, the common 
 shares and stocks which most have in the 
 Indian and other companies, the wealth doth 
 diffuse'itself here in a strange kind of equality, 
 not one of the burghers being exceeding rich, 
 or exceeding poor : insomuch, that I believe 
 our four and twenty Aldermen may buy a 
 hundred of the richest men in Amsterdam. 
 It is a rare thing to meet Avith a beggar here, 
 as rare as to see a horse, they say, upon the 
 streets of Venice ; and this is held to be one 
 of their best pieces of Government: for 
 besides the strictness of their laws against 
 mendicants, they have hospitals of all sorts for 
 young and old, both for the relief of the one, 
 and the employment of the other ; so that 
 there is no object here to exercise any act of 
 charity upon. They are here very neat, tho' 
 not so magnificent in their buildings, especially 
 in their frontispieces and first rooms ; and for
 
 26 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 cleanliness, they may serve for a pattern to .ill 
 l^eople. They Avill presently dress half a 
 dozen dishes of meat, Avithout any noise or 
 shew at all : for if one goes to the kitchen, 
 there -will be scarce appearance of anything 
 but a few cover'd pots upon a turf fire, which 
 is their prime fuel ; after dinner they fall a 
 scouring of those pots, so that the outside 
 will be as bright as the inside, and the 
 kitchen suddenly so clean, as if no meat had 
 been dress'd there a month before. They 
 have neither well or fountain, or any spring 
 of fresh water, in or about all this city, but 
 their fresh Avater is brought to them by boats ; 
 besides, they have cisterns to receive the 
 rain-water, which they much use : so that my 
 laundress bringing my linen to me one day, 
 and I commending the whiteness of them, she 
 answer'd, ' that they nmst needs be white 
 and fair, for they were washed in aqua Ccelcstis,' 
 meaning sky-water. 
 
 'Twere cheap li\4ng here, were it not for the 
 monstrous accises^ which are impos'd upon 
 all sorts of commodities, both for belly 
 1 Excise duties.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 27 
 
 and back ; for t^ie retailer pays the States 
 almost the one moiety as much as he paid for 
 the commodity at first : nor doth any murmur 
 at it, because it goes not to any favourite or 
 private purse, but to preserve them from the 
 Spaniard, their common enemy, as they term 
 him ; so that the saying is truly verify'd here, 
 'Defend me, and spend me.' With this 
 accise principally, they maintain all their 
 armies by sea and land, with their garrisons at 
 home and abroad, both here and in the 
 Indies ; and defray all other public charges 
 besides. 
 
 I shall hence shortly for France, and in my 
 way take most of the prime towns of Holland 
 and Zealand, especially Leyden (the Univer- 
 sity) where I shall sojourn some days. So 
 humbly craving a continuance of your blessiug 
 and prayers, I rest — Your dutiful son, 
 
 J. II. 
 1 May, 1619.
 
 28 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 To Br. Tlio. Prichard, at Jesus College in 
 Oxford ; fromfi Leyden. 
 
 Sir, — It is the royal prerogative of love, 
 not to be coufin'd to that small local compass 
 which circumscribes the body, but to make 
 his sallies and progresses abroad, to find out 
 and enjoy his desir'd object, under what region 
 soever. Xor is it the vast gulf of Keptune, 
 or any di.sl;ince of place, or difference of clime, 
 can bar him of this privilege. I never found 
 the experiment hereof so sensibly, nor felt the 
 comfort of it so much, as since I shook hands 
 with England. For tho' you be in Oxford, 
 and I at Leyden ; albeit you be upon an 
 island, and I now upon the Continent; (tho' 
 the lowest part of Europe) yet those swift 
 postillions, my thoughts, find you out daily, 
 and bring you unto me. I behold you often in 
 my chamber, and in my bed ; you eat, you 
 drink, you sit down, and walk with me ; and 
 my fantasy enjoys you often in my sleep, when 
 all my senses are lock'd up, and my soul
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 29 
 
 wanders up and down the world, sometimes 
 thro' pleasant fields and gardens, sometimes 
 thro' odd uncouth places, over mountains and 
 broken confus'd building?.. As my love to you 
 doth thus exercise his power, so I desire yours 
 to me may not be idle, but rous'd up some- 
 times to find me out, and summon me to 
 attend you in Jesus College. 
 
 I am now here in Leyden, the only 
 Academy, besides Franeker, of all the 
 United Provinces. Here are nations of 
 all sorts, but the Germans swarm more 
 than any. To compare their university 
 to yours, were to cast New- Inn in counter- 
 scale with Christ-Church College, or the 
 Alms-houses on Tower-hill to Sutton's Hos- 
 pital.^ Here are no colleges at all, God-wot, 
 (but one for the Dutch) nor scarce the face of 
 a university, only there are general schools 
 where the sciences are read by several pro- 
 fessors, but all the students are oppidans. 
 A small time and less learning will suffice to 
 make one a graduate ; nor are those forma- 
 lities of habits, and other decencies here, as 
 1 Now known as the Charter-House.
 
 30 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 with you, much less those exhibitions and 
 supports for scholars, with other encourage- 
 ments ; insomuch, that the Oxonians and 
 
 Cantabrigians Bona si sua norint, were 
 
 they sensible of their own felicity, are the 
 happiest Academians on earth : yet Apollo 
 hath a strong influence here ; and as Cicero 
 said of them of Athens, Athenis pingue ccdum, 
 tenida ingcnia, ' The Athenians had a thick 
 air, and thin wits ' ; so I may say of these 
 Lugdunensians, they have a gross air, but 
 thin subtle Adts (some of them), witness else 
 Heinsius, Grotius, Arminius, and Baudius. 
 Of the two last I was told a tale, that 
 Arminius meeting Baudius one day disguis'd 
 with drink (wherewith he would be often) he 
 told him, Tu Baudi dedecoras as nostram 
 Academio/ni. Et tu Armini nostram Reli- 
 (jianem : ' Thou Baudius disgracest our univer- 
 sity. And thou Arminius our religion.' The 
 heaven here has always some cloud in his 
 countenance, and from this gi'ossness and 
 spissitude of air proceeds the slow nature of 
 the inhabitants ; yet this slowness is recom- 
 pens'd with another benefit, it makes them
 
 FAMILIAE LETTERS. 31 
 
 patient and constant, as in all other actions, 
 so in their studies and speculations, tho' 
 they nse : 
 
 Crassos transire dies, lucemque palustrem. 
 
 I pray impart my love liberally amongst my 
 friends in Oxford, and when you can make 
 truce with your more serious meditations, 
 bestow a thought, drawn into a few lines, upon 
 —Your J. H. 
 
 Leyden, 30 Mai/, 1*319. 
 
 IX. 
 
 To Ml'. Richard AUham, at his Chamber in 
 Grays-Inn. 
 
 Dear Sir,— Tho' you be now a good way 
 out of my reach, yet you are not out of my 
 remembrance ; you are still within the horizon 
 of my love. Now the horizon of love is large 
 and spacious, it is as boundless as that of the 
 imagination ; and where the imagination 
 range th, the memory is still busy to usher 
 in, and present the desired object it fixes
 
 32 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 upon. It is love that sets them both on 
 work, and may be said to be the highest 
 sphere whence they receive their motion. 
 Thus you appear to me often in these 
 foreign travels ; and that you may believe 
 me the better, I send you these lines as my 
 ambassadors (and ambassadors must not 
 lie) to inform you accordingly, and to salute 
 you. 
 
 I desii'e to know how you like ' Plowden. ' ^ I 
 heard it often said, that there's no study 
 requires patience and constancy more than the 
 Common Law ; for it is a good while before 
 one comes to any known perfection in it, and 
 conseqiiently to any gainful practice. This (I 
 think) made Jack Chaundler throw away his 
 ' Littleton,'- like him that when he could not 
 catch the hare, said, 'A pox upon her, she is 
 but dry tough meat, let her go.' It is not so 
 with you, for I know you are of that disposi- 
 tion, that when you mind a thing, nothing 
 can frighten you in making constant pursuit 
 after it, till you have obtain'd it. For if the 
 
 1 The ' Commentaries' of Edmund Plowden. 
 
 2 Sir Thomas Littleton on ' Tenures.'
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 33 
 
 Mathematics, with their crabbedness and in- 
 tricacy, could not deter you, but that you 
 waded thro' the very midst of them, and 
 arriv'd to so excellent a perfection ; I believe 
 it is not in the power of 'Plowden' to dastardize 
 or cow your spirits, until you have overcome 
 him, at leastwise have so much of him as will 
 serve your turn. I know you were always a 
 quick and pressing disputant in Logic and 
 Philosophy ; wdiich makes me think your 
 genius is fit for Law, (as the Baron your 
 excellent father was) for a good logician 
 makes always a good lawyer. And hereby 
 one may give a strong conjecture of the apt- 
 ness or inaptitude of one's capacity to that 
 study and profession ; and you know as well as I, 
 that logicians who went under the name of 
 sophisters, were the first lawyers that ever were. 
 I shall be upon uncertain removes hence, 
 until I come to Rouen in France, and there I 
 mean to cast anchor a good while ; I shall 
 expect your letters there Avith impatience. I 
 pray present my service to Sir James Altham, 
 and to my good lady your mother, with the 
 rest to whom it is due in Bishopsgate-street, 
 
 D
 
 34 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 and elsewhere ; so I am yours in the best 
 degree of friendshijJ, J. H. 
 
 Hague, 30 May. 1619. 
 
 X. 
 
 To Sir James Crofts ; from tht Hague. 
 
 Sir, — The same observance that a father 
 may challenge of his child, the like you may 
 claim of me, in regard of the extraordinary 
 care you have been pleas'd to have always, 
 since I had the happiness to know you, of the 
 course of my fortunes. 
 
 I am now newly come to the Hague, the 
 Court of the six (and almost seven) Confed- 
 erated Provinces ; the Council of State, with 
 the Prince of Orange, makes his firm residence 
 here, unless he be upon a march, and in motion 
 for some design abroad. This Prince (Maurice) 
 was cast in a mould suitable to the temper of 
 this people : he is slow and full of wariness, 
 and not without a mixture of fear ; I do not 
 mean a pusillanimous, but politic fear : he is 
 the most constant, in the quotidian course 
 and carriage of his life, of any that I have 
 ever heard or read of ; for whosoever knows
 
 FAMILIAll LETTERS. 35 
 
 the customs of the Priuce of Orange, may tell 
 what he is doing here every hour of the day, 
 tho' he be in Constantinople. In the morning 
 he awakes about six in summer, and seven in 
 winter ; the first thing he does, he sends one 
 of his grooms or pages to see how the wind 
 sits, and he wears or leaves off his waistcoat 
 accordingly ; then he is about an hour dressing 
 himself, and about a quarter of an hour in his 
 closet : then comes in the secretary, and if he 
 hath any private or public letters to write, or 
 any other dispatches to make, he does it before 
 he stirs from his chamber ; then comes he 
 abroad, and goes to his stables, if it be no 
 sermon-day, to see some of his gentlemen or 
 pages (of whose breeding he is very careful) 
 ride the great horse. He is very accessible to 
 any that hath business with him, and sheweth 
 a winning kind of familiarity, for he will 
 shake hands with the meanest boor of the 
 country, and he seldom hears any commander 
 or gentleman with his hat on. He dines 
 punctually about twelve, and his table 
 is free for all comers, but none under the 
 degree of a captain uses to sit down at it. 
 
 D 2
 
 36 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 After dinner lie stays in the room a good 
 while, and then any one may accost him, and tell 
 his tale ; then he retires to his chamber, where 
 he answers all petitions that were deliver'd 
 him in the morning ; and towards the evening, 
 if he goes not to council, which is seldom, he 
 goes either to make some visits, or to take the 
 air abroad. And according to this constant 
 method he passes his life. 
 
 There are great stirs like to arise 'twixt the 
 Bohemians and the elected King th e Emperor ; ^ 
 and they are come already to that height, 
 that they consult of deposing him, and to 
 choose some Protestant prince to be their king. 
 Some talk of the Duke of Saxony, others of 
 the Palsgrave ; ^ I believe the States here would 
 rather be for the latter, in regard of confor- 
 mity of religion, the other being a Lutheran. 
 
 I could not find in Amsterdam a large 
 ' Ortelius ' ^ in French to send you ; but from 
 Antwerp I will not fail to serve you. 
 
 1 Ferdinand II., Emperor of the West. 
 
 2 Frederick V., Elector Palatine, the husband of the 
 Princess Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of James I. 
 
 3 The atlas of Abraham Ortell, a learned Dutch 
 geogi-apher of that time.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 37 
 
 So wishing you all happiness and health, 
 and that the sun may make many progresses 
 thro' the Zodiac, before those comely gray hairs 
 of yours go to the grave, I rest — Your very 
 humble servant, J. H. 
 
 3 June, 1619. 
 
 XL 
 
 To Ccqitahi Francis Bacon atthe Glass-house in 
 Broad-street. 
 
 Sir, — jNIy last to you was from Amsterdam, 
 
 since which time I have travers'd the prime 
 
 parts of the United Provinces ; and I am now 
 
 in Zealand, being newly come to this town of 
 
 Ikliddelburg, which is much crest-fallen since 
 
 the staple of English cloth was remov'd 
 
 hence, as is Flushing also, her next neighbour, 
 
 since the departure of the English garrison. 
 
 A good intelligent gentleman told me the 
 
 manner how Flushing and the Brill, our two 
 
 eautionery towns^ here, were redeem'd, which 
 
 was thus : the nine hundred and odd soldiers 
 
 at Flushing, and the Rammakins hard by, 
 
 being many weeks without their pay, they 
 
 1 Held as security for money advanced to the Dutch 
 by Elizabeth, and given up by James I. for one-third of 
 their value.
 
 38 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 borrow'd divers sums of money of the States of 
 thit: town, who finding no hopes of supplies 
 from England, advice was sent to the States- 
 General at the Hague ; they consulting with 
 Sir Kalph Winwood, our ambassador (who was 
 a favourable instrument to them in this 
 business, as also in the match with the Pals- 
 grave) sent instructions to the Lord Caron,^ 
 to acquaint the Earl of Suffolk (then Lord 
 Treasurer) herewith ; and in case they could 
 find no satisfaction there, to make his address 
 to the King himself, which Caron did. His 
 majesty being much incens'd that his subjects 
 and soldiers should starve for want of their 
 pay in a foreign country, sent for the Lord 
 Treasurer, who drawing his majesty aside, and 
 telling how empty his exchequer was, his 
 majesty told the ambassador, that if his 
 masters the States would pay the money they 
 ow'd him upon those towns, he would deliver 
 them up. The ambassador returning the next 
 day, to know Avhether his majesty persisted in 
 the same resolution, in regard that at his 
 
 1 Noel de Caron, Dutch ambassador at the Court of 
 8t. James's.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 39 
 
 former audience he perceiv'd him to be a little 
 transported ; his majesty answer 'd, that he 
 knew the States of Holland to be his good 
 friends and confederates, both in point of 
 religion and policy ; therefore he apprehended 
 not the least fear of any difference that 
 should fall out between them, in contemplation 
 whereof, if they desir'd to have their towns 
 again, he would willingly surrender them. 
 Hereupon the States made up the sum 
 presently, which came in convenient time, for 
 it serv'd to defray the expense till progress he 
 made to Scotland the summer following. When 
 that money was lent by Queen Elizabeth, it 
 was articled, that interest should be paid ufjon 
 interest ; and besides, that for every gentleman 
 who should lose his life in the States' service, 
 they should make good five pounds to the 
 Crown of England : all this his majesty 
 remitted, and only took the principal ; and 
 this Avas done in requital of that princely 
 entertainment, and great presents, which my 
 Lady Elizabeth had reeeiv'd in divers of their 
 towns as she pass'd to Heidelberg. 
 The bearer hereof is Si^. Antonio Miotti.
 
 40 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 •Nvho was master of a crystal-glass furnace here 
 a long time ; and, as I have it by good 
 intelligence, he is one of the ablest and most 
 knowing men for the guidance of a glass-work 
 in Christendom : therefore, according to my 
 instructions, I send him over, and hope to 
 have done Sir Robert good service thereby. 
 So with my kind respects unto you, and my 
 most humble service where you know it is 
 due, I rest — Your affectionate servant, 
 6 June, 1619. J. H. 
 
 XII. 
 
 To Sir James Crofts ; from Anticerj). 
 
 SiE, — I presume that my last to you from 
 the Hague came safe to hand. I am now come 
 to a more cheerful country, and amongst a 
 people somewhat more vigorous and metal'd, 
 being not so heavy as the Hollander, or 
 homely as they of Zealand. This goodly 
 ancient city methinks looks like a disconsolate 
 widow, or rather some superannuated virgin, 
 that hath lost her lover, being almost quite 
 bereft of that flourishing commerce wherewith 
 before the falling off the rest of the Provinces
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 41 
 
 from Spain she abounded, to the envy of all 
 other cities and marts of Europe. There are 
 few places this side the Alps better built, and 
 so well streeted as this; and none at all so 
 well girt with bastions and ramparts, which in 
 some parts are so spacious, that they usually 
 take the air in coaches upon the very walls, 
 which are beautified with divers rows of trees 
 and pleasant walks. The citadel here, tho' it be 
 an addition to the stateliness and strength of 
 the town, yet it serves as a shrewd curb unto 
 her ; which makes her champ upon the bit, 
 and foam sometimes with anger, but she can- 
 not help it. The tumults^ in Bohemia now 
 grow hotter and hotter ; they write how the 
 great Council at Prague fell to such a hurli- 
 burly, that some of those senators who adher'd 
 to the Emperor were thrown out at the 
 windows, where some were maim'd, some 
 broke their necks. I am shortly to bid fare- 
 well to the Netherlands, and to bend my 
 course for France, where I shall be most ready 
 to entertain any commands of yours. So may 
 
 1 Eespecting the succession of the Crown of Bo- 
 hemia to Ferdinand II.
 
 42 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 all health and happiness attend yon, according 
 to the wishes of — Yonr obliged servant, 
 5 July, 1619. J. H. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 To Dr. Tho. Prichard, at Oxford ; from Rouen. 
 
 \ HAVE now taken firm footing in France, 
 and tho' France be one of the chiefest climates 
 of compliment, yet I can use none towards 
 you, but tell you in plain downright language, 
 that in the list of those friends I left behind 
 me in England, you are one of the prime rank, 
 one whose name I have mark'd with the 
 whitest stone. If you have gain'd such a place 
 amougst the choicest friends of mine, I hope 
 you will put me somewhere amongst yours, 
 tho' I but fetch up the rear, being contented to 
 be the infima species, the lowest in the 
 predicament of your friends. 
 
 I shall sojourn a good while in this city of 
 Rouen, therefore I pray make me happy with 
 the comfort of your letters, which I shall 
 expect with a longing impatience. I pray send 
 me ample advertisement of your welfare, and 
 of the rest of your friends, as well upon the
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 43 
 
 banks of Isis, as amongst the British moun- 
 tains. I am but a fresh-man yet in France, 
 therefore I can send you no news but that all 
 is here quiet, and 'tis no ordinary news that 
 the French should be quiet. But some think 
 this calm will not last long ; for the Queen- 
 Mother ^ (late Regent) is discontented, being 
 restrain'd from coming to the Court, or to the 
 city of Paris ; and the tragical death of her 
 favourite (and foster-brother), the late Marquis 
 of Ancre, lieth yet in her stomach undigested : 
 she hath the Duke of Epernon, and divers 
 other potent princes, that would be strongly 
 at her devotion (as 'tis thought) if she would 
 stir. I pray present my service to Sir Eubule 
 Thelwall, and send me word with what pace 
 Jesus-College new walls go up. I will borrow 
 my conclusion to you at this time of my 
 countryman Owen : 
 
 Uno non possum quantum te diligo vcrsii 
 Dicere, si sati<! est Disticko7i, ecce duos. 
 ' I cannot in one verse my love declare ; 
 If two will serv^e the turn, lo, here they are.' 
 
 Whereunto I Avill add this sirname ana- 
 gram — Yours wlioJe, J. Hoavel. 
 6 August, 1G19. 
 
 1 Marie de Medicis.
 
 44 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 XIY. 
 
 To Dan. Caldicall Esq. ; from Bouen. 
 
 My dear Dan, — When I came first to this 
 town, amongst other objects of contentment 
 which I fonnd here, whereof there are variety, 
 a letter of yonrs was brought to me, and 'twas 
 a she-letter, for two more were enwomb'd in 
 her body : she had an easy and quick deliver- 
 ance of that twin ; but besides them, she was 
 big and pregnant of divers sweet pledges, and 
 lively evidences of your own love towards me, 
 whereof I am as fond as any mother can be of 
 her child. I shall endeavour to cherish and 
 foster this dear love of yours with all the 
 tenderness that can be, and warm it at the 
 fuel of my best affections, to make it grow 
 every day stronger and stronger, until it comes 
 to the state of perfection ; because I knoAV it 
 is a true and real, it is no spurious or adult- 
 erated love. If I intend to be so indulgent 
 and careful of yours, I hope you will not suffer 
 mine to starve with you ; my love to you needs 
 not much tending, for it is a lusty strong love, 
 and will not easily miscarry.
 
 FAMILTAE LETTEES. 45 
 
 I pray, when yon vrrite next, to send me a 
 dozen pair of the best white kid-skin gloves 
 the Royal-Exchange can afford; as also two 
 pair of the pnrest white worsted stockings yon 
 can get of Avomen's size, together with half a 
 dozen of i:)air of knives. I pray send yonr 
 man with them to Yacandary, the French post 
 upon Tower-hill, Avho will bring them me 
 safely. When I go to Paris, I shall send you 
 some curiosities equivalent to these. I have 
 here inclos'd return'd an answer to those two 
 that came in yours, I pray see them safely 
 deliver'd. My kind respects to your brother 
 sergeant at Court, to all at Battersay or any- 
 where else, where you think my commenda- 
 tions may be placed. 
 
 No more at this time, but that I recommend 
 you to the never- failing providence of God, 
 desiring you to go on in nourishing still 
 between us that love, which for my part, 
 
 No traverses of chance, of time, or fate, 
 Shall e'er extinguish till our lives' last date : 
 But, as the vine her lovely elm cloth wire, 
 Grasp both our hearts, and flame with fresli desire. 
 
 —Yours J. H. 
 
 13 August, 1619.
 
 48 -JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 XV. 
 
 To my Father ; from Rouen. 
 
 Sill, — Yours of the third of August came 
 safe to hand in an eaclos'd from my brother ; 
 you may make easy conjecture how welcome 
 it was unto me, and to what a height of com- 
 fort it rais'd my spirits, in regard it Avas the 
 first I receiv'd from you since I cross'd the 
 seas. I humbly thank you for the blessing you 
 •sent along with it. 
 
 I am now upon the fair continent of France, 
 one of nature's choicest master-pieces ; one of 
 Ceres' chiefest barns for corn ; one of Bacchus's 
 prime wine-cellars, and of Neptune's best salt- 
 pits ; a complete self-sufficient countiy, where 
 there is rather a superfluity than defect of any- 
 thing, either for necessity or pleasure, did 
 the policy of the country correspond with 
 the bounty of nature, in the equal distribu- 
 tion of the wealth amongst the inhabitants ; 
 for I think there is not upon the earth a 
 richer country, and poorer people. 'Tis true, 
 England hath a good repute abroad for her fer-
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 47 
 
 tility, yet be our harvests never so kindly, and 
 our crops never so plentiful, we liave every 
 year commonly some grain from thence, or 
 from Dantzie, and other places, imported by 
 the merchant : besides, there be many more 
 heaths, commons, bleak barren hills, and 
 waste grounds in England, by many degi'ees, 
 than I find here ; and I am sorry our country 
 of Wales should give more instances hereof 
 than any other part. 
 
 This i»rovince of Normandy, once an appen- 
 dix of the Crown of England, tho' it want 
 wine, yet it yields the King as much demesnes 
 as any one of the rest ; the lower Norman 
 hath cyder for his common drink ; and I 
 visibly observed that they are more plump and 
 replete in their bodies, and of a clearer com- 
 plexion, than those that drink altogether wine. 
 In this great city of Rouen there be many 
 monuments of the English nation yet extant. 
 In the outside of the highest steeple of the 
 great church, there is the word GOD engrav'd 
 in huge golden characters, ever}^ one almost 
 as long as myself, to make them the more 
 visible. In this steeple hangs also the greatest
 
 48 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 bell of Christendom, call'd cV Amhoise,'^ for it 
 weighs near upon forty thousand pound weight. 
 There is also here St. Ouen, the greatest sanctu- 
 ary of the city, founded by one of our com- 
 patriots, as the name imports : this province 
 is also subject to "Wardships, and no other 
 part of France besides ; but whether the Con- 
 queror translated that law to England from 
 hence, or whether he sent it over from Eng- 
 land hither, I cannot resolve you. There is a 
 marvellous quick trade driven in this toAvn, 
 because of the great navigable river Scquetia 
 (the Seine), that runs hence to Paris, whereon 
 there stands a strange bridge that ebbs and 
 flows, that rises and falls with the river, it 
 being made of boats, whereon coach and carts 
 may pass over as well as men : besides, this is 
 the nearest mercantile city that stands betwixt 
 Paris and the sea. 
 
 My last to you was from the Low Countries, 
 where I was in motion to and fro above four 
 months ; but I fear it miscarry'd, in regard 
 you make no mention of it in yours. 
 
 1 After Cardinal G. d'Amboise, who built a portion of 
 the Cathedral in the early part of sixteenth century.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 49 
 
 I begin more and more to have a sense of the 
 sweetness and advantage of foreign travel. I 
 pray, Avhen you come to London, to find a time 
 to visit Sir Robert, and acknowledge his great 
 favours to me, and desire a continuance there- 
 of, according as I shall endeavour to deserve 
 them. So Avith my due and daily prayers for 
 your health, and a speedy successful issue of 
 all yoiu' law -businesses, I humbly crave your 
 blessing, and rest — Your dutiful son, J. H. 
 
 7 September, 1(519. 
 
 XA'I. 
 
 To Capt. Francis Bacon; from Paris. 
 
 Sir, — I receiv'd two of yours in Rouen, with 
 the bills of exchange there enclosed ; and 
 according to your directions I sent yoii those 
 things which you wrote for. 
 
 I am now newly come to Paris, this huge 
 magazine of men, the epitome of this large 
 po]3ulous kingdom, and rendezvous of all 
 foreigners. The structures here are indiffer- 
 ently fair, tho' the streets generally foul all 
 the four seasons of the year ; which I impute 
 
 E
 
 50 JA^^ES hoavell. 
 
 first to the position of the city, being built 
 upon an isle, (the Isle of France, made so by 
 the branching and serpentine course of the 
 river of Seine) and having some of her suburbs 
 seated high, the filth runs down the channel, 
 and settles in many places within the body of 
 the city, which lies upon a flat ; as also for a 
 ■world of coaches, carts, and horses of all sorts 
 that go to and fro perpetually, so that some- 
 times one shall meet with a stop half a mile 
 long of those coaches, carts, and horses, that 
 can move neither forward nor backward, by 
 reason of some sudden encounter of others 
 coming a cross way ; so that oftentimes it will 
 be an hour or two before they can disentangle. 
 In such a stop the great Henry^ was so fatally 
 slain by Ravaillac. Hence comes it to pass, that 
 this town (for Paris is a town, a city, and a uni- 
 versity) is always dirty, and 'tis such a dirt, 
 that by a perpetual motion is beaten into such 
 black unctuous oil, that where it sticks no art 
 can wash it off of some colours ; insomuch, 
 that it may be no improper comparison to say 
 that an ill name is like the crot (the dirt) of 
 1 Henry IV.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 51 
 
 Paris, which is indelible ; besides, the stain 
 this dirt leaves, it gives also so strong a scent, 
 that it may be smelt many miles otf, if the 
 wind be in one's face as he comes from the 
 fresh air of the country : this may be one 
 cause why the plague is always in some corner 
 or other of this vast city, which may be call'd, 
 as once Scythia was, Vagina jjopulomm, or (as 
 mankind was call'd by a great philosopher) a 
 great mole-hill of ants : yet I believe this 
 city is not so populous as she seems to be, for 
 her form being round (as the whole kingdom 
 is) the passengers wheel about, and meet 
 oftener than they use to do in the long con- 
 tinued streets of London, which makes London 
 appear less populous than she is indeed ; so 
 that London for length, (tho' not for latitude) 
 including Westminster, exceeds Paris, and 
 hath in Michaelmas term more souls moving 
 within her in all places. 'Tis under one 
 hundred years that Paris is become so sump- 
 tuous and strong in buildings ; for her houses 
 were mean, until a mine of white stone was 
 discover'd hard by, which runs in a continued 
 vein of earth, and is digg'd out with ease, being 
 
 E 2
 
 52 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 soft, and is between a white clay and chalk as 
 fii'st ; but being puUey'd up, with the open 
 air, it receives a crusty kind of hardness, and 
 so becomes perfect freestone ; and before it is 
 sent up from the pit, they can reduce it to any 
 form. Of this stone, the Louvre, the King's 
 palace, is built, which is a vast fabric, for the 
 gallery wants not much of an Italian mile in 
 length, and will easily lodge 3,000 men ; 
 which, some told me, was the end for which 
 the last King made it so big, that lying at the 
 fag-end of this gi'eat mutinous city, if she 
 perchance should rise, the King might pour 
 out of the Louvre so many thousand men 
 unawares into the heart of her. 
 
 I am lodg'd here hard by the Bastille, 
 because it is farthest off from those j)laces 
 where the English resort ; for I would go on 
 to get a little language as soon as I coidd. In 
 my next, I shall impart unto you Avhat state- 
 news France affords ; in the interim, and 
 always, I am — Your humble servant, J. H. 
 
 Paris, 30 March, 1620.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTEKS. 53 
 
 XVII. 
 
 To Richard Altham, Esq.; from Paris. 
 
 Dear Sir, — Love is the marrow of friend- 
 ship, and letters are the elixir of love ; they 
 are the best fuel of affection, and cast a 
 sweeter odour than any frankincense can do ; 
 such an odour, such an aromatic perfume 
 your late letter brought Avith it, proceed- 
 ing from the fragrancy of those dainty 
 flowers of eloquence, which I found blossom- 
 ing as it were in every line ; I mean 
 those sweet expressions of love and wit,, 
 which in every period were intermingled Avith 
 so much art, that they seem'd to contend for 
 mastery which was the strongest. I must 
 confess, that you put me to hard shifts to 
 correspond with you in such exquisite strains 
 and raptures of love, which were so lively, 
 that I must needs judge them to proceed from 
 the motions, from the diastole and systole of 
 a heart truly affected ; certainly your heart 
 did dictate every syllable you writ, and guided 
 your hand all along. Sir, give me leave to
 
 64 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 tell you, that not a dram, nor a dose, nor a 
 scruple of this precious love of yours is lost, 
 but is safely treasur'd up in my breast, and 
 answer'd in like proportion to the full : mine 
 to you is as cordial, it is passionate and perfect, 
 as love can be. 
 
 I thank you for the desire you have to know 
 how it fares with me abroad. I thank God I 
 am perfectly well, and well contented with this 
 wandering course of life a while. I never 
 enjoy 'd my health better, but I was like to 
 endanger it two nights ago ; for being in some 
 jovial company abroad, and coming late to our 
 lodging, Ave were suddenly surpris'd by a crew 
 oifilous or night-rogues, who drew upon us ; 
 and as we had exchang'd some blows, it 
 pleas'd God the Chevalier du Guet, an officer 
 who goes up and down the streets all night a- 
 horseback to prevent disorders, pass'd by, and 
 so rescu'd us ; but Jack White was hurt, and 
 I had two thrusts in my cloak. There's never 
 a night passes, but some robbing or murder is 
 committed in this town ; so that it is not 
 safe to go late anywhere, especially about the 
 Font-Ncuf, the Xew-BridgCj tho' Henry the
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 55 
 
 Great himself lies sentinel there in arms, upon 
 a huge Florentine horse, and sits bare to every- 
 one that passeth ; an improper posture me- 
 thinks to a King on horseback. Not long 
 since, one of the secretaries of state, (whereof 
 there are always four) having been invited to 
 the suburbs of St. Germains to supper, left 
 order with one of his lacqueys to bring him 
 his horse about nine ; it so happen'd that a 
 mischance befell the horse, which lam'd him as 
 he went a-watering to the Seine, insomuch that 
 the secretary was put to beat the hoof himself, 
 and foot it home ; but as he was passing the 
 Pont-Neuf, with his lacquey carrying a torch 
 before him, he might o'er-hear a noise of 
 clashing of swords, and fighting, and looking 
 under the torch, and perceiving they were but 
 two, he bade his lacquey go on ; they had not 
 made many paces, but two armed men, with 
 their pistols cock'd and swords drawn, made 
 puffing towards them, whereof one had a paper 
 in his hand, which he said he had casually 
 took up in the streets, and the ditference 
 between them was about that paper ; therefore 
 they desir'd the secretary to read it, with a
 
 56 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 great deal of compliment. The secretary took 
 out his spectacles and fell a-reading of the 
 said paper, whereof the substance was, ' That 
 it should be known to all men, that whosoever 
 did pass over that bridge after nine a-clock at 
 night in winter, and ten in summer, was to 
 leave his cloak behind him, and in case of no 
 cloak, his hat.' The secretary starting at 
 this, one of the comrades told him, that he 
 thought that paper concern'd him ; so they 
 unmantled him of a new plush cloak, and my 
 secretary was content to go home quietly, and 
 en cuerpo. This makes me think often of the 
 excellent nocturnal government of our city of 
 London, where one may pass and repass 
 securely all hours of the night, if he gives 
 good words to the "Watch. There is a gentle 
 calm of peace now throughout all France, and 
 the King^ intends to make a progress to all the 
 frontier towns of the kingdom, to see how 
 they are fortify'd. The favourite, Luines, 
 strengtheneth himself more and more in his 
 minionship ; but he is much murmured at, in 
 regard the access of suitors to him is so 
 1 Louis XIII.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 57 
 
 difficult : which made a lord of this land say, 
 'That three of the hardest things in the 
 world were : to quadrate a circle, to find out 
 the philosopher's stone, and to speak with the 
 Duke of Luines. ' 
 
 I have sent you by Vacandary the post, the 
 French beaver and tweeses^ you writ for : beaver- 
 hats are grown dearer of late, because the 
 Jesuits have got the monopoly of them from 
 the King. 
 
 Farewell, dear child of virtue, and minion of 
 
 the muses, and continue to love — Yours, 
 
 J. H. 
 Paris, 1 May, 1620. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 To Sir James Crofts ; from Paris. 
 
 Sir, — I am to set forward this week for Spain, 
 and if I can find no commodity of embarkation 
 at St. Malo's, I must be forc'd to journey it 
 all the way by land, and clamber up the huge 
 Pyreney-Hills ; but I could not bid Paris 
 adieu, till I had convey'd my true and constant 
 respects to you by this letter. I was 
 2 Small pincers, used to pluck out liairs.
 
 58 JAMES HOWELL- 
 
 yesterday to wait upon Sir Herbert Crofts at 
 St. Germains, where I met with a French 
 gentleman, who, amongst other curiosities, 
 which he pleas'd to shew me up and down 
 Paris, brought me to that place where the late 
 King was slain, and to that were the Man^uis 
 of Ancre was shot ; and so made me a 
 punctual relation of all the circumstances of 
 those two acts, which in regard they were 
 rare, and I believe two of the notablest 
 accidents that ever happen'd in France, I 
 thought it worth the labour to make you 
 partaker of some part of his discourse. 
 
 France, as all Christendom besideSj (for there 
 was then a truce betwixt Spain and the 
 Hollanders) was in a profound peace, and liad 
 continued so twenty years together, when 
 Henry IV. fell upon some great martial design, 
 the bottom whereof is not known to this da}'^ ; 
 and being rich, (for he had heap'd up in the 
 Bastille a mount of gold that was as high as a 
 lance) he levy'd a huge army of 40,000 men, 
 whence came the song, ' The King of France 
 with forty thousand men ; ' and upon a 
 sudden he put this army in perfect equipage,
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 59 
 
 and some say he invited our Prince Henry to 
 come to liim to be a sharer in his exploits. 
 But going one afternoon to the Bastille, to see 
 his treasure and ammunition, his coach 
 stopp'd suddenly, by reason of some colliers 
 and other carts that were in that narrow 
 street ; whereupon one Ravaillac, a Lay-Jesuit, 
 (who had a whole twelvemonth watch'd an 
 opportunity to do the act) put his foot boldly 
 upon one of the wheels of the coach, and with 
 a long knife stretch'd himself over their 
 shoulders Avho were in the boot of the coach, 
 and reach'd the King at the end, and stabb'd 
 him right in the left side to the heart, and 
 pulling out the fatal steel, he doubled his 
 thrust ; the King with a rueful voice cry'd 
 out, Jc suis hlcssb (I am hurt), and suddenly 
 the blood issued out at his mouth. The 
 regicide villain was apprehended, and command 
 given that no violence should be ofFer'd him, 
 that he might be reserv'd for the law, and 
 some exquisite torture. The Queen grew half 
 distracted hereupon, who had been crown'd 
 Queen of France the day before in great 
 triumph ; but a few days after she had some-
 
 60 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 thing to countervail, if not to overmatcli her 
 sorrow : for according to St. Lewis's Law, she 
 Avas made Queen Regent of France, during the 
 King's minority, who was then but about 
 ten years of age. Many cousultations were 
 held how to punish Ravaillac, and there were 
 some Italian physicians that undertook to 
 prescribe a torment, that should last a constant 
 torment for three days ; but he 'scap'd only 
 with this, his body was pull'd between four 
 horses, that one might hear his bones crack, 
 and after the dislocation they were set again ; 
 and so he was earry'd in a cart standing half 
 naked, with a torch in that hand which had 
 committed the murder : and in the place where 
 the act was done, it was cut off, and a gaunt- 
 let of hot oil was clapp'd upon the stump, to 
 staunch the blood ; whereat he gave a doleful 
 shriek. Then was he brought upon a stage, 
 where a pair of new boots was j^rovided for 
 him, half fiU'd with boiling oil ; then his body 
 was pincer'd, and hot oil pour'd into the holes. 
 In all the extremity of this torture, he scarce 
 shew'd any sense of pain ; but when the 
 gauntlet was clapp'd upon his arm to staunch
 
 FAMILTAH LETTERS. 61 
 
 the flux, at that time, of reeking blood, he 
 gave a shriek only. He bore up against all 
 these torments about three hours before he 
 died : all the confession that could be drawn 
 from him, was, ' That he thought to have 
 done God good service, to take away that 
 King which would have embroil'd all Chris- 
 tendom in an endless war.' 
 
 A fatal thing it was, that France should 
 have three of her Kings come to such violent 
 deaths, in so short a revolution of time. 
 Henry II. running at tilt with ]\I. Montgomery, 
 was kill'd by a splinter of a lance that pierc'd 
 his eye : Henry III. not long after, was kill'd 
 by a young friar, who in lieu of a letter 
 which he pretended to have for him, pull'd 
 out of his long sleeve a knife, and thrust him 
 into the bottom of the belly, and so dispatch'd 
 him ; but that regicide was hack'd to pieces in 
 the place by the nobles. The same destiny 
 attended the King by Ravaillac, which is 
 become now a common name of reproach and 
 infamy in France. 
 
 Never was King so much lamented as this ; 
 there are a world not only of his pictures, but
 
 62 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 statues up and down France ; and there's 
 scarce a market-town, but liath liim erected in 
 the market-place, or o'er some gate, not upon 
 sign-posts, as our Henry VIII. ; and by a public 
 Act of Parliament, which Avas confirni'd in the 
 Consistory at Rome, he was entitled Henry 
 the Great and so plac'd in the Temple of Im- 
 mortality. A notable Prince he was, and of 
 an admirable temper of bod}' and mind ; he had 
 a graceful, facetious way to gain both love and 
 awe ; he would be never transported beyond 
 himself with choler, but he would pass by 
 anything with some repartee, some witty 
 strain, wherein he was excellent. I will 
 instance in a few which were told me from a 
 good hand. One day he was charg'd by the 
 Duke of Bouillon to have chang'd his religion. 
 He answer'd, ' No, cousin, I have chang'd no 
 religion, but an opinion.' And the Cardinal of 
 Perron being by, he enjoin'd him to write a 
 treatise for his vindication ; the Cardinal was 
 long about the work, and when the King ask'd 
 from time to time where his book was, he 
 would still answer him, ' That he expected 
 some manuscripts from Rome, before he could
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 63 
 
 finish it.' It liappen'il, that one day the 
 King took the Cardinal along with him to look 
 on his workmen and neAV buildings at the 
 Louvre ; and passing by one corner which had 
 been a long time begun, but left unfinish'd, 
 the King ask'd the chief mason why that 
 corner was not all this while perfected ? ' Sir, 
 it is because I want some choice stones. ' ' No, 
 no, ' said the King, looking upon the Cardinal, 
 ' it is l^ecause thou wantest manuscripts from 
 Rome.' Another time, when at the siege of 
 Amiens, he having sent for the Count of 
 Soissons (who had 100,000 francs a year 
 pension from the Crown) to assist him in those 
 wars, and that the Count excus'd himself, by 
 reason of his years and poverty, having 
 exliausted himself in the former wars, and all 
 that he could do now, Avas to pray for his 
 majesty, which he would do heartily. This 
 answer being brought to the King, he reply'd, 
 ' Will my cousin, the Count of Soissons, do 
 nothing else but pray for me ? Tell him that 
 prayer without fasting, is not available ; 
 therefore I will make my cousin fast also from 
 his pension of 100,000 ^jcr an.'
 
 64 JAilES HOWELL. 
 
 He was once troubled with a fit of the gout ; 
 and the Spanish Ambassador coming then to 
 visit him, and saying he was sorry to see his 
 majesty so lame ; he ansAver'd, ' As lame as 
 I am, if there were occasion, your master the 
 King of Spain should no sooner have his foot 
 in the stirrup, but he should find me on 
 horseback. ' 
 
 By these few you may guess at the genius of 
 this sprightful Prince : I could make many 
 more instances, but then I should exceed the 
 bounds of a letter. When I am in Spain, you 
 shall hear further from me ; and if you can 
 think on anything wherein I may serve you, 
 believe it. Sir, that any employment from you 
 shall be welcome to — Your much obliged 
 servant, J. H. 
 
 Paris, 12 May, 1620. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 To my Brother, Dr. Howell. 
 
 Brother, — Being to-morrow to part with 
 Paris, and begin my journey for Spain, I 
 thought it not amiss to send you this, in
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 65 
 
 regard I know not when I shall have oppor- 
 tunity to write to you again. 
 
 This kingdom, since the young King hath 
 taken the sceptre into his own hands, doth 
 flourish very much with quietness and com- 
 merce ; nor is there any motion, or the least 
 tintamar of trouble in any part of the country, 
 which is rare in France. 'Tis true, the Queen- 
 Mother is discontented since she left her 
 Regency, being confin'd ; and I know not 
 what it may come to in time, for she hath a 
 strong party ; and the murdering of her 
 Marquis of Ancre will yet bleed, as some fear. 
 
 I was lately in society of a gentleman, who 
 was a spectator of that tragedy ; and he was 
 pleas'd to relate to me the particulars of it, 
 which was thus : When Henry IV. was slain, 
 the Queen Dowager took the reins of the 
 government into her hands during the young 
 King's minority ; and amongstotherswhomshe 
 advanc'd, Signor Conchino, a Florentine, and 
 her foster-brother,^ was one. Her countenance 
 came to shine so strongly upon him, that he 
 
 1 The husband of Leonora Galigai, the foster-sister 
 of Marie cle Medecis.
 
 66 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 became her only confidant and favourite, inso- 
 much that she made him Marquis of Ancre, 
 one of the twelve Mareschals of France, 
 Governor of Normandy ; and conferr'd divers 
 other honours and offices of trust upon him, 
 and who but he. The princes of France could 
 not endure the domineering of a stranger, 
 therefore they leagu'd together to suppress him 
 by arms: the Queen-Regent ha%ing intelli- 
 gence hereof, surpris'd the Prince of Condt*, 
 and clapp'd him up in the Bastille ; the Duke 
 of Main fled hereupon to Peronne in Picardy, 
 and other gi'eat men put themselves in an 
 armed posture to stand upon their guard. 
 The young King being told that the Marquis 
 of Ancre was the gi'ound of this discontent- 
 ment, commanded M. de Vitry, captain of his 
 Guards, to arrest him, and in case of resist- 
 ance to kill him. This business was carry'd 
 very closely till the next morning, that the 
 .said Marquis was coming to the Louvre with a 
 ruflBing train of gallants after him ; and 
 passing over the drawbridge at the Court-Gate, 
 Vitry stood there with the King's guard about 
 him ; and as the Marquis enter'd, he told him.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 67 
 
 that he had a commission from the King to 
 apprehend him, therefore he demanded his 
 sword. The Marquis hereupon put his hand 
 upon his sword, some thought to yield it up, 
 others to make opposition ; in the meantime 
 Vitry discharg'd a pistol at him, and so 
 dispatch'd him. The King being above in his 
 gallery, ask'd what noise that was below ; 
 one smilingly answer'd, ' Nothing, Sir, but 
 that the Mareschal of Ancre is slain.' ' Who 
 slew him?' 'The Captain of your Guard.' 
 ' Why ? ' ' Because he would have drawn his 
 sword at your Majesty's Royal Commission.' 
 Then the King reply 'd, ' Vitry hath done 
 well, and I Avill maintain the act.' Presently 
 the Queen-Mother had all her guard taken 
 from her, except six men and sixteen women, 
 and so she was banish'd Paris, and com- 
 manded to retire to Blois. Ancre's body was 
 bury'd that night in a church -yard by the 
 Court; but the next morning, the lacqueys 
 and pages (who are more unhappy here than 
 the apprentices in London) broke up his 
 grave, tore his coffin to pieces, ripp'd the 
 winding-sheet, and tied his body to an ass's 
 
 F 2
 
 68 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 tail, and so dragg'd him up and down the 
 gutters of Paris, which are none of the 
 sweetest; they then slic'd off his ears, and 
 nail'd them upon the gates of the city ; the 
 rest of his body they carry'd to the New- 
 bridge, and hung him his heels upwards and 
 head downwards upon a new gibbet, that had 
 been set up a little before, to punish them who 
 should speak ill of the present Government ; 
 and it was his chance to have the maidenhead 
 of it himself. His wife was hereupon appre- 
 hended, imprison'd and beheaded for a witch 
 some few days after, upon a surmise that she 
 had enchanted the Queen to dote so upon her 
 husband; and they say the young King's 
 picture was found in her closet in virgin-wax, 
 with one leg melted away. A little after 
 a process was form'd against the Marquis (her 
 husband), and so he was condemn'd after 
 death. This was a right act of a French 
 popular fury, which like an angry torrent is 
 irresistible ; nor can any banks, boundaries, 
 or dikes, stop the impetuous rage of it. How 
 the young King will prosper after so high and 
 an unexampled act of violence, by beginning
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 69 
 
 his reign, and embruing the walls of his own 
 Court with blood in that manner, there are 
 divers censures. 
 
 When I am settled in Spain, you shall hear 
 from me; in the interim, I pray let your 
 prayers accompany me in this long journey ; 
 and when you write to Wales, I pray acquaint 
 our friends with my welfare. So I pray God 
 bless us both, and send us a happy interview. 
 — Your loving Brother, J.H. 
 
 Paris, S September, 1G20. 
 
 XX. 
 
 To my Cousin, W. Vaaghan, Esq.; from St. 
 Malo. 
 
 Cousin", — I am now in French-Brittan}^ I 
 went back from Paris to Rouen, and so thro' 
 all Low Normandy, to a little port called 
 Granville, where I embarked for this town of 
 St. Malo ; but I did purge so violently at sea, 
 that it put me into a burning fever for some 
 few days, whereof (I thank God) I am newly 
 recover'd ; and finding no opportunity of 
 shipping here, I must be forc'd to turn my 
 intended sea- voyage to a long land-journey.
 
 70 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 Since I came to this province, I was curious 
 to converse with some of the Lower Britons, 
 who speak no other language but our Welsh, 
 for their radical words are no other ; but 'tis 
 no wonder, for they were a colony of Welsh at 
 first, as the name of this province doth imply ; 
 as also the Latin name Armorica, which tlio' it 
 pass foi' Latin, yet it is pure Welsh, and 
 signifies a country bordering upon the sea ; as 
 that Arch-Heretic was call'd Pelagius, a 
 Felago, his name being Morgan. I was a 
 little curious to peruse 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 Hoell the 
 Great. 
 
 This town at St. Malo hath one rarity in it ; 
 for there is here a perpetual garrison of 
 English, but they are of English dogs, which 
 are let out in the night to guard the ships, 
 and eat the carrens ^ up and down the streets, 
 and so they are shut up again in the morning. 
 
 It will be now a good while before I shall 
 have conveniency to send to you, or receive 
 1 Carrion, refuse.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. il 
 
 from you ; howsoever, let me retain still some 
 little room in your memory, and sometimes 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 sea to land, up and down the world : and 
 you must be contented to be subject to these 
 uncertain removes and perambulations, until 
 it shall please God to fix me again in England : 
 nor need you, while you are thus my concomi- 
 tant thro' new places every day, to fear any ill 
 usage, as long as I fare well — Yours XRV^^^*- '^°'''- 
 KT-qffet, J. H. 
 
 St. Malo, 25 September, 1(520. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 To Sir John Nm'th, Knight ; from Rochelle. 
 
 Sir, — I am newly come to Rochelle, nor am 
 I sorry that I went somewhat out of my Avay 
 to see this town, not (to tell you true) out of 
 any extraordinary love I bear to the people ; 
 for I do not find them so gentle and debonair 
 to strangers, nor so hospitable as the rest
 
 72 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 of France ; but I excuse them for it, in regard 
 it is commonly so with all Republic and Hans 
 Towns, whereof this smells very rank : nor 
 indeed hath any Englishman much cause 
 to love this town, in regard, in ages pass'd, she 
 played the most treacherous part with England 
 of any other place in France. For the story 
 tells us, that this town having by a perfidious 
 stratagem (by forging a counterfeit commission 
 from England) induc'd the English Governor 
 to make a general muster of all his forces out 
 of the town ; this being one day done, they 
 shut their gates against him, and made him go 
 shake his ears, and to shift for his lodging, 
 and so render'd themselves to the French 
 King, who sent them a blank to Avrite 
 their own conditions. I think they have the 
 strongest ramparts by sea of any place of 
 Christendom ; nor have I seen the like in any 
 town of Holland, whose safety depends upon 
 water. I am bound to-morrow for Bordeaux, 
 then thro' Gascony to Toulouse, so thro' 
 Languedoc o'er the hills to Spain : I go in the 
 best season of the year, for I make an 
 autumnal journey of it. I pray let your
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. /6 
 
 prayers accompany me all along, tliey are 
 the best offices of love, and fruits of friendship : 
 so God prosper you at home, as me abroad, 
 and send us in good time a joyful conjuncture. 
 — Yours, J. H. 
 
 Rochelle, S OcMer, 1(3-20. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 To Mr. Tho. Porter, after Capt. Porter ; from 
 Barcelona. 
 
 My dear Tom, — I had no sooner set foot 
 upon this soil, and breath'd Spanish air, but my 
 thoughts presently reflected upon you. Of all 
 my friends in England, you were the first 
 I met here ; you were the prime object 
 of my speculation, methought the very 
 winds in gentle whispers did breathe out your 
 name, and blow it on me ; you seem'd to 
 reverberate upon me with the beams of the 
 sun, which you know hath such a powerful 
 influence, and indeed too great a stroke in this 
 country. And all this you must ascribe to the 
 operations of love, which hath such a strong- 
 virtual force, that when it fasteneth upon a
 
 74 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 pleasing subject, it sets the imagination in a 
 sti'ange fit of working, it employs all the 
 faculties of the soul, so that not one cell in the 
 brain is idle ; it busieth the whole inward 
 man, it affects the heart, amuseth the under- 
 standing : it quickeneth the fancy, and leads 
 the will as it were by a silken thread to 
 co-operate with 'em all. I have felt these 
 motions often in me, especially at this 
 time, that my memory fix'd upon you. 
 But the reason that I fell first upon you 
 in Spain, was, that I remember'd I had 
 heard you often discoursing how you 
 have receiv'd part of your education here, 
 which brought you to speak the language so 
 exactly well. I think often of the relations I 
 liave heard you make of this country, and the 
 good instruction you pleas'd to give me. 
 
 I am now in Barcelona, but the next week I 
 intend to go on thro' your town of Valencia to 
 Alicante, and thence you shall be sure to hear 
 from me farther, for I make account to winter 
 there. The Duke of Ossuua pass'd by here 
 lately, and having got leave of grace to release 
 rsorae slaves, he went aboard the Cape galleys,
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. tO 
 
 and passing thro' tlie Churnia of slaves, he 
 ask'd divers of them wliat their offences were. 
 Every one excus'd himself; one saying 
 that he was put in out of malice, another 
 by bribery of the judge, but all of them 
 unjustly. Amongst the rest there was one 
 little sturdy black man, and the Duke 
 asking him what he was in for; 'Sir,' said 
 he, ' I cannot deny but I am justly put in 
 here, for I wanted money, and so took a purse 
 hard by Tarragona, to keep me from starving. ' 
 The Duke with a little staff he had in his 
 hand, gave him two or three blows upon the 
 shoulders, saying, 'You rogue, what do you 
 do amongst so many honest innocent men ? 
 get you gone out of their company.' So he 
 was freed, and the rest remain'd still in statu 
 quo prius, to tug at the oar. 
 
 I pray commend me to Signor Camillo, and 
 Mazalao, with the rest of the Venetians with 
 you ; and when you go aboard the Ship behind 
 the Exchange, think upon — Yours, J. H. 
 Barcelona, 10 November, 1620.
 
 76 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 To Sir James Crofts. 
 
 Sir, — I am now a good way within the 
 body of Spain, at Barcelona, a proud wealthy 
 city, situated upon the J^Iediterranean, and is 
 the metropolis of the kingdom of Catalonia, 
 call'd of old Hispania Tarraconensis. I had 
 much ado to reach hither ; for besides the 
 monstrous abruptness of the way, these parts 
 of the Pyrenees that border upon the Mediterra- 
 nean, are never without thieves by land 
 (called Bandoleros) and pirates on the sea-side, 
 which lie skulking in the hollows of the rocks, 
 and often surprise passengers unawares, and 
 carry them slaves to Barbary on the other 
 side. The safest way to pass, is to take a 
 bourdon^ in the habit of a pilgrim, whereof 
 there are abundance that perform their vows 
 this way to the Lady of Monserrat, one of the 
 prime places of pilgrimage in Christendom. 
 It is a stupendous monastery, built on the top 
 of a huge land-rock, whither it is impossible 
 A A pilgrim's staflF.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 77 
 
 to go up, or come down by a direct way, but a 
 path is cut out full of windings and turnings ; 
 and on the crown of this craggy hill there is a 
 flat, upon which the monasteiy and pilgrimage 
 place is founded, where there is a picture of 
 the Virgin Mary sunburnt, and tann'd, it 
 seems when she went to Egypt ; and to this 
 picture a marvellous confluence of people from 
 all parts of Europe resort. 
 
 As I pass'd between some of the Pyreney- 
 Hills, I perceiv'd the poor Lahraclors, some of 
 the country people, live no better than brute 
 animals, in point of food ; for their ordinary 
 commons is grass and water, only they have 
 always within their houses a bottle of vinegar, 
 and another of oil ; and when dinner or 
 supper-time comes, they go abroad and gather 
 their herbs, and so cast vinegar and oil upon 
 them, and will pass thus two or three days 
 without bread or wine ; yet they are strong 
 lusty men, and will stand stiffly under a 
 musket. 
 
 There is a tradition, that there were divers 
 mines of gold in ages past amongst those moun- 
 tains : and the shepherds that kept goats
 
 78 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 then, having made a small liie of rosemary- 
 stubs, with other combustible stuff to warm 
 themselves, this fire graz'd along, and gi-ew so 
 outrageous, that it consumed the very entrails 
 of the earth, and melted those mines ; which, 
 growing fluid by liquefaction, ran down into 
 the small ri-siilets that were in the valleys, and 
 so carry'd all into the sea, that monstrous 
 gulf which swalloweth all, but seldom dis- 
 gorgeth anything : and in these brooks, to 
 this day, some small grains of gold art- found. 
 
 The Viceroy of this country hath takt^n 
 much pains to clear these hills of robbers, 
 and there hath been a notable havoc made of 
 them this year ; for in divers woods, as I pass'd, 
 I might spy some trees laden with dead 
 carcasses, a better fruit far than Diogenes's tree 
 bore, whereon a woman had hanged herself ; 
 which the Cynic cried out to be the best 
 bearing tree that ever he saw. 
 
 In this place there lives neither English 
 merchant nor factor ; which I M'onder at, con- 
 sidering it is a maritime toA\Ti, and one of the 
 greatest in Spain, her chiefest arsenal for 
 galleys, and the scale by which she conveys
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 79 
 
 her moneys to Italy : but I believe the reason 
 is, that there is no commodious port here for 
 ships of any burden, but a large bay. I will 
 enlarge myself no farther at this time, but 
 leave you to the guard and guidance of God, 
 whose sweet hand of protection hath brought 
 me thro' so many uncouth places and diffi- 
 culties to this city. So, hoping to meet your 
 letters in Alicante, where I shall anchor a good 
 while, I rest— Yours to dispose of, J. H. 
 Barcelona, 24 November, 1620. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 To Dr. Fr. Manscll ; from Valentia. 
 
 Sir, — ^Tho' it be the same glorious sun that 
 shines upon you in England which illum- 
 inates also this part of the hemisphere ; tho' it 
 be the sun that ripeneth your pippins, and our 
 pomegi-anates ; your hops, and our vineyards 
 here ; yet he dispenseth his heat in different 
 degrees of strength : those rays that do but 
 warm you in England, do half roast us here ; 
 those beams that irradiate only, and gild your 
 honeysuckle fields, do scorch and parch this
 
 80 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 cliiiiky gaping soil, and so put too many 
 "wi-inkles upon the face of our common mother 
 the earth. blessed clime, happy England, 
 where there is such a rare temperature of 
 heat and cold, and all the rest of elementary 
 qualities, that one may pass (and suffer little) 
 all the year long, without either shade in 
 summer or fire in winter. 
 
 I am now in Valentia, one of the noblest 
 cities in all Spain, situate in a large vcga or 
 valley, above sixty miles compass : here are 
 the strongest silks, the sweetest wines, the 
 excellentest almonds, the best oils, and 
 beautiful'st females of all Spain, for the prime 
 courtesans in jSIadrid and elsewhere are had 
 hence. The very brute animals make them- 
 selves beds of rosemary, and other fragrant 
 flowers hereabouts ; and when one is at sea, if 
 the wind blow from the shore, he may smell 
 this soil before he come in sight of it, many 
 leagues off, by the strong odoriferous scent it 
 casts. As it is the most pleasant, so it is also 
 the teniperat'st clime of all Spain ; and they 
 commonly call it the second Italy, which 
 made the Moors, whereof many thousands
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 81 
 
 Avere disterr'd^ and banish'd hence to Barbaiy, 
 to think that Paradise was in that part of the 
 heavens which hung over this city. Some 
 twelve miles off, is old Sagunto, call'd now 
 Morviedre, thro' which I pass'd, and saw many- 
 monuments of Roman antiquities there; 
 amongst others, there is the Temple dedicated 
 to Venus, when the snake came about her 
 neck, a little before Hannibal came thither. 
 No more now, but that I heartily wish you 
 were here with me, and I believe you would 
 not desire to be a good while in England. So 
 I am, — Yours, J. H. 
 
 Valeiitia, 1 March, 1620. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 To Christopher Jones, Esq.; at Grays- Inn. 
 
 I AM now (thanks be to God) come to 
 Alicante, the chief rendezvous I aim'd at in 
 Spain ; for I am to send hence a commodity 
 called Barillia, to Sir Robert Mansell, for 
 making of crystal glass; and I have treated 
 with Signor Andriotti, a Genoa merchant for 
 1 Dispossessed of their land. 
 
 O
 
 82 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 a good round parcel of it, to the value of 
 2000?. by letters of credit from ]\Iaster 
 Richant ; and upon his credit, I might have 
 taken many thousand pounds more, he is so 
 well known in the Kingdom of Valeutia. This 
 Barillia is a strange kind of vegetable, and it 
 gi'ows nowhere upon the sui-face of the earth 
 in that perfection, as liere. The Venetians 
 have it hence, and it is a commodity where- 
 by this maritime town doth partly subsist ; for 
 it is an ingredient that goes to the making of 
 the best Castile soap. It grows thus, 'tis a 
 round thick earthy shrub that bears berries 
 like barberries, betwixt blue and green ; it 
 lies close to the ground, and when it is ripe 
 they dig it up by the roots, and put it 
 together in cocks, where they leave it to dry 
 many days like hay ; then they make a pit of 
 a fathom deep in the earth, and with an 
 instrument like one of our prongs, they take 
 the tufts and put fire to them, and when the 
 flame comes to the berries, they melt and dis- 
 solve into an azure liquor, and fall down into 
 the pit till it be full ; then they dam it up, 
 cind some days after they open it, and find
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 83 
 
 this Barillia juice turn'd to a blue stone, so 
 hard, that it is scarce malleable ; it is sold at 
 one hundred crowns a tun, but I had it for 
 less. There is also a spurious flower callVl 
 Gazull, that grows here, but the glass that's 
 made of that is not so resplendent and clear. 
 I have been here now these three months, and 
 most of my food hath been grapes and bread, 
 with other roots, which have made me so fat, 
 that I think if you saw me, you would hardly 
 know me, such nutriture this deep sanguine 
 Alicante grape gives. I have not receiv'd a 
 syllable from you since I was in Antwerp, 
 which transforms me to wonder, and engenders 
 odd thoughts of jealousy in me, that as my 
 body grows fatter, your love grows lanker 
 towards me. I pray take off these scruples, 
 and let me hear from you, else it will make a 
 schism in friendship, which I hold to be a 
 very holy league, and no less than a piacle^ to 
 infringe it ; in Avhich opinion I rest, — Your 
 constant friend, J. H. 
 
 Alicante, 27 March, 1(V21. 
 
 1 A crime. 
 
 G 2
 
 84 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 XX Y I. 
 
 To Sir John North, Knight. 
 
 Sir, — Having endur'd the brunt of a whole 
 summer in Spain, and try'd the temper of all 
 the other three seasons of the year, up and 
 down the kingdoms of Catalonia, Valentia, 
 and Murcia, with some parts of Aragon, I am 
 ]iow to direct my course for Italy : I hop'd to 
 have embark'd at Carthagena, the best port 
 upon the Mediterranean ; for what sliips and 
 galleys get in thither, are shut up as it were in 
 a box from the violence and injury of all 
 weathers; which made Andrea Doria,^ being 
 ask'd by Philip II. which were his best 
 harbours, he answer'd, ' June, July, and 
 Carthagena ; ' meaning that any port is good 
 in those two months, but Carthagena was 
 good any time of the year. There was a most 
 ruthful accident had haiipened there a little 
 before I came : for whereas five ships had gone 
 thence laden with soldiers for Naples, amongst 
 whom there was the flower of the gentry of the 
 1 The famous Genoese naval commander.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 85 
 
 kingdom of Murcia ; those ships had hardly 
 sail'd three leagues, but they met with sixteen 
 sail of Algiers men-of-war, who had laid 
 skulking in the creeks thereabout ; and they 
 had the winds and all things else so favourable, 
 that of those five ships they took one, sunk 
 another, and burnt a third, and two fled back 
 to safe harbour. The report hereof being 
 bruited up and down the country, the gentle 
 women came from the country to have tidings, 
 some of their children, others of their brothers 
 and kindred, and went tearing their hair, and 
 howling up and down the streets in a most 
 piteous manner. The Admiral of those five 
 ships, as I heard afterwards, was sent for to 
 Madrid, and hang'd at the Court-gate, because 
 he did not fight. Had I come time enough to 
 have taken the opportunity, I might have been 
 made, either food for haddocks, or turn'd to 
 cinders, or have been by this time a slave in 
 the Bannier at Algiers, or tugging at an oar ; 
 but I hope God hath reserv'd me for a better 
 destiny : so I came back to Alicante, where I 
 lighted upon a lusty Dutchman, who hath 
 carry'd me safe hither, but we were near upon
 
 86 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 forty days in voyage : we pass'd by Majorca 
 and Minorca, the Baleares Insuloe. by some 
 ports of Barbary, by Sardinia, Corsica, and all 
 the islands of the ^Mediterranean Sea. We 
 were at the mouth of Tiber, and thence 
 fetch'd our course for Sicily; we pass'd by 
 those sulphureous fiery islands, Mongibel and 
 Strombolo ; and about the daAvn of the day we 
 shot thro' Scylla and Charybdis, and so into 
 the Phare of Messina ; thence we touched 
 upon some of the Greek islands, and so came 
 to our first intended course, into the Venetian 
 gulf, and are now here at Malomocco, where 
 we remain yet aboard, and must be content to 
 be so, to make up the month before we have 
 pratk, that is, before any be permitted to go 
 ashore, and negotiate, in regard we touch'd at 
 some infected places: for there are no people 
 upon earth so fearful of the plague as the 
 Italians, especially the Venetians, tho' their 
 neighbours the Greeks hard by, and the Turks, 
 have little or no apprehension at all of the 
 danger of it, for they will visit and commerce 
 with the sick without any scruple, and will fix 
 their longest finger in the midst of their fore-
 
 FAMILIAR LETTEES. 87 
 
 head, and say, their destiny and manner of 
 death is pointed there. When we have 
 gain'd yon Maiden City, which lieth before lis, 
 you shall hear farther from me. So leaving 
 you to His holy protection, who hath thus 
 gi'aciously vouchsafed to preserve this ship, 
 and me, in so long and dangerous a voyage, I 
 rest, — Yours, J. H» 
 
 Malamocco, 30 April, 1621. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 Tomy Brotlici', Dr. Howell; from on Shiphoard 
 lefore Venice. 
 
 Brother, — If this letter fail either in point 
 of orthography or style, you must impute the 
 tirst to the tumbling posture my body was in at 
 the writing hereof, being a-shipboard ; the 
 second the muddiness of my brain, which, like 
 lees in a narrow vessel, hath been shaken at 
 sea in divers tempests near upon forty days, I 
 mean natiiral days, which include the nights 
 also, and are composed of twenty-four hours, by 
 which number the Italian computeshis time, and 
 tells the clock ; for at the writing hereof, I
 
 S8 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 heard one from Malamocco strike twenty-one 
 hours. When I shall have saluted yonder 
 Virgin City that stands before me, and hath 
 tantaliz'd me now this se'nnight, I hope to 
 cheer my spirits, and settle my Pericranium 
 again. 
 
 In this voyage we pass'd thro', at least 
 touch'd, all those seas which Horace and other 
 poets sing of so often, as the Ionian, the 
 Mgea.n, the Icarian, the Tyrrhene, with 
 others ; and noAv we are in the Adrian Sea, in 
 the mouth whereof Venice stands like a gold 
 ring in a bear's muzzle. We pass'd also by 
 Etna, by the Infames Scopulos, Acroceraunia, 
 and thro' Scylla and Charybdis, about which 
 the ancient poets, both Greek and Latin, keep 
 such a coil ; but they are nothing so horrid or 
 dangerous as they make them to be, they are 
 two white keen -pointed rocks that lie under 
 water diametrically oppos'd, and like two 
 dragons defying one another ; and there are 
 pilots, that in small shallops, are ready to 
 steer all ships that pass. This, amongst divers 
 others, may serve for an instance, that the old 
 poets used to heighten and hoise up things by
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 89 
 
 their airy fancies above the reality of truth. 
 Etna Avas very furious when we pass'd by, as 
 she useth to be sometimes more than other, 
 especially when the wind is southward, for 
 then she is more subject to belching out flakes 
 of fire (as stutterers use to stammer more when 
 the wind is in that hole) ; some of the sparkles 
 fell aboard us, but they would make us 
 believe in Syracusa, now Messina, that Etna 
 in times past hath eructated such huge gobbets 
 of fire, that the sparks of them have burnt 
 houses in Malta above fifty miles off, trans- 
 ported thither by a direct strong wind. We 
 pass'd hard l)y Corinth, now Ragusa ; but I 
 was not so happy as to touch there, for you 
 know 
 Noti ciiivis homini contingit adire Corinthum 
 I convers'd with many Greeks, but found 
 none that could imderstand, much less 
 })ractically speak, any of the old dialects of the 
 pristine Greek, it is so adulterated by the 
 vulgar, as a bed of flowers by weeds ; nor is 
 there any people, either in the island or on 
 the continent, that speaks it conversably : yet 
 there are in the Morea seven parishes call'd
 
 »U JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 Zacones, where the original Greek is not much 
 • legenerated, but they confound divers letters 
 of the alphabet A^ith one sound ; for in point 
 of pronunciation, there is no difference betwixt 
 Upsilon, Iota, and Eta. 
 
 The last I receiv'd from you was in Latin, 
 whereof I sent you an answer from Spain, in 
 the same language, tho' in a coarser dialect. 
 I shall be a guest to Venice a good while, 
 tlierefore I desire a frequency of correspon- 
 dence between us by letters, for there will be 
 t'onveniency every Aveek of receiving and 
 sending. When you write to Wales, I pray 
 send ad\dce that I am come safe to Italy, tho' 
 not landed there yet. So, my dear brother, I 
 l^ray God bless us both, and all our friends, 
 and reserve me to see you again with comfort, 
 and you me, who am — Your loving Brother, 
 
 r, May, 1621. J. H. 
 
 XXYIII. 
 
 To the Honourable Sir Robert ManscU, Vice- 
 Admiral of England ; from Venice. 
 SiK, — As soon as I came to Venice, I apply'd 
 myself to dispatch your business according to
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 91 
 
 instructions, and Mr. Seymor was ready to 
 contribute his best furtherance. These two 
 Italians, who are the bearers hereof, by report 
 here, are the best gentlemen-workmen that 
 ever blew crystal ; one is ally'd to Antonio 
 Miotti, the other is cousin to Mazalao : for 
 other things they shall be sent in the ship 
 Lion, which rides here at Malamocco, as I shall 
 send you account by conveyance of Mr. Symns. 
 Herewith I have sent a letter to you from Sir 
 Henry Wotton, the Lord Ambassador here, of 
 whom I have received some favours. He 
 wish'd me to write, that you have now a 
 double interest in him ; for whereas before he 
 was only your servant, he is now your 
 kinsman by your late marriage. 
 
 I was lately to see the Arsenal of Venice, 
 one of the worthiest things in Christendom ; 
 they say there are as many galleys and 
 galeasses of all sorts, belonging to St. Mark, 
 either in course, at anchor, in dock, or upon 
 the careen, as there be days in the year : here 
 they can build a complete galley in half a day, 
 and put her afloat in perfect equipage, having 
 all the ingredients fitted beforehand ; as they
 
 92 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 did in three hours, when Henry III. pass'd 
 this way to France from Poland, who wish'd 
 that, besides Paris, and his Parliament Towns, 
 he had this Arsenal in exchange for three of his 
 chiefest cities. There are three hundred people 
 perpetually here at work ; and if one comes 
 young, and grows old in St. Mark's service, he 
 hath a pension from the State during life. 
 Being brought to see one of the Clarissimos 
 that govern this Arsenal, this huge sea store- 
 house ; among other matters reflecting upon 
 England, ho was saying, that if Cavaglier Don 
 Roberto Mansell were here, he thought verily 
 the Republic would make a proffer to him to 
 be Admiral of that Fleet of galleys and 
 galleons, which are now going against the 
 Duke of Ossuna, and the forces of Naples; you 
 are so well known here. 
 
 I was, since I came hither, in Murano, a 
 little island about the distance of Lambeth 
 from London, where crystal -glass is made ; 
 and 'tis a rare sight to see a whole street, 
 where on the one side there are twenty 
 furnaces together at work. They say here, 
 that altho' one should transplant a glass-fur-
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 93 
 
 nace from Murano to Venice herself, or to any 
 of the little assembly of islands about her, or 
 to any other part of the earth besides, and 
 use the same materials, the same workmen, 
 the same fuel, the self-same ingredients every 
 way, yet they cannot make crystal -glass in 
 that perfection, for beauty and lustre, as in 
 Murano : some impute it to the quality of the 
 circumambient air that hangs o'er the place, 
 which is purify'd and attenuated by the con- 
 currence of so many fires that are in those 
 furnaces night and day perpetually, for they 
 are like the Vestal-fire which never goes out. 
 And it is well known, that some airs make 
 more qualifying impressions than others : as a 
 Greek told me in Sicily of the air of Egypt, 
 where there be huge common furnaces to hatch 
 eggs by the thousand in camel's dung : 
 for during the time of hatching, if the 
 air happen to come to be overcast, and 
 grow cloudy, it spoils all ; if the sky continue 
 still, serene, and clear, not one egg in an 
 hundred will miscarry. 
 
 I met with Camillo your Consaoriiian here 
 lately ; and could he be sure of entertain-
 
 M JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 ment, he would return to serve you again, and 
 I believe for less salary. 
 
 I shall attend your commands herein by the 
 next, and touching other particulars, whereof 
 I have WTitten to Capt. Bacon. 
 
 So I rest — Your most humble and ready 
 servant, J. H. 
 
 Venice, 30 May, 1621. 
 
 XXIX, 
 
 To my Brother; from Venice, 
 
 Brothee, — I found a letter of yours that 
 had lain dormant here a good while in Mr. 
 Symn's hands, to welcome me to Venice, and 
 I thank you for the variety of news where- 
 with she went freighted ; for she was to me as 
 a ship richly laden from London useth to be 
 to our merchants here, and I esteem her 
 cargazon at no less a value, for she enrich'd 
 me ^^•ith the knowledge of my father's health, 
 and your own, with the rest of my brothers 
 and sisters in the country, with divers other 
 passages of contentment : besides, she went 
 also ballasted with your good instructions.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 95 
 
 which as merchants use to do of their com 
 modities, I will turn to the best advantage, 
 and Italy is no ill market to improve any- 
 thing. The only procede (that I may use the 
 mercantile term) you can expect is thanks, 
 and this way shall not be wanting to make 
 you rich returns. 
 
 Since I came to this town, I dispatch'd 
 sundry businesses of good value for Sir Robert 
 Mansell, which I hope will give content. The 
 art of glass-making here is very highly valued ; 
 for whoever be of that profession, are gentle- 
 men ipso facto, and it is not without reason, it 
 being a rare kind of knowledge and chemistry 
 to transmute dust and sand (for they are the 
 only main ingredients) to such a diaphanous 
 pellucid dainty body as you see a crystal glass 
 is, which hath this property above gold or 
 silver, or any other mineral, to admit no 
 poison ; as also that it never wastes or loses a 
 whit of its first weight, tho' you use it never 
 so long. When I saw so many soi'ts of 
 curious glasses made here, I thought upon tlu- 
 compliment which a gentleman put upon a 
 lady in England, who having five or six
 
 96 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 comely daughters, said, He never saw in his 
 life, such a dainty cupboard of crystal glasses. 
 The compliment proceeds, it seems, from a 
 saying they have here. That the first handsome 
 woman that ever was made, was made vi 
 Venice glass ; which implies beauty, but 
 brittleness withal, (and Venice is not unfur- 
 nished with some of that mould, for no place 
 abounds more with Lasses and Glasses). But 
 when I pry'd into the materials, and observ'd 
 the furnaces and calcinations, the transub- 
 .stantiations, the liquefactions that are 
 incident to this art, my thoughts were rais'd 
 to a higher speculation: that if this small 
 furnace-fire hath virtue to convert such a small 
 lump of dark dust and sand into such a 
 precious clear body as crystal; surely that 
 grand universal fire which shall happen at the 
 day of judgment, may by its violent ardour 
 vitrify and turn to one lump of crystal the 
 whole body of the earth : nor am I the first 
 that fell upon this conceit. 
 
 I will enlarge myself no further to you at this 
 time, but conclude with this tetrastich, which 
 my brain ran upon in my bed this morning.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 97 
 
 Vitrea sunt nostrcB commissa negotia curce. 
 Hoc oculis Speculum mittimus ergo tuis : 
 
 Quod Speculum f est instar Speculi mea litera, per 
 quod 
 Vivida fraterni cordis imago nitet. 
 
 Adieu, my dear biotlier, live happily, and 
 love — Your brotlier, J. H. 
 
 Venice, 1 June, 1621. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 To Mr. Richard Altham, at Grai/s-Inn ; from 
 Venice. 
 
 Gentle Sir, 
 
 O dulcior illo 
 
 Meile quod in ceris Attica ponit Apis. 
 O thou that dost in sweetness far excel 
 That juice the Attic Bee stores in her cpII. 
 
 My dear Dick, — I have now a good while 
 since taken footing in Venice, this admired 
 ^laiden City, so call'd because she was never 
 deflowered by any enemy since she had a being, 
 not since her Rialto was first erected, which is 
 now above twelve ages ago. 
 
 I protest to you, at my first landing I Avas
 
 98 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 for some days ravislied with the high beauty 
 of this maid, with her lovely countenance. I 
 admired her magnificent buildings, her 
 marvellous situation, her dainty smooth neat 
 streets, whereon you may walk most days in 
 the year in a silk stocking and satin slippers, 
 without soiling them : nor can the streets of 
 Paris be so foul as these are fair. This beau- 
 teous maid hath been often attempted to be 
 vitiated ; some have courted her, some bribed 
 her, some would have forc'd her, yet she hath 
 still preserved her chastity entire : and tho' she 
 hath lived so many ages, and passed so many 
 shrewd brunts ; yet she continueth fresh to this 
 very day without the least wrinkle of old age, 
 or any symptoms of decay, whereunto political 
 bodies, as well as natural, use to be liable. 
 Beside, she hath wrestled with the greatest 
 potentates upon earth ; the Emperor, the 
 King of France, and most of the other 
 Princes of Christendom, in that famous 
 League of Cambray, would have sunk her; 
 but she bore up still within her lakes, and 
 broke that League to pieces by her wit. The 
 Grand Turk hath been often at her, and tho'
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 99 
 
 he could not have his Avill of her, yet he took 
 away the richest jewel she wore m her coronet, 
 and put it in his turban, I mean the kingdom 
 of Cyi^rus, the only royal gem she had ; he 
 liath set upon her skirts often since, and tho' 
 she clos'd with him sometimes, yet she came 
 oiF still with her maidenhead : tho' some that 
 envy her happiness would brand her to be of late 
 times a kind of concubine to him, and that she 
 gives him ready money once a year to lie with 
 her, which she minceth by the name of 
 present, tho' it be indeed rather a tribute. 
 
 I would I had you here with a wish, and 
 you would not desire in haste to be at Gray's- 
 Inn, tho' I hold your walks to be the 
 pleasant'st place about London ; and that you 
 have there the choicest society. I pray pre- 
 sent my kind commendations to all there, and 
 service at Bishopsgate-street, and let me hear 
 from you by the next post. So I am — Entirely 
 yours, J. H. 
 
 Venice, 5 Jane, 1'321.
 
 100 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 To Dr. Fr. Matisell ; from Venice. 
 
 Give me leave to salute you first in these 
 Sapphics : 
 
 Insulam tendens iter ad Britannam 
 Charta, de pnucis volo, siste gressum. 
 Verba Mansello, bene noscis ilium, 
 
 talia perfcr. 
 Finibus longe patriis Hoellus 
 Dimorans, quantis Venetum superba 
 Civitas lends Doroberniensi 
 
 distat ab urbe; 
 Plurimam mentis tibi vult salutem, 
 Plurimum cordis tibi vult vigorem, 
 Plurimum sortis tibi vult favor evi 
 
 Regis ^- Aulce. 
 
 These wishes come to you from Venice, a 
 place where there is nothing wanting that 
 heart can Avish : renowned Venice, the ad- 
 niired'st city in the world ; a city that all 
 Europe is bound unto, for she is her gi-eatest 
 rampart against that huge eastern tyrant the 
 Turk by sea, else I believe he had over-run all 
 Christendom by this time. Against him this
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 101 
 
 city hath performed notable exploits, and not 
 only against him, but divers others. She 
 hath restored Emperors to their thrones, and 
 Popes to their chairs, and with her galleys 
 often preserved St. Peter's ])ark from sinking: 
 for which, by way of reward, one of her suc- 
 cessors espous'd her to the sea ; which marriage 
 is solemnly renew'd every year in solemn pro- 
 cession by the Doge and all the Clarissimos, 
 and a gold ring cast into the sea out of the 
 great galeass call'd the Bitccntoro, wherein the 
 tirst ceremony was perform'd by the Pope 
 himself above three hundred years since ; and 
 they say it is the self-same vessel still, tho' 
 often put upon the careen and trimm'd. This 
 made me think on that famous ship at Athens ; 
 nay, I fell upon an abstracted notion in phi- 
 losophy, and a speculation touching the body 
 of man, which being in perpetual flux, and a 
 kind of succession of decays, and con- 
 sequently requiring ever and anon a restora- 
 tion of what it loseth of the virtue of the 
 former aliment, and what was converted after the 
 third concoction into blood and fleshly 
 substance, which, as in all other sublunary
 
 102 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 bodies that have internal principles of heat, 
 useth to transpire, breathe out, and waste away 
 thi'o' invisible pores, by exercise, motion and 
 sleep, to make room still for a supply of new 
 nouriture ; I fell, I say, to consider whether our 
 bodies may be said to be of like condition with 
 this Bucentoro ; which, tlio' it be reputed still 
 the same vessel, yet I believe there's not a 
 foot of that timber remaining which it had 
 upon the first dock, having been, as they tell 
 me, so often plank'd and ribb'd, caulk'd and 
 piec'd. In like manner, our bodies may be 
 said to be daily repair'd by new sustenance, 
 which begets new blood, and consequently 
 new spirits, new humours, and I may say new 
 flesh, the old by continual de perdition and 
 insensible transpirations evaporating still out 
 of us, and giving way to fresh ; so that I 
 make a question, whether, by reason of these 
 perpetual preparations and accretions, the 
 body of man may be said to be the same 
 numerical body in his old age that he had in 
 his manhood, or the same in his manhood that 
 he had in his youth, the same in his youth that 
 he carried about him in his childhood, or the
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 103 
 
 same in his cliildhood which he wore first in 
 the womb ? I make a doubt, whether I had 
 the same identical individually numerical 
 body, when I carried a calf-leather satchel to 
 school in Hereford, as when I wore a lambskin 
 hood in Oxford ; or whether I have the same 
 mass of blood in my veins, and the same 
 flesh now in Venice, which I carry'd about me 
 thiee years since up and down London streets, 
 ha\nng, in lieu of beer and ale, drunk wine all 
 tliis while, and fed upon different viands ? 
 Now the stomach is like a crucible, for it hath 
 a ehymical kind of virtue to transmute one 
 bo<ly into another, to transubstantiate fish 
 and fruits into flesh Avithin, and about us : 
 but tho' it be questionable, whether I wear the 
 same flesh which is fluxible, I am sure my 
 liair is not the same ; for you may remember I 
 went flaxen-haired out of England, but you 
 shall find me return'd with a very dark brown, 
 which I impute not only to the heat and air 
 of those hot countries I have eaten my bread 
 in, but to the quality and difference of 
 food. But you Avill say that hair is but an 
 excrementitious thing, and makes not to this
 
 104 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 purpose ; moreover, metliiiiks I hear you say, 
 that this may be true, only in the blood and 
 spirits of such fluid parts, not in the solid and 
 heterogeueal parts. But I will press no further 
 at'diistime this philosophical notion, which the 
 sight of Bucentoro infus'd into me, for it hath 
 already made me exceed the bounds of a letter, 
 and I fear to trespass too much upon your 
 patience : I leave the further disquisition of 
 this point to your own contemj)lations, Avho 
 are a far riper philosopher than I, and have 
 waded deeper into, and drunk more of, Aristotle.s 
 well. But, to conclude, tho' it be doubtful 
 whether I carry about me the same body or 
 no in all points that I had in England, I am 
 well assur'd I bear still the same mind, and 
 therein I verify the old verse. 
 
 Caelum non animam mutant qui trans mare curncnt. 
 
 The air but not the mind they change, 
 Who in outlandish countries range. 
 
 For what alterations soever happen in this 
 microcosm, in this little world, this small 
 bulk and body of mine, you may be confident, 
 that nothing shall alter my affectioDs,
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 105 
 
 specially towards yon, but that I will per- 
 severe still the same, — The very same, 
 
 J. H. 
 
 Venice, 25 June, 1621. 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 To Richard AUham, Esq. 
 
 Dear Sir, — I was plung'd in a deep fit 
 of melancholy, Saturn had cast his black 
 influence o'er all my intellectuals, methought 
 I felt my heart as a lump of dough, and 
 heavy as lead within my breast ; when a letter 
 of yours of the third of this month was brought 
 me, which presently begot new spirits within 
 me, and made such strong impressions upon 
 /my intellectuals, that it turn'd and trans- 
 formed me into another man. I have read 
 of a Duke of Milan and others, Avho were 
 poisoned by reading of a letter ; but yours 
 produc'd contrary effects in me, it became an 
 antidote, or rather a most sovereign cordial to 
 me, more operative than bezoar,^ of more 
 virtue than potable gold, or the elixir of 
 
 1 An animal concretion, formerly supposed to be an 
 antidote to poison.
 
 106 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 amber, for it WTOuglit a sudden cure upon 
 me. That fluent and rare mixture of love and 
 wit, which I found up and down therein, 
 were the ingredients of this cordial ; they 
 were as so many choice flowers strewed here 
 and there, Avhich did cast such an odoriferous 
 scent, that they reviv'd all my senses, and 
 dispelled those dull fumes Mhich had formerly 
 o'er-clouded my brain : such was the opera- 
 tion of your most ingenious and affectionate 
 letter, and so SAveet entertainment it gave 
 me. If your letter had that virtue, what 
 would your person have done ? And did you 
 know all, you would wish j'our person here 
 a while ; did you know the rare beauty of 
 this Virgin City, you would quickl}' make 
 love to her, and change your Royal Exchange 
 for the Rialto, and your Gray's-Inn "Walks for 
 St. Mark's Place, for a time. Farewell, dear 
 child of virtue, and minion of the Muses ; 
 and love still — Yours, J. H. 
 
 Venice, 1 July, 1621
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 107 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 To my much honour cl Friend, Sir John North, 
 Knight. 
 
 Noble Sir, — The first office of gratitude is, 
 to receive a good turn civilly, then to retain it 
 in memory and acknowledge it ; thirdly, to 
 endeavour a requital ; for this last office, it is 
 in vain for me to attempt it ; specially towards 
 you, who have laden me with such a variety 
 of courtesies and weighty favours, that my 
 })Oor stock comes far short of any retaliation : 
 but for the other two, reception and retention, 
 as I am not conscious to have been wanting in 
 ^the first act, so I shall never fail in the 
 >^cond, because both these are within tl:ie 
 compass of my power ; for if you could pry 
 into my memory, you should discover there a 
 huge magazine of your favours (you have been 
 pleas'd to do me, present and absent), safely 
 stor'd up and coacervated^ to preserve theni 
 from mouldering away in oblivion ; for cour 
 tesies should be no perishable commodity. 
 1 Lat. acervus, a heap.
 
 108 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 Should I attempt au}' other requital, I should 
 extenuate j'our favours, and derogate from the 
 worth of them ; yet if to this of the memor\-, 
 I can contribute any other act of body or mind, 
 to enlarge my acknowledgments towards you, 
 you may be well assured that I shall be ever 
 ready to court any occasion, whereby the 
 world may know how much I am — Your 
 thankful servitor, J. H. 
 
 Venice, 13 July, 1621. 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 To Dan. Caldwall, Esq.; from Venice. 
 
 My Dear Dan., — Could letters fly Avith 
 the same wings as Love useth to do, and cut 
 the air with the like swiftness of motion, this 
 letter of mine should work a miracle, and be 
 with you in an instant ; nor should she fear 
 interception or any other casualty in the way, 
 or cost you one penny the post, for she should 
 pass invisibly : but 'tis not fitting, that paper 
 which is made but of old rags, wherewith 
 letters are swaddled, should have the same 
 pri-\'ilege as Love, which is a spiritual thing,
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 109 
 
 having something of divinity in it, and 
 partakes in celerity with the imagination, than 
 which there is not anything more swift, you 
 know, no not the motion of the upj^er sphere, 
 the priinum, mobile, which snatcheth all the 
 other nine after, and indeed the whole 
 macrocosm, all the world besides, except om^ 
 earth (the centre) which upper sphere the 
 astronomers would have to move so many 
 degrees, so many thousand miles in a moment. 
 Since then letters are deny'd such a velocity, 
 I allow this of mine twenty days, which is the 
 ordinary time allow'd betwixt Venice and 
 London, to come unto you, and thank you a 
 thousand times over for your last of the tenth 
 of JujH?, and the rich Venison Feast you made, 
 as I understand, not long since, to the remem- 
 brance of me, at the Ship Tavern. Believe it, 
 Sir, you shall find that this love of yours is 
 not ill employ'd, for I esteem it at the highest 
 degree, I value it more than the Treasury of 
 St. Mark, which I lately saw, Avhere among 
 other things there is a huge iron chest as tall 
 as myself that hath no lock, but a crevice 
 thro' which they cast in the gold that's
 
 110 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 bequeath 'd to St. Mark in legacies, whereon 
 there is engraven this proud Motto, 
 
 Quando questo sci-inio S'apria, 
 Tutto 'I mundo tremera. 
 
 When this chest shall open, the whole world 
 shall tremble. The Duke of Ossuna, late Vice- 
 roy of Naples, did what he could to force them 
 to open it, for he brought St. Mark to waste 
 much of this treasure m the late wars, which 
 he made pm-posely to that end ; which made 
 them have recourse to us, and the Hollander, 
 for ships, not long since. 
 
 Among the rest of Italy, this is call'd the 
 Maiden City (notwithstanding her great 
 number of courtesans) and there is a prophecy, 
 'That she should continue a Maid until her 
 husband forsake her,' meaning the Sea, to 
 whom the Pope marry'd her long since ; and 
 the Sea is observ'd not to love her so deeply as 
 he did, for he begins to shrink, and grows 
 shallower in some places about her : nor doth 
 the Pope also, who was the father that gave 
 her to the Sea, affect her so much as he 
 formerly did, specially since the extermination
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. Ill 
 
 of the Jesuits : so that both husband and father 
 begin to abandon her. 
 
 I am to be a guest to this hospitable Maid 
 a good while yet, and if you want any com- 
 modity that she can afford (and what cannot 
 she afford for human pleasure or delight ?) do 
 but Avrite, and it shall be sent you. 
 
 Farewell, gentle soul, and correspond still in 
 pure love with — Your, J. H. 
 
 Venice, 29 July, 1621. 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 To Sir James Crofts, Knight ; from Venice. 
 
 Sir, — I receiv'd one of yours the last week, 
 that tSa^ne in ray Lord Ambassador Wotton's 
 packet; and being now upon point of part- 
 ing with Venice, I could not do it without 
 acquainting you (as far as the extent of a 
 letter will permit) with her power, her policy, 
 her wealth and pedigree. She was built out 
 of the ruins of Aquileia and Padua ; for when 
 those swarms of tough northern people over- 
 ran Italy, under the conduct of that scoiu'ge of 
 heaven, Attila, with others, and that this soft
 
 112 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 voluptuous nation after so long a desuetude 
 from arms, could not repel their fury, many of 
 the antient nobility and gentiy fled into these 
 lakes and little islands, amongst the fishermen, 
 for their security ; and finding the air good and 
 commodious for habitation, they began to build 
 upon those small islands, Avhereof there are in 
 all threescore ; and in tract of time, they con- 
 join'd and leagu'd them together by bridges, 
 whereof there are noAv above eight hundred ; 
 and this makes up the city of Venice, who is now 
 above twelve ages old, and was contemporary 
 Avith the Monarchy of France : but the Signory 
 glorieth in one thing above the Monarchy, that 
 she was born a Christian, but the Monarchy 
 not. Tho' this city be thus hemm'd in with the 
 sea, yet she spreads her wings far and wide 
 upon the shore ; she hath in Lombardy six 
 considerable towns, Padua, Verona, Vicenza, 
 Brescia, Cremona, and Bergamo ; she hath in the 
 Marquisate,Bassano,and Castelfranco ; she hath 
 all Friuli and Istria ; she commands the shores 
 of Dalmatia and Sclavonia ; she keeps under 
 the power of St. Mark the islands of Corfu 
 (antiently Corcyra) Cephalonia, Zante, Cerigo,
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 113 
 
 Lucerigo, and Candy (Jove's Cradle) ; she had 
 a long time the kingdom of Cyprus, but it was 
 quite rent from her by the Turk : which made 
 that high-spirited Bassa,^ being taken prisoner 
 at the battle of Lepanto, where the Grand 
 Signior lost above 200 galleys, to say, ' That 
 that defeat to his great Master was but like the 
 shaving of his beard, or the paring of his 
 nails ; but the taking of Cyprus was like the 
 cutting off of a limb, which will never gi'ow 
 again.' This mighty potentate being so near 
 a neighbour to her, she is forc'd to comply 
 with him, and give him an annual present in 
 gold : she hath about thirty galleys most part 
 of the year in course to scour and secure tlie 
 Gulf ; she entertains by land, in Lombardy, 
 and other parts, 25,000 foot, besides some of 
 the cantons of Suisses whom she gives pay to ; 
 she hath also in constant pay 600 men of 
 arms, and every of these must keep two horses 
 a-piece, for which they are allow'd 120 ducats 
 a year, and they are for the most part 
 gentlemen of Lombardy. When they have 
 any gi'eat expedition to make, they have 
 1 Bashaw, or Pasha.
 
 114 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 always a stranger for their general, Init lie is 
 super^-is'd by two 2^'OvecHtors, Avithout whom 
 he cannot attempt anything. 
 
 Her great council consists of above 2.000 
 gentlemen, and some of them meet every 
 Sunday and holiday to chose officers and 
 magistrates ; and every gentleman, being pass'd 
 twenty-five years of age, is capable to sit in this 
 council. The Doge, or Duke (their sovereign 
 magistrate) is chosen by lots, which would be 
 too tedious here to demonstrate ; and com- 
 monly he is an aged man, who is created like 
 that course they hold in the Popedom. "When 
 he is dead, there be Inquisitors that examine 
 his actions, and his misdemeanours are punish- 
 able in his heirs. There is a Surintendaut 
 Council of Ten, and six of them may dispatch 
 business without the Doge : but the Doge 
 never without some of them, not as much as 
 open a letter from any foreign State, tlio' 
 address'd to himself ; Avhich makes him to be 
 call'd by other Princes, Testa di Icgno. A Head 
 of Wood. 
 
 The wealth of this Republic hath been at a 
 stand, or rather declining since the Portugal
 
 FAMILTAR LETTERS. 115 
 
 found a road to the East Indies by tlie Cape 
 of Good-Hope ; for this city was ns'd to fetch 
 all those spices and other Indian commodities 
 from Grand Cairo down the Nile, being for- 
 merly carry'd to Caii'o from the Red Sea upon 
 camels' and dromedaries' backs, threescore 
 days' journey : and so Venice us'd to dispense 
 those commodities thro' all Christendom, 
 A\hich not only the Portugal, but the English 
 and Hollander now transport, and are masters 
 of the trade. Yet there is no outward 
 appearance at all of poverty, or any decay in 
 this city ; but she is still gay, flourishing, and 
 fresh, and flowing with all kind of bravery 
 and delight, which may be had at cheap rates. 
 jNIuch more might be written of this antient 
 wise Republic, which cannot be comprehended 
 within the narrow inclosure of a letter. So 
 ^nth my due and daily prayers for a continu- 
 ance of your health, and increase of honour, I 
 rest, — Your most humble and ready servitor, 
 
 J. H. 
 
 Venice, 1 August, 1621.
 
 116 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 To Robert Broion, Esq., at the Middl c- Temple ; 
 ■from Venice. 
 
 Robin, — I have now enough of the Maiden 
 City, and this -week I am to go further into 
 Italy : for tho' I have been a good while in 
 Venice, yet I cannot say I have been hitherto 
 upon the Continent of Italy ; for this city is 
 nought else but a knot of islands in the 
 Adriatic Sea, join'd in one body by bridges, 
 and a good way distant from the firm land. 
 I have lighted upon very choice company, 
 your cousin Brown, and Master Web ; and we 
 all take the road of Lombardy, but we made 
 an order among ourselves, that our discourse 
 be always in the language of the country, 
 under penalty of a forfeiture, which is to be 
 indispensably paid. Randal Symns made us 
 a curious feast latel}', where, in a cup of the 
 richest Greek, we had your health, and I could 
 not tell whether the wine or the remembrance 
 of you was sweeter ; for it was naturally a 
 kind of aromatic wine, which left a fragi-ant
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 117 
 
 perfuming kind of farewell behind it I liave 
 sent you a runlet of it in the ship Lion, and if 
 it come safe, and unprick'd, I pray bestow 
 sonu' bottles upon the lady (you know) with 
 my liumhle service. AVhen you Avrite next to 
 J\Ir. Symns, I pray acknowledge the good 
 hospitality and extraordinary civilities I 
 receiv'd from him. Before I conclude, I will 
 acquaint you with a common sajaug that is 
 used of this dainty City of Venice. 
 
 Venetia, Venetia, chi non te vede non te Pregia, 
 Ma chi t'ha troppo veduto te Dispreggixi. 
 
 Engiish'd and rhym'd thus (tho' I know you 
 need no translation, you understand so much 
 of Italian) : 
 
 Venice, Venice, none thee unseen can prize ; 
 
 Who hath seen too much will thee despise. 
 
 I will conclude with that famous Hexastich 
 which Sanazzaro made of this great city, whieli 
 pleaseth me much better : 
 
 Viderat Hadriacis Vcnetam Neptunus in undis 
 
 Stare Urbem, S^ toti ponere jura Mari ; 
 Nunc viihi Tarpeias quantum vis, Jupiter, Arces 
 
 Objice & ilia tui mania Martis ait. 
 Sic Pelago Tibriniprafers, Urbem aspice utramijue^ 
 Illam homines dices, hanc posiiisse Deos^
 
 118 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 When Neptune saw in Adrian surges stand 
 Venice, and give tiie sea laws of command : 
 Now, Jove, said he, object thy Caintol, 
 And Mars' proud walls : this were for to extol 
 Tiber beyond the main, both towns behold ; 
 Rome men thou'lt say, Venice the Gods did mouM. 
 
 Sanazzaro had given him by St. ]Mark a 
 hundred Zecchins for every one of these verses, 
 which amounts to about 300Z ; it would be 
 long before the city of London would do the 
 like ; witness that cold reward, or rather those 
 cold drops of water which Avere cast upon my 
 countryman. Sir Hugh Middleton, for bringing 
 Ware River thro' her streets, the most 
 serviceable and wholesomest benefit that ever 
 she receiv'd. 
 
 The parcel of Italian books that you write 
 for, you shall receive from Mr, Leat, if it 
 please God to send the ship to safe port ; and 
 I take it as a favour, that you employ me in 
 any thing that may conduce to your content- 
 ment, because— I am vour serious servitor, 
 
 J. H. 
 Venice, 12 August, 1621.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 119 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 To Capt. Thomas Porter ; from Venice. 
 
 My dear Captain, — As I was going a-sliip- 
 board in Alicante, a letter of yours in Spanish 
 came to hand : I discovered two things in it, 
 tirst, Avhat a master you are of that language ; 
 then, how mindful you are of your friend. For 
 the first, I dare not correspond with you yet : 
 for the second, I shall never come short of 
 you, for I am as mindful of you, as possibly 
 you can be of me, and some hours my pulse 
 doth not beat more often, than my memory 
 runs on you, which is often enough in 
 conscience; for the physicians hold, that in 
 every well dispos'd body there be above 4,000 
 pulsations every hour, and some pulses have 
 been known to beat above 30,000 times an 
 hour in acute fevers. 
 
 I understand you are bound with a gallant 
 fleet for the Mediterranean ; if you come to 
 Alicante, I pray commend me to Francisco 
 Marco, my Landlord, he is a merry drole and 
 good company. One night when I Avas there^
 
 120 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 he sent his boy with a Borracha of leather 
 under his cloak for wine ; the boy coming 
 back about ten o'clock, and passing by the 
 guard, one ask'd him whether he carry'd an}- 
 weapons about him (for none must wear any 
 weapons there after ten at night) ' No/ quoth 
 the boy being pleasant, ' I have but a little 
 dagger ;' the Watch came and search'd him, 
 and finding the Borroxlia full of good wine, 
 drunk it all up, saying, ' Sirrah, you know no 
 man must carry any weapons so late ; but 
 because we know whose servant you are, 
 there's the scabbard of your dagger again' ; 
 and so threw him the empty Borracha. But 
 another passage pleased me better of Don 
 Beltran de Rosa, who being to marry a rich 
 Labrador's (a yeoman's) daughter hard by, who 
 was much importun'd by her parents to the 
 match, because their family should be thereby 
 ennobled, he being a cavalier of St. lago ; the 
 young maid having understood that Don 
 Beltran had been in Naples * * * i answer'd 
 wittily, * En vcrdad poi' adohar me la sangre, 
 no quiero dannarmi la came.' 'Truly, sir, to 
 1 With unfortunate results.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 121 
 
 better my blood, I -will not hurt ray flesh.' I 
 doubt I shall not be in England before you 
 set out to sea ; if not, I take my leave of you 
 in this paper, and wish you a prosperous 
 voyage, and an honourable return. It is the 
 hearty prayer of — Your, J. H. 
 
 Venice, 21 August, 1621, 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 To Sir William St. John, Knight; from 
 Rome. 
 
 Sir, — Having seen Antenor'stomb in Padua, 
 and the Amphitheatre of Flaminius in Verona, 
 with other brave towns in Lombardy, I am 
 now come to Rome ; and Rome, they say, is 
 every man's countr}'-, she is called Communis 
 P atria ; for every one that is within the 
 compass of the Latin Church finds himself 
 here, as it were, at home, and in his mother's 
 house, in regard of interest in religion, which 
 is the cause that for one native, there be five 
 strangers that sojourn in this city ; and with- 
 out any distinction or mark of strangeness, they 
 come to preferments and oSices, both in church
 
 122 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 and state, according to merit, which is more 
 valued and sought after here than any^vhere. 
 
 But whereas I expected to have found Rome 
 elevated upon seven hills, I met her rather 
 spreading upon a ilat, having humbled her- 
 self since she was made a Christian, and 
 descended from those hills to Campus Martins ; 
 with Trastevere, and the suburbs of St. Peter, 
 she hath yet in compass about fourteen miles, 
 which is far short of that vast circuit she had 
 in Claudius his time : for Yopiscus writes, she 
 was then of fifty miles circumference, and she 
 had five hundred thousand free citizens, in a 
 famous cense ^ that was made ; which, allowing 
 but six to every family, in women, children, 
 and servants, came to three million of souls : 
 but she is now a wilderness in comparison of 
 that number. The Pope is gi'own to be a great 
 temporal prince of late years, for the State of 
 the Church extends above 300 miles in length, 
 and 200 miles in breadth ; it contains Ferrara, 
 Bologna, Romagnia, the Marquisate of 
 Ancona, Umbria, Sabina, Perugia, with a 
 part of Tuscany, the Patrimony, Rome her- 
 1 Ceosus,
 
 FAMILIAH LETTEES. 123 
 
 self, and Latiuni. In tliese there are above 
 fifty bishoprics ; the Pope hath also the 
 Dnchy of Spoleto, and the Exarchate of 
 Ravenna ; he hath the town of Benevento in 
 the Kingdom of Naples, and the country of 
 Yenisse, call'd Avignon, in France ; he hath 
 title also good enough to Naples itself, but 
 rather than offend his champion the King of 
 Spain, he is contented with a white mule, and 
 purse of pistoles about the neck, which he 
 receives every year for a herriot or homage, 
 or what you will call it : he pretends also to 
 be Lord Paramount of Sicily, Urbin, Parma, 
 and Maseran, of Norway, Ireland and England, 
 since King John did prostrate our Cro^\^l at 
 Pandulfo his legate's feet. 
 
 The State of the Apostolic See here in Italy 
 lies betwixt two seas, the Adriatic and the 
 Tyrrhene ; and it runs thro' the midst of 
 Italy, which makes the Pope powerful to do 
 good or harm, and more capable than any 
 other to be an umpire or an enemy. His 
 authority being mix'd betwixt temporal and 
 spiritual, disperseth itself into so many 
 members, that a young man may gi*ow old
 
 124 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 here, before lie can well understand the form 
 of government. 
 
 The consistory of cardinals meet but once a 
 week, and once a week they solemnly wait all 
 upon the Pope. I am told there are now in 
 Christendom but sixty-eight cardinals, whereof 
 there are six cardinal-bishops, fifty-one car- 
 dinal-priests, and eleven cardinal-deacons. 
 The cardinal-bishops attend and sit near the 
 Pope, wlien he celebrates any festival. The 
 cardinal-priests assist him at mass, and the 
 cardinal-deacons attire him. A cardinal is 
 made by a short breve or writ from the Pope, 
 in these words, Crcamus te Socium Begihus, 
 siqyeriorem Ducihiis, <£• fratrcm iwstrum. ' AVe 
 create thee a companion to kings, superior to 
 dukes, and our brother. ' IT a cardinal-bishop 
 should be question'd for any offence, there must 
 be twentj'-four witnesses produced against him. 
 
 The Bishop of Ostia hath most pri\dlege of 
 any other, for he consecrates and installs the 
 Pope, and goes always next to him. All these 
 cardinals have the repute of princes, and 
 besides other incomes, they have the annats 
 of benefices to support their gi*eatness.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 125 
 
 For point of power, the Pope is able to put 
 50. 000 men in the field, in case of necessity, 
 besides his naval strength in galleys. We read 
 how Panl III. sent Charles V. 12,000 foot, 
 and 5,000 horse. Pius V. sent a greater aid 
 to Charles IX., and for riches, besides the 
 temporal dominions, he hath in all the 
 countries before-nam'd, the datary or dispatch- 
 ing of Bulls. The triennial subsidies, annats, 
 and other ecclesiastic rights, mount to an 
 unknown sum ; and it is a common saying 
 here, that as long as the Pope can finger a 
 pen, he can want no pence. Pius V., not- 
 withstanding his expenses in buildings, left 
 four millions in the Castle of St. Angelo, in 
 less than five years, more I believe than this 
 Gregory XV. Avill, for he hath many nephews ; 
 and b'tter it is to be the Pope's nephew, than 
 to be favourite to any prince in Christendom. 
 
 Touching the temporal government of Rome, 
 and oppidan affairs, there is a pretor, and 
 some choice citizens, which sit in the Capitol. 
 Among other pieces of policy, there is a 
 Synagogue of Jews permitted here (as in other 
 places of Italy) under the Pope's nose, but
 
 126 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 they go with a mark of distinction in tlieir 
 hats : they are tolerated for advantage of 
 commerce, wherein the Jews are wonderful 
 dexterous, tho' most of them be only brokers 
 and Lombardeers ; and they are held to be 
 here, as the Cynic held women to be, maliiM 
 necessarium. There be few of the Romans 
 that use to i^ray heartily for the Pope's long 
 life, in regard the oftener the change is, the 
 more advantageous it is for the city, because 
 commonly it brings strangers, and a recruit of 
 new people. This air of Rome is not so 
 wholesome as of old ; and among other reasons, 
 one is, because of the burning of stubble to 
 fatten their fields. For her antiquities, it 
 would take up a whole volume to Avrite them : 
 those which I hold the chiefest are, Vespasian's 
 Amphitheatre, Avhere eighty thousand people 
 might sit ; the stoves of Anthony, divers rare 
 statues at Belveder and St. Peter's, especially 
 that of Laocoon, the Obelisk ; for the genius 
 of the Roman hath always been much taken 
 Avith imagery, limning, and sculptures, inso- 
 much that as in former times, so now, I believe 
 the statues and pictures in Rome exceed the
 
 FA.MILIAR LETTERS. 127 
 
 number of living people. One antiquity, 
 among others, is very remarkable, because of 
 the change of language ; which is an antient 
 column erected as a trophy for Duillius the 
 Consul, after a famous naval victory obtained 
 against the Carthaginians in the second Punic 
 AVar, where these words are engraven, and 
 remain legible to this day : Excmct lecoines 
 Macistrates Gastreis exfoieent ]mgnandod capct 
 enqiie, navchos marid Consul, kc, and half-a- 
 dozen lines after, it is call'd Colunina restrata, 
 having the beaks and j)rores of ships 
 engraven up and down ; whereby it appears, 
 that the Latin then spoken was much differing 
 from that which was us'd in Cicero's time, 150 
 years after. Since the dismembering of the 
 Empire, Rome hath run thro' many vicis- 
 situdes and turns of fortune : and had it not 
 been for the residence of the Pope, I believe 
 she had become a heap of stones, a mount of 
 rubbish by this time ; and howsoever that she 
 bears up indifferent well, yet one may say, 
 
 Qui misei-anda videt veterix vestigia Romce, 
 Ille potest merito dicere Romafuit. 
 They wlio the ruins of first Rome behold, 
 May say, Rome is not now, but was of old.
 
 128 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 Present Rome may be said to be but the 
 monument of Rome past, when slie was in that 
 flourish that St. Austin desired to see her in : 
 she who tam'd the world, tam'd herself at 
 last, and falling under her own weight, fell to 
 be a prey to time ; yet there is a providence 
 seems to have a care of her still ; for tho' her 
 air be not so good, nor her circumjacent soil 
 so kindly as it was, yet she hath wherewith to 
 keep life and soul together still, by her 
 Ecclesiastic Courts, which is the sole cause 
 of her peopling now. So it may be said when 
 the Pope came to be her head, she was reduced 
 to her first principles ; for as a shepherd was 
 founder, so a shepherd is still her governor 
 and preserver. But whereas the French have 
 an odd saying, That 
 
 Jamais cheval ny homme 
 
 Samenda pour alter a Borne ; 
 
 Ne'er horse nor man did mend, 
 
 That unto Rome did wend : 
 
 Truly I must confess, that I find myself much 
 better'd by it ; for the sight of some of these 
 ruins did fill me with symptoms of mortifica- 
 tion, and made me more sensible of the frailty
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 129 
 
 of all sublunary things, how all bodies, as 
 well inanimate as animate, are subject to 
 dissolution and change, and everything else 
 under the moon, except the love of — Your 
 faithful servitor, J. H. 
 
 13 September, 1621. 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 To Sir T. H. Knight; from Naples. 
 
 Sill, — I am now in the gentle city of Naples, 
 a city swelling with all delight, gallantry, and 
 wealth ; and truly, in my opinion, the King 
 of Spain's greatness appears here more emi- 
 nently than in Spain itself. This is a delicate 
 luxurious city, fuller of true bred cavaliers 
 than any place I saw yet. The clime is hot, 
 and the constitutions of the inhabitants more 
 hot. 
 
 The Neapolitan is accounted the best courtier 
 of ladies, and the gi-eatest embracer of pleasure 
 of any other people : they say there are no less 
 here than twenty thousand courtesans registered 
 in the Office of Savelli. This kingdom, with 
 Calabria, may be said to be the one moiety of
 
 130 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 Italy ; it extends itself 450 miles, and spreads 
 in breadth 112; it contains 2,700 towns, it 
 liath 20 archbishops, 127 bishops, 13 princes, 
 24 dukes, 25 marquises, and 800 barons. 
 There are three presidial castles in this city ; 
 and tho' the kingdom abound in rich staple 
 commodities, as silks, cottons, and wine, and 
 that there is a mighty revenue comes to the 
 crown ; yet the King of Spain, when he casts 
 up his account at the year's end, makes but 
 little benefit thereof, for it is eaten up 'twixt 
 governors, garrisons, and officers. He is forced 
 to maintain 4,000 Spanish foot, called the Tcr- 
 cia of Xaples ; in the castles he hath 1,600 in 
 perpetual garrison ; he hath a thousand men of 
 arms, 450 light horse ; besides, there are five 
 footmen enrolled for every hundred fire : and 
 he had need to do all this, to keep this volup- 
 tuous people in awe ; for the story musters up 
 seven and twenty famous rebellions of the 
 Neapolitans in less than 300 years ; but now 
 they pay soundly for it, for one shall hear 
 them groan up and down under the Spanish 
 yoke. And commonly the King of Spain sends 
 some of his grandees hither to repair their de-
 
 FAMILY ATI LETTERS. 131 
 
 cayed fortunes ; Avlieuce the saying spnmgj 
 'That the Viceroy of Sicily gnaws, the Go- 
 vernor of Milan eats, but the Viceroy of 
 Naples devours.' Our English merchants here 
 bear a considerable trade, and their factors 
 live in better equipage, and in a more splemlid 
 manner than in all Italy besides, than their 
 masters and principals in London : they ruffle 
 in silks and satins, and wear good Spanish 
 leather-shoes, while their masters' shoes upon 
 our Exchange in London shine with blacking. 
 At Pozzuoli, not far off amongst the Grottoes, 
 there are so many strange stupendous things, 
 that Nature herself seem'd to have study'd of 
 purpose how to make herself there admir'd: 
 I reserve the discoursing of them, with the 
 nature of the Tarantula, and Manna, which is 
 gather'd here and nowhere else, with other 
 things, till I see you, for they are fitter for 
 discourses than a letter. I will conclude with 
 a proverb they have in Italy for this people: 
 
 Napotitano 
 
 Largo di bocca, stretto di mano. 
 
 The Neapolitans, 
 
 Have wide mouths, but narrow hands. 
 
 K 2
 
 132 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 They make strong masculine promises, but 
 female performances (for deeds are men, but 
 words are women), and if in a whole flood of 
 compliments one find a drop of reality, 'tis 
 well. The first acceptance of a courtesy is 
 accounted the greatest incivility that can be 
 amongst them, and a ground for a quarrel ; as 
 I heard of a German gentleman that was 
 baffled for accepting one only invitation to a 
 dinner. So desiring to be preserv'd still in 
 your good opinion, and in the rank of your 
 servants, I rest always most ready at your 
 disposing, J. H. 
 
 1 October, 1G21. 
 
 XL. 
 
 To ChristopTier Jmies, Esq., at Gr ay's- Inn ; 
 from Naples. 
 
 Honoured Father, — I must still style you 
 so, since I was adopted your son by so good a 
 mother as Oxford : my mind lately prompted 
 me, that I should commit a great solecism, if 
 amongst the rest of my friends in England, I 
 should leave you unsaluted, whom I love so
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 133 
 
 dearly well, specially having such a fair and 
 pregnant opportunity as the hand of this 
 worthy gentleman, your cousin Morgan, who 
 is now posting hence for England. He will tell 
 you how it fares with me ; how any time these 
 thirty odd months I have been toss'd from 
 shore to shore, and pass'd under various meri- 
 dians, and am now in this voluptuous and 
 luxuriant city of Naples. And tho' these fre- 
 quent removes and tumblings under climes of 
 differing temper were not without some danger, 
 yet the delight which accompany 'd them was 
 far gi-eater ; and it is impossible for any man to 
 conceive the true pleasure of peregrination, but 
 he who actually enjoys, and puts it in practice. 
 Believe it. Sir, that one year well employed 
 abroad by one of mature judgment (which you 
 know I want very much) advantageth more in 
 point of useful and solid knowledge than three 
 in any of our universities. You know 'running 
 waters are the purest,' so they that traverse 
 the world up and down have the clearest 
 understanding ; being faithful eye-witnesses 
 of those things which others receive but in 
 trust, whereunto they must yield an intuitive
 
 134 JAMES HOWELL. ' 
 
 consent, and a kind of implicit faith. When 
 I pass'd through some parts of Lombardy, 
 amongst other things, I observ'd the physiog- 
 nomies and complexions of the people, men 
 and women ; and I thought I was in Wales, 
 for divers of them hare a cast of countenance, 
 and a nearer resemblance with our nation, 
 than any I ever saw yet : and the reason is 
 obvious, for the Romans having been near 
 upon three hundred years among us, where they 
 had four legions (before the English nation or 
 language had any being) by so long a coalition 
 and tract of time, the two nations must needs 
 copulate and mix : insomuch, that I believe 
 there is yet remaining in Wales many of the 
 Roman race, and divers in Italy of the British. 
 Amongst other resemblances, one was in their 
 prosody, and vein of versifying or riming, 
 wdiich is like our bards, who hold agnomina- 
 tions, and enforcing of consonant words or 
 syllables one upon the other, to be the 
 greatest elegance. As for example, in Welsh, 
 Tewgris, todyrris tyr derryn, gicilU, &c., 
 so have I seen divers old rimes in Italian 
 running so t Donne, danno, che Felo affronto
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 135 
 
 affronta : In selva salvo a me : Piu caro cuoj-e, 
 &c. 
 
 Being lately in Rome, among other pasquils, 
 I met with one that was against the Scots ; 
 tho' it had some gall in't, yet it had a great 
 deal of wit, especially toAvards the conclusion ; 
 so that I think if King James saw it, he would 
 but laugh at it. 
 
 As I remember, some years since there was 
 a very abusive satire in verse brought to our 
 King ; and as the passages were a-reading 
 before him he often said, ' That if there were no 
 more men in England, the rogue should hang 
 for it ' : at last being come to the conclusion, 
 which was (after all his railing) 
 
 ' Now God preserve the King, the Queen, the peers, 
 And grant the Author long may wear his ears ; ' 
 
 fliis pleas'd his Majesty so well, that he 
 broke into a laughter, and said, ' By my soul, 
 so thou shalt for me. Thou art a bitter, but 
 thou art a witty knave.' 
 
 When you write to Monmouthshire, I pray 
 send my respects to my tutor. Master Moor 
 Fortune, and my service to Sir Charles
 
 136 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 "Williams, and according to that relation 
 which was 'twixt us at Oxford, — I rest your 
 constant son to serve you, J. H. 
 
 8 October, 1621. 
 
 XLI. 
 
 To Sir J. C. ; from Florence. 
 
 Sir, — This letter comes to kiss your hands 
 from fair Florence, a city so beautiful, that 
 the great Emperor Charles V. said, ' That she 
 was fitting to be shown and seen only 
 upon holidays.' She marvellously flourisheth 
 with buildings, with wealth and artisans ; for 
 it is thought that in serges, which is but one 
 commodity, there are made two millions every 
 year. All degrees of people live here not only 
 well, but splendidly well, notwithstanding the 
 manifold exactions of the Duke upon all things. 
 For none can buy here lands or houses, but he 
 must pay eight in the hundred to the Duke ; 
 none can hire or build a house, but he must 
 pay the tenth penny ; none can marry, or 
 commence a suit in law, but there's a fee to 
 the Duke ; none can bring as much as an egg
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 137 
 
 or sallet to the market, but the Duke hath 
 share therein. Moreover, Leghorn, which is 
 the key of Tuscany, being a maritime and a 
 great mercantile town, hath mightily enrich' d 
 this country, by being a frank port to all 
 comers, and a safe rendezvous to pirates as 
 well as to merchants. Add hereunto, that 
 the Duke himself in some respect is a 
 merchant ; for he sometimes ingrosseth all the 
 corn of the country, and retails it at what 
 rate he pleaseth. This enables the Duke to 
 have perpetually 20,000 men enroU'd, train'd 
 up, and paid, and none but they can carry 
 arms ; he hath 400 light-horse in constant 
 pay, and 100 men-at-arms besides ; and all 
 these quarter'd in so narrow a compass, that 
 he can command them all to Florence in 
 twenty-four hours. He hath twelve galleys, 
 two galleons, and six galeasses besides ; and 
 his galleys are called the Black Fleet, because 
 they annoy the Turk more in the bottom of 
 the Straits, than any other. 
 
 This State is bound to keep good quarter 
 with the Pope more than others ; for all 
 Tuscany is fenc'd by nature herself, I mean
 
 138 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 with mountains, except towards the territories 
 of the Apostolic See, and the sea itself : there- 
 fore it is call'd, a Country of Iron. 
 
 The Duke's palace is so spacious, that it 
 occupieth the room of fifty houses at least ; 
 yet tho' his court surpasseth the bounds of a 
 duke's, it reacheth not to the magnificence of 
 a king's. The Pope was solicited to make the 
 Grand Duke a king, and he answer'd, ' That he 
 was content he should be King in Tuscany, 
 not of Tuscany ; ' whereupon one of his coun- 
 sellors reply'd, ' That it was a more glorious 
 thing to be a grand duke, than a petty king.' 
 
 Among other cities which I desir'd to see in 
 Italy, Genoa was one, where I lately was, and 
 found her to be the proudest for buildings of 
 any I met withal ; yet the people go the 
 plainest of any other, and are also most 
 parsimonious in their diet : they are the 
 subtlest, I will not say the most subdolous 
 dealers : they are wonderful wealthy, specially 
 in money. In the year 1600, the King of 
 Spain owed them eighteen millions, and they 
 say it is double as much now. 
 
 From the time they began to finger the
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 139 
 
 Indian gold, and that this town hath been the 
 scale by which he hath conveyed his treasure 
 to Flanders, since the wars in the Netherlands, 
 for the support of his armies, and that she 
 hath got some privileges for the exportation 
 of Avools and other commodities (prohibited to 
 others) out of Spain, she hath improv'd 
 extremely in riches, and made St. George's 
 Mount swell higher than St. Mark's in Venice. 
 
 She hath been often ill-favouredly shaken 
 by the Venetian, and hath had other enemies, 
 which have put her to hard shifts for her owji 
 defence, specially in the time of Lewis XI. of 
 France ; at which time, when she would have 
 given herself up to him for protection. King 
 Lewis being told that Genoa was content to 
 be his, he answer'd, ' She should not be his 
 long, for he would give her up to the devil, 
 and rid his hands of her. ' 
 
 Indeed the Genoese have not the fortune to 
 be so well belov'd as other people in Italy ; 
 which proceeds, I believe, from their cunning- 
 ness and over-reachings in bargaining, wherein 
 they have something of the Jew. The Duke 
 is there but biennial, being chang'd every two
 
 140 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 years ; he hath fifty Germans for his guard. 
 There be four centurions that have two men a- 
 piece, which upon occasions attend the Signory 
 abroad, in velvet coats ; there be eight chief 
 governors, and four hundred counsellors, 
 among whom there be five sovereign syndics, 
 who have authority to censure the Duke him- 
 self, his time being expir'd, and punish any 
 governor else, tho' after death, upon the 
 heir. 
 
 Amongst other customs they have in that 
 toAvn, one is, that none must carry a pointed 
 knife about him ; which makes the Hollander, 
 who is us'd to snik and snee, to leave his 
 horn-sheath and knife a shipboard when he 
 comes ashore. I meet not with an Englishman 
 in all the town ; nor could I learn of any 
 factor of ours that ever resided here. 
 
 There is a notable little active republic 
 towards the midst of Tuscany, call'd Lucca, 
 which in regard she is under the Emperor's 
 protection, he dares not meddle withal, tho* 
 she lie as a partridge under a falcon's wings in 
 relation to the Grand Duke : besides, there is 
 another reason of state, why he meddles not
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 141 
 
 with her, because she is more beneficial to him 
 now that she is free, and more industrious to 
 support this freedom, than if she were become 
 his vassal ; for then it is probable she would 
 gi'ow more careless and idle, and so could not 
 vent his commodities so soon, which she buys 
 for ready money, wherein most of her wealth 
 consists. There is no state that winds the 
 penny more nimbly, and makes quicker re- 
 turns. 
 
 She hath a council call'd the Discoli, which 
 pries into the profession and life of every one, 
 and once a year they rid the state of all 
 vagabonds : so that this petty pretty republic 
 may not be improperly parallel'd to a hive of 
 bees, which have been always the emblems of 
 industry and order. 
 
 In this splendid city of Florence, there be 
 many rarities, which if I should insert in this 
 letter, it would make her swell too big ; and 
 indeed they are fitten for parole communica- 
 tion. Here is the jjrime dialect of the Italian 
 spoken, tho' the pronunciation be a little more- 
 guttural than that of Siena, and that of the 
 court of Rome, which occasions the proverb^
 
 14^ JAMES HOWELt. 
 
 Lingua Toscana in bocca Bomana. 
 The Tuscan tongue sounds best in a Roman mouth. 
 
 The people here generally seem to be more 
 generous, and of a higher comportment than 
 elsewhere, very cautious and circumspect in 
 their negotiation ; whence ariseth the proverb, 
 
 Chi ha da far con Tosco, 
 Non bisogna che sia Losco. 
 Who dealeth with a Florentine, 
 Must have the use of both his ey'n. 
 
 I shall bid Italy farewell now very sliortly, 
 and make my way o'er the Alps to France, and 
 so home by God's grace, to take a revicAV of 
 my friends in England : amongst whom the 
 sight of yourself Avill be as gladsome to me as 
 of any other : for I profess myself, and purpose 
 to be ever — Your thrice affectionate servitor, 
 
 J. H. 
 
 1 Novemhei', 1G21. 
 
 XLII. 
 
 To C(q)t. Francis Bacon; from Turin. 
 
 Sir, — lani now upon point of shaking hands 
 Anth Italy ; for I am come to Tui-in, having
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 143 
 
 already seen Venice the rich, Padua the 
 learned, Bologna the fat, Rome the holy, 
 Naples the gentle, Genoa the proud, Florence 
 the fair, and Milan the great ; from this last I 
 came hither, and in that city also appears the 
 grandeur of Spain's monarchy very much. The 
 governor of Milan is always captain-general of 
 the cavalry to the King of Spain, thro'out 
 Italy. The Duke of Feria is now governor ; 
 and being brought to kiss his hands, he us'd 
 me with extraordinary respect, as he doth all 
 of our nation, being by maternal side a 
 Dormer. The Spaniard entertains there also 
 3,000 foot, 1,000 light-horse, and 600 men-at- 
 arms in perpetual pay ; so that I believe the 
 benefit of that duchy also, tho' seated in the 
 richest soil of Italy, hardly countervails the 
 charge. Three things are admir'd in ]\Iilan, 
 the Dome, or great Church, (built all of white 
 marble, within and without) the hospital, and 
 the Castle by which the Citadel of Antwerp 
 was ti'ac'd, and is the best condition'd fortress 
 of Christendom ; tho' Nova Palma, a late 
 forti-ess of the Venetian, would go beyond it ; 
 which is built according to the exact rules of
 
 144 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 the most modern enginry, being of a round 
 form, with nine bastions, and a street level to 
 every bastion. 
 
 The Duke of Savoy, tho' he pass for one of 
 the princes of Italy, yet the least part of his 
 territories lie there, being squander'd up and 
 down amongst the Alps ; but as much as he 
 hath iu Italy, which is Piedmont, is a well 
 peopled, and passing good country. 
 
 The Duke of Savoy, Emanuel, is accounted 
 to be of the antientest and purest extraction of 
 any prince in Europe ; and his Knights also of 
 the Annunciade, to be one of the antientest 
 orders : tho' this present Duke be little in sta- 
 ture, yet is he of a lofty spirit, and one of the 
 best soldiers now living ; and tho' he be valiant 
 enough, yet he knows how to patch the lion's 
 skin with a fox's tail. And whosoever is Duke 
 of Savoy had need be cunning, and more than 
 any other prince ; in regard, that lying be- 
 tween two potent neighbours, the French and 
 the Spaniard, he must comply with both. 
 
 Before I wean myself from Italy, a word or 
 two touching the genius of the Nation. I find 
 the Italian a degree higher in compliment
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 145 
 
 than the French ; he is longer and more grave 
 in the delivery of it, and more prodigal of 
 words ; insomuch, that if one were to be 
 worded to death, Italian is the fittest language, 
 in regard of the fluency and softness of it : for 
 thro'out the whole body of it, you have not a 
 word ends with a consonant, except some few 
 monosyllable conjunctions and prepositions, 
 and this renders the speech more smooth ; 
 which made one say 'That when the con- 
 fusion of tongues happen'd at the building of 
 the Tower of Babel, if the Italian had been 
 there, Nimrod had made him a plasterer.' 
 They are generally indulgent of themselves, 
 and great embracers of pleasure, which may 
 proceed from the luscious rich wines, and 
 luxurious food, fruits, and roots, wherewith the 
 country abounds ; insomuch, that in some 
 places, nature may be said to be Lena sui, A 
 bawd to herself. The Cardinal de Medicis's 
 rule is of much authority among them, ' That 
 there is no religion under the navel. ' And some 
 of them are of the opinion of the Asians, who 
 hold, that touching those natural passions, 
 desires, and motions, Avhich run up and down 
 
 L
 
 146 JAMES HOTTELL. 
 
 in the blood, God Almighty, and his hand- 
 maid natm-e, did not intend they should be a 
 torment to us, but to be used ^vith comfort and 
 delight. To conclude, in Italy there be 
 Virtutes magnce, nee viinwa vitia ; Great 
 virtues, and no less vices. 
 
 So, with a tender of my most affectionate 
 respects unto you, I rest, — Your humble 
 servitor, J. H. 
 
 30 November, 1621. 
 
 XLIII. 
 
 To Sir J. H. ; from Lyons. 
 
 Sir, — I am now got o'er the Alps, and 
 return'd to France ; I had cross'd and 
 clamber'd up the Pj-reneans to Spain before ; 
 they are not so high and hideous as the Alps ; 
 but for our mountains in Wales, as Eppint, 
 and Penwinmaur, which are so much cry'd up 
 among us, they are molehills in comparison of 
 these ; they are but pigmies corapar'd to 
 giants, but blisters compar'd to imposthumes, 
 or pimples to Avarts. Besides, our mountains in 
 Wales bear always something useful to man or
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 147 
 
 beast, some grass at least ; but these uncouth 
 huge monstrous excrescences of nature bear 
 nothing (most of them) but craggy stones : 
 the tops of some of them are blanched over all 
 the year long with snows ; and the people who 
 dwell in the valle5^s, drinking, for want of other, 
 this snow water, are subject to a strange 
 swelling in the throat, called goijtre, which is 
 common among them. 
 
 As I scal'd the Alps, my thoughts reflected 
 upon Hannibal, who with vinegar and strong 
 waters, did eat out a passage thro' those 
 hills ; but of late years they have found a 
 speedier way to do it by gunpowder. 
 
 Being at Turin, I was by some disaster 
 brought to an extreme low ebb in money, so 
 that I was forc'd to foot it along with some 
 pilgrims, and with gentle pace and easy 
 journeys, to climb up those hills, till I came 
 to this town of Lyons, where a countryman of 
 OurSj one Mr. Lewis, Avhom I knew in Alicante, 
 lives factor ; so that noAV I want not anything 
 for my accommodation. 
 
 This is a stately rich town, and a renowned 
 mart for the silks of Italy, and other Levantine 
 
 L 2
 
 148 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 commodities, and a great bank for money, and 
 indeed the greatest of France. Before this 
 bank Avas founded, which was by Henry I., 
 France had but little gold and silver ; inso- 
 much that we read how King John, their 
 captive king, could not in four years raise sixty 
 thousand crowns to pay his ransom to our King 
 Edward. And St. Lewis was in the same case 
 when he was prisoner in Egypt, where he had 
 left the sacrament for a gage. But after this 
 bank was erected, it iilled France full of 
 money ; they of Lucca, Florence, and Genoa, 
 with the Venetian, got quickly over the hills, 
 and brought their moneys hither, to get 
 twelve in the hundred profit ; which was the 
 interest at first, tho' it be now much 
 lower. 
 
 In this great mercantile town, there be two 
 deep, navigable rivers, the Rhone and the 
 Saone ; the one hath a swift rapid course, the 
 other slow and smooth : and one day, as I 
 walk'd upon their banks, and observed so much 
 difference in their course, I fell into a contem- 
 plation of the humours of the French and 
 Spaniard, how they might be, not improperly,
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 149 
 
 compar'd to these rivers; the French to the 
 swift, the Spaniard to the slow river. 
 
 I shall write you no more letters, until I 
 present myself to you for a speaking letter, 
 which I shall do as soon as I may tread 
 London stones. — Your affectionate servitor, 
 
 J. H. 
 
 6 November, 1G21. 
 
 XLIV. 
 
 To Mr. Tho. Bowyer ; from Lyons. 
 
 Being so near the Lake of Geneva, 
 curiosity would carry any one to see it : the 
 inhabitants of that town, methinks, are made 
 of another paste, differing from the affable 
 nature of those people I had convers'd withal 
 formerly ; they have one policy, lest that 
 their petty Republic should be pester'd with 
 fugitives, their law is, ' That what stranger 
 soever flies thither for sanctuary, he is punish- 
 able there, in the same degree as in the 
 country where he committed the offence.' 
 
 Geneva is governed by four Syndics, and 
 four hundred senators. She lies like a bone
 
 150 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 'twixt three mastiffs, the Emperor, the French 
 King, and the Duke of Savoy ; they all three 
 look upon the bone, but neither of them dare 
 touch it singly, for fear the other two would 
 fly upon him. But they say the Savoyard 
 hath the justest title ; for there are imperial 
 records extant, ' That altho' the Bishops of 
 Geneva were lords spiritual and temporal, yet 
 they should acknowledge the Duke of Savoy 
 for their superior.' This man's ancestors 
 went frequently to the town, and the keys 
 were presently tender'd to them. But since 
 Calvin's time, who had been once banish'd and 
 then called in again, which made him to api)ly 
 that speech to himself, ' The stone which the 
 builders refused is become the head-stone of 
 the corner ; ' I say, since they were refin'd by 
 Calvin, they seem to shun and scorn all the 
 world besides, being cast, as it were, into 
 another mould, which hath quite alter'd their 
 veiy natural disposition in point of moral 
 society. 
 
 The next week I am to go down the Loire 
 towards Paris, and thence as soon as I can for 
 England, where, amongst the rest of my
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 151 
 
 friends, whom I so much long to see after this 
 triennial separation, you are like to be one of 
 my first objects. In the meantime, I wish 
 the same happiness may attend yon at home, 
 as I desire to attend me homeward ; for I am 
 — Truly yours, J. H. 
 
 5 December, 1621.
 
 JAMES HOWELL, 
 
 Section II. 
 
 I. 
 
 To my Father, 
 
 SiE, — It hath pleased God, after almost 
 three years peregrination by land and sea, to 
 bring me back safely to London ; but altho' I 
 am come safely, I am come sickly : for when 
 I landed in Venice, after so long a sea- voyage 
 from Spain, I was afraid the same defluxion 
 of salt rheum which fell from my temples into 
 my throat in Oxford, and distilling upon the 
 uvula impeach 'd my utterance a little to this 
 day, had found the same channel again ; 
 which caused me to have an issue made in my 
 left arm for the diversion of the humour. I 
 was well ever after till I came to Rouen, and 
 there I fell sick of a pain in the head, which, 
 with the issue, I have carry'd with me to
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 153 
 
 England. Dr. Harvey^ who is my physician, 
 tells me, that it may turn to a consumption, 
 therefore he hath stopp'd the issue, telling me 
 there is no danger at all in it, in regard I have 
 not worn it a full twelvemonth. My brother, 
 I thank him, hath been very careful of me in 
 this my sickness, and hath come often to 
 visit me. I thank God I have pass'd the brunt 
 of it, and am recovering and picking up my 
 crumbs apace. There is a flaunting French 
 ambassador come over lately, and I believe his 
 errand is nought else but compliment ; for the 
 King of France being lately at Calais, and so 
 in sight of England, he sent his ambassador M. 
 Cadenet, expressly to visit our King : he had 
 audience tAvo days since, where he, with his 
 train of ruttiing long-hair'd monsieurs, carry 'd 
 himself in such a light garb, that after the 
 audience, the King ask'd my Lord Keeper 
 Bacon what he thought of the French 
 ambassador ; he answer'd, "That he was a tall 
 
 1 This was, doubtless, the celebrated discoverer of 
 the circulation of the blood, who was about this time 
 just rising into fame, and who had but very recently 
 returned from Padua, where most probably he had 
 met Howell.
 
 154 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 proper man:' 'Ay,' his Majesty reply 'd, 'but 
 what think you of his head -piece ? is he a 
 proper man for the office of an ambassador ? ' 
 'Sir, 'said Bacon, 'tall men are like high houses 
 of four or five stories, wherein commonly the 
 uppermost room is worst furnish'd. ' 
 
 So desiring my brothers and sisters, with the 
 rest of my cousins and friends in the country, 
 may be acquainted with my safe return to 
 England, and that you would please to let me 
 hear from you by the next conveniency, I rest 
 — Your dutiful son, J. H. 
 
 London, 2 February, 1G21. 
 
 II. 
 
 To Rich. Altham, Esq.^ at Norherry. 
 
 Salve pars aniince diraidiata mece ; Hail, half 
 my soul, my dear Dick, &c. I was no sooner 
 returned to the sweet bosom of England, and 
 had breath'd the smoke of this town, but my 
 memory ran suddenly on you ; the idea of you 
 hath almost ever since so fill'd up and 
 engross'd my imagination, that I can think on 
 nothing else ; the love of you swells both in my
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 155 
 
 breast and brain with such a pregnancy, that 
 nothing can deliver me of this violent high 
 passion but the sight of you. Let me despair 
 if I lie, there was never female long'd more 
 after any thing by reason of her growing 
 emhryon, than I do for your presence. There- 
 fore I pray you make haste to save my 
 longing, and tantalize me no longer ('tis but 
 three hours riding), for the sight of you will be 
 more precious to me than any one object I 
 have seen (and I have seen many rare ones) in 
 all my three years' travel ; and if you take this 
 for a compliment (because I am newly come 
 from France) you are much mistaken in — 
 Your, J. H. 
 
 London, 1 February, 1621. 
 
 III. 
 
 To D. Caldwall, Esq. , at Battersay. 
 
 My dear Dan., — I am come at last to 
 London, but not Avithout some danger, and 
 thro' divers difficulties ; for I fell sick in 
 France, and came so over to Kent. And my 
 journey from the sea-side hither was more
 
 156 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 tedious to me, than from Rome to Rouen, 
 where I gi-ew first indisposed ; and in good 
 faith, I cannot remember any thing to this 
 hour how I came from Gravesend hither, I was 
 so stujiefy'd, and had lost the knowledge of all 
 things ; but I am come to myself indifferently 
 well since, I thank God for it, and you cannot 
 imagine how much the sight of you, much 
 mere your society, would revdve me. Your 
 presence would be a cordial to me more 
 restorative than exalted gold, more precious 
 than the [lowder of pearl ; whereas your 
 absence, if it continue long, will prove to 
 me like the dust of diamonds, which is 
 incurable poison, I pray be not accessory to 
 my death, but hasten to comfort your so long 
 Aveather-beaten friend, — Your, J. H. 
 
 London 1 February, 1621. 
 
 IV. 
 
 To Sir James Crofts, at the Lord Darcy's in 
 St. Ositk. 
 
 SiE, — I am got again safely to this side of 
 the sea, and tho' I was in a very sickly case
 
 FAMILTAH LETTEES. 157 
 
 when I first arriv'd, yet thanks be to God I am 
 upon point of perfect recovery, whereunto the 
 sucking in of English air, and the sight of 
 some friends, conduc'd not a little. 
 
 There is fearful news come from Germany ; 
 you know how the Bohemians shook off the 
 Emperor's yoke, and how the great Council of 
 Prague fell to such a hurly-burly, that some 
 of the Imperial Counsellors were hurl'd out at 
 the windows : you heard also, I doubt not, 
 how they offer'd the crown to the Duke of 
 Saxony, and he waiving it, they sent ambas- 
 sadors to the Palsgrave, whom they thought 
 might prove jyar negotio, and to be able to go 
 through-stitch with the work in regard of his 
 powerful alliance, the King of Great Britain 
 being his father-in-law, the King of 
 Denmark, the Prince of Orange, the 
 Marquis of Brandenburg, the Duke 
 of Bouillon his uncles, the States of 
 Holland his confederates, the French King 
 his friend, and the Duke of Brunswick his near 
 ally. The Prince Palsgrave made some 
 difficulty at first, and most of his counsellors 
 oppos'd it ; others incited him to it, and
 
 158 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 among other hortatives, they told him, ' That 
 if he had the courage to venture upon a King 
 of England's sole daughter, he might very 
 well venture upon a sovereign crown when it 
 was tendered him. ' Add hereunto, that the 
 States of Holland did mainly advance the 
 work, and there was good reason in policy for 
 it ; for their twelve years' truce being then 
 upon point of expii'ing with Spain, and finding 
 our King so wedded to peace, that nothing 
 could divorce him from it, they lighted upon 
 this design to make him draw his sword, and 
 engage him against the House of Austria for 
 the defence of his sole daughter, and his 
 grandchildren. What his Majesty will do 
 hereafter, I will not presume to foretell ; hut 
 hitherto he hath given little countenance to the 
 business, nay he utterly mislik'd it at first ; for 
 whereas Dr. Hall ^ gave the Prince Palsgrave the 
 title of ' King of Bohemia' in his pulpit-prayer, 
 he had a check for his pains ; for I heard his 
 Majesty should saj', ' That there is an implicit 
 tie among kings, which obligeth them, tho' 
 
 1 Josepli Hall, afterwards Bishop of Norwich.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 159 
 
 tliere be no other interest or particular engage- 
 ment, to stick to and right one another upon 
 an insurrection of subjects ; therefore he had 
 more reason to be against the Bohemians, than 
 to adhere to them in the deposition of their 
 Sovereign Prince.' The King of Denmark 
 sings the same note, nor will he also allow him 
 the appellation of king. But the fearful news 
 I told you of at the beginning of this letter is, 
 that there are fresh tidings brought, how the 
 Prince Palsgrave had a well-appointed army of 
 about 25, 000 horse and foot near Prague ; but 
 the Duke of Bavaria came with scarce half the 
 number, and notwithstanding his long march, 
 gave them a sudden battle, and utterly routed 
 them : insomuch that the new King of 
 Bohemia, having not worn the crown a whole 
 twelve-month, was forc'd to fly with his 
 Queen and children ; and after many dif- 
 ficulties, they AATite, that they are come to the 
 Castle of Castrein, the Duke of Brandenburg's 
 country, his uncle. This news affects both 
 Court and city here with much heaviness. 
 
 I send you my humble thanks for the noble 
 correspondence you were pleased to hold with
 
 160 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 me abroad, and I desire. to know by the next 
 ■when you come to London, that I may have 
 the comfort of the sight of you, after so long 
 an absence. — Your true servitor, J. H. 
 
 1 March, 1621. 
 
 V. 
 
 To Dr. Fr. Mansell, at All Souls' in Oxford. 
 
 I AM return'd safe from my foreign employ- 
 ment, from my three years' travel ; I did my 
 best to make what advantage I could of the 
 time, tho' not so much as I should ; for I 
 find that peregrination (well us'd) is a very 
 profitable school ; it is a nmning academy ; and 
 nothing conduceth more to the building up 
 and perfecting of a man. Your honourable 
 uncle, Sir Robert Mansell, avIio is now in the 
 Mediterranean, hath been very notable to me, 
 and I shall ever acknowledge a good part of 
 my education from him. He hath melted 
 vast sums of money in the glass business, a 
 business indeed more proper for a merchant 
 than a courtier. I heard the King should say, 
 'That he wonder'd Robin Mansell, being a sea-
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 161 
 
 man, whereby he hath got so much honour, 
 should fall from water to tamper with fire, 
 which are two contrary elements.' My father 
 fears that this glass employment will be too 
 brittle a foundation for me to build a fortune 
 upon ; and Sir Robert being now at mj' coming 
 back so far at sea, and his return uncertain, 
 my father hath advis'd me to hearken after 
 some other condition. I attempted to go 
 secretary to Sir John Ayres to Constantinople, 
 but I came too late. You have got yourself a 
 great deal of good reputation by the voluntary 
 resignation you made of the principality of 
 Jesus College to Sir Eubule Thelwall, in hope 
 that he will be a considerable benefactor to it 
 I pray God he perform what he promiseth, 
 and that he be not over partial to North 
 Wales men. Now that I give you the first 
 summons, I pray you make me happy with 
 your correspondence by letters ; there is no 
 excuse or impediment at all left now, for you 
 are sure where to find me ; whereas I was a 
 landloper, as the Dutchman saith, a wanderer, 
 and subject to incertain removes, and short 
 sojourns in divers places before. So with 
 
 M
 
 162 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 apprecation'^ of all happiness to you here and 
 hereafter, I rest — At your friendly dispose, 
 
 J. H. 
 5 March, 1618. 
 
 VI. 
 
 To Sir Eiibule Thelwall, Knight, and Principal 
 of Jesus College in Oxford. 
 
 Sir, — I send you most due and humble 
 thanks, that notwithstanding I have play'd 
 the truant, and been absent so long from 
 Oxford, you have been pleas'd lately to make 
 choice of me to be Fellow of your new founda- 
 tion in Jesus College, whereof I was once a 
 member. As the quality of my fortunes and 
 course of life run now, I cannot make present 
 use of this your great favour, or promotion 
 rather ; yet I do highly value it, and humblj' 
 accept of it, and intend, by your permission, to 
 reserve and lay it by, as a good Avarm garment 
 against rough weather, if any fall on me. 
 With this my expression of thankfulness, I do 
 congratulate the gi-eat honour you have pm'- 
 1 Invocation.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 163 
 
 chas'd, both by your own beneficence and by 
 your painful endeavour besides, to perfect that 
 national College which hereafter is like to be 
 a monument of your fame, as well as a semin- 
 ary of learning, and A\dll perpetuate your 
 memory to all posterity. 
 
 (rod Almighty prosper and perfect your 
 undertakings, and provide for you in heaven 
 those rewards which such public works of 
 piety use to be crown'd withal ; it is the 
 apprecation of — Your truly devoted servitor, 
 
 J. H. 
 
 Lond., idibus Mar., 1G21. 
 
 YII. 
 
 To my Father. 
 
 Sir, — According to the advice you sent me 
 in your last, while I sought after a new course 
 of employment, a new employment hath lately 
 sought after me : my Lord Savage hath two 
 young gentlemen to his sons, and I am to go 
 travel with them. Sir James Crofts (who so 
 much respects you) was the main agent in this 
 business, and I am to go shortly to Long 
 
 M 2
 
 164 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 Melford in Suffolk, and thence to St. Osyth in 
 Essex, to the Lord Darcy's. Queen Anne is 
 lately dead of a dropsy, in Denmark-house ; 
 which is held to be one of the fatal events 
 that follow'd the last fearful comet that rose 
 in the tail of the constellation of Virgo; 
 which some ignorant astronomers that write 
 of it would fix in the heavens, and that as far 
 above the orb of the moon, as the moon is 
 from the earth : but this is nothing in 
 comparison of those hideous fires that are 
 kindled in Germany, bloAvn first by the 
 Bohemians, which is like to be a war without 
 end ; for the whole House of Austriais interested 
 in the quarrel, and it is not the custom of that 
 House to set by any affront, or forget it quickly. 
 Queen Anne left a world of brave jewels 
 behind, but one Piero, an outlandish man, who 
 had the keeping of them, embezzled many, 
 and is run away ; she left all she had to Prince 
 Charles, whom she ever lov'd best of all her 
 children ; nor do I hear of any legacy she left 
 at all to her daughter in Germany : for that 
 match, some say, lessen'd something of her 
 afifection towards her ever since, so that she
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 165 
 
 would often call her Goody Palsgrave ; nor 
 could she abide Secretary Winwood ever after, 
 who was one of the chiefest instruments to 
 bring that match about, as also for the rendi- 
 tion of the cautionary towns in the Low 
 Countries, Flushing and Brill, with the 
 Rammakins. I was lately with Sir John 
 Walter and others of your counsel about law- 
 business ; and some of them told me that 
 Master J. Lloyd, your adversary, is one of the 
 shrewdest solicitors in all the thirteen shires 
 of Wales, being so habituated to law-suits 
 and wrangling that he knows any of the 
 least starting-holes in every court. I could 
 wish you had made a fair end Avith him ; for 
 besides the cumber and trouble, specially to 
 those that dwell at such a huge distance from 
 Westminster-hall as you do, law is a shrewd 
 pick-purse, and the lawyer, as I heard one say 
 wittily not long since, 'is like a Christmas-box, 
 which is sure to get whosoever loseth. ' 
 
 So, with the continuance of my due and 
 daily prayers for your health, Avith my love to 
 my brothers and sisters, — I rest, your dutiful 
 son, J. H. 
 
 20 March, 1618.
 
 166 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 To Dan. Caldtoall, Esq. ; frovi the Lord 
 Savage's House in Long Melford. 
 
 My dear Dan., — Tho' considering my former 
 condition of life, I may now be call'd a 
 countryman, yet you cannot call me a rustic 
 (as you would imply in your letter) as long as 
 I live in so civil and noble a family, as long 
 as I lodge in so virtuous and regular a house 
 as any, I believe, in the land, both for 
 economical government, and the choice com- 
 pany ; for I never saw yet such a' dainty 
 race of children in all my life together ; 
 I never saw yet such an orderly and 
 punctual attendance of servants, nor a great 
 house so neatly kept : here one shall see 
 no dog, nor a cat, nor cage to cause any 
 nastiness within the body of the house. The 
 kitchen and gutters and other offices of noise 
 and drudgery are at the fag-end ; there's a 
 back-gate for the beggars and the meaner sort 
 of swains to come in at ; the stables butt 
 upon the park, which, for a cheerful rising
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 167 
 
 ground, for groves and browsings for the deer, 
 for rivulets of water, may compare with any 
 of its bigness in the whole land ; it is op- 
 posite to the front of the gi'eat house, whence 
 from the gallery one may see much of the 
 game when they are a-hunting. Now for the 
 gardening and costly choice flowers, for ponds, 
 for stately large walks green and gravelly, for 
 orchards and choice fruits of all sorts, there are 
 few the like in England : here you have your 
 Bon Chretien pear and Bergamot in perfection, 
 your Muscadel giapes in such plenty that 
 there are some bottles of wine sent every year 
 to the King ; and one Mr. Daniel, a worthy 
 gentleman hard by, who hath been long- 
 abroad, makes good store in his vintage. 
 Truly this house of Long Melford, tho' it be 
 not so great, yet it is so well compacted and 
 contriv'd Avith such dainty conveniences every 
 way, that if you saw the landskip of it, you 
 would be mightily taken with it, and it would 
 serve for a choice pattern to build and contrive 
 a house by. If you come this summer to your 
 !Manor of Sheritf in Essex, you will not be far 
 off hence ; if your occasions will permit, it will
 
 168 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 be worth your coming liitlier, tho' it be only 
 to see him, who would think it a short journey 
 to go from St. David's Head to Dover Cliffs to 
 see and serve you, were there occasion : if you 
 would know who the same is, 'tis — Yours, 
 
 J. II. 
 20 May, 1619. 
 
 IX. 
 
 To Robert Brovm, Esq. 
 
 Sir, — Thanks, for one courtesy is a good 
 usher to bring on another ; therefore it is my 
 policy at this time to thank you most heartily 
 for your late copious letter, to draw on a 
 second. I say, I thank you a thousand times 
 over for yours of the 3rd of this present, which 
 abounded with such variety of news, and 
 ample well-couch'd relations, that I made 
 many fiiends by it ; yet I am sorry for the 
 quality of some of your news, that Sir Robert 
 Mansell being now in the Mediterranean with 
 a considerable naval strength of ours against 
 the Moors, to do the Spaniard a pleasure. 
 Marquis Spinola should, in a boggling way,
 
 FAMILIAK LETTERS. 169 
 
 change his master for the time, and, taking 
 commission from the Emperor, become his 
 servant for invading the Palatinate with the 
 forces of the King of Spain in the Netherlands. 
 I am sorry also the Princes of the Union 
 should be so stupid as to suffer him to take 
 Oppenheim by a Parthian kind of back strata- 
 gem, in appearing before the town, and making 
 semblance afterwards to go for Worms ; and 
 then, perceiving the forces of the United Princes, 
 to go for succouring of that, to turn back and 
 take the town he intended first, whereby I 
 fear he will be quickly master of the rest. 
 Surely I believe there may be some treachery 
 in't, and that the Marquis of Anspach, the 
 general, was overcome by pistols made of 
 Indian ingots, rather than of steel ; else an 
 army of 40,000, which he had under his 
 command, might have made its party good 
 against Spinola's less than 20,000, tho' never 
 such choice veterans : but what Avill not gold 
 do ? It will make a pigmy too hard for a 
 giant. There's no fence or fortress against an 
 ass laden with gold. It was the saying, you 
 know, of his father, whom partial and ignorant
 
 170 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 antiquity cries up to have conquer'd the 
 world, and that he sigh'd there were no more 
 worlds to conquer, tho' he had never one of 
 the three old parts of the then known world 
 entirely to himself. I desire to know what is 
 become of that handful of men his Majesty 
 sent to Germany under Sir Horace Vere, which 
 he Avas bound to do, as he is one of the 
 Protestant Princes of the Union ; and what's 
 become of Sir Arthur Chichester, who is gone 
 ambassador to those parts ? 
 
 Dear Sir, I pray make me happy still with 
 3'our letters ; it is a mighty pleasure for us 
 country-folks to hear how matters j^ass in 
 London and abroad : you know I have not 
 the opportunity to correspond with you in 
 like kind, but may happily hereafter when the 
 tables are turn'd, when I am in London, and 
 you in the West. Whereas you are desirous 
 to hear how it fares Avith me, I pray know 
 that I live in one of the noblest houses, and 
 best air, of England. There is a dainty |)ark 
 adjoining, where I often wander up and 
 down, and I have my several walks. I make 
 one to represent the Royal Exchange, the
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 171 
 
 other the middle aisle of St. Paul's, ^ another 
 AVestniinster-hall ; and when I pass thro' the 
 herd of deer, methinks I am in Cheapside. 
 So with a full return of the same measure 
 of love as you pleas'd to send me, I rest — 
 Yours, J. H. 
 
 24 May, 1622. 
 
 X. 
 
 To R. Altham, Esq. ; from St. Osytli. 
 
 Sir, — Life itself is not so dear to me as your 
 friendship, nor virtue in her best colours as 
 precious as your love, Avhieh was lately so 
 lively portray 'd unto me in yours of the fifth 
 of this present. Methinks your letter was 
 like a piece of tissue richly embroider'd with 
 rare flowers up and down, with curious 
 representations, and landskips : albeit I have 
 as much stuff" as you of this kind (I mean 
 matter of love), yet I want such a loom to work 
 it upon, I cannot draw it to such a curious 
 web ; therefore you must be content with 
 homely Polldavie ware from me, for you must 
 1 Then a fashionable promenade.
 
 172 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 not expect from us country-folks such 
 urbanities and quaint invention, that j'ou, 
 who are daily conversant with the wits of 
 the Court, and of the Inns-of-Court, ahound 
 withal. 
 
 Touching your intention to travel beyond 
 the seas the next spring, and the intimation 
 you make how happy you would be in my 
 company ; I let you know that I am glad of 
 the one, and much thank you for the other, 
 and will think upon it, but I cannot resolve 
 yet upon anything. I am now here at the 
 Earl Rivers', a noble and great-knowing 
 lord, Avho hath seen much of the world 
 abroad ; my Lady Savage, his daughter, is also 
 here, with divers of her children. I hope 
 this Hilary Term to be merry in London, and 
 amongst other to re-enjoy your conversation 
 principally, for I esteem the society of no soul 
 upon earth more than yours. Till then I bid 
 you farewell, and as the season invites me, I 
 wish you a merry Christmas, resting — Yours 
 while J. H. 
 
 20 December, 1622.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 173 
 
 XI. 
 
 To Captain Tho. Porter, iipon Ms Return from 
 Algier Voyage. 
 
 Noble Captain, — I congratulate your safe 
 return from the Straits, but am sorry you were 
 so straitened in your commission, that you 
 could not attempt what such a brave naval 
 power of twenty men-of-war, such a gallant 
 general, and other choice knowing commanders 
 might have perform'd, if they had had line 
 enough. I know the lightness and nimble- 
 ness of Algier ships ; when I liv'd lately in 
 Alicante and other places upon the Mediterra- 
 nean, we should every week hear of some of 
 them chas'd, but very seldom taken ; for a 
 gi-eat ship following one of them may be said 
 to be as a mastiff dog running after a hare. 
 I wonder the Spaniard came short of the 
 promis'd supply for furtherance of that notable 
 adventurous design you had to lire the ships 
 and galleys in Algiers Road : and according to 
 the relation you pleas'd to send me, it was 
 one of the bravest enterprises, and had prov'd
 
 174 JAMES HOWELL, 
 
 such a glorious exploit, that no story could 
 have parallel'd ; but it seems their Hoggies, 
 ]\Iagicians, and Marabuts ^ were tampering with 
 the ill spirit of the air all the while, which 
 brought down such a still cataract of rain- 
 waters suddenly upon you, to hinder the 
 working of your fireworks ; such a disaster, 
 the story tells us, befell Charles the Emperor, 
 but far worse than yours., for he lost ships 
 and multitudes of men, who were made 
 slaves, but you came off with loss of eight 
 men only, and Algier is anothergess thing 
 now than she was then, being, I believe, a 
 hundred degrees stronger by land and sea ; 
 and for the latter strength, we may thank 
 our countryman Ward, and Danskey ^ the 
 Butterbag Hollander, who may be said to 
 have been two of the fatallest and most in- 
 famous men that ever Christendom bred ; 
 for the one taking all Englishmen, and the 
 other all Dutchmen, and bringing the ships 
 
 1 The fanatic religious leaders and teachers of the 
 Barbary Moors. 
 
 - Fimon Danser, the Flemish rover, who, with 
 Captain AVard, the English pirate, taught the Barbary 
 Corsairs how to build square-sail ships.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTEHS. 175 
 
 and ordnance to Algier, they may be said 
 to have been the chief raisers of those 
 picaroons to be pirates, who are now come 
 to that height of strength, that they daily 
 endamage and affront all Christendom. When 
 I consider all the circumstances and success 
 of this your voyage, when I consider the 
 narrowness of your commission, which was 
 as lame as the clerk that kept it ; when I 
 find that you secur'd the seas and traffic 
 all the while, for I did not hear of one ship 
 taken while you were abroad ; when I hear 
 how you brought back all the fleet without 
 the least disgrace or damage by foe or foul 
 weather to any ship ; I conclude, and so do 
 far better judgments than mine, that you 
 did what possibly could be done ; let those 
 that repine at the one in the hundred (which 
 was impos'd upon all the Levant merchants 
 for the support of this fleet) mutter what 
 they will, 'that you went first to Gravesend, 
 then to the Land' s-end, and after to no end.^ 
 
 I have sent you for your Avelcome home (in 
 part) two barrels of Colchester oysters, which 
 were provided for my Lord Colchester him-
 
 176 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 self ; therefore I presume they are good, and 
 all green-finn'd. I shall shortly follow, but 
 not to stay long in England, for I think I 
 must over again speedily to push on my 
 fortunes. So my dear Tom, I am de todas mis 
 entranas, from the centre of my heart, I am — 
 Yours, J. H. 
 
 St. OsTtb, December, 1622. 
 
 XII. 
 
 To iny Father, upon my Second Going to Travel. 
 
 SiK, — I am lately return'd to London, 
 having been all this while in a very noble 
 family in the country, where I found far 
 greater respects than I deserv'd ; I was to go 
 with two of my Lord Savage's sons to travel, 
 but finding myself too young for such a 
 charge, and our religion differing, I have now 
 made choice to go over camerade to a very 
 worthy gentleman, Baron Altham's son, whom 
 I knew in Staines, when my brother was there. 
 Truly, I hold him to be one of the hopefullest 
 young men of this kingdom for parts and 
 person ; he is full of excellent solid knowledge,
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 177 
 
 as the mathematics, the law, and other 
 material studies : besides, I should have been 
 tied to have stay'd three years abroad in the 
 other employment at least, but I hojie to get 
 back from this, by God's grace, before a year be 
 at an end, at which time I hope the hand of 
 Providence will settle me in some stable home- 
 fortune. 
 
 The news is, that the Prince Palsgrave, 
 with his lady and children, are come to the 
 Hague, in Holland, having made a long 
 progi'ess, or rather a pilgrimage, about Germany 
 from Prague. The old Duke of Bavaria, his 
 uncle, is chosen Elector and Arch-sewer of the 
 Roman Empire in his place, (but as they say, in 
 an imperfect Diet, ) and with this proviso, that 
 the transferring of this election upon the 
 Bavarian shall not prejudice the next heir. 
 There is one Count Mansfelt that begins to 
 get a great name in Germany, and he, with the 
 Duke of Brunswick, who is a Temporal Bishop 
 of Halverstadt, has a considerable army on 
 foot for the Lady Elizabeth, who, in the Low 
 Countries, and some parts of Germany, is 
 call'd the Queen of Bohemia, and for her
 
 178 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 winning, princely comportment, tlie Queen 
 of Hearts. Sii' Arthur Chichester is come back 
 from the Palatinate, much complaining of the 
 small anny that was sent thither under Sir 
 Horace Vere, which should have been greater, 
 or none at all. 
 
 My Lord of Buckingham hav-ing been long 
 since JNIaster of the Horse at Court, is now 
 made master also of all the wooden horses in 
 the kingdom, which indeed are our best 
 horses, for he is to be High-Admiral of 
 England ; so he is become Dominus Equoruni 
 etAquarum. The late Lord Treasurer Cranfield 
 grows also very powerful, but the city hates 
 him for ha%dng betray'd their gi'eatest secrets, 
 which he was capable to know more than 
 another, having lieen formerly a merchant. 
 
 I think I shall have no opportunity to 
 wiite to you again till I be t'other side of the 
 sea ; therefore I humbly take my leave, and 
 ask your blessing, that I may the better 
 prosper in my proceedings. So I am — Yom' 
 dutiful son, J. H. 
 
 19 March, 1622.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 179 
 
 XIII. 
 
 To Sir John Smith, Knight, 
 
 Sir, — The first ground I set foot upon after 
 
 this my second ti-ansmarine voyage, was 
 
 Trevere^ (the Scots' staple) in Zealand, thence 
 
 we sail'd to Holland, in which passage we 
 
 might see divers steeples and turrets under 
 
 water, of towns that, as we were told, were 
 
 swallow'd up by a deluge within the memory 
 
 of man : we went afterwards to the Hague, 
 
 where there are hard by, tho' in several 
 
 places, two wonderful things to be seen, the 
 
 one of art, the other of nature ; that of art is 
 
 a waggon, or ship, or a monster mixed of both, 
 
 like the Hippocentaur, who Avas half man and 
 
 half horse ; this engine, that hath wheels and 
 
 sails, will hold above twenty people, and goes 
 
 with the wind, being drawn ormov'dbynothing 
 
 else, and will run, the wind being good, and 
 
 the sails hois'd up, above fifteen miles an 
 
 hour upon the even hard sands : they say this 
 
 1 Veere, an ancient and now decayed towTi, on the 
 island of Walclieren. 
 
 N 2
 
 180 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 invention was found out to entertain Spinola 
 when he came hither to treat of the last truce. 
 That wonder of nature is a church-monument, 
 where an earl and a lady are engraven with 
 three hundred and sixty-five children about 
 them, which were all deliver'd at one birth ; 
 they were half-male, half-female ; the two 
 basins in which they were christened hang 
 still in the church, and the bishop's name 
 who did it ; and the story of this miracle, 
 with the year and the day of the month 
 mention'd, which is not yet two hundred 
 years ago ; and the story is this : That 
 the countess walking about her door after 
 dinner, there came a beggar-woman with 
 two children upon her back to beg alms ; 
 the countess asking whether those children 
 were her own, she answer'd, she had them 
 both at one birth, and by one father, who was 
 her husband. The countess would not only 
 not give her any alms, but revil'd her 
 bitterly, saying, ' It was impossible for one man 
 to get two children at once.' The beggar- 
 woman being thus provok'd with ill words, 
 and without alms, fell to imprecations, that
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 181 
 
 it should please God to show His judgment 
 upon her, and that she might bear at one 
 birth as many children as there be days in the 
 year, which she did before the same year's 
 end, having never borne child before. 
 
 We are now in North Holland, where I never 
 saw so many, among so few, sick of leprosies ; 
 and the reason is, because they commonly eat 
 abundance of fresh fish. A gentleman told 
 me, that the women of this country, when 
 they are deliver'd, there comes out of the 
 womb a living creature besides the child, 
 call'd Zucchie, likest a bat of any other 
 creature, which the midwives throw into the 
 fire, holding sheets before the chimney lest it 
 should fly away. Master Altham desires his 
 service be jsresented to you and your lady, to 
 Sir John Franklin, and all at the Hill ; the 
 like do I humbly crave at your hands. The 
 Italian and French manuscripts you pleas'd 
 to favour me withal, I left at Mr. Seil's, the 
 stationer, whence, if you have not them 
 ah-eady, you may please to send for them. So 
 in all aflection I kiss your hands, and am — 
 Your humble servitor, J. H. 
 
 10 April, 1623.
 
 182 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 To the Right Honourable the Lord Viscount 
 Colchester, after Earl Rivers. 
 
 Right Honourable, — The commands your 
 Lordship pleas'd to impose upon me Avhen I 
 left England, and those high favours wherein 
 I stand bound to your Lordship, call upon me 
 at this time to send your Lordship some small 
 fruits of my foreign travel. Marquis Spinola 
 is return 'd from the Palatinate, where he was 
 so fortunate, that (like Csesar) he came, saw, 
 and overcame, notwithstanding that huge 
 army of the Princes of the Union, consisting 
 of 40,000 men ; whereas his was under 20,000, 
 but made up of old tough blades, and veteran 
 commanders. He hath now chang'd his coat, 
 and taken up his old commission again fi'om 
 Don Philippo, whereas during that expedition 
 he call'd himself Caesar's servant. I hear the 
 Emperor hath transmitted the upper Palatinate 
 to the Duke of Bavaria, as caution for those 
 moneys he hath expended in those wars. And 
 the King of Spain is the Emperor's commissary
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 183 
 
 for the lower Palatinate : they "both pretend 
 that they Avere bound to obey the imperial 
 summons to assist Cresar in these wars ; the 
 one as he was Duke of Burgundy, the other of 
 Bavaria, both which countries are feudatory to 
 the Empire ; else they had incurr'd the 
 imperial ban. It is fear'd this German war 
 will be, as the Frenchman saith, de longue 
 lialcine, long breath'd ; for there are great 
 powers on both sides, and they say the King 
 of Denmark is arming. 
 
 Having made a leisurely sojourn in this town, 
 I had spare hours to couch in writing a survey 
 of these countries, which I have now traversal 
 the second time ; but in regard it would be 
 a great bulk for a letter, I send it your Lord- 
 ship apart, and when I return to England I 
 shall be bold to attend your Lordship for 
 correction of my faults. In the interim I rest, 
 my Lord, — Your thrice humble servitor, 
 
 J. H. 
 Antwerp, 1 May, 1622.
 
 184 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 XV. 
 
 A Survey of the Seventeen Provinces. 
 
 My Loed, — To attempt a precise descrip- 
 tion of each of the seventeen Provinces, and 
 of its progression, privileges, and primitive 
 government, were a task of no less confusion 
 than labom\ Let it suffice to know that since 
 Flanders and Holland were erected to Earldoms, 
 and so left to be an appendix to the Crown of 
 France, some of them have had absolute and 
 supreme governors, some sul laltern and subject 
 to a superior power. Amongst the rest, the 
 Earls of Flanders and Holland Avere most 
 considerable ; but of them two, he of Holland 
 being homageable to none, and having 
 Friesland and Zealand added, was the more 
 potent. In process of time all the seventeen 
 met in one ; some by conquest, others by 
 donation and legacy, but most by alliance. 
 In the House of Burgundy this Union receiv'd 
 most growth, but in the House of Austria 
 it came to its fidl perfection ; for in Charles 
 V. they all met as so many lines dra^vn from
 
 FAMILIAR LETTEHS. 185 
 
 the circumference to the centi'e ; who lording 
 as supreme head not only over the fifteen 
 temporal, but the two spiritual, Liege and 
 Utrecht, had a design to reduce them to a 
 kingdom, which his son, Philip II. , attempted 
 after him : but they could not bring their 
 intents home to their aim ; the cause is 
 imputed to that multiplicity and difference of 
 privileges which they are so eager to maintain, 
 and whereof some cannot stand with a monarchy 
 without incongruity. Philip II. at his 
 inauguration was sworn to observe them, and 
 at his departure he oblig'd himself by an oath 
 to send still one of his own blood to govern 
 them. Moreover, at the request of the 
 Knights of the Golden Fleece, he promised 
 that all foreign soldiers should retire, and 
 that he himself would come to visit them 
 once every seventh year ; but being once gone, 
 and leaving in lieu of a sword a distaff, an 
 unwieldly woman to govern, he came not only 
 short of his promise, but procur'd a dispensa- 
 tion from the Pope to be absolv'd of his oath, 
 and all this by the counsel of Cardinal 
 Granvelle, who, as the States' chronicler writes,
 
 186 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 was the first firebrand that kindled that 
 lamentable and longsome war Avherein the 
 Netherlands have traded above fifty years in 
 blood : for intending to increase the number 
 of bishops, to establish the decrees of the 
 Council of Trent, and to clip the power of the 
 Council of State compos'd of the natives of 
 the land, by making it appealable to the 
 Council of Spain, and by adding to the former 
 oath of allegiance, (all which conduc'd to settle 
 the Inquisition, and to curb the conscience,) 
 the broils began ; to appease which ambas- 
 sadors were despatch'd to Spain, whereof the 
 two first came to violent deaths, the one being 
 beheaded, the other poison'd. But the two 
 last, Egmont and Horn, were nourish'd still 
 with hopes, until Philip II. had prepar'd an 
 army under the conduct of the Duke of Alva, 
 to compose the diff"erence by arms. For as 
 soon as he came to the government, he 
 establish'd the Bloed-raad, as the complainants 
 tei-m'd it, a Council of Blood, made up mostly 
 of Spaniards. Egmont and Horn were apjtre- 
 hended, and afterwards beheaded ; citadels 
 were erected, and the oath of allegiance, with
 
 FAMILIAR LETTEllS. 187 
 
 the political government of the country, in 
 clivers things alter'd. This pour'd oil on the 
 fire formerly kindled, and put all in combus- 
 tion. The Prince of Orange retires, there- 
 upon his eldest son was surpris'd, and sent 
 as hostage to Spain, and above 5,000 
 families quit the country ; many towns 
 revolted, but were afterwards reduc'd to 
 obedience : which made the Duke of Alva 
 say, 'That the Netherlands appertain'd to 
 the King of Spain, not only by descent, but 
 conquest ' ; and for cumble^ of his victories, 
 when he attempted to impose the tenth penny 
 for maintenance of the garrisons in the 
 citadels he had erected at Grave, Utrecht, and 
 Antwerp, (where he caus'd his statue made of 
 cannon-brass to be erected, trampling the 
 Belgians under his feet,) all the towns with- 
 stood this imposition. So that at last matters 
 succeeding ill with him, and having had his 
 cousin Pacecio hang'd^ at Fhishing Gates, after 
 he had trac'd out the platform of a citadel in 
 
 1 Consummation. 
 
 2 Pacheco, Alva's engineer, who built the citadel of 
 Antwerp, was hung by the patriot JSTetherlanders, and 
 not by Alva, as Howell might be misunderstood to 
 imply.
 
 188 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 that town also, lie receiv'd Letters of Revoca- 
 tion from Spain. Him succeeded Don Luys 
 de RequesenSjWho came short of his predecessor 
 in exploits ; and, dying suddenly in the field, 
 the government was invested for a time in 
 the Council of State. The Spanish soldiers 
 being without a head, gather'd together to 
 the number of 1600, and committed such 
 outrages up and down, that they were 
 proclaim'd enemies to the State. Hereupon 
 the pacification of Ghent was transacted, 
 whereof, among other articles, one was, ' That 
 all foreign soldiers should quit the country.' 
 This was ratified by the King, and observ'd 
 by Don John of Austria, who succeeded in the 
 government ; yet Don John retain'd the 
 Lamhknechts at his devotion still for some 
 secret design, and, as some conjectur'd, for the 
 invasion of England ; he kept the Spaniards 
 also still hovering about the frontiers ready 
 upon all occasions. Certain letters were 
 intercepted that made a discovery of some 
 projects, which made the war to bleed afresh ; 
 Don John was proclaim'd enemy to the State, 
 so the Archduke Matthias was sent for, who
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 189 
 
 being a man of small performance, and im- 
 proper for the times, was dismiss'd, but upon 
 honourable terms. Don John a little after 
 dies ; then comes in the Duke of Paraia, a 
 man as of a different nation, being an Italian, 
 so of a differing temper, and more moderate 
 spirit, and of greater performance than all 
 the rest ; for whereas all the Provinces except 
 Luxembourg and Hainault had revolted, he 
 reduc'd Ghent, Tournay, Bruges, Malines, 
 Brussels, Antwerp, (which three last he 
 beleagur'd at one time,) and divers other gi'eat 
 toAvns, to the Spanish obedience again : he had 
 60,000 men in pay, and the choicest which 
 Spain and Italy could afford. The French 
 and English ambassadors interceding for a 
 peace, had a short answer of Philip II., who 
 said, That he needed not the help of any to 
 reconcile himself to his own subjects, and 
 reduce them to conformity : but the difference 
 that was, he would refer to his cousin the 
 Emperor : hereupon the business was agitated 
 at Cologne, where the Spaniard stood as high 
 a-tiptoe as ever, and notwithstanding the vast 
 expense of treasure and blood he had been at
 
 190 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 for so many years, and that matters began to 
 exasperate more and more, Avhicli were like to 
 j)roloug the wars in infinitum, he would abate 
 nothing in point of ecclesiastic government. 
 Hereupon the States perceiv'd that King 
 Philip could not be wrought either by the 
 solicitations of other princes, or their own 
 supplications so often reiterated, that they 
 might enjoy the freedom of religion, with 
 other enfranchisements ; and finding him 
 inexorable, being incited also by the ban 
 which was publish'd against the Prince of 
 Orange, that whosoever kill'd him should 
 have 5,000 crowns, they at last absolutely re- 
 nounc'd and abjur'd the King of Spain for 
 their sovereign : they broke his seals, chang'd 
 the oath of allegiance, and fled to France for 
 shelter ; they inaugurated the Duke of Anjou 
 (recommended to them by the Queen of 
 England, to whom he was a suitor) for theh 
 prince, who attempted to render himself 
 absolute, and so thought to surprise Antwerp, 
 where he receiv'd an ill-favour'd repulse ; yet 
 nevertheless the United Provinces, for so they 
 term'd themselves ever after, fearing to dis-
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 191 
 
 taste their next great neighbour France, made 
 a second proffer of their protection and 
 sovereignty to that King, who having too 
 many irons in the fire at his own home, the 
 League growing stronger and stronger, he 
 answer'd them, That his shirt was nearer to 
 him than his doublet. Then had they 
 recourse to Queen Elizabeth, who partly for 
 her own security, partly for interest in religion, 
 reach'd them a supporting hand, and so sent 
 them men, money, and a governor, the Earl 
 of Leicester, who, not symbolizing with their 
 humour, was quickly revok'd, yet without any 
 outward dislike on the Queen's side, for she 
 left her forces still with them, but upon their 
 expense : she lent them afterwards some 
 considerable sums of moneys, and she receiv'd 
 Flushing and the Brill for caution. Ever since 
 the English have been the best sinews of their 
 war, and achievers of the greatest exploits 
 amongst them. Having thus made sure work 
 with the English, they made young Count 
 Maurice their governor, who for twenty-five 
 years together held tack with the Spaniard, 
 and during those traverses of war was very
 
 19^ 
 
 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 fortunate : an overture of peace was then 
 propounded, which the States would not 
 hearken to singly with the King of Spain, 
 unless the Provinces that yet remain'd under 
 him would engage themselves for the 
 performance of what was articled ; besides, 
 they would not treat either of peace or truce, 
 unless they were declar'd Free States, all 
 which was granted : so by the intervention 
 of the English and French ambassadors, 
 a truce was concluded for twelve years. 
 
 These wars did so drain and discommodate 
 the King of Spain, by reason of his distance, 
 (every soldier that he sent either from Spain 
 or Italy costing him near upon 100 crowns 
 before he could be render'd in Flanders,) 
 that, notwithstanding his mines of Mexico and 
 Peru, it plung'd him so deeply in debt, that 
 having taken up moneys in all the chief 
 banks of Christendom, he was forc'd to publish 
 a diploma, wherein he dispens'd with himself 
 (as the Holland story hath it) from payment, 
 alleging that he had employ'd those moneys 
 for the public peace of Christendom : this 
 broke many great bankers, and they say his
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 193 
 
 credit was not current in Seville or Lisbon, his 
 own towns ; and, which was worse, while he 
 stood wrestling thus with his own subjects, 
 the Turk took his opportunity to get from 
 him Tunis and the Goletta, the trophies of 
 Charles V., his father. So eager he was in 
 this quarrel, that he employ'd the utmost of 
 his strength and industry to reduce this 
 people to his will, in regard he had an intent 
 to make these Provinces his main rendezvous 
 and magazine of men of war ; which his 
 neighbours perceiving, and that he had a kind 
 of aim to be Western Monarch, being led not 
 so much for love as reasons of State, they 
 stuck close to the revolted Provinces : and 
 this was the hone that Secretary "Walsingham 
 told Queen Elizabeth he would cast the King 
 of Spain, that should last him twenty years, 
 and perhaps make his teeth shake in his head. 
 But to return to my first discourse, whence 
 this digi-ession hath snatch'd me. The 
 Netherlands, who had been formerly knit and 
 concentred under one sovereign prince, were 
 thus dismember'd ; and, as they subsist now, 
 they are a State and a Province. The
 
 194 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 Province, having ten of the seventeen at least, 
 is far greater, more populous, better soil'd 
 and more stor'd with gentry. The State is 
 the richer and stronger, the one proceeding 
 from their vast navigation and commerce, the 
 other from the quality of their country, being 
 defensible by rivers and sluices, by means 
 whereof they can suddenly overwhelm all the 
 whole country: witness that stupendous 
 siege of Leyden and Haarlem ; for most of 
 their towns, the marks being taken away, are 
 inaccessible, by reason of shelves of sands. 
 Touching the transaction of these Provinces, 
 which the King of Spain made as a dowry 
 to the Archduke Albertus, upon marriage 
 with the Infanta, (who thereupon left his red 
 hat, and Toledo mitre, the chiefest spiritual 
 dignity in Christendom, for revenue, after the 
 Papacy,) it was fring'd with such cautelous 
 restraints, that he was sure to keep the better 
 end of the staff still to himself ; for he was to 
 have the tutele and v/ard of his children, that 
 they were to marry with one of the Austrian 
 Family recommended by Spain, and in default 
 of issue, and in case Albertus should survive
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 195 
 
 the Infanta, he should be but governor only : 
 add hereunto, that King Philip reserv'd still to 
 himself all the citadels and the castles, with 
 the Order of the Golden Fleece, whereof he is 
 Master, as he is Duke of Burgundy. 
 
 The Archduke for the time hath a very 
 princely command, all coins bear his stamp, 
 all placarts or edicts are published in his 
 name, he hath the election of all civil officers 
 and magistrates ; he nominates also bishops 
 and abbots, for the Pope hath only the 
 confirmation of them here ; nor can he adjourn 
 any out of the country to answer anything, 
 neither are his bulls of any strength without 
 the Prince'sj^/ace^, which makes him have always 
 some commissioners to execute his authority. 
 The people here grow hotter and hotter in 
 the Roman cause, by reason of the mixture 
 with Spaniards and Italians ; and also by the 
 example of the Archduke and the Infanta, 
 who are devout in an intense degree. There 
 are two supreme Councils, the Privy Council 
 and that of the State ; these treat of confedera- 
 tions and intelligence with foreign princes, of 
 peace and war, of entertaining or of dismissing 
 
 2
 
 196 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 colonels and captains, of fortifications ; and 
 they have the surintendency of the highest 
 attairs that concern the Prince and the policy 
 of the Provinces : the Primate hath the 
 granting of all patents and requests, the 
 publishing of all edicts and proclamations, 
 the prizing of coin, the looking to the confines 
 and extent of the Provinces, and the enacting 
 of all new ordinances. Of these two Councils 
 there is never a Spaniard, but in the actual 
 Council of War their voices are predominant. 
 There is also a Court of Finances, or Exchequer, 
 whence all they that have the fingering of the 
 King's money must draw a discharge. Touch- 
 ing matters of Justice, their law is mix'd 
 betwixt civil and common, with some clauses 
 of canonical. The Higli Court of Parliament 
 is at Malines, whither all civil causes may be 
 brought by appeal from other towns, xcept 
 some that have municipal privileges, and are 
 sovereign in their own jurisdictions, as Mons 
 in Hainault, and a few more. 
 
 The prime Province for dignity is B abant, 
 which, amongst many other privileges it 
 enjoys, hath this for one, not to appear upon
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 197 
 
 any summons out of its own precinct ; which is 
 one of the reasons why the Prince makes his 
 residence there : but the prime, for extent and 
 fame, is Flanders, the chiefest earldom in 
 Christendom, which is three days' journey in 
 length ; Ghent, its metropolis, is reputed the 
 greatest town of Europe, whence arose the 
 proverb, Les Jiamene tient un Gan, qui tiendra 
 Paris dedans. But the beautifullest, richest, 
 strongest, and most privileg'd city is Antwerp 
 in Brabant, being the Marquisate of the Holy 
 Empire, and drawing near to the nature of a 
 Hans-town, for she pays the Prince no other 
 tax but the impost. Before the dissociation 
 of the seventeen Provinces, this town was one 
 of the greatest marts of Europe, and gi-eatest 
 bank this side the Alps ; most Princes having 
 theii- factors here, to take up or let out 
 moneys : and here our Gresham got all his 
 wealth, and built our Royal Exchange by 
 model of that here. The merchandise brought 
 hither from Germany, France, and Italy by 
 land, and from England, Spain, and the Hans- 
 towns by sea, was estimated at above twenty 
 millions of crowns every year : but as no
 
 198 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 violent thing is long lasting, and as 'tis fatal 
 to all kingdoms, states, towns, and languages 
 to have their period, so this renown'd mart 
 hath suffer'd a shrewd eclipse, yet no utter 
 downfall, the exchange of the King of Spain's 
 money, and some small land traffic, keeping 
 still life in her, tho' nothing so full of vigour 
 as it was. Therefore there is no town under 
 the Archduke where the States have more 
 conceal'd friends than in Antwerp, who would 
 willingly make them her masters, in hope to 
 recover her former commerce ; which after 
 the last twelve years' truce began to revive a 
 little, the States permitting to pass by Lillo's 
 Sconce (which commands the river Scheld, 
 and lieth in the teeth of the town) some small 
 cross-sail'd ships to pass hither. There is no 
 place hath been more passive than this, and 
 more often pillag'd ; amongst other times she 
 was once plunder'd most miserably by the 
 Spaniards, under the conduct of a priest, 
 immediately on Don John of Austria's death ; 
 she had then her Stad-huis burnt, which 
 had cost a few years before above 20,000 crowns
 
 PAMILIAE LETTERS. 199 
 
 away thence amounted to forty tons of gold : 
 thus she was reduc'd, not only to poverty, 
 but a kind of captivity, being commanded 
 by a citadel, which she preferr'd before a 
 garrison. This made the merchants retire and 
 seek a more free rendezvous, some in Zealand, 
 some in Holland, specially in Amsterdam, 
 which rose upon the fall of this town, as 
 Lisbon did from Venice upon the discovery 
 of the Cape of Good Hope, tho' Venice be 
 not near so much crest-fallen. 
 
 I will now steer my discourse to the 
 United Provinces, as they term themselves, 
 which are six in number, viz. , Holland, Zea- 
 land, Friesland, Overyssel, Groningen, and 
 Utrecht, three parts of Guelderland, and 
 some frontier towns and places of contribution 
 in Brabant and Flanders. In all these there 
 is no innovation at all introduc'd, notwith- 
 standing this great change in point of 
 government, except that the College of States 
 represents the duke or earl in times past ; 
 which College consists of the chiefest gentry of 
 the country, surintendents of towns, and the 
 principal magistrates. Every Province and
 
 200 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 great town chooses 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 stands for law. These, being 
 assembled, consult of all matters of state, 
 justice, and war ; the advocate who is prime 
 in the assembly propounds the business, and 
 after collects the suffrages, first of the 
 provinces, then of the towns ; which being 
 put in form, he delivers in pregnant and 
 moving speeches ; and in case there be a 
 dissonance and reluctancy of opinions, he 
 labours to accord and reconcile them ; conclu- 
 ding always with the major voices. 
 
 Touching the administration of justice, 
 the President, who is monthly chang'd, with 
 the great Council, has the supreme judica- 
 ture ; from whose decrees there's no appeal, 
 but a revision ; and then some of the choicest 
 lawyers among them are appointed. 
 
 For their oppidan government, they have 
 
 variety of offices, a Scout, Burgomasters, a 
 
 Balue, and Vroetschoppens.^ The Scout is 
 
 1 Schout, sheriff; Baljuw, bailiff; Vroedschappen, 
 town-councillor.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 201 
 
 chosen by the States, Avho with the Balues 
 have the judging of all criminal matters in 
 last resort without appeal ; they have also 
 the determining of civil causes, but those are 
 appealable to the Hague. Touching their 
 chiefest Governor (or General rather, now), 
 having made proof of the Spaniard, German, 
 French, and English, and agreeing with none 
 of them, they alighted at last upon a man of 
 their own mould, Prince Maurice, now their 
 General ; in whom concurr'd divers parts 
 suitable to such a charge, having been train'd 
 up in the wars by his father, who, with three 
 of his uncles and divers of his kindred, 
 sacrific'd their lives in the States' quarrel : he 
 hath thriven well since he came to the 
 Government : he clear'd Friesland, Overyssel, 
 and Groningen, in less than eighteen months. 
 He hath now continued their Governor and 
 General by sea and land above thirty-three 
 years ; he hath the election of magistrates, 
 the pardoning of malefactors, and divers other 
 prerogatives ; yet they are short of the reach 
 of sovereignt}^, and of the authority of the 
 antiont Counts of Holland : tlio' I cannot say
 
 202 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 'tis a mercenary employment, yet he hath a 
 limited allowance, nor hath he any implicit 
 command when he goes to the field, for either 
 the Council of War marcheth with him, or else 
 he receives daily directions from them : more- 
 over, the States themselves reserve the power 
 of nominating all commanders in the army, 
 which, being of sundry nations, deprive him of 
 those advantages he might have to make him- 
 self absolute. Martial discipline is nowhere 
 so regular as amongst the States, nowhere 
 are there lesser insolencies committed upon 
 the burgher, nor robberies upon the country 
 boors ; nor are the officers permitted to insult 
 over the common soldier. When the army 
 marcheth, not one dares take so much as an 
 apple off a tree, or a root out of the earth in 
 tlieir passage ; and the reason is, they are 
 punctually paid their pay, else I believe they 
 would be insolent enough ; and were not the 
 pay so certain, I think few or none would 
 serve them. They speak of 60,000 they have 
 in perpetual pay by land and sea, at home, and 
 in the Indies. The King of France was us'd 
 to maintain a regiment, but since Henry the
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 203 
 
 Great's death, the payment hath been 
 neglected. The means they have to maintain 
 these forces, to pay their Governor, to discharge 
 all other expense, as the preservation of their 
 dykes, which comes to a vast expense yearly, 
 is the antient revenue of the Counts of Holland, 
 the impropriate church-livings, imposts 
 upon all merchandise, which is gi-eater upon 
 exported than imported goods ; excise upon 
 all commodities, as well for necessity as 
 pleasure ; taxes upon every acre of ground, 
 which is such, that the whole country returns 
 into their hands every three years. Add 
 hereunto the art they use in their bank by the 
 rise and fall of money, the fishing upon our 
 coasts ; whither they send every autumn 
 above 700 hulks or busses, which, in the 
 voyages they make, return above a million in 
 herrings ; moreover, their fishing for green 
 fish and salmon amounts to so much more ; 
 and for their cheese and butter, 'tis thought 
 they vent as much every year as Lisbon doth 
 spices. This keeps the common treasury 
 always full, that upon any extraordinary 
 service or design there is seldom any new
 
 204 JAMES HOWELL, 
 
 tax upon the people. Traffic is their general 
 profession, being all either merchants or 
 mariners ; and having no land to manure, 
 they furrow the sea for their living : and this 
 universality of trade, and their banks of 
 adventures, distributes the wealth so equally, 
 that few amongst them are exceeding rich, or 
 exceeding poor ; gentry among them is very 
 thin, and, as in all democracies, little respected ; 
 and, coming to dwell in towns, they soon 
 mingle with the merchant, and so degenerate. 
 Their soil, being all 'twixt marsh and meadow, 
 is so fat in pasturage, that one cow will give 
 eight quarts of milk a day ; so that, as a boor 
 told me, in four little dMrps near Haarlem, 'tis 
 thought there is as much milk milk'd in the 
 3'ear as there is Rhenish wine brought to 
 Dort, which is the sole staple of it. Their 
 towns are beautiful, and neatly built, and 
 with such uniformity, that who sees one, sees 
 all. In some places, as in Amsterdam, the 
 foundation costs more than the superstructure, 
 for the ground being soft, they are constrain'd 
 to ram in huge stakes of timber (with avooI 
 about it to preserve it from putrefaction)
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 205 
 
 till they come to a firm basis ; so that as 
 one said, 'Whosoever could see Amsterdam 
 under ground, should see a huge winter 
 forest. ' 
 
 Among all the confederate Provinces, Hol- 
 land is most predominant, which, being but 
 six hours' journey in breadth, contains nine- 
 and-forty wall'd towns, and all these within a 
 day's journey one of another. Amsterdam 
 for the present is one of the greatest mercantile 
 towns in Europe. To her is appropriated the 
 East and West India trade, whither she sends 
 yearly forty great ships, with another fleet to 
 the Baltic Sea ; but they send not near so 
 many to the Mediterranean as England. 
 Other towns are passably rich, and stor'd 
 with shipping, but not one very poor ; which 
 proceeds from the wholesome policy they use, 
 to assign every town some firm staple 
 commodity; as to (their Maiden-Town) Dort 
 the German wines and corn, to Middleburgh 
 the French and Spanish wines, to Trevere (the 
 Prince of Orange his town) the Scots' trade. 
 Leyden in recompense of her long siege was 
 erected to an University, which with Franeker
 
 206 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 in Friesland is all they have ; Haarlem for 
 knitting and weaving hath some privilege ; 
 Rotterdam hath the English cloth : and this 
 renders their towTis so equally rich and 
 populous. They allow free harbour to all 
 nations, with liberty of religion, (the Roman 
 only excepted,) as far as the Jew, who hath 
 two synagogues allow'd him, but only in 
 Amsterdam ; which piece of policy they 
 borrow of the Venetian, with whom they 
 have very intimate intelligence : only the 
 Jews in Venice, in Rome, and other places, go 
 with some outward mark of distinction, but 
 here they wear none : and these two republics, 
 that in the East and this in the West, 
 are the two Reraoras that stick to the 
 great vessel of Spain, that it cannot sail to 
 the "Western Monarchy. 
 
 I have been long in the survey of these 
 Provinces, yet not long enough, for much 
 more might be said, which is fitter for a story 
 than a survey : I will conclude mth a mot or 
 two of the people, whereof some have been re- 
 nown'd in times past for feats of war. Among 
 the States, the Hollander or Batavian hath
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 207 
 
 been most known, for some of the Roman 
 Emperors have had a selected guard of them 
 about their persons for their fidelity and 
 valour, as now the King of France hath of the 
 Swiss. The Frisians also liave been famous 
 for those large privileges wherewith Charle- 
 magne endow'd them ; the Flemings also have 
 been illustrious for the martial exploits they 
 achiev'd in the East, where two of the Earls 
 of Flanders were crown'd Emperors. They 
 have all a genius inclin'd to commerce, very 
 inventive and witty in manufactures, witness 
 the art of printing, painting, and colouring 
 in glass ; those curious quadrants, chimes and 
 dials, those kind of waggons which are us'd 
 up and down Christendom were first us'd by 
 them ; and for the mariner's compass, tho' the 
 matter be disputable 'twixt the Neapolitan, 
 the Portugal, and them, yet there is a strong 
 argument on their side, in regard they v/ere 
 the first that subdivided the four cardinal 
 winds to two-and-thirty, others naming them 
 in their language. 
 
 There is no part of Europe so haunted with 
 all sorts of foreigners as the Netherlands,
 
 208 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 which makes the inhabitants, as well women 
 as men, so well vers'd in all sorts of languages, 
 so that in Exchange time one may hear seven 
 or eight sorts of tongues spoken upon their 
 bourses : nor are the men only expert herein, 
 but the women and maids also in their 
 common hostries ; and in Holland the wives 
 are so well vers'd in bargaining, cyphering, 
 and ^vriting, that in the absence of their 
 husbands in long sea voyages, they beat the 
 trade at home, and their words will pass in 
 equal credit. These women are wonderfully 
 sober, tho' their husbands make commonly 
 their bargains in drink, and then are they 
 more cautelous. This confluence of strangers 
 makes them very populous, which was the 
 cause that Charles the Emperor said, ' That 
 all the Netherlands seem'd to him but as one 
 continued town.' He and his gi'andfather 
 jNIaximilian, notwithstanding the choice of 
 kingdoms they had, kept their Courts most 
 frequently in them, which shew'd how highly 
 they esteem'd them ; and I believe if Philip 
 II. had visited them sometimes, matters had 
 not gone so ill.
 
 FAMILIAK LETTERS. 209 
 
 There is no part of the earth, considering 
 the small circuit of country, which is estimated 
 to be but as big as the fifth part of Italy, 
 where one may find more diff'ering customs, 
 tempers, and humours of people, than in the 
 Netherlands. The Walloon is quick and 
 sprightful, accostable and full of compliment, 
 and gaudy in apparel, like his next neighbour 
 the French : the Fleming and Bralianter, some- 
 what more slow and more sparing of speech : 
 the Hollander slower than he, more surly 
 and respectless of gentry and strangers, 
 homely in his clothing, of very few Avords, 
 and heavy in action ; which may be well 
 imputed to the quality of the soil, which 
 works so strongly upon the humours, that 
 when people of a more vivacious and nimble 
 temper come to mingle with them, their 
 children are observ'd to partake rather of the 
 soil than the sire : and so it is in all animals 
 besides. 
 
 Thus have I huddled up some observations 
 of the Low Countries, beseeching your Lord- 
 ship would be pleas'd to pardon the imperfec- 
 tions, and correct the errors of them ; for I
 
 210 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 know none so capable to do it as your 
 Lordship, to whom I am — A most humble and 
 ready servitor, J. H. 
 
 Antwerp, 1 May, 1622. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 To my Brother, Mr. Hugh Penry, ujoon his 
 tnarriagc. 
 
 Sir, — You have a good while the interest 
 of a friend in me, but you have me now in a 
 straiter tie, for I am your brother by your 
 late marriage, which hath turn'd friendship 
 into an alliance ; you have in your arms one 
 of my dearest sisters, who I hope, nay I 
 know, will make a good wife. I heartily 
 congratulate this marriage, and jiray that a 
 blessing may descend upon it from that place 
 where all marriages are made, which is from 
 Heaven, the fountain of all felicity : to this 
 prayer I think it no profaneness to add the 
 saying of the lyric poet Horace, in whom I 
 know you delight much ; and I send it you as 
 a kind of Epithalamium, and msh it may be 
 verified in you both :
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 211 
 
 FcBlices ter et amplius 
 
 Quos irrupta tenet copula, nee mails 
 Divuisus querimoniis 
 
 Stiprema citius solvet amor die. 
 
 Thus Englisli'd : 
 
 Tliat couple's more than trebly blest, 
 "Which nuptial bonds do so combine, 
 That no distaste can them untwine, 
 
 Till the last day send both to rest. 
 
 So, my dear brothei", I much rejoice for this 
 alliance, and wish you may increase and 
 multiply to your heart's content. — Your affec- 
 tionate brother, J. H. 
 
 20 May, 1622. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 To my Brother, Dr. Howell ; from Brussels. 
 
 Sir, — I had yours in Latin at Rotterdam, 
 whence I corresponded with you in the same 
 language ; I heard, tho' not from you, since T 
 came to Brussels, that our sister Anne is 
 lately marry 'd to Mr. Hugh Penry. I am 
 heartily glad of it, and wish the rest of our 
 sisters were so well bestow'd ; for I know Mr. 
 Penry to be a gentleman of a great deal of 
 
 P 2
 
 212 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 solid worth and integrity, and one that will 
 prove a great husband, and a good economist. 
 Here is news that Mansfeld hath receiv'd a 
 foil lately in Germany, and that the Duke of 
 Brunswick, alias Bishop of Halverstadt, hath 
 lost one of his arms ; this makes them vapour 
 here extremely, and the last week I heard of 
 a play the Jesuits of Antwerp made, in 
 derogation, or rather derision of the proceed- 
 ings of the Prince Palsgrave, where amongdivers 
 other passages, they feign'd a post to come 
 puffing upon the stage ; and being ask'd what 
 news, he answer'd, how the Palsgrave was 
 like to have shortly a huge formidable army, 
 for the King of Denmark was to send him 
 100,000, the Hollanders 100,000, and the 
 King of Great Britain 100,000 ; but being 
 ask'd thousands of what ? he reply'd, * The 
 first would send 100,000 red herrings, the 
 second 100,000 cheeses, and the last 100,000 
 ambassadors ; ' alluding to Sir Richard 
 Weston, and Sir Edward Conway, my Lord 
 Carlisle, Sir Arthur Chichester, and lastly 
 the Lord Digby, who have been all employ'd 
 in quality of ambassadors in less than two
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 213 
 
 years, since the beginning of these German 
 broils. Touching the last, having been with 
 the Emperor and the Duke of Bavaria, and 
 carry'd himself with such high wisdom in 
 his negotiations with the one, and stoutness 
 with the other, and having preserv'd Count 
 Mansfeld's troops from disbanding, by pawn- 
 ing his own argentry and jewels, he pass'd 
 this way, where they say the Archduke did 
 esteem him more than any ambassador that 
 ever was in this Court ; and the report yet 
 is very fresh of his high abilities. 
 
 We are to remove hence in coach towards 
 Paris the next week, where we intend to 
 winter, or hard by. When you have 
 opportunity to write to AVales, I pray present 
 my duty to my father, and my love to the 
 rest ; and pray remember me also to all at the 
 Hill and the Dale, especially to that most 
 virtuous gentleman, Sir John Franklin. So, 
 my dear brother, I pray God continue and 
 improve his blessings to us both, and bring us 
 .again together with comfort. — Your brother, 
 
 J. H. 
 
 10 Ju7ie, 1622.
 
 214 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 To Dr. TJw. Prichard, at Worcester House. 
 
 Sir, — Friendship is the great chain of 
 human society, and intercourse of letters is 
 one of the chiefest links of that chain : you 
 know this as well as I, therefore I pray let our 
 friendship, let our love, that nationality of 
 British love, that virtuous tie of academic 
 love, be still strengthen'd (as heretofore) and 
 receive daily more and more vigour. I am 
 now in Paris, and there is weekly opportunity 
 to receive and send : and if you please to 
 send, you shall be sure to receive, for I make 
 it a kind of religion to be punctual in this 
 kind of payment. I am heartily glad to hear 
 that you are become a domestic member to 
 that most noble family of the AVorcesters, and 
 I hold it to be a very good foundation for 
 future preferment ; I wish you may be as 
 happy in them, as I know they will be happy 
 in you. France is now barren of news, only 
 there was a shrewd brush lately 'twixt the 
 young King and his mother, who having the
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 215 
 
 Duke of Epernon and others for her champions, 
 met him in an open field about Pont de Ce, 
 but she went away with the worst ; such was 
 the rare diitifuhiess of the King, that he 
 forgave her upon his knees, and pardon' d all 
 her complices : and now there is an universal 
 peace in this country, which 'tis thought will 
 not last long, for there is a war intended 
 against them of the Reform'd Religion ; for 
 this King, tho' he be slow in speech, yet he is 
 active in spirit, and loves motion. I am here 
 camerade to a gallant young gentleman, my 
 old acquaintance, who is full of excellent 
 parts, which he hath acquir'd by a choice 
 breeding the Baron his father gave him both 
 in the University, and in the Inns-of-Court ; 
 so that, for the time, I envy no man's 
 happiness. So with jny hearty commends, 
 and much endear'd love unto you, I rest — 
 Yours whiles Jam. Howell, 
 
 Paris, 3 August, 1622
 
 216 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 To the, Honourable Sir The. Savage, (after 
 Loi'd Savage,) at his House upon Tower Rill. 
 
 Honourable Sir, — Those many undeserv'd 
 favours for which I stand oblig'd to yourself 
 aud my noble Lady, since the time I had the 
 happiness to come first under your roof, and 
 the command you pleas'd to lay upon me at 
 my departure thence, call upon me at this time 
 to give you account how matters pass in 
 France. 
 
 That which for the present affords most 
 plenty of news, is Rochelle, which the King 
 threateneth to block up this spring with an 
 army by sea, under the command of the Duke 
 of Nevers, and by a land army under his own 
 conduct : both sides prepare, he to assault, 
 the Rochellers to defend. The King declares 
 that he ])roceeds not against them for their 
 religion, which he is still contented to tokrate, 
 Imt for holding an assembly against his 
 declarations. They answer, that their 
 assembly is grounded upon his Majesty's
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 217 
 
 royal warrant, given at the dissolution of the 
 last assembly at Laudun, where he solemnly 
 gave his word, to permit them to reassemble 
 when they would six months after, if the 
 breaches of their liberty and grievances which 
 they then propounded were not redress'd ; 
 and they say, this being unperform'd, it 
 stands not with the sacred person of a king to 
 violate his promise, being the first that ever 
 he made them. The King is so incens'd 
 against them, that their deputies can have 
 neither access to his person nor audience of 
 his Council, as they style themselves the 
 Deputies of the Assembly at Rochelle ; but if 
 they say they come from the whole body of 
 them of the pretended Reform'd Religion, he 
 will hear them. The breach between them 
 is grown so wide, that the King resolves on a 
 siege. This resolution of the King is much 
 fomented by the Roman clergy ; specially 
 by the Celestines, who have 200,000 crowns 
 of gold in the arsenal of Paris, Avhich they 
 would sacrifice all to this service ; besides, 
 the Pope sent him a bull to levy what sums 
 he would of the Gallican Church, for the
 
 218 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 advancement of liis design. This resolution 
 also is much push'd on by the gentry, "".vho 
 besides the particular employments and pay 
 they shall receive hereby, are glad to have 
 their young King train'd up in arms, to 
 make him a martial man : but for the 
 merchant and poor peasant, they tremble at 
 the name of this war, fearing their teeth 
 should be set on edge with those sour 
 grapes their fathers tasted in the time of 
 the League ; for if the King begins with 
 Rochelle, 'tis fear'd all the four comers of 
 the kingdom Avill be set on fire. 
 
 Of all the towns of surety which they of the 
 religion hold, Rochelle is the chiefest, a place 
 strong by nature, but stronger by art. It 
 is a maritime town, and landward they can 
 by sluices drown a league's distance ; 'tis 
 fortify'd with mighty thick walls, bastions, 
 and counterscarps, and those according to the 
 modern rales of enginry. This, amongst other 
 cautionary towns, was granted by Henry IV. 
 to them of the religion for a certain term 
 of years ; which being expir'd, the King saith 
 they are devolv'd again to the Crown, and so
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 219 
 
 demands them. They ot the Religion pretend 
 to have divers grievances ; first, they have 
 not been paid these two years the 160,000 
 crowns which the last King gave them 
 annually, to maintain their ministers and 
 garrisons. They complain of the King's 
 carriage lately at Beam (Henry the Great's 
 country), which was merely Protestant, where 
 he hath introduc'd two years since the public 
 exercise of the Mass, which had not been 
 simg there fifty years before ; he alter'd also 
 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's under France) he hath put it 
 down, and publish'd an edict, that the 
 Navarrois should come to Toulouse, the 
 chief town of Languedoc ; and lastly, he 
 left behind him a garrison in the said town 
 of Navarrin, These and other grievances 
 they of the Religion proposed to the King lately, 
 desiring his Majesty would let them enjoy 
 still those privileges his predecessor Henry 
 III. and his father Henry IV. afforded them
 
 '£2M JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 by Act of Pacification. But be made tliem 
 a short answer, That what the one did in 
 this point, he did it out of fear ; what the 
 other did, he did it out of love ; but he 
 would have them know, that he neither 
 lov'd them nor fear'd them : so the business 
 is like to bleed sore on both sides ; nor is 
 there yet any a[)pearance of prevention. 
 
 Tliere was a scuffle lately here 'twixt the 
 Duke of Xevers and the Cardinal of Guise, 
 who have had a long suit in law about an 
 abbey ; an 1 meeting the last week about the 
 Palace, from words they fell to blows, the 
 Cardinal struck the Duke first, and so were 
 parted ; but in the afternoon there appear'd 
 on both sides no less than 3,000 horse in 
 a field hard by, which shews the populous- 
 uess and sudden .strength of this huge city : 
 but the matter was taken up by the King 
 himself, and the Cardinal clapt up in the 
 Bastille, where the King saith he shall abide 
 to ripen; for he is but young, and they 
 speak of a bull that is to come from Rome 
 to decardinalize him. I fear to have 
 trespass'd too much upon your patience,
 
 TAMTLTA-R LETTEE?. 221 
 
 therefore I will conclude for the present, "but 
 will never cease to profess myself — Your 
 thrice humhle and ready servitor, J. H. 
 Paris, IS August, 1C22. 
 
 XX. 
 
 To D. Caldwell, Esq. ; from Poissy. 
 
 My dear D., — To be free from English, and 
 to have the more conveniency to fall close to 
 our business, Mr. Altham and I are lately 
 retir'd from Paris to this town of Poissy, a 
 pretty genteel place at the foot of the great 
 forest of St. Germain, upon the river 
 Sequana, and within a mile of one of the 
 King's chiefest standing houses, and about 
 fifteen miles from Paris. Here is one of the 
 prime nunneries of all France. Lewis IX., 
 who in the catalogue of the French Kings is 
 call'd St. LeAvis, which title was confirmed by 
 the Pope, was baptiz'd in this little town ; 
 and after his return from Egypt and other places 
 against the Saracens, being ask'd by what 
 title he would be distinguished from the rest of 
 his predecessors after his death, he answer'd,
 
 222 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 ' That lie desii'd to be call'd Lewis of Poissy.' 
 Eeply being made, that there were divers 
 other places and cities of renown, where he 
 had perform'd brave exploits, and obtain'd 
 famous \'ictoi'ies, therefore it was more 
 fitting that some of those places should 
 denominate him : 'No,' said he, 'I desire to be 
 call'd Lewis of Poissy, because there I got the 
 most glorious victory that ever I had, for 
 there I overcame the devil ; ' meaning that he 
 was christen'd there. 
 
 I sent you from Antwerp a silver Dutch 
 table-book, I desire to hear of the receipt of 
 it in your next. I must desire you (as I did 
 once at Rouen) to send me a dozen pair of the 
 whitest kidskin gloves for women, and half a 
 dozen pair of knives, by the merchant's post ; 
 and if you want anything that France can 
 afford, I hope you know what power you have 
 to dispose of — Yours, J. H. 
 
 7 September, 1622.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 223 
 
 XXI. 
 
 To my Father ; from Paris. 
 
 Sir, — I was afraid I should never have had 
 ability to write to you again, I had lately 
 such a dangerous fit of sickness ; but I have 
 now pass'd the brunt of it, God hath been 
 pleas'd to reprieve me, and reserve me for 
 more days, which I hope to have grace to 
 number better. Mr. Altham and I having 
 retir'd to a small town from Paris for more 
 privacy, and sole conversation with the 
 nation, I ty'd myself to a task for the 
 reading of so many books in such a compass 
 of time ; and thereupon, to make good my 
 word to myself, I us'd to watch many nights 
 together, tho' it was in the depth of winter ; 
 but returning to this town, I took cold in tlie 
 head, and so that mass of rheum which had 
 gather'd by my former watching, turnd to an 
 imposthume in my head, whereof I was sick 
 above forty days : at the end they cauteriz'd 
 and made an issue in my cheek, to make vent 
 for the imposthume, and that sav'd my life.
 
 224 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 At first they let me blood, and I parted with 
 above fifty ounces in less than a fortnight ; 
 for phlebotomy is so much practis'd here, 
 that if one's little finger ache, they presently 
 open a vein ; and to balance the blood on 
 both sides, they usually let blood in both arms. 
 And the commonness of the thing seems to 
 take away all fear, insomuch that the very 
 women when they find themselves indispos'd, 
 will open a vein themselves ; for they hold, 
 that the blood which hath a circulation, and 
 fetcheth a round every twenty-four hours 
 about the body, is quickly repair'd again. I 
 w^as eighteen days and nights that I had no 
 sleep, but short imperfect slumbers, and those, 
 too, procur'd by potions : the tumour at last 
 came so about the throat, that I had scarce 
 vent left for respiration ; and my body was 
 brought so low with all sorts of physic, that I 
 appear'd like a mere skeleton. When I was 
 indifferently well recover'd, some of the 
 doctors and chirurgeons that tended me, 
 gave me a visit ; and amongst other things, 
 they fell into discourse of wines, which was 
 the best, and so by degrees they fell upon
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 225 
 
 other beverages ; and one doctor in the 
 company who had been in England, told 
 me that we have a drink in England call'd ale, 
 which he thought was the wholesomest liquor 
 that could go into one's guts ; for whereas the 
 body of man is supported by two columns, 
 viz., the natural heat and radical moisture, he 
 said, there is no drink conduceth more to the 
 preservation of the one, and the increase of 
 the other, than ale : for while the Englishmen 
 drank only ale, they were strong, brawny, able 
 men, and could draw an arrow an ell long ; but 
 when they fell to wine and beer, they are found 
 to be much impair'd in their strength and age : 
 so the ale bore away the bell among the doctors. 
 The next week we advance our course 
 further into France towards the river of Loire 
 to Orleans, whence I shall continue to convey 
 my duty to you. In the meantime I humbly 
 crave your blessing, and your acknowledgment 
 to God Almighty for my recovery ; be pleas'd 
 further to impart my love amongst my brothers 
 and sisters, with all my kinsmen and friends 
 in the country : so I rest — Your dutiful son, 
 
 J. H. 
 
 Paris, Dtcembris 10, 1622. 
 
 Q
 
 226 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 To Sir Tho. Savage, Knight and Baronet 
 
 HoNOUEABLE SiR, — That of the fifth of this 
 present which you pleas'd to send me was 
 receiv'd, and I begin to think myself some- 
 thing more than I was, that you value so 
 much the slender endeavours of my pen to do 
 you service : I shall continue to improve your 
 good opinion of me as opportunity shall 
 serve. 
 
 Touching the great threats against Rochelle, 
 whereof I gave you an ample relation in my 
 last, matters are become now more calm, and 
 rather inclining to an accommodation, for 'tis 
 thought a sum of money will make up the 
 breach ; and to this end some think all these 
 bravados were made. The Duke of Luynes 
 is at last made Lord High Constable of 
 France, the prime officer of the Crown ; he 
 hath a peculiar Court to himself, a guard of 
 a hundred men in rich liveries, and 100,000 
 livi'es every year pension. The old Duke of 
 Lesdiguieres, one of the antientest soldiers
 
 FAMILTAPv LETTERS. 227 
 
 of France, and a Protestant, is made his 
 Lieutenant. 
 
 But in regard all Christendom rings of this 
 favourite, being the greatest that ever was in 
 France, since the Maircs of the Palace, who 
 came to be Kings afterwards, I will send you 
 herein his legend. He was born in Provence, 
 and is a gentleman by descent, tho' of a 
 petty extraction ; in the last King's time he 
 was preferr'd to be one of his pages, who 
 finding him industrious, and a good waiter, 
 allow'dhim 300 croAvns pension^cr an. , which he 
 husbanded so well, that he maintain'd himself 
 and his two brothers in passable good fashion 
 therewith. The King observing that, doubled 
 his pension, and taking notice that he w^as a 
 serviceable instrument and apt to please, he 
 thought him fit to be about his son, in whose 
 service he hath continued above fifteen years ; 
 and he hath flown so high into his favour by 
 a singular dexterity and art he hath in 
 falconry, and by shooting at birds flying, 
 Avherein the King took gi'eat pleasure, that he 
 hath soar'd to this pitch of honour. He is a 
 man of a passable good understanding and 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 JAMES HOWELIi. 
 
 torecast, of a mild comportment, humble and 
 debonair to all, and of a winning conversation ; 
 lie hath about him choice and solid heads, 
 wlio |tresciibe unto him rules of policy, by whose 
 compass he steers his course, which it's likely 
 will make him subsist long. He is now come 
 to that transcendent altitude, that he seems 
 to have mounted above the reach of envy, and 
 made all hopes of supplanting him frustrate, 
 both by the politic guidance of his own 
 actions, and the powerful alliances he hath 
 got for himself and his two brothers. He is 
 maiTy'd to the Duke of Moutbazon's daughter, 
 one of the prime peers of France ; his second 
 brother Cadenet (who is reputed the wisest of 
 the three) marry'd the heiress of Picardy, 
 with whom he had 9,000Z lands a year ; his 
 third brother Brand to the gi-eat heiress of 
 Luxembourg, of which House there have been 
 five Emperors : so that these three brothers 
 and their allies would be able to counterbalance 
 any one faction in France, the eldest and 
 youngest being made Dukes and Peers of 
 France, the other Marshal. There are lately 
 two Ambassadors Extraordinary come hither
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 229 
 
 from Venice about Yalteline/ but their 
 
 negotiation is at a stand, until the return of 
 
 an Ambassador Extraordinary which is gone to 
 
 Si:)ain. Ambassadors also are come from the 
 
 Hague, for payment of the French regiment 
 
 there, which hath been neglected these ten 
 
 years, and to know whether his Majesty will 
 
 be pleas'd to continue their pay any longer ; 
 
 but their answer is yet suspended. They have 
 
 brought news that the seven ships which were 
 
 built for his Majesty in the Texel are ready ; 
 
 to this he answer'd, that he desires to have 
 
 ten more built ; for he intends to finish that 
 
 design which his father had a- foot a little 
 
 before his death, to establish a Royal Company 
 
 of Merchants. 
 
 This is all the news that France aflFords for 
 
 the present, the relation whereof, if it proves 
 
 as acceptable as my endeavours to serve you 
 
 herein are pleasing unto me, I shall esteem 
 
 myself happy : so wishing you and my noble 
 
 1 A valley extending from Lake Como to the Tyrol. 
 In 1620, at the instigation of Spain, this district re- 
 volted from the Grey Leagues of the Protestant Swiss, 
 the result being a dispute between the Emperor, 
 Savoy, and Spain, which led to the interference of 
 France.
 
 230 JAMES -HOVTELU 
 
 lady continuance of health, and increase of 
 honour, I rest — Your humble servitor, 
 
 J. H. 
 
 Paris, 15 Decembris. 1622. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 To Sir John North, Knight. 
 
 SiK, — I confess you have made a perfect 
 conquest of me by your late favours, and I 
 yield myself your captive : a day may come 
 that will enable me to pay my ransom ; in the 
 interim, let a most thankful acknowledgment 
 be my bail and mainprise. 
 
 I am now remov'd from off the Seine to the 
 Loire, to the fair town of Orleans : there was 
 here lately a mixed procession 'twixt military 
 and ecclesiastic for the Maid of Orleans, which 
 is perform'd every year very solemnly ; her 
 statue stands upon the bridge, and her clothes 
 are preserv'd to this day, which a young man 
 wore in the procession, which makes me think 
 that her story, tho' it sound like a romance, 
 is very true. And I read it thus in two or 
 three chronicles. When the English had
 
 FAMILIAK LETTERS. 231 
 
 made such lirm invasions in France, that 
 their armies had march'd into the heart of 
 the country, besieg'd Orleans, and driven 
 Charles VII. to Bom'ges in Borrj', which made 
 him to be call'd, for the time, King of Berry ; 
 there came to his army a shepherdess, one 
 Anne de Arque,^ who with a confident look and 
 language told the King that she was design'd 
 by heaven to beat the English, and drive them 
 out of France. Therefore she desir'd a 
 command in the army, which by her extra- 
 ordinary confidence and importunity she 
 obtain'd ; and putting on man's apparel, she 
 prov'd so prosperous, that the siege was 
 rais'd from before Orleans, and the English 
 were pursu'd to Paris, and forc'd to quit that, 
 and driven to Normandy : she us'd to go on 
 with marvellous courage and resolution, and 
 her word was, hairt lia. But in Normandy 
 she was taken prisoner, and the English had 
 a fair revenge upon her, for by an arrest of 
 the Parliament of Rouen she was burnt for a 
 witch. There is a great business now a-foot 
 in Paris call'd the Polettc, which, if it take 
 1 Jeanne d'Arc.
 
 232 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 effect, will tend to correct, at leastwise to 
 cover, a great error in the French Govern- 
 ment. The custom is, that all the chief places 
 of justice thro'out all the eight courts of 
 Parliament in France, besides a great number 
 of other offices, are set to sale by the King, 
 and they return to him, unless the buyer 
 liveth fort}'- days after his resignation to 
 another. It is now propounded that these 
 casual offices shall be absolutely hereditary, 
 provided that every officer pay a yearly 
 revenue to the King according to the 
 valuation of and perquisites of the office : this 
 business is now in hot agitation, but the issue 
 is yet doubtful. 
 
 The last you sent I receiv'd by Vacandary 
 in Paris : so, highly honouring your excellent 
 parts and merit, I rest, now that I under- 
 stand French indifferent well, no more your 
 {s?i€) servant,^ but— Your most faithful ser- 
 vitor, J. H. 
 
 Orleans, 3 Martii, 1622. 
 
 1 Howell here is evidently referring to a former 
 letter, written in French, in which he had used the 
 word servante, forgetting its gender.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 233 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 To Sir James Crofts, Knight. 
 
 Sir, — "Were I to freight a letter with com- 
 pliments, this country would furnish me with 
 variety, but of news a small store at this 
 present ; and for compliment, it is dangerous 
 to use any to you, who have such a piercing 
 judgment to discern semblances from realities. 
 
 The Queen-Mother lb come at last to Paris, 
 where she hath not been since Ancre's death ; 
 the King is also return'd post from Bordeaux, 
 having travers'd most part of his kingdom. 
 He settled peace everywhere he pass'd, and 
 quash'd divers insurrections ; and by his 
 obedience to his mother, and his lenity to- 
 wards all her partisans at Pont de Ce, where 
 above four hundred were slain, and notwith- 
 standing that he was victorious, yet he gave a 
 general pardon ; he hath gained much upon 
 the affections of his people. His Council of 
 State went ambulatory always with him, and 
 as they say here, never did men manage things 
 with more wisdom. There is a war, question-
 
 234 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 less, a-fermenting against the Protestants ; 
 the Duke of Epernon in a kind of a rodo- 
 m-ontndo way, desir'd leave of the King to 
 block up Rochelle, and in six weeks he would 
 undertake to deliver her to his hands ; but 
 I believe he reckons without his host. I hope 
 to return now very shortly to England, where, 
 among the rest of my noble friends, I shall 
 much rejoice to see and serve you, whom I 
 honour with no vulgar affection ; so I am — 
 Your ti'ue servitor, J. H. 
 
 Orleans, 5 March, 1622. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 To my Cousin, Mr. Will. Martin, at Brussels. 
 
 Dear Cousin, — I find you are very punctual 
 in your performances, and a precise observer 
 of the promise you made here to correspond 
 with Mr. Altham and me by letters. . I thank 
 you for the variety of German news you im- 
 parted to me, which was so neatly couch'd 
 and curiously knit together, that your letter 
 might serve for a pattern to the best intelli- 
 gencer. I am sorry the affairs of the Prince
 
 FAMILIAH LETTERS. 235 
 
 Palsgrave go so untowardly ; the wheel of war 
 may turn, and that spoke which is now up 
 may down again. For French occurrences, 
 there is a war certainly intended against them 
 of the Religion here, and there are visible pre- 
 parations a-foot already. Amongst other that 
 shrink in the shoulders at it, the King's ser- 
 vants are not very well pleas'd with it, in 
 regard, besides Scots and Swissers, there are 
 divers of the King's servants that are Protes- 
 tants. If a man go to ragioii di stato, ' to 
 reason of state,' the French King hath some- 
 thing to justify this design ; for the Protes- 
 tants being so numerous, and having near 
 upon fifty presidiary Avall'd towns in their 
 hands for caution, they have power to disturb 
 France when they please, and being abetted 
 by a foreign Prince, to give the King law ; 
 and you know, as well as I, how they have 
 been made use of to kindle a fire in France. 
 Therefore, rather than they should be utterly 
 supprest, I believe the Spaniard himself would 
 reach them his ragged-staff to defend them. 
 
 I send you here inclos'd another from 
 Master Altham, who respects you dearly, and
 
 236 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 we remember'd you lately at Lajyommedupin 
 in the best liquor of the French gi-ape. I 
 shall be shortly for London, where I shall not 
 rejoice a little to meet you. The English air 
 may confirm what foreign begun, I mean our 
 friendship and affections ; and in me (that I 
 may return you in English the Latin verses 
 you sent me) 
 
 As soon a little, little ant 
 
 Shall bib the ocean dry, 
 A snail shall creep about the world, 
 
 Ere these affections die. 
 
 So, my dear cousin, may Virtue be your 
 guide, and Fortune your companion. — Yours 
 while Jam. Howell. 
 
 Paris, 18 March, 1622.
 
 FAMILIAE LETTERS. 237 
 
 Section III. 
 
 I. 
 
 To my Father. 
 
 Sir., — I am safely returned now the second 
 time from beyond the seas, but I have yet no 
 employment : God and good friends, I hope, 
 will shortly provide one for me. 
 
 The Spanish Ambassador, Count Gondomar. 
 doth strongly negotiate a match 'twixt our 
 Prince and the Infanta of Spain ; but at his 
 first audience there happened an ill-favour'd 
 accident, (pray God it prove no ill augury,) 
 for my Lord of Arundel being sent to accom- 
 pany him to "Whitehall, upon a Sunday in 
 the afternoon, as they *vere going over the 
 terrace, it broke under them, out only one 
 was hurt in the arm. Gondomar said,, that 
 he had not car d to nave dy'd in so good 
 company. He saith, there is no other
 
 238 JAMES ho"«t:ll. 
 
 way to regain the Palatinate but by this 
 match, and to settle an eternal peace in 
 Christendom. 
 
 The ]\Iarquis of Buckingham continuoth 
 still in fulness of grace and favour ; the 
 Countess his mother sways also much at 
 Court : she brought Sir Henry Montague 
 from delivering law on the King's Bench, to 
 look to his bags in the Exchequer, for she 
 made him Lord High Treasurer of England ; 
 but he parted with his white staff before the 
 year's end, tho' his purse had bled deeply for 
 it, (above 20,000^,) which made a Lord of 
 this land to ask him at his return from 
 Court, ' Whether he did not find that Avood 
 was extreme dear at Ifewmarket,' for there 
 he receiv'd the white staff. There is now a 
 notable stining man in the place, my Lord 
 Cranfield, who from walking about the Ex- 
 change, is come to sit Chief-Justice in the 
 Chequer-Chamber, and to have one of the 
 highest places at the Council-Table. He is 
 marry'd to one of the tribe of fortune, a 
 kinswoman of the Marquis of Buckingham. 
 Thus there is rising and falling at Court ; and
 
 FAMILIATi, LETTERS. 239 
 
 as in our natural pace one foot cannot be up 
 till the other be down, so it is in the affairs of 
 the Avorld commonly, one man riseth at the 
 fall of another. 
 
 I have no more to write at this time, but 
 that with tender of my duty to you, I desire a 
 continuance of your blessing and prayers. — 
 Your dutiful son, J. H. 
 
 London, 22 March, 1622. 
 
 II. 
 
 To the Honourable Mr. John Savage, [now Earl 
 of Rivers,) at Florence, 
 
 Sir, — My love is not so short but it can 
 reach as far as Florence to find you out, and 
 further too, if occasion requir'd : nor are these 
 affections I have to serve you so dull, but 
 they can clamber o'er the Alps and Appenines 
 to Avait upon you, as they have adventur'd to 
 do now in this paper. I am sorry I was not 
 in London to kiss your hands before you set 
 to sea, and much more sorry that I had not 
 the happiness to meet you in Holland or 
 Brabant, for we went the very same road, and
 
 240 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 lay in Dort and Antwerp, in the same 
 lodgings you had lain in a fortnight before. 
 I presume you have by this time tasted of the 
 sweetness of travel, and that you havewean'd 
 your affections from England for a good while ; 
 you must now think upon home, as (one said) 
 good men think upon heaven, aiming still to 
 go thither, but not till they finish their 
 course ; and yours, I understand, will be three 
 years. In the meantime you must not sutfer 
 any melting tenderness of thoughts, or longing 
 desires, to distract or interrupt you in that 
 fair road you are in to virtue, and to beautify 
 within that comely edifice which nature hath 
 built without you. I know your reputation 
 is precious to you, as it should be to every 
 noble mind ; you have expos'd it now to the 
 hazard, therefore you must be careful it 
 receive no taint at your return, by not answer- 
 ing that expectation which your Prince and 
 noble parents have of you. Your are now 
 under the chiefest clime of wisdom, fair Italy, 
 the darling of nature, the nurse of policy, the 
 theatre of virtue. But tho' Italy give milk to 
 Virtue with one dug, she often suffers Vice to
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 241 
 
 suck at the other ; therefore you must take 
 heed you mistake not the dug : for there is an 
 illfavour'd saying, that Inglcse ItaUonato e 
 JJiavoIo incarnato; 'An Englishman Italianate 
 is a devil incarnate.' I fear no such thing of 
 you, I have had such pregnant proofs of j^our 
 ingenuity, and noble inclinations to virtue 
 and honour. I know you have a mind to both, 
 but I must tell you that you Avill hardly get 
 the good-will of the latter, unless the first 
 speak a good word for you. AVhen you go to 
 Rome, you may haply see the ruins of two 
 temples, one dedicated to Virtue, the other 
 to Honour ; and there Mas no Avay to enter 
 into the last but thro' the first. Noble Sir, 
 I wish your good very seriously, and if you 
 please to call to memory, and examine the 
 circumstance of things, and my carriage 
 towards you since I had the happiness to be 
 known first to your honourable family, I 
 know you will conchide 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 shi])ping to Leghorn,
 
 242 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 among other things, he intends to send you a 
 whole brawn in collars. I pray be pleased to 
 remember my affectionate service to Mr. 
 Thomas Savage, and my kind respects to Mr. 
 Bold. For English news, I know this packet 
 comes freighted to you, therefore I forbear at 
 this time to send any. Farewell, noble heir of 
 Honour, and command always — Your true 
 servitor, J. H. 
 
 London, 24 March, 1622. 
 
 III. 
 
 To Sir James Crofts, Knight, at St. Osyth in 
 
 Essex. 
 
 Sir, — I had yours upon Tuesday last, and 
 whereas you are desirous to know the 
 proceedings of the Parliament, I am sorry I 
 must WTite to you that matters begin to grow 
 boisterous ; the King retir'd not long since to 
 Newmarket, not very well pleas'd, and this 
 week there went thither twelve from the 
 House of Commons, to whom Sir Richard 
 Weston was the mouth. The King not liking 
 the message they brought, call'd them his
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 243 
 
 Ambassadors, and in the large answer which 
 he hath sent to the Speaker, he saith, that he 
 must apply to them a speech of Queen 
 Elizabeth's to an Ambassador of Poland, 
 Legatum exj^edavimus, Hcraldum accepimus ; 
 ' We expected an Ambassador, we have re- 
 ceiv'd a Herald.' He takes it not well that 
 they should meddle with the match 'twixt his 
 son and the Infanta, alleging an example of 
 one of the Kings of France, who would not 
 marry his son without the advice of his 
 Parliament ; but afterwards the King grew so 
 despicable abroad, that no foreign State 
 would treat with him about anything with- 
 out his Parliament. Sundry other high 
 passages there were, as a caveat he gave 
 them, not to touch the honour of the King of 
 Spain, Avitli whom he was so far engag'd in a 
 matrimonial treaty, that he could not go 
 back. He gave them also a check for taking 
 cognisance of those things which had their 
 motion in the ordinary Courts of Justice, and 
 that Sir Edward Coke, (tho' these words were 
 not inserted in the answer, ) whom he thought 
 to be ' the fittest instrument for a tyrant 
 
 K 2
 
 244 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 that ever was in England,' should be so bold 
 as to call the Prerogative of the Crown 'a 
 great monster.' The Parliament after this 
 was not long liv'd, but broke up in discontent ; 
 and upon the point of dissolution, they made 
 a protest against divers particulars in the 
 aforesaid answer of his Majesty's. My Lord 
 Digby is preparing for Spain in quality of 
 Ambassador Extraordinary, to perfect the 
 match 'twixt our Prince and the Lady Infanta ; 
 in which business Gondomar hath waded 
 already very deep, and been very active, and 
 ingratiated himself with divers persons of 
 quality, ladies especially : yet he could do no 
 good upon the Lady Hatton, whom he desir'd 
 lately, that in regard he was her next neigh- 
 bour (at Ely House) he might have the 
 benefit of her back-gate to go abroad into the 
 fields ; but she put him oflf with a compliment. 
 He was also dispatching a post lately for 
 Spain ; and the post having received his 
 packet, and kiss'd his hands, he call'd him 
 back, and told him he had forgot one thing, 
 which was, ' That when he came to Spain, 
 he should commend him to the Sun, for he
 
 f AMILIAP. LETTERS. 245 
 
 had not seen him a great while, and in Spain 
 he should be sure to find him.' So with my 
 most humble service to my Lord of Colchester, 
 I rest — Your humble servitor, J. H. 
 
 Loudon, 24 March. 1622. 
 
 IV. 
 
 To my Brother, Mr. Hugh Pcnry. 
 
 Sir, — The Welsh nag you sent me was de- 
 liver'd me in a very good plight, and I give 
 you a thousand thanks for him ; I had 
 occasion lately to try his mettle and his 
 lungs, and every one tells me he is right, and 
 of no mongrel race, but a true mountaineer ; 
 for besides his toughness and strength of 
 lungs up a hill, he is quickly curry'd and con- 
 tent with short commons. I believe he hath 
 rot been long a highway traveller ; for 
 whereas other horses, when they pass by an 
 inn or alehouse, use to make towards them 
 to give them a friendly visit, this nag roundly 
 goes on, and scorns to cast as much as a 
 glance upon any of them ; which I know not 
 whether I shall impute it to his ignorance; or
 
 fi46 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 height of spn-it ; but conversing with the soft 
 horses in England, I believe he will quickly 
 be brought to be more courteous. 
 
 The greatest news we have now is the 
 return of the Lord Bishop of Llandaff, 
 Davenant, ^Yard, and Belcanquel, from the 
 Synod of Dort, where the Bishop had pre- 
 cedence given him according to his episcopal 
 dignity, Arminius and Vorstius were sore 
 baited there concerning predestination, 
 election, and reprobation ; as also touching 
 Christ's death, and man's redemption by it ; 
 then concerning man's corruption and con- 
 version ; lastly, concerning the perseverance 
 of the saints. I shall have shortly the trans- 
 action of the Synod. The Jesuits have put 
 out a jeering libel against it, and these two 
 verses I remember in't : 
 
 Dordrecti Synodus ? nodus; chorus integer ? ager ; 
 Conventus ? ventus ; Sessio stramen ? Amen. 
 
 But I will confront this distich with another 
 I read in France of the Jesuits in the town of 
 Dole, towards Lorraine ; they had a gi-eat house 
 given them call'd Varc (arcw?n),and upon the 
 river of the Loire, Henry IV. gave them Leu
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 247 
 
 Akhe, Sagittam in Latin, where they have 
 two statel}'' convents, that is, Bow and Arrow ; 
 whereupon one made these verses : 
 
 Arcum Dola dedit, dedit Hits alma sagittam 
 Franda ; quis chordnm, quam meniere, dabit ? 
 
 Fair France the arrow. Dole gave them the bow ; 
 Who shall the string, which they deserve, bestow? 
 
 No more now, but that with my dear love 
 to my sister, I rest — Your most affectionate 
 brother, J. H. 
 
 London, 16 Ayril, 1622, 
 
 V. 
 
 To the Lord Viscount Colchester, 
 
 My good Lord, — I received your Lordship's 
 of the last week, and, according to your 
 command, I send here inclos'd the Venetian 
 Gazette. Of foreign avisos,'^ they Avrite that 
 Mansfeld hath been beaten out of Germany, 
 and is come to Sedan, and 'tis thought the 
 Duke of Bouillon will set him up again with 
 a new army. Marquis Spinola hath newly 
 1 Advices (8p.), aviso.
 
 248 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 sat clo\m before Berghen op Zoom : your Lord- 
 ship knows well what consequence that town 
 is of, therefore it is likely this will be a hot 
 summer in the Netherlands. The French 
 King is in open war against them of the Re- 
 ligion, he hath already cleared the Loire, by 
 taking Jerseau and Saumur, where ^Monsieur 
 du Plessis sent him the keys, which are pro- 
 mis'd to be deliver'd him again, but I think 
 ad Grcecas Calendas. He hath been also 
 before St. John d'Angeli, where the young 
 Cardinal of Guise died, being struck down by 
 die puff of a cannon-bullet, which put him in 
 a burning fever, and made an end of him. The 
 last town taken was Clairac, which was put to 
 50,000 crowns ransom ; many were put 
 to the sword, and divers gentlemen drown'd 
 as they thought to scape ; this is the fifteenth 
 cautionary town the King hath taken: and 
 now they say he marcheth toward Montauban : 
 and so to Montpellier and Xismes. and then 
 have at Rochelle. M}' Lord Hays is by this 
 time, 'tis thought, with the army ; for Sir 
 Edward Herbert is return'd, having had some 
 clashings and counterbuffs with the favourite
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 249 
 
 Luynes, wherein he comported himself gallant- 
 ly. There is a fresh report blown over, that 
 Luynes is lately dead in the army of the plague, 
 some say of the purples, the next cousin-german 
 to it ; which the Protestants give out to be the j ust 
 judgment of Heaven fallen upon him because 
 he incited his master to these wars against 
 them. If he be not dead, let him die when 
 he will, he will leave a fame behind him, to 
 have been the greatest favourite for the time 
 that ever was in France, ha\dng from a simple 
 falconer come to be High Constable, and made 
 himself and his younger brother Grand Dukes 
 and Peers ; and his second brother, Cadenet, 
 Marshal ; and all three marry'd to princely 
 families. 
 
 No more now, but that I most humbly kiss 
 your Lordship's hands, and shall be always 
 most ready and cheerful to receive your 
 commandments, because I am — Your Lord- 
 ship's obliged servitor, J. H. 
 
 London, 12 August, 1C22.
 
 250 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 VI. 
 
 To my Father ; from London. 
 
 Sir, — I was at a dead stand in the course of 
 my fortunes, when it pleas'd God to provide 
 me lately an employment to Spain, whence I 
 hope there may arise both repute and profit. 
 Some of the Cape merchants of the Turkey 
 Company, among whom the chiefest were Sir 
 Robert Xajiper, and Captain Leat, propos'd to 
 me, that they had a gi-eat business in the 
 Court of Spain in agitation many years, nor 
 was it now their business, but the King's, in 
 whose name it is follow'd : they could have 
 gentlemen of good quality that would under- 
 take it, yet if I would take it upon me, they 
 would employ no other, and assur'd me that 
 the employment should tend both to my 
 benefit and credit. Now the business is this. 
 There was a great Turkey ship called the 
 Vineyard, sailing thro' the Straits towards 
 Constantinople, but by distress of weather 
 she Avas forc'd to put into a little port call'd 
 Milo, in Sardinia ; the searchers came aboard
 
 FAMILIAE LETTERS. 251 
 
 of lier, and finding her richly laden, for her 
 cargazon of broad-cloth was worth the first 
 penny near 30,000/, they cavill'd at some 
 small proportion of lead and tin which they 
 had only for the nse of the ship ; which the 
 searchers alleg'd to be ro]pa de contrahando, 
 prohibited goods ; for by Article of Peace, 
 nothing is to be carry'd to Turkey that may 
 arm or victual. The Viceroy of Sardinia 
 hereupon seiz'd upon the whole ship, and all 
 her goods, landed the master and men in 
 Spain, who coming to Sir Charles Cornwallis, 
 then Ambassador at that Court, Sir Charles 
 could do them little good at present, therefore 
 they came to England, and complain'd to the 
 King and Council : his Majesty was so sensible 
 hereof, that he sent a particular commission in 
 his own Royal Name, to demand a restitution 
 of the ship and goods, and justice upon the 
 Viceroy of Sardinia, who had so apparently 
 broke the peace, and wrong'd his subjects. 
 Sir Charles (with Sir Paul Pindar a while) 
 labour'd in the business, and commenc'd a suit 
 in law, but he was call'd home before he could 
 do anything to purpose, After him Sir John
 
 252 JAMES HOWELL, 
 
 Digby (now Lord Digby) went Ambassador to 
 Spain, and amongst other things he had that 
 particular commission from his Majesty in- 
 vested in him, to prosecute the suit in his own 
 Royal Xame : thereupon he sent a well 
 qualify'd gentleman, ]\Ir. "Walsingham Gresley, 
 to Sardinia, who unfortunately meeting with 
 some men of war in the passage, was carry 'd 
 prisoner to Algier. My Lord Digby being 
 remanded home, left the business in Mr. 
 Cottington's hands, then agent, but resum'd 
 it at his return ; yet it prov'd such a tedious 
 intricate suit, that he return'd again without 
 finishing the work, in regard of the remote- 
 ness of the island of Sardinia, whence the 
 witnesses and other dispatches were to be 
 fetched. The Lord Digby is going now 
 Ambassador Extraordinary to the Court of 
 Spain, upon the business of the Match, the 
 restitution of the Palatinate, and other high 
 affairs of State ; therefore he is desirous to 
 transmit the King's commission touching this 
 particular business to any gentleman that is 
 capable to follow it, and promiseth to assist 
 him M-ith the utmost of his power ; and
 
 FAMILIAE LETTEP.S. 253 
 
 i' faith he hath good reason to do so, in regard 
 he hath now a good round share himself in it. 
 About this business I am now preparing to go 
 to Spain, in company of the Ambassador ; 
 and I shall kiss the King's hands as his 
 agent touching this particular commission. I 
 humbly intreat that your blessing and prayers 
 may accompany me in this my new employ- 
 ment, which I have imdertaken upon very 
 good terms, touching expenses and reward- 
 So with my dear love to my brothers and 
 sisters, with other kindred and friends in the 
 country, I rest — Your dutiful son, J. H. 
 8 September, 1622. 
 
 VII. 
 
 To Sir Thomas Savage, Knight and Baronet, 
 at his house in Long-Melford. 
 
 Honourable Sir, — I receiv'd your com- 
 mands in a letter which you sent me by 
 Sir John North, and I shall not fail to serve 
 you in those particulars. It hath pleas'd God 
 to dispose of me once more for Spain, upon a 
 business which I hope will make me good re-
 
 254 JAMES HOWfitL. 
 
 turns : there have two Ambassadors and a 
 Royal Agent followed it hitherto, and I am 
 the fourth that is employ'd in it. I defer to 
 trouble you with the particulars of it, in re- 
 gard I hope to have the happiness to kiss your 
 hand at Tower-hill before my departure, 
 which will not be till my Lord Digby sets 
 forward. He goes in a gallant, splendid 
 equipage, and one of the King's ships is to 
 take him in at Plymouth, and transport him 
 to the Corunna, or St. Anderas. 
 
 Since that sad disaster which befell Arch- 
 bishop Abbot, to kill the man by the glancing 
 of an arrow as he was shooting at a deer, 
 (which kind of death Ijefell one of our kings 
 once in New Forest, ) there hath been a com- 
 mission awarded to debate whether upon this 
 fact, whereby he hath shed human blood, he 
 be not to be depriv'd of his Archbishopric, 
 and pronounced irregular : some were against 
 him ; but Bishop Andrews and Sir Henry 
 Martin stood stiffly for him, that in regard it 
 was no spontaneous act, but a mere contin- 
 gency, and that there is no degree of men 
 but is subject to misfortunes and casualties,
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 255 
 
 tliey declared positively that lie was not to 
 fall from his dignity or function, but should 
 still remain a regular, and in statu quo x>vius. 
 During this debate, he petitioned the King 
 that he might be permitted to retire to his 
 Alms-house at Guildford where he was born, 
 to pass the remainder of his life ; but he is 
 now come to be again rectus in curia, absolute- 
 ly quitted, and restored to all things. But 
 for the wife of him which was kill'd, it Avas no 
 misfortune to her, for he hath endowed her- 
 self and her children with such an estate, 
 that they say her husband could never have 
 got. So I humbly kiss your hands and rest 
 — Your most obliged servitor, J. H. 
 
 London, 9 November, 1622. 
 
 VII. 
 
 To Captain Nich. Leat, at his house in 
 London. 
 
 Sir, — I am safely come to the Court of 
 Spain ; and altho' by reason of that mis- 
 fortune which befell Mr. Altham and me, of 
 wounding the Serjeants in Lombard-street, we
 
 256 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 sta3^ed tliree weeks behind my Lord Am- 
 bassador, yet we came hither time enough to 
 attend him to Court at his first audience. 
 
 The English nation is better look'd on now 
 in Spain than ordinary, because of the hopes 
 there are of a Match, which the merchant and 
 commonalty much desire, tho' the nobility 
 and gentry be not so forward for it : so that 
 in this point the pulse of Sjiain beats quite 
 contrary to that of England, where the people 
 are averse to this Match, and the nobility Avith 
 most part of the gentry inclinable. 
 
 I have perus'd all the papers I could get 
 into my hands, touching the business of the 
 ship Vineyard, and I find that they are higher 
 than I in bulk, tho' closely press'd together : 
 I have cast up what is awarded by all the 
 sentences of view, and review, by the Council 
 of State and War ; and I find the whole sum, 
 as well principal as interest upon interest, all 
 sorts of damages, and processal charges, come 
 to above two hundred and fifty thousand 
 crowns. The Conde del Real, quondam 
 Viceroy of Sardinia, who is adjudg'd to pay 
 most part of this money, is here ; and he is
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 257 
 
 Majordomo, Lord Steward to the Infante Car- 
 dinal : if he hath wherewith, I doubt not but 
 to recover the money, for I hope to have come 
 in a favourable conjecture of time, and my 
 Lord Ambassador, who is so highly esteem'd 
 here, doth assure me of his best furtherance. 
 So praying I may prove as successful, as I 
 shall be faithful in this great business, I rest 
 — Yours to dispose of, J. H. 
 
 Madrid, 28 December, 1622. 
 
 IX. 
 
 To Mr. Arthur Hopton ; from Madrid. 
 
 Sir, — Since I was made happy with your 
 acquaintance, I have receiv'd sundry strong 
 evidences of your love and good wishes unto 
 me, which have ty'd me to you in no common 
 obligation of thanks : I am in despair ever to 
 cancel this bond, nor would I do it, but rather 
 endear the engagement more and more. 
 
 The Treaty of the Match 'twixt our Prince 
 and the Lady Infanta is now strongly a-foot : 
 she is a very comely lady, rather of a Flemish 
 complexion than Spanish, fair hair'd, and
 
 258 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 carrieth a most pure mixture of red and white 
 iu her face. She is full and big lipp'd ; which 
 is held a beauty rather than a blemish, or any 
 excess, in the Austrian Family, it being a 
 thing incident to most of that race ; she goes 
 now upon sixteen, and is of a tallness agree- 
 able to those years. The King is also of such 
 a complexion, and is under twenty ; he hath 
 two brothers, Don Carlos, and Don Hernando, 
 who, tho' a youth of twelve, yet is he Cardinal 
 and Archbishop of Toledo ; which, in regard 
 it hath the Chancellorship of Castille annexed 
 to it, is the greatest spiritual dignity in 
 Christendom after the Papacy, for it is valu'd 
 at 300,000 crowns j^er annum. Don Carlos is 
 of a differing complexion from all the rest, for 
 he is black hair'd, and of a Spanish hue ; he 
 hath neither office, command, dignity, nor 
 title, but is an individual companion to tho 
 King, and what clothes soever are provided for 
 the King, he hath the very same, and as often, 
 from top to toe. He is the better belov'd of the 
 people for his complexion ; for one shall hear 
 the Spaniard sigh and lament, saying, ' when 
 shall we have a King again of our own colour ! '
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 259 
 
 I pray recommend me kindly to all at your 
 house, and send me word when the young 
 gentlemen return from Italy. So with my 
 most affectionate respects to yourself, I rest — 
 Your true friend to serve you, J. H. 
 
 5 Jaumiry, 1622. 
 
 X. 
 
 To Capt. Nich. Leat ; from Madrid. 
 
 SiK, — Yours of the tenth of this present I 
 receiv'd by Mr. Simon Digby, with the 
 inclos'd to your son in Alicante, which is safely 
 sent. Since my last to you, I had access to 
 Olivares, the favourite that rules all ; I had 
 also audience of the King, to whom I deliver'd 
 two memorials since, in his Majesty's name of 
 Great Britain, that a particular Junta of some 
 of the Council of State and War might be 
 appointed to determine the business. The 
 last memorial had so good success, that the 
 referees are nominated, whereof the chiefest 
 is the Duke of Infantado. Here it is not the 
 style to claw and compliment with the King, 
 or idolize him by 'Sacred Sovereign, 'and 'Most 
 
 s 2
 
 260 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 Excellent Majesty ' ; but the Spaniard, when 
 he petitions to his King, gives him no other 
 character but ' Sir, ' and so relating his business, 
 at the end doth ask and demand justice of 
 him. When I have done with the Viceroy 
 here, I shall hasten my dispatches for 
 Sardinia. Since my last I went to liquidate 
 the account more particularly, and I find 
 that of the 250,000 crowns, there are above 
 forty thousand due to you ; which might 
 serve for a good alderman's estate. 
 
 Your son in Alicante writes to me of another 
 mischance that is befallen the ship Amity 
 about Majorca, whereof you were one of the 
 proprietaries ; I am very sorry to hear of it, 
 and touching any dispatches that are to be 
 had hence, I shall endeavour to procure you 
 them according to instructions. 
 
 Your cousin Richard Altham remembers his 
 kind respects to you, and sends you many 
 thanks for the pains you took in freeing us 
 from that trouble which the scuffle with the 
 Serjeants brought upon us. So I rest — Yours 
 ready to serve you, J. H. 
 
 5 January, 1622.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 261 
 
 XI. 
 
 To the Lord Viscount Colchester; 
 from Madrid. 
 
 Right Honourable, — The grand business 
 of the Match goes so fairly on, that a special 
 Junta is appointed to treat of it, the names 
 whereof I send you here inclos'd : they have 
 proceeded so far, that most of the articles are 
 agreed upon. Mr. George Gage is lately come 
 hither from Rome, a polite and prudent 
 gentleman, who hath negotiated some things 
 in that Court for the advance of the business, 
 with the Cardinals Bandino, Ludovisio, and 
 La Susanna, who are the main men there to 
 whom the drawing of the dispensation is re- 
 fer r'd. 
 
 The late taking of Ormuz by the Persian 
 from the crown of Portugal keeps a great noise 
 here, and the rather because the exploit was 
 done by the assistance of the English ships 
 that were then thereabouts. My Lord Digby 
 went to Court, and gave a round satisfaction 
 in this point ; for it was no voluntary, but a
 
 262 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 constrain'd act in the English, who being in 
 the Persian's port, were suddenly embargn'd 
 for the service : and the Persian herein did no 
 more than what is usual among Christian 
 princes themselves, and which is oftener put 
 in practice by the King of Spain and his 
 Viceroys than by any other, viz., to make an 
 embargue of any stranger's ship that rides 
 within his ports upon all occasions. It was 
 fear'd this surprisal of Ormuz, which Avas the 
 greatest mart in all the Orient for all sorts 
 of jewels, would have bred ill blood, and 
 prejudic'd the proceedings of the Match ; but 
 the Spaniard is a rational man, and will be 
 satisfy'd with reason. Count Olivares is the 
 main man who sways all, and 'tis thought he 
 is not so much aftected to an alliance with 
 England as his predecessor the Duke of 
 Lerma was, who set it first a-foot 't"\vixt 
 Prince Henry and this Queen of France. 
 The Duke of Lenna was the greatest ^rtrac^o, 
 the gi'eatest favourite that ever was in 
 Spain, since Don Alvaro de Luna ; he 
 brought himself, the Duke of Uzeda his son, 
 and the Duke of Cea his grandchild, to be all
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 268 
 
 Grandees of Spain ; which is the greatest title 
 that a Spanish subject is capable of. They 
 have a privilege to stand cover'd before the 
 King, and at their election there's no other 
 ceremony but only these three words by the 
 King, Cobrese por Gixciule, ' Cover yourself for 
 a Grandee ' ; and that's all. The Cardinal 
 Duke of Lerma lives at Yalladolid, he officiates 
 and sings mass, and passes his old age in 
 devotion and exercises of piety. It is a com- 
 mon, and indeed a commendable custom 
 amongst the Spaniard, when he hath pass'd 
 his Grand Climacteric, and is grown decrepit, 
 to make a vohmtary resignation of Offices, be 
 they never so great and profitable, (tho' I 
 cannot say Lerma did so,) and sequestering 
 and weaning themselves, as it were, from all 
 mundane negotiations and encumbrances, to 
 retire to some place of devotion, and spend 
 the residue of their days in meditation, and 
 in preparing themselves for another world. 
 Charles the Emperor shew'd them the way, 
 who left the empire to his brother, and all the 
 rest of his dominions to his son Philip 11. , and 
 60 taking with him his two sisters, he retir'd
 
 264 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 into a monastery, they into a nunnery. Tliis 
 does not suit well with the genius of an 
 Englishman, who loves not to pull off his 
 clothes till he goes to bed. I will conclude 
 with some verses I saw under a huge rodmiwn- 
 tado picture of the Duke of Lerma, wherein 
 he is painted like a giant, bearing up the 
 monarchy of Spain, that of France, and the 
 Popedom upon his shoulders, with this stanza : 
 
 Sobre lex ombres d'este Atlante 
 Yazen en aquestos dias 
 Estas tres Monarquins, 
 
 Upon the shoulders of this Atlas lies 
 
 The Popedom, and two mighty Monarchies. 
 
 So I most humbly kiss your Lordship's 
 hands, and rest ever most ready — At your 
 Lordship's command, J. H. 
 
 3 February, 1622, 
 
 XIL 
 
 To my Father, 
 
 Sir, — All the affairs went on fairly here, 
 specially that of the Match, when Master Endy- 
 mion Porter brought lately my Lord of Bristol
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 265 
 
 a dispatch from England of a high nature, 
 wherein the Earl is commanded to represent 
 to this King how much his Majesty of Great 
 Britain since the beginning of these German 
 wars hath labour'd to merit well of this 
 Crown, and of the whole House of Austria, 
 by a long and lingering patience, grounded 
 still upon assurances hence, that care should 
 be had of his honour, his daughter's jointure, 
 and grand-children's patrimony ; yet how 
 crossly all things had proceeded in the Treaty 
 at Brussels, manag'd by Sir Richard Weston, 
 as also that in the Palatinate by the Lord 
 Chichester ; how in Treating-time the town 
 and castle of Heidelberg were taken, Mannheim 
 besieg'd, and all acts of hostility us'd, not- 
 withstanding the fair professions made by this 
 King, the Infanta at Brussels, and other his 
 ministers ; how merely out of respect to this 
 King he had neglected all martial means, 
 which probably might have preserv'd the 
 Palatinate ; those thin garrisons which he had 
 sent thither, being rather for honour's sake to 
 keep a footing until a general accommodation, 
 than that he rely'd any way upon their
 
 266 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 strength. And since tliat there are no other 
 fruits of all this but reproach and scorn, and 
 that those good offices which he us'd towards 
 the Emperor on the behalf of his son-in-law, 
 which he was so much encourag'd by letters 
 from hence should take effect, have not sorted 
 to any other issue than to a plain affront, and 
 a high injuring of both their Majesties, tho' 
 in a differing degree : the Earl is to tell him, 
 that his Majesty of Great Britain hopes and 
 desires, that out of a true apprehension of these 
 wrongs offer'd unto them both, he will, as 
 his dear and loving brother, faithfully promise 
 and imdertake upon his honour, confirming 
 the same under his hand and seal, either that 
 Heidelberg shall be within seventy days 
 render'd into his hands ; as also that there 
 shall be within the said term of seventy days 
 a suspension of arms in the Palatinate, and 
 that a Treaty shall recommence upon such 
 terms as he propounded in November last, 
 which this King held then to be reasonable. 
 And in case that this be not yielded to by the 
 Emperor, that then this King join forces with 
 his Majesty of England for the recovery of the
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 267 
 
 Palatinate, which upon this trust hath been 
 lost ; or in case his forces at this time be other- 
 wise employ 'd, that they cannot give his ]\Ia- 
 jesty that assistance he desires and deserves. 
 that, at least, he will permit a free and friendly 
 passage through his territories, such forces as 
 his ]\Iajcsty of Great Britain shall employ in 
 Germany. Of all which, if the Earl of Bris- 
 tol hath not from the King of Spain a direct 
 assurance under his hand and seal ten days 
 after his audience, that then he take his leave, 
 and return to England to his Majesty's pre- 
 sence ; also to proceed in the negotiation of 
 the Match according to former instructions. 
 
 This was the main substance of his Majesty's 
 late letter, yet there was a postiP added, that 
 in case a rupture happen 'twixt the two croAvns 
 the Earl should not come instantly and 
 abruptly away, but that he should send advice 
 first to England, and carry the business so, that 
 the world should not presently know of it. 
 
 Notwithstanding all these traverses, we are 
 confident here that the Match will take, 
 otherwise my cake is dough. There was a 
 1 Postscript (Ft.) apostille.
 
 268 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 great difference in one of the capital ations 
 'twixt the two Kings, how long the children 
 ■which should issue of this marriage were to 
 continue suh regimine Mafris, under the tutele 
 of the mother. This King demanded fourteen 
 years at first, then twelve ; but now he comes 
 to nine, which is newly condescended unto. I 
 receiv'd yours of the first of September, in 
 another from Sir James Crofts, wherein it was 
 no small comfort to me to hear of your health. 
 I am to go hence shortly for Sardinia, a 
 dangerous voyage by reason of Algier pirates. 
 I humbly desire your prayers may accompany 
 — Your dutiful son, J. H. 
 
 Madrid, 23 February, 1622. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 To Sir James Crofts, Knight. 
 
 Sir, — Yours of the second of October came 
 to safe hand with the inclos'd. You write 
 that there came dispatches lately from Rome, 
 wherein the Pope seems to endeavour to 
 insinuate himself into a direct Treaty with 
 England, and to negotiate immediately with
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 269 
 
 our King touching the dispensation, which he 
 not only labours to evade, but utterly 
 disclaims, it being by Article the task of this 
 King to procure all dispatches thence. I 
 thank you for sending me this news. You 
 shall understand there came lately an express 
 from Rome also to this Court, touching the 
 business of the Match, which gave very good 
 content ; but the dispatch and new instruc- 
 tions which Mr. Endymion Porter brought my 
 Lord of Bristol lately from England touching 
 the Prince Palatine fills us with apprehensions 
 of fear. Our Ambassadors here have had 
 audience of this King already about those 
 propositions, and we hope that Master Porter 
 will carry back such things as will satisfy. 
 Touching the two points in the Treaty 
 wherein the two Kings differ'd most, viz., 
 about the education of the children, and the 
 exemption of the Infanta's ecclesiastic servants 
 from secular jurisdiction ; both these points 
 are clear'd, for the Spaniard is come from 
 fourteen years to ten, and for so long time the 
 Infant Princes shall remain under the mother's 
 government. And for the other point, the
 
 270 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 ecclesiastical Superior shall first take notice of 
 the offence that shall be committed by any 
 spiritual person belonging to the Infanta's 
 family ; and according to the merit thereof, 
 either deliver him by degradation to the 
 secular justice or banish him the kingdom, 
 according to the quality of the delict : and it 
 is the same that is practis'd in this kingdom, 
 and other parts that adhere to Rome. 
 
 The Conde de Monterre goes Viceroy to 
 Naples, the Marquis de Montesclaros being 
 put by, the gallanter man of the two. I was 
 told of a witty saying of his, when the Duke 
 of Lerma had the vogue in this Court : for 
 going one morning to speak with the Duke, 
 and having danc'd attendance a long time, he. 
 peep'd thro' a slit in the hanging, and spy'd 
 Don Rodrigo Calderon, a great man, (who was 
 lately beheaded here for poisoning the late 
 Queen Dowager, ) delivering the Duke a paper 
 upon his knees ; whereat the Marquis smil'd, 
 and said, Voto a tal aquel hombre sube mas a 
 las rodillas, que yo no hago a los pies ; ' I 
 swear that man climbs higher uj)on his knees 
 than I can upon my feet.' Indeed I have
 
 FAMILIAR LETTEES. 271 
 
 read it to be a true Court rule, that descend- 
 endo ascendciuluni est in Atda^ 'descending 
 is the way to ascend at Court.' There is a 
 kind of humility and compliance that is far 
 from any servile baseness or sordid flattery, 
 and may be termed discretion rather than 
 adulation. I intend, God willing, to go for 
 Sardinia this spring ; I hope to have better 
 luck than Master Walsingham Grcsley had, 
 who some few years since, in his passage 
 thither upon the same business that I have in 
 agitation, met with some Turks men-of-war, 
 and so was carried slave to Algier. So with 
 my due respects to you, I rest — Your faithful 
 servant, J. H. 
 
 Madrid. 12 March, 1G22. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 To Sir Francis Cottington, Secretary to his 
 Highness the Prince of Wales, at St. James's. 
 
 Sir, — I believe it will not be unpleasing to 
 you to hear of the procedure and success of 
 that business wherein yourself hath been so 
 long vers'd, I mean the great suit against the
 
 272 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 quondam Viceroy of Sardinia, the Conde del 
 Real. Count Gondomar's coming was a great 
 ad\antage imto me, who hath done me many- 
 favours ; besides a confirmation of the two 
 sentences of view and review, and of the 
 execution against the Viceroy, I have procured 
 a Royal Cedule^ which I caus'd to be printed, 
 and whereof I send you here inclos'd a copy, 
 by which Ced^tlc I have jiower to arrest his 
 very person ; and my LaAvyers tell me there 
 was never such a Cedule granted before. I 
 have also by virtue of it priority of all other 
 his creditors ; he hath made an imperfect 
 overture of a composition, and showed me 
 some trivial old-fashion'd jewels, but no- 
 thing equivalent to the debt. And now that 
 I speak of jewels, the late surprizal of 
 Ormuz by the assistance of our ships sinks 
 deep in their stomachs here, and we were 
 afraid it would have spoil'd all proceedings; 
 but my Lord Digby, now Earl of Bristol, 
 (for Count Gondomar brought him o'er his 
 patent,) hath calm'd all things at his last 
 audience. 
 
 1 Schedule (Sp.) cedula.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 273 
 
 There were luminaries of joy lately here for 
 the victory that Don Gonzalez de Cordova got 
 over Count Mansfeld in the Netherlands, with 
 that army which the Duke of Bouillon had 
 levied for him ; but some say they have not 
 much reason to rejoice, for tho' the infantry 
 suffer'd, yet Mansfeld got clear with all his 
 horse by a notable retreat ; and they say here 
 it was the greatest piece of service and art he 
 ever did ; it being a maxim, ' That there is 
 nothing so difficult in the art of war as an 
 honourable retreat.' Besides, the report of 
 his coming to Breda caus'd Marquis Spinola 
 to raise the siege before Berghen, to burn his 
 tents, and to pack away suddenly, for which 
 he is much censur'd here. 
 
 Captain Leat and others have written to me 
 of the favourable report you pleas'd to make 
 of my endeavours here, for which I return 
 you humble thanks : and altho' you have left 
 behind you a multitude of servants in this 
 court, yet if occasion were otfer'd, none should 
 be more forward to go on your errand thau^ 
 Your humble and faithful servitor, J. H. 
 Madrid, 15 March, 1622, 
 
 V
 
 '274 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 XV. 
 
 To the Honourable Sir Thomas Savage, 
 Kt. and Bart. 
 
 HoxouRABLE SiR, — The great business of 
 the Match was tending to a period, the articles 
 reflecting both upon the Church and State 
 being capitulated, and interchangeably ac- 
 corded on both sides ; and there wanted 
 nothing to consummate all things, when, to 
 the wonderment of the world, the Prince and 
 the Marquis of Buckingham arriv'd at this 
 Court on Friday last upon the close of the 
 evening : they lighted at my Lord of Bristol's 
 house, and the Marquis (Mr. Thomas Smitli) 
 came in first with a portmantle under his 
 arm ; then (Mr. John Smith) the Prince was 
 sent for, who stayed a while on t'other side 
 of the street in the dark. My Lord of Bristol, 
 in a kind of astonishment, brought him up to 
 his bed-chamber, where he presently call'd for 
 pen and ink, and dispatch'd a post that night 
 to England, to acquaint his Majesty how in 
 less than sixteen days, he was come safely to
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 275 
 
 the Court of Spain ; tliat post went lightly 
 laden, for he carried but three letters. The 
 next day came Sir Francis Cottington and 
 Mr. Porter, and dark rumours ran in every 
 corner how some great man Avas come from 
 England ; and some would not stick to say 
 amongst the vulgar it was the King : but 
 towards the evening on Saturday the ^Marquis 
 went in a close coach to Court, where he had 
 private audience of this King, Avho sent Olivares 
 to accompany him back to the Prince, where he 
 kneel'd and kiss'd his hands, and hugg'd his 
 thighs, and deliver'd how unmeasurably glad 
 his Catholic Majesty was of his coming, with 
 other high compliments, which Mr. Porter 
 did interpret. About ten a'clock that night 
 the King himself came in a close coach with 
 intent to visit the Prince, who. hearing of it, 
 met him half way ; and after salutations and 
 divers embraces which pass'd in the first in- 
 terview, they parted late. I forgot to tell you 
 that Count Gondomar being sworn Counsellor 
 of State that moi-ning, having been belore but 
 one of the Council of AVar, he came in great 
 haste to visit the Prince, saying he had strange 
 
 T 2
 
 276 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 news to tell him, which was, that an English- 
 man was sworn Privy Counsellor of Spain, 
 meaning himself, who, he said, was an English- 
 man 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 Avere all in one coach ; but the 
 Infanta sat in the boot with a blue ribbon 
 about her arm, of purpose that the Prince 
 might distinguish her. There were above 
 twenty coaches besides of grandees, noble- 
 men, and ladies, that attended them. And 
 now it was publicly known amongst the vulgar 
 that it was the Prince of Wales who was 
 come ; and the confluence of people before my 
 Lord of Bristol's house was so great and 
 greedy to see the Prince that, to clear the 
 way, Sir Lewis Dives went out and took 
 coach, and all the crowd of people went after 
 him : so the Prince himself a little after took 
 coach, wherein there were the Earl of Bristol, 
 Sir "Walter Aston, and Count Gondomar ; and 
 so went to the Prado, a place hard by, of pur- 
 pose to take the air, where they stayed till the 
 King pass'd by. As soon as the Infanta saw
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 277 
 
 the Prince her colour rose very high, which 
 we hold to be an impression of love and 
 affection, for the face is oftentimes a true 
 index of the heart. Upon Monday morn- 
 ing after the King sent some of his prime 
 nobles, and other gentlemen, to attend the 
 Prince in quality of officers, as one to be his 
 Majordomo (his steward), another to be Master 
 of the Horse, and so to inferior officers ; so 
 that there is a complete Court now at my 
 Lord of Bristol's house : but upon Sunday 
 next the Prince is to remove to the King's 
 Palace, where there is one of the chief quar- 
 ters of the house providing for him. By the 
 next opportunity you shall hear more. In 
 the interim I take my leave, and rest — Your 
 most humble and ready servitor, J. H. 
 
 Madrid, 27 March, 1623. 
 
 XYI. 
 
 . To Sir Eubule Thelwall, Kt., at Gray's-Inn. 
 
 Sir, — I know the eyes of all England are 
 (earnestly fix'd now upon Spain, her best
 
 278 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 jewel being here ; but his journey was like to 
 be spoil'd in France, for if he had stayed but 
 a little longer at Bayonne, the last town of 
 that kingdom hitherwards, he had been dis- 
 cover'd ; for Mons. Gramond, the Governor, 
 had notice of him not long after he had taken 
 post. The people here do mightily magnify 
 the gallantry of the journey, and cry out that 
 he deserv'd to have the Infanta thrown into 
 his arms the first night he came. He hath 
 been entertain'd with all the magnificence 
 that possibly could be devis'd. On Sunday 
 last in the morning betimes he went to St. 
 Hierom's Monastery, whence the Kings of 
 Spain used to be fetch'd the day they are 
 crown'd ; and thither the King came in person 
 with his two brothers, his eight Councils, and 
 the flower of the nobility ; he lid upon the 
 King's right hand thro' the heart of the town 
 ixnder a great canopy, and was brought so 
 into his lodgings in the King's palace, and 
 the King himself accompany 'd him to his very 
 bedchamber. It was a very glorious sight to 
 behold ; for the custom of the Spaniard is, 
 tho' he go plain in his ordinary habit, yet
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 279 
 
 upon some festival or cause of triumph, 
 there's none goes beyond him in gaudiness. 
 
 "We daily hope for the Pope's Breve or Dis- 
 pensation to perfect the business, tho' there be 
 dark whispers abroad that it has come already ; 
 but that upon this unexpected coming of the 
 Prince it was sent back to Rome, and some 
 new clauses thrust in for their further advan- 
 tage. Till this dispatch comes, matters are at 
 a kind of a stand ; yet his Highness makes 
 account to be back in England about the latter 
 end of May. God Almighty turn all to the 
 best, and to what shall be most conducible to 
 His glory. So with my due respects unto you, 
 I rest — Your most obliged servitor, J. H. 
 
 Madrid, 1 April, 1623. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 To Captain Leat. 
 
 Sir, — Having brought up the law to the 
 highest point against the Viceroy of Sardinia, 
 and that in an extraordinary manner, as may 
 appear unto you by that printed Cedule I 
 sent you in my last, and finding an apparent
 
 280 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 disability iu him to satisfy the debt, I thought 
 upon a new design, and fram'd a memorial to 
 the King, and wrought good strong means to 
 have it seconded, that in regard that predatory 
 act of seizing upon the ship Vineyard in Sar- 
 dinia, with all her goods, was done by his 
 Majesty's Viceroy, his Sovereign Minister of 
 State, one that immediately represented his 
 own Royal Person, and that the said Viceroy 
 was insolvent ; I desir'd his Majesty would be 
 pleas'd to grant a warrant for the relief of 
 both parties, to lade so many thousand 
 Sterils, or measures of corn, out of Sardinia 
 and Sicily custom -free. I had gone far in the 
 business, when Sir Francis Cottington sent 
 for me, and requii-'d me in the Prince his 
 name to proceed no further herein till he was 
 departed : so his Highness's presence here 
 hath turn'd rather to my disadvantage than 
 otherwise. Among other Graiidezas which 
 the King of Spain confer'd upon our Prince, 
 one was the releasement of prisoners., and that 
 all petitions of grace should come to him for 
 the first month ; but he hath been wonder- 
 ful sparing in receiving any, specially from
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 281 
 
 any English, Irish, or Scot. Your son 
 Nicholas is come hither from Alicante about 
 the ship Amity, and I shall be ready to second 
 him in getting satisfaction : so I rest — Yours 
 ready to serve you, J. H. 
 
 Madrid, 3 June, 1623. 
 
 XVIIl. 
 
 To Captain Tho, Porter, 
 
 Noble Captain, — My last to you was in 
 Spanish, in answer to one of yours in the 
 same language ; and amongst that confluence 
 of English gallants, which upon the occasion 
 of liis Highness being here, are come to this 
 Court, I fed myself with hopes a long while to 
 have seen you ; but I find now that those 
 hopes were imp'd with false feathers. I know 
 your heart is here, and your best affections, 
 therefore I wonder what keeps back your 
 person : but I conceive the reason to be, that 
 you intend to come like yourself, to come 
 Commander-in-chief of one of the Castles of 
 the Crown, one of the Ships Royal. If you 
 come to this shore -side, I hope you will have
 
 282 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 time to come to the Court ; I have at any 
 time a good lodging for yon, and my landlady 
 is none of the meanest, and her husband hath 
 many good parts. I heard her setting him 
 forth one day, and giving this character of 
 him, Mi mariclo esbuen masico, huen esgrimidor, 
 huen escrivano, excellente arithmetico, salvo que 
 no Tnultiplka. ' My husband is a good 
 musician, a good fencer, a good horseman, a 
 good penman, and an excellent arithmetician, 
 only he cannot multiply.' For outward usage, 
 there is all industry used to give the Prince 
 and his servants all possible contentment ; 
 and some of the King's own servants wait 
 upon them at table in the Palace, where I am 
 sorry to hear some of them jeer at the Spanish 
 fare, and use other slighting speeches and 
 demeanour. There are many excellent poems 
 made here since the Prince's arrival, which 
 are too long to couch in a letter ; yet I will 
 venture to send you this one stanza of Lope de 
 Vega's. 
 
 Carlos Estuardo Soy. 
 
 Que xiendo Amor mi guia, 
 Al cielo d'Espuna voy 
 
 For ver mi Estrella Mariii.
 
 familiah letters. 285 
 
 There are comedians once a week come to 
 the Palace, where, under a great canopy, the 
 Queen and the Infanta sit in the middle, our 
 Prince and Don Carlos on the Queen's right 
 hand, the King and the little Cardinal on the 
 Infanta's left hand. I have seen the Prince 
 have his eyes immoveably fixed upon the 
 Infanta half an hour together in a thoughtful, 
 speculative posture, which sure would needs 
 be tedious, unless affection did sweeten it : it 
 was no handsome comparison of Olivares, that 
 he watch'd her as a cat doth a mouse. Not 
 long since the Prince understanding that the 
 Infanta was us'd to go some mornings to the 
 Casa de Campo, a summer-house the King 
 hath on t'other side the river, to gather May- 
 dew, he did rise betimes and went thither, 
 taking your brother with him ; they were let 
 into the house, and into the garden, but the 
 Infanta was in the orchard : and there being 
 a high partition wall between, and the door 
 doubly bolted, the Prince got on the top of 
 the wall, and sprung down a great height, 
 and so made towards her ; but she spying liim 
 first of all the rest, gave a shriek and ran
 
 284 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 back ; tlie old Marquis that was then her 
 guardian came towards the Prince, and fell on 
 his knees, conjuring his Highness to retire, in 
 regard he hazarded his head if he admitted 
 any to her company ; so the door was open'd, 
 and he came out under that wall over which 
 he had got in. I have seen him watch a long 
 hour together in a close coach, in the open 
 street, to see her as she went abroad. I can- 
 not say the Prince did ever talk Avith her 
 privately, yet publicly often, my Lord of 
 Bristol l)i'iug interpreter ; but the King 
 always sat hard by to hear all. Our cousin 
 Archy 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 blubbering amongst 
 them, and flurts out what he lists. 
 
 One day they were discoursing what a 
 marvellous thing it was that the Duke of 
 Bavaria, with less than 15,000 men, after a 
 long toilsome march, should dare to encounter 
 the Paisgi-ave's army, consisting of above 
 25,000, and to give them an utter discomfiture, 
 and take Prague presently after. Whereunto
 
 FAMILIAE, LETTEES. 285 
 
 Archy answer'd, that he would tell them a 
 stranger thing than that. 'Was it not a 
 strange thing,' quoth he, 'that in the year '88, 
 there should come a fleet of one hundred and 
 forty sail from Spain to invade England, and 
 that ten of these could not go back to tell 
 what became of the rest ? ' By the next 
 opportunity I will send you the Cordovan 
 pockets and gloves you writ for of Francisco 
 Moreno's perfuming. So may my dear Captain 
 live long, and love his J. H. 
 
 Madrid, 10 July, 1623. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 To my Cousin, Tho. Gidn, Esq., at his House 
 at Trccastlc. 
 
 Cousin, — I receiv'd lately one of yours, 
 which I cannot compare more properly than 
 to a posy of curious flowers, there was therein 
 such variety of sweet strains and dainty 
 expressions of love : and tho' it bore an old 
 date, for it was forty days before it came to 
 safe hand, yet the flowers were still fresh, and 
 not a whit faded, but did cast as strong and
 
 286 JAMES HOWELL, 
 
 as fragrant a scent as when your hands bound 
 them up first together, only there was one 
 flower that did not savour so well, which was 
 the undeserv'd character you please to give of 
 my small abilities, which in regard you look 
 upon me thro' the prospective of affection, 
 appear gi-eater to you than they are of them- 
 selves ; yet as small as they are, I would be 
 glad to employ them all to serve you upon 
 any occasion. 
 
 Whereas you desire to know how matters 
 pass here, you shall understand that we are 
 rather in assurance, than hopes, that the 
 Match will take effect, when one dispatch 
 more is brought to Rome which we greedily 
 expect. The Spaniards generally desire it, 
 they are much taken with our Prince, with 
 the bravery of his journey, and his discreet 
 comportment since ; and they confess there 
 was never Princess courted with more gallantly. 
 The Wits of the Court here have made divers 
 encomiums of him, and of his affection to the 
 Lady Infanta. Amongst others I send you a 
 Latin Poem of one Marnierius, a Valencian, 
 to which I add this ensuing Hexatich ; which
 
 FAMILIAR LETTEHS. 287 
 
 in regard of the difficulty of the verse con- 
 sisting of all terneries (which is the hardest 
 way of versifying) and of the exactness of the 
 translation, I believe will give you content : 
 
 Fax grata est, gratum est vulnus, miki grata catena est, 
 Me quibui astringit, loedit, <^ urit Amor ; 
 
 Sed Jtammdjn extingui, sanari vulnern, solvi 
 Vincla, etinm ut possem non ego posse velim : 
 
 3Iirum equidem genus hoc morbi est, incendia 8( ictus 
 Vinclaque vinctus adhuc, Icesus S^ ustus, amo. 
 
 Grateful's to me the fire, the wound, the chain, 
 By which Love burns, Love binds and giveth pain ; 
 But for to quench tliis fire, these bonds to loose, 
 These wounds to heal, I would nor could I choose: 
 Strange sickness, where the wounds, the bonds, the 
 
 fire 
 That burns, that bind, that hurt, I must desire. 
 
 In your next, I pray, send me your oj^inion 
 of these verses, for I know you are a critic in 
 poetry. Mr. Vaughan of the ' Golden-grove ' 
 and I were camerades and bed-fellows here 
 many months together ; his father, Sir John 
 Vaughan, the Prince his Controller, is lately 
 come to attend his master. My Lord of 
 Carlisle, my Lord of Holland, my Lord of 
 Rochfort, my Lord of Denbigh, and divers
 
 288 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 others are liere ; so that we have a very 
 flourishing Court, and I could wish you were 
 here to make one of the number. So my dear 
 cousin, I wish you all happiness, and our 
 noble Prince a safe and successful return to 
 England-^ Your most affectionate cousin, 
 
 J. H. 
 
 Madrid, 13 August, 1623. 
 
 XX. 
 
 To my noble Friend, Sir John North, 
 
 Sib, — The long-look'd-for dispensation is 
 come from Rome, but I hear it is clogg'd with 
 new clauses ; and one is, that the Pope, who 
 allegeth that the only aim of the Apostolical 
 See in granting this dispensation, was the ad- 
 vantage and ease of the Catholics in the King 
 of Great Britain's dominions, therefore he 
 desir'd a valuable caution for the performance 
 of those articles which were stipulated in 
 their favour; this hath much puzzled the 
 business, and Sir Francis Cottington comes 
 now over about it. Besides, there is some 
 distaste taken at the Duke of Buckingham
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 289 
 
 here, and I heard this King should say he 
 would treat no more with him, but with the 
 Ambassadors, who, he saith, have a more 
 plenary Commission, and understand the 
 business better. As there is some darkness 
 happen'd 'twixt the two favourites, so matters 
 stand not right 'twixt the Duke and the Earl of 
 Bristol ; but God forbid that a business of so 
 high a consequence as this, which is likely to 
 tend so much to the universal good of Chris- 
 tendom, to the restitution of the Palatinate, 
 and the composing those broils in Germany, 
 should be transvers'd by differences 'twixt a 
 few private subjects, tho' now public ministers. 
 Mr. Washington, the Prince his page, is lately 
 dead of a calenture, and I was at his burial 
 under a fig-tree behind my Lord of Bristol's 
 house. A little before his death one Ballard, 
 an English Priest, went to tamper with him ; 
 and Sir Edmund Varney meeting him coming 
 down the stairs out of Washington's chamber, 
 they fell from words to blows, but they were 
 parted. The business was like to gather very 
 ill blood, and to come to a great height, had 
 not Count Gondomar quash'd it, which I believe 
 
 u
 
 290 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 lie could not have done, unless the times had 
 been favourable ; for such is the reverence 
 they bear to the Church here, and so holy a 
 conceit they have of all ecclesiastics, that the 
 greatest Don in Spain will tremble to offer the 
 meanest of them any outrage or affront. Count 
 Gondomar has also help'd to free some English 
 that were in the Inquisition in Toledo and 
 Seville ; and I could allege many instances how 
 ready and cheerful he is to assist any English- 
 man whatsoever, notwithstanding the base 
 affronts he hath often receiv'd of the 'London 
 Bo3'S,' as he calls them. At his last return 
 hither, I heard of a merry saying of his to the 
 Queen, who discoursing with him about the 
 gi-eatness of London, and whether it was aus 
 populous as Madrid : ' Yes, Madame, and 
 more populous when I came away, tho' I 
 believe there's scarce a man left there now but 
 all women and children ; for all the men both 
 in Court and City were ready booted and 
 spurred to go awa3%' And I am sorry to hear 
 other nations do much tax the English of 
 their incivility to public ministers of State, 
 and what ballads and pasquils, and fop-
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 291 
 
 peries and plays were made against Gondomar 
 for doing his master's business. My Lord of 
 Bristol coming from Germany to Brussels, 
 not\^ithstanding that at his arrival thither 
 the news was fresh that he had reliev'd 
 Frankenthal as he pass'd, yet was he not a 
 whit the less welcome, but valued the more 
 both by the Archduchess herself and Spinola, 
 with all the rest ; as also that they knew well 
 that the said Earl had been the sole adviser 
 of keeping Sir Robert Mansell abroad with that 
 Fleet upon the coast of Spain, till the Palsgrave 
 should be restor'd. I pray, Sir, when you go 
 to London-wall, and Tower-hill, be pleas'd to 
 remember my humble service, where you 
 know it is due. So I am — Your most faithful 
 servitor, J. H. 
 
 Madrid, 15 August, 1623. 
 
 XXL 
 
 To the Eight Honourable the Lord Viscount 
 Colchester. 
 
 My very good Lord, — I received the 
 letter and commands your Lordship pleas'd to 
 
 u 2
 
 292 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 send me by Mr. Walsingham Gresley ; and 
 touching the constitutions and orders of the 
 Contratation-house^ of the West Indies in 
 Seville, I cannot procure it for love or money, 
 upon any terms ; tho' I have done all possible 
 diligence therein. And some tell me it is 
 dangerous, and no less than treason in him 
 that gives the copy of them to any, in regard 
 'tis counted the greatest mystery of all the 
 Spanish Government. 
 
 That difficulty which happen'd in the 
 business of the Match of giving caution to the 
 Pope, is now overcome : for whereas our King 
 answer'd, 'That he could give no other caution 
 than his Royal word and his son's, exemplify 'd 
 under the Great Seal of England, and 
 confirm'd by his Council of State, it being 
 impossible to have it done by Parliament, in 
 regard of the averseness the common people 
 have to the alliance ; and whereas this gave no 
 satisfaction to Rome, the King of Spain now 
 offers himself for caution, for putting in 
 execution what is stipulated in behalf of the 
 Roman Catholics thro'out his Majesty of 
 i Casa de Contratacion, Trading-house.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 293 
 
 Great Britain's dominions. But lie desires to 
 consult his ghostly fathers, to know whether 
 he may do it without wronging his conscience : 
 hereupon tliere hath been a Junta form'd of 
 Bishops and Jesuits, who have been already 
 a good while about it ; and the Bishop of 
 Segovia, who is, as it were, Lord Treasurer, 
 having written a treatise lately against the 
 Match, was outed of his office, banished the 
 Court, and confin'd to his diocese. The Duke 
 of Buckingham hath been ill-dispos'd a good 
 while, and lies sick at Court, where the 
 Prince hath no public exercise of devotion, 
 but only bed-chamber prayers ; and some 
 think that his lodging in the King's house is 
 like to prove a disadvantage to the main 
 business : for whereas most sorts of people 
 here hardly hold us to be Christians, if the 
 Prince had a Palace of his own, and been per- 
 mitted to have us'd a room for an open Chapel 
 to exercise the Liturgy of the Church of 
 England, it would have brought them to have 
 a better opinion of us ; and to this end there 
 were some of our best church-plate and vest- 
 ments brought hither, but never used. The
 
 294 JAMES HO-VVELL. 
 
 slow pace of this Junta troubles us a little, 
 and to the divines there are some civilians 
 admitted lately ; and the qucere is this, 
 Whether the King of Spain may bind himself 
 by oath in the behalf of the King of England 
 to perform such and such articles that are 
 agreed on in favour of the Roman Catholics 
 by virtue of this Match, whether the King 
 may do this salva conscicntia ? 
 
 There was a great show lately here of 
 baiting of bulls with men, for the entertain- 
 ment of the Prince ; it is the chiefest of all 
 Spanish sports ; commonly there are men 
 kill'd at it, therefore there are priests 
 appointed to be there ready to confess them. 
 It hath happen'd oftentimes, that a bull hath 
 taken up two men upon his horns with their 
 guts dangling about them ; the horsemen run 
 with lances and swords, the foot with goads. 
 As I am told, the Pope hath sent divers Bulls 
 against this sport of bulling, yet it will not 
 be left, the nation hath taken such an habitual 
 delight in it. There was an ill-fa vour'd accident 
 like to have happen'd lately at the King's 
 house, in that part where my Lord of Carlisle
 
 FAMILIAE LETTEES. 295 
 
 and my Lord Denbigh were lodg'd ; for my 
 Lord Denbigh late at night taking a pipe of 
 tobacco in a balcony, which hung over the 
 King's Garden, he blew down the ashes, which 
 falling upon some parch'd combustible matter, 
 began to flame and spread ; but Mr. Davis, 
 my Lord of Carlisle's barber, leapt do^vn a 
 great height, and quench'd it. So with con- 
 tinuance of my most humble service, I rest 
 ever ready — At your Lordship's command, 
 
 J. H. 
 
 Madrid, August 16, 1623. 
 
 xxn. 
 
 To Sir James Crofts ; from Madrid. 
 
 Sir, — The Court of Spain affords now little 
 news ; for there is a Remora sticks to the 
 business of the Match, till the Junta of 
 Divines give up their opinion. But from 
 Turkey there came a letter this Aveek, wherein 
 there is the strangest and most tragical 
 news, that in my small reading no story can 
 parallel, or shew with more pregnancy the 
 instability and tottering estate of human
 
 296 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 greatness, and the sandy foundation whereon 
 the vast Ottoman Empire is rear'd : for Sultan 
 Osman, the Grand Turk, a man according to 
 the humour of that nation, warlike and 
 flesh'd in blood, and a violent hater of Chris- 
 tians, was in the flower of his years, in the 
 heat and height of his courage, knock'd in 
 the head by one of his ovm. slaves, and one of 
 the meanest of them, with a battle-axe, and 
 the murderer never after proceeded against or 
 question'd. 
 
 The ground of this tragedy was the late ill 
 success he had against the Pole, wherein he 
 lost about 100,000 horse for want of forage, 
 and 80, 000 men for want of fighting ; which 
 he imputed to the cowardice of his Janizaries, 
 who rather than bear the brunt of the battle, 
 were more willing to return home to their 
 wives and merchandizing ; which they are 
 now permitted to do, contrary to their first 
 institution, wliich makes them more worldly 
 and less venturous. This disgraceful return 
 from Poland stuck in Osman's stomacJa, and 
 so he study'd a way to be reveng'd of the 
 Janizaries ; therefore by the advice of his
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 
 
 297 
 
 Grand Vizier, (a stout gallant man, who had 
 been one of the chief Beglerbegs in the East, ) 
 he intended to erect a new soldiery in Asia 
 about Damasco, of the Coords, a frontier 
 people, and consequently hardy and inur'd to 
 arms. Of these he purposed to entertain 
 40,000 as a Lifeguard for his person, tho' the 
 main design Avas to suppress his lazy and lust- 
 ful Janizaries, with men of fresh new spirits. 
 
 To disguise this plot, he pretended a 
 pilgrimage to Mecca, to visit Mahomet's 
 Tomb, and reconcile himself to the Prophet, 
 who he thought was angry Avith him, because 
 of his late ill success in Poland : but this 
 colour was not specious enough, in regard he 
 might have perform'd this pilgrimage with a 
 smaller train and charge ; therefore it was 
 propounded that the Emir of Sidon should be 
 made to rise up in arms, that so he might go 
 with a gi'eater poAver and treasure ; but this 
 plot was held disadvantageous to him, in 
 regard his Janizaries must then have attended 
 him : so he pretends and prepares only for the 
 pilgrimage, yet he makes ready as much 
 treasure as he could make, and to that end he
 
 298 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 melts his plate, and furniture of horses, with 
 divers Church-lamps. This fomented some 
 jealousy in the Janizaries, with certain words 
 which should drop from him, that he Avould 
 find soldiers shortly should whip them. 
 Hereupon he hath sent over to Asia's side his 
 pavilions, many of his servants, with his 
 jewels and treasure, resolving upon the voyage, 
 notwithstanding that divers petitions were 
 deliver'd hhn from the clergy, the civil 
 magistrate, and the soldiery, that he should 
 desist from the voyage, but all would not 
 do. Thereupon, on the point of his departure, 
 the Janizaries and Spahies came in a tumul- 
 tuary manner to the Seraglio, and in a high 
 insolent language dissuaded him from the 
 pilgrimage, and demanded of him his ill 
 counsellors. The first he gi'anted, but for the 
 second, he said that it stood not with his 
 honour, to have his nearest servants torn 
 from him so, without any legal proceeding ; 
 but he assur'd them that they should appear 
 in the Divan the next day, to answer for them- 
 selves : but this not satisfying, they went 
 away in a fury, and plunder'd the Grand
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 
 
 299 
 
 Vizier's Palace, with divers others. Osman 
 hereupon was advis'd to go from his private 
 gardens that night to the Asian shore, but 
 his destiny kept him from it : so the next 
 morning they came arm'd to the Court (but 
 having made a covenant not to violate the 
 Imperial throne) and cut in pieces the Grand 
 Vizier with divers other great officers ; and 
 not finding Osman, Avho had hid himself in a 
 small lodge in one of his gardens, they cry'd 
 out they must have a Mussulman Emperor : 
 therefore they broke into a dungeon, and 
 brought out Mustapha, Osman's uncle, whom 
 he had clapt there at the beginning of the 
 tumult, and who had been King before, but 
 was depos'd for his simplicity, being a kind 
 of Santon, or holy man, that is, 'twixt an 
 innocent and an idiot ; this Mustapha they 
 did re-enthronize, and place in the Ottoman 
 Empire. 
 
 The next day they found out Osman, and 
 brought him before Mustapha, who exeus'd 
 himself with tears in his eyes for his rash 
 attempts, which wrought tenderness in some, 
 but more scorn and fury in others ; who fell
 
 300 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 upon the Capi Aga, -vvitli other officers, and 
 cut them in pieces before his eyes. Osman 
 thence was carry'd to j)rison, and as he was 
 getting on horseback, a common soldier took 
 off" his turban, and clapt his upon Osman's 
 head, who in his passage begg'd a draught of 
 water at a fountain. The next day, the new 
 Vizier went with an executioner to strangle 
 him, in regard there were two younger brothers 
 more of his to preserve the Ottoman's race ; 
 where, after they had rush'd in, he being 
 newly awak'd, and staring upon them, and 
 thinking to defend himself, a robust boister- 
 ous rogue knock'd him down, and so the rest 
 fell upon him, and strangled him with much 
 ado. 
 
 Thus fell one of the greatest potentates 
 upon earth, by the hand of a contemptible 
 slave, for there is not a free-born subject in all 
 that vast empire. Thus fell he that entitles 
 himself Most Puissant and Highest Monarch 
 of the Turks, King above all Kings, a King 
 that dwelleth upon the Earthly Paradise, Son 
 of Mahomet, Keeper of the Grave of the 
 Christian God, Lord of the Tree of Life, and
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 801 
 
 of the River Fliski, Prior of the Earthly 
 Paradise, Conqueror of the Macedonians, the 
 Seed of Great Alexander, Prince of the King- 
 doms of Tartary, Meso]Jotamia, Media, and 
 of the Martial Mammalucks, Anatolia, Bithy- 
 nia, Asia, Armenia, Servia, Thracia, Morea, 
 Valachia, Moldavia, and of all warlike Hun- 
 gary ; Sovereign Lord and Commander of all 
 Greece, Persia, both the Arabias, the most 
 noble Kingdom of Egypt, Tremisen, and 
 African Empire of Trabesond, and the most 
 glorious Constantinople, Lord of all the White 
 and Black Seas, of the Holy City Mecca and 
 Medina, shining with divine glory ; Commander 
 of all things that are to be commanded, and 
 the strongest and mightiest champion of the 
 wide world ; a Warrior appointed by Heaven 
 in the edge of the Sword, a Persecutor of his 
 Enemies, a most perfect JcAvel of the Blessed 
 Tree, the chiefest keeper of the crucify'd God, 
 &c. , with other such bombastical titles. 
 
 This Osman was a man of goodly consti- 
 tution, an amiable aspect, and of excess of 
 courage, but sordidly covetous ; which drove 
 him to violate the Church, and to melt the
 
 302 JAMES HOAVELL. 
 
 lamps thereof, which made the Mufti say, 
 that this was a due judgment fallen upon him 
 from Heaven for his sacrilege. He us'd also 
 to make his person too cheap, for he would go 
 ordinarily in the night time with two men 
 after him, like a petty constable, and peep 
 into the Cauph-houses^ and Cabarets, and ap- 
 prehend soldiers there. And these two things 
 it seems was the cause, that when he was so 
 assaulted in the Seraglio, not one of his 
 domestic servants, whereof he had 3,000, 
 would lift an arm to help him. 
 
 Some few days before his death he had a 
 sti'ange dream, for he dreamt that he was 
 mounted upon a great camel, who would not 
 go neither b}^ fair nor foul means ; and light- 
 ing off him, and thinking to strike him with 
 his scimitar, the body of the beast vanish'd, 
 leaving the head and bridle only in his hands. 
 When the Mufti and the Hoggies could not 
 interpret this dream, Mustapha his uncle did 
 it ; for he said, the camel signify 'd his empire, 
 his mounting of him his excess in govern- 
 ment, his lighting down his deposing. 
 1 Coffee-houses. (Turk.) qahveh.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 303 
 
 Another kind of prophetic speech dropt from 
 the Grand Vizier to Sir Thomas Roe, our Am- 
 bassador there, who having gone a little before 
 this tragedy to visit the said Vizier, told him 
 what whisperings and mutterings there were 
 in every corner for this Asiatic voyage, and 
 what ill consequences might ensue from it : 
 therefore it might well stand with his great 
 wisdom to stay it ; but if it held, he desir'd 
 him to leave a charge with the Chimacham, 
 his deputy, that the English nation in the 
 Porte should be free from outrages : where- 
 unto the Grand Vizier ansvver'd, 'Trouble not 
 yourself about that, for I will not remove so far 
 from Constantinople but I will leave one of 
 my legs behind to serve you ; ' which prov'd 
 too true, for he was murder'd afterwards, and 
 one of his legs was hung up in the Hippodrome. 
 This fresh tragedy makes me give over 
 wond'ring at anything that ever I heard or 
 read, to show the lubricity of mundane 
 gi-eatness, as also the fury of the vulgar, which, 
 like an impetuous torrent, gathers strength 
 by degrees as it meets with divers dams, and 
 being come to the height cannot stop itself:
 
 304 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 for when this rage of the sokliers began first, 
 there was no design at all to violate or hurt 
 the Emperor, but to take from him his ill 
 counsellors ; but being once a- foot, it grew by 
 insensible degrees to the utmost of outrages. 
 
 The bringing out of Mustapha from the 
 dungeon, where he was prisoner, to be Em- 
 peror of the Mussulmans, put me in mind 
 of what I read in Mr. Camden of our late 
 Queen Elizabeth, how she was brought from- 
 the scaffold to the English throne. 
 
 They who profess to be critics in policy 
 here, hope that this murdering of Osman may 
 in time breed good blood, and prove advan- 
 tageous to Christendom : for tho' this be the 
 first Emperor of the Turks that was dispatcht 
 so, he is not like to be the last, now that the 
 soldiers have this precedent : others think 
 that if that design in Asia had taken, it had 
 been very probable the Constantinopolitans 
 had hois'd up another King, and so the 
 Empire had been dismembered, and by this 
 division had lost strength, as the Roman 
 Empire did, when it was broken into East 
 and West.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 305 
 
 Excuse me that this my letter is become 
 such a monster, I mean that it hath pass'd the 
 size and ordinary proportion of a letter ; for 
 the matter it treats of is monstrous : besides, it 
 is a rule, that historicalletters have more liberty 
 to be long than others. In my next you shall 
 hear how matters pass here ; in the mean- 
 time and always, I rest — Your Honour's most 
 devoted servitor, J. H. 
 
 17 August, 1623. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 To the Right Honourable Sir Tho. Savage^ 
 Knight and Baronet. 
 
 Honourable Sir,— The procedure of things 
 in relation to the gi^and business, the Match, 
 was at a kind of stand, when the long-winded 
 Junta deliver'd their opinions, and fell at last 
 upon this lesult, that his Catholic Majesty, 
 for the satisfaction of St. Peter, might oblige 
 himself in the behalf of England, for the 
 performance of those capitulations which 
 related to the Roman Catholics in that king- 
 dom ; and in case of non-performance, then to 
 
 X
 
 306 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 right himself by war : since that the matrimo- 
 nial articles were solemnly sworn to by the 
 King of Spain and His Highness, the two 
 favourites, onr two Ambassadors, the Duke of 
 Infantado, and other Counsellors of State 
 being present : hereupon the eighth of the 
 next September is appointed to be the day of 
 Besjjosorios, the day of affiance, or the betroth- 
 ing day. There was much gladness express'd 
 here, and luminaries of joy were in every 
 great street thro'out the city : but there is an 
 unlucky accident hath interven'd, for the 
 King gave the Prince a solemn visit since, and 
 told him Pope Gregory was dead, who was so 
 great a friend to the Match ; but in regard 
 the business was not yet come to perfection, 
 he could not proceed further in it till the 
 former dispensation were ratified by the new 
 Pope Urban, which to procure he would make 
 it his own task, and that all possible expedi- 
 tion should be us'd in't, and therefore desir'd 
 his patience in the interim. The Prince 
 answer'd, and press'd the necessity of his 
 speedy return with divers reasons ; he said 
 there was a general kind of murmuring in
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 307 
 
 England for his so long absence, that the 
 King his father was old and sickly, that the 
 fleet of his ships were already, he thought, at 
 sea to fetch him, the winter drew on, and 
 withal, that the articles of the Match were 
 sign'd in England Avith this proviso, that if 
 he be not come back by such a month, they 
 should be of no validity. The King reply'd, 
 that since his Highness was resolv'd upon so 
 sudden a departure, he would please to leave 
 a proxy behind to finish the marriage, and he 
 would take it for a favour if he would depute 
 Mm to personate him ; and ten days after the 
 ratification shall come from Rome the business 
 shall be done, and afterwards he might send 
 for his wife when he pleas'd. The Prince 
 rejoin'd, that amongst those multitudes of 
 royal favours which he had receiv'd from his 
 Majest}^ this transcended all the rest ; there- 
 fore he would most willingly leave a proxy 
 for his Majesty, and another for Don Carlos, 
 to this eff'ect : so they parted for that time 
 without the least umbrage of discontent, nor 
 do I hear of any engender'd since. The last 
 month, 'tis true, the Junta of divines 
 
 X 2
 
 308 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 dwelt so long upon the business, that there 
 were whisperings that the Prince intended to 
 go away disguis'd as he came ; and the ques- 
 tion being ask'd by a person of quality, there 
 was a brave answer made, that if love brought 
 him thither, it is not fear shall drive him 
 away. 
 
 There are preparations already a-foot for his 
 return, and the two proxies are drawn and 
 left in my Lord of Bristol's hands. Notwith- 
 standing this ill-favour'd stop, yet we are 
 here all confident the business will take effect : 
 in which hopes I rest — Your most humble 
 and ready servitor, J. H. 
 
 Madrid, 18 Aur/ust, 1623. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 To Copt. Nich. Leat, at his Twuse in London. 
 
 Sir, — This letter comes to you by Mr. 
 Richard Altham ; of whose sudden departure 
 hence I am very sorry, it being the late death 
 of his brother, Sir James Altham. I have been 
 at a stand in the business a good while, for his 
 Highness's coming hither was no advantage
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 309 
 
 to me in the earth. He hath done the 
 Spaniards divers courtesies, but he hath been 
 ver}'- sparing in doing the English any. It 
 may be, perhaps, because it may be a 
 diminution of honour to be beholden to any 
 foreign Prince to do his OAvn subjects favours ; 
 but my business requires no favour, all I 
 desire is justice, which I have not obtain'd 
 yet in reality. 
 
 The Prince is preparing for his journey, I 
 shall to it again closely when he is gone, or 
 make a shaft or a bolt of it. The Pipe's 
 death hath retarded the proceedings of the 
 Match, but we are so far from despairing of it, 
 that one may have wagers thirty to one it 
 will take effect still. He that deals with this 
 nation must have a gi-eat deal of phlegm ; and 
 if this gi-and business of State, the Match, 
 suffer such protractions and puttings off, you 
 need not wonder that private negotiations, as 
 mine is, should be subject to the same incon- 
 veniences. There shall be no means left 
 unattempted that my best industry can find 
 out to put a period to it ; and when his High- 
 ness is gone, I hope to find my Lord of Bristol
 
 310 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 more at leisure to continue liis favour and 
 furtherance, which hath been much aheady : 
 so I rest — Yours ready to serve you, J. H. 
 Madrid, 19 August, 1623. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 To Sir James Crofts. 
 
 Sir, — The Prince is now upon his journey 
 to the sea-side, where my Lord of Rutland 
 attends for him with a Royal Fleet. There 
 are many here shrink-in their shoulders, and 
 are very sensible of his departure, and the 
 Lady Infanta resents it more than any ; she 
 hath caus'd a mass to be sung every day ever 
 since for his good voyage. The Spaniards 
 themselves confess there was never Princess so 
 T)ravely woo'd. The King and his two 
 brothers accompany'd his Highness to the 
 Escurial, some twenty miles off, and would 
 have brought him to the sea-side, but that 
 the Queen is big, and hath not many days to 
 go. "When the King and he parted, there 
 pass'd wonderful gi-eat endearments and 
 embraces in divers postures between them a
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 311 
 
 long time ; and in that place there is a Pillar 
 to be erected as a monument to posterity. 
 There are some grandees, and Count Gondomar, 
 with a gi-eat train besides, gone with him to 
 the marine, to the sea- side, which will be many- 
 days' journey, and must needs put the King 
 of Spain to a mighty expense, besides his 
 seven months' entertainment here. We hear 
 that when he pass'd thro' Valladolid, the 
 Duke of Lerma was retired thence for the 
 time by special conmiand from the King, lest 
 he might have discourse with the Prince, 
 whom he extremely desired to see ; this sunk 
 deep into the old Duke, insomuch that he 
 said, that of all the acts of malice which 
 Olivares had ever done him, he resented this 
 more than any. He bears up yet very well under 
 his Cardinal's habit, which hath kept him from 
 many a foul storm that might have fallen 
 upon him else from the temporal power. The 
 Duke of Uzeda, his son, finding himself 
 decline in favour at Court, hath retir'd to the 
 country, and died soon after of discontentment : 
 during his sickness the Cardinal writ this 
 short weighty letter unto him : 'Dizen me, que
 
 312 JAMES nOWELL. 
 
 viareys de necio ; 'por vii, mas temo mis alios qve 
 mis cnemigos. Lerma.'^ I shall not need to 
 English it to you, who is so gi-eat a master 
 of the language. Since I began this letter, 
 we understand the Prince is safely embark'd, 
 but not without some danger of being cast 
 away, had not Sir Sackville Trevor taken him 
 up ; I pray God send him a good voyage, and 
 us no ill news from England. My most humble 
 service at Tower-hill,^ so I am — Your humble 
 servitor, J. H. 
 
 Madrid, 21 Auqmt, 1623. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 To my Brother, Dr. Howell, 
 
 My Brother, — Since our Prince his de- 
 parture hence, the Lady Infanta studieth 
 English apace, and one Mr. "Wadsworth and 
 Father Boniface, two Englishmen, are ap- 
 pointed her teachers, and have access to her 
 every day. We account her, as it were, our 
 Princess now ; and as we give, so she takes that 
 
 1 ' I hear slieer stupiditj- is killing you, for my part, 
 I am more afraid of my years than my enemies.'
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 313 
 
 title. Our Ambassadors, my Lord of Bristol 
 and Sir \y alter Aston, will not stand now 
 cover'd before her when they have audience, 
 because they hold her to be their Princess. 
 She is preparing divers suits of rich clothes 
 for his Highness of perfum'd amber leather, 
 some embroider'd with pearl, some with gold, 
 some with silver. Her family is a-settling 
 apace, and most of her ladies and officers are 
 known already. AVe want nothing now but 
 one dispatch more from Rome, and then the 
 marriage will be solemniz'd, and all things 
 consummated : yet there is one Mr. Clarke 
 (with the lame arm) that came hither from 
 the sea-side as soon as the Prince was gone ; 
 he is one of the Duke of Buckingham's 
 creatures, yet he lies at the Earl of Bristol's 
 house, which we wonder at, considering the 
 darkness th at happen'd 'twixt the Duke and the 
 Earl : we fear that this Clarke hath brought 
 something that may puzzle the business. 
 Besides, having occasion to make my address 
 lately to the Venetian Ambassador, who is 
 interested in some part of that great business 
 for which I am here, he told me confidently
 
 314 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 it would be no Match, nor did lie think it 
 was ever intended. But I want faith to believe 
 him yet, for I know St. Mark is no friend to 
 it, nor France, nor any other Prince or State 
 besides the King of Denmark, whose gi-and- 
 mother was of the House of Austria, being 
 sister to Charles the Emperor. Touching 
 the business of the Palatinate, our Ambassadors 
 were lately assur'd by Olivares and all the 
 counsellors here, and that in this King's 
 name, that he would x^rocure his Majesty of 
 Great Britain entire satisfaction herein ; and 
 Olivares giving them the joy, intreated them 
 to assure their King upon their honour, and 
 upon their lives, of the reality hereof : for the 
 Infanta herself (said he) hath stirr'd in it, and 
 makes it now her own business ; for it was a 
 firm peace and amity (which he confess'd could 
 never be without the accommodation of things 
 in Germany) as much as an alliance, which 
 his Catholic IMajesty aim'd at. But we shall 
 know sliortly now what to ti-ust to, we shall 
 walk no more in mists, tho' some give out 
 yet that our Prince shall embrace a cloud for 
 Juno at last.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 315 
 
 I pray present my service to Sir John 
 Franklin and Sir John Smith, with all at tha 
 Hill and Dale ; and when you send to Wales> 
 I pray convey the inclos'd to my father. So,, 
 my dear brother, I jjray God bless ns both, 
 and bring ns again joyfully together. — Your 
 very loving brother, J. H. 
 
 Madrid, 12 Aiojust, 1623. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 To my noble Friend, Sir John North, K(. 
 
 Sir, — I receiv'd lately one of yours, but it 
 was of a very old date. We have our eyes here 
 now all fix'd upon Rome, greedily expecting 
 the Ratification ; and lately a strong rumour 
 ran it was come, insomuch that jMr. Clarke, 
 who was sent hither from the Prince, being a- 
 shipboard, (and now lies sick at my Lord of 
 Bristol's house of a calenture,) hearing of it, he 
 desir'd to speak with him, for he had some- 
 thing to deliver him from the Prince : my 
 Lord Ambassador being come to him, Mr. 
 Clarke deliver'd a letter from the Prince, the 
 contents whereof were, that whereas he had
 
 "316 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 left certain proxies in his hand to be deliver'd 
 to the King of Spain after the Ratification 
 Tvas come, he desir'd and requir'd him not to 
 •do it till he should receive further order from 
 England. My Lord of Bristol hereupon went 
 to Sir 'Walter Aston, who was in joint com- 
 mission with him for concluding the Match ; 
 -and shewing him the letter, what my Lord 
 Aston said I know not, but my Lord of 
 Bristol told him, that they had a Commission- 
 Eoyal under the Broad Seal of England to 
 conclude the Match ; he knew as well as he 
 "how earnest the King their ^Master hath 
 been any time these ten years to have it done, 
 how there could not be a better pawn for the 
 surrendry of the Palatinate, than the In- 
 fanta in the Prince his arms, who could never 
 rest till she did the work, to merit the love of 
 our nation : he told him also how their own par- 
 ticular fortunes depended upon it ; besides, if 
 lie should delay one moment to deliver the 
 proxy after the Ratification was come, accord- 
 ing to agreement, the Infanta would hold 
 herself so blemish'd in her honour, that it 
 might overthrow all things. Lastly, he told
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. ZlT 
 
 him, that they incurr'd the hazard of their 
 heads, if they should suspend the executing 
 his Majesty's Commission upon any order but 
 from that power which gave it, who was the- 
 King himself. Hereupon both the Ambas- 
 sadors proceeded still in preparing matters for 
 the solemnizing of the marriage ; the Earl of 
 Bristol had caused above thirty rich liveries- 
 to be made of watchet^ velvet, with silver lace 
 up to the very capes of the cloaks, the best 
 sorts whereof were valued at 80Z a livery. 
 My Lord Aston had also provided new 
 liveries ; and a fortnight after the said politic 
 report was blown up, the Ratitication came 
 indeed complete and full ; so the marriage- 
 day was appointed, a terrace cover'd all over 
 with tapestry Avas rais'd from the King's 
 Palace to the next Church, which might be 
 about the same extent as from Whitehall to 
 Westminster Abbey ; and the King intended 
 to make his sister a wife, and his daughter 
 (whereof the Queen was deliver'd a little 
 before) a Christian upon the same day ; the- 
 grandees and great ladies had been invited to 
 I A pale bJiae,
 
 318 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 tlie marriage, and order was sent to all the 
 port-towns to discharge theu' great ordnance, 
 and sundry other things were prepar'd to 
 honour the solemnity : but when we were 
 thus at the height of our hopes, a daj' or two 
 before, there came Mr. Killegi'ee, Gresley, 
 Wood, and Da-sdes, one upon the neck of 
 another, with a new Commission to my Lord 
 of Bristol immediately from his Majesty, 
 countermanding him to deliver the proxy 
 aforesaid, until a full and absolute satisfaction 
 were had for the surrendry of the Palatinate 
 under this King's hand and seal, in regard he 
 desir'd his son should be marry'd to Spain, 
 and his son-in-law re-marry'd to the Palatin- 
 ate at one time. Hereupon all was dash'd in 
 pieces, and that frame which was rearing so 
 many years was ruin'd in a moment. This 
 news struck a damp in the hearts of all people 
 here, and they wish'd that the postilions that 
 brought it had all broke their necks in the way. 
 My Lord of Bristol hereupon went to Court 
 to acquaint the King with his new Com- 
 mission, and so propos'd the restitution of the 
 Palatinate. The King answer'd, 'twas none
 
 FAMILIAR LETTEP.S. 319 
 
 of his to give ; 'tis true, he had a few towns 
 there, but he held them as Commissioner 
 only for the Emperor, and he could not com- 
 mand an Emperor ; yet if his Majesty of 
 Great Britain would put a treaty a-foot, he 
 would send his own Ambassador to join. In 
 the interim the Earl was commanded not to 
 deliver the aforesaid proxy of the Prince, for 
 the Desposorios, or espousal, until Christmas 
 (and herein it seems his Majesty with you was 
 not well inform'd, for those powers of proxies 
 expir'd before). The King here said further, 
 that if his uncle, the Emperor, or the Duke of 
 Bavaria would not be conformable to reason, 
 he Avould raise as gi-eat an army for the Prince 
 Palsgrave as he did under Spinola, when he 
 first invaded the Palatinate ; and to secure 
 this, he would engage his Contratation-house^ 
 of the West Indies, with his plate-fleet, and 
 give the most binding instrument that could 
 be under his hand and seal. But this gave no 
 satisfaction ; therefore my Lord of Bristol, I 
 believe, hath not long to stay here, for he is 
 commanded to deliver no more letters to the 
 1 Vide note, p. 292.
 
 320 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 Infanta, nor demand any more audience, 
 and that she should be no more styl'd Princess 
 of England or "Wales. The foresaid caution 
 which this King offer'd to my Lord of Bristol 
 made me think of what I read of his grand- 
 father, Philip 11. , who ha\'ing been marry 'd to 
 our Queen Mary, and it being thought she 
 was with child of him, and was accordingly 
 pray'd for at Paul's Cross, tho' it prov'd 
 afterward but a tympany, King Philip propos'd 
 to our Parliament, that they would pass an 
 Act that he might be Regent during his or her 
 minority that should be born, and would give 
 good caution to surrender the Crown when he 
 or she should come to age. The motion was 
 hotly canvass'd in the House of Peers, and like 
 to pass, when the Lord Paget rose up and 
 said, 'I,^ but who shall sue the King's bond?' 
 So the the business was dash'd. I have no 
 more news to send you now, and I am sorry I 
 have so much, unless it were better ; for we 
 that have business to negotiate here are like 
 to suffer much by this rupture. Welcome be 
 the will of God, to whose benediction I com- 
 1 Used in the sense of 'Ay,' or * Yes."
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 321 
 
 mend yon, and rest — Yonr most humble 
 servitor, J. H. 
 
 Madrid, 25 August, 162.';. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 To the RigU Honourahlc the Lord Clifford. 
 
 My good Lord, — Tho' this Court cannot 
 afford now such comfortable news in relation 
 to England as I could wish, yet such as it is 
 you shall receive. My Lord of Bristol is 
 preparing for England, I waited upon him 
 lately when he went to take his leave at 
 Court ; and the King, washing his hands, took 
 a ring from off his own finger, and put it 
 upon his, which Avas the greatest honour that 
 ever he did any ambassador, as they say here ; 
 he gave him also a cupboard of plate, valued 
 at 20,000 crowns. There were also large and 
 high promises made him, that in case he 
 fear'd to fall upon any rock in England, by 
 reason of the power of those who malign'd 
 him, if he would stay in any of his dominions, 
 he would give him means and honour equal 
 to the highest of his enemies. The Earl did
 
 322 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 not only waive, but disdain'd these j)roposi- 
 tions made to him by Olivares, and said he 
 was so confident of the King his master's 
 justice and high judgment, and of his own 
 innocency, that he conceiv'd no power could 
 be able to do him hurt. There hath occurr'd 
 nothing lately in this Court worth the 
 advertisement. They speak much of the 
 strange carriage of that boisterous Bisho]i of 
 Halverstadt, (for so they term him here,) tliat 
 having taken a place where there were two 
 monasteries of nuns and frian-s, he caus'd 
 divers feather beds to be ripp'd, and all the 
 feathers to be thrown in a great hall, whither 
 the nuns and friars were thrust naked with 
 their bodies oil'd and pitch'd, and to tumble 
 among these feathers : which makes them 
 liere presage him an ill death. So I most 
 affectionately kiss your hands, and rest — Your 
 very humble servitor, J. H. 
 
 Madrid, 26 Arigust. 1623.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTEES. 823 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 To Sir John North. 
 
 Sib, — I have many thanks to render j'ou 
 for the favour you lately did to a kinsman of 
 mine, Mr. Yaughan, and for divers others 
 Avhich I defer till I return to that Court, and 
 that I hope will not he long. Touching the 
 procedure of matters here, you shall under- 
 stand, that my Lord Aston had special 
 audience lately of the King of Spain, and 
 afterwards presented a memorial, wherein 
 there was a high complaint against the mis- 
 carriage of the two Spanish Ambassadors now 
 in England, the Marquis of Inojosa and Don 
 Carlos Coloma. The substance of it was, that 
 the said Ambassadors, in a private audience his 
 i\Iajesty of Great Britain had given them, 
 inform'd him of a pernicious plot against his 
 person and royal authority, which was, that 
 at the beginning of your now Parliament, the 
 Duke of Buckingliam, with other his 
 complices, often met and consulted in a 
 I'landestine way, how to break the treaty 
 
 Y 2
 
 324 JAJIES HOWELL. 
 
 both of Match and Palatinate ; and iu case 
 his ]\Iajesty was iimvilling thereunto, he 
 should have a country-house or two to retire 
 unto for his recreation and health, in regard 
 the Prince is now of years and judgment til to 
 govern. His Majesty so resented this, that 
 the next day he sent them man\' thanks for 
 the care they had of him, and desir'd them to 
 perfect the work, and now that they had 
 detected the treason, to discover also the 
 traitors ; but they were shy in that point. 
 The King sent again, desiring them to send 
 the names of the conspirators in a paper seal'd 
 up by one of their own confidants, which he 
 would receive with his own hands, and no soul 
 should see it else ; advising them withal, that 
 they should not j)refer this discovery before 
 their own honours, to be accounted false 
 accusers. They reply'd, that they had done 
 enough already by instancing in the Duke of 
 Buckingham, and it might easily be guess'd 
 who were his confidants and creatures. Here- 
 upon his Majesty jnit those whom he had any 
 gi'ounds to suspect to their oaths ; and after- 
 wards sent my Lord Conway, and Sir Francis
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS, 325 
 
 Cottiiigton, to tell the Ambassadors that he 
 had left no means unassay'd to discover the 
 conspiration ; that he had found upon oath 
 such a clearness of ingenuity in the Duke of 
 Buckingham, that satisfy 'd him of his 
 innoceney : therefore he had just cause to 
 conceiA-e that this information of theirs 
 proceeded rather from malice, and some 
 political ends, than from truth ; and in regard 
 they would not produce the authors of so 
 dangerous a treason, they made themselves to 
 he justly thought the authors of it : and 
 therefore tho' he might by his own royal 
 justice, and the law of nations, punish this 
 excess and insolence of theirs, and high wrong 
 they had done to his best servants, yea, to the 
 Prince his son, for thro' the sides of the Duke 
 they wounded him, in regard it was impossible 
 that such a design should be attempted with- 
 out his priAT^ty : yet he would not be his own 
 judge herein, but would refer them to the 
 King their master, whom he conceiv'd to be 
 so just, that he doubted not but he would see 
 him satisfy'd ; and therefore he would send 
 an express to him thereabouts, to demand
 
 326 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 justice and reparation. This business is now 
 in agitation, but -vve know not what will 
 become of it. We are all here in a sad dis- 
 consolate condition, and the merchants shalce 
 their heads up and down out of an apprehen- 
 sion of some fearful war to follow : so I most 
 affectionately kiss your hands, and rest — 
 Your very humble and ready servitor, 
 
 J. H. 
 
 Madrid, Auf/ust 26, 1G23. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 To Sir Kenclm Dighy, Knight. 
 
 Sir, — You have had knowledge (none better) 
 of the progression and growings of the Spanish 
 ilatcli from time to time ; I must acquaint 
 3-ou now with the rupture and utter dissolution 
 of it, which was not long a-doing : for it was 
 done in one audience that my Lord of Bristol 
 had lately at Court, Avhence it may be inferr'd 
 that 'tis far more easy to pull down than rear 
 up ; for that structure which was so many years 
 a-rearing, was dashed, as it were, in a trice : 
 dis.solution goetli a faster pace than composi-
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 327 
 
 tion. And it may be said, that the civil 
 actions of men, specially great affairs of 
 monarchs (as this was), have much analogj^ 
 in degrees of progression, with the natural 
 production of man. To make man there are 
 many acts must precede, first a meeting and 
 copulation of the sexes, then conception, 
 which requires a well-dispos'd womb to retain 
 the prolifical seed, by the constriction and 
 occlusion of the orifice of the matrix ; which 
 being seed first, and afterwards cream, is by 
 a gentle ebullition coagulated, and turn'd to 
 a crudded lump, which the womb by virtue 
 of its natural heat prepares to be capable to 
 receive form, and to be organiz'd ; whereuiDon 
 nature falls a-working to delineate all the 
 members, beginning with those that are most 
 noble ; as the heart, the brain, the liver, 
 Avhereof Galen would have the liver, which is 
 the shop and source of the blood, and 
 Aristotle the heart, to be the first fram'd, in 
 regard 'tis primum vivens, d; ultimum moriens. 
 Nature continues in this labour until a perfect 
 shape be introduced ; and this is call'd 
 formation, which is the third act, and is a
 
 328 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 production of an organical body out of the 
 spermatic substance, caused by the plastic 
 virtue of the vital spirits : and sometimes this 
 act is finish'd thirty days after the conception, 
 sometimes fifty, but most commonly in forty- 
 two or forty-five, and is sooner done in the 
 male. This being done, the embryo is 
 animated with three souls : the first with that 
 of plants call'd the vegetable soul, then with 
 a sensitive, which all brute animals have, and 
 lastly, the rational soul is infus'd ; and these 
 three in man are like Trigonus in Tetragono ; 
 the l7\vo first are generated ex Traduce, from 
 the seed of the parents ; but the last is by 
 immediate infusion from God : and 'tis 
 controverted 'twixt philosophers and di^dnes, 
 when this infusion is made. 
 
 This is the fourth act that goeth to make a 
 man, and is call'd animation : and as the 
 natm-alists allow animation double the time 
 that formation had from the conception, so they 
 allow to the ri])ening of the embryo in the 
 womb, and to the birth thereof, treble the 
 time which animation had ; which happeneth 
 sometimes in nine, sometimes in ten months.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 329 
 
 This grand business of the Spanish Match 
 may be said to have had such degrees of 
 progression : first there was a meeting and 
 coupling on both sides, for a Junta in Spain, 
 and some select Counsellors of State were 
 appointed in England. After this conjunction, 
 the business Avas conceiv'd, then it receiv'd 
 form, then life, (tho' the quickening was slow, ) 
 but having had near upon ten ^^ears in lieu of 
 ten months to be perfected, it was unfor- 
 tunately strangled when it was ripe ready for 
 birth : and I would they had never been born 
 that did it, for it is like to be out of my wa}' 
 3,000^. And as the embryo in the Avomb is 
 wrapt in three membranes or tunicles, so this 
 great business, you know better than I, was 
 involv'd in many difficulties, and died so en- 
 tangled before it could break thro' them. 
 
 There is a buzz here of a match 'twixt 
 England and France ; I pray God send it a 
 speedier formation and animation than this 
 had, and that it may not prove an abortive. 
 
 I send you herewith a letter from the 
 paragon of the Spanish Court, Donna Anna 
 Maria Manrique, the Duke of Marquedas's
 
 330 JAMES HOWELL. 
 
 sister, who respects you in a higli degree ; she 
 told me this was the first letter she ever writ 
 to man in her life, except the Duke, her 
 brother ; she was much solicited to write to 
 Mr. Thomas Gary, but she would not. I did 
 also your message to the Marquesa d'Inojosa, 
 Avho put me to sit a good while with her upon 
 Estrado, which Avas no simple favour : you 
 are nuich in both these ladies' books, and 
 much spoken of by divers others in this Court. 
 I could not recover your diamond hatband 
 which the picaroon snatch'd from you in the 
 coach, tho' I us'd all means possible, as far as 
 book, bell, and candle, in point of excommunica- 
 tion against the party in all the churches of 
 iladrid, by which means you know divers 
 things are recover'd. So I most affectionately 
 kiss your hands, and rest — Your most faithful 
 servitor, J. H. 
 
 Post — Yours of the 2nd of March came to 
 safe hand. 
 :xiadi-id.
 
 FAMILIAR LETTERS. 331 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 To iivj Cousin, Mr. J. Price, (now Knight,) at 
 the Middle Temyle ; from Madrid. 
 
 Cousix, — Suffer my letter to salute you 
 first in this disticli, 
 
 A Thamesi Tagus quot leucisflumine distat, 
 Oscula tot manibus porta, Pricae, tuis. 
 
 As many miles Thames lies from Tagus strands, 
 
 I bring so many kisses to thy hands. 
 
 My dear Jack, — In the large register, or 
 almanack, of my friends in England, you are 
 one of the chiefest red letters, you are one of 
 my festival rubriques : for whenever you fall 
 upon my mind, or my mind falls upon 
 you, I keep holy-day all the while ; 
 and this happens so often, that you 
 leave me but few working days thro'out 
 the whole year, fewer far than this country 
 aftbrds ; for in their calendar above live 
 months of the twelve are dedicated to some 
 Saint or other, and kept Festival ; a religion 
 that the London apprentices would like 
 well.
 
 332 JA:\rES howell. 
 
 I thank 3^011 for yours of the third cuiTent, 
 and the ample relations you give me of 
 London occm-rences, but principally for the 
 itoM'erful and SAveet assurances you give me of 
 your love, both in verse and prose. All 
 businesses here are off the hinges ; for one 
 late audience of my Lord of Bristol puU'd 
 dowTi what was so many years a-raising. 
 And as Thomas Aquinas told an artist of a 
 costly curious statue in Romo. that by some 
 accident, while he was trimming it, fell down 
 and so broke to pieces, * Ojnis triginta annorum 
 tlestruxisti,' 'Thou hast destroy 'd the work of 
 thirty years ; ' so it may be said, that a work 
 near upon ten years is now suddenly shatter'd 
 to pieces. I hope hy God's grace to be now 
 speedily in England, and to re-enjoy your 
 most dear society : in tlie meantime may all 
 happiness attend you. 
 
 Ad Litteram. 
 
 Ocius ut grandire gradus oratio, possis 
 Prosa, tibi binosjung vius eccej)edcs. 
 
 That in thy journey thou mayest be more fleet, 
 To my dull prose I add these metric feet.
 
 FAMILIAK LETTERS. 333 
 
 Resj). 
 
 A I mure cum venio, quid again ? Eep. turn prapete 
 
 penna 
 Ti, feral, est Intor amii Levis ignis, amor. 
 
 But when I come to sea, how shall I shift. ? 
 Let love transport thee then, for fire is swift. 
 
 — Your most affectionate cousirij J. H. 
 
 30 March, 1024. 
 
 EXD OF VOL. 1. 
 
 Henderson (b Spaldinrj, Prijiters, Marylebone Lnne, W.
 
 vS
 
 This book is DUE on the last 
 date stamped below
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 B 000 001 001 7
 
 'MMf-^m. 
 
 
 'km 
 
 
 m