,
 
 EX LIBRIS, 
 GRAY'S COURT. 
 
 SECTION 
 
 SHELF 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 
 
 'Xp<3?* 
 
 / L ^ i
 
 FAMILIAR 
 
 LET T E R S 
 
 O N 
 
 IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, 
 Wrote from the Year 1618 to 1650. 
 
 By JAMES HO WELL, Efq; Clerk of the Privy- 
 Council to King CHARLES J. 
 
 The TENTH EDITION. 
 
 Ut davit jwrtam, fie pandit epiflola /<?<?/. 
 
 ABERDEEN: 
 
 footed and fold by F. DOUGLASS and W. MURRAY, 
 M,DCC,L1JJ.
 
 PREFACE 
 
 B Y T H E 
 
 PUBLISHERS of this EDITION. 
 
 THE following LETTERS being of a mifcellane- 
 ous nature, fome of them arc vaftly more inte- 
 refting than others. The author's reflexions on 
 the government, manners, and then ftate of the countries 
 through which he travelled, are judicious and entertain- 
 ing : the many agreeable ftories he relates to illuftrate his 
 fubjecl, as moft of them have a direct tendency to pro- 
 mote virtue and morality, cannot fail to pleafe rhe reader. 
 
 THE beginning, procedure, and breaking off of the 
 match betwixt CHARLES I. and the Infanta of Spain, 
 Is nowhere fo fully treated of. The author was at the 
 court of Madrid all the time it was on the tapis, and had 
 good opportunities of being informed of all circumftances 
 relating to it. 
 
 THE furvey of the Spanijh monarchy, the United 
 Provinces, and the Hanfe towns, is very agreeably wrote. 
 
 IT muft be owned, the philofophy in feverals of them 
 is liable to objections ; but it will be confidered, they 
 were wrote before philofophic knowledge attained to its 
 prefent degree of perfeclion. 
 
 THE author had the misfortune to fall under the dif- 
 pleafure of the parliament towards the end of King 
 CHARLES I's. reign, and was for feveral years confined 
 in the fleet prifon, without ever being told for what oP 
 fence. There he had fufficient Icifure to rcfletf upon the 
 then unhappy fituation of his country ; which is very af- 
 
 853300
 
 it PREFACE. 
 
 feftingly pointed out in feveral letters : the public diftra 
 clions arc traced to their original caufes, and thieir con- 
 fequences very juftly predicted. 
 
 WE hope the (train of piety and good humour which 
 runs through mod of thefe letters, will recommend them 
 to many; and if the reader, fometimes meet with a word 
 or phtafe too free 'tis hoped he will confider how difficult 
 it is to write on fubjedls of wit and humour without 
 fometimes falling into indecency of expreffion. It will no 
 doubt pleafe him more to find, that 100 years ago, 
 gentlemen were not afliamed to be thought religious, than 
 it will difguft him to meet with a few exceptionable phra- 
 fes. Perhaps it may be necefTary to make fome apo- 
 logy for leaving out feveral poetical pieces, efpecially 
 thofe upon religious fubjecls; but it is univerfally al- 
 lowed, that Knglijh poetry at the time thefc letters were 
 wrote, was far (hort of the elegance and perfection it 
 has now attained. 
 
 SINCE thefe LETTERS were firft printed, feveral wri- 
 ters have obliged the public with remarks upon mod parts 
 of Suropei in forae of thefe, their towns, laws, cu- 
 floras, fcc. are more minutely defcribed than was confi- 
 dent with the brevity of a letter. But thefe authors 
 have defcribed the countries they treat of, as they were 
 of late ; and we believe people will be well enough pleafed 
 to know how they flood about 100 years ago. The ftyle 
 is good for the time they were wrote. 
 
 WITH regard to the errors of former impreflions, we 
 can honeftly fay we have corrected a great many : per- 
 haps fome have efcaped us, but thofe we hope, arc not 
 material. F A-
 
 FAMILIAR 
 
 LETTERS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 LETTER I. . 
 
 To Sir J. S. at Leeds Caflk. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 IT was a quaint difference the anticnts did put be- 
 twixt a letter, and an oration, that the one mould 
 be attired like a woman, the other like a man : the 
 latter of the two is allowed large fide robes, as long pe- 
 riods, parenthefis, flmiles, examples, and other parts of 
 rhetorical flourishes ; but a letter or epiftlc fhould be 
 fhort -coated,- and clofely couched ; a hungerlin becomes 
 a letter more handfomely than a gown. Indeed we 
 fhould write as we (peak ; and that's a true familiar let- 
 ter which exprefleth one's mind, as if he were difcour- 
 (ing with the party to whom he writes in fuccincl and 
 fhort terms. The tongue and the fen, are both of them 
 interpreters of the mind ; but I hold the pen to be the 
 more faithful of the two : the tongue, hi udo pofita, be- 
 ing feated in a moifl flippery place, may fail and taker in 
 her fudden extemporal expreflions ; but the pen having a 
 greater advantage of premeditation, is not fo fubjeft to 
 error, and leaves things behind it upon firm and authen- 
 tic record. Now, letters though they be capable of any 
 fubjeft, yet commonly they are either narrator}-, objurga- 
 tory, confolatory, monitory, or congratulatory. The firil 
 confifls of relations, the fecond of reprekenjions, the 
 third of comfort, the laft two of counfel and/'sy. There 
 are fome who in lieu of letters write homilies, they 
 preach when they fhould eputolize ; there are others that 
 turn them to tedious tra flats : this is to make letters de- 
 generate from their true nature. Some modern authors 
 A there
 
 2 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 there are, who have expofed their letters to the world ; 
 but moft of them, I mean among you Latin epiftolizers, 
 go freighted with mere Bartholomew ware, with trite 
 and trivial phrafes only, lifted with pedantic fhreds of 
 fchool-boy verfes. Others there are among our next 
 tranfmarine neighbours Eaftward, who write in their own 
 language, but their ftyle is fo foft and eafy, that their 
 letters may be faid to be like bodies of loofe flem with- 
 out finews, they have neither joints of art, nor arteries in 
 them ; they have a kind of iinipering and lank heftic 
 expreilions made up of a bombaft of words and finical af- 
 fefted complements only : I cannot well away with fuch 
 flisizy fluff, with fuch cobweb compofitions, where there 
 is no ftrength of matter, nothing for the reader to carry 
 away with him, that may enlarge the notions of his foul : 
 one mail hardly find an apothegm, example, fimily, or 
 any thing of philofophy, hiftory, or folid knowledge, or 
 as much as one new created phrafe in a hundred of 
 them ; and to draw any obfervations out of them, were 
 as if one went about to diftil cream out of froth, infb- 
 inuch, that it may be faid of them what was faid of the 
 cccho, That foe was a mere found and nothing elfe. 
 
 I return you your Balzac by this bearer ; and when I 
 found thofc letters, wherein he is fo familiar with his 
 King, fo flat, and thofe to Richelieu fo puffed with 
 profane hyperboles, and larded up and down with fuch 
 grofs flatteries, with others befides, which he fends as 
 urinals up and down the world to look into his water, 
 for difcovery of the crazy condition of his body, I for- 
 bore him further. So I am 
 
 Tour moft ajfeflionate fervitor, 
 Weftminjler, July 25. 1625. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 3 
 
 LETTER II. 
 To my FATHER upon my frft going beyond Sea. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Should be much wanting to myfclf, and to that obli- 
 gation of duty, the Law of God, and his handmaid 
 Nature hath impofed upon me, if I mould not acquaint 
 you with the courfe and quality of my affairs and fortunes, 
 fpecially at this time, that I am upon the point of crofling 
 the feas to eat my bread abroad. Nor is it the com- 
 mon relation of a fon that only induced me hereunto, but 
 that moft indulgent and coflly care you have been pleafcd, 
 in fo extraordinary a manner, to have had of my breed- 
 ing, though but one child of fifteen, by placing me in a 
 choice methodical fchool, fo far diftant from your dwell- 
 ing under a learned (though lajhing) matter ; and by 
 tranfplanting me thence to Oxford, to be graduated ; and 
 fo holding me ftill up by the chin, until I could fwim 
 without bladders. This patrimony of liberal education 
 you have been pleafed to endue me withal, I now carry 
 along with me abroad as a fare infeparable treafure j nor 
 do I feel it any burden or incumbrance unto me at all : 
 and what danger foever my perfon, or other things 1 have 
 about me do incur, yet, I do not fear the lofing of this, 
 either by fhipwreck or pirates at fea, nor by robbers, or 
 fire, or any other cafuality afhore ; and, at my return to 
 England, I hope, at leaitwife I mail do my endeavour, 
 that you may find this patrimony improved fomewhat to 
 your comfort. 
 
 The main of my employment is from that gallant 
 Knight, Sir Robert Manfell, who, with my Lord of Pw 
 broke, and divers other of the prime Lords of the Court, 
 have got the fole patent of making all forts of glafs. with 
 pit-coal, only to fave thofe huge proportions of wood 
 which were confumed formerly in the glafs-furnaces : 
 and this bufmefs being of that nature, that the work- 
 men are to be had from Italy, and the chief materials 
 A 2 from
 
 4 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 from Spain, France, and other foreign countries, there 
 is need of an Agent abroad for this ufe ; fand better 
 then I have offered their fervice in this kindj fo that I 
 believe I (hall have employment in all thefe countries be- 
 fore I return. 
 
 Had I continued ftill Steward of the glafs-houfe in 
 BroaJ-ftrect, where Captain Francis Bacon hath fuc- 
 ceeded me, I mould in a Ihort time have melted away to 
 nothing, amongft thofe hot Venetians, finding myfclf too 
 green for fuch a charge ; therefore, it hath plcafed God 
 to difpofe of me now to a condition more fuitable to my 
 years, and that will, I hope, prove more advantageous 
 to my future fortunes. 
 
 In this my peregrination, if I happen, by fomc acci- 
 dent, to be disappointed of that allowance I am to fub- 
 fiil by, I muft make my addrefs to you, for I have no 
 other rendevooz to fly unto; but it mall not be, unlefs 
 in cafe of great indigence. 
 
 Touching the news of the time : Sir George Villiers, 
 the new favourite, tapers up a-pace, and grows ftrong at 
 Court : his predeceilbr, the Earl of Sowerfet, hath got 
 a leafe of ninety years for his life, and fo hath his arti- 
 culate lady, called fo, for articling againft the frigidity 
 and impotence of her former Lord. She was afraid that 
 Cook the Lord Chief Juitice ('who had ufed extraordi- 
 nary art and induilry in difcovering all the circumflances 
 of the poifoning of Overbnry) would have made white 
 broth of them, but the prerogative kept them from 
 the pot : yet the fubfervient instruments, the IcfTcr flies 
 could not break thorough, but lay entangled in the cob- 
 web. Amongft others, Mrs. Turnery the fir/I inventrefs 
 of yflla-uj ftarch, was executed in a cobweb lawn ruff 
 of that colour, at Tyburn ; and with her, I believe that 
 yelltru ftarch, which fo much disfigured our nation, and 
 rendered them fo ridiculous and fantaftic, will receive its 
 funeral. Sir Gervas El-waits Lieutenant of the Tower, 
 was made a notable example of juftice and terror to all 
 officers of truft : for being acceflbry, and that in a paf- 
 fivc way only to the murder, yet he was hanged on 
 
 Tower-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. j 
 
 To\ver-hiU ; and the caveat is very remarkable which he 
 gave upon the gallows, that, people mould be very cau- 
 tious how they make vows to heaven, for the breach of 
 them feldom pafs without a judgment, whereof he was a 
 mod ruthful example ; for being in the low-countries, 
 and much given to gaming, he once made a folemn vow, 
 (which he brake afterwards) that if he played above fuch 
 a fum, he might be hanged. My Lord (William) of 
 Pembroke, did a moft noble aft like himfelf ; for the 
 King having given him all Sir Gervas Elwaies's eftate, 
 which came to above 1000 1. per an, he freely beftowed 
 it on the widow and her children. 
 
 The latter end of this week I am to go a (hip-board, 
 and firfl for the low-countries. I humbly pray your blef- 
 fing may accompany me in thefe my travels by land and 
 fea, with a continuance of your prayers, which will be 
 as fo many good gales to blow me to fare port ; for, I 
 have been taught, That the parents benedictions contri- 
 bute very much, and have a kind of a prophetic virtue to 
 make the child profperous. In this opinion, I (hall e- 
 ver reft 
 
 Tour dutiful fort, 
 Lond. March i. 1618. J. H. 
 
 L E T* T E R III. 
 To Sir JAMES CROFTS, Knight at St. Ofith. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Could not (hake hands with England, without killing 
 your hands alfo ; and becaufe, in regard of your di- 
 ftance now from London, I cannot do it in perfon, I 
 fend this paper for my deputy. 
 
 The news that keeps greateft noife here now, is the 
 return of Sir Walter Rawleigh from his mine of gold in 
 Guinea, the South parts of America ; which at firft was 
 like to be fuch a hopeful boon voyage, but it feems that 
 golden mine is proved a mere chimera y an imaginary airy 
 A 3
 
 6 Tamillar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 mine ; and indeed, his Majefty had never any other con- 
 ceit of it. But, what will not one in captivity (as Sir tVal 
 /<?rwas) promife to regain his freedom? Who would not 
 proraife, not only mines but mountains of gold for liber- 
 ty ? And 'tis pity fuch a knowing well-weighed Knight 
 had not had a better fortune ; for the Dejtim y I mean 
 that brave fhip which he built himfelf of that name, that 
 carried him thither, is like to prove a fatal Deftiny to him, 
 and to fome of the rell of thofe gallant adventurers which 
 contributed for the fetting forth of thirteen mips more, 
 who were moft of them his kinfmen and younger bro- 
 thers, being led into the faid expedition by a general 
 conceit the world had of the wifdom of Sir Walter Raic- 
 leigh ; and many of thefe arc like to make Jljipwrcck of 
 their eftates by this voyage. Sir Walter landed at Ply 
 niouth^ whence he thought to make an efcape ; and fome 
 fay he hath tampered with his body by phyfick, to make 
 him look fickly, that he may be the more pitied, and 
 permitted to lie in his own houfe. Count Gondamar the 
 Spanijlj AmbafTiidor fpeaks high language, and fending 
 lately to defire audience of his Majefty, he faid, he had but 
 one word to tell him : his Majefty wondering what might 
 be delivered in one word, when he came before him, he 
 faid only, Pirates, Pirates, Pirates, and fo departed. 
 
 It is true, that he protefted againft this voyage before, 
 and that it could not be but for fome predatory defign : 
 and, if it be as I hear, I fear it will go very ill with 
 Sir Walter ; and that Gondamar will never give him 
 over, till he hath his head off his moulders ; which may 
 ([uickly be done without any new arraignment, by virtue 
 of the old fentehce that lies ftill dormant againft him, 
 which he could never get off by pardon, notwithftanding 
 that he mainly laboured in it before he went ; but his 
 Majefty could never be brought to it, for he faid, he 
 would keep this as a curb to hold him within the bounds 
 of his commiflion, and the good behaviour. 
 
 Gondamar cries out, that he hath broke the facred 
 peace betwixt the two kingdoms ; that lie hath fired and 
 plundered Santo Thoma, a colony the Spaniards had 
 
 planted
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 7 
 
 planted with ib much blood, near under the Line, which 
 made it prove fuch hot fervicc unto him ; and \vhere, be- 
 fides others, he loft his eldeft fon in the aclion : and 
 could they have prefcrved the magazine of tobacco only, 
 befides other things in that town, fomething might hare 
 been had to countervail the charge of the voyage. 
 Gondamar alledgeth further, that the enterprize of the 
 mine failing, he propounded to the reft of his fleet to go 
 and intercept fome of the plate-galleons, with other de- 
 figns which would have drawn after them apparent afts 
 ofhoftility, and ib demands jaftice. Befides other difa- 
 fters which fell out upon the darning of the firft defign, 
 Captain ReniJJj, who was the main inftrument for difco- 
 vering of the mine, piftolled himfelf in a defperate mood 
 k of difcontent in his cabin, in the Converting. 
 
 This return of Sir Walter Rawleigh from Guinea, puts 
 me in mind of a facetious tale I read lately in Italian^ 
 for I have a little of that language already, how Al- 
 pkonfo King .of Naples lent a Moor y who had been his 
 captive a long time, to Barbary with a confiderable fum 
 of money to buy horfes, and to return by fuch a time. 
 Now there was about the King a kind of buffoon or jefter, 
 who had a table-book or journal, wherein he was ufed to 
 regifter any abfurdity, or impertinence, or merry paflage 
 that happened upon the Court. That day the Moor 
 was difpatched for Barbary , the faid jefter waiting upon 
 the King at fupper, the King called for his journal, and 
 afked what he had obferved that day ; thereupon he pro- 
 duced his table-book, and amongft other things, he read 
 how Alphonfo King of Naples had fent Bcltram the 
 Moor, who had been a long time his prifoner, to Mo~ 
 rocco This own country) with fb many thoufand crowns 
 to buy horfes. The King afiked him why he inferted 
 that ? Bccaufe, faid he, I think he will never come back 
 to be a prifoner again, and fo you have loft both man and 
 money : but if he do come, then your jeft is marred, 
 fays the King : no Sir, for if he return I will Hot out 
 jour name, and put him in for a fool. 
 
 The
 
 5 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 The application is eafy and obvious : but the world 
 wonders extremely, that fo great a wife man as Sir Wal- 
 ter Ra-iuleigh would return to caft himfelf upon fo inevit- 
 able a rock, as I fear he will ; and much more, that luch 
 choice men, and fo great a power of mips mould all come 
 home and do nothing. 
 
 The letter you lent to my father, I conveyed fafely 
 the laft week to Wales. I am this week by God's help 
 for the Netherlands) and then I think for France. If 
 in this my foreign employment I may be any way fervice- 
 able unto you : you know what power you have to dif- 
 pofe of me, for I honour you in a very high degree, and 
 will live and die 
 
 Tour humble and ready fervanf, 
 Lend. March 28. 1618. J. H. 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 To my Br other > after Dr. How EL, a nd now Bijhop of 
 Briflol, from Amfterdam. 
 
 BROTHER, 
 
 I Am newly landed at Amfterdam, and it is the firft 
 foreign earth I ever fet foot upon. I was pitifully 
 Cck all the voyage, for the weather was rough, and the 
 wind untoward ; and at the mouth of the Texel we 
 were furprized by a furious tempeft, fo that the fhip was 
 like to fplit upon fome of thofe old {tumps of trees 
 wherewith that river is full \ for in ages pad, as the 
 Skipper told me, there grew a fair forreft in that channel 
 where the Texel makes now her bed. Having been fa 
 rocked and maken at fea, when I came afhore I began 
 to incline to Copernicus his opinion, which hath got fuch 
 a fway lately in the world, viz. that the earth, as well 
 as the reft of her fellow-elements, is in perpetual motion, 
 for me feemed fo to me a good while after I had landed. 
 He that obferves the lite and pofition of this country, 
 
 will
 
 TamiKar LETTERS. 9 
 
 will never hereafter doubt the truth of that philofophical 
 problem which keeps fo great a noife in the fchools, 
 viz. that the fca is higher than the earth, becaufe, as I 
 failed along thefe coafts, I vifibly found it true ; for the 
 ground here which is all betwixt niarfli and moorifh, lies 
 not only level, but, to the apparent fight of the eye, far 
 lower than the fea, which made the Duke of Alva fay, 
 that the inhabitants of this country were the neareft 
 neighbours to hell (the great abyfs) of any people upon 
 earth, becaufe they dwell loweft : moft of that ground 
 they tread, is plucked as it were out of the very jaws 
 of Neptune, who is afterwards pent out by liigh dikes, 
 which are prelerved with incredible charge, infomuch, 
 that the chief Dike-grave here, is one of the greateft 
 officers of truft in all the province, it being in his power, 
 to turn the whole country into a fait lough when he lilt, and 
 fb to put Hans to fwim for his life, which makes it to be one 
 of the chiefeft parts of his litany, From the Sea, the Spa- 
 niard, and the Devil, the Lord deliver me. I need not 
 tell you who preferves him from the laft, but from the 
 Spaniard, his beft friend is the fea itfelf, notwithftand- 
 ing that he fears him as an enemy another way : for the 
 fea ftretching himfelf here into divers arms, and meeting 
 with fome of thofe freih rivers that defcend from Ger- 
 many to difgorge themfelves into him through thefc pro- 
 vinces, mod of thofe towns are thereby encompafled 
 with water, which by fluces they can contract or dilate 
 as they lift : this makes their towns inacceflible, and out 
 of the reach of cannon ; fo that ivater may be faid to 
 be one of their beft fences, otherwife I believe they had 
 not been able to have born up fo long againft the gigan- 
 tick power of Spain. 
 
 This city of Amjlerdam, though fhe be a great ftaple 
 of news, yet I can impart none unto you at this time, 
 J will defer that till I come to the Hague. 
 
 I am lodged here at one Monfieur Dela Cluze, not 
 far from the Exchange, to make an introduction into the 
 French : becaufe I believe I {hall fteer my eourfe hence 
 next to the country where that language is fpoken j but
 
 io Familiar LETTERS. PART T. 
 
 I think I mall fojourn here about two months longer ; 
 therefore, I pray dire6c your letters accordingly, or any 
 other you have for me. one of the prime comforts of a 
 traveller is to receive letters from his friends ; they be- 
 get newfpirits in him, and prefent joyful objefts to his 
 fancy, when his mind is clouded fimetimes with the fogs 
 of melancholy ; therefore I pray make me happy as 
 often as your conveniency will ferve, with your's : you 
 may fend or deliver them to Capt. Bacon at die Glafs- 
 houfe, who will fee them fafely fent. 
 
 So my dear brother, I pray God blefs us both, and 
 fend us after this large diftance, a joyful meeting. 
 
 Tour loving brother, 
 Amjlerdam, Mpril I. 1617. J. H. 
 
 LETTER V. 
 To DAN. CALDWALL, Efq; from Amsterdam. 
 
 My dear DAN. 
 
 I Have made your friendship fo neceflary unto me for 
 the contentment of my life, that happinefs itfelf 
 would be but a kind of infelicity without it : it is as 
 needful to me, as fire and water, as the very air I take 
 in, and breathe out ; it is to me not only necefjitudo but 
 necejf/itas : therefore I pray let me enjoy it in that fair 
 proportion, that I defire to return unto you by way of 
 correfpondence and retaliation. Our firft league of love, 
 you know, was contracted among the mufes, in Oxford ; 
 for no fooner was I matriculated to her, but I was a~ 
 dopted to you ; I became her fen, and your friend, at 
 one time : you know, I followed you then to London, 
 where our love received confirmation in the Temple, and 
 elfewhere. We are now far afunder, for no lefs than 
 a fea fevers us, and that no narrow one, but the Ger- 
 man ocean : dijlance fometimcs endears friend/hip, and 
 abfence fiveeteneth it ; it much enhanceth the value of
 
 Familiar L E T T E R S. il 
 
 /, and makes it more precious. Let this be verified in 
 us ; let that love which formerly ufed to be nourifhed 
 by perfonal communication, and the lips, be now fed by 
 letters ; let the pen fupply the office of the tongue. Let- 
 ters have a ftrong operation, they have a kind of art- 
 like embraces to mingle fouls, and make them meet, 
 though millions of paces afunder; by them we may 
 converfe and know how it fares with each other, as it 
 were by intercourfe of fpirits. Therefore, amongft 
 your civil fpeculations, I pray let your thoughts fome- 
 times reflect on me, (your abfent felf ) and wrap thofc 
 thoughts in paper, and fo fend them me over ; I pro- 
 mife you they (hall be very welcome ; I ihall embrace 
 and hug them with my beft affections. 
 
 Commend me to Tom Bonuyer, and enjoin him the 
 like : I pray, be no niggard in diftributing my love plen- 
 tifully amongft our friends at the Inns of Court : let 
 Jack Toldervy have my kind commends with this caveat, 
 That the pot which goes often to the water, comes home 
 cracked at lajl : therefore, I hope he will be careful how 
 he makes the Fleece in Cornhill his thorough fare too 
 often. So may my dear Daniel live happy, and love his 
 
 Amjlerdam, April 10. 1619. J. H. 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 To my FATHER, from Amfterdam, 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Am lately arrived in Holland in a good plight of 
 health, and continue yet in this town of Amfterdam t 
 a town, I believe, that there are few her fellows, being 
 from a mean fifhing-dorp, come in a fhort revolution of 
 time, by a monftrous increafe of commerce and naviga- 
 tion, to be one of the greateft marts of Europe. It is 
 admirable to fee what various forts of buildings, and 
 fabrics are now here creeling everywhere, not in houfes 
 
 only,
 
 12 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 only, but in whole ftrects and fuburbs : fo that it is 
 thought {he will in a (hort time double her proportion in 
 bignefs. 
 
 I ain lodged in a Frtietman's houfe, who is one of 
 tlie deacons of our Englijh Broivnifts church here ; it 
 is not far from the fynagogue of Jews, who have free 
 and open cxercife of their religion here. I believe in 
 this ftreet where I lodge, there be well near as many 
 religions as there be houfes ; for one neighbour knows 
 not, nor cares not much what religion the other is of ; 
 fo that the number of conventicles exceeds the number 
 of churches here. And, let this country call itfclf as 
 long as it will the United provinces one way, I am per- 
 fuaded in this point, there is no place fo difunited. 
 
 The dog and rag market is hard by, where every 
 Sunday morning there is a kind of public mart for thofe 
 commodities, notwithftanding their precife obfervance of 
 the Sabbath. 
 
 Upon Saturday laft I happened to be in a Gentleman's 
 company, who (hewed me , as I walked along in the 
 ftreets, a long bearded old Jew of the tribe of Aaron ; 
 when the other Jews met him, they fell down and kif- 
 fed his foot : this was the Rabbi with whom our country- 
 man Broughton had fuch a difpute. 
 
 This city, notwithftanding her huge trade, is far in- 
 ferior to London for populoufnefs ; and this I infer out 
 of their weekly bills of mortality, which come not at 
 moft but to fifty or thereabout ; whereas in London^ 
 the ordinary number is betwixt two and three hundred, 
 one week with another: nor are there fuch wealthy 
 men in this town as in London; for, by reafon of the 
 generality of commerce, the banks, adventures, the 
 common mares and ftocks which moft have in the Indian 
 and other companies, the wealth doth diffufe itfelf here 
 in a ftrange kind of equality, not one of the Burghers 
 being exceeding rich, or exceeding poor ; infomnch, 
 that I believe our four and twenty Aldermen, may buy 
 a hundred of the richeft men in Anifterdam. It is a 
 rare tiling to meet with a beggar here, as rare as to fee 
 
 a
 
 Famslhr L E TTERS. 13 
 
 a horfc, they fay, upon the ftreets of Venice, and this 
 is held to be one of their beft pieces of government ; 
 for befides the (Irictnefs of their laws againft mendi- 
 cants, they have hofpitals of all forts for young and 
 old> both for the relief of the one, and the employ- 
 ment of the other ; fo that there is no object here to 
 exercife any act of charity upon. They are here very 
 neat, tho' not fo magnificent in their buildings, cfpecial- 
 ly in their frontifpieces and firft rooms ; and for clean- 
 linefs, they may ferve for a pattern to all people. They 
 will prefently drefe half a dozen dimes of meat \vithout 
 any noife or (hew at all : for if one goes to the kitchen, 
 there will be fcarce appearance of any thing but a few 
 covered pots upon a turf-fire, which is their prime fuel : 
 after dinner they fall a fcouring of their pots, fo that 
 the outfide will be as bright as the infidc, and the 
 kitchen fuddenly fo clean as if no meat had been drefled 
 there a month before : they have neither w r ell nor foun- 
 tain, or any fpring of frefh-water in or about this city, 
 but their frefh-water is brought unto them by boats ; 
 befides, they have cifterns to receive the rain-water 
 which they muft ufe ; fo that my la'undrefs bringing 
 my linen to me one day, and I commending the white- 
 nefs of them ; me anfwered, that they muft needs be 
 white and fair, for they were warned in aqua cxlef.i; t 
 meaning fky-water. 
 
 It were cheap living here, were it not for the mor- 
 ftrous excifcs which are impofed upon all forts of con.-, 
 modities, both for belly and back ; for the retailler pa} s 
 the State almoft the one moiety as much as he.paid fi r 
 the commodity at firft ; nor doth any murmur at it, 
 becaufe it goes not to any favourite or private purfc, 
 but to preferve them from die Spaniard, their common 
 enemy as they term him ; fo that the faying is truly ve- 
 rified here, Defend me, and fpend me : with this excife 
 principally, they maintain all their armies. by fea and 
 land, with their garrifons at home and abroad, both 
 here and in the Indies, and defray all public charges 
 befides. 
 
 13 I
 
 14 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 I (kail hence fhortly for France, and in my way take 
 mod of the prime towns of Holland and Zealand, e- 
 fpecially Leyden, (the Univerfity) where I (hall fojourn 
 ibme days. So humbly craving a continuance of your 
 bleffing and prayers, I reft 
 
 Your dutiful fon t 
 May i. 1619. J. H, 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 To Dr. THOMAS PR.ICHARD, at Jefus College in 
 Oxford, from Leydcn. 
 
 S I R, 
 
 IT is the Royal prerogative of love, not to be con- 
 fined to that fmall local compafs which circumfcribes 
 the body, but to make his follies and progrefles abroad, 
 to find out and enjoy his defired object, under what 
 region foever : nor is it the vaft gulph of Neptune, 
 or any diftince of place, or difference of clime, can, 
 bar him 'of this privilege. I never found the experi- 
 ment hereof fo feniiWy, nor felt the comfort of it fb 
 much as fmce I fhook hands with England : for, tho' 
 you be in Oxford, and I at Leydcn ; albeit you be upon 
 an ifland, and I now upon the continent, (tho' the loweft 
 part of Europe}, yet thofe fwift poftillions my thoughts 
 find you but daily, and bring you jrnto me. I behold 
 you often in my chamber and in my bed ; you eat, you 
 drink, you fit down, and walk with me, and my fantafy 
 enjoys you often in ray fleep, when all my fenfes are 
 locked up, and my foul wanders up and down the world, 
 fometimes thro' pleafant iields and gardens, fometimes 
 thro' odd uncouth places, over mountains and broken 
 confufed buildings. As my love to you doth thus exer- 
 cife his power, fo I defire your's to me may not be idle, 
 but roufed up fometimes to find me out, and fumnion 
 ras to attend you in Jcfus College, 
 
 i
 
 Familiar LETTERS. If 
 
 T am now here in Ley den, the only academy befides 
 Franiker of all the United Provinces. Here are nations 
 of all forts, but the Germans fwarm" more than any : 
 to compare their Univerjiiy to yours, were to caf; 
 Inn in counterfcale with Cbrijl-Cbiirch college, or the 
 alms-houfe on Tower-bill to Sutton's hofpital. Here 
 are no colleges at all God-wot (but one for the Dutch}, 
 nor fcarce the face of an Unh-erjity, only there are ge- 
 neral fchools where the fciences are read by fcvenil Pro- 
 feflbrs, but all the ftudefits are Oppidans : a fmall time 
 and lefs learning will fuffice to make one a graduate ; 
 nor are thofe formalities of habits, and other decencies 
 here, as with you, much lefs thofe exhibitions ard fup- 
 port for fcholars, with other encouragements ; infomuch, 
 
 that the Oxonians and Cantabrigians. Bona Ji fua 
 
 norint, were they fenfible of their own felicity, are 
 the happieft Academians on earth ; yet Apollo hath a 
 ftrong influence here : and as Cicero faid of them of 
 Athens, Athenis pingue cceluin, tenuia ingenia ,- The 
 Athenians bad a thick air % and tkin wits ; fo I may 
 fay of thefe Lugdunenjians, They bave a grcfs air, 
 but thin fubtle wits, (fome of them) : witnefs, elfe 
 Heinfius, Grotius, Artninius and Baudius : of the two 
 laft I was told a tale, that Anninius meeting Baud.'its 
 one day difguifed with drink (wherewith he would be 
 often), he told him, Tu Baudi dedecortis ncjlram Aca- 
 demiam, & tu Artnini nojiram religioncm. Thou 
 Baudius difgraceft our Univerfity, and thou Artniniut 
 our religion. The heaven here hath always fome cloud 
 in his countenance ; and from this groflhefs and fpiffi- 
 tude of air proceeds the flow nature of the inhabitants ; 
 yet this flownefs is , recompcnfed with another- benefit ; 
 it makes them patient and conftant, as in all other 
 actions, fo in their ftudies and fpeculadons, tho' they 
 ufe, 
 
 Crajfus tranjire Dies, lucswque palujlrem. 
 
 I pray, impart my love liberally amongft my friends in 
 
 Oxford, and when you can make truce with your more 
 
 B 2 ferious
 
 16 * Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 ferious meditations, beftow a thought drawn into a few 
 lines, upon 
 
 Tour 
 Lejden, May 30, 1619. J. H. 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 To Sir JAMES CROFTS, from the Hague. 
 
 ''S I R, 
 
 TH E fame obfervance that a father may challenge 
 of his child, the like you may claim of me, in re- 
 gard of the extraordinary care you have pleafed to have 
 always finoe I had the happinefs to know you, of the 
 cotuic of my fortunes. 
 
 I am newly come to the Hague, the Court of 
 the fix (and almoft feven) confederated provinces ; the 
 Cuuiuil of State with the Prince of Orange, makes his 
 firm refidence here, unlefs he be upon a march, and in mo- 
 tion for fome defjgn abroad. This Prince (Maurice) 
 \vas caft in a mould fuitable to the temper of this people : 
 he is flow, and full of warinefs, and not without a mix- 
 ture of fear ; I do not mean pufillanimous, but politic 
 fear. He is the moft conftant in the quotidian courfe and 
 carriage of his life, of any that I ever heard or read of: 
 for whofoever knows the cuftoms of the Prince of 0- 
 range, may tell what he is doing here every hour of the 
 day, though he be in Conjlantitioplc, In the morning he 
 awaketh ?.bout fix in fummcr, and feven in winter : the 
 firft thing lie doth, he fends one of his grooms or pages 
 to fee how the wind fits, and he wears or leaves off his 
 waiftcoat accordingly ; then lie is about an hour drefling 
 himfelf, and about a quarter of an hour in his clofet ; 
 then comes in the Secretary, and if he hath any private 
 or public letters to write, or any other difpatches to 
 make, he doth it before he ftirs from his chamber ; then 
 comes he abroad, and goes to his (table if it be no fer- 
 
 mon-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 17 
 
 mon-day, to fee fome of his gentlemen or pages (of 
 whofc breeding he is very careful) ride the great horfe. 
 He is very acceffible to any that hath bufinefs with him, 
 and fheweth a winning kind of familiarity ; for, he will 
 (hake hands with the meancft boor of the country, and 
 he feldom hears any commander or gentleman with his 
 hat on : he dines pun&ually about twelve, and his table 
 is free for all comers, but none under the degree of a 
 Captain fits down at it. After dinner he flays in the 
 room a good while, and then any one may accoft him, 
 and tell his tale ; then he retires to his chamber, where 
 he anfwers all petitions that were delivered him in the 
 morning ; and toward the evening, if he goes not to coun- 
 cil, which is feldom, he goes either to make fome vifits 
 or take the air abroad, and according to this conftant 
 method he pafleth his life. 
 
 There are great ftirs like to arife betwixt the Bohemi- 
 ans, and the elected King the Emperor; they are 
 come already to that height, that they confult of depofing 
 him, and to cKufe fome proteftant Prince to be their 
 King ; fome talk of the Duke of Saxony, others of the 
 Palfegrave. I believe the ftatcs here would rather be 
 for the latter, in regard of conformity of religion, the 
 other being a Lutheran. 
 
 I could not find in Amjlerdam a large Ortelius In 
 Drench to fend you, but from Antwerp I will not fail to 
 ferve you. 
 
 So wifhing you all happinefs and health, and that the 
 fun may make many progrefles more through the Zodiac, 
 before thofe comely gray hairs of yours go to the grave, 
 I reft 
 
 Tour vtry humble fervant, 
 
 Jim: 1619. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 1 8 Tamllltr LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 To Ciiftaln FRANCIS BACON at the Glafs-houfe in 
 Broiiddrect. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 MY laft to you was from Atnjlerdiim, fince which 
 time I have traverfed the prime parts of the Unit- 
 ed Provinces, and am now in Zealand, which is much 
 creft -fallen fince the ftaple of Englijb cloth was removed 
 hence, as is Fltt/hing alfo, her next neighbour, fince the 
 departure of the EngliJIj garrifon. A good intelligent 
 gentleman told me the manner how Flujbing and the 
 JBrill, our two ciutionary towns here were redeemed, 
 which was thus : the nine hundred and odd foldiers at 
 Fliiflring and the Rammakins hard by, being many weeks 
 without their pay, they borrowed divers fums of money 
 of the States of this town ; who, finding no hopes of fup- 
 ply from England, advice was fent to the States General 
 at the Hague ; they confulting with Sir Ralph Winiaeod 
 our Ambaflidor, (who was a favourable inftrument unto 
 them in this bufinefs, as alfo in the match with the Palf- 
 grave) fent inftructions to the Lord Caroon, to acquaint 
 the Earl of Suffolk (then Lord Treafurer) herewith ; 
 tmd in cafe they could find no fatisfaclion there, to make 
 his addrefs to the King himfelf, which Caroon did. His 
 Majefty being much incenfed that his fubjedts and foldiers 
 Jhould ftarve for want of their pay in a foreign country, 
 fent for the Lord Treafurer ; who drawing his Majefty a- 
 Jide, and telling how empty his exchequer was, his Ma- 
 jefty told the Ambaflador, that if his matters the States 
 would pay the money they owed him upon thofe 
 towns, he would deliver them up. The Ambaflador re- 
 turning the next day to know whether his Majefty per- 
 iifted in the fame relblution, in regard that at his former 
 audience he perceived him to be a little tranfported, his 
 Majefty anfwered, that he knew the States of Holland to 
 be his good friends acd confederates both in point of re- 
 ligion
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 19 
 
 ligion and policy ; therefore, he apprehended not the 
 Jeaft fear of any difference that fhould fall out between 
 them, in contemplation whereof, if they defired to have 
 their towns again, he would willingly furrender them. 
 Hereupon, the States made up the fum prefently ; which 
 came in convenient time, for it ferved to defray the ex- 
 penceful progrefs he made to Scotland the fummer fol- 
 lowing. AVhen that money was lent by Queen Elizabeth, 
 it was articled, that interett mould be paid upon intereft ; 
 and befides, that for every gentleman who mould loFe 
 life in the States fervice, they mould make good five 
 pounds to the crown of England. All this his Majefty 
 remitted, and only took the principal : and, this was 
 done in requital of that princely entertainment and great 
 * prefents which my Lady Elizabeth had received in divers? 
 of their towns as me parted to Heydelberg. 
 
 The bearer hereof is Signior Antonio Miotti, who was 
 mafter of a cryftal-glafs furnace here a long time ; and as 
 I have it by good intelligence, he is one of the ableft and 
 moft knowing men for the guidance of a glafs-work in 
 Christendom ; therefore, according to my inftruclions I 
 fend him over, and hope to have done Sir Robert good 
 fervice thereby. - So with my kind refpeds unto you, and 
 my moft humble fervice where you know it is due, I 
 reft 
 
 Tour obliged fervant, 
 
 June 6. 1619. J. H. 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 To Sir JAMES CROFTS. Antwerp. 
 SIR, 
 
 IPrefume that my laft to you from the Hague came 
 fafe to hand. I am now come to a more chearfuf 
 country, and amongft a people fomewhat more vigorous 
 and metalled, being not fo heavy as the Hollander, or 
 
 homely
 
 20 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 homely as they of Zealand. This goodly antient city 
 methinks looks like a difconfolate widow, or rather fome 
 fuperannuated virgin that hath loft her lover, being al- 
 moft quite bereft of that flourifliing commerce, where- 
 with, before the falling off the relt of the provinces from 
 Spain, me abounded to the envy of all other cities and 
 marts of Europe. There are few places this fide the 
 Alps better built and fo well ftreeted as this, and none 
 at all fo well girt with baftions and ramparts, which in 
 fome places are fo fpacious, that they ufually take the 
 air in coaches upon the very walls, which are beautified 
 with divers rows of trees and pleafant walks. The cita- 
 del here, though it be an addition to the ftatelinefs and 
 ftrength of the town, yet it ferves as a mrewd curb un- 
 to her, which makes her chomp upon the bit, and fome 
 fometimes with anger, but (he cannot help it. The tu- 
 mults in Bohemia now grow hotter and hotter : they 
 write how the great council at Prague fell to fuch a 
 hurliburly, that fome of thofe Senators who adherred to 
 the Emperor were thrown out at the windows, where 
 fome were maimed, fome broke their necks. I am 
 fhortly to bid farewel to the Netherlands, and to bend 
 my courfe to France, where I mail be moft ready to en- 
 tertain any commands of yours. So may all health and 
 happinefs attend you, according to the wifhes of 
 
 Tour obliged fervant, 
 July 5. 1619. 
 
 J. H. 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 To nty FATHER, from Rouen. 
 SIR, 
 
 YOURS of the third of Augufl came fafe to hand 
 in an inclofed from my brother : you may make 
 eafy conjecture how welcome it was xmto me, and to 
 
 what
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 21 
 
 what a height of comfort it raifed my fpirits, in regard it 
 was the firft I received from you fince I crofled the feas, 
 I humbly thank you for the blefling you lent along with 
 it. 
 
 I am now upon the fair continent of France, one of 
 nature's choiceft mafter-pieces, one of Ceres' chiefeft barns 
 of corn, one of Bacchus\ prime wine cellars, and of Ne- 
 f tune's beft falt-pits ; a compleat felf-fufficient country, 
 where there is rather a fuperfluity then defect of any 
 thing, cither for neceflity or pleafure, did the policy of 
 the country correfpond with the bounty of Nature, in tk: 
 equal dijlribution of the ivealth among the inhabitants : 
 for, I think there is not upon the earth a richer country 
 and poorer people. It is true, England hath a good re- 
 * pute abroad for her fertility, yet be our harvefts never fo 
 kindly, and our crops never fo plentiful, we have every 
 year commonly fome grain from thence, or from Dant- 
 zick and other places imported by the merchant ; be- 
 fides, there be many more heaths, commons, bleak -bar- 
 ren hills, and wafte grounds in England by many degrees 
 then I find here ; and I am forry our country of Wales 
 {hould give more inftances hereof than any other part. 
 
 This province of Normandy, once an appendix to the 
 crown of England, though it want wine, yet it yields 
 the King as much defmeans as any of the red : the lower 
 Norman hath cyder for his common drink ; and I vifibly 
 obferved that they are more plump and replete in their 
 bodies, and of a clearer complexion then thofe that drink 
 altogether wine. In this great city of Rouen there be 
 many monuments of the Englijh yet extant. In the 
 outfide of the higheft ftceple of the great church, there 
 is the word GOD engraven in huge golden characters, 
 every one almofl as long as myfelf to make them the 
 more vifible. In this ftecple hangs alfo the greateft bell 
 of chriftendom, called d' ' Aviboife ; for it weighs near 
 upon forty thoufand pound weight. There is alfo here 
 St. Oen, the greateft Sanctuary in this city, founded by 
 one of our compatriots as the name imports. This pro- 
 vince is alfo fubject to ivardfoips, and no other part of 
 
 Francs
 
 22 familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 France befides ; but, whether the conqueror tranfported 
 that law to England from hence, or whether he fent it 
 over from England hither I cannot refolve you. There 
 is a marvellous quick trade beaten in this town, becaufe 
 of the great navigable river Sequana (the Seine'} that 
 runs hence to Paris, whereon there (lands a ftrange 
 bridge that ebbs and flows, that'rifeth and falls with the 
 river, it being made of boats, whereon coaches and carts 
 may pafs over as well as men : befides, this is the neareft 
 mercantile city that ftands betwixt Paris and the fea. 
 
 My laft unto you was from the Low-Countries, where I 
 was in motion to and fro above four months ; but I fear 
 it mifcarried in regard you make no mention of it in 
 yours. 
 
 I begin more and more to have a fenfe of the fweet- 
 nefs and advantage of foreign travel. I pray when you 
 come to London find a time to vifit Sir Robert, and 
 acknowledge his great favours unto me, and defire a 
 continuance thereof according as I mall endeavour to de- 
 fen e them. So with my due and daily prayers for your 
 health, and a fpeedy fuccefsful ifTue of all your law bufi- 
 nefs, I humbly crave your bleffing, and reft 
 
 Tour dutiful f on > 
 
 Septr. 7. 1619. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 To Capt. FRANCIS BACON from Paris. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Received two of yours in Rouen, with the bills of ex- 
 change therein inclofed, and according to your dire- 
 ctions I fent you thofe things which you wrote for. 
 
 I am newly come to Paris, this huge magazine of 
 men, the epitome of this large populous kingdom, and 
 rendcvouz of all foreigners. The ftruftures here are in- 
 differently fair, though the ftreets generally foul all the 
 
 four
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 23 
 
 four fcafons of the year ; which I impute firft, to the po- 
 Ction of the city, being built upon an ifle, (the iile of 
 Francs, made fo by the branching and ferpentine courfe 
 of the river of Seine} and having fome of her fuburbs 
 feated high, the filth runs down the channel and fettles 
 in many places within the body of the city, which lieth 
 upon a flat ; as alfo for a world of coaches, carts, and 
 horfes of all forts, that go to and fro perpetually, fo that 
 fometimes one mall meet with a flop half a mile long of 
 thofe coaches, carts, and horfes, that can move neither 
 forward nor backward by reafon of fome fudden encounter 
 of others coming a crofs-way ; fo that often times it will 
 be an hour or two before they can difentangle : in fuch 
 a flop the great Henry was fo fatally flain by Ravillac. 
 Hcnce comes it to pafs that this town (for Paris is a 
 trwn, a city, and an unroerjtty\ is always dirty, and 'tis 
 fuch a dirt, that by perpetual motion is beaten into fuch 
 a thick black unclious oil, that where it Micks no art can 
 \vafli it off of fome colours, infomuch, that it may be no 
 improper comparifon to fay, that an ill name is like the 
 crot (the dirt) of Paris, which is indelible ; befides the 
 {lain this dirt leaves, it alfo gives fo ftrong a fcent, that 
 it may be fmelt many miles off, if the wind be in one's 
 face as he comes from the frefh country. This may be 
 one caufc why the plague is always in fome corner or o- 
 ther of this vail city, which may be called as once Scythia 
 was, vagi tie popular ut, or (as mankind was called by a 
 great philofopher) a great mole-hill of ants : yet, I be- 
 lieve this city is not fo populous as (he feems to be, for 
 her form being round, (as the whole kingdom is) the 
 paflengers wheel about, and meet oftner than they ufe to 
 do in the long continued ftreets of London, which makes 
 London appear lefs populous then me is indeed ; lo that 
 London for length (though not for latitude) including 
 Weflmittjler, exceeds Paris, and hath in Michaelmas 
 term more fouls moving within her in all places. 'Tis 
 under one hundred years that Paris is become fo fump- 
 tuous and flrong in buildings ; for her houfes were mean, 
 until a mine of white (lone was discovered hard by, 
 
 which
 
 24 Familiar LETTERS. TART I. 
 
 which runs in a continued vein of earth, and is digged 
 out with cafe being foft, and is between a white clay and 
 chalk at firft, but being pullied up, with the open air it 
 receives a crufty kind of hardnefs, and fo becomes per- 
 fect free-ftone ; and before it is fent up from the pit, 
 they can reduce it to any form. Of this ftone, the 
 Louvre, the King's palace is built, which is a vaft fabric ; 
 for the gallery wants not much of an Italian mile in 
 length, and will eafily lodge 3000 men ; which fome 
 told me, was the cad tor which the lafl King made it fo 
 big, that lying at the fag end of this great mutinous city, 
 if me perchance fhould rife, the King might pour out of 
 the Louvre fo many thoufand men unawares into die heart 
 of her. 
 
 I am lodged here hard by the Bajtile, becaufe it is 
 furtheft off from thofe places where the Englijh refort ; 
 for I would go on to get a little language as foon as I 
 could. In my next, I mall impart unto you what ftate- 
 uews Trance affords in the interim, and always I am 
 Tour bumble firvant, 
 
 Parjj, March 30. 1620. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 To RICHARD ALTHAM Efq; from Paris. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 O V E is the marrow of friendship, and letters are the 
 
 L 
 
 elixir of love ; they are the beft fuel of affection, 
 and caft a fwecter odour than any franckincenfe can do : 
 fuch an odour, fuch an aromatic perfume your late letter 
 brought with it, proceeding from the fragrancy of thofc 
 dainty flowers of eloquence, which I found blofToming 
 as it were in every line ; I mean thofc fweet expreflions 
 of love and wit, which in every period were interming- 
 led with fo much art, that they feemed to contend for 
 mattery tthich was the ftrongeft. I mult confcfs, that you 
 
 put
 
 Fa mi liar LETTERS. 2 $ 
 
 put me to hard fhifts to correfpond with you in ftich ex- 
 quifite {trains and raptures of /we, which were fo lively, 
 that I muft needs judge them to proceed from the moti- 
 ons, from the diaftole andfijlele of a heart truly affected. 
 Certainly your heart did dilate every fyllable you wrote, 
 and guided your hand all along. Sir, give me leave to 
 tell you, that not a dram, nor a dofe, nor a fcruple of 
 this precious love of yours is loft, but is fafely trcafured 
 up in my heart, and anfwered in like proportion to the 
 full ; mine to you is as cordial, it is pailionate and per- 
 fect as love can be. 
 
 I thank you for the defire you have to know how it 
 fares with me abroad. I thank God, I am perfectly well, 
 . and well contented with this wandering courfe of life a 
 while : I never enjoyed my health better, but I was like 
 to endanger it two nights ago ; for being in fome jovial 
 company abroad, and coming late to our lodging, we 
 were fuddenlyfurprized by a crew of fihus of night rogues, 
 who drew upon us, and as we had exchanged fome blows, 
 it pleafed God the Chevalier du Gttet, an officer, who 
 goes up and down the ftreets all night on horfeback to 
 prevent diforders, pafled by, and fb refcued us ; but Jack 
 White was hurt, and I had two thrufts in my cloke. 
 There is never a night paficth, but fome robbing or 
 murder is committed in this town, fo that it is not fafe 
 to go late anywhere, fpecially about the Pont-Ncuf, 
 the new-bridge, though Henry the Great himfelf lies 
 centinel there in arms, upon a huge Florsntine horfe, and 
 fits bare to every one that pa/Teth ; an improper pofture 
 methinks to a King on horfeback. Not long fince, one 
 of the Secretaries of State (whereof there are here al- 
 ways four) having been invited to the fuburbs of St. Gtr- 
 viains to fupper, left order with one of his lacqueys to 
 bring him his horfe about nine ; it fo happened, that a 
 mifchance befell the horfe, which lamed him as he went 
 a watering to the Seine, infomuch, that the Secretary was 
 put to beat the hoof himfelf, and foot it home ; but, as 
 he was paffingthe Pont-Nenf\\hh his lacquey carrying a 
 torch before him, he might over-hear a noifc of cfolhinp 
 C
 
 26* Familiar LETTERS. PA R T I. 
 
 of (words, and fighting ; and looking under their torch, 
 and perceiving they were but two, he bad his lacquey go 
 on ; they had not made many paces, but two armed men 
 with their piftols cocked, and fwords drawn, made puf- 
 fing towards them, whereof one had a paper in his hand ; 
 which he fuid, he had cafually took up in the ftreets, and 
 the differences between them was about that paper; there- 
 fore, they defired the Secretary to read it, with a great 
 deal of compliments ; the Secretary took out his fpe&a- 
 cles, and fell a reading of the faid paper, whereof the 
 fubftance was, Tkat It Jbould be kno-iun to all men, that 
 vubofoe-ver did pafs o'ctr that bridge after nine o'clock at 
 night in ivlnter, olid ten in fummer, *was to leave hit 
 dike behind hitn, and in cafe of no cloke, his hat. The 
 Secretary flatting at this, one of the comrades told him, 
 that he thought that paper concerned him ; fo they un- 
 mantled him of a new plum cloke, and my Secretary was 
 .content to go home quietly, and en cuerpo. This makes 
 me think often of the excellent nodlurnal government of 
 our city of London, where one may pafs and repafs 
 Iccurcly all hours of the night, if he give good words 
 to the watch. There is a gentle calmnefs through all 
 France, and the King intends to make a progrefs to all 
 the frontier towns of the kingdom, to fee how they are 
 fortified. The favorite Luines ftrengtheneth himfelf more 
 and more in his minionfliip ; but he is much murmured at 
 in regard the acccls of fuitors to him are fo difficult ; which 
 made a Lord of tho land fay, that three of the hardcft 
 tilings in the world were ; To quadrate a circle, to find 
 out the pbihfophert Jhne, and to f peak 'with the Duke of 
 Luines. 
 
 I have fent you by Vacandary the poft, the French 
 bevet and Swedes you write for : bever-hats are grown 
 dearer of late, bcc.iufe the Jefuites have got the monopoly 
 of them from the King. 
 
 Farewel dear child of virtue and minion of the mufes, 
 and continue to love 
 
 Tours, 
 Pant, May, I. 1620. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 LETTERS. 2J 
 
 LETTER XIV, 
 To Sir JAMES CROFTS, from Paris. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Am to fet forward this week for Spain, and if I 
 can find no commodity of embarkation at St. JWalSs; 
 I muft be forced to journey it all ths way by land, and 
 clammer up the huge Pyreney-kills, but I could not bid 
 Paris adieu, rill I had conveyed my true and conftant 
 refpeft to you by this letter. I was yefterday to wait 
 upon Sir Herbert Crofts at St. Germain* > where I met 
 with a French gentleman, who amongft other curiofiti^s 
 * which he pleafed to mew me up and down Paris, brought 
 me to that place where the late King was (lain, and to 
 that where the Marquis of Ancre was fhot, and fo made 
 me a punctual relation of all the circumftances of thofc 
 two afts, which in regard they were rare ; and I believe 
 two of the notableft accidents that ever happened in 
 France, I thought it worth the labour to make you par- 
 taker of fome part of his difcourfe. 
 
 France, as all chriflendom befides, (for there was then 
 a truce betwixt Spain and the Hollander) was in a pro- 
 found peace, and had continued fo twenty years together. 
 "When Henry IV. fell upon fome great martial dc- 
 fign, the bottom whereof is not known ro this day ; and 
 being rich, (for he* had heaped up in the Baflile amount 
 of gold that was as high as a lance) he levied a huge ar- 
 my of 40,000 men ; whence came the fbng, 77 e King 
 of France with forty thoufand men ; and upon a fudden 
 he put this army in perfedl equipage, and fome fay he 
 invited our Prince Henry to come unto him to be a fliarer 
 in his exploits ; but going one afternoon to the Baflilf, 
 to fee his treafure and ammunition ; his coach flopped 
 fuddenry, by reafon of fome colliers and other carts that 
 were in that narrow facet ; Ravillac a lay-jefuit (who 
 had a whole twelve month watchcd-an opportunity to do 
 C 2 the
 
 2B Famll'tat LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 the afl) put his foot boldly upon one of the wheels of 
 the coach, arid with a long knife ftrctchcd himfelf over 
 their moulders who were in the boot of the coach, and 
 reached the King at the end, and ftabed him right in the 
 left -fide to the heart ; and pulling out the fatal fteel, he 
 doubled his thruft : the King with a ruthful voice cried 
 out, "Jefujnii ble/e (lam hurt) and fuddenly the blood if- 
 fucd out at his mouth : the regicide villain \v as apprehend- 
 ed, and command given, that no violence mould be offer- 
 ed him, that he might be referred for the law, and fome 
 exquifite torture. The Queen grew half diftracled here- 
 upon, who had been crowned Queen of France the day 
 before in great triumph ; but a few days after /he had 
 fbmething to countervail, if not to overmatch her forraw, 
 for according to St. Lewis's law, me was made Queen 
 Regent of France during the King's minority, who was 
 then but about ten years of age. Many confutations 
 were held how to punim Ravillac, and there were fome 
 Italian phyficians that undertook to prefcribe a torment, 
 that mould laft a conttant torment for three days, but he 
 cfcaped only with this, his body was pulled between 
 four nodes, that one might hear his bones crack, and 
 after the dillocation they were fet again, and fo he was 
 carried in a cart {landing half naked, with a torch in that 
 hand which had committed the murder ; and in the place 
 where the act was done, it was cut off, and a gauntlet 
 of hot oil was clapt upon die ftump, to ftanch the blood, 
 whereat he gave a doleful fhriek, then was he brought 
 upon a fUge, where a new pair of botts was provided for 
 him, half filled with boiling oil ; then his body was pin- 
 cered, and hot oil poured into the holes. In all the ex- 
 tremity of this torture, he fcarce mewed any fenfe of pain, 
 but when the gauntlet was clapt upon his arm to 
 flanch the flux of reaking blood, at that time, he gave a 
 mriek only. He bore up againlt all thefe torments about 
 three hours before he died : all the confeffton that could 
 be drawn from him, was, That he thought he had done 
 Goiigoodfcrvice to take away that King, which would have 
 embroil led all chrijl endow in an endlefs war. 
 
 A
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 29 
 
 A fatal thing it was, that France fhould have three 
 of her kings come to fuch violent deaths, in fo fliort a 
 revolutions? time. Henry II. at tilt with Monfieur./lfs///- 
 gotnery, was killed by a fplinter of a lance that pierced his 
 eye : Henry the III. not long after, was killed by a young 
 friar, who in lieu of a letter which he pretended to have 
 for him, pulled out of his long fleeve a knife, and thru/t 
 him into the bottom of the belly, as he was coming 
 from his clofe-ftool, and fo difpatched him ; but that regi- 
 cide was hacked to pieces in the place by the nobles. 
 The fame deftiny attended this King by Ravillac, which 
 is become now a common name of reproach and infamy in 
 France. 
 
 Never was King fo much lamented as this ; there arc 
 a world not only of his pictures, but ftatues up and down 
 France, and there's fcarce a market-town, but hath him 
 erected in the market-place, or over fome gate, not up- 
 on fign-pofts, as our Henry the VIII. and by a public 
 act of parliament which was confirmed in the confiftory 
 at Rome, he was entitled, Henry the Great , and fo placed 
 in the temple of immortality. A notable Prince he was, 
 and of an admirable temper of body and mind ; he had a 
 graceful facetious way to gain both love and awe : he would 
 be never tranfported beyond himfelf with chollcr, but he 
 would pafs by any thing with fome repartee, fome witty 
 ftrain, wherein he was excellent. I will instance in a few 
 which were told me from a good hand : one day he was 
 charged by the Duke of Bouillon to have changed his re- 
 ligion, he anfwered, No coujtn, I have changed no religion* 
 hut an opinion : and the Cardinal of Perron being by, 
 he enjoined him to write a treatife for his vindication ; 
 he Cardinal was long about the work, and when the King 
 afked from time to time where his book was, he would 
 ftill anfwer him, That he expe'ted fome tnanufcriptf from. 
 Rome, before be could finijl) it. It happened, that one 
 day the King took the Cardinal along with him to look 
 on his workmen and new buildings at the Louvre ; and 
 pafiing by one corner which had been a long time begun, 
 but left unfinifhed, the King afkul the chief inn/on why 
 C 3 that
 
 30 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 that corner was not all this while perfected ? Sir, it is 
 becaufe I want fome choice (tones ; No, no, faid the King, 
 looking upon the Cardinal, // /'/ becaufe than wanleft 
 manufcripts from Rome. Another time, the old Duke 
 of Main, who was ufed to play the droll with him, coming 
 foftly into his bed-chamber and thrufting in his bald-head, 
 and long neck, in a pofture to make the King merry, it 
 happened the King was coming from doing his cafe ; and 
 fpying him, he took the round cover of the clofe-flool, 
 and clapt it on his bald fconce, faying, Ah, coujin, yott 
 thought once to have taken the crown off my head, and 
 r jjear it on your own ; but this of my tail foall now fsrve 
 your turn. Another time, when at the liege of Amiens, 
 he having fent for the Count of Soiffbns (who had 100000 
 franks a year penfion from the crown) to affifl him in 
 thofe wars, and that the Count excufed himfelf, by rea- 
 ion of his years and poverty, having exhaufted himfelf in 
 the former wars, and all that he could do now, was to 
 pray for his Majefty, which he would do heartily : this 
 anfwcr being brought to the King, he replied, Will my 
 fou/tn, the Count ofSoiffons, do nothing elfe but pray for 
 ine ? Tell him that prayer without fafling, is not avail- 
 able ; therefore I will make my coujin fafl alfofrom bis 
 penjion of I ooooo per annum. 
 
 He was once troubled with a fit of the gout ; and the 
 SpaniJJy AmbafTador coming then to vifit him, and faying 
 he was forry to fee his Majefty fb lame ; he anfwered, 
 As lam; as lam, if there were occajion, your maflcr the 
 jKing ofSytinfljoiild nofooner have his foot in theJJirrup t 
 lut he Jljould find me on horfeback. 
 
 By thefe few you may guefs at fat genius of thisfpright- 
 ful Prince : I could make many more inftances, but then I 
 mould exceed the bounds of a letter. \Vhen I am in 
 Spain, you mail hear further from me ; and if you can 
 think on any thing wherein I may ferve you, believe it, 
 Sir, that any employment from you mall be welcome to 
 Tour much obliged firvant, 
 
 Paris, May, 12. 1 620. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. g$ 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 To my Brother Dr. Ho WELL. 
 
 Brother, 
 
 BEING to-morrow to part with Parity and begin 
 my journey for Spain, I thought it not amils to 
 fend you tliis., in regard I know not when I fhall have 
 opportunity to write unto you again. 
 
 This kingdom fince the young King hath taken the 
 fcepter into his own hands, doth flourim very much with 
 quietnefs and commerce ; nor is there any motion or the 
 leaft tintamar of trouble in any part of the country, which 
 , is rare in France. 'Tis true, the Queen-mother is dif- 
 contented fmcc me left her regency, being confined ; and 
 I know not what it may come unto in time, for (he hath 
 a ftrong party, and the murdering of her Marquis of 
 Ancre will yet bleed, as fome fear. 
 
 I was lately infociety of a gentleman who was a ipecla- 
 tor of that tragedy, and he was pleafedto relate unto me 
 the particulars of it, which was thus : when Henry IV. 
 was flain, the Queen Dowager took the reins of the go- 
 vernment into her hands during the young King's mino- 
 rity ; and amongft others whom fhe advanced, Signior 
 Conchino a Florentine ; and her fofter-brother was one : 
 her countenance came to mine fo flrongly upon him, that 
 he became her only confident and favourite, infomuch, 
 that fhe made him Marquis of dncre, one of the twelve 
 Marfhals of France, Governor of Normandy, and con- 
 ferred other honours and offices of truft upon him, and 
 who but he. The princes of France could not endure 
 this domineering of a /hanger, therefore, they leagued 
 together to fupprefs him by arms : the Queen Regent ha- 
 ving intelligence hereof, furprized the Prince of Conde, 
 and clapt him up in the Baftile : the Duke of Main fled 
 hereupon to Peronne in Picardy, and other great men 
 put themfelvcs in an armed pofture to ftand upon their 
 guard. The young King being told that the Marquis of
 
 gj Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 Ancrc was the ground of this difcontentracnt, command- 
 ed Monfieur de Vitry Captain of his guard to arreft him, 
 and in cafe of redftance to kill him. This bufinefs was 
 carried very clofely till the next morning, that the faid 
 Marquis was coming to the Louvre with a ruffling train of 
 gallants after him, and palling over the draw-bridge at 
 the court-gate, Vitry ftood there with the King's guard 
 about him ; and as the Marquis entered, he told him, 
 that he had a commiflion from the King to apprehend 
 him, therefore he demanded his fword : the Marquis 
 hereupon put his hand upon his fword, fome thought to 
 yield it up, others to make oppofition ; in the mean 
 time, Vitry difchargcd a piftol at him, and fb difpatchcd 
 him. The King being above in his gallery, afkcd what 
 noile that was below, one fmilingly anfwcred, nothing 
 Sir, but that the Marfhall of Ancre is flain : who flew 
 him ? The Captain of your guard : why ? Becaufe he 
 would have drawn his fword at your Majefty's royal com- 
 miflion : then the King replied, Vitry hath done ive/J, and 
 I will maintain the aft. Prefently, the Queen-mother 
 had all her guard taken from her, except fix men and fix- 
 teen women ; and fo fhe was banifhed Paris, and com- 
 manded to retire to Blois. Ana-is body was buried 
 that night in a church hard by the court ; but the next 
 morning, the lacqueys and pages (who are more un- 
 happy here then the apprentices in London'} broke up 
 his grave, tore his coffin to pieces, ript the winding- 
 fheet, and tied his body to an afs's tail, and fo dragged 
 him Up and down the ftreets of Paris, which are none of 
 the fweetcft ; they then fliccd off his ears and nailed 
 them upon the gates of the city ; they cut off his genito- 
 ries, (and they fay he was hung like an afs) and font 
 them for a prefent to the Duke of Main ; the reft of 
 his body they carried to the new-bridge, and hung him 
 his heels upwards and head downwards, upon a new gib- 
 bet that had been fet up a little before to punifh them 
 who mould fpeak ill of the prefent government ; and it 
 was his chance to have the maidenhead of it himfelf. 
 His wife was hereupon apprehended, imprifoned, and 
 
 beheaded
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 53 
 
 beheaded for a witch fome few days after, upon a fur- 
 mife that (he had enchanted the Queen to dote fo upon 
 her hufoand ; and they fay, the young King's picture AV;IS 
 found in her clofet in virgin-wax with one leg melted a- 
 way. A little after a procefs was formed againft the Mar- 
 quis (her hufband), andfo he was condemned after death. 
 This was a right act of a French popular fury, which like 
 an angry torrent is irrcfiilible, nor can any banks, boun- 
 daries, or dikes {top the impetuous rage of it. How the 
 young King will profper after fo high and an unexampled 
 act of violence, by beginning his reign, and imbruing 
 the walls of his own court with blood in that manner, 
 there are divers cenfures. 
 
 When I am fettled in Spain you (hall hear from me ; 
 in the interim, I pray let your prayers accompany me in 
 this long journey, and when you write to Wales, I pray 
 acquaint our friends with my welfare : fo, I pray God 
 blefs us both, and fend us a happy interview, 
 
 Tour loving brother, 
 
 Paris, Sept. 8. 1620. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 To wj Coujin W. VAUGHAN, Efq; from St. Malo. 
 
 COUSIN, 
 
 I Am now in French Britany ; I went back from Paris 
 to Rouen, and fo through all Normandy to a little port 
 called Granville, where I embarked for this town of St. 
 Malo, but Fdid purge fo violently at fea, that it put me 
 into a burning fever for fome few days, whereof (I thank 
 God) I am newly recovered 4 and finding no opportunity 
 of (hipping here, I muft be forced to turn my intended 
 fea-voyage to a land-journey. 
 
 Since I came to this province, I was curious to converfe 
 with fome of the lower Britons, who fpeak no other 
 language but our Weljh ; for their radical words are no 
 
 other;
 
 34 Familiar LETTERS.. PART I. 
 
 other ; but 'tis no wonder, for they were a colony of 
 Weljh at firft, as the name of this province doth imply, 
 as alfo the Latin name ^rtnorica ; which though it pafs 
 for Latin, yet it is but pure Weljh, and fignifies a country 
 bordering upon the fea, as that arch-heretick was called 
 Pelagius, a Pelago, his name being Morgan. I was a 
 little curious to perufe the annals of this province ; and, 
 during the time that it was a kingdom, there were four 
 kings of the name Hoell, whereof one was called Hoclt 
 tkeGreaf. 
 
 This town of St. Mah hath one rarity in it; for there 
 is here a perpetual garrifon ofEng/t/k, but they are of 
 EngliJJj dogs, which arc let out in the night to guard the 
 fhips and eat the carrion up and down the ftrects, and fo 
 they are mut up again in the morning. 
 
 It will be now a good while before I mall have conve- 
 niency to fend to you, or receive from you : howfoever, 
 let me retain ftill fome little room in your memory, and 
 fometimes in your meditations, while I carry you about 
 me perpetually, not only in my head, but in heart, and 
 make you travel all along with me thus from town to 
 country, from hill to dale, from fea to land up and down 
 the world ; and you muft be contented to be fubjecl to 
 thefe uncertain removes and perambulations, until it mall 
 pleafc God to fix me again in England : nor need you, 
 while you are thus my concomitant through new places 
 every day, to fear any ill ufage while I fare welJ. 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 To Sir JOHN NORTH, from Rochet. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Am newly come to Rochel; nor am I forry that I 
 went fomewhat out of my way to fee this town, not 
 (to tell you true) out of an extraordinary love I bear to 
 
 the
 
 Famt/iar LETTERS. 5$ 
 
 the people ; for I do not find them fo gentle and debonair 
 to ftrangers, nor fo hofpitable as the reft of France; but 
 I excufe them for it, in regard it is commonly fb with all 
 republick and hanfe-towns, whereof this fmells very rank ; 
 nor indeed hath any Englijhmaa much caufe to love this 
 town, in regard in ages part, me played die moft 
 treacherous part with England of any other part in 
 France : for the ftory tells us, that this town having by 
 a perfidious ftratagera (by forging a counterfeit commif- 
 fion from England}, induced the EngliJJj Governor to 
 make a general mufter of all his forces out of the town : 
 this being one day done, they fhut their gates againfl 
 him, and made him go fliake his ears and fliift for his 
 lodging, and fo rendered themfelves to the French King, 
 'who fent them a blank to write their own conditions. I 
 think they have the ftrongeft mrnparts by fea of any place 
 of ch rtjlendom, nor have I feen the like in any town of 
 Holland^ whofe fafety depends upon water. I am bound 
 to-morrow for Bordeaux, then through Gafcogny to Tho~ 
 loufe, fo through Languedoc over the hills to Spain : I go 
 in the beft feafon of die year, for I make an autumnal 
 journey of it. I pray let your prayers accompany me all 
 along, they are the beft offices of love, and fruits of 
 friendmip : fo God profper you at home, as me abroad, 
 and fend us in good time a joyful conjuncture. 
 
 Tours, 
 Rochel, Ofl. 8. 1620. J. H, 
 
 LETTER 
 
 To Mr. THO. PORTER, after Capt. PORTER, from 
 Barcelona. 
 
 MY dear Tom, I had no fooncr fct foot upon this 
 foil, and breathed Spanijl) air, but my thoughts 
 prefently refitted upon you. Of all my friends in Eng- 
 land, you were the firft I met here, you were the prime 
 object of my fpeculation, methought the very winds in 
 
 gentle
 
 3 6 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 gentle whifpers did breathe out your name, and blow it 
 on me : you feemed to reverberate upon me with the 
 beams of the fun, which you know hath fuch a powerful 
 influence, and indeed too great a ftrolce in this country : 
 all this you muft afcribe to the operations of love, which 
 hath fuch a ftrong virtual force, that when it fafteneth up- 
 on a pleafant fubjeft, it fets the imagination in a ftrange 
 fit of working; it employs all the faculties of the foul, 
 fb that not one cell in the brain is idle ; it bufieth the 
 whole inward man, it affccls the heart, amufeth the un- 
 derftanding ; it quickeneth the fancy, and leads the will 
 as it were by a filken thread to co-operate with them all. 
 I have felt thefe motions often in me, fpecially at this 
 time that my memory is fixed upon you ; but the reafon 
 that I fell firft upon you in Spain, was that I remembered 
 I had heard you often difcourfing how you have received 
 part of your education here, which brought you to fpeak 
 the lauguage fo exafHy well : I think often of the rela- 
 tions I have heard you make of this country, and the 
 good inftrudions you pleafed to give me. 
 
 I am now in Barcelona, but the next week I intend to 
 go on through your town of Valentia. to Alicant, and" 
 thence you mail be fure to hear from me further, for I 
 make account to winter there. The Duke of Offunti 
 parted by here lately ; and, having got leave of grace to 
 relcafe fome flaves, he went aboard the Cape-Gallies, and 
 paffing through the c bur ma of flaves, he afked divers of 
 them what their offences were ; every one excufed him- 
 felf, one faying, that he was put in out of malice, another 
 by bribery of the judge, but all of them unjuftly; a- 
 mongft the reft, there was one fturdy little black man, 
 and the Duke afking him what he was in for : Sir, faid 
 &e, / cannot deny but I am juflly put in here, for 1 
 wanted money, and fo took a purfe hard by Tarragona 
 to keep me from Jlarving : the Duke with a little ftaff he 
 had in his hand, gave him two or three blows upon the 
 moulder, faying, Tou rogue, what do you do amongft fo 
 many honejl innocent men ? (Jet you gone out of their 
 
 company /
 
 FamitUr LETTERS. S " 
 
 company ; fo he was freed, and the reft remained ftiil in 
 Jlatu quo primus, to tug at the oar. 
 
 I pray commend me to Signior Camilfo, and Mazalas, 
 with the reft of the Venetians with you ; and when you 
 go aboard the Ihip behind the Exchange, think upon 
 
 Tours, 
 
 Barcelona, Nov. 10. 1620. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 To Sir JAMES CROFTS. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Am now a good way within the body of Spain, at 
 Barcelona, a proud wealthy city, fituated upon the 
 Mediterranean, and is the metropolis of the kingdom of 
 Catalonia, called of old Hifpania Terraconcnfis . I had 
 much ado to reach hither ; for befides the monftruous 
 abruptness of the way, tbefe parts of the Pyrenees that 
 border upon the Mediterranean are never without thieves 
 by the land (called Bandeleros} and pirates on the fea-fide, 
 which lie fculking in the hollows of the rocki, and often 
 furprize paflengers unawares, and carry them flaves to 
 Barbary on the other fide. The fafeft way to pafs, is 
 to take a B or don in the habit of a pilgrim, whereof there 
 are abundance that perform their vows this way to the 
 Lady of Monferrat, one of the prime places of pilgrim- 
 age in chriflendom : it is a ftupenduous monaftery, built 
 on the top of a huge land-rock, whether it is impoflible 
 to go up or come down by a direct way, but a path is 
 cut out full of windings and turning ; and on the crown 
 of this craggy-hill there is a flat upon which the monaftery 
 and pilgrimage place is founded, where there is a picture 
 of the Virgin Mary fun-burnt and tanned, it feems when 
 (he went to Egypt ; and to this picture a marvellous con- 
 fluence of people from all parts of Europe re fort. 
 
 D As
 
 3S Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 As I pnfled between the Pyreney-hills, I obferved the 
 poor Labrador;, forae of the country people, live no bet- 
 ter than brute animals in point of food ; for their ordinary 
 commons, is grafs and water, only they have alway* 
 within their houfes a bottle of vinegar, and another of 
 oil ; and when dinner or fupper time conies, they go a- 
 broad and gather their herbs, and fo cart vinegar or oil 
 upon them, and will pafs thus two or three days without 
 bread or wine ; yet, they are ftrong lurty men, and will 
 ftand ftifly under a muflcct. 
 
 There is a tradition, that there were divers mines of 
 gold in ages pad amongft thofe mountains : and the (hep- 
 herds that kept goats then, having made a fmall fire of 
 rofemary-flubs, with other combuftible ituff to warm 
 rhemfelves, this fire grazed along, and grew fo outrage- 
 ous, that it consumed the very entrails of the earth, and 
 melted thofe mines ; which growing fluid by liquefaction, 
 ran down into the fmall rivulets that were in the valleys, 
 and fo carried all into the fea, that monftruous gulph 
 which fwalloweth all, but fcldom difgorgeth any thing ; 
 ;md in thefe brooks to this day fome fmall grains of gold 
 are found. 
 
 The Viceroy of this country hath taken much pains to 
 clear thefe hills of robbers, and there hath been a not- 
 able havock made of them this year; for in divers woods 
 as I pa(Ted, I might fpy fomc trees laden with dead car- 
 cafles, a better fruit far then Diogenef* tree bore, where- 
 on a woman had hanged herfclf ; which the Cynic cried 
 out to be the befl bearing tree that ever he faw. 
 
 In this place there lives neither EngliJJ? merchant or 
 factor ; which I wonder at, confidering it is a maritime 
 town, and one of the greateft in Spain, her chiefeft arfe- 
 nal for gallics, and the fcale by which me conveys her 
 monies to Italy : but, I believe the reafon is, that there is 
 no commodious port here for mips of any burden, but a 
 large bay. I will enlarge myfelf no further at this time, 
 but leave you to the guard and guidance of God, whofe 
 fwcet hand of protection hath brought me through fb 
 many uncouth places and difficulties to this city. So hop- 
 ing
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 39 
 
 ing to meet your letters in Allcant, where I fhall anchor 
 a good while, I reft 
 
 Tours to difpofs of, 
 Barcelona t Nov. 24. 1620. J- H. 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 To Dr. FR. MANELL, from Valentia. 
 
 5 I R, 
 
 THOUGH it be the fame glorious fun that /nines 
 upon you in England, which illuminates alfo this 
 part of the hemifphere ; though it be the fun that ripeneth 
 'your pippins, and pomegranates, your hops, and our vine- 
 yards here, yet he difpenfeth his heat in different degrees 
 of ftrength : thofe rays that do but warm you in Eng- 
 land, do half roaft us here ; thofe beams that irradiate 
 only, and gild your honey-fuckled fields, do fcorch and 
 parch this chinky gaping foil, and fo put too many wrink- 
 les upon the face of our common mother the earth. O 
 bleffed clime, O happy England, where there is fuch a 
 rare temperature of the heat and cold, and all the reft of 
 elementary qualities, that one may pafs (and fuffer little) 
 all the year without either made in fummer, or fire in 
 winter. 
 
 I am now in Valentia, one of the nobleft cities of all 
 Spain, fituate in a large vega or valley, above fixty miles 
 compafs : here are the ftrongeft filks, the fweeteft wines, 
 the beft oils, and the beautifulleft females of all Sfain ; 
 for the prime courtefans in Madrid and elfe\vhere are had 
 hence. The very brute animals make themfelves beds 
 of rofcmary and other fragrant flowers hereabouts ; and 
 when one is at fea, if the wind blow from the more, he 
 may frnell this foil before he come in fight of it many 
 leagues off, by the ftrong odoriferous fcent it cafts. As 
 it is the moft pleafant, fo it is alfo the tcmperateft cli- 
 mate of all Spain, and fo they call it the fecond Italy ,- 
 which made the floors, whereof many thoufands were 
 D 2 difterr'd 

 
 40 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 rtifterr'd and banifhcd hence to Barbary, to think that 
 paradife was in that part of the heavens which hung over 
 rhis city. Some twelve miles off, is old Sagunto, now 
 tailed Morviedre, through which I pafled, and faw many 
 monuments of Roman antiquities there ; amongft others, 
 there is the temple dedicated to Venus, when the fnake 
 came about her neck, a little before Hannibal came thi- 
 ther. No more now, but that I heartily wifh you were 
 here with me, and I believe you would not defire to be 
 a good while in England. So, I am 
 
 Yours, 
 I'alentia, March I. 1620. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 To CHRISTOPHER JONES, Efj; at Grays-Inn. 
 
 I Am now (thanks be to God) come to Alicant, the 
 chief rendevouz I aimed at in Spain ; for I am to 
 fend hence a commodity called Barillia to Sir Robert 
 Manfel, for making of cryftal-glafs ; and I have treated 
 with Signior Andriotti a Genoa merchant for a good 
 round parcel of it, to the value of 2000 /. by letters of 
 credit from Mr. Richant ; and upon his credit, I might 
 have taken many thoufand pounds more, he is fo well 
 known in the kingdom tfValentia* This Barillia is a 
 ftrange kind of vegetable, and it grows nowhere upon the 
 face of the earth, in that perfection as here : the Vene- 
 tians have it hence ; and it is a commodity whereby this 
 maritime town doth partly fubfift ; for, it is an ingredient 
 that goes to the making of the beft caiKle foap. It grows 
 thus : 'tis a round thick earthy flirub that bears berries 
 like bar-berries, betwixt blue and green ; it lies clofe to 
 the ground, and when it is ripe they dig it up by the 
 roots, and put it together in cocks, where they leave it 
 to dry many days like hay ; then they make a pit of a fa- 
 thom dcx>p in the earth, and with an instrument like one 
 
 of
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 41 
 
 of our prongs, they take the tuffs and put fire to them, ami 
 when the flame comes to the berries, they melt and dif- 
 folve into an azure- liquor, and fall down into the pit till 
 it be full ; then they dam it up, and fome days after they 
 open it, and find this Barill-a juice turned to a blue 
 ftone, fo hard, that it is fcarce malleable : it is fold at 
 one hundred crowns a tun, but 1 had it for lefs. There 
 is alfo a fpurious flower called Gazu//, that grows here, 
 but the glafs that's made of that is not fo refplendent and 
 clear. I have been here now thefe three months, and 
 moft of my food hath been grapes and bread, with other 
 roots, which have made me fo fat, that I think if you 
 faw me, you would hardly know me, fuch nutriture this 
 janguine Allcant grape gives. I have not received a 
 fyllable from you fince I was in Antwerp, which tranf- 
 forms me to wonder, and engenders odd thoughts of jea- 
 loufy in me, that as my body grows fatter, your love 
 grows lanker towards me. I pray take off thefe fcniples, 
 and let me hear from you, elfe it will make a fchifm in 
 friendfhip, which I hold to be a very holy league, and no 
 lefs than a piacle to infringe it ; in which opinion, I relt 
 
 Tour conjiant friend, 
 nty March 27. 1621. J-If. 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 To Sir Jo H s NORTH, Knight. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 HAVING endured the brunt of a whole fummer in 
 Spain, and tried the temper of all the other three 
 feafons of the year, up and down the kingdoms ofCata- 
 Ionia, Valentia and IWarcia, with fome parts of Aragw, 
 I am now to direct my courfe for Italy. I hoped to 
 have embarked at Cartbagena, the beft port upon the 
 Mediterranean ; for what (hips and gallics get in thither, 
 aremut up as it were in a box from the \iolence and in- 
 D 3 jury
 
 42 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 jury of all weathers ; which made Andrea Doria, being 
 afked by Philip II. which were his belt harbours ? He 
 anfwercd, June, July, and Carthagena ; meaning that 
 any port is good in thefe two months, but Carthagena 
 was good at any time of the year. There was a moft 
 ruthful accident had happened there a little before I 
 came : for whereas five (hips had gone thence laden with 
 foldiers for Naples, amongft whom there was the flower 
 of the gentry of the kingdom of Mercia ; thofe fhips had 
 hardly failed three leagues, but they met with fixteen 
 fail of Algier men of waj, who had lien fkulking in the 
 creeks thereabout ; and they had the winds and all things 
 clfe fo favourable, that of thofe five mips, they took one, 
 funk another, and burnt a third, and two fled back to 
 fl'.fe harbour. The report hereof being bruited up and 
 down the country, the gentlewomen came from the 
 country to have tidings, fome of their children, others of 
 their brothers and kindred, and went tearing their hair, 
 and howling up and down the ftreets in a moft piteous 
 manner. The Admiral of thofe five mips, as I heard 
 afterwards, was fent for to Madrid, and hanged at the 
 court-gate, becaufe he did not fight. Had I come time 
 enough to have taken the opportunity, I might have been 
 made, either food for haddocks, or turned to cinders, or 
 have been by this time a flave in the bannier at Algier, or 
 tugging at an oar ; but I hope God hath referved me for 
 a better deftiny : fo, I came back to Alicant, where I 
 lighted upon a lufty Dutchman, who hath carried me fafe 
 hither, but we were near upon forty days in voyage. 
 "We pa/Ted by Majorca and Minorca, the Beleares In* 
 false, by fome ports of Barbary, by Sardinia, Corfica, 
 and all the iflands of the Mediterranean fea. We were 
 at the mouth of Tyber, and thence fetched our courfe for 
 Sicily ; we pafled by thofe fulphureous fiery iflands, 
 Mongibel and Strombeh ; and about the dawn of the 
 day we (hot through Scylla and Charybdis, and fo into 
 the phare of Meffina ; thence we touched upon fome of 
 the Creek iflands, and fo came to our firft intended 
 courfe, into the Venetian Culph, and are now here at 
 
 Ma/amtrti,
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 43 
 
 Malamocco, where we remain yet aboard, and muft be 
 content to be fo, to make up the month before we have 
 f ratio, that is, before any be permitted to go afhore, 
 and negotiate, in regard we touched at fome infeded 
 places : for there arc no people upon .earth fo fearful o 
 the plague as the Italians, efpecially the Venetians, tho' 
 their neighbours the Greeks hard by, and the Turks, 
 have little or no apprehenfion at all of the danger of it ; 
 for they will vifit and commerce with the fick without 
 any fcruple, and will fix their longeft finger in the midft 
 of their forehead, and fay, their deftiny and manner of 
 death is pointed there. \\ hen we have gained yon mai- 
 den city, which lieth before us, you mall hear farther 
 from me : fo leaving you to his holy protection, who 
 hath thus gracioufly vouchfafed to preferve this (hip, and 
 me, in fo long and dangerous a voyage, I reft 
 
 Tours, 
 Malamocco, April 30. 1621. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 To my Brother Dr. Ho WELL, from on Jhif board ie* 
 fore Venice. 
 
 Brother, 
 
 IF this letter fail either in point of orthography or 
 y?}/c-, you muft impute the firft to the tumbling po- 
 (hire my body was in at the writing hereof, being a fhip- 
 board ; the fecond to the muddinefs of my brain, which 
 like lees in a narrow veffel, hath been maken at fea in 
 divers tempefts near upon forty days ; I mean natural 
 days, which include the night alfo, and are composed of 
 twenty four hours, by which number the Italian com- 
 putes his clock : for at the writing hereof, I heard one 
 from Malamocco ftrike twenty-one hours. When I mall 
 baye faluted yonder virgin city that ftands before me, 
 
 and
 
 44 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 and hath tantalized me now this fe'n-night, I hope to 
 cheer my fpirits, and fettle my pericranium again. 
 
 In this voyage we pa/Ted through, at leafl touched all 
 thofe feas which Horace and other poets fing of fo often, 
 as the Ionian, the Mgean, the Icariari, the Tyrrhene, 
 with others ; and now we are in the Adrian fea, in the 
 mouth whereof Venice ftands like a gold ring in a bear's 
 muzzle. We p'afled alfo by JEtna, by the Infamer 
 Scopulss, Acroceraunia, and through Scylla and Cba~ 
 , rybdis, about which the antient poets, both Creek and 
 Lathi, keep fuch a coil ; but, they are nothing fb hor- 
 rid or dangerous as they make them to be ; they are two 
 white keen-pointed rocks, that lie under water diametric- 
 ally oppofed, and like two dragons defying one another ; 
 and there are pilots, that in fmall fhallops, are ready to 
 fleer all (hips that pafs. This amongft divers others, may 
 ferve for an ioftance, that the old poets ufed to heighten 
 and hoife up things by their airy fancies above the reality 
 of truth'. JEttia was very furious when we paft by, as {he 
 ufeth to be fometimes more than other, efpecially when 
 the wind is Southward ; for, then me is more fubject to 
 belching out flakes of fire, (as flatterers ufe to flammer 
 more when the wind is in that hole) fome of the fparkles 
 fell aboard us ; but, they would make us believe in Syra- 
 citfe, now Mefflna, that JEtna in times pafl hath eruct- 
 ated fuch huge gobbets of fire, that the fparks of them 
 have burnt houfes in Malta above fifty miles off, tranf- 
 ported thither by a direct flrong wind. We parted hard 
 by Corinth, now Ragufa ; but I was not fo happy as to 
 touch there, for you know 
 
 Non cuivis. homini contingit adire Corinthum* 
 
 I converfed with many Creeks, but found none that 
 could underfland, much lefs practically fpcak any of the 
 old dialects of the priftine C reeky it is fo adulterated by 
 the vulgar, as a bed of flowers by weeds : nor is there 
 any people, either in the ifland, or on the continent, that 
 fpcaks it converfably ; yet; there afe in the Morea fevdrr 
 parifhes called Zacones, where the original Creek is not 
 
 much
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 45 
 
 much degenerated, but they confound divers letters of the 
 alphabet with one found ; for in point of pronunciation, 
 there is no difference betwixt Epfilon, lotH, and Eta . 
 
 The laft I received from you was in Latin, whereof I 
 lent you an anfwer from Spain in the fame language, 
 though in a coarfer dialect. I mail be a guefl to Venice 
 a good while, therefore I defire a frequency of corre- 
 fpondence between us by letters, for there will be con- 
 veniency every week of receiving and fending. \\ hen 
 you write to Wales, I pray fend advice that I am come 
 fafe to Italy, though not landed there yet : fo my dear 
 brother, I pray God blefs us both, and all our friends, 
 and referve me to fee you again with comfort, and you 
 me, who am 
 
 Your loving Brother, 
 May 5. 1621. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 To the honourable Sir ROBERT MAN SELL, Vice- Ad* 
 miral of England, from Venice. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 AS foon as I came to Venice, I applied myfelf to dif" 
 patch your bufmefs according to inftruclions, and 
 Mr. Seymor was ready to contribute his beft furtherance. 
 Thefe two Italians, who are the bearers hereof, by re- 
 port here, are the beft gentlemen-workmen that ever blew 
 cryftal ; one is allied to Antonio Miotti, the other is cou- 
 fin to Mazalao ; for other things they fhall be fent in the 
 ihip Lion, which rides here at Malamocco, as I fhall 
 fend you account by conveyance of Mr. Symns. Here- 
 with I have fent a letter to you from Sir Henry Wotton, 
 the Lord AmbafTador here, of whom I have received 
 fome favours : he wiflied me to write, that you have now 
 a double intereft in him j for whereas, before he was only 
 
 your
 
 4 6" Familiar LETTERS. PART f. 
 
 your fervant, he is now your kinfman by your late mar- 
 riage. 
 
 I was lately to fee the arfenal of Venice, one of the 
 worthieft things in chriftendom ; they fay there are as 
 many gallies and galeafles of all forts, belonging to St. 
 Mark, either in courfe, at anchor, in dock, or upon the 
 careen, as there be days in the year : here they can build 
 a compleat galley in half a day, and put her afloat in per- 
 Ject equipage, having all the ingredients fitted before- 
 hand ; as they did in three hours, when Henry III. paf- 
 fed this way to France from Poland, who wifhed that 
 befides Paris, and his parliament towns, he had this arfe~ 
 >nal in exchange for three of his chiefeft cities. There arc 
 300 people perpetually here at work ; and if one comes 
 young, and grows old in St. Mart's fervice, he hath a 
 penfion from the State during life. Being brought to fee 
 one of the Clarij/imos that govern this arfenal, this huge 
 fea flore-houfe ; among other matters reflecting upon 
 England, he was faying, that if Cavaglier Don Roberto 
 Manfell were here, he thought verily the republick would 
 make a proffer to him to be Admiral of the fleet of gal- 
 lies and galeons, which are now going againft the Duke 
 tfOJfuna, and the forces of Naples, you are fo well known 
 here. 
 
 I was, fince I came hither, in Murano, a little ifland 
 about the diflance of Lambeth from London, where cry- 
 flal-glafs is made ; and 'tis a rare fight to fee a whole 
 Itreet, where on the one fide there are twenty furnaces 
 together at work. They fay here, that altho' one mould 
 tranfplant a glafs-furnace from Murano to Venice herfelf*, 
 or to any of the little alfernbly of iflands about her, or 
 to any other part of the earth befides, and ufe the fame 
 materials, the fame workmen, the fame fuel the felf- 
 fime ingredients every way, yet they cannot make cry- 
 ital-glafs in that perfection, for beauty and luftre, as in 
 Murano : fome impute it to the quality of the circum- 
 ambient air that hangs over the place, which is purified 
 and attenuated by the concurrence of fo many fires that 
 are in thofe furnaces night and day perpetually ; for they
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 47 
 
 are like the veftal-firc which never goes out. And it & 
 well known, that fome airs make more qualifying impref- 
 fions than others ; as a Greek told me in Sicily of the 
 air of Egypt, where there be huge common furnaces to 
 hatch eggs by the thoufands in camels dung : for during 
 the time of hatching, if the air happen to come to be 
 overcaft, and grow cloudy, it fpoils all ; if the fky con- 
 tinue ftill, ferene and clear, not one egg in an hundred 
 will mifcarry. 
 
 I me,t whh Camillo your Confaorman here lately ; and 
 could he be fure of entertainment, he would return to 
 ferve you again, and I believe for lefs falary. 
 
 I mail attend your commands herein by the next, and 
 touching other particulars, whereof I have written to 
 Capt. Bacon : fo I reft 
 
 Tour moft bumble and ready fervant, 
 
 Venice, Alay 30. 1621. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXV, 
 To my BROTHER, from Venice. 
 
 Brother, 
 
 I Found a letter of yours that had lain dormant here 
 a good while in Mr. Symn\ hands, to welcome me 
 to Venice^ and I thank you for the variety of news 
 wherewith (he went freighted ; for me was to me as a 
 Ihip richly laden from London ufeth to be to our merchants 
 here ; and I efteem her Cargazon at no lefs a value, for 
 me enriched me with the knowledge of my father's 
 health, and your own, with the reft of my brothers and 
 lifters in the country, with divers other paflages of con- 
 tentment. Befides, (he went alfo ballafted with your 
 good inftrucTions ; which as merchants ufe to do of their 
 commodities, I will turn to the beft advantage ; and Italy 
 is no ill market to improve any thing. The only procede 
 (that I may ufe the mercantile term) you can expecl is 
 
 thanks.
 
 48 Familiar LETTERS. PART!, 
 
 thanks, and this way fhall not be wanting to make you 
 rich returns. 
 
 Since I came to this town, I difpatched fundry bufinef- 
 fes of good value for Sir Robert Manfell ; which I hope 
 will give content. The art of glafs making here is very 
 highly valued ; for whofoever be of that profeilion, are 
 gentlemen ipfo faflo, and it is not without reafon, it be- 
 ing a rare kind of knowledge and chymijlry to tranfmutc 
 duft and fand (for they are the only main ingredients) to 
 fuch a diaphanous pellucid dainty body as you fee a cry- 
 ftal-glais is, which hath this property above gold or filver, 
 or any other mineral, to admit no poifon ; as alfo, that it 
 never waftcs or lofes a whit of its firft weight, though you 
 ufe it never fo long. When I faw fo many forts of cu- 
 rious glafles made here, I thought upon the compliment 
 which a gentleman put upon a Lady in England, who 
 having five or fix comely daughters, faid,^//? never f&ut 
 in his life fuch a dainty cupboard of cryjlal-glajfes. The 
 compliment proceeds, it fcems, from a faying they have 
 here, That the firft handfome woman that ever <waf 
 made, was made of Venice glafs ; which implies beauty, 
 but brittlenefs withal, (and Venice is not unfurnifhed with 
 fome of that mould ; for no place abounds more with 
 lafles and glafles) but confidering the brittlenefs of the 
 fluff, it was an odd kind of melancholy in him, that could 
 sot be perfuaded but he was an urinal ; furely he defer- 
 ved to be piffled in the mouth. But, when I pryed into 
 the materials, and obferved the furnaces and calcinations, 
 the tranfubftantiations, the liquefactions that are incident 
 to this art, my thoughts Were raifed to a higher {pecula- 
 tion ; that if this fmall furnace-fire hath virtue to con- 
 vert fuch a fmall lump of dark duft and fand into fuch a 
 precious clear body as cryftal, furely that grand univerfal 
 fire at the day of judgment, may by its violent ardour 
 vitrify and turn to one lump of crylhd the whole body of 
 the earth ; nor am I the iirft that fell upon this conceit. 
 
 I will enlarge myfelf no further to you at this time, 
 but conclude with this tftajiric, which my brain ran up- 
 on in my bed this morning. 
 
 Vitre*
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 40 
 
 Vitreafunt noftrx commijja negotia cur*, 
 
 Hoc oculis fpeculum mittimus ergo tuis : 
 %^/fpeculum ? ejlinfiarfpeculimealitera, per quod 
 
 Vividafraterni cordis imago nitet. 
 Adieu my dear brother, live happily, and lov e 
 
 Tour brother^ 
 Ven. June, I. 1621. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 To Mr. RICHARD ALTHAM at Gray's-Inn, frsm 
 Venice. 
 
 ' Gentle Sir, 
 
 dulcior illo 
 
 Mille quod in ceris Attica ponit apis. 
 
 tbcu that dofl in fiueetnefs far excel 
 That juice the Attic beejlores in her cell. 
 
 My dear DICK, 
 
 I Have now a good while fince taken footing in Venice* 
 this admired maiden-city, fo called, becaufe flie was 
 never defloured by any enemy fince me had a being, not 
 fince her rialto was firft creeled, which is now above 
 twelve ages ago. 
 
 I proteft to you, at my firft landing I was for fome days 
 ravilhed with the high beauty of this maid, with her love- 
 ly countenance. I admired her magnificent buildings, 
 her marvellous flotation, her dainty fmooth neat ftreets, 
 whereon you may walk moft days in the year in a filk 
 flocking and fattin flippers, without foiling them ; nor 
 can the ftreets of Paris be fo foul, as thefe are fair. 
 This beauteous maid hath been often attempted to be vi- 
 tiated ; fome have courted her, fomc bribed her, fome 
 would have forced her, yet (he hath ftiH preferred her 
 chaftity entire : and, though fhe hath lived fo many a S cs 
 E and
 
 s o Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 and parted fo many fhrewd brants ; yet (he continueth 
 frefh to this very day without the lead wrinkle of old 
 age, or any fymptom of decay, whercunto political bodies, 
 us well as natural, ufe to be liable. Befide, fhe hath 
 wreiHed with the greateft potentates upon earth ; the Em- 
 peror, the King of France, and moil of the other princes 
 of chriftendom, in that famous league of Cam bray, would 
 have funk her ; but flie bore up (till within her lakes, and 
 broke that league to pieces by her wit : the Grand Turk 
 Inth been often at her, and though he could not have 
 his will of her, yet he took away the richeft jewel fhe 
 wore in her coronet, and put it in his turban, I mean the 
 kingdom of Cyprus, the only royal gem fhe had : he hath 
 fet upon her fkirts often fince, and though flie clofed with 
 him fomctimes, yet fhe came off (till with her maiden- 
 head ; though fome that envy her happinefs would brand 
 her to be of late times a kind of concubine to him, and 
 that'/he gives him. ready money once a year to lie with her, 
 which fhe minceth by the name of prefent, though it be 
 indeed rather a tribute. 
 
 I would I had you here with a wifh, and you would 
 not defire in hafte to be at Gray '/-/, though I hold 
 your walks to be the pleafanteft place about London ; 
 and that you have there the choicest fociety. I pray 
 prefent my kind commendations to all there, and fervice 
 at Bijfiopfgate-ftreet, and let me hear from you by the 
 next poft. So I am 
 
 Intirely yours, 
 
 I'znke, June, 5. 1621. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXVII. 
 To Sir JAMES CROFTS Knight, from Venice. 
 SIR, 
 
 Received one of yours the laft week, that came in my 
 Lord AmbafTador Wottorfs packet ; and being now 
 upon point of parting with Venice , I could not do it with- 
 out
 
 Familiar L E T T E Jl S. ;j 
 
 out acquainting you (as far as the extent of a letter will 
 permit) with her power, her policy, her wealth and pe- 
 digree. She was built out of the ruins of slqnilcia, and 
 Padua ; for when thofe ftvarms of tough northern people 
 over-ran Italy, under the conduct of \^\^\. fconrge ofkea~ 
 ven, Attila, with ochers, and that this foft voluptuous 
 nation after fo long a defuetude from arms, could not re- 
 pel their fury, many of the antrent nobility and gentry 
 fled into thefe lakes and little iflands, amongft the fifher- 
 men, for their fecurity ; and finding the air good and com- 
 modious for habitation, they began to build upon thcfe 
 fmall iflands, whereof there are in all fixty ; and in tfaft 
 of time, they conjoined and leagued them together by 
 bridges, whereof there are now above 800; and this 
 makes up the city of Venice, who is now above twelve 
 ages old, and was contemporary with the monarchy of 
 Trance : but the Signory glorieth in one thing above the 
 monarchy, that fhe was born a chriflian, but the mo- 
 narchy not. Though this city be thus hemed in with the 
 fea, yet fhe fpreads her wings far and wide upon the more ; 
 {he hath in Lombardy fix confiderable towns, Padua, Ve- 
 rona, Vicenza, Brefcia, Crema, and Bergamo ; me hath 
 in the marquifate, Ba/an and Caftlefranco ; me hath all 
 Friuli and IJlria ; me commands the mores of Dalnia- 
 t'ta and Sclavonia ; fhe keeps under the power of St. 
 Mark the iflands of Corfu (anciently Cercyra} Cephalcnia, 
 Zant, Cerigo, Lucerigo, and Candy (Jove's cradle";) 
 fhe had a long time the kingdom of Cvprus, but it was 
 quite rent from her by the Turk ; which made that high- 
 fpirited BaJJa, being taken prifbner at the battle of Lc- 
 panto, where the Grand Signior loft above 200 gallics, to 
 fay, That that defeat to his great majler ~t&as but Ufa 
 to the (having of his beard, or the pairing of his nails ; 
 but the taking /' Cyprus was like the cutting off of a limb, 
 which will never grow again. This mighty potentate be- 
 ing fo near a neighbou r to her, fhe is forced to comply with 
 him, and give him an annual prefent in gold : fhe hath 
 about 30 gallies molt part of the year in courfe to fcour 
 E 2 and
 
 52 familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 and fecure the gulph ; me entertains by land in Lcm- 
 bardy, and other parts, 25000 foot, befidesforae of the 
 cantons of Suijjes whom fhe gives pay to ; fhe hath alfo 
 jn conftant pay 600 men of arms, and every of thefe muft 
 keep two horfes a piece, for -which they are allowed 1 2 o 
 ducats a year, and they are for the moft part gentlemen 
 <&Lombardy. When they have any great expedition to 
 make, they have always a ftranger for their General, but 
 he is fupervifed by two proveditors, without whom he 
 cannot attempt any thing. 
 
 Her great council confifts of above 2000 gentlemen, 
 and fome of 'them meet every Sunday and holiday to 
 chufe officers and magiftrates ; and every gentleman be- 
 ing part 25 years of age, is capable to fit in this council. 
 The Doge, or Duke (their fovereign magiftrati) is 
 chofen by lots ; which would be too tedious here to de- 
 monftrate ; and commonly he is an aged man, who is 
 created like that courfe they hold in the popedom. When 
 he is dead, there is inquifitors that examine his actions, 
 and his mifdemeanours are punimable in his heirs : there 
 is a furintendent council of ten, and fix of them may dif- 
 patch bufinefs without the Doge : but the Doge never 
 without fome of them, not as much as open a letter from 
 any foreign ftate, though addrefled to himfelf ; which 
 makes him to be called by other princes, tefta di legno, 
 a head of 'wood. 
 
 The wealth of this repttblick hath been at a ftand, or 
 rather declining fince the Portugal found a road to the 
 EaJJ-Indies, by the Cape of Good-Hope ; for this city was 
 ufed to fetch all thofe fpices and other Indian commodi- 
 ties from Grand Cairo down the Nile, being formerly 
 carried to Cairo from the Red-fed '-upon camels and dro- 
 medaries backs, fixty days Journey : and fo Venice ufed 
 to difpenfc thofe commodities through all cbriftendom, 
 which not only the Portugal, but the EngliJJ) and Hoi' 
 landtr now tranfport, and are matters of the trade. Yet 
 there is no outward appearance at all of poverty, or any 
 decay in this city ; but me is ftill gay, flourishing and frefti, 
 and flowing with all kinds of bravery and delight which 
 
 may
 
 familiar LETTERS. 53 
 
 may be had at cheap rates. Much more might be written 
 of this antient wife republick, which cannot be compre- 
 hended within the narrow inclofure of a letter. So with 
 my due and daily prayers for a continuance of your health, 
 and increafe of honour, I reft, 
 
 Tour mojl bumble and ready fcrvant, 
 Venice, Auguft, i. 1621. J. II. 
 
 LETTER XXVIIT. 
 To Sir WILLIAM St. JOHN Knigkt , from Rome. 
 
 * SIR, 
 
 HAVING feen Jntenor'* tomb in Padua, and the 
 amphitheatre of Flamhiius in Verona, with other 
 brave towns in Lombardy, I am now come to Rome ; and 
 Rome, they fay, is every man's country, Hie is called 
 Communis Patria ; for every one that is within the com- 
 pafs of the Latin church, finds himfelf here, as it were, 
 at home, and in his mother's houfe, in regard of interefl 
 in religion, which is the caufe that for one native, there 
 be five ftrangers that fojourn in this city ; and without 
 any di(Kn<5Uon or mark of ftrangenefs, they come to pre- 
 ferments and offices, both in church and ftate, according 
 to merit, which is more valued and fought after here than 
 anywhere. 
 
 But wriereas I expected to have found Rome elevated 
 upon feven hills, I met her rather fpreading upon a flat, 
 having humbled herfelf fince (lie was made a chrijlian, 
 and defcended from thofe hills Campus Martins, with 
 Traftevere, and the fuburbs of St. Peter ; fhe hath 
 yet in compafs about fourteen miles, which is far fhort of 
 that vaft circuit (he had in Claudius his time : for Vopifctis 
 writes, (he was then of fifty miles circumference, and 
 fhe had five hundred thoufand free citizens, in a famous 
 cenfe that was made ; which, allowing but fix to every fa- 
 mily, in women, children, and fcrvants, came to three 
 E 3 million-
 
 j 4 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 million of fouls : but fhe is now a wildernefs in compa- 
 nion of that number. The Pope is grown to be a great 
 Temporal Prince of late years, for the Hate of the church 
 extends above 300 miles in length, and 200 miles in 
 breadth ; it contains Ferrara, Bologna, Rowiagnia, the 
 rnarquifate of Ancona, Umbria, Sabina, Perugia, with 
 a part of Tufcany, the Patrimony, Rome herfelf, and La- 
 tinm : in thefe are above fifty bifhopricks ; the Pope 
 hath alfo the dutchy of Spoleto, and the exarchate of Ra- 
 -. cnna ; he hath the town of Benevento in the kingdom 
 of Naples, and the country of VeniJJl', called Avignon*, 
 in France ; he hath title alfo good enough to Naples it- 
 felf, but rather than offend his champion the King of 
 $peiin f he is contented with a white mule, and purfe of 
 .; -iltolcs about the neck, which he receives every year for 
 a herriot or homage, or what you will call it : he pre- 
 viids ulfo to be Lord Paramount of Sicily, Urbin, Par- 
 ?na, and Maftran, of Norway, Ireland and England, 
 iHice King John did proftrate our crown at Pandulfa his 
 legate's feet. 
 
 The (late of the apoftolic See here in Italy lies be- 
 iwixf two feas, the Adriatic and ThzTyrrhenc ; and it runs 
 ihrough the midft of Italy, which makes the Pope power- 
 ful to do good or harm, and more capable than any other 
 to be an umpire or an enemy. His authority being mixt be- 
 r.veen temporal and fpiritual, difperfeth itfclf into fo ma- 
 ny members, that a young man may grow old here, be- 
 fore he can well underfland the form of government. 
 
 The confiftory of cardinals meet but once a week, and 
 cncc a week they folemnly wait all upon the Pope. I am 
 told there are now in chriftendom but fixty eight cardi- 
 nals, whereof there are fix cardinal-bifhops, fifty one 
 cardinal-priefts, and eleven cardinal-deacons : the cardi- 
 Vial-bifliops attend and fit near the Pope, when he cele- 
 brates any feftival : the cardinal-priefts aflift him at mafs, 
 and the cardinal-deacons attire him. A cardinal is made 
 by a fhort breve or 'writ from the Pope, in thefe words, 
 Creamns te focium regibus, fuperioruw ducibus, & fra- 
 trew noflr;t?n ; We create th<f a companion to kings, fupe-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. $5 
 
 rior to dukes, and our brother. If a cardinal -bifliop fliould 
 be questioned for any offence, there muft be twenty four 
 tvitne/Tes produced againft him. 
 
 The Bifhop ofOJtia hath moft privilege of any other, 
 for he confecnues and inftals the Pope, and goes always 
 next to him. All thefe cardinals have the repute of prin- 
 ces, and befides other incomes, they have the annats of 
 benefices to fupport their greatnefs. 
 
 For point of power the Pope is able to put joooomen 
 in the field, in cafe of neceffity, befides his naval ftrength 
 in gallics. We read how Paul III. fent Charles III. 
 12000 foot, and 500 horfe. Pius V. fent a great aid 
 to Charles IX. and for riches, befides the temporal domi- 
 nions, he hath in all the countries before-named, the da- 
 tary or difpatching of bulls. The triennial fubfidies, an- 
 nats, and other ecclefiaftic rights, amount to an unknown 
 fum ; and it is a common faying here, That as long as the 
 Pope can finger a pen, he can want no fence. Pius V. 
 notwithstanding his expences in buildings, left four mil- 
 lions in the caflle of St. Angelo, in lefs than five years ; 
 more I believe than this Gregory XV. will, for he hath 
 many nephews ; and better it is to be the Pope's nephew, 
 than to be favourite to any Prince in chriftendom. 
 
 Touching the temporal government of Rome, and op- 
 pidan affairs, there is a prctor, and fome choice citizens, 
 who fit in the capitol. Among other pieces of policy, 
 there is a fynagogue of Jews permitted here (as in o- 
 ther parts of Italy) under the Pope's nofc, but they go 
 with a mark of diftin&ion in their hnts ; they are tolerated 
 for advantage of commerce, wherein the Jews are very 
 dexterous, though moft of them be only brokers and lombar- 
 deers ; and they are held to be here, as the Cynic held women 
 to be, inalum nsceffarlum. There be few of the Romans. 
 that ufe to pray heartily for the Pope's long life, in regard 
 the oftner the change is, the more advantageous it is for 
 the city, becaufe commonly it brings Strangers, and a re- 
 cruit of new people. The air of Rome is not fo whol- 
 fome as of old ; and among other reafons, one is, becaufe 
 of the burning of ftubblc to fatten their fields. For her 
 
 antiquities,
 
 5 6 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 antiquities, it would take up a whole volume to write 
 them ; thofe which I hold the chiefeft are, Vefpafiarf* 
 amphitheatre, where eighty thoufand people might fit ; 
 the (loves of Anthony, divers rare ftatues at Beheder and 
 St. Peters, efpecially that of Laocoon, the Ohelijk ; for 
 the genius of the Roman hath always been much taken 
 with imagery, limning and fculptures, infomuch, that as 
 in former times, fo now, I believe the ftatues and pictures 
 in Rome exceed the number of living people. One an- 
 tiquity, among others-, is very remarkable, becaufe of 
 the change of language ; which is an ancient column e- 
 reded as a trophy for Duillius the Conful, after a fa- 
 mous naval victory obtained againft the Carthaginians in 
 the fecond Punic war, 'where thefe words are engraven, 
 and remain legible to this day : Exeniet lecoines macif- 
 t rates cajlreis exfocient pugnandod capet enque, navebos 
 marld Conful, fcc. and half a dozen lines after, it is cal- 
 led columna rejlrata, having the beaks and prows of 
 mips engraven up and down ; whereby it appears, that 
 the Latin then fpoken was much different from that which 
 was ufed in Cicero's time 150 years after. Since the 
 difmembering of the empire, Rome hath run through ma- 
 ny viciflitudes and turns of fortune : and had it not been 
 for the refidence of the Pope, I believe me had become 
 a heap of ftones, a mount of rubbifh by this time ; and 
 howfoever that {he bears up indifferent well, yet one may 
 fay, 
 
 >ni miferanda videt vcteris veftigia Romie r 
 II le pot eft merito dice re Roma fttit. 
 
 They ivbo the ruins offirjl Rome behold, 
 May fay, Rome is not NOW, but ivcrs of old. 
 
 Prefent Rome may be faid to be but the monument of 
 Rome pafled, when (he was in that flourilh that St. Atiftin 
 clefired to fee her in : (he who tamed the world, tamed 
 herfeif at laft, and falling under her own weight, fell to 
 be a prey to time ; yet, there is a providence fcems to . 
 have a care of her {till ; for though her air be not fo goody 
 
 nor
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 57 
 
 nor her circumjacent foil fo kindly as it was, yet me hath 
 wherewith to keep life and foul together (till, by her ec- 
 clefiaftical courts, which is the fble caufe of her peopling 
 now. So it may be faid, when the Pope came to be 
 her head, me was reduced to her firft principles : for as 
 a fhepherd was founder, fo a mepherd is frill her Gover- 
 nor and prefervcr j but whereas the French have an odd 
 faying, that 
 
 Jamais cheval ny homme, 
 S'amcnda pour allcr a Rome j 
 
 Ne'er horfe, or man did mend, 
 That unto Rome did 
 
 truly I muft confcfs, that I find myfelf much bettered 
 by it ; for the fight of fome of thefe ruins did fiiJ me with 
 fymptoms of mortification, and made me more fenfible of 
 the frailty of all fublunary things, how all bodies, as well 
 inanimate as animate, are fubjecl to diflblution and 
 change, and every thing elfe under the moon, except the 
 love of 
 
 Tour faithful fervit or, 
 Sept. 13. 1621. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXIX. 
 To Sir T. H. Knight, front Naples. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 Am now in the gentle city of Naples, a city fwelling 
 with all delight, gallantry and wealth ; and truly, in 
 my opinion, the King of Spain's greatnefs appears here 
 more eminently than in Spain itfelf. This is a delicate 
 luxurious city, fuller of true bred cavaliers than any place 
 I faw yet. The clime is hot, and the conftitutions of 
 the inhabitants more hot. 
 
 The 
 
 I
 
 58 Familiar L E T T E R S. PART I. 
 
 The Neapolitan is accounted the bed courtier of la- 
 dies, and the greateft embracer of pleafure of any other 
 people : they fay there are no lefs here than twenty 
 thoufand courtefans regiftered in the office ofSave/ti. 
 This kingdom, with Calabria, may be faid to be the 
 one moiety of Italy ; it extends itfelf 450 miles, and . 
 fpreads in breadth 112 ; it contains 2700 towns ; it hath 
 2O Archbifhops, 127 Bifhops, 13 Princes, 24 Dukes, 
 2 5 MarquifTes, and 800 Barons. There are three pre- 
 fidial catties in this city ; and though the kingdom a- 
 bound in rich ftaple commodities; as filks, cottons, and 
 wine, and that there is a mighty revenue comes to the 
 crown ; yet the King of Spain, when he calls up his ac- 
 count at the year's end, makes but little benefit thereof; 
 for, it is eaten up betwixt governors, garrifons, and offi- 
 cers. He is forced to maintain 4000 Spanijlj foot, cal- 
 led the Tercia of Naples ; in the caftles he hatli 1 600 in 
 perpetual garrifon ; he hath a thoufand men of arms, 450 
 light-horfe ; befides, there are five footmen enrolled for 
 every hundred fire : and he had need to do all this, to 
 keep this voluptuous people in awe : for, the ftory mutters 
 up feven and twenty famous rebellions of the Neapolitans 
 in lefs than 300 years ; but now they pay foundly for it, 
 for one mall hear them groan up and down under the 
 Spanifb yoke ; and commonly the King of Spain fends 
 fome of his grandees hither, to repair their decayed for- 
 tunes ; whence the faying fprung, That the Viceroy of 
 Sicily gnaws, the Governor c/'AJillan eats, but the Vice- 
 roy of Naples devours. Our EngliJJ? merchants here, 
 bear a confiderable trade, and their factors live in better 
 equipage, and in a more fplendid manner than in all Italy 
 ' befides, than their matters and principals in London ; 
 they ruffle in filks and fattins, and wear good Spanijl) 
 leather fhoes, while their matters fhoes upon our Ex- 
 change in London fliine with blacking. At Puzzoli not 
 far off, amongft the Grottoes, there are fo many ftrange 
 fhipenduous things, that nature herfelf feemed to have 
 ftudied of purpofe how to make herfelf there admired. I 
 referve the difcourfing of them, with the nature of the 
 
 Taran-
 
 Familial- LETTERS. $y 
 
 Tarantula and Manna, which is gathered here and no- 
 where elfe, with other things, till I fee you ; for they 
 are fitter for difcourfes than a letter. I will conclude 
 with a proverb they have in Italy for this people : 
 
 Napolitano 
 
 Largo di bocca, Jlrctto dimano. 
 
 The Neapolitans 
 
 Have 'wide mouths, but narrow hands. 
 
 "They make ftrong malculine promifes, but female per- 
 formances, (for deeds are men, but iuords are <vooincn) 
 and if in a whole food of compliments one find a drop of 
 reality 'tis well. The firft acceptance of a courtefy is 
 Accounted the greateft incivility that can be amongft them, 
 and a ground for a quarrel ; as I heard of a German 
 gentleman that was baffled for accepting only one invita- 
 tion to a dinner. So defiring to be preferred ftill in your 
 good opinion, and in the rank of your fervants, I reft al- 
 ways moft ready 
 
 At your dtfpofng, 
 Oft. i. 1621. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXX. 
 
 To CHRISTOPHER JONES, Efq; at Grays-Inn, 
 from Naples. 
 
 Honoured FATHER, 
 
 IMuft ftill ftyle you fo, fince I was adopted your fon 
 by fo good a mother as Oxford : my mind lately 
 prompted me, that I fliould commit a great folecifm, .if 
 among the reft of my friends iaJEngland, I mould leave 
 you unfaluted; whom I love fo dearly well, fpecially ha- 
 ving fuch a fair and pregnant opportunity as the hand 
 of this worthy gentleman your coufin Mvrgan, who is 
 now porting hence for England ; he will tell you how it 
 
 fares 

 
 6<y Familiar LETTERS. PART!. 
 
 fares with me, how any time thefe. thirty odd months I 
 have been tofled from more to more, and parted under 
 various meridians, and am now in this voluptuous city of 
 Naples ; and, though thefe frequent removes and tum- 
 blings under climes of differing temper were not without 
 fome danger, yet the delight which accompanied them 
 was far greater ; and it is impoflible for any man to con- 
 ceive the true pleafure of perigrination, but he who actu- 
 ally enjoys and puts it in practice. Believe it, Sir, that 
 one year well employed abroad by one of mature judg- 
 ment, (which, you know I want very much) advantageth 
 more in point of ufeful and folid knowledge than three in 
 any of our Univerjtties. You know running waters are 
 the purcft, fo they that travcrfe the world up and down 
 have the cleared understanding ; being faithful eye-wit- 
 nefTes of thofe things which others receive but in truft, 
 whercunto they muft yield an intuitive confent, and a 
 kind of implicit Faith. When I pafied through fome 
 parts of Lombard)', among other things, I obferved the 
 phyfiognomies and complexions of the people, men and 
 women ; and, I thought I was in Wales ; for divers of 
 them have a caft of countenance, and a nearer refem- 
 blance with our nation than any I ever faw yet : and the 
 reafon is obvious, for the Romans having been near upon 
 three hundred years among us, where they had four le- 
 gions (before the Englljb nation or language had any be- 
 ing) by fo long a coalition and tract of time, the two na- 
 tions muft needs copulate and mix, infomuch, that I be- 
 lieve there is yet remaining in Wales many of the Roman 
 race, and divers in Italy of the Britijh. Among other 
 refemblances, one was in their profody, and vein of verfi- 
 fying or rhyming ; which is like our bards, who hold 
 agnominations, and enforcing of confonant words or 
 fyllables one upon the other, to be the greateft elegance. 
 As for example, in WelJJj, tewgris, todyrris, ty'r derryn, 
 giuillt, &g. fo have I feen divers old rhymes in Italian 
 running fo ; Donne, danno, che felo affront 1 ) affronta : 
 in filva falw a me; fiu faro cuore, &c 
 
 Iking
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 6t 
 
 Being lately in Rome, among other pafquils, I met witli 
 one that was againft the Scots ; though it had fome gall 
 in it, yet it had a great deal of wit, efpeciaily towards the 
 conclufion : fo that I think if King James faw it, he would 
 but laugh at it. 
 
 As I remember, fome years fince, there was arerya- 
 bufive fatire in verfe brought to our King ; and as the 
 pafTages were a reading before him, he often faid, that 
 if there were no more men in England, the rogue mould 
 hang for it. At laft being come to the conclufion, which 
 was, after all his railing, 
 
 JVo'w Cod preferne the King, the Queen, the peers f 
 And grant the author long way wear his ears ; 
 
 This pleafed his majefty fo well, that he broke into 4 
 laughter, and faid, By my foul fo tboujhaltfor me : thou 
 art a bitter, but thou art a witty knave. 
 
 When you write to Monmouthfhire, I pray fend my 
 refpedls to my tutor, Mr. Moor Fortune, and my fervicc 
 to Sir Charles Williams ; and according to that relation 
 which was betwixt us at Oxford, I reft 
 
 Tour conjlant fon to fervt you> 
 
 Naples, Oar. 8. 1621. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXXI. 
 To Sir J. C.from Florence. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 THIS letter comes to kifs your hands from fair 
 Florence, a city fo beautiful, that the great Em- 
 peror Charles V. {aid, That fie 'was fitting to be Jbpum, 
 andfeen only upon holidays. She marvelloufly flourimeth 
 with buildings, with wealth and artifans ; for it is thought 
 that in ferges, which is but one commodity, there are 
 made two millions every year. All degrees of people 
 F live
 
 62 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 live here, not only well, but fplendidly well, notwith- 
 ftanding the manifold cxadHons of the Duke upon all 
 things : for none can buy here lands or houfes, but he 
 muft pay eight in the hundred to the Duke ; none can 
 hire or build a houfe, but he muft pay the tenth penny ; 
 none can marry or commence a fuit in law, but there is 
 a fee to the Duke : none can bring as much as an egg or 
 fallet t the market, but the Duke hath (hare therein. 
 Moreover Leghorn, which is the key of Tufcany, being 
 a maritime and a great mercantile town, hath mightily in- 
 riched this country, by being a frank port to all comers, 
 and a fafe rendezvous to pirates as well as to merchants. 
 : Add hereunto, that the Duke himfelf in Ibme refpect 
 is a merchant ; for he fometimes engrofleth all the 
 corn of die country, and retails it at what rate he pleaf- 
 eth. This enables the Duke to have perpetually 20000 
 men enrolled, trained up and paid, and none but they 
 can carry arms ; he hath 400 light-horfe in conftant pay, 
 and 100 men at arms befides ; and all thefe quartered 
 in fo narrow a compafs, that he can command them all 
 to Florence in twenty four hours. He hath twelve 
 gallics, two galeons, and fix galeafTes befides ; and his 
 Dallies are called, The black fleet, becaufe they annoy the 
 'Turk more in the bottom of the Straits than any other. 
 This ftate is bound to keep good quarter with the 
 Pope more than others ; for all Tufcany is fenced by 
 nature herfelf, I mean with mountains, except towards 
 the territories of the apoftolic See, and the fea itfelf : 
 Therefore it is called a country of Iron. 
 
 The Duke's palace is fo fpacious, that it occupieth 
 the room of fifty houfes at leaft ; yet though his court 
 lurpalieth the bounds of a Duke's, it reacheth not to the 
 magnificence of a King's. The Pope was follicited to 
 make the grand Duke a King, and he anfwcrcd, that he 
 was content he fhould be King in Tufcany, not of Tuf- 
 ci>fi)> ; whereupon one of his counfellors replied, that it 
 was a more glorious thing to be a grand Duke than a, 
 potty King. 
 
 Among
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 63 
 
 Among other cities which I defired to fee in Italy, 
 Genoa was one, where I lately was, and found her to 
 be the proudeft for buildings of any I met withal ; yet 
 the people go the plaineit of any other, and are alfo 
 moft parsimonious in their diet : they are the fubtileft, I 
 will not fay the moft fubdolous dealers : they are won- 
 derful wealthy, efpecially in money. In the year 1600, 
 the King of Spain owed them 1 8 millions, and they fay 
 it is double as much now. 
 
 From the time they began to finger the Indian gold, 
 and that this town hath been the fcale by which he 
 hath conveyed his treafure to Flanders, fince the wars 
 in the Netherlands, for the fupport of his armies, and 
 that me hath got fome privileges for the exportation of 
 'wools and other commodities (prohibited toothers) out 
 of Spain, {he hath improved extremely in riches, and 
 made St. George's mount fwell higher than Sf. ATarfa 
 in Venice. 
 
 She hath been cften ill-favouredly fhaken by the Ve- 
 netians, and hath had other enemies, which have put 
 her to hard fhifts for her own defence, efpecially in the 
 time of Lewis XI. of France; at which time, when me 
 would have given herfclf up to him for protection, Kirg 
 Lewis being told that Genoa was content to be his, he 
 anfwered, She Jhotti 'd not be his long, for ke would give 
 her up to the devil, and rid his hands of her. 
 
 Indeed the Genoefe have not the fortune to be fo well 
 beloved, as other people in Italy ; which proceeds, I 
 believe, from their cunningneis and over- Teachings in 
 bargaining, wherein they have fomething of the /fit-. 
 The Duke is there but biennial, being changed every two 
 years : he hath fifty Germans for his guard. There be four 
 Centurions that have tv/o men a piece, which upon occa- 
 fions attend the Signory abroad in velvet coats ; there be 
 eight chief governors, and 400 counfellors, among whom 
 there be five fovereign^W/V-r, uho have authority to cen- 
 fure die Duke himfelf, his time being expired, and punifli 
 any Governor elfe, though after death, upon the heir. 
 
 Among
 
 <4 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 Among other cuftoms they have in this town, one is, that 
 none mart carry a pointed knife about him ; which makes 
 the Hollander, who is ufed to fnick and fnee, to leave 
 his horn-fheath. and knife a (hipboard when he comes a- 
 Jhore. I met not with an Englijhman in all the town ; 
 nor could I learn of any factor of ours that ever redded 
 here. 
 
 There is a notable little a clive republic towards the 
 midft of Tufcany, called Lucca; which in regard (he is 
 under the Emperor's protection, he d;ires not meddle with- 
 ul, though fhe lie as a partridge under a faulcon's wings, 
 in relation to the Grand Duke : befides, there is another 
 reafon of (late, why he meddles not with her, becaufe 
 ihe is more beneficial to him, now that (he is free, and 
 more induftrious to fupport this freedom, than if (he 
 were become his vaflal ; for then it is probable (lie would 
 become more carelefs and idle, and fo could not vent 
 liis commodities fo foon, which (he buys for ready money, 
 wherein mod of her wealth confifts. There is no ftate 
 that wins the penny more nimbly, and makes quicker 
 returns. 
 
 She hath a council called the Difcoli, which pries in- 
 to the profeffion and life of every one, and once a year 
 they rid the State of all vagabonds : fo that this petty 
 pretty republic may not be improperly paralleled to a 
 hive of bees, which have been always the emblems of 
 induftry and order. 
 
 In this fplendid city of Florence, there be many ra- 
 rities, which if I (hould infert in this letter, it would 
 make it fwell too big ; and indeed they are fitter for 
 parole communication. Here is the prime dialect of the 
 Italian fpoken, though the pronunciation be a little more 
 guttural than that of Siena, and that of the court of Rome t 
 which occaiions the proverb, 
 
 Lingua Tofcana in bo.cca Romana, 
 
 The Tufcan tongus founds beft in a Roman mouth. 
 
 The people here generally feem to be more generous, 
 
 and
 
 FamiRar LETTERS. 65 
 
 and of a higher comportment than elfewhere, very can* 
 tious and circumfpecl in their negotiation ; whence arifcth 
 the proverb, 
 
 Chi ha da far con Tofco, 
 Non bifogna cbe jia lofco, 
 
 Who dealeth ivith a Florentine, 
 Muft have the ufe of both his eyne. 
 
 I (hall bid Italy farewel very {hortly, and make my 
 way over the Alps to France, and fo home by God's 
 grace, to take a review of my friends in England ; a- 
 mong whom the, fight of yourfelf will be as gladfonie to- 
 me as of any other : for I profefs myfelf, and purpofe to 
 *bc ever 
 
 Tour thrice affectionate fen-itor, 
 Nov.. 1.1621. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXXn. 
 To Capt. FRANCI* BACON, from Turin. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Am now upon the point of fliaking hands with Ita'y ; 
 for I am come to Turin, having already fcen Venice 
 the rich, Padua the learned, Bologna the fat, Rome the 
 holy, Naples the gentle, Genoa the proud, Florence the 
 fair, and Milan the great : from this laft I came hither ; 
 and in that city alfo appears the grandeur of Spain's mo- 
 narchy very much : the Governor of Milan is always 
 Captain-General of the cavalry to the King of Spain, 
 throughout Italy. The Duke of Feria is now Governor j. 
 and being brought to kifs his hand, he ufed me with ex- 
 traordinary refpecl, as he doth all of our nation, being 
 by maternal fide a Dormer. The Spaniard entertains 
 there alfo 3000 foot, 1000 light-horfe, and 600 men at 
 arms in perpetual pay ; fo that I believe the benefit of
 
 66 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 that dutchy alfo, though feated in the richefl foil of Italy, 
 hardly countervails the charge. Three things are ad- 
 mired in Milan ; the dome, or great church, (built all of 
 \vliite marble within and without) the hofpital, and the 
 caiHc, by which the citadel of Antwerp was traced, 
 and is the belt conditioned fortrefs of chriftcndom ; 
 though Nova Pahtia, a late fortrefs of the Venetian, 
 would go beyond it ; which is built according to the ex- 
 act rales of the mod modern enginery, being of a round 
 form, with nine baftions, and a llreet lev.el to every ba- 
 irion. 
 
 The Duke of Savoy, though he pafs for one of the 
 princes of Italy, yet the leaft part of his territories lie 
 there, being fquandered up and down amongft the Alps ; 
 but as much as he hath in Italy, which is Piedmont, is a 
 veil peopled, and paffing good country. 
 
 The Duke of Savoy, Emanuel, is accounted to be of 
 the antientelt and pureft extraction of any Prince in Eu- 
 rope ; and his knights alfo of the Annunciade, to be one 
 of the antienteft orders : though this prefent Duke be 
 little in ftature, yet he is of a lofty fpirit, and one of the 
 belt foliiers now living ; and though he be valiant enough, 
 yet he knows how to patch the lion's fkin with a fox's 
 tail. And, whofuever is Duke of Savoy had need be 
 running, and more than any other Prince, in regard, that 
 }fi;ig between two potent neighbours* the French and the 
 Spaniard, he muft comply with both . 
 
 Before I wean myfelf from Italy, a word or two 
 touching the genius of the nation. I find the Italian a 
 degree higher in compliment than the French : he is 
 longer and more grave in the delivery of it, and more 
 prodigal of words, infomuch, that if one were to be 
 worded to death, Italian is the fitted language, in re- 
 gard of the fluency and foftnefs of it : for throughout the 
 whole body of it, you have not a word ends with a con- 
 fonant, except fome few monofyllable conjunctions and 
 prepofitions, and this renders the fpeech more fmooth ; 
 which made one fay, That ivhen the confufion of tongues 
 happened at the building of the twer of Babel, if the 
 
 Italian
 
 familiar LETTERS. 7 
 
 Italian had been there, Nimrod had made him a plai- 
 Jlerer. They are generally indulgent of themfclves, and 
 great erabraccrs of pleafure ; which may proceed from 
 the lufcious rich wines, and luxurious food, fruits and 
 roots, wherewith the country abounds ; infomuch, that 
 in fome places, nature may be faid to be Lenafui, A 
 bawd to herfelf. The Cardinal de Medicis's rule is of 
 much authority among them, That there /'/ no religion 
 under the navel; and fome of them are of the opinion 
 of the Ajiaris, who hold, thai touching thofe natural paf- 
 fions, defires and motions which run up and down in the 
 blood, God almighty and his handmaid Nature, did not 
 intend they mould be a torment to us, but to be ufed 
 with comfort and delight. To conclude, in Italy there 
 *be Virtutes magnte, nee minor a vitia ; Great virtues, 
 and no Ill's vices. So widi a tender of my molt aflfe- 
 ftionate rcfpefts unto you, I reft 
 
 Tour humble fervitor, 
 Nov. 30. 1621. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXXIII. 
 To Sir J. H. from Lions. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Am now got over the Alps, and returned to Trance : 
 I had crofied and clambered up the Pyreneans to 
 Spain before ; they are not fo high and hideous as the 
 Alps ; but for our mountains in Wales, as Epp'tnt, and 
 Pennuinmaur, which are fo much cried up among us, 
 they are molehills in comparifon of thefe : they are but 
 pigmies compared to giants, but blijlers compared to im~ 
 pofthumes, or pimples to wart r. Befides, our mountains 
 in Wales bear always fomething ufeful to man or beaft, 
 (bme grafs at lead ; but thefe uncouth huge monftrous 
 excrefcenccs of nature bear nothing (moft of them) but 
 craggy (tones ; the tops of fome of them are blanched 
 
 over
 
 $8 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 over all the year long with fnow ; and the people who 
 dwell in the valleys drinking, for want of other, this 
 fnow-water, are fubject to a ftrange fwelling in the throat, 
 called goytre, which is common among them. 
 
 As I fcaled the Alps, my thoughts reflected upon Han- 
 nibal, who with vinegar za&Jirong waters, did eat out 
 a paiTage through thofe hills, but of late years they have 
 found a fpeedier way to do it \>y gunpowder. 
 
 Being at Turin, I was by fome difafter brought to an 
 extreme low ebb in money, fo that I was forced to foot 
 it along with fome pilgrims, and with gentle pace and 
 eafy journeys to climb up thofe hills, till I came to this 
 town of Lions, where a countryman of ours, one Mr, 
 Lewis, whom I knew in Alicant, lives factor ; fo that 
 now I want not any thing for my accommodation. 
 
 This is a (lately rich town, and a renowned mart for 
 the filks of Italy, and other Levantine commodities, and 
 a great bank for money ; and indeed the greateft of 
 France : before this bank was founded, which was by 
 Henry I. Trance had but little gold and filver, infomuch, 
 that we read how King John their captive King, could 
 not in four years' raife 60000 crowns to pay his ranfom 
 to our King Edward, and St. Lewis was in the fame 
 cafe when he was prifoner in Egypt, where he had left 
 the facrament for a gage. But after this bank was ere- 
 cted, it filled France full of money : they of Luca, Flo- 
 rence, and Genoa, with the Venetian, got quickly over 
 the hills, and brought their monies hither to get twelve 
 in the hundred profit ; which was the intereft at firft, 
 though it be now much lower. 
 
 In this great mercantile town, there be two deep navi- 
 gable rivers, the Rhone and the Soane : the one hath a 
 fvvift rapid courfe, the other flow and fmooth ; and one 
 day as I walked upon their banks, and obferved fo much 
 difference in their courfe, I felr into a contemplation of 
 the humours of the French and Spaniard, how they might 
 be not improperly compared to thefe rivers ; the French 
 to the fwift, the Spaniard to the flow river. 
 
 I
 
 Familiar "LETTERS. 69 
 
 I mall write you no more letters until I prefent myfelf 
 unto you for a fpeaking letter, which I mall do as foon as 
 I may tread London ftones. 
 
 Tour moft affeflionate fervitor, 
 
 Li of is, Nov. 6. 1621. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXXIV. 
 To Mr. THO. BOWYER, from Lions. 
 
 BEING fo near the lake of Geneva, curioflty would 
 carry any one to fee it : the inhabitants of that town 
 *methinks are made of another pafte differing from the af- 
 fable nature of thofe people I had converfed withal for- 
 merly : they have one policy, left that their pretty re- 
 public fliould be pefter'd with fugitives, their law is, 
 That 'what Jlranger foever files thither for fanftuary, 
 he is puniJJjable there, in the fame degree, as in the 
 country 'where he committed the offence. 
 
 Geneva is governed by four fyndics, and four hundred 
 lenators : me lies like a bone betwixt three mafliffs ; the 
 Emperor, the French King, and the Duke of Savoy, 
 they all three look upon the bone, but neither of them 
 dare touch it fiogly, for fear the other two would fly 
 upon him ; but, they fay the Savoyard hath the jufleft 
 title; for there are imperial records extant, That a/' 
 though the bifhops of Geneva 'were lords fpiritual and 
 temporal, yet they Jl}ould acknowledge the Duke of Sa- 
 voy for their fuperior. This man's anceftors went fre- 
 quently to the town, and the keys were prefently ten- 
 dered to them ; but lince Calvin's time, who had been 
 once baniflied and then called in again, which made him 
 to apply that fpeech unto himfelf, The Jlcne 'which the 
 builders refufed, is become the head-ftone of the corner. 
 I fay, fince they were refined by Calvin, they feem to 
 ftiun and fcorn all the world befides, being caft as it were 
 
 into
 
 yo Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 jinto another mould, which hath quite altered their very 
 natural difpofition in point of moral focicty. 
 
 Before I part with this famous city of Lions, I will 
 relate unto you a wonderful accident that happened here 
 not many years ago : there is an officer called Le Cheva- 
 lier du Gttet (which is a kind of night -guard) here as well 
 as in Paris ; and his Lieutenant called Jaquette having 
 fupped one night in a rich merchant's houle, as he was 
 paffing the round afterwards, he faid, / wonder what I 
 have eaten and drunken in the merchant's honfe, for 1 
 find myfelf fo hot, that if I met 'with the devil'/ dam to- 
 night, I Jhould not forbear ujing of her. Hereupon, a 
 little after he overtook a young gentlewoman mafked, 
 whom he would needs umer to her lodging, but difcharged 
 all his watch except two : me brought him, to his think- 
 ing, to a little low lodging hard by the city wall, where 
 there were only two rooms : after he had enjoyed her, 
 he defircd, that according to the cuftom of French gentle- 
 men, his two comerades might j^rtnkc !fo of the fame 
 plcafure, fo me admitted them one after the other ; and 
 when all this was done, as they fat together, me told 
 them, if they knew well who (he was, none of them 
 would have ventured upon her ; thereupon, me whiftled 
 three times, and all vanimcd. The next morning, the 
 two foldiers that had gone with Lieutenant Jaquette were 
 found dead under the city wall, amongft the ordure and 
 excrements, and Jaquette himfelf a little way off half 
 dead, who was taken up, and coming to himfelf again, 
 confcfled all this, but died prefently after. 
 
 The next week I am to go down the Loire towards 
 Poriit and thence as foon as I can for England, where, 
 amongft the reft of my friends, whom I fo much long to 
 fee after this triennial feparation, you are like to be one 
 of my firft objccls. In the mean time, I wi/h the fame 
 happineis may attend you at home, as I defire to attend 
 me homeward : for I am 
 
 Truly yours, 
 Lions, Dec. 5. 1621. J. II. 
 
 LET-
 
 I 
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 71 
 
 % 
 LETTER XXXV. 
 
 To my FAT H E R. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 T hath pleafed God, after almoft three years peregri- 
 nation by land and fea, to bring me back fafely to 
 London; but although I am come fafely, I am come 
 fickly : for when I landed in Venice, after fo long a voy- 
 age from Spain, I was afraid the fame defluxion of fait 
 rheum which fell from my temples into my throat in Ox- 
 ford, and diftilling upon the uvula, impeached my utter- 
 ance a little to this day, had found the fame channel a- 
 ^ain ; which caufed me to have an iflue made in my left 
 arm for the diverfion of the humour. I was well ever 
 after till I came to Rouen, and there I fell fick of a pain 
 in the head, which, with the iflue, I have carried with 
 me to England. Dr. Harvey who is ray phyfician, tells 
 me, that it may turn to a confumption, therefore he hath 
 ftoped the ifiue, telling me there is no danger at all in it, 
 in regard I have not worn it a full twelvemonth. My 
 brother, I thank him, hath been very careful of me in 
 this my ficknefs, and hath come often to vifit me: I 
 thank God I have pafled the brunt of it, and am recover- 
 ing and picking up my crumbs apace. There is a flaunt- 
 ing French Ambaflador come over lately, and I believe 
 his errand is nought elfe but compliment; for the King 
 of France being lately at Calais, and fo in fight of Eng- 
 land, he fent his Ambaflador M. Cadenet, exprefsly to 
 vifit our King. He had audience two days fincc, where 
 he with his train of ruffling long-haired monfieurs, carried 
 himfclf in fuch a light garb, that after the audience, the 
 King aflced my Lord Keeper Bacon what he thought of 
 the French Ambaflador ; he anfwered, that he was a tall 
 proper man : ay, his majefty replied, but what think you 
 cf his head-piece ? Is he a proper man for the office of an 
 Ambaflador ? Sir, faid Bacon, Tall men are like high 
 houfes of four or jive Jlories, ivbcrein, commonly the 
 room is ivorft furnified. 
 
 So
 
 f 2 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 ' So dcfiring my brothers and fillers, with the reft of 
 my coufins and friends in the country, may be acquainted 
 with my fafe return to England, and that you would 
 pleafe to let me hear from you by the next conveniency, 
 I reft 
 
 Toar dutiful fen, 
 Land. Feb. 2. 1621. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXXVI. 
 
 To Sir JAMES CROFTS at the Lord DARCY'S in 
 St. Ofith. 
 
 SIR, I am got again fafely to this fide of the fea, and 
 though I was in a very fickly cafe when I firft ar- 
 rived, yet thanks be to God I am upon the point of per- 
 feft recovery, whereunto the fucking in of Engli/Jy air, 
 and the fight of fome friends, conduced not a little. 
 
 There is fearful news come from Germany : you 
 know how the Bohemians fhook off the Emperor's yoke, 
 and how the great council of Prague fell to fuch a hurly- 
 burly, that fome of the imperial counfellors were hurled 
 out at the windows : you heard alfo, I doubt not, how 
 they offered the crown to the Duke of Saxony, and he 
 waving it, they fent ambafTadors to the Palfgrave, whom 
 they thought might prove par negotio, and to be able to 
 go through-ftitch with the work, in regard of his power- 
 ful alliance, the King of Britain being his father-in-law, 
 the King of Denmark, the Prince of Orange, the Mar- 
 quis of Brandenburg, the Duke of Bouillon his uncles, 
 the States of Holland his confederates, the French King 
 his friend, and the Duke of Bninjhuick his near ally: 
 the Prince Palfgrave made fome difficulty at firft, and 
 moft of his counfellors oppofed it ; others incited him to 
 it, and among other hortatives they told him, That if he 
 had the courage to venture upon a King of England'/ fole 
 daughter, he might very well venture upon a fovereign
 
 Familiar LETTERS, *.j 
 
 cronvn ivfiest it ivas tendered him. Add hereunto, that 
 the States of Holland did mainly advance the work, and 
 there was a good reafon in policy for it ; for their twelve 
 years truce being then upon point of expiring widi Spair.^ 
 and finding our King fo wedded to peace, that nodiing 
 could divorce him from it, they lighted up<Jn this defign 
 to make him draw his fword, and engage him againft the 
 houfe of Attflria for the defence of his ible daughter, and 
 his grand-children. What his majefty will do hereafter, 
 I will not prefume to foretell, but hitherto he hath gr, en 
 little countenance to the bufinefs ; nay, he utterly mii- 
 liked it at firft : for whereas, Dr. Hall gave the Prince 
 Pnlfgrave the tide of King of Bohemia in his pulpit- 
 k prayer, he had a check for it; for I heard his majefty 
 mould fay, that there is an implicitc tic among king-. 
 which obligedi diem, though there be no other intcrdt 
 or particular engagement, to ftick to, and right one an- 
 other upon an infurrection of fubjects ; therefore he hui 
 more reafon to be againft the B&!:ew:ans, than to adhere 
 to them in the depolition of their fovereign Prince. The 
 King of Denmark fings the fame note, nor will he al- 
 fo allow him the appellation of King. But the fearful 
 news I told you of at the beginning of this letter is, that 
 there are frefh tidings brought how the Prince Palfgra^r 
 had a well appointed army of about 25000 hone and 
 foot near Prague ; but die Duke of Bavaria came with 
 fcarce half the number ; and, notwithfhnding his long 
 march, gave them a fudden batde, and utterly routed 
 them, infomuch, that the new King of Jfahevila having 
 not worn die crown a whole twelvemonth, was forced to 
 fly with his Queen and children; and after many difficul- 
 ties, they write, that they are come to die caftle oCa- 
 Jlrein, the Duke" of Brandenburg's country, his uncle. 
 The news affects both court and city here widi much 
 heavinefs. 
 
 I fend you my humble thanks for the noble correfpon- 
 
 dence you were plcafed to hold with me abroad ; and I 
 
 deiire to know by die next, when you come to London^ 
 
 G that
 
 ? 4 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 that I may have the comfort of the fight of you, after fo 
 long an abfence. 
 
 Your true fervitor, 
 ^ i. 1621. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXXVn. 
 
 To Sir EUBULE THEOLALL, Knight, and Principal 
 of Jefus College in Oxford. 
 
 SIR, I fend you moft due and humble thanks, that 
 notwithftanding I have played the truant, and been 
 abfent fo long from Oxford, you have been pleafed lately 
 to make choice of me to be fellow of your new foundation 
 in Jefus College, whereof I was once a member. As 
 the quality of my fortunes and courfe of life run now, I 
 cannot make prefent ufe of this your great favour, or 
 promotion rather ; yet, I do highly value it, and humbly 
 accept of it, and intend by your permiflion, to referve and 
 Jay it by, as a good warm garment againft rough weather, 
 if any fall on me. With this Biy expreffion of thankful- 
 nefs, I do congratulate the great honour you have pur- 
 chafed both by your beneficence, and by your painful en- 
 deavour befides, to perfect that national college, which 
 hereafter is like to be a monument of your fame, as well 
 as a feminary of learning, and will perpetuate your me- 
 mory to all pofterity. 
 
 God almighty profper and perfe& your undertakings, 
 and provide for you in heaven thofe rewards which fuch 
 publick works of piety afe to be crowned withal j it is 
 the apprecation of 
 
 Yobr truly devoted fervitor, 
 
 Lend. March 5. 1621. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 75 
 
 LETTER XXXVIII. 
 To my FATHER. 
 
 SI R, according to the advice you fent me in your laff , 
 while I fought after a new courfe of employment, a 
 new employmqit hath lately fought after me : my Lord 
 Savage hath two young gentlemen to his fons, and I am 
 to go travel with them. Sir James Crofts (who fo 
 much refpecls you) was the main agent in this bufmefs ; 
 and I am to go mortly to Long-Melford in Suffolk, and 
 thence to St. Ofith in E/ex to the Lord Darcy. Queen 
 Anne is lately dead of a dropfy in Denmark-baitfe ,- 
 which is held to be one of the fatal events that followed 
 the laft fearful comet that rofe b the tail of the conjlella- 
 tion of Virgo ; which fome ignorant . aftronomers that 
 write of it, would fix in the heavens ; and that as far a- 
 bove the oib of the moon, as the moon is from the earth : 
 but this is nothing in comparifon of thofe hideous fires 
 that are kindled in Germany, blown firff by the Bohemi- 
 ans, which is like to be a war without end; for the 
 whole houfe of Auftria is interested in the quarrel ; and 
 it is not the cuflom of that houfe to fet by any affront, or 
 forget it quickly. Queen Anne left a world of brave 
 jewels behind, but one Piero an outlandifti man, who had 
 the keeping of them, embezzled many, and is run a- 
 way : me left all fhe had to Prince Charles, whom {he 
 ever loved beft of all her children ; nor d'o I hear of anj 
 legacy flic left at all to her daughter in Germany : for 
 that match, fome fay, leflened fomething of her affection 
 towards her ever fihce, fo that (he would often call her 
 goody Pal/grave; nor could fhe abide Secretary Wn:- 
 iuooff ever after, who was one of the chiefefl inftrUmems 
 to bring that match about, as alfo for the rendition of the 
 cautionary towns in the Low-Countries, Fliifoing and 
 Brill, with the Rammakins. I was lately with Sir John 
 Walter and others of your counfel about law-bufinefs ; 
 and fome of them told me that Mr. J. Lloyd, your ad- 
 G 2 verfary,
 
 7 6 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 rerfary, is one of the fhrewdefr. follicitors in all the 
 thirteen fhires of Wales, being fo habituated to law-fuits 
 and wrangling, that he knows any of the leaft darting- 
 holes in every court : I could \vifh you had made a fair 
 end with him; for befides the cumber and trouble, efpe- 
 cially to thofc that dwell at fuch a huge diftance from 
 Il'ejhninfier-kall as you do, law is a fhrewd pick-purfe, 
 and the lawyer, as I heard one fay wittily not long iince, 
 is like a cbrijl waft-box, nuhicb is fin v t gt't whofoever 
 lofetb. 
 
 So with the continuance of my due and daily prayers 
 for your health, with my love to my brothers and filters, 
 I reft 
 
 Taur dutiful fon, 
 March, 20. 1621 J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXXIX. 
 
 To DAN IE i. CALDWALL Efq; from the Lord Savage"s 
 Houfe in Long-Melford. 
 
 My dear DAN. 
 
 THOUGH confidering my former condition of life, 
 I may now be called a countryman, yet you can- 
 not call me a ruftic (as you would imply in your letter) 
 as long as I live in fo civil and noble a family, as long 
 as I lodge in fo virtuous and regular a houfe as any t 
 believe in the land, both for economical government, an(f 
 the choice company ; for I never faw yet fuch a dainty 
 race of children in all my life together ; I never faw yet 
 fuch an orderly and punctual attendance of fcrvants, nor 
 a great houfe fo neatly kept : here one (hall iee no dog, 
 nor a cat, nor cage to caufe any nallinefs within the body 
 of the houfe : th& kitchen and gutters and other offices 
 of noife and drudgery are at the fag-end ; there is a back- 
 gate for the beggars and the meaner fort of fwains to 
 come in at j the {tables butt upon the park, which for 
 
 i
 
 "Familiar LETTERS. i- 77 
 
 *chearful rifing ground, for groves and browfings for the 
 deer, for rivulets of water, may compare with any of 
 its bignefs in the whole land ; it is oppofite to the front 
 of the great houfe, whence from the gallery one may fee 
 much of the game when they are a hunting. Now for 
 the gardening and coftly choice flowers, for ponds, for 
 itately large walks green and gravelly, for orchards arid 
 choice fruits of all forts, there are few die like in Eng- 
 land : here you have your ban chreftien pear and berga- 
 inot in perfection, your Mttfcadsl grapes in fuch plenty, 
 that there are fome bottles of wine feot every year to the 
 King ; and one Mr. Daniel, a worthy gentleman hard 
 by, who hath been long abroad, makes good ftore in his 
 ^vintage. Truly this houfe of Long-Ale! for J, though it 
 be not fo great, yet it is fo well compacted and contrived 
 with fuch dainty conveniencies every way, that . if you 
 faw the landfkip of it, you would be mightily taken with 
 it, and it would ferve for a choice pattern to build and 
 contrive a houfe by. If you come this fummer to your 
 manor of Sberi/\n E/e\; you will not be far off hence : 
 if your occafions will permit, it will be worth your com- 
 ing hither, though it be only to fee him> who would' 
 think it a fhort journey to go from Sf. David's head to 
 Dover cliffs to fee and ferve you, were there occafion :: 
 if you. would know who the fame is, it is 
 
 Tour/,, 
 Maj, 20. 1621. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XL. 
 
 to ROBERT BI.OWN Ef$s; 
 
 S I R,. 
 
 THANKS for one court eft t it -a good ufher t> 
 bring on another ; therefore it is my policy at this 
 time to thank you moft heartily for your late copious 
 letter, to draw on a fecond : I fay, I thank you a thou- 
 G 3 fand*
 
 7$ familiar LETTERS. PARTI. 
 
 fand times over for yours of the third of this prefent, 
 v.'hich abounded with fuch variety of news, and ample 
 well-couched relations, that I made many friends by it ; 
 ycc Lam forry for the quality of fome of your news, that 
 Sir Robert Manfel being now in the Mediterranean with 
 a conuderable naval ftrength of ours againft the Moors t 
 to do the Spaniards a pleafure, Marquis Spinola fhould 
 in a boiling way, change his mafter for the time, and 
 taking commiffion from the Emperor, become his fervant 
 ior invading the Palatinate with the forces of the King of 
 Spain in the Netherlands. J am forry the princes of the 
 s*niot: mould be fo ftupid as to fuffer him to take Oppen- 
 beim by a Parthian kind of back ftratagem, in appearing 
 before the town, and making fcmblauce afterwards to go to 
 Worms ; and then perceiving the forces of the united prin- 
 cfs to go for fuccouring of that, to turn back and take the 
 town he intended fir/t, whereby I fear he will be quickly 
 maftcr of the reft. Surely I believe there may be fome 
 treachery in it, and that the Marquis of Anfpach, the 
 General, was overcome by piftols made of Indian ingots, 
 rather than of fteel ; elfe an anny of 40000 which he 
 had under his command, might have made its party good 
 ;igain(l Spiao/a's lefs than 20000, though never fuch 
 choice veterans ; but what will not gold do ? It will make 
 a pigmy too hard for a giant. There is no fence or for- 
 trefs agahtft an afs laden with gold. It was the faying 
 you know of his father, whom partial and ignorant anti- 
 quity cries up to have conquered tlic world, and that he 
 fighed there were no more worlds to conquer, though he 
 had never one of the three old parts of the then known 
 \vorld entirely to himfelf. I defire to know what is be- 
 come of that handful of men his majefty fent to Germa- 
 ny under Sir Horace Vtre, which he was bound to do as 
 he was one of the proteftant princes of the union ; and 
 what is become of Sir Arthur Chichefter, who is gone 
 Ambaflador to thofe parts ? 
 
 Dear Sir, I pray make me happy dill with your letters ; 
 it is a mighty pleafure for us country-folks to hear how 
 matters pafs in London and abroad : you know J have 
 
 not
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 79 
 
 not the opportunity to correfpond with you In like kind, 
 but may happily hereafter when the tables are turned, 
 when I am in London, and you in the Weft. Whereas 
 you are defirous to hear how it fares with me, I pray know 
 that I live in one of the nobkft houfes, and bed air in 
 England. There is a dainty park adjoining ; where I 
 often wander up and down, and I have my fevcral walks. 
 J make one to reprefent the Royal Exchange, the other 
 the middle ifle of Paul's, anodier Wejlminfter-kall ; 
 and when I pafs through the herd of deer, methinks I 
 am in Cheapjide. So with a full return of the fame rnea- 
 iure of love, as you pleafed to fend me, I reft 
 
 * May* 34. 1621. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XLI. 
 
 To Captain THOMAS PORTER, upon his return from 
 an Algier Voyage* 
 
 Nolle Captain-) 
 
 I Congratulate your fcfe return from the Straits, but 
 am forry you were fa ftraitened in your commiffi- 
 on, that you could not attempt what fuch a brave naval 
 power of twenty men of war, fuch a gallant General, and 
 other choice knowing commanders might have performed, 
 if they had had line enough. I know the lightnefs and 
 nimblenefs of Algier (hips ; when I lived lately in Alicant 
 and other places upon the Mediterranean, we fhould e - 
 very week hear of fome of them chafed, but very feldonj 
 taken ; for a great {hip following one of them, may be 
 fiid to be as a maftiff dog running after a hare. I wonder 
 the Spaniards came mort of the promiied fupply for fur- 
 therance of that noble adventurous defign you had to 
 fire the ihips and gallics in AJgier road : and according 
 to the relation you pleafed to fend me, it was one of the 
 brayed enterprises, and had proved fuch a gloriour exploit 
 
 that
 
 to TanuKar LETTERS, PART I. 
 
 that no ftory could have paralleled ; but it feems their 
 toggles, magicians and maribots were tampering with 
 the ill fpirit of the air all the while, which brought 
 down firch aflill cataraft of rain-waters fuddenly upon 
 you, to hinder the working of your fire-works ; fuch a 
 difafter the ftory tells us befel Charles the Emperor, b.it 
 far worfe than yours, for he loft fhips and multitudes of 
 men, who were made flaves, but you came off with lofs 
 of eight men only, and Algier is another gefs thing now 
 than me was then, being I believe a hundred degree* 
 ftronger by land and fea j and for the latter (trength, we 
 may thank our countryman Ward* and Dan/key the butter- 
 bag Hollander^ who may be faid to have been two of the 
 fatalleft and mofl infamous men that ever chriftcndom 
 bred ; for the one taking all EnglifofHen, and tire other 
 all Dutchmen, and bringing the (hips and ordnance to 
 jflgier, they may be faid to have been the chief raifcrs 
 of thole Picaroons to be pirates, who are now come to 
 that height of ftrength, they daily endamage and affront 
 all chrjftendom. When I confider all the circumftances 
 and fuccefs of this your voyage ; when I confider the nar- 
 rownefs of your commiflion, which was as lame as the 
 clerk that kept it ; when I find that you fecured the 
 ieas and traffick all the while, for I did not hear of one 
 (hip taken while you were abroad ;. when I hear how you 
 brought back all the fleet, without the lead difgrace or 
 damage by foe or -foul weather to any mip ; I conclude, 
 and fo do far better judgments than mine, that you did- 
 what poflibly could be done : let thofe that repine at the 
 one in the hundred (which was impofed upon all the Le- 
 vant merchants for the fupport of this fleet) mutter what 
 they will, that you-went firft to Gravefend t then to the- 
 Lands- dud) and after to no end. 
 
 - I hav^ fent .you for your welcome home (in part) two- 
 barrels of Colckefier oyllers, which were provided for my 
 Lord Colchefter himfelf, therefore I prefume they are 
 good, and all green-fined : I (hall mortly follow, but 
 not to (lay long ia England) for I think I mufl over-
 
 I 
 
 Familiar L E T T E R S. 81 
 
 again fpeedily to pufh on my fortunes : fo my dear Tom t 
 I am </e? todas mis entrar.as from the center of my heart, 
 
 Yours t 
 St. Ofith, Dec. 1722. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XLII. 
 To my FATHER, upon my fecond going to travel, 
 
 SIR, 
 
 Am lately returned to London, having been all this 
 while in a very noble family in the country, where I 
 found far greater refpects than I deferred ; I was to go 
 with two of my Lord Savagis fons to travel, but finding 
 my felf too young for fuch a charge, and our religion 
 differing, I have now made choice to go over comrade 
 to a very worthy gentleman, Baron Altham's fon, whom 
 I knew in Stanes when my brother was there. Truly 
 I hold him to be one of the hopefullefl young men of this 
 kingdom for parts and perfon j he is full of excellent folid 
 knowledge, as the mathematics, the law, and other ma- 
 terial ftudies : befides, I mould have been tied to have 
 flayed three years abroad in the other employment at 
 lead, but I hope to get back from this by God's grace 
 before a year be at an end ; at which time I hope the 
 hand of providence will fettle me in fome ftable home- 
 fortune. 
 
 The news is, that the Prince Palfgrave, with his 
 lady and children, are come to the Hague in Holland^ 
 having made a long progrefs or rather a pilgrimage about 
 Germany from Prague. The old Duke of Bavaria his 
 uncle, is chofen Elector and Arch-fewer of the Roman 
 empire in his place, (but as they fay, in an imperfect 
 diet} and with this provifo, that the transferring of this 
 election upon the Bavarian fhall not prejudice the next 
 heir. There is one Count Mantfelt that begins to get 
 
 a
 
 82 Familiar LETTERS. PA R T I. 
 
 a great name in Germany, and he with the Duke oiBrunf- 
 *wick, who is a temporal Bifhop of Haherftadc, have a 
 confiderable army on foot for the Lady Elizabeth, who 
 in the Low-Countries, and fome parts of Germany is called 
 the Queen of Boheme, and for her winning princely com- 
 portment, the Queen of Hearts. Sir Arthur Chichejlcr 
 is come back from the Palatinate, much complaining 
 of the fmall army that was fent thither under Sir Ho- 
 race Vere, which mould have been greater, or none 
 at all. 
 
 My Lord of Buckingham having been long fince matter 
 of the horfe at court, is now made mafter alfo of all the 
 wooden-horfes in the kingdom, which indeed are our beft 
 horfes, for he is to be High-Admiral of England; fo 
 he is become Dor/tinus equorum & aquarum. The late 
 Lord Treafurer Cranfeld grows alfo very powerful, but 
 the city hates him for having betrayed their greatest fe- 
 crets, which he was capable to know more than another, 
 having been formerly a merchant. 
 
 I think I mall have no opportunity to write to you 
 again, until I be to the other fide of the fca ; there- 
 fore I humbly take my leave, and aflc your blefling, that 
 I may the better profper in my proceedings : fo I am 
 Tour dutiful fin, 
 
 March, 19. 1622. J. H, 
 
 LETTER XLIII. 
 To Sir JOHN SMITH, Knight. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 TH E firfl ground I fet foot upon after this my fe- 
 cond tranfmarine voyage, was Trevere (the Scots 
 ftaplc) in Zealand; thence we failed to Holland, in which 
 paffage we might fee divers fteeples and turrets under 
 water, of towns that we were told were fwallowed up by 
 a deluge within the memory of man : we went afterwards 
 
 to
 
 LETTERS. 83 
 
 to the Hague , where there are hard by, though in fe- 
 veral places, two wonderful things to be feen, the one 
 of art, the other of nature ; that of art is a waggon, or 
 (hip, or a monfler mixt of both, like the kippocentaur t 
 who was half man and half horfe ; this engine hath wheels 
 and fails that will hold above twenty people, and goes 
 with the wind, being drawn or moved by nothing elfc, 
 and will run, the wind being good, and the fails hoifed 
 up, above fifteen miles an hour upon the even hard lands : 
 they fay this invention was found out to entertain Sfi- 
 nola when he came hither to treat of the laft truce. That 
 wonder of nature, is a church-monument, where an 
 Earllnd a Lady are engraven with 365 Children about 
 them, which were all delivered at one birth ; they were 
 half male, half female : the two bafons in which they 
 tt'ere chriftened hang (till in the church, and the Bimop's 
 name who did it ; and the (lory of this miracle, with the 
 year and the day of the month mentioned, which is not 
 yet 200 years ago ; and the ftory is this-: that as the 
 Countefs walked about the door after dinner, there came 
 a beggar-woman, with two children upon her back, to beg 
 alms ; the Countefs aiked whether thofe children were 
 her own, me anfwered me had them both at one birth, 
 and by one father, who was her hufband. The Countefs 
 would not only not give her any alms, but reviled her 
 bitterly, faying, it was impoflible for one man to get two 
 children at once : the beggar-woman being thus provoc- 
 ked with ill words, and without alms, fell to impreca- 
 tions, that it mould pleafe God to fliew his judgments 
 upon her, and that me might bear at one birth as many 
 children as there are days in the year, which me did be- 
 fore the years end, having never born child before. We 
 are now in North-Holland, where I never faw fo many, 
 among fo few, fick of leprofies ; and the reafon is, be- 
 caufe they commonly eat abundance of frefh fifh. A 
 gentleman told me, that the women of this country, when 
 they are delivered, there comes out of the womb a living 
 creature belides the child, called zuccbie, likeft a bat of 
 any other creatuie, which the mid wives throw into the 
 
 fire
 
 84 Famin*r LETTERS, PART I. 
 
 fire, holding flieets before the chimney left it fhould fly 
 away. Mr. Altham defires his fervice be prefented to 
 you and your lady, to Sir John Franklin, and all at the 
 Hill ; the like do I humbly crave at your hand : the 
 Italian and French manufcripts yeu pleafed to favour me 
 withal, I left at Mr. Serf's the ftationer, whence if you 
 have not them already, you may pleafe to fend for them. 
 So in all affe&ion I kifs your hands, and am 
 
 Tour bumble fervanf, 
 Tr evert, April, 10. 1623. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XLIV- 
 
 To the Right Honourable the Lord Vifcount Colchefter, 
 after Earl Rivers, 
 
 Right Honourable, 
 
 TH E commands your Lordmip pleafed to impofc 
 upon me when I left England, and thofe high fa- 
 vours wherein I ftand bound to your Lordmip, call upon 
 me at this time to fend your Lordfliip forae fmall fruits of 
 my foreign travel : Marquis Spinola is returned from the 
 Palatinate, where he was fo fortunate, that (like Co-far) 
 he came, faw, and overcame, notwithstanding the huge 
 army of the princes of the Union, confifting of 40000 
 men ; whereas his was under twenty, but made up of 
 old tough blades, and veteran commanders. He hath 
 now changed his coat, and taken up his old commiflion 
 again from Don Philippe, whereas during that expediti- 
 on he called himfelf C/efar's fervant. I hear the Emperor 
 hath tranfmitted the upper Palatinate to the Duke of 
 Bavaria, as caution for thofe monies he hath expended 
 in thofe wars. And the King of Spain is the Emperor's 
 commifTary for the lower Palatinate : they both pretend 
 that they were bound to obey the imperial Summons, to 
 affift Cecfar in thefe wars ; the one as he was Duke of 
 Burgundy t the other of Bavaria, both which countries
 
 Familiar L E T T R R S. 5 
 
 are feudatory to the- empire ; elfe they had incurcd the 
 imperial ban. It is feared this German war \\ill be as 
 the Frenchman faid, de longite balaine, long breathed ; 
 for there are great powers on both (ides, and they fay 
 the King of Denmark is arming. 
 
 Having made a leifurely fojourn in this town, I had fparc 
 hours to couch in writing a furvey of thefc countries, 
 which I have now traverfed the fecond time ; but in 
 regard it would be a great bulk for a letter, I fer.d it 
 your Lordfhip apart, and when I return to England 
 I mail be bold to attend your Lordfhip for correcting of 
 my faults : in the interim I reft, my Lord, 
 
 Tour thrice ktiniblt fcrvant, 
 Antwerp, May, I. 1623. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XLV. 
 A Survey of the feveiitccu Provinces. 
 
 My Lora, 
 
 TO attempt a precife dcfcription of each of the feven- 
 teen provinces, and of its progreffion, privileges, 
 and primitive government, were a talk of no lefs confufi- 
 on than labour : let it fuffice to know, that fince Flanders 
 and Holland were eredcd to earldoms, and fo left to be 
 an appendix to the crown of France^ fbme of them have 
 had abfolute and fupreme governors, fome fubaltern and 
 fubjecl: to a fuperior power. Among the reft, the earls 
 of Flanders and Holland were moft confiderable ; but 
 of them two, he of Holland being homageable to none, 
 and having Friejland and Zealand added, was the more 
 potent. In procefs of time all the feventeen met in 
 one ; fome by conqueft, others by donation and legacy, 
 but moft by alliance. In the houfe of Burgundy this 
 union received moft growth, byt in the houfc of Avflria it 
 came to its full perfection ; for in Charles V. they ail 
 met as fo many lines drawn from the circumference to 
 K the
 
 66 Foliar LETTERS. PART I, 
 
 the centre ; who lording as fupreme head, not only over 
 the fifteen temporal, but the two fpiritual, Liege and 
 Utrecht, had a defign to reduce them to a kingdom, 
 which his fon Philip II. attempted after him ; but they 
 could not bring their intents home to their aim ; the caufc 
 is imputed to that multiplicity and difference of privileges 
 \vhich they are fo eager to maintain, and whereof fome 
 cannot ftaid with a monarchy without incongruity. Phi- 
 lip II. at his inauguration was fworn to obferve them, and 
 at his departure be obliged himfelf by an oath to fend dill 
 one of bis own blood to govern them. Moreover, at the 
 requeft of the knights of the golden fleece, he promifed 
 that all foreign foldicrs ihould retire, and that he him- 
 felf would come to vifit them once every ieven years ; 
 but being once gone, and leaving in lieu of a fvjord a 
 dijlaff, an nnweildy woman to govern, he came not only 
 Aort of his promife, but procured a difpenfation from 
 the Pope to be absolved of his oath ; and all this by the 
 couniol of Cardinal Gramilt^ who, as the States chroni- 
 cler writes, was the fir/1: firebrand that kindled thai la- 
 mentable and longforae war wherein the Netherlands 
 have track. 1 above fifty years in blood : for intending to 
 increafe the number of bifoopr, to eftablim the decrees of 
 ' the council of Trent, and to cKp the power of the council 
 of li ite compofed of the natives of the land, by making 
 ic appealable to the council of Spain, and by adding to 
 the formor oath of allegiance, (all which conduced 
 to fettle the inquilition, and to curb the confcience) the 
 broils began ; to appeafe which, ambafTadors were dif- 
 patched to Spain, whereof the two firft came to vio- 
 lent deaths, the one being beheaded, the other poifoned ; 
 but the two laft, F.vmond and Horn, were nourimed {till 
 with hopes, until Philip II. had prepared an army under 
 the conduct of the Duke of Alva, to compofe the differ- 
 ence by arms. For as foon as he came to the govern- 
 ment, he eftablifhed the Bloet-rad, as the complainants 
 termed it, a council of blood, made up mod of Spaniards: 
 Egmond and Horn were apprehended, and afterwards 
 Lchcaded j citadels were, erected, and the oath of alle- 
 giance,
 
 familiar LETTERS. 87 
 
 giance, with the political government of the country, in 
 divers things altered. This poured oil on the fire for- 
 merly kindled, and put all in combulHon : the Prince of 
 Orange retires, thereupon his eldeft ion was furprizcd, 
 and fent as hoftage to Spain, and above 5000 families 
 quit the country ; many towns revolted, but were after- 
 wards reduced to obedience ; which made the Duke of Al- 
 va fay, that the Netherlands appertained to the King of 
 Spain not only by defcent, but conqueft ; and for a cumble 
 of his victories, when he attempted to impofe the tenth- 
 penny for the maintenance of the gjirrifons in the citadels 
 he had erected at Crave, Utrecht and Antwerp (where 
 he caufed his ftatue made of cannon-brafs to be creeled, 
 trampling the Belgians under his feet) all the towns with- 
 ftood this imposition ; fo that at laft matters fucceeded 
 ill widi him, and having had his coufin Paccecio hanged; 
 at Flu/Jiing gate, after he had traced out the plut-foim 
 of a citadel in that town alfo, he received letters of re- 
 vocation from Spain. To him fucceeded DonLuys de Re- 
 qitilius, who came fhort of his predecefibr in exploits ; 
 and dying fuddenly in the field, the government w; ; s 
 veiled for a time in the council of ftatc : the Spanijb 
 foldiers being without a head, gathered together to the 
 number of 1600, and committed fuch outrages up and 
 down, that they were proclaimed enemies to the date. 
 Hereupon the pacification of Ghent was tranfacted, where- 
 of, among other articles one was, that all foreign foldiers 
 fhould quite the country. This was ratified by the King, 
 and obferved by Don John of Anftria, who fucceeded 
 in the government ; yet Don John retained the Lands- 
 kneghts at his devotion (till for fome fecret dcfign, and 
 as fome conjectured for the invafion of England ; he 
 kept the Spaniards alfo flill hovering about the frontitis 
 ready upon all occafions. Certain letters were intercq t- 
 ed that made a difcovery of fome projects, which made 
 the war to bleed afrefh : Den John was proclaimed ene- 
 my to the ftate ; fo the Archduke Matthias was fent 
 for, who being a man of fmall performance and improper 
 for the times, was difmifled, but upon honourable terms. 
 H 2. Don
 
 88 Familiar LETTERS. PART!. 
 
 Don John a little after dies, and as fome gave out, of 
 the pox ; then comes in the Duke- of Parma, a man as 
 of a different nation, being an Italian, fo of a different 
 temper, and more moderate fpirit, and of greater per- 
 formances than all the reft ; for whereas all the provin- 
 ces except Luxemburg, and Hainault had revolted, he 
 reduced Ghent, Tour nay, Bruges, Malines, Brujfels, 
 Antwerp, (which three laft he beleaguered at one time) 
 and di'/ers other great towns to the SpaniJJj obedience 
 again : he had 60,000 men in pay, and the choiceft which 
 Spain and Italy could afford. The French and Englijh 
 ainbaffadors interceeiing for a peace, had a fhort anfwer 
 of Philip II. who faid, that he needed not the help of 
 any to reconcile himfelf to his own fubjects, and reduce 
 them to conformity ; but the difference that was, he 
 would refer to his coufm the Emperor : hereupon the 
 baflnefs was agitated at Colin, where the Spaniards flood 
 as high a-tiptoe as ever, and notwithstanding the vaft 
 cxpence of treasure and blood he had been at for fo many 
 years, and that matters began to exafperate more and 
 more, which were like to prolong the wars in infinitum, 
 h: would abate nothing in point of ecclefraftic government : 
 hereupon, the States perceived that King Philip could 
 not bs wrought either by the felicitations of other princes, 
 or their own fapplications fo often reiterated, that they 
 might enjoy the freedom of religion, with other infran- 
 chifements ; and finding him inexorable, being incited alfo 
 by the ban which" was publifhed againft the Prince of 
 Orange, that whofoever killed him mould have 5000 
 crowns ; they at laft abfolutely renounced and abjured 
 the King of Spain for their fovereign : they broke his 
 feals, changed the oath of allegiance, and fled to France 
 for fhdter ; they inaugurated the Duke of Anjou (re- 
 commended to them by the Queen of England, to whom 
 he was a fuitor) for their Prince, who attempted to ren- 
 der himfelf abfolute, and fo thought to furprize j4nfaverp t 
 where he received an ill-favoured repulfe ; yet neverthe- 
 lefs the United Provinces, for fo they termed themfelves 
 ever after, fearing to diftafte their next great neighbour
 
 Familiar LETTER'S. 89 
 
 France, made a fecond proffer of their protection and 
 fovereignty to that King, who having too many irons in 
 the fire at his own home, the league growing ftrohger and 
 ftronger, he anfwered them, that his //;>/>/ was nearer 
 to him than his doublet. Then had they recourfe to 
 Queen Elizabeth, who partly for her own fecurity, part- 
 ly for intereft in religion, reached them a fupporting hand, 
 and fo fent them men, money, and a Governor, (the Earl 
 of Leicefter,} who not fymbolizing with their humour, 
 was quickly revoked, yet without any outward diflikc 
 on the Queen's fide, for Jhe left her forces (till with them, 
 but upon their expence : me lent them afterwards feme 
 confiderable fums of money, and (he received Flujbing 
 and the Brill for caution. Ever fince, the Englifb have 
 been the beft finews of their war, and atchievers of the 
 greateft exploits amongft them. Having thus made fure 
 work with the Englijb t they made young Count Maurice 
 their Governor, who for twenty-five years together held 
 tack with the Spaniard; and during thofe traverfes of war 
 was very fortunate : an overture of peace was then pro- 
 pounded, which the States would not hearken to ftngly 
 with the King of Spain, unlefs the provinces that yet re- 
 mained under him would engage themfelves for the perfor- 
 mance of what was articled ; befides, they - would not 
 treat either of peace, or truce, unlefs they were declared 
 free States ; all which was granted : fo, by the interven- 
 tion of the Englifo and French ambafladors, a truce was - 
 concluded for twelve years. 
 
 Thefe wars did fo drain and difcommodate the King 
 of Spain, by reafon of his di/tance, (every foldier that 
 he fent either from Spain or Italy coiling him near 
 upon 100 crowns before he could be rendered in Flan- 
 ders) that notwithftanding his mines of Mexico and Peru t 
 it plunged him fo deeply in debt, that having taken up 
 monies in all the chief banks of ckriftendom, he was forced 
 to publifh a diploma, wherein, he difpenfed with himielf 
 (as the Holland ftory hath it) from payment," alledging 
 that he had employed thofe monies for the public ^eace 
 Qtchriftendom : this broke many great bankers j and, they 
 H 3 fay
 
 90 Familiar LETTERS. PART I- 
 
 fay, his credit was not current in Sevil or Ittfat, his 
 own towns ; and which was worfe, while he flood wrelt- 
 ling thus with his own fubjecls, the Turk took his op- 
 portunity to get from him Tunis and the Goletta, the 
 trophies of Charles V. his father. So eager he was in 
 this quarrel, that he employed the utmoft of his ftrength 
 and induftry to reduce his people to his will, in regard 
 he had an intent to make thefe provinces his main ren- 
 dezvous and magazine of men of war ; which his neigh- 
 bours perceiving, and that he had a kind of aim to be 
 Weftern Monarch, being led not fo much for love as 
 reafons of ftate, they (tuck clofe to the revolted provin- 
 ces : and, this was the bone that Secretary Waljingham 
 told Queen Elizabeth, he would caft the King of Spain, 
 that mould laft him twenty years, and perhaps make his 
 teeth make in his head. 
 
 But to return to my firft difcourfe, whence this digref- 
 fion hath matched me : the Netherlands, who had been 
 formerly knit and concentred under one fovereign Prince, 
 Tyere thus difmembered ; and as they fubfifl. now, they 
 Ve a ftate, and a province : the province having ten of the 
 ieventeen at leaJr, is far greater, more populous, bet- 
 ter foiled and more ftored with gentry, ^"he ftate is 
 the richer and flronger, the one proceeding from their 
 vaft navagation and commerce, the other from the qua- 
 lity of their country, being defenfible by rivers and 
 flukes, by means whereof they can fuddenly overwhelm 
 all the whole country ; witnefs that ftupendous fiege of 
 Ley den and 'Haerlem ; for moft of their towns, the marks 
 being taken away, are inacceflible, by reafon of fhelves 
 of fands. Touching the tranfaction of thefe provinces, 
 which the King of Spain made as a dowry to the Arch- 
 duke Albertus, upon marriage with the Infanta, (who 
 thereupon lefthis red hat, and Toledo miter, the chiefeft 
 fpiritual dignity in ckriflendom for revenue, after the 
 papacy} it was fringed with fuch cautelous reliraints, that 
 he was fure to keep the better end of the flaff ftill to him- 
 felf ; for he was to have the tutelage and ward of his 
 children, that, they were to marry with one of the Au.- 
 
 Jlrian
 
 Familiar LETTERS. ^ T 
 
 Jinan family recommended by Spain, and in default of 
 iffue, and in cafe Albertus mould furvive the Infanta, 
 he fhould be but Governor only. Add hereunto, that 
 King Philip referred ftill to himfelf all the citadels and 
 caftles, with the order of the golden fleece, whereof he 
 is mafter, as he is Duke of Burgundy. 
 
 The Archduke for the time hath a very princely com- 
 mand, all coins bear his {tamp, all placarts or edicts arc 
 publifhed in his name ; he hath the election of all civil 
 officers and magiftrates ; he nominates alfo bifhops and 
 abbots, for the Pope hath only the confirmation of them 
 here ; nor can he adjourn any out of the country to an- 
 fwer any thing, neither are his bulls of any ftrength with- 
 out the princes placet, which makes him have always 
 * fome,commiffioners to execute his authority. The people 
 here grow hotter and hotter in the Roman caufe, by rea- 
 fon of the mixture with Spaniards and Italians; as alfo, 
 by the example of the Archduke and the Infanta, v, ho 
 are devout in an intcnfe degree. There. are two fupreme 
 councils, the Privy-council, and that of the State ; this 
 treats of confederations and intelligence with foreign 
 princes, of peace and war, of entertaining or of difmiffing 
 colonels and captains of fortifications ; and they have the 
 furintendency of die higheft affairs that concern the 
 Prince and the polity of the provinces ; the private hath 
 the granting of all patents and requefls, the publifhing of 
 all edicls and proclamations, the prizing of coin, the 
 looking to the confines and extent of the provinces, and 
 the enacting of all new ordinances. Of thefe two coun- 
 cils there is never a Spaniard, but in the actual council 
 of war their voices are predominant. There is alfo a 
 court of finances, or exchequer, whence all they that 
 have the fingering of the King's money muft draw a dif- 
 charge. Touching matters of juftice, their law is mixt 
 betv/een civil and common, with fome claufes of canoni- 
 cal. The high-court of parliament is at Ma line, whe- 
 ther all civil caufes may be brought by appeal from other 
 towns, except fome that lure municipal privileges, and
 
 92 Familiar LETTERS. 'PART T. 
 
 are fovereign in their own jurifdi<5Hons, as Moris in Hai- 
 nalt, and a few more. 
 
 The prime province for dignity is Brabant, which a- 
 mongtt many other privileges it enjoyeth, hath this for 
 o.ie, not to appear upon any fummons out of its own pre- 
 cinft, which is one of the reafons why the Prince makes 
 his refidence there : but the prime for extent and fame 
 is Flanders, the chiefeft earldom in chriftcndom, which is 
 three days journey in length; Ghent its metropolis, is 
 reputed the greateft town in Europe, whence arofe the 
 proverb, Les flamene tient tin Can, qui tiendra Paris 
 dedans. But the beautifulleft, ricneil, ftrongeft, and 
 moft privileged city is Antwerp in Brabant, being the 
 mar qui fate of the holy empire, and drawing near to the 
 nature of a hanfe-town, for me pays the Prince no other 
 tax but the import. Before the diflbciation ofthefeven- 
 teen provinces, this town was one of the greatefl marts 
 of Europe, and greatefl bank on this fide the Alps, moft 
 princes having their faflors here, to take up or let out 
 monies ; and here our Grefham got all his wealth, and 
 built our royal -exchange by model of that here. The 
 merchandize which was brought hither from Germany, 
 France, and Italy, by land, and from England, Spain, 
 and the hanfe-towns by fea was eftimated at above twenty 
 millions of crowns every year; but as no violent thing is 
 long lading, and as 'tis fatal to all kingdoms, ftates, 
 towns and languages to have their period, fo this re- 
 nowned mart hath fuffered a fhrewd eclipfe, yet no ut- 
 ter downfal, the exchange of the King of Spahfs money 
 and fome land-traffick keeping (till life in her, though 
 nothing fo full of vigour as it was ; therefore, there is 
 no town under the Archduke where the States have more 
 concealed friends than in Antwerp, who would willingly 
 make them her matters in hope to recover her former 
 commerce ; which, after the laft twelve years truce began 
 to revive a little, the States permitting to pafs by Li/h'i 
 fconce (which commands the river of ScMJ, and lieth in 
 the teeth of the town) fome fmall crofs-fsiled fliips to 
 pafs hither. There is no place hath been more paflive 
 
 than .
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 93 
 
 than this, nnd more often pillaged ; amongft .other times, 
 ihe was once plundered moft miferably by the Spaniards 
 under the condu<5t of a prieft, immediately upon Don 
 John of Auftrid's death; (he had then her Jladt-koitfe 
 burned, which had coft a few years before above 20,000 
 crowns the building ; and the fpoils that were carried a- 
 way thence amounted to forty tuns of gold : thus (he was 
 reduced not only to poverty, but a kind of captivity, be- 
 ing commanded by a citadel, which fhe preferred before 
 a garrifon : this made the merchants retire and feek a 
 more free rendezvous, fome in Zealand, fome in Hol- 
 land, fpecially \n^4tnfterdam, which rofe upon the fall 
 of this town, as Lisbon did from Venice upon the difco- 
 j^ery of the Cape of good Hope, though Venice be not 
 near fo much creft-fallen. 
 
 I will now fleer my difcoui fe to the United Provinces, 
 as they term themfelves, which are fix in number, viz. 
 Holland, /.ealand, Frit/land, Overyffell, Gronighen and 
 Utrecht, three parts of Gilder la>:d, and fome frontier 
 towns and places of contribution in Brabant and T lan- 
 ders. In all thefe there is no innovation at all introduced, 
 notwithstanding this great change in point of government, 
 except that the college of States reprefents the Duke or 
 Earl in times pad; which college confifts of the chiefefl 
 gentry of the country, furintendants of towns, and the 
 principal magiftrates. Every province and great town 
 chufc yearly certain deputies, to whom they give plenary 
 power to deliberate with the other States of all affairs 
 touching the public welfare of the whole province, and 
 what they vote (lands for law. Thefe being afiembled, 
 confult of all matters of ftate, juftice, and war : the Ad- 
 vocate, who is prime in the afferobly propounds the bufi- 
 nefs, and after, collects the fuffrages, firft of the provin- 
 ces, then of the towns ; which being put in form, he de- 
 livers in pregnant and moving fpeeches; and in cafe there 
 be a diffonance and relmftancy of opinions, he labours to 
 accord and reconcile them, concluding always with the 
 major voices. 
 
 Touching
 
 94 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 To-Jehing the adminiftration of juftice, the Prefident 
 who is monthly changed, \viih the great council, have 
 the fupreme judicature, from whofe decrees there is no 
 appeal but a revifion ; and then, fome of the choicdt 
 luv/ycrs amongfl them are appointed. 
 
 For their oppidan government, they have variety of 
 offices, a fcout, burgomafters, a balue, and Vrottfckap- 
 pens. The fcout is chofen by the States, who with the 
 balues have the judging of all criminal mutters in laft re- 
 fort, without appeal: they have alfo the determining of ci- 
 vil caufes, but thofe arc appealable to the Hague. 
 Touching their chiefeft Governor (or General rather now) 
 having made proof of the Spaniard, German, French 
 and Et'^liJJj, and agreeing with none of them, they 
 lighted at la(t upon a man of their own mould, Prince 
 Maurice, now their General, in whom concurred divers 
 parts fuitable to fuch a charge, having been trained up in 
 the wars by his father, who with three of his uncles, and 
 divers of his kindred, facrificed their lives in the States 
 quarrel : he hath thriven well fince he came to the go- 
 vernment; he cleared Friejland, Overy/ell and Gro- 
 nigken, in lefs than eighteen months. He hath now 
 continued their Governor and General by fea and land a- 
 bove thirty-three years : he hath the ele&ion of magi- 
 grates, the pardoning of malefaftors, and divers other 
 prerogatives, yet they are (hort of the reach of fove- 
 reignty, and of the authority of the antient counts of 
 Holland. Though I cannot fay 'tis a mercenary em- 
 ployment, yet he hath a limited allowance ; nor hath he 
 any implicate command when he goes to the field : for 
 either the council of war marcheth with him, or elfe he 
 receives daily direcUons from them. Moreover, the 
 States thcmfelves referve the power of nominating all 
 commanders in the army, which being of fundry nations, 
 deprive him of thofe advantages he might have to make 
 himfelf abfolute. Martial difcipline is nov/here fo regular 
 as amongft the States ; nowhere are there lefler infolen- 
 cies committed upon the burgher, nor robberies upon the 
 country boors ; nor are the officers permitted to infultover 
 
 the
 
 Familiar LETTERS, 9J 
 
 the common foldiers. When the army marchcth, not 
 one dares take fo much as an apple off a tree, or a root 
 out of the earth in their paflage ; and the reafon is, they 
 are punctually paid their pay, elfe I believe they would 
 be infolent enough; and were not the pay fo certain, I 
 think few or none would ferve theru. They fpeak of 
 60,000 they have in perpetual pay by land and lea, at 
 home, and in the Indies : the King of Francs was ufed 
 to maintain a regiment, but fincc Henry the Great's 
 :death the payment hath been negledted. The means 
 they have to maintain thefe forces, to pay their Gover- 
 nor, to difcharge all other expence ; as the prefervation 
 of their dikes, which comes to a vaft: expence yearly, is 
 the antient revenue of the counts of Holland, the impro- 
 *priate church-livings, imports upon all merchandize, 
 which is greater upon exported than imported goods ; 
 excife upon all commodities, as well for necefTrty as plea- 
 fure ; taxes upon every acre of ground, which is fuch, 
 that the whole country returns into their hands every 
 three years. Add hereunto the art they ufe in their 
 bank by the rife and fall of money, the fiihing upon our 
 coafts, whither they fend every autumn above 700 hoiks 
 or bulTes ; which in the voyages they make, return above 
 -a million in herrings. Moreover, their fifhing for green- 
 fifli and falmond, amounts to fo much more ; and for 
 their cheefe and butter, 'tis thought they vent as much 
 *very year as Lisbon doth fpices. This keeps the com- 
 mon treafury always full, that upon any extraordinary 
 fervice or dcfign there is feldom any new tax upon the 
 people. Traffick is their general profeflion, being all 
 either merchants or mariners ; and having no land to ma- 
 nure, they furrow the fea for their living ; and, this uni- 
 verfallity of trade, and their banks of adventures, diftri- 
 butes the wealth fo equally, that few amongft them arc 
 exceeding rich or exceeding poor. Gentry amongft them 
 is very thin, and as in all democracies, little refpecled ; 
 and coming to dwell in towns, they foon mingle with the 
 merchants, and fo degenerate : their foil being all be- 
 twixt mavfli and meadow is fo fat in pafturage, that one
 
 9 6 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 fo\v will give eight quarts of milk a-day, fo that as a 
 boor told me, in four little dorps near Harlem, 'tis 
 thought there is as much milk milked in the year as there 
 is Rkenijljvjvne. brought to Dort, which is the ftaple of it. 
 Their towns are beautiful and neatly built, and with fuch 
 aniformity, that who fees one fees all. In fome places, 
 as in Awfterdam, the foundation cofls more than the 
 fuperftru'aarc; for the ground being foft, they are con- 
 ftraincd to ram in huge (takes of timber (with wool about 
 it to preferve it from putrifaction) till they come to a firm 
 bafis ; fo that as one faid, whofoever could fee Snifter- 
 dam under ground mould fee a huge winter-forreir. 
 
 Among all the confederate provinces, Holland is mod 
 predominant, which being but fix hours journey in breadth, 
 contains forty-nine walled towns, and all thefe within a 
 day's journey one of another. Amsterdam for the pre- 
 fent is one of the greateft mercantile towns m Europe. To 
 her is appropriated the Eaft and Weft-India trade, whi- 
 ther me fends yearly forty great mips, with another fleet 
 to the Baltick fea ; but they fend not near fo many to 
 the Mediterranean as England : other towns are paflably 
 rich, and (bred with flapping, but not one very poor ; 
 which proceeds from the wholefomc policy they ufe, to 
 affign every town fome firm ftaple commodity ; as to 
 (their maiden-town) Dart the German wines and corn, 
 to MiddL'bnrgb the French and SpaniJJ) wines, to Tre- 
 vere (the Prince of Orange's town (the Scots trade : 
 
 - Lcytha in recompence of her long fiege was ere-fled to 
 an univerfity, which with Franeker in Frie/Iandvs all they 
 have ; Harlem for knitting and weaving hath fome privi- 
 lege ; Rotterdam hath the Engli/h cloth : and this ren- 
 ders their towns fo equally rich and populous. They al- 
 low free harbour to all nations, with liberty of religion, 
 (the Roman only excepted) as far as the Jew, who hath 
 two (ynagogucs allowed him, but only in Amfterdam ; 
 which piece of policy they borrow of the Venetians, with 
 whom they have very intimate intelligence : only the Jews 
 in Venice, in Rome, and other places, go with fome out- 
 ward marl; of diitinftion, but here they wear none ; and 
 
 thefe
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 97 
 
 thefe two republics, that in the Eafl, and this in the Wef, 
 arc the two remoras that itick to the great vefi'cl of Spain, 
 that it cannot fail to the \Veftern monarchy. 
 
 I have been long in the furvey of thefe provinces, yet 
 not long enough ; for much more might be faid, \vhich 
 is fitter for a ftory than a furvey : I will conclude with 
 a mot or two of the people, whereof fome have -been re- 
 nowned in time paft for feats of wan A mong the States, 
 the Hollander or Batavian hath keen mod known, for 
 fomc of the Roman emperors have had a fclecled guard 
 of them about their perfons for their fidelity and valour, 
 as now the King of France hath of the Staffi. The 
 Frijians alfo have been famous for thofe large privileges 
 wherewith Charlemain endued them ; the Flen;ins alfo 
 * have been illuftrious for the martial exploits they atchie- 
 ved in the Eaft, where two of the earls of Flanders were 
 crowned emperors. They have all a genius inclined to 
 commerce, very inventive and witty in manufactures, 
 witncfs the art of printing, painting, and colouring in 
 glafs ; thofe curious -quadrants, chimes and dials, thofe 
 kind of waggons which are uied up and down ckriftendom, 
 were firft ufed by them ; and for the manners compafs, 
 though the matter be disputable betwixt the Neapolitan, 
 the Portugal and them, yet there is a ftrong argument 
 on their fide, in regard they were the firft that fubdivid- 
 ed the four cardinal winds to thirty two, others naming 
 them in <their language. 
 
 There is no part of Europe fo haunted with all forts 
 of foreigners as the Netherlands, which makes die in- 
 habitants, as well women as men, fo well verfed in all 
 forts of languages, fo that in exchange-time one may hear 
 feven or eight forts of tongues fpoken upon their burfes ; 
 nor are the men only expert herein, but the women and 
 .maids alfo in their ccmmon hoftries ; and in Holland the 
 wives are fo well verfed in bargaining, cyphering ar.d writ- 
 ing, that in the abfcnce of their hufbands in long fea-voy- 
 ages, they beat the trade at home, and their words will 
 pafs in equal credit. Thefe women are wonderfully fo- 
 bcr, though their .hufbands make ccmmor.ly their bar- 
 I .gains
 
 03 Tarn-liar LETTERS.- PA R T I. 
 
 gains in drink, and then are they more cautelous. This 
 confluence of itrangers makes them very populous, which 
 was the caufe that Charles the Emperor faid, that all the 
 Netherlands feemed to him but as one continued town. 
 He and his grandfather Maximilian , notwithstanding the 
 choice of kingdoms they had, kept their courts moft fre- 
 quently in them, which mewed how highly they efteem- 
 ed them ; and, I believe if Philip II. had vifited them 
 fb:n:times, matters had not gone fo ill. 
 
 There is no part of the earth, confidering the fmall 
 circuit of the country, which is eftimated to be but as big 
 as the fifth part of Italy, where one may find more differ- 
 ing cuftoms, tempers and humours of people, than in 
 the Netherlands : the Walloon is quick and fprightful, 
 accoftable and full of compliment, and gaudy in apparel, 
 like his next neighbour the French : the Fleming and 
 Brabanter, fomewhat more flow and more fparing of 
 .fpeech : the Hollander flower than he, more furly and 
 refpedlcfs of gentry and ftrangers, homely in his cloth- 
 ing, of very few words, and heavy in action ; which may 
 be well imputed to the quality of the foil, which works 
 fo ftrongly upon the humours, that when people of a more 
 vivacious and nimble temper come to mingle witli them, 
 their children are obferved to partake rather of the foil 
 than the fire ; and fo it is in all animals befides. 
 
 Thus have I huddled upfome obfervations of the Low- 
 Countries, befeeching your Lordfhip would be pleafed to 
 pardon the imperfections, and correct the errors of them ; 
 for I know none fo capable to do it as your Lordfhip, to 
 whom I am 
 
 A mojl humble and ready fervant, 
 > 4 May, i, 1622. J, H. 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 99 
 
 LETTER XLVI. 
 
 To my Brother Dr. Ho WELL from Bruffcls. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Had yours in Latin at Rotterdam, whence I corre- 
 fponded with you in the fame language ; I heard, 
 though not from you, fince I came from Br-i/Jtls, that 
 our fitter Anne is lately married to Mr. Hugh Pet;ry, I 
 am heartily glad of it, and wifh the reft of our fitters were 
 fo well bettowed, for I know Mr. Penry to be a gentle- 
 man of a great deal of folid worth and integrity, and 
 one that will prove a good hufband, and a great ycono- 
 
 Here is news that Mansfelt hath received a foil in Ger- 
 many, and that the Duke of Brunfwick, alias Bii'hop of 
 Halverftadt, hath loft one of his arms : this makes them 
 vapour here extremely ; and the laft week I heard of a 
 play the jefuits of Antwerp made in derogation, or ra- 
 ther derifion of the proceedings of the Prince Paljgrave , 
 where, amongft divers other pafiagss, they feigned a poft 
 to come puffing upon the ftage ; and being aflred what 
 news, he anfwered how the Pal/grave was like to have 
 fhortly a huge formidable army ; for the King of Den- 
 mark was to fend him 100,000, the Hollanders 100,000, 
 and the King of Great Britain 100,000 ; but being alked 
 thoufands of what ? He replied, the firft would fend 
 100,000 red herring, the fecond 100,000 chcefes, and 
 the laft 100,000 ambaffadors, alluding to Sir Richard 
 Wejlon, and Sir Edward Conivay, my Lord Carlifte, Sir 
 Arthur Chichcjler, and laftly, the Lord Digby, who have 
 been all employed in quality of ambafiadors in lefs than 
 two years, fince the beginning of thefe German broils. 
 Touching the laft, having been with the Emperor and 
 the Duke of Bavaria, and carried himfelf with fuch 
 high wifdom in his negotiations with the one, and ftout- 
 nefs with the other; and having prcferved Count Mans- 
 fielt's troops from difoanding, by pawning his own argen- 
 I 2 try
 
 too Familiar LETTERS. PART I, 
 
 try and jewels, he paffed this way, where they fay the 
 Archduke did cfteera him more than any Ambafiador that 
 ever was in this Court ; and the report is yet very frefh 
 of his high abilities. 
 
 We are to remove hence in coach towards Paris the 
 next week, where we intend to winter, or hard by ; when 
 you have opportunity to write to Wales, I pray prefent 
 my duty to my father, and my love to the reft ; I pray 
 remember me alfo to all at the Hill and the Dale, efpe- 
 cially to that moft virtuous gentleman, Sir John Frank- 
 ling. So my dear brother, I pray God continue and im- 
 prove his blellings to us both, and bring us together again 
 with comfort. 
 
 Tour Brother, 
 
 Jane, 10. 1622. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XLV1I. 
 To Dr. THOMAS PRICHARD at Worcefler Hoitfe. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 Tf RIENDSHIP if the great chain of human fc- 
 J_ ch'ty ; and intercourfe of letten is one of the chief eft 
 links of that chain : you know this as well as I; there- 
 fore, I pray let our friendmip, let our love, that nation- 
 ality of Britijb love, that virtuous tie of academic love 
 be (till flrengthened (as heretofore) and receive daily more 
 and rmre vigour. I am now in Paris, and there is week- 
 ly opportunity to receive and fend ; and if you plcafe to 
 fend, you (hall be lure to receive ; for I make it a kind of 
 religion to be punctual in this kind of payment. I am 
 heartily glad to hear that you are become a domeftU mem- 
 ber to that mod noble family of the Worceftcrs, and I 
 hold it to be a very good foundation for future prefer- 
 ment ; I wifli you may be as happy in them, as I know 
 they will be happy in you. France is now barren of news, 
 only there was a fhrcwd brufh lately betwixt trje young 
 
 King
 
 Familiar LETTERS. IOI 
 
 King and his mother, who having the Duke of Efpernon 
 and others for her champions, met him in open field 
 about poni de ce, but me went away with the worrt ; fuch 
 was the rare dutifulnefs of the King, that he forgave 
 her upon his knees, and pardoned all her complices : 
 and now there is an univerfal peace in this country, which 
 it is thought will not laft long, for there is a war intend- 
 ed againft them of the reformed religion ; for this King, 
 though he be flow in fpeech, yet he is aclive in fpirit, 
 and loves motion. I am here comrade to a gallant young 
 gentleman, my old acquaintance, who is full of excel- 
 lent parts, which he hath acquired by a choice breeding, 
 the Baron his father gave him both in the univerfity, 
 and in the inns of court ; fo that for the time, I envy no 
 man's happinefs. So with my hearty commends, and. 
 much endeared love unto you, I reft". 
 
 Tours nvf/i/e, 
 Parity Augujl 3. 16222..,; .,<; J, H, . 
 
 LETTER XL VIII. 
 
 To the Honourable />THOMA-S SAVAGE (fiftcr Lord 
 SAVAGE) at his Houfe upon Tower-Hill. 
 
 Honourable SIR, 
 
 THOSE many undcferved favours for which I ftand 
 obliged to yourfelf and my noble Lady, fince the 
 time I had the happinefs to come firft under your roof, 
 and the command you pleafed to lay upon me at my de- 
 parture thence, called upon me at this time to give you. 
 account how matters pafs in France. 
 
 That which for the prefent affords moft plenty of 
 news, is Rochel, which the King threateneth to block up 
 this fpring with an army by fea, under the command of 
 the Duke of Never s, and by a land army under bis own 
 condudl : both fides prepare, he to afiauh, the Rockellers 
 to defend. The King declares that he proceeds net 
 I 3 againft. 
 
 fe-
 
 102 Tamiliar LETTER S. PART I. 
 
 againft them for their religion, which he is ftill contented 
 to tolerate, but for holding an afTcmbly againft his decla- 
 rations : they anfwer, that their aflembly is grounded 
 upon his Majefly's royul warrant, given at the diflblution 
 of the laft aflembly at Lcdun, where he folemnly gave 
 his word to permit them to rcaffemble when they would, 
 lix months after, if the breaches of their liberty and grie- 
 vances which they then propounded were not redrefled ; 
 and they fay, this being unperformed, it (lands not with 
 the {acred perfon of a King to violate his promife, being 
 the firft that ever he made them. The King is fo in- 
 eenfed againft them, that their deputies can have neither 
 acccfs to his perfon, nor audience of his counfel, as they 
 itL'c themfelves the deputies of the aflembly at Rachel; 
 but if they fay, they come from the whole body of them 
 of the pretended reformed religion, he will hear them. 
 The breach between them is grown fo wide, that the 
 King refolves on a fiege. This refolution of the King 
 19 much fomented by the Roman clergy ; efpecially by the 
 Celeftines, who have 200,000 crowns of gold in the arfe- 
 nal of Paris, which they would facrifice all to this fer- 
 vice ; befides, the Pope fent him a bull to levy what 
 Turns he would of the Galilean church, for the advance- 
 ment of his defign. This refolution alfo is much pnfhed 
 on by die gentry, who befides the particular employments 
 and pay they fhall receive hereby, "are glad to have their 
 young King trained up in arms, to make him a martial 
 man; but for the merchant and poor peafant, they 
 tremble at the name of this war, fearing their teeth 
 fhould be {et on edge with thofe four grapes their fa- 
 thers tafled in the time of the league : for, if the King 
 begins with Rochel, 'tis feared all the four corners of the 
 kingdom will be fet on fire. 
 
 Of all the towns of furety which they of the religion 
 hold, Rocbel is the chiefeft, a place ftrong by nature, 
 but Wronger by art. It is a maritime town, and landward 
 they can by fluices drown a league's diftance ; 'tis forti- 
 fied with mighty thick walls, bafHons, and counterfcarps ; 
 and thofe according to the modern rules of enginery. 
 
 This,
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 103 
 
 This, among other cautionary towns, was granted by 
 Henry IV. to them of the religion for a certain term of 
 years ; which being expired, the King faith, they are de- 
 volved again to the crown, and fo demands them. They 
 of the religion pretend to have divers grievances ; firflr, 
 they have not been paid thefe two years the 160,000 
 crowns which the laft King gave them annually, to main- 
 tain their minifters and garrifons : they complain of the 
 King's carriage lately at Beam {Henry the Great's coun- 
 try) which was merely proteftant, where he hath intro- 
 duced two years fince the publick exercife of the mafs, 
 which had not been fung there fifty years before ; he al- 
 tered alfo there the government of the country, and in 
 lieu of a Viceroy, left a Governor only: and whereas, 
 Navarrin was formerly a court of parliament for the 
 whole kingdom of Navarre (that is under France} he 
 hath put it down, and publifhed an edicl, that the Na- 
 varrois fhould come to Tolonfe, the chief town of Lan- 
 gtiedoc ; and laflly, he left behind him a garrifon in the 
 faid town of Navarrin. Thcfe and other grievances 
 they of the religion propofed to the King lately, defiring 
 his Majefty would let them enjoy ftill thofe privileges his 
 predecefTor Henry III. and his father Henry IV. afforded 
 them by acl of pacification ; but, he made them a fhort 
 anfwer, that what the one did in this point, he did it out 
 of fear; what the other did, he did it out of love; but, 
 he would have them know, that he neither loved them 
 nor feared them ; fo the bufinefs is like to bleed fore on 
 both fides, nor is there yet any appearance of preven- 
 tion. 
 
 There was a fcufHe lately here betwixt the Duke of 
 Nevers and the Cardinal of Guife, who have had a long 
 fuit in law about an abbey ; and meeting the laft week a- 
 bout the palace, from words they fell to blows, the Car- 
 dinal (truck the Duke firft, and Ib were parted ; but in 
 the afternoon there appeared on both fides no lefs than 
 3000 horfe in a field hard by, which mews the populouf- 
 nefs and fudden ftrength of this huge city ; but the mat- 
 ter was taken up by the King himfelf, and the Cardinal 
 
 clapt
 
 104, Tamiliar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 clapt up in the Baftile, where the King faith he fhall 
 abide to ripen : for he is but young, and they fpeak of a 
 bull that is to come from Rome to decardinalize him. I 
 fear to have tre/pa/Ted too much upon your patience, 
 therefore I will conclude for the prefent, but will never 
 ceafe to profefs myfelf 
 
 Tour thrice humble and ready fervitor t 
 Paris, Augujl 1 8. 1622. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XLIX. 
 To DAN. CALDWALL, Efq; from PoifTy. 
 
 My dtar"D**. 
 
 TO be free from EngliJJy, and to have the more con- 
 veniency to fall clofe to our bufinefs, Mr. Altham 
 and I are lately retired from Paris to this town of Poiffy, 
 a pretty genteel place, at the foot of the great foreft of 
 St. Germain, upon the river Sequana, and within a mile 
 of one of the King's chiefeft (landing houfes, and about 
 fifteen miles from Paris : here is one of the prime nun- 
 neries of all France. Lewis IX. who in the catalogue of 
 the French kings is called St. Lewis, which title was con- 
 firmed by the Pope, -was baptized in this little town ; and 
 after his return from Egypt and other places againft the 
 Saracens, being afked by what title he would be diflin- 
 guifhed from the reft of his predecefTors after his death, 
 he anfwered, that he defired to be called Lewis ofPoi/y. 
 Reply being made, that there were divers other places 
 and cities of renown, where he had performed brave ex- 
 ploits and obtained famous victories, therefore, it was 
 more fitting that fome of thofe places mould denominate 
 him: no, faid he, I defire to be called Lewis of Poijfy, 
 becaufe there I got the moft glorious viftory that ever I 
 had, for there I overcame the devil', meaning, that he 
 was chriftened there. 
 
 I
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 105 
 
 1 fcnt you from Ant*toerp a filver Dutch table-book ; 
 I defire to hear of the receipt of it in your next. I mull 
 defire you (as I did once at Rouen) to fend me a dozen 
 pairs oif the whiteft kidfkin gloves for women, and half a 
 dozen pairs of knives by the merchants poft; and if you 
 want any thing that France can afford, I hope you know 
 what power you have to difpofe of 
 
 Pcijjj, Sept. 7. 1622. J. H. 
 
 LETTER L. 
 To my FATHER, from Paris. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Was afraid I mould never have had ability to write to 
 you again, I had lately fuch a dangerous fit of fick- 
 nefs, but I have now pad the brunt of it. God hath 
 been pleafed to reprieve me, and referve me for more 
 days, which I hope to have grace to number better, 
 Mr. Altbam and I having retired to a fmall town from 
 Paris for more privacy, and fole conversation with the 
 nation : I tied myfelf to a tafk for the reading of fo many 
 books in fuch a compafs of time ; and thereupon, to make 
 good my word to myfelf, I ufed to watch many nights 
 together, though it was in the depth of winter; but re- 
 turning to this town, I took cold in the head, and fo 
 that mafs of rheum which had gathered by my former 
 watching, turned to an impofthume in my head, whereof 
 I was fide above forty days ; at the end they cauterized 
 and made an ifiue in "my cheek to make vent for the im- 
 pofthume, and that faved my life. At firft they let me 
 blood, and I parted with above fifty ounces in lefs than 
 a fortnight : for phlebotomy is fo much practifed here, 
 that if one '3 little finger ache they prefently open a vein, 
 and to ballance the blood on both fides, they ufually let 
 blood in both arms ; and, the commonnefs of die thing 
 
 feems
 
 106 Familiar LETTERS. PART I, 
 
 feems to take away all fear, infomnch, that the very wo- 
 men when they find themfelves indifpofed, will open a 
 vein themfelves : for they hold, that the blood which 
 hath a circulation and fetcheth a round every twenty four 
 hours about the body is quickly repaired again. I was 
 eighteen days and nights that I had no (leep, but fliort 
 imperfect (lumbers, and thofe too procured by potions : 
 the tumour at lad came fo about my throat, that I had 
 fcurce vent left for refpiration, and my body was brought 
 fo low with all forts of phyfick, that I appeared like a 
 mere fkeleton. When I was indifferently well recovered, 
 fome of the doctors and chirurgeons that tended me, 
 gave me a vifit ; and amongir. other things, they fell in 
 difcourfe of wines, which was the beft, and fo by de- 
 grees they fell upon other beverages ; and one doftor in 
 the company who had been in England, told me, that we 
 have a drink in England called ale, which he thought 
 was the wholefomcft liquor that could go into one's guts : 
 for, whereas the body of man is fupported by two co- 
 lumns, viz. the natural heat, and radical moifture, he 
 fiiid, there is no drink conduceth more to the preferva- 
 tion of the one and the increafe of the other than ale ; 
 for, while the Englijhmen drank only ale, they were 
 ftrong brawny able men, and could draw an arrow an ell 
 long, but fmce they fell to wine and beer, they are 
 found to be much impaired in their ftrength and age ; 
 fo the ale bore away the bell among the dolors. 
 
 The next week we advance our courfe further into 
 France, towards the river of Loire to Orleans, whence 
 I (hall continue to convey my duty to you. In the mean 
 time, I humbly crave your bleffing, and your acknow- 
 ledgment to God almighty for my recovery : be pleafed 
 further, to impart my love amongft my brothers and 
 fitters, with all my kinfmen and friends in the country : 
 fo I reft, 
 
 Your dutiful f on, 
 Paris., Dec. 10. 1622. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 107 
 
 LETTER LT. 
 To Sir THO. SAVAGE, Knight and Baronet. 
 
 Honourable Sir, 
 
 TH A T of the fifth of this prefcnt which you plcafsd 
 to fend me was received, and I begin to think my- 
 fclf fomething more than I was, that you value fo much 
 the (lender endeavours of my pen to do you fervicc, I 
 (hall continue to improve ) r our good opinion of me as op- 
 portunity fhall ferve. 
 
 Touching the great threats sgalnft Rachel, whereof I 
 gave you' an ample relation in my laft, matters are be- 
 come now more calm, and rather inclining to an accom- 
 modation ; for 'tis thought a fum of money will make up 
 the breach ; and to this end fome think all thcfc brava- 
 does were made. The Duke of Ltynes is at laft made 
 Lord High Coriftable of France, the prime officer of the 
 crown : he hath a peculiar court to himfelf, a guard of 
 loo men in rich liveries, and 100,000 livres every year 
 penfion: the old Dake of Lefdiguiercs, one of the an- 
 tienteft foldiers of France, and a proteftant, is made his 
 Lieutenant. 
 
 But in regard all chriftendom rings of this favourite, 
 being the greateft that ever was in France, fince the Mai- 
 ret of the palace who came to be kings afterwards, I 
 will fend you herein his legend. He was born in Pro- 
 vence, and is a gentleman by defcent, though of a petty 
 extraction ; in the laft King's time he was preferred to be 
 one of his pages, who finding him induftrious, and a good 
 waiter, allowed him 300 crowns penfion per annum; 
 which he hufbanded fo well, that he maintained himrelf 
 and two brothers in paflable good fafhion therewith. The 
 King obferving that, doubled his penfion, and taking no- 
 tice that he was a ferviceable initrument and apt to pleafe, 
 he thought him fit to be about his fon, in whofe iervicc 
 he hath continued above fifteen years ; and he hath jfow 
 ib high into his favour by a fingular dexterity and art he 
 
 hath
 
 It>8 Fawilijr LETTER. S. . PART!. 
 
 hath in faulconry, and by /hooting at birds flying, where- 
 in the King took great pleafure, that he hath feared to 
 this pitch of honour. He is a man of a pa/Table good 
 underftanding and forecaft, of a mild comportment, 
 humble and debonair to all, and of a winning converfa- 
 tion : he hath about him choice and folid heads, \\lio pre- 
 fcribe to Kim rules of policy, by whofc compafs he fleers 
 hiscourfe; which 'tis likely will make him fubfift long: 
 he is now come to that tranfcendent altitude, that he 
 feems to have mounted above the reach of envy, and 
 made all hopes of fupplanting him fiuftrate, both by the 
 politic guidance of his own actions, and the powerful 
 alliances he hath got for himfelf and his two brothers : 
 he is married to the Duke of Montfafzen's daughter, one 
 of the prime peers of France: his fecond brother Cade- 
 net (who is reputed the wilt ft of the three) married the 
 heirefs of Picardy, with whom he had 9ooo/. lands a- 
 yeur; his third brother Brand, to the great heirefs of 
 Luxemburg!:, of which houfe there have been five empe- 
 rors : fo that thefe three brothers and their allies would 
 be able to counterbalance any one faction in France, the 
 eldeft and youngefl being made dukes and peers of 
 France, the other Marflial. There are lately two am- 
 ba/Tadors extraordinary come hither from Venice about 
 the Vdlt'Ain, but their negotiation is at a ftand, until the 
 return of an ambaflador extraordinary, who is gone to 
 SpM?i. AmbafTadors alfo are come from the Hague for 
 payment of the French regiment there, which hr.th been 
 neglected thefe ten years, and to know whether his Ma- 
 jefty will be pleafed to continue their pay any longer; 
 but their anfvver is yet fufpended. They have brought 
 hews that the feven fhips which were built for his Majefty 
 in the Tejjel are ready: to this he anfwcred, that he de- 
 fires to h;ive ten more built; for he intends to ilnifli that 
 defign which his father had a-foot a little before his 
 death, to cflablim a royal company of merchants. 
 
 This is all the news that France affords for the prefent, 
 the relation whereof if it proves as acceptable, as my en- 
 deavours to fcrvc you herein are plealbg unto me, I
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 109 
 
 fhalJ efteem myfelf happy : fo, wifhing you and my noble^ 
 Lady continuance of health, and increafe of honour, I 
 reft 
 
 Tour mofl humble fervitcr, 
 Paris, Dec. 15. 1022. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LII. 
 To Sir JOHN NORTH, Knight. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 IConfefs you have made a perfect conqueft of me by 
 your late favours, and I yield myfelf your captive ; 
 a day may come that will enable me to pay my ranfom : 
 in the interim, let a molt thankful acknowledgment be 
 my bail and enterprize. 
 
 I am now removed from off the Seine to the Loire, to 
 the fair town of Orleans : there was here lately a mixt 
 proceilion betwixt military and ecclefiafHc for the maid of 
 Orleans, which is performed every year very folemnly : 
 her (tatue (lands upon the bridge, and her cloaths are 
 preferved to this day, which a young man wore in the 
 proceflion ; which makes me think that her ftory (though 
 it found like a romance) is very true ; and I read it thus, 
 in two or three chronicles : when the Engli/h had made 
 fuch firm invafions in France, that their armies had 
 marched into the heart of the country, befieged Orleans, 
 and driven Charles VII. to Bourges in Berry, which 
 made him to be called (for the time) King of Berry, 
 there came to his army a fhepherdefs, one Anne de Ar- 
 que, who with a confident look and language told the 
 King, that (he was defigned by heaven to beat the Eng- 
 lifo, and drive them out of France : therefore, (he de- 
 fired a command in the army ; which by her extraordi- 
 nary confidence and importunity (he obtained; and put- 
 ting on man's apparel, (he proved fo profperous, that the 
 fege was raifed from before Orleans, and the Englijb 
 K were
 
 MQ Fj:t:i!iar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 were purfued to Paris, and forced to quit that, and dri- 
 ven te Normandj. She ufed to go on with marvellous 
 courage and refolution, and her word was har a ha ; but 
 in Normandy fhe was taken prifoner, and the EngliJJj 
 had a fair revenge upon her; for, by an arreft of the 
 parliament of Rouen (he was burnt for a witch. There 
 is a great bufinefs now a-foot in Paris, called the Po- 
 li'tte; which if it take effect, will tend to correct, at 
 Jeaftwife to cover a great error in the French govern- 
 ment. The cuftom is, that all the chief places of juftice 
 throughout all the eight courts of parliament in France, 
 befides a great number of other offices, are fet to fale 
 by the King, and they return to him unlefs the buyer 
 Itveth/sr/y days after his refignation to another. It is 
 now propounded that thefe cafual offices fliall be abfo- 
 hitely hereditary, provided that every officer pay a yearly 
 revenue unto the King, according to the valuation of, and 
 perquifitcs of the office. This bufinefs is now in agita- 
 tion, but the uTue is yet doubtful. 
 
 The laft you fent I received by Vacandary in Paris : 
 fo, highly honouring your excellent parts and merit, I 
 reft, now that I understand French indifferent well, no 
 more your {Jbe) fervant, but 
 
 Tour moft faithful fervitor, 
 
 Orleans, March 3. 1622. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LIII. 
 To Sir JAMES CROFTS, Knight. 
 
 I R, 
 ERE I to freight a Letter with compliments, 
 
 w 
 
 this country would furnim me with variety, but 
 of news a fmall ftore at this prefent ; and for compliments 
 it is dangerous to ufe any to you who have fuch a pier- 
 cing judgment to difcern femblances from realities. 
 
 The
 
 
 Familiar LETTERS. rir 
 
 The Queen-mother is at laft come to Paris, where^ 
 flie hath not been fmce Ancrti** death. The King is ai- 
 fo returned port from Bordeaux, having traverfed moft 
 part of his kingdom, he fettled peace everywhere he 
 pafled, and quaftied divers infurreclions ; and by his o- 
 bedience to his mother, and his lenity towards all her 
 partifans at font de Ce, where above 400 were (lain ; 
 and notwithstanding that he was victorious, yet he gave 
 a general pardon, he hath gained much upon the aftecli- 
 ons of his people. His council of (late v/ent ambulatory 
 always with him ; and as they fay here, never did men 
 manage things with more wifdom. There is a war que^ 
 ftionlefs a fermenting againft the protefiants : the Duke 
 of Efpernon in a kind of rodomantado way, defired leave 
 of the King to block up Rachel, and in fix weeks he 
 would undertake to deliver her to his hands, but I be- 
 lieve he reckons without his hoft. I was told a merry 
 paflage of this little Cafcon Duke, who is now the oldeft 
 foldier of France ; having come lately to Paris, he treat- 
 ed with a pander to procure him' a courtefan; and if fha 
 was a dumoifel (a gentlewoman) he would give fo much; 
 and if a citizen he would give fo much: the pander did 
 his office, but brought him a citizen clad in damoifels 
 apparel ; fo me and her maquerel were paid accordingly : 
 the next day after, fome of his familiars having under* 
 flood hereof, began to be pleafant with the Duke, and 
 to jeer him, that he being a vieil routier, an old tried 
 foldier mould fuffer himfelf to be fo cozened, as to pay 
 for a citizen after the rate of a gentlewoman : the little 
 Duke grew wild hereupon, and commenced an action of 
 fraud< againft the pander, but what became of it I cannot 
 tell you, but all Paris rung of it. I hope to return 
 now very fhortly to England, where, amongft the reft 
 of my noble friends, I fhall much rejoice to fee and 
 ferve you whom I honour with no vulgar affection, fo I. 
 am 
 
 Tour true fervitor, 
 Orleans, March 5. 1622. 
 
 K 2
 
 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 LETTER LIV. 
 
 To my Coujln Mr. WILLIAM MARTIN^/ BrufTels, 
 from Paris. 
 
 Dear Coujin, 
 
 I Find you are very punctual in your performances, and 
 a precife obferver of the promife you made here to 
 correfpond with Mr. Altham and me by letters. I dunk 
 you for the variety of German news you imparted unto 
 me, which was fo neatly couched and curioufly knit to- 
 gether, that your letter might ferve for a pattern to the 
 bed intelligencer. I am forry the affairs of the Prince 
 Palfgrave go on fo untowardly; the wheel of war may 
 turn, and that fpoke which is now up may down again. 
 For French occurrences, there is a war certainly intended 
 ugainft them of the religion here ; and there are vifible 
 preparations a-foot already : amongfl others that ftirink 
 in the moulders at it, the King's fervants are not very 
 well pleafed with it, in regard befides Scots and Siuj/ers, 
 there are divers of the King's fervants that are prote- 
 ftants. If a man go to ragiorf di Jiato> to reafon of 
 ftate, the French King hath fomething to juftify this de- 
 fign ; for,the proteftants being fo numerous, and having 
 near upon fifty prefidiary walled towns in their hands for 
 caution, they have power to difturb France when they 
 pleafc, and being abetted by a foreign Prince to give the 
 King law; and you know as well as I, how they have 
 been made ufe of to kindle a fire in France : therefore, 
 rather than they (hould be utterly fupprefTed, I believe 
 the Spaniard himfelf would reach them his ragged-Jlaff 
 to defend them. 
 
 I fend you here inclofed another from Mr. A It ham, 
 who refpefts you dearly ; and we remembered you lately 
 at Id pomme da pin in the beft liquor of the French 
 grape. I (hall be fhortly for London, where I fhall not 
 rejoice a little to meet you : the Engli/h air may confirm 
 what foreign begun, I mean our friendship and affecti- 
 ons*
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 113 
 
 cms; and in me, (that I may return you in Englifh the 
 Latin verfes you fent me) 
 
 sis foon a little ant 
 
 Shall bibe the ocean dry, 
 
 A fnail Jhall creep about the ivor/d, 
 
 E'er tbefe ajfeclions die. 
 
 So my dear coufin, may virtue be your guide, and 
 fortune your companion. 
 
 Tours while, 
 Paris, March 1 8. 1622. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LV. 
 To my FATHER.. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Am fafely returned now the fecond time from beyond 
 the feas, but I have yet no employment. God and 
 good friends I hope will fhortly provide one for me. 
 
 The Spanijh Ambaffador Count Gondamar doth ftrong- 
 ly negotiate a match betwixt our Prince and the Infanta 
 of Spain, but at his firft audience there happened an ill- 
 favoured accident, (I pray God it prove no ill augury) 
 for my Lord of Arunddl being fent to accompany him 
 to Whitehall upon a Sunday in the afternoon, as they 
 were going over the terrafs, it broke under diem, but 
 only one was hurt in the arm. Gondamar faid, that he 
 had not cared to have died in fo good company : he faith, 
 there is no other way to regain the Palatinate, but by 
 this match, and to fettle an eternal peace in cbviftendom. 
 The Marquis of Buckingham continueth ftill in fulnefs 
 of grace and favour : the Coantefs his mother fways allo 
 much at court ; (he brought Sir Henry Montague from 
 delivering law on the King's Bench to look to his bags in 
 the Exchequer: for, me made him Lord High Treafurer 
 of England, but he parted with his white y?^ before tht 
 K 3 year's
 
 1 14 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 year's end, though his purfe had bled deeply for it ; (a- 
 bove 2OjOOO/.) which made a Lord of this land to afk 
 him at his return from court, Whether he did net find 
 that wood was extreme dear at Newmarket, for there 
 he received the white Jiaff. There is now a notable 
 (lining man in the place, my Lord Cranfeld, who from 
 walking about the Exchange, is come to fit chief Judge 
 in the Chequer-Chamber, and to have one of the higheft 
 places at the Council-table. He is married to one of the 
 tribe of fortune, a kinfwoman of the Marquis of Buck- 
 ingham. Thus there is riling and falling af court ; and 
 as in our natural pace one foot cannot be up till the other 
 be down, fo it is in the affairs of the world commonly, 
 one man rifeth at the fall of the other. 
 
 I have no more to write at this time, but that with 
 tender of my duty to you, I defire a continuance of your 
 blefling and prayers. 
 
 Tour dutiful fon> 
 
 Lend. March 22. 1622. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LVI. 
 
 To the Honourable M. JOHN SAVAGE (tio-iv Earl 
 Rivers) at Florence. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 MY love is not fo fhort but it can reach to Florence 
 to find you out, and further too if occafion re- 
 quired ; nor are thefe affeclions I have to ferve you fo 
 dull but they can clamber over the Alps and Apennins to 
 wait upon you, as they have adventured to do now in this 
 paper. I am forry I was not in London to kifs your hands 
 before you fet to fca ; and much more forty, that I had 
 not the happinefs to meet you in Holland or Brabant, for 
 we went the very fame road, and lay in Dart and Ant- 
 werp in the fame lodgings you had lain in a fortnight be- 
 fore. I prefume you huve by this time tafled of the 
 
 fweetnefs
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 115 
 
 fweetnefs of travel, and that you have weaned your affe- 
 ctions from England for a good while, you muft now 
 think upon home, (as one faid) good men think upon 
 heaven, aiming ftill to go thither, but not till they finifh 
 their courfe ; and yours I underftand will be three years : 
 in the mean time, you muft not fuffer any melting tender- 
 nefs of thoughts, or loving defires, to diftraft or inter- 
 rupt you in that fair road you are in to virtue ; and to 
 beautify within, that comely edifice which nature hath 
 built without you. I know your reputation is precious 
 to you, as it fliould be to every noble mind : you have 
 expofed it now to the hazard, therefore you muft be 
 careful it receive no taint at your return, by not anfwering 
 that expectation which your Prince and noble parents 
 have of you. You are now under the chiefeft clime of 
 wifdom, fair Italy, the darling of nature, the nurfe of 
 policy, the theatre of virtue ; but, though Italy give 
 milk to virtue with one dug, me often fuffers vice to fuck 
 at the other, therefore you muft take heed you miftake 
 not the dug: for, there is an ill-favoured faying, that 
 Inglefe Italionato e diavolo incarnato; an Englijhntan 
 Italianatc, is a devil incarnate. I fear no fuch thing of 
 you, I have had fuch pregnant proofs of your ingenuity, 
 and noble inclinations to virtue and honour. I know you 
 have a mind to both, but I muft tell you, that you will 
 hardly get the good-will of the /rf/ter,unlefsthe/r/?fpeak 
 a good word for you : when you go to Rome, you may 
 happily fee the ruins of two temples, one dedicated to 
 virtue, the other to honour; and there was no way to 
 enter into the laft, but through the firft. Noble Sir, I 
 wifh your good very ferioufly ; and if you pleafe to call 
 to memory and examine the circumftance of things, and 
 my carriage towards you fince I had the happinefs to'be 
 known firft to your honourable family, I know you will 
 conclude that I love and honour you in no vulgar way. 
 
 My Lord, your grandfather was complaining lately 
 that he had not heard from you a good while. By the 
 next mipp'.ng to Leghorn, amongft other things, he in- 
 tends to fend you a whole brawn in collers. I pray be 
 
 pleafed
 
 ! 1 6 Familiar LETTERS. PA RT I. 
 
 pleafed to remember my affe&ionate fervice to Mr. Tho- 
 mas Savage, and my kind refpetfs to Mr. Bold: for 
 Englifo news, I know this pacquet comes freighted to 
 you, therefore I forbear to fend any. Farewel noble 
 heir of honour, and command always 
 
 Your true fervittr, 
 Lond. March 24. 1622. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LVII. 
 To Sir JAMES CROFTS, Knight at St. Ofith ;EfFex. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Had yours upon Tucfday laft ; and whereas, you arc 
 defirous to know the proceedings of the parliament, 
 I am forry I muft write to you that matters begin to grow 
 boifterous : the King retired not long fince to Newmar- 
 ket not very well pleafed, and this week there went 
 thither twelve from the houfe of commons, to whom 
 Sir Richard We/ton was the mouth : the King not liking 
 the meflage they brought, called them ambafladors ; and 
 in the large anfwer which he hath fent to the Speaker, he 
 faith, that he muft apply unto them a fpeech of Queen 
 Elizabeths to an Ambaffador of Poland, Legatum ex- 
 peflavimus, Heraldum accepimui ; we expected an Am 
 bafTador, we have received a Herald. He takes it not 
 well that they mould meddle with the match betwixt his 
 fon and the Infanta, alleging an example of one of the 
 kings of France, which would not marry his fon without 
 the advice of his parliament ; but, afterwards that King 
 grew fo defpicable abroad, that no foreign (late would 
 treat with him about any thing without his parliament. 
 Sundry other high paflages there was as a caveat he gave 
 them, not to touch the honour of the King of Spain, 
 with whom he was fo far engaged in a matrimonial treaty 
 tlut he could not go back. He gave them alfo a check 
 
 for
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 117 
 
 for taking cognizance of thofe things which had their 
 motion in the ordinary courts of jufrice; and that Sir 
 Edward Coke, (though thefe words were not inferted in 
 the anfwer) whom he thought to be the fitteft inftru- 
 ment for a tyrant that ever *v:as in England, mould be 
 fo bold as to call the pre rogatn-e of the crown a great 
 tnotifter. The parliament after this was not long-lived, 
 but broke up in difcontent, and upon the point of duTo- 
 lution, they made a proteft againft divers particulars in 
 the aforefaid anfwer of his Majefty. My Lord Digby 
 is preparing for Spain, in quality of an Ambaffador ex- 
 traordinary, to perfect the match betwixt our Prince and 
 the Lady Infanta -, in which bufmefs Gondamar hath 
 waded already very deep, and been very active, and in- 
 gratiated himfelf with divers perfons of quality, ladies 
 efpecially, yet he could do no good upon the Lady Hat" 
 ton whom he defired lately, that in regard he was her 
 next neighbour, (at Ely houfe) he might have the bene- 
 fit of her back-gate to go abroad into the fields, but flic 
 put him off with a compliment, whereupon, in a private 
 audience lately with the King, amongft other p&fTages of 
 merriment, he told him, that my Lady Haiton ILVS a 
 
 Jlrange Lady, for ftie would not fuffer her husband Sir 
 Edward Coke to come in at her fore-door ; nor him to go 
 out at her back-door, and fo related the whole bufineis. 
 He was alfo difpatching a poft lately for Spain ; and the 
 port having received his pacquct, and kiffed Lis hands,, 
 he called him back and told him he had forgot one thing, 
 which was, ihat when he came to Spain, befoouldcom- 
 ?tiend hivi to the fun, for he had not feen him a good 
 while, and in Spain he foould be fure to find him. So* 
 with my mod humble fervice to my Lord of Colckejler^. 
 I reft 
 
 Tour mojl kwMe fervitsr, 
 Lo.nd. l\Iarcb 24. 1622. J. H v 
 
 LET-
 
 n8 TamiUar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 LETTER LVIII. 
 To my Brother, Mr. Hucif 
 
 S I R, 
 
 TH E Weljh nag you fent me, was delivered me 
 in a very good plight, and I give you a thoufand 
 thanks for him ; I had occafion lately to try his mettle 
 and bis lungs ; and every one tells me he is right, and of 
 no mungrel race, but a true mountaineer ; for befides his 
 toughnefs and ftrength of lungs up a hill, he is quickly 
 curried, and content with fhort commons. I believe he 
 hath not been long a highway traveller ; for whereas 
 other horfes, when they pafs by an inn or alehoufe, ufc 
 to make towards them, to give them a friendly vifit, this 
 nag roundly goes on, and fcorns to caft as much as a 
 glance upon any of them ; which I know not whether I 
 {hall impute it to his ignorance, or height of fpirit ; but 
 converfmg with the foft horfes in England, I believe he 
 will quickly be brought to be more courteous. 
 
 The grcateft news we have now, is the return of the 
 Lord Bifhop of Landaff, Davenant, Ward, and Belcan- 
 quell, from the fynod of Dort, where the Bifhop had 
 precedence given him according to his epifcopal dignity. 
 Armlnius and Vorftius were fore baited there concerning 
 predeftination, election, and reprobation ; as alfo touch- 
 ing Chrtft's death, and man's redemption by it ; then 
 concerning man's corruption, and converfion ; laftly, con- 
 cerning the perfeverance of the faints. I (hall have fhort- 
 ly the tranfaclions of the fynod. The Jefitits have put 
 out a jeering libel againft it, and thefe two verfes I re- 
 member in it : 
 
 Do'-drefii fy nodus ? nodus ; chorus Integer ?- a-ger $ 
 Convent us ? ventus ; fejjlo Jiramcn ? atnen. 
 
 But I will confront this dtftich with another I read in 
 France of the Jefuits in the town of Dole, towards Lo- 
 'rain ; they had a great houfe given them called Varc 
 
 (arctwt)
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 119 
 
 {arcuni} and upon the river of Loire, Henry IV. gave 
 them la fleche, fagittam in Latin, where they have two 
 (lately convents, that is, bow and arrow ; whereupon 
 one made thefe verfes : 
 
 Arcum Do/a dedit, dedit illif alma fagittam 
 Francia ; quis cbordam, quam meruere, dabit ? 
 
 Fair France the arrow, Dole gave them the low ; 
 Who fhall they? ring, which they deferve beftow ? 
 
 No more no\v, but that with my dear love to my 
 filler, I .reft 
 
 Tour moft effeciionate brother, 
 i London, April 16. 1622. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LJX. 
 To The Lord Vifcount Colchefler. 
 
 My good Lord, 
 
 I Received your Lordfhip's of the lad week, and ac- 
 cording to your commands, I fend here inclofed the- 
 Venetian gazette : of foreign avifo's, they write that 
 Mansfelt hath been beaten out of Germany, and is come 
 to t Sedan ; and it is thought that the Duke of Bovillon 
 will fet him up again with a new army. Marquis Spi- 
 nola hath newly fat down before Bvrghen op zoom : your 
 Lordmip knows well what confequence that town is of, 
 therefore it is likely this will be a hot fummer in the Ne- 
 therlands. The French King is in open war againft them 
 of the religion ; he hath already cleared the Loire, by 
 taking Jerfeau and Saumur, where Monfieur du Ple/is 
 fent him the keys, which are promifed to be delivered 
 him again, but I think ad Gr/xcas Calendas. He hath 
 been alfo before St. John d'Angeli, where the young 
 Cardinal of Guife died, being (truck down by the puff of 
 a cannon-bullet, which put him in a burning fever, and 
 
 made
 
 120 Fartihar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 made an end of him. The laft town that is taken was 
 Clerac, which was put to 50,000 Crowns ranfom ; many 
 were put to the fword, and divers gentlemen drowned 
 as they thought to efcape. This is the fifteenth cautionary 
 town the King hath taken : and now they fay he march- 
 eth towards Montauban, and fo to Montpellier and Nif- 
 incs, and then have at Rockel. My Lord Hays is by 
 this time, it is thought, with the army ; for Sir Edward 
 Herbert is returned, having had fome clamings and coun- 
 terbufrs with the favourite Luynes, wherein he comported 
 himfelf gallantly. There is a frem report blown over, 
 that Luynes is lately dead in the army of the plague, fomc 
 fay of the purples, the next coufin-german to it ; which 
 the proteftants give out to be the juft judgment of heaven 
 fallen upon him, becaufe he incited his mafter to thefc 
 wars againft them. If he be not dead, let him die when 
 he will, he will leave a fame behind him, to have been 
 the greatefl favourite for the time that ever was in France, 
 having from a Qaafe falconer come to be high Conftable, 
 and made himfelf and his younger brother grand dukes 
 and peers ; and his fecond brother Cadenat, Marfhal ; 
 and all three married into princely families. 
 
 No more now, but that I moft humbly kifs your Lord*- 
 (hip's hands, and mail be always moft ready and chear- 
 ful to receive your commandments, becaufe I am 
 Tour Lord/hip's obliged fer^i tor, 
 
 London, Aug. 12. 1622. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LX. 
 
 To my FATHER, from London. 
 
 S I R, 
 
 I Was at a dead ftand in the courfe of my fortunes, 
 when it pleafed God to provide me lately an employ- 
 ment to Spain* whence I hope there may arife both re- 
 pute and profit. Some of the cape merchants of the
 
 Familiar LETTERS. I?I 
 
 Turfy company ; among whom the chiefeft were SvcRofaft 
 Napper, and Captain Leaf, propofed to me, - that they 
 had a great bufinefs in the court of Spain in agitation, 
 many years, nor was it now their bufinefs but the King's, 
 in whofe name it is followed : they could have gentle- 
 men of good quality, that would undertake it, yet if I 
 would take it upon me, they would employ no other ; 
 and aflured me, that the employment fliould tend both to 
 my benefit and credit. Now the bufinefs is this : there 
 was a great Turky fhip called the Vineyard, failing 
 through the Straits towards C&iftantinople, but bydiftrefs 
 of weather me was forced to put into a little port called 
 Milo, in Sardinia ; the feajchers came aboard of her, 
 and finding her richly laden, for her cargazon of broad- 
 * cloth was worth the firft penny, near upon 30,000 /. they 
 cavilled at fome fmall proportion of lead and tin which 
 they had only for the ufe of the fhip ; which the fearch- 
 crs alledged to be ropa dc contrabar.do, prohibited goods ; 
 for by article of peace, nothing is to' be carried to Turky 
 that may arm or vittle. The Viceroy of Sardinia here- 
 upon feized upon the whole fhip, and all their goods, 
 landed the mailer and men in Spain, who coming to Sir 
 Charles Cornwalles then AmbafTador at that court, Sir 
 Charles could do them little good at prefent, therefore" 
 they came to England, and complained to the King and 
 council : his Majefty was fo fenfible hereof, that he fent 
 a particular cornmiflion in his own royal name, to de- 
 mand a reftitution of the fhip and goods, and juflice upon 
 the Viceroy of Sardinia, who had fo apparently broke 
 the peace, and wronged his fabjefts. Sir Charles (with 
 Sir Paul Pindar a while) laboured in the bufinefs, and 
 commenced a fuit in law, but he was called home before 
 he could do any thing to purpofe. After him Sir John 
 Digby (now Lord Digby) went AmbafTador to Spain; 
 and among other things he had that particular commiflion 
 from his Majefty inverted in hin>, to profecute the (jut in 
 his own royal name : thereupon he fent a well quali- 
 fied gentleman, Mr. Walfingham Grejh, to Sardinia, 
 L who
 
 I2i Familiar LETTERS. ' PART I. 
 
 who unfortunately meeting with fome men of war in the 
 pa/Tage, was carried prifoner to Algier. My Lord Digby 
 being remanded home, left the bufinefs in Mr. Cottington's 
 hands, the Agent, but refumed it at his return ; yet it 
 proved fuch a tedious intricate fuit, that he returned again 
 without finishing the work, in regard of the remotenefs 
 of the ifland of Sardinia, whence the witnefles and other 
 -difpatches were to be fetch t. The Lord Digby is go- 
 ing now Ambaflador extraordinary to the court of Spain, 
 upon the bufinefs of the match, the reftitution of the Pa- 
 latinate, and other high affairs of (late ; therefore, he is 
 defirous- *o tranfmit the King's commiflkm touching this 
 particular bufinefs to any gentleman that is capable to fol- 
 low it, and promifeth to a/lift him with the utmoft of his 
 power ; and in faith he hath good reafon to do fo, in re- 
 gard he hath now a good round mare himfelf in it. A- 
 bout this bufirtefs I am now preparing to go to Spain, 
 in company of the AmbafTador ; and I (hall kifs the King's 
 hands as his Agent touching this particular commiflion. 
 I humbly intreat that your blefling and prayers may ac- 
 company me in this my new employment, which I have 
 undertaken upon very good terms, touching expcnces 
 and reward : fo, with my dear love to my brothers and 
 iifters, with other kindred and friends in die country, 
 J am 
 
 Tour dutiful fon t 
 Louden, Sepl. 8. 1622. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXI. 
 
 To Sir THOMA s SAVAGE, Knight and Baronet, at 
 kis Houfe in Long-Melford. 
 
 Honourable Sir, 
 
 I Received your commands in a letter which you fent 
 me by Sir John North, and I fhall not fail to anfwer 
 you ia thofc particulars. It hath pleaicd God to difpofe 
 
 of 

 
 Ftimiliar LETTERS. 121 
 
 of me once more for Spain, upon a bufmcfs which T hope 
 will make me good returns : there have two ambafTadors 
 and a foyal Agent followed it hitherto, and I am the 
 fourth that is employed in it. I defer to trouble you 
 with the particokrs of it, in regard I hope to have the 
 happinefs to kifs your hand at Ttnvf) -bill before my de- 
 parture, which will not be till my Lord Dioby lets for- 
 ward. He goes in a gallant fplendid equipage, and one 
 of the King's (hips is to take him in at Plyuotttk, and 
 tranfport him to the Coriinna, or St. jfitdfrers. 
 
 Since that fad difafter which befel Archbifhop /Met, 
 to kill the man by the glancing of an arrow as he was 
 (hooting at a deer, (which kind of death befel one of 
 , our kings once in Ne-iu-Fore/F) there hath been a com- 
 miflion awarded to debate whether upon this fact, where- 
 by he hath flied human blood, he be not to be deprived 
 of his Archbifhoprick, and pronounced irregular : lome 
 were againft him ; but Bifhop Andrews, and Sir Henry 
 Martin flood itifly for him, that in regard it was no fpon- 
 taneous acl, but a mere contingency, and that there is- 
 no degree of men but is fubjeft to misfortunes, and ca- 
 fualties, they declared pofitively that he was not to fall 
 from his dignity or function, but fhould dill remain re- 
 gular, and injtatu quo prius. During this debate, he pe- 
 titioned the King that he might be permitted to retire to 
 his alms-houfe at Guilford where he was born, to pafs 
 the remainder of his life ; but lie is now come to be- 
 again reclus in curia, abfolutely quitted, and reftored to 
 all things : but for the wife of him who was killed, it 
 was no misfortane to her, for he hath endued herfelf,_ 
 and her children with fuch an eftate, that they fay her 
 huiband could never have got. So I humbly kifs your 
 hands, and reft 
 
 Tour moft obliged fervant t 
 Nov. 9. 1622. J. H* 
 
 L 2 LET-
 
 124 Familiar LETTERS. FART I. 
 
 LETTER LXII. 
 To Capt. NJICH. LEAT at his Houfe in London. 
 
 six, 
 
 I Am fafely come to the court of Spain ; and although 
 by reafon of that misfortune which btfel Mr. Altham 
 and me, of wounding the ferjeants in Lombard-JJreet, 
 we ftaid three weeks behind my Lord Ambaflador, yet 
 we came hither time enough to attend him to court at 
 his firft audience. 
 
 The EngiijJ? nation is better looked on now in Spain 
 than ordinary, becaufe of the hopes there are of a match, 
 which the merchants and commonalty much defire, though 
 the nobility and gentry be not fo forward for it : fo that 
 in this point the pulfe of Spain beats quite contrary to 
 that of England, where the people are averfe to this 
 match, and the nobility with molt part of the gentry in- 
 clinable. 
 
 . I have perufcd all the papers I could get into my 
 hands, touching the bufinefs of the fhip Vineyard, and I 
 rind that they are higher than I in bulk, though clofely 
 preft together : I have caft up what is awarded by all 
 the fentences of view and review, by the council of (late 
 and war; and I find the whole fum, as well principal, as 
 interefl upon intereft, all forts of damages, and proceflal 
 charges, come to about 250,000 crowns. The Conde 
 dtlReal, quondam Viceory of Sardinia, who is adjudged 
 to pay moft part of this money, is here; and he is Ma- 
 jordomo, Lord Steward to the Infant Cardinal : if he 
 hath wherewith, I doubt not but to recover the money ; 
 for, I hope to have come in a favourable conjuncture of 
 time, and my Lord Ambaflador who is fo highly eftcem- 
 ed here, doth aflure me of his beft furtherance. So pray- 
 ing I may prove as fuccefsful, as I (lull be faithful in 
 this great bufinefs, I reft 
 
 Tours to difpofe of, 
 
 Madrid, Dsc 28. 1622. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 L E T T E R S. 125 
 
 LETTER LXIII. 
 To Mr. ARTHUR Ho PTON, from Madrid. 
 
 S I R, 
 
 SI N C E I was made happy with your acquaintance, 
 I have received fundry ftrong evidences of your love 
 and good wifhes unto me, which have tied me to you in 
 no common obligation of thanks : I am in defpair ever 
 to cancel this bond, nor would I do it, but rather en- 
 dear the engagements more and more. 
 
 The treaty of the match betwixt our Prince and the 
 Lady Infanta is DOW ftrongly afoot : me is a very comely 
 Lady, rather of a Flemijh complexion than Spatiiflj, 
 fair haired, and carriedi a moft puie mixture of red and 
 white in her face ; fhe is full and big liped ; which is 
 held a beauty rather than a bleoiim, or any excefs, in 
 the Auftrian family, it being a thing incident to moft of 
 that race ; me goes now upon fixteen, and is of a tallncfs 
 agreeable to thofe years. The King is alfo of fuch a 
 complexion, and is under twenty ; he hath two brothers, 
 Don Carlos, and Don Hernando, who, though a youth " 
 of twelve, yet is the Cardinal and ^rchbiihop of Toledo ; 
 which, in regard it hath the chancellorship of Cajlilt an- 
 nexed to it, is the greateft fpiritual dignity in chriften- 
 dom after the papacy, for it is valued at 300,000 crowns 
 per annum* Don Carlos is of a different complexion 
 from all the reft, for he is black haired, and of a Span/ft 
 hue; he hath neither office, command, dignity, or title,. 
 but is an individual companion to the King ; and what 
 cloaths foever are provided for the King, he hath the 
 very fame, and as often, from top to toe : he is the 
 better beloved of the people for his complexion ; for 
 one mall hear the Spaniards flgh and lament, faying, 
 O when fnall we have a King again of our own colour ! 
 I pray recommend me kindly to all at your houfc, 
 and fend me word when the young gentleman returns. 
 L 3 , from.
 
 126 Familiar LETTERS. PA RT I. 
 
 from Italy. So with my moft affectionate refpefts to 
 yourfelf, I reft. 
 
 Tour true friend to ferve you, 
 Madrid, Jan. 5. 1622. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXIV. 
 
 To the Lord Vifcount Colchefter, from Madrid. 
 
 Right Honourable, 
 
 TH E grand bufinefs of the match goes fo fairly on, 
 that a fpecial junta is appointed to treat of it, the 
 names whereof I fend you here inclofed : they have pro- 
 ceeded fo far, that moft of the articles are agreed upon. 
 >lr. George Gageis lately come hither from Rome, a polite 
 :md prudent gentleman, who hath negotiated fome things 
 in that court for the advancement of the bufmefs, with the 
 cardinals Bandino, Lttdovijio, and la Snfanna, who are 
 the main men there, to whom the drawing of the difpen- 
 fation, is referred. 
 
 The late taking of Grmui by the Perfean from the 
 crown of Portugal keeps a great noife here, and the ra- 
 ther becaufe the exploit was done by the afliftance of 
 the Englijb (hips that were then thereabout. My Lord 
 Digby went to court, and gave a round fatisfaclion in 
 this point ; for it was no voluntary, but a conftrained 
 adt in the Englifo, who being in the Per/ian's port, were 
 fuddenly embargoed for the fervice ; and the Perjian 
 herein did no more than what is ufual among chrijlian 
 princes themfelves, and which is oftner put in practice 
 by the King of Spain and his Viceroys, than by any other, 
 viz. to make an embargo of any ftranger mips that rides 
 within his port upon all occafions. It was feared this fur- 
 prifal ofOrwits, which was the greateft mart in all the 
 Orient for all forts of jewels, would have bred ill blood, 
 and prejudiced the proceedings of the match ; but the 
 
 Spaniard
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 127 
 
 Spaniards a rational man, and will be fatisfied with rea- 
 fon. Count Olivarss is the main man who fways all, 
 and it is thought he is not fo much affected to an alliance 
 with England as his predeceflbr the Duke of Lerma was> 
 who fet it firft afoot betwixt Prince Henry and this Queen 
 of France : the Duke of Lerma was the greateft priva- 
 do, the greateft favourite that ever was in Spain, fmce 
 Don Aharo de Luna ; he brought himfelf, the Duke of 
 Uzeda his fon, and the Duke of Cea his grandchild, to 
 be all grandees of Spain ; which is the greateft tide that 
 a Stanlfi) fubject is capable of : they have a privilege to 
 {land covered before the King, and at their election there 
 is no other ceremony but only thefe three words by the 
 King, cobbrefe per grande, cover younfelf for a grandee ; 
 and that is all. The Cardinal Duke of Lerma lives at- 
 Volladolidy he officiates and fings mafs, .and pafTes his 
 old age in devotion and exercifes of piety. It is a com- 
 mon, and indeed a commendable cuftom of the Spa- 
 niard, when he hath pafled his grand climafteric, and 
 is grown decripit, to make a voluntary refignation of of- 
 fices, be they never fo great and profitable (though I can- 
 not fay Lerma did fo) and fequeftring and weaning tliem- 
 felves, as it were, from all mundane negotiations and in- 
 cumbrances, to return to fome place of devotion, and 
 fpend the refidue of their days in meditation, and in pre- 
 paring thcmfelves for another world. Charles the Em- 
 peror mewed them the way, who left the empire to 
 his brother, and all the reft of his dominions to his fon 
 Philip II. and fo taking with him his two filters, he re- 
 tired into a monaftery, they into a nunnery. This does 
 not fuit with the genius of an E?igliJ}jtnan i who loves 
 not to pull off his cloaths till he goes to bed. I will con- 
 clnde with fome verfes I faw under a huge rodomontado 
 picture of the Duke of Lerma, wherein he is painted like 
 a giant, bearing up the monarchy of Spain, that of France, 
 and the popedom upon his moulders, with this ftanza : 
 
 Sobre
 
 I2 3 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 Svbre les ombres d'efrc Atlantc 
 Tazen en aqueftos dias 
 EJlas tres monarquias. 
 
 Upon the fhoulders of this Atlas lies 
 
 The popedom, and two mighty monarchies. 
 
 So I mod humbly kifs your LorcUhip's hands, and reft 
 ever mod ready 
 
 At your Lordjlrips command, 
 Madrid, Feb. ^' 162 2. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXV. 
 
 71? my FATHER. 
 
 AL L affairs went on fairly here, efpecially that of 
 the match, when Mr. Endymion Pwter brought 
 lately my Lord of Briftcl a difpatch from England of a 
 high nature, wherein the Earl is commanded to reprcfent 
 to this King, how much his Majcdy of Great Britain 
 fince the beginning of thefe German wars hath laboured 
 to merit well of this crown, and of the whole houie of 
 Aiiftria t by a long and lingering patience, grounded ftiil 
 upon affurances hence, that care mould be had of his 
 honour, his daughter's jointure, and grandchildren's pa- 
 trimony ; yet how grofly all things had proceeded in 
 the treaty at Bniffels, manage'd by Sir Richard Weft on * 
 as alfo that in the Palatinate by the Lord Chichcjler i 
 how in treating-time the town and caflle of Heidelberg 
 were taken, Mankaim beficged, and all ads of hoftility 
 ufed, notwithdanding the fair profeffions made by this 
 King, the Infanta at Bruffels, and other his minrfters ; 
 how merely out of refpcct to this King he had neglected 
 all martial means, which probably might have preferred 
 
 had font 
 thither,
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 129 
 
 thither, being rather for honour's fake to keep a footing 
 until a general accommodation, than that he relied any 
 way upon their ftrengJth : and fince that there are no 
 other fruits of all this but reproach and fcorn, and that 
 thofe good offices which he uicd towards the Emperor oa 
 the behalf of his fon-in-law, which he was fo much en- 
 couraged by letters from hence mould take effecT:, have 
 not forted to any other iffiie than to a plain affront, and 
 a high injuring of both their majesties, though in a ditfer- 
 ing degree. The Earl is to tell him, that his Majefty of 
 Great Britain hopes and defircs, that out of a true ap- 
 prehenfion of thefe wrongs offered unto them both, he 
 'will, as his dear and loving brother, faithfully promife 
 and undertake upon his honour, confirming the fame un- 
 der his hand and feal, either that Heidelberg fhall be 
 within feventy days rendered into his hands; as alfo, 
 that there mall be within the faid term of feventy days a 
 fufpcnfion of arms in the Palatinate; and, that a treaty 
 mail recommence upon fuch terms as he propounded in 
 November laft ; which this King held then to be reafon- 
 able : and, in cafe that this be not yielded to by the Em- 
 peror, that then this King join forces with his Majefty of 
 England for the recovery of the Palatinate, which upon 
 this truft hath been loft ; or in cafe his forces at this time 
 be otherwife employed, that they cannot give his Maje- 
 fty that afliftance he defires and defervcs, that at lead he 
 will permit a free and friendly paflage through his terri- 
 tories, iuch forces as his Majefty of Great Britain (hall 
 employ into Germany : of all which, if the Earl of Jiri~ 
 fiol hath not from the King of Spain a direct afiurancc 
 under his hand and feal ten days after bis audience, that 
 then he take his leave and return to England to his Ma- 
 jefty's prefence, alfo to proceed in the negotiation of the 
 match according to former inftrudtions. 
 
 This was the main fubftance of his Majcfty's late let- 
 ter; yet, there was a poftil added, that in cafe a rupture 
 happen betwixt the two crowns, the Earl fhould not 
 come inftantly and abruptly away, but that he ftiould fend 
 
 advice
 
 130 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 r.dvice fir/I to England, and carry the bufinefs fo, that 
 the world mould not prefently know of it. 
 
 Notwithstanding all thcfe traverfcs, we arc confident 
 here that the match will take, othenvife my cake is 
 doiu'h. There was a great difference in one of the capi- 
 tulations betwixt the two kings, how Jong the children 
 which fliould iflue of this marriage were to continue fub 
 rev'nirine ft/atris, under the tutelage of the mother. This 
 King demanded fourteen years at fiiit, then twelve, but 
 now he is come to nine, which is newly condcfcendcd un- 
 to. 1 received yours of the firU of Septevtber, in another 
 from Sir James Crofts, wherein it was no fmall comfort 
 to me to hear of your health. I am to go hence mortly 
 for Sardinia, a dangerous voyage, by rcafon of Aljfier 
 pirates. I humbly defire your prayers may accompany 
 Tour dutiful fsn, 
 
 Madrid, Feb. 23. 1622. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXVI. 
 To Sir JAMES CROFTS, Knigl:t, 
 
 SIR, 
 
 YOURS of the fecond of October came ife to band 
 with the inclofcd : you write that there came dif- 
 patches lately from Rome, wherein the Pope ieenis to en- 
 deavour to insinuate himfelf into a diredt treaty with 
 England, and to negotiate immediately with our King 
 touching the difpenfation, which he not only labours to 
 evade, but utterly difclaims, it being by article the tafk 
 of this King to procure all difpatches thence. I thank 
 you for fending me this news. You (hall underibnd 
 there came lately an exprefs from Rome alfo to this 
 court, touching the bufmefs of the match, which gave 
 very good content ; but, the difpatch and new infti uc"H- 
 ons which Mr. Enaymion Porter brought my Lord of 
 Brijl'jl lately from England touching the Prince Palati- 
 
 nate,.
 
 Ftimi/iar LETTERS. 131 
 
 nafe, fills us with apprehenfions of fear. Our smbafla- 
 dors here have had an audience of diis King already a- 
 bout thole proportions ; and we hope, that Mr. Porter 
 will carry back fuch things as will fatisfy, touching -the 
 two points in the treaty wherein the two kings differed 
 moft, vi~.- about the education of the children, and the 
 exemption of die Infantas ecclefiaftic lervants from fe- 
 cular juri {diction. Both thefe points are cleared, for the 
 Spaniard is come from fourteen years to ten, and for fo- 
 long time the Infant princes mall remain under the mo- 
 thers government: and for the odier point, the ecclefia- 
 ftical fuperior fliall firlt take notice of the offence that fhall 
 be committed by any fpiritual perfon belonging to the /;;- 
 fcT>ita\ family; and according to the merit thereof, cither 
 deliver him by degradation to the fecular jafrice, or ba- 
 niih him the kingdom, according to the quality of the de- 
 lift; and it is the fame that is praclifed in this kingdom, 
 and other part? that adhere to Rome. 
 
 The Conde ds Mmterry goes Viceroy to Naples, the 
 Marquis de Montcfclaros being put by, the gallanter man 
 of the two. I was told of a witty faying of his, when 
 the Duke of Lenna had the vogue in this court t for, go- 
 ing one morning to fpcak with the Duke, and having 
 danced attendance a long time, he peeped through a flit 
 in the hanging, and fpied Don Rodrigo Calderon, a great 
 man, (who was lately beheaded here for poifoning the 
 late Queen Dowager) delivering the Duke a paper upon 
 his knees, whereat the Marquis fmiled, and laid, I'oio 
 tal, aquel kovibre fube ii;tis a las rodillas y quc yono ka<*Q 
 a /os pies ; I fivear, that man climbs higher upon his 
 knees, than 1 can upon my feet. Indeed, I have read 
 it to be a true court rule, that defcendendo afcendcndum 
 ejl in anhi, defcending is the way to afcend at court. 
 There is a kind of humility and compliance that is far 
 from any fervile bafencfs, or fordid flattery, and may be 
 termed difcretion rather than adulation. I intend, God 
 willing, to go for Sardinia this fpring. I hope to have 
 better luck than Mr. IViiljlngham Grejley had, who fome 
 few years Tince in his pafFage thither upon the dime bufi- 
 
 ncfs
 
 132 Tamlliar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 nefs that I have in agitation, met with fome Turky men 
 of war, and fo was carried flave to Algler : fo, with my 
 true refpeds to you, I reft 
 
 Tour faithful fervant, 
 Madrid, Marc!} 12. 1622. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXVII. 
 
 To the Honourable Sir THOMAS SAVAGE, Knight 
 and Barciut. 
 
 Honourable Sir, 
 
 TH E great bufinefs of the match was tending to a 
 period, the articles reflecting both upon church and 
 (late, being capitulated, and interchangeably accorded on 
 both fides ; and there wanted nothing to confummatc all 
 things, when to the wonderment of the world the Prince 
 and the Marquis of Buckingham arrived at this court on 
 Friday lafi:, upon the clofe of the evening: they lighted 
 at my Lord of BriJtcTs houfe, and the Marquis (Mr. 
 Thomas Smith} came in firft with a portmantle under 
 his arm, then (Mr. Jtkn Smith") the Prince was fent for, 
 who /bid awhile at the other fide of the ftreet in the dark, 
 my Lord of Brijlol in a kind of aftonifhment brought him 
 np to his bed-chamber, where he prcfently called for pen 
 and ink, and difpatched a poft that night to England, to 
 acquaint his Majefty how in lefs than fixteen days he was 
 come fa/ely to the court of Spain ; that port went light- 
 ly laden, for he carried but three letters. The next 
 day came Sir Francis Cottington and Mr. Porter, and 
 dark rumours ran in every corner, how fome great man 
 was come from England ; and fome would not (lie!; to 
 fry amongft the vulgar, it was the King, but towards the 
 evening on Saturday, the Marquis went in a clofe coach 
 to court, where he had private audience of this King, 
 who fent Olivares to accompany him back to the Prince, 
 where he kneeled, and Rifled his hands, and hugged his 
 
 thighs,
 
 Fajniliar LETTERS. 133 
 
 thighs, and delivered how unrneafurably glad his Catho- 
 lick Majefiy was of his coming, with other high compli- 
 ments, which Mr. Porter did interpret. About ten 
 o' clock that night, the King himfelf came in a clofe 
 coach with intent to vifit the Prince ; who hearing of it, 
 met him half way, and after falutations and divers em- 
 braces which pafl"ed in the firft interview, they parted 
 late. I forgot to tell you, that Count Gondamar being 
 fworn counfellor of (rate that morning, having been be- 
 fore but one of the council of war, he came in great 
 hafte to vifit the Prince, faying, he had ftrange news to 
 tell him, which was, that an Englifbman was Avcrn 
 Privy -counfellor of Spain; meaning himfelf, who he faid 
 was an EngUJhtnan in his heart. On Sunday following, 
 the King in the afternoon came abroad to take the air 
 with the Queen, his two brothers and the Infanta, who 
 were all in one coach ; but the Infanta fat in the boot 
 with a blue ribband about her arm, of purpofe that the 
 Prince might diflinguim her: there were above twenty 
 coaches befides, of grandees, noblemen, and ladies that 
 attended them. And now, it was publickly known a- 
 mongft the vulgar, that it was the Prince of Wales who 
 was come; and the confluence of people before my Lord 
 of Bri/to/'s houfe was fo great and greedy to fee thp 
 Prince, that to clear the way, Sir Ixwis Drees went out 
 and took coach, and all the crowd of people went after 
 him ; fo, the Prince himfelf took a coach, wherein were 
 the Earl of Briftol, Sir Walter 4/lrton, and Count 6'ca- 
 damar, and fo went to the Prado, a place hard by, of 
 purpofe to take the air, where they ftaid till the King 
 pafled by. As foon as the Infanta f;tw the Prince her 
 colour rofe very high ; which, we hold to be an impref- 
 fion of love and affection, for the face is often-times a 
 true index of the heart. Upon Monday morning after, 
 the King fent fome of his prime nobles, and odier gentle- 
 men, to attend the Prince in quality of officers ; as one 
 to be his mayordom, (his Reward) another to be ma- 
 fter of the horfe, and fo to inferior officers, fo that there 
 is a compleat court now at my Lord of Brijiol^ houfe ; 
 M but
 
 134 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 but upon Sunday next the Prince is to remove to the 
 King's palace, where there is one of the chief quarters 
 of the houfe providing for him. By the next opportuni- 
 ty you (hall 'hear more : in the interim, I take my leave 
 .and reft 
 
 Tour mojl humble and ready fervitor, 
 March 26. 1623. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXVIH. 
 
 "To Sir FRANCIS COTTINGTON, Secretary to trfa 
 Highnefi the Prince of Wales, at St. James's. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Believe it will not be unpleafing unto you to hear of 
 the procedure and iuccefs of that bufinefs wherein 
 you have been fo long verfant ; I mean, the great furt 
 againft the quondam Viceroy of Sardinia, the Conde del 
 Real. Count Gondamar** coming was a great advan- 
 tage unto me ; who hath done me many favours : be- 
 'fides a confirmation of the two fentences of view and re- 
 view, and of the execution againft the Viceroy, I have 
 procured a royal cedule, which I caufed to be printed, 
 and whereof I fend you here inclofed a copy; by which 
 csdule, 1 have power to arreft his very perfon ; and my 
 lawyers tell me, there never was fuch a csdule granted 
 before. I have alib by virtue of it priority of all other 
 -his creditors. He hath made an imperfect overture of 
 a competition, and mewed me fome trivial old fafhioned 
 jewels, but nothing equivalent to the debt; and, now 
 that I fpeak of jewels, the late furprifal otOnnus by the 
 affiftance of our mips fink deep in their ftomachs here, 
 and we were afraid it would have fpoiled all proceedings, 
 but my Lord Digby, now Earl of Brijlol (for Count Gon- 
 damar brought him over his patent) hath calmed all 
 things at- his laft audience, 
 
 There
 
 Familiar LETTERS* $3$ 
 
 There *were luminaries of joy lately here for the vi- 
 ctory that Don Gonzalez de Cordova got over Coant 
 Mansfelt in the Netherlands, with that army which the 
 Duke of Bovillon had levied for him ; but fome fay,, 
 they have not much reafon to rejoice, for though the 
 infantry fuffered, yet Mansfelt got clear with all his 
 horfe by a notable retreat ; and they fay here, it was the 
 greateft piece of fervice and art that ever he did, it beirig^ 
 a maxim, that there is nothing fo difficult in the art of" 
 war as an honourable retreat. Befidcs, the report of his 
 coming to Breda raufed Marquis Spinola to raife the. 
 Cege before Bcrgken, to burn his tents, and to pack a- 
 way fuddenly, for which he is much cenfured here. 
 
 Captain Leaf and others have written to me of the. 
 favourable report you pleafed to make of my endeavours. 
 here : for which, I return you humble thanks ; arid 
 though you have left behind you a multitude of fervants. 
 in this court, yet if occafion were offered, none fhouldl 
 be more forward to go on your errand than 
 
 Tour humble and faithful fervitor y 
 
 Madrid, March 15. 1623. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXIX. 
 
 To Sir EUBULE THELOALL, Knight; at Grays-Inn. 
 SIR, 
 
 I Know the eyes of all England are earreftly fixed now 
 upon Spain, her beft jewel being here ; but his jour- 
 ney was like to be fpoiled in France, for if he had ftaid 
 but a little longer, at Bayonne, the laft town of that 
 kingdom hitherwards, he had been difcovered ; for Mon- 
 fieur Gramondihe Governor had notice of him not long 
 after he had taken port. The people here do mighfily 
 magnify the gallantry of the journey, and cry out, thac 
 he deferved to have the Infanta thrown into his arms 
 the foil night he came. He hath been entertained with 
 Ma all
 
 lg<5 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 all the magnificence that poffibly could be devifed. On 
 Sunday laft in the morning betimes he went to St. Hh- 
 romis monastery, whence the kings of Spain ufe to be 
 fetched the day they are crowned ; and thither the King 
 came in perfon with his two brothers, his eight councils, 
 and the flower of the nobility : he rode upon the King's 
 right-hand through the heart of the town, under a great 
 canopy, and was brought fo into his lodgings to the 
 King's palace ; and the King himfelf accompanied him 
 to his very bed-chamber. It was a very glorious fight 
 to behold ; for the cuftom of the Spaniard is, though he 
 go plain in his ordinary habit, yet upon ibme feftival or 
 caufe of triumph, there is none goes beyond him in gau- 
 dinefs. 
 
 We daily hope for the Pope's breve, or difpenfation, 
 to perfect the bufinefs, though there be dark whifpers a- 
 broad that it is come already, but that upon this unex- 
 pe&ed coming of the Prince, it was fent back to Rome, 
 and fome new claufes thrufi in for their further advan- 
 tage. Until this difpatch conies, matters are at a kind of 
 attand, yet, "his Highnefs makes account to be back in 
 England about the latter end of May. God almighty 
 turn all to the beft, and to what mall be moft conducible 
 to his glory : fo, with my due refpecls unto you, I reft 
 Tour much obliged feruitor, 
 
 April I. 1623. J. H. 
 
 JL E T T E R LXX. 
 
 To Captain L E A T. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 HA V ING brought up the law to the higheft point 
 againft the Viceroy of Sardinia, and that in an 
 extraordinary manner, as may appear unto you by that 
 printed cedule I fent you in mylaft; and finding an ap- 
 parent difability in him to fatisfy the debt, I thought 
 
 upon
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 137 
 
 upon a new defign, and framed a memorial to the King, 
 and wrought good ftrong means to have it feconded, 
 that, in regard that predatory a<5t of feizing upon die 
 fhip Vineyard in Sardinia with all her goods, was done 
 by his Majefty's Viceroy, his fovereign Minifier of State j 
 one that immediately reprefented his own royal perfon, 
 and that the faid Viceroy was infolveot, I defired his 
 Majefty would be pleafed to grant a warrant for the re- 
 lief of both parties to lade fo many thoufand Jie rils, or 
 meafures of corn, out of Sardinia and Sicily cuftom 
 free. I had gone far in the bufinefs when Sir Francis 
 Cottington fent for me, and required me in the Prince's 
 name to proceed no further herein till he was departed t 
 * fo, his Highnefs's prefence here hath turned rather to 
 my difadvantage than otherwife. Amongft other gran" 
 dezas which the King ofSfain conferred upon our Prince,, 
 one was the releafement of prifoners, and that all petiti- 
 ons of grace mould come to htm for the firft month ; but 
 he hath been wonderful fparing in receiving any, efpeci- 
 ally from any EngliJJy, Irijb, or Scot. Your fbn Nictfc 
 las is come hither from Allcant, about the fhip Amity , 
 and I mall be ready to fecond him in getting fatisfaclion : 
 folrcd 
 
 Tours ready to ferve you, 
 Madrid, June 3. 1623. J. H".. 
 
 LETTER LXXI. 
 To Captain THOMAS PORTER. 
 
 Noble Captain t . 
 
 MY laft unto yea was in Spanlft, in anfwer to one 
 of yours in the fame language ; and amongfl that 
 confluence of Knglijh gallants, which upon the occafion 
 of his Highnefs being here, arc come to this court, I 
 fed myfelf with hopes a long while to have feen you ; 
 but, I find now that thofe. hopes were imped with falfe 
 M 3 feathers..
 
 jjj Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 feathers. I know your heart is here, and your beft af- 
 fedlions, therefore I wonder what keeps back your per- 
 fon ; but I conceive the rcafon to be, that you intend to 
 come like yourfelf, to come commander in chief of one 
 of the caftles of the crown, one of the (hips royal. Jf 
 you come to this more fide, I hope you will have time 
 to come to the court : I have at any time a good lodg- 
 ing for you, and my landlady is none of the meaneft, and 
 her hufband hath many good parts. I heard her fetting 
 him forth one day, and giving this character of him, Mi 
 Htarido ei buen j/iujico, buen efgriKiido, buen fjcriwtno t 
 excellente arithmitico, falvo qiie no multiplied ; my huf- 
 band is a good mufician, a good fencer, a good horfe- 
 man, a good penman, and an excellent arithmetician, 
 only he cannot multiply. For outward ufage, there is 
 all induftry ufed to give the Prince and his fervants all 
 poffible contentment; and fome of the King's own (er- 
 vants wait upon them at table in the palace, where, I 
 am forry to hear fome of them jeer at the Spanijh fare, 
 and ufe other flighting fpecches and demeanour. There 
 are many excellent poems made here fince the Prince's 
 arrival, which are too long to couch in a letter, yet I 
 will venture to fend you this vnejianza of Lope de Vegas. 
 
 Carlos Efttiardo foy 
 
 Quejiendo Amor mi guia, 
 -Al cielo d^Efpana voy 
 
 Par \.er mi efirella Maria. 
 
 There are comedians once a week come to the palace, 
 where under a great canopy, the Queen and the Infanta 
 fit in the middle, our Prince and Don Carlos on the 
 Queen's right hand, the King and the little Cardinal on 
 the Infanta's left hand. I have feen the Prince have 
 his eyes immoveably fixed upon the Infanta half an hour 
 together in a thoughtful fpeculative pofture, which fure 
 would needs be tedious, unlefs affedhon did fweeten it : 
 it was 4 no handfome comparifon of Olhares, that he 
 watched her as a cat doth a moufe. Not long fmce, the 
 Prince underftanding that the Infanta was ufed to go 
 
 fbiuc
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 139 
 
 fome mornings to the cafa de campo, a fummer-houfe 
 the King hath the other fide the river, to gather May 
 dew, he did rife betimes and went thither, taking your 
 brother with him, they were let into the houfe, and in- 
 to the garden, but the Infanta was in the orchard ; and 
 there being a high partition-wall between, and the door 
 doubly bolted, the Prince got on the top of the wall, 
 and fprung down a great height, and fo made towards 
 her, but me fpying him firft of all the reft, gave a ftmek 
 and ran back : the old Marquis that was then her guar- 
 dian, came towards the Prince, and fell on his knees, 
 conjuring his Highnefs to retire, in regard he hazarded 
 his head if he admitted any to 'her company; fb the door 
 was opened, and he came out under that wall over 
 which he had got in. I have feen him watch a long 
 hour together in a clofe coach in the open ftreet to fee 
 her as me went abroad. I cannot fay that the Prince 
 did ever talk with her privately, yet publickly often, my 
 Lord of Brijlol being interpreter, but the King always 
 fat hard by to over-hear all. Our coufin Arfhy hath 
 more privilege than any, for he often goes with his 
 fool's coat, where the Infanta is with her meninas and 
 ladies of honour, and keeps a blowing and bluftering a- 
 roongft them, and flurts out what he lifts. 
 
 One day they were difcourfing what a marvellous 
 thing it was, that the Duke of Bavaria with lefs than 
 15000 men, after a toilfome march, mould dare to en- 
 counter the" Palfgravis army, confiding of above 25000, 
 and to give them utter difcomfiture, and take Prague 
 prefently: whereunto Archy anfwered, that he would 
 tell them a ftranger thing than that. Was it not a 
 ftrange thing, quoth he, that in the year 1588, there 
 mould come a fleet of 140 fails from Spain to in- 
 vade England, and that ten of thefe 'could not go 
 back to tell what became of the reft ? By the next op- 
 portunity I will fend you the Cordouan pockets and 
 gloves you wrote for of Francifco Marcnfs perfuming. 
 So my dear Captain live long, and love bis 
 
 Madrid, July 10. 1623. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 140 
 
 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 LETTER LXXII. 
 To my Coufin THO. GUIN, Eft; at his Houfe Trecaftle. 
 
 COUSIN, 
 
 I Received lately one of yours, which I cannot com- 
 pare more properly than to a pofie of curious flow- 
 ers, there was therein fuch a variety of fweet (trains 
 and dainty expreffions of love ; and though it bore an 
 old date, for it was forty days before it came fafe to 
 hand, yet the flowers were (till frefh, and not a whit 
 faded, but did caft as ftrong and as fragrant a fcent as 
 when your hands bound them up firft together, only 
 there was one flower that did not favour fo well, which 
 was the undeferved character you pleafe to give of my 
 fmall abilities; which in regard you look upon me 
 through the profpe&ive of affection, appear greater unto 
 you than they are of themfelves; yet as'fmall as they 
 are, I would be glad to ferve you upon any occafion. 
 
 Whereas you defire to know how matters pafs here, 
 you fhall underftand, that we are rather in aflurance than 
 hopes that the match will take effeft, when one difpatch 
 more is brought from Rome, which we greedily expect. 
 The Spaniards generally defire it j they are much taken 
 with our Prince, with the bravery of his journey, and his 
 difcrcet comportment fince ; and, they confefs there was 
 never Princefs courted with more gallantry. The wits 
 of' the court here have rmde divers encomiums of him, 
 and of his affection to the Lady Infanta. Amongft o- 
 thers, I fend you a Latin poem of ^ one Marnioritis a 
 Valencia'n, to which, I add this enfuing hexajlic ; which 
 in regard of the difficulty of the verfe, confiding of all 
 ternaries, (which is the hardeft way of verfifying) and of 
 the exactnefs of the tranflation, I believe will give you 
 content : 
 
 Fax grata eft, gratum ejl vulmts, mihi grata catena efii 
 I\Ie quibut aftringit, Ltdit & urit aw or s 
 
 Sed
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 141 
 
 Sed ftammam extitigui, fanavi vulnera, folvi 
 
 Vinci a, etiam ut po/em non ego pojje velint : 
 
 M.irum equidem genus hoc morbi eft, ir.cendia & iff its 
 
 Vinclaque, vinttus adbuc, lafus 6 1 ?{/?- r , a mo. 
 
 Grateful's to me the fire, the wound, the chain, 
 By which love burns, low binds and giveth pain ; - 
 But for to quench this fire, thefe bonds to loof'e, 
 Thefe wounds to heal, I would not could I chufe : 
 Strange ficknefs, where the wounds, the bonds, the fire 
 That burns, that bind, that hurt, I muft defire. 
 
 In your next, I pray fend me your opinion of thefe 
 verfes, for I know you are a critic in poetry. Mr. 
 * Vaugban of the Golden-grove and I were comrades and 
 bedfellows here many months together : ' his father, Sir 
 John Vaughan the Prince's Controller, is lately come to 
 attend his mailer. My Lord ofCarliJle, my Lord of 
 Holland, my Lord Rochfort, my Lord of Denbigh, and 
 divers others are here, fo that we have a very flourishing 
 court ; and I could wifh you were here to make one of 
 the number. So my dear coufin, I wiih you all happi- 
 nefs, and our noble Prince a fafe and fuccelsful return to 
 England. 
 
 Tour moft ajftftionaie coujin y 
 Madrid, Auguft 13. 1623. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXIII. 
 
 To my noble Friend Sir JOHN NORTH. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 THE long looked for difpenfation is come from 
 Rome, but 1 hear it is clogged with new claufes ; 
 and one is, that the Pope, who alledgeth that the only 
 aim of the apoftolical See in granting this difpenfation, was 
 the advantage and cafe of the catholics in the King of 
 
 Great
 
 142 Familiar LETTERS, PART I. 
 
 Great Britain's dominions, therefore he defired a value- 
 able caution for the performance of thofe articles which 
 were ftipulated in their favour : this hath much puzzled 
 the bufmefs ; and Sir Francis Cottington comes now over 
 about it : befides, there is fome diftafte taken at the 
 Duke .of Buckingham here ; and 1 heard this King fhould 
 fay he will treat no more with him, but with the amba-f- 
 fadors, who, he faith, have a more plenary commiffion, 
 and underfland the bufinefs better. As there is fbme 
 darknefs happened betwixt the two favourites, fo mat- 
 ters (tand not right betwixC the Duke and the Earl of 
 Brijlol; but, God forbid that a bufinefs of fo high a 
 confequence as this, which is likely to tend fo much to 
 the uaiverfal good of cbriftetidotn, to the rcftitution of 
 the Palatinate, and the compofing thofe broils in Ger- 
 vtany, mould be ranvcrfed by differences betwixt a few 
 private fubjecls, though now public ministers. 
 
 Mr. Wajhington the Prince's page is lately dead of a 
 calenture, and I was at his burial, under a fig-tree be- 
 hind my Lord of Brijtol^ houfe. A little before his 
 death one Ballard an Englifo Prieft went to tamper with 
 him ; and Sir Edward Varney meeting him coming down 
 the ftairs of Wafhingtotf* chamber, they fell from words 
 to blows, but they were parted. The bufinefs was Kke 
 to gather very ill blood, and come to a great height, had 
 not Count Gondamar quafht it ; which I believe he could 
 not have done, unlefs the times had been favourable, 
 for fuch is the reverence they bear to the church here, 
 and fo holy a conceit they have of all ccclefiaftics, that 
 the greateft Don in Spain will tremble to offer the 
 meaneft of them any outrage or affront. Count Gonda- 
 mar hath alfo helped to free fome Englijl) that were in 
 the Inquifition in Toledo and Sevile ; and I could alledge 
 many inftances how ready and chearful he is to a/lift any 
 Engti/hman whatfocver, notwithftanding the bafe af- 
 fronts he hath often received of the London boys as he 
 calls them. At his lad return hither, I heard of a merry 
 faying of his to the Queen, whp difcourfmg with him a- I 
 bout the greatnefs of London, and whether it was as pcx- 
 
 pulous
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 143 
 
 pulous as Madrid ; yes Madam, and more populous 
 when I came away, though I believe there is fcarce a 
 man left there now, but all women and children; for all 
 the men both in court and city v, ere ready booted and 
 fpured to go away : and I am forry to hear how other 
 nations do much tax the Etigli/h of their incivility to pu- 
 blic minifters of ftate ; and what ballads, and pafquils, 
 and fopperies and plays were made againft Gondaniar for 
 doing his matter's bufmefs. My Lord of BriJJol coming 
 from Germany to Bruffels, notwithftanding that at his 
 arrival thither, the news was frefh that he had relieved 
 Frankindale as he parted, yet was he not a whit the lefs 
 welcome, but valued the more both by the Archdutchefs 
 1 herfelf and Spinola with all the reft; as alfo, that they 
 knew well that the faid Earl had been the fole advifer of 
 keeping Sir Robert Manfel abroad with that fleet upon 
 the coaft of Spain till the Palfgrave fiiould be reftored. 
 I pray Sir when you go to Ltrtdon-wall and Tonvcrkill, 
 be pleafed to remember my humble fervice where you 
 know it is due : fo, I am 
 
 Your mcft faithful feryit or t 
 Madrid, Auvitfi 15. 1623. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXIV. 
 
 To the Rigkl Honourable the Lord Vifcount Colchefkr. 
 
 M}' very good Lord? 
 
 I Received the letter and commands your Lordmip 
 pleafed to fend me by Mr. Waljingkam Grejley; and 
 touching the conftitutions and orders of the contratation 
 houfe of the IVeft-Indies in Sevile, I cannot procure it for 
 love or money, uponany terms, though I have done all 
 poffible diligence dierein ^ and forae tell me it is danger 
 ous, and no lefs than treafon in him that gives the copy 
 of them to any, in regard it is counted thegreateftrayftery 
 all the Spanifo government. 
 
 That
 
 I 4 4 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 That difficulty which happened in the bufmefs of the 
 match of giving caution to the Pope, is now overcome : 
 for whereas our King anfwered, that he could give no 
 other caution than his royal word and his fon's, exempli- 
 fied under the great feal of England, and confirmed by 
 his council of State, it being impoflible to have it done 
 by parliament, in regard of the averfcnefs the common 
 people have to the alliance ; and whereas this gave no 
 fatisfadlion to Rowe, the King of Spain now oiTereth him- 
 felf for caution, for putting in execution what is ftipulat- 
 ed in behalf of the roman catbolicks throughout his Ma- 
 jefty of Great Britain s dominions. But he defires to 
 confult his ghoftly fathers to know, whether he may do 
 it without wronging his confcience : hereupon there hath 
 been a junta formed of bimops and jefuits, who have 
 been already a good while about it ; and the Bifhop of 
 Sfgpvia t who is as it were Lord Treafurer, having written 
 a treaty lately againft the match, was outted of his office, 
 baniihedthe court, and confined to his diocefs. The Duke 
 of Buckingham hath been indifpofcd a good while, and 
 lies fick at court, where the Prince hath no public exer- 
 cife of devotion, but only bed-chamber prayers : and 
 fome think that his lodging in the King's houfe is like to 
 prove a difadvantage to the main bufmefs : for whereas, 
 mod forts of people here hardly hold* us to be cbriftians. 
 If the Prince had a palace of his own, and been permitted 
 to have ufed a room for an open chapel to exercife the 
 liturgy of the church of England, it v/ould have brought 
 them to have a better opinion of us ; and to this end there 
 were fome of our church-plate and veftments brought 
 hither, but never ufed. The flow pace of this junta 
 troubles us a little, and to the divines there are fome^ 
 Chilians admitted lately ; and the quxre is this, whe- 
 ther the King of Spain may bind himfelf by oath in the 
 behalf of the King of England, to.perform fuch and fuch 
 articles that are agreed on in favour of the roman ca- 
 tholics by virtue of this match j whether the King may 
 do thlsfatva confcientla ? 
 
 There
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 145 
 
 There was a great mow lately here of baiting of bulls 
 with men, for the entertainment of the Prince ; it is the 
 chiefeft of all Sfanifo fports ; commcnly there aiemen 
 killed at it, therefore there are priefts appointed to be 
 there ready to confefs them. It hath happened often- 
 times, that a bull hath taken up two men upon his horns 
 with their guts dangling about them ; the horfemen run 
 with lances and fwords, the foot with goads. As I am 
 told, the Pope hath fent divers bulls againft this fport of 
 bulling, yet it will not be left, the nation hath taken 
 fuch an habitual delight in it. There was an ill-favcur- 
 ed accident like to have happened lately at the King's 
 houfe, in that part where my Lord of Carlijle and my 
 Lord Denbigh were lodged; for ray Lord Denbigh late 
 at night taking a pipe of tobacco in a balco'ny, which hung 
 over the King's garden, he blew down the aflies, which 
 falling upon fome parched combuftible matter, began- to 
 flame and fpread ; but Mr. Davis, my Lord of Ccrlijli^ 
 barber, leapt down a great height, and quenched it. So 
 with my continuance of my moft humble fervice, I reft 
 ever ready 
 
 At your LordJJjifSs command, 
 
 Madrid, Auguji 1 6. 1623, T . ' J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXV. 
 
 To Sir JAMES CROFTS, fro??: Madrid. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 TH E court of Spain affords now little news ; for 
 there is a reinora fticks to the bufaefs of the 
 match, till the junta of the divines give up theft opi- 
 nion ; but from 'Turty there came a letter this week, where- 
 in there is the ftrangeft and moft tragical news, that ,in 
 rr.y fmuill reading no ftory can parallel, or fiiew with more 
 pregnancy the inftability and tottering ettate of human 
 grcatnefs, and the fandy foundation whereon the vaft 
 N Qttoma;*.
 
 T 4 6 Familiar LETTERS. PART!. 
 
 'Ottoman empire is reared': for Sultan Ofman, the Grand 
 Turk, u man according to the humour of that nation 
 warlike and fleflied in blood, and a violent hater of chri- 
 ftians, was in the flower of his years, in the heat and 
 height of his courage knocked in the head by one of his 
 own (laves, and one of the meaneft of them, with a battle- 
 axe, and the murderer never after proceeded againft or 
 crueftioned. 
 
 The ground of this tragedy was the late ill fucccfs he 
 had againft the Pole, wherein he loft about 100,000 
 iiorfe for want of forage, and 80,000 men for want of 
 lighting *, which he imputed to the cowardice of his Ja- 
 nizaries, who rather than bear the brunt of the battle, 
 were more willing to return home to their wives and 
 ^merchandizing ; which they are' now permitted to do, 
 contrary to their firft inftitution, which makes them 
 more worldly and lefs venturous. This difgraceful return 
 from Polland, ftuck in Ofmarf* ftomach, and fo he ftudi- 
 cd a way to be revenged of the Janizaries > therefore, by 
 -the advice of his Grand Vlfier (a ftout gallant man, who 
 had been one of the chief Beglerbegs in the Eaft) he in* 
 tended to erect a new foldiery in Afia about Damafco t 
 of the Coords, a frontier people, and confequently hardy 
 and inured to arms. Of thefe he purpofed to entertain 
 40,000 as a life-guard for his perfqn, though the main 
 defign was' to fupprefs his lazy and luftful Janizaries, 
 \vith men of frefli new fpirits. 
 
 To difguife this plot, he pretended a pilgrimage to 
 l\'L\-c:i, to vifit flfaAomffs tomb, and reconcile himfelf 
 to the Prophet, who he thought, was angry with him, 
 becaufe of his late ill fuccefs in Poland: but this 
 colour was not fpecious enough, -in regard he might havie 
 performed this pilgrimage- with a fmaller train and charge ; 
 therefore it was propounded that the empire of Sidon 
 mould be made to rife up in arms, that fo he might go 
 with a great power and treafure ; but this plot was held 
 .disadvantageous to him, in regard his Janizaries muft 
 then have attended him : fo he pretends and prepares 
 'Only for the pilgrimage, yet he makes ready as much 
 
 treafure
 
 Fatuifiar LETTERS. 147 
 
 treafure as he could make, and to that end he melts hi? 
 plate, and furniture of horfes, with divers church-lamps r 
 this fomented fome jealoufy in the Janizaries, with cer- 
 tain words which mould drop from him, that he would 
 find foldiers fhortly mould whip them. Hereupon ho 
 had fent over to Afid 1 * fide his pavilions, many of his 
 iervants, with his jewels and treafure, refolving upon the 
 voyage, notwithstanding that divers petitions were de- 
 livered him by the clergy, the civil magifrrates, and ther 
 foldiery, that he mould defift from the voyage, bur all 
 would not do: thereupon, on the point of his. departure,' 
 HbtJantKarietvASpabiet came in a tumultuary manner to 
 the feraglio, and in a high infolent language difluade.d him- 
 from the pilgrimage, and demanded of him his ill coun- 
 fellors. The firft he granted, but for the fecond, he 
 faid that itftood not with his honour, to have his nearelt 
 fervants torn from him fo, without any legal proceeding ; 
 but he adured them that they mould appear in the diva ft 
 the next day, to anfwer for themfelves : but this not k- 
 tisfying, they went away in a fury, and plundered the 
 Grand Vifier?> palace, with divers others. Ofmanhcic.- 
 upon was advifed to go from his private gardens that night 
 to the sljlan (liore, but his deftiny kept him from it : fo- 
 the next morning they came armed to the court, (but. 
 having made a covenant not to violate the imperial 
 throne) and cut in pieces the Grand Vijitr with divers 
 other great officers ; and not finding C/fn:an, who h;.d; 
 hid himfelf in a fmall lodge in one of his' gardens, they 
 cried out, they muft have a Mufulman Emperor ; there- 
 fore they broke into a dungeon, and brought cut Mn 
 ftapha, Ofi;iarf* uncle, whom he had clapt there at the: 
 beginning of the tumult, and who had been King befcie,. 
 but was depofed for his fimplicity, being a kind of San- 
 ton, or holy man, that is, betwixt an inncccnt and ?.n 
 idiot : (his Mujiapka they did re-enthronize } and place 
 in the Ottoman empire 
 
 The next day they found Of>nan, and brought him be- 
 fore Muftapba, who excufed hirafelf with tears in liis 
 eyes for his ram attempts, which wrought tendernefs in 
 N 2 fome>.
 
 148 familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 fome, but more fcorn and fury in others ; who fell upon 
 the Capi Aga, with the other officers, and cut them in 
 pieces before his eyes. Ofinan then was carried to prifon, 
 and as he was getting on horfeback, a common foldier 
 took off his turban, and clapt his upon Oft/tan's head, 
 who in his pailage begged a draught of water at a foun- 
 tain. The next day, the new Vifier went with an execu- 
 tioner to ftrangle him, in regard there were two younger 
 brothers more of his to preferve the Ottoman race ; 
 where, after they had rumed in, he being newly awaked, 
 and (taring upon them, and thinking to defend himfelf, 
 a robuft boifterous rogue knocked him down, and fo the 
 reft fell upon him, and ftrangled him with much ado. 
 
 Thus fell one of the greateft potentates upon earth, 
 by the hands of a contemptible (lave, for there is not a 
 free-born fubje<5t in all that vaft empire. Thus fell he 
 that unities himfelf moft puifiant and highefl monarch of 
 the Turks, King above all kings, a King that dwelleth 
 upon the earthly paradife, fon of Mahomet, keeper of 
 the grave of the chriftian God, Lord of the tree of life, 
 and of the river Flisky, Prior of the earthly paradife, 
 Conqueror of the Macedonians, the feed of great Alex- 
 ander, Prince of the kingdoms of'Tartary, Mefopotawia, 
 Mtdia, and of the martial Mammalncks , Anatolia t 
 Bithynia, AJia, Armenia, Servia, Thracia, Morea t 
 V'alachia, Moldavia, and of all warlike Hungary, fo- 
 vereign Lord and commander of all Greece, Perfta, both 
 the Arabias, the moft noble kingdom of Egypt Tremifen, 
 and African, empire of Trabefond, and the mod glori- 
 ous Conftantinople, Lord of all the white and black feas, 
 of the holy city Mecca, and Medina, mining with divine 
 glory, commander of all thing that are to be commanded, 
 and the ftrongeft and mightieft Champion of the wide 
 v/orld, a warriour appointed by heaven in the edge of the 
 fword, a perfecutor of his enemies, a moft perfect jewel 
 of the blefled tree, the chiefeft keeper of die crucified 
 God, &c. with other fuch bombaftical titles. 
 
 This Ofman was a man of a goodly constitution, an 
 amiable afpeft, and of excefs of courage, but fordidly 
 
 covetous ;
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 149 
 
 covetous ; which drove him to violate the church, and to 
 melt the lamps therof, which made the Mufti fay, 'that 
 this was a due judgment fallen upon him from heaven 1 
 for his facrilege. He ufed alfo to make his pcrfon toa 
 cheap, for he would go ordinarily in the night time with: 
 two men after him, like a petty conftable, and peep in- 
 to the cauph'houfej and carabetf, and apprehend foldiers 
 there : and thefe two things it feems was the caufe that 
 when he was fo a/Faulted in the feragjio, not one of his 
 domeftick fervants, whereof he had 3000, would liiV. 
 up an arm to help him. 
 
 Some few days before his death he had a ftrange dream, 
 for, he dreamed that he was mounted upon a great camsl 9 
 who would not go, neither by fair nor foul means ; and 
 lighting off him, and thinking to ftrike him with his 
 fcimiter, the body of the beaft vanifhed, leaving the head 
 and the bridle only in his hand. When the Mufti and 
 the boggies could not interpret this dream, Miiflapka his 
 uncle did it ; for he faid, the camel fignified his empire, 
 his mounting of him, his excefs in govermeni, his light- 
 ing down, his depofing. Another kind of prophetic 
 fpeech dropt from the Grand Vijler to. Sir Ttoinas Roc, 
 our Ambaflador there, who having gone a little before this 
 tragedy to vilit the faid Vijicr, told him what whifper- 
 ings and mutterings there were in every corner, for this 
 Afiatic voyage, and what ill confequences might enfue 
 from it ; but if it held, he ddlred him to leave a charge 
 with the Chimacham, his deputy, that the Englijh nation 
 in the port mould be free from outrages : whcreunto the 
 Grand Vijler anfwered, trouble not yourfelf about that, 
 for I will not remove fo far from- Canftantim/ple t but' I 
 will leave one of my legs behind to ferve you ; which pro- 
 ved too true, for he was murdered afterwards, and one 
 of his legs was hung up in the hippodrome. 
 
 This frefh tragedy makes me to give over wondering at 
 any thing that ever I heard or read, to fhcw the lubricity 
 of viundan greatnefs, as alfo the fury of 'the vulgar, 
 which like an impetuous torrent gathereth ftrength by 
 degrees as it meets with divers dams, and being come to 
 1 N 3, the.
 
 150 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 the height, cannot (top itfelf : for when this rage of the 
 foldiers began firft, there was no defign at all to violate 
 or hurt the Emperor, but to take from him his ill coun- 
 fellors ; but it being once a-foot, it grew by infenfible 
 degrees to the utmoft of outrages. 
 
 The bringing out of Mttftapha, from the dungeon, 
 v.'here he was prifoner, to be Emperor of the Mufulmans, 
 put me in mind of what 1 read in Mr. Cambdendi our late 
 Queen Elizabeth, how {he was brought from the fcaffold 
 to the Englijb throne. 
 
 They who profefs to be critics in policy here, hope 
 that this murdering of Ofman may in time bring good 
 blood, and prove advantageous to chriftendom : for 
 though this be the firft Emperor of the Turks that was 
 difpatched fo, he is not like to be the laft, now that the 
 foldiers have this precedent. Others think, that if that 
 defign in Ajla had taken, it had been very probable the 
 Conjiantinopolitans had hoifed up another King, and fo 
 the empire had been difmembered, and by this divifion 
 had loft ftrength, as the Roman empire did, when it was 
 broken into Eaft and Weft. 
 
 Excufe me that this my letter is become fuch a mon- 
 fter, I mean that it hath paft the fize and Ordinary pro- 
 portion of a letter ; for the matter it treats of is mon- 
 llrous ; befides, it is a rule, that hiftorical letters have 
 more liberty to be long than others. In my next you 
 (hall hear how matters pafs here : in the mean time, and 
 always, I reft 
 
 Tour honour's mofl devoted fervant, 
 Madrid, Auguft 17. 1623. J. H. 
 
 LET- 

 
 Familiar LETTERS. 151 
 
 LETTER LXXVI. 
 
 To the Right Honourable Sir TH OMARSAVAGE, Knight 
 and Baronet. 
 
 Honourable Sir, 
 
 TH E procedure of things in relation to the grand 
 bufinefs the match, was at a kind of ftand, when 
 the long winded junta delivered their opinions, and fell 
 at laft upon this refult, that his catholick Majefty, for 
 the fatisfaclion of 6>. Peter, might oblige himfelf in the 
 behalf of England, for the performance of thofe capitu- 
 lations which related to the roman catholics in that king- 
 dom ; and in cafe of non-performance, then to right 
 himfelf by war, fince that the matrimonial articles were 
 folcmnly fvvorn to by the King of Spain, and his High- 
 nefs, the two favourites, our two ambafTadors, the Duke 
 of Infantado, and other counfellors of ftate being pre- 
 fent : hereupon, the eighth of September next is appointed 
 to be the day of defpoforios, the day of affiance, or the 
 betrothing-day. There was much gladnefs expreft here, 
 and luminaries of joy were in every great ftreet through- 
 out the city ; but there is an unlucky accident hath in- 
 tervened, for the King gave the Prince a folemn vifit 
 fince, and told him Pope Gregory was dead, who was 
 fo great a friend to the match, but in regard the bu- 
 finefs was not yet come to pcrfeftion, he could not pro- 
 ceed further in it till the former difpenfation was ratified 
 by the new Pope Urban, which to procure, he would make 
 it his own tafk, and that all poflible expedition mould 
 be ufed in it, and therefore defired his patience in the in- 
 terim. The Prince anfwered, and prefl the neceflity of 
 his fpeedy return with divers reafons ; he faid, there was 
 a general kind of murmuring in England for his fo long 
 abfence ; that the King his father was old and fickly, 
 that the fleet of his mips were already, he thought, at fea 
 to fetch him, the winter drew on ; and withal, that the 
 articles of the match were iigned in England with this 
 
 provifo,
 
 152 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 provifo, that if he be not come back by fuch a month, 
 they mould be of no validity. The King replied, that 
 fince his Highnefs was refolved upon fo fudden a depar- 
 ture, he would pleafe to leave a proxy behind to fmim 
 the marriage, and he would take it for a favour if he 
 would depute him to perfonate him ; and ten days after 
 the ratification'mall come from Rome the bufinefs mail 
 be done, and afterwards he might fend for his wire 
 when he pleafed. The Prince rejoined, that among 
 thofe multitudes of royal favours which he had received 
 from his Majefty, this tranfcended all the reft, therefore 
 he would moft willingly leave a proxy for his Majefty, 
 and another for Don Carlos to this efFecl : fo they part- 
 ed for that time without the leaft umbrage of difcontent ; 
 nor do I hear of any ingendered fince. The laft month, 
 it is true, the junta of divines dwelt fo long upon the 
 bufinefs, that there were whifperings that the Prince in- 
 tended to go away difguifed as he came ; and the queftion 
 being afked by a perfon of quality, there was a brave 
 anfwer made, that if love brought him thither, it is not 
 fear fhall drive him away. 
 
 , There are preparations already a-foot for his return, 
 and the two proxies are drawn and left in my Lord of 
 BriftcVs hands. Notwithstanding this ill-favoured ftop, 
 yet we are all here confident the bufinefs will take efFeft : 
 
 in which hopes I reft 
 
 Tour moft humble and ready fervant, 
 Madrid, Auguft 18.1623. .! H 
 
 LETTER LXXVII. 
 
 To Captain NICH. LEAT at his Hcufe in London. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 T.HIS letter comes to you by Mr. Richard Altham, 
 of whofe fudden departure hence I am very forry, it 
 being occafioned by the late death of his brother Sir James 
 
 Alt bam. .
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 153 
 
 . I have been at a ftand in the bufinefs a good while, 
 for his Highnefs's coming hither was no advantage to me la- 
 the earth. He hath done die Spaniards divers courte- 
 fies, but he hath been very fparing in doing the EtigliJJj 
 any: it may be perhaps, bccaufe it may be adimunition 
 of honour to be beholding to any foreign Prince. to do his 
 own fubjects favours, but my bufinefs requires no fa- 
 vour ; all I defire is jufHce, which I have not obtained 
 yet in reality. 
 
 The Prince is preparing for his journey : I mall to it 
 again clofely when he is gone, and make a fliaft or a bolt 
 of it. The Pope's death hath retarded the proceedings 
 of the match', but we are fo far from dcfpairing of it, that 
 one may have wagers thirty to one it will take elfedt lli]]. 
 He that deals with this nation mtifr. have a grea-t deal of 
 phlegm ; and if this grand bufinefs of Itate, (the match) 
 fuffer fuch protractions and puttings oft, you need not 
 wonder that private negotiations as mine is, mould be 
 fubjecT: to the fame inconveniencies. There {hall be DO 
 means left unattempted that my belt induftry can find out 
 to put a period to it ; and when his Highnefs is gone, I 
 hope to find my Lord of Brijlol more at leifure to con- 
 tinue his favour and furtherance, which hath been much 
 already : fo, I reft 
 
 Yours ready to Jerve you, 
 
 Madrid, Augujl 19. 1623. J. H. 
 
 L'E T T E R LXXVIII. 
 To Sir JAMES CROFTS, Knight. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 THE Prince is now upon his journey to the fea- 
 fide, where my Lord of Rutland attends for him 
 with a royal fleet. There are many here Ihrink in their 
 moulders, and are very fenfible of his departure, and the 
 Lady Infanta refents it more thau any : me hath caufed
 
 154 Familiar LETTERS. TART I. 
 
 a mafs to be fung every day ever fmce for his good vov- 
 age. The Spaniards themfelves confefs there was ne- 
 ver frir.cefs fo bravely wooed. The King and his two 
 brothers accompanied his Highnefs to the Efcuria!, fome 
 twenty miles off, and would have brought him to the 
 fea-fide, bat that the Queen is big, and hath not many 
 days to go. When the King and he parted, there paf- 
 fed wonderful great endearments and embraces in divei s- 
 poilures between them a long time ; and in that place, 
 there is a- pillar to be erecled as a monument to poflc- 
 rity. There are fome grandees and Count Gondamar, 
 with a great train befides gone with him to the Marine, 
 to the fea-fide, which will be many dayi journey, and 
 niuft needs put the King of Spain to a mighty expend 1 , 
 befides his feven months entertainment here. We hear 
 that when he pa(Ted through Valladolid, the Duke of 
 Lenux was retired 'thence for the time by fpecial com- 
 mand from the King, left he might have difcourfe with 
 the Prince, whom he extremely defired to fee : this 
 funk deep into the old Duke, infomuch that he faid, that 
 of all the ads of malice which 0-livares had ever done 
 him, he refented this more than any. He bears up yet 
 very well under his cardinal's habit ; which hath kept him 
 from many a foul ftorm that might have fallen upon him 
 elfe from the temporal power. The Duke of Uzeda his 
 fon, finding himfelf decline in favour at court, had re- 
 tired to the country, and died foon after of difcontent-" 
 ment.- During his ficknefs, the Cardinal wrote tins fhort 
 weighty letter unto him: Dizen me, que Mareys de ne- 
 c:o ; por mi, mas temo mis a nos que mis Enniigos. 
 Lerrha. I mall not need to Engli/J? it to you, who are 
 fo great a mafter of the language. Since I began this let- 
 ter, we underitand "the Prince is fafcly embarked, but 
 not without fome danger of being call away, , had no.t 
 .Sir Satf&yjjf 'Trevor taken him up. I pray God fend 
 him' a good voyage, and us 'no ill news from Eti land. 
 My mo ft humble fervice at Towerbill, fo I am 
 Tour humble fervitor, 
 
 ' Madrid, Angujl 21. 1623. J. H-. 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 15$ 
 
 LETTER LXXIX. 
 
 ~* To n;y Brother Dr. Hott.ELL. 
 
 My Brother, 
 
 SINCE our Prince's departure hence, tb Lady In- 
 fanta ftudieth Englijh apace ; and one Mr. Wadf* 
 worth and father Boniface, two EngliJJjmen y are ap- 
 poiated her teachers, and have acceis to her every day : 
 we count her as it were our Princefs now, and as. \ve 
 give, fo (he takes that title. Our ambalTadors, ray Lord 
 of Brifto!, and Sir J'/alter AJlon, will rrot ftand now co- 
 vered before her, \vben they have audience, tiecaufe they 
 hold her to be their Princefs. She is preparing divers 
 iuits of rich cloaths for his Highnefs, of perfumed amber 
 leather, fome embroidered with pearl, fome with gold, 
 fomc with filver : her family is fettling apace, and molt 
 of her officers. are known already. We want nothing 
 now but one difpatch more from Rome, and then the 
 .marriage will be folemnized, and all things confumma- 
 .ted; yet there is one Mr. Clerk (with the lame arm) that 
 came hither from the" fea-fide, as foon as the Prince was ' 
 gone : he is one of the Duke of BucJungbfLofz creatures, 
 yet he lies at the Earl of BriJIofs houfe ; which we won- 
 der at, considering the darkr.efs that happened betwixt 
 the Duke and the Earl : we fear that this Clerk hath 
 brought fomething that may puzzle the bufinefs. Be- 
 fides, having occafion to make my addrefs lately to the 
 Venetian .AmbafD.dor, who is intcrefled in fome part of 
 that great bufinels for which I am here, he told me con- 
 fidently it would be no match, nor did he think it was 
 ever intended ; but, I want faith to believe him yet, for 
 I know St. Mark is no friend to it, nor France, or any 
 other Prince or {late befides the King of Denmark, 
 whofe grandmother was of the houfe of Aujlrhi, being 
 fifter to Charles the Emperor.' Touching the bofmefs of 
 the Palatinate, our ambafladors were lately aflured by 
 Olii-urss, and all the counfellors here, and that in this 
 
 King's
 
 156 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 King's name, that he would procure his Msjcfly of Great 
 Britain entire f, ttisfacYion herein ; and 0/ivares, giving 
 them the joy, intreated them to aflure their King upon 
 their honour, and upon their lives, of the reality here- 
 of; for the Infanta herfelf (faith he) hath ftirred in it, 
 and makes it her own bufincfs : for, it was a firm peace 
 and amity (which he confefled could never be without 
 the accommodation of things in Germany} as much as 
 "an alliance, which his Catholic Majcfly aimed at. But 
 we fiiall know fhortly now what to truft to: we fhall 
 walk no more in mifls, though fome give out yet that 
 our Prince fhall embrace a cloud for Juno at laft. 
 
 I pray prefent my fervice to Sir Jshn Franklin, and 
 Sir John Smith, -with all at the Hill and Dale; and 
 when you fend to Wales, I pray convey the inclofed to 
 my father. So my dear brother, I pray God blefs us 
 both, and bring us again' joyfully together. 
 
 Tour very loving brother, 
 
 Madrid, Atigitft 12. 1623. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXX. 
 To my nvble friend Sir JOHN NORTH, Knight. 
 
 I Received lately one of yoars, but it was of a very 
 old date. We have our eyes here now all fixed up- 
 on Rome, greedily expecting the ratification, and lately a 
 ftrong rumour ran it was come, infomuch that Mr, Clerk, 
 who was fent hither from the Prince, being a fhipboard, 
 (and now lies fick at my Lord of Rriflol\ houfe of a ca- 
 lenture) hearing of it, he defired to fpeak with him, for 
 he had fomething to deliver him from the Prince, ray 
 Lord AmbafTador being come to him, Mr. Clerk deliver- 
 ed a letter from the Prince: the contents whereof were, 
 ' that, whereas he had left certain proxies in his hand to 
 * be delivered to the King of Spain after the ratification 
 
 ' was
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 157 
 
 ' was come, he defired and required him not to do it 
 till he mould receive further orders from England* 
 My Lord of Briflol hereupon went to Sir Walter Aftcn, 
 who was in joint commiflion with him for concluding the 
 match and (hewing him the letter, what my Lord dfton 
 faid I know not, but my Lord of B.riftol told him, that 
 they had a commiffion royal under the broad feal of 
 England, to conclude the match : he knew as well as 
 he how earned the King their mafter had been any time 
 this ten years to have it done, how there could not be 
 a better pawn for the furrendry of the Palatinate, than 
 the Infanta in the Prince's arms, who could never refl 
 till (he did the work to merit love of our nation. He 
 %old him alfo, how their own particular fortunes de- 
 pended upon it ; befides, if he mould delay one moment 
 to delivf the proxy after the ratification was come, ac- 
 cording to agreement, the Infanta would hold herfelf fo 
 blemifhed in her honour, that it might overthrow all 
 things. Laftly, he told him, that they incurred the ha- 
 zard of their heads, if they mould fufpend the executing 
 his Majefty's commiflion upon any order, but from that 
 power who gave it, who was the King himfelf. Here- 
 upon,' both the ambafladors proceeded ftill'in their pre- 
 paring matters for the folemnizing of the marriage : the ' 
 Earl of Brijlol had caufed above thirty rich liveries to be 
 made of watched velvet, with filver-lace up to the very 
 capes of the cloaks ; the beft forts whereof, were valued 
 at 80 /. a livery. My Lord Afie* had alfo provided new 
 liveries ; and a fortnight after the faid politic report was 
 blown up, the ratification came indeed compleat and full; 
 fo the marriage-day was appointed, a terras covered all 
 over with tapeftry was raifed from the King's palace to die 
 next church ; which might be about the fame extent as ' 
 from Whitehall to Weftminfter-Abbey ; and the King in- 
 tended to make his filter a wife, and his daughter 
 (whereof the Queen was delivered a little before) a 
 cbrijlian upon the fame day : the grandees and great la- 
 dies had been invited to the marriage, and orders was 
 fent to all the port-towns to difcharge their great ord- 
 O nance,
 
 158 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 nance, and fundry other things were prepared to honour 
 the folemnity: but, when we were thus at the height of 
 our hopes, a day or two before, there came Mr. Kelle- 
 gree, Grefly, Wood and Da-vies, one upon the neck of 
 another, with a new commifiion to my Lord of Brijlol 
 immediately from his Majefty, countermanding him to 
 deliver the proxy aforelaid, until a full and abfolute fa- 
 tisfactioa were had for the furrendry of the Palatinate 
 under this King's hand and feal, in regard he defired his 
 fon fhould be married to Spain, and his fon-in-law re- 
 married to the Palatinate at one time : hereupon, all 
 was darned in pieces, and that frame which was rearing 
 fo many years, was ruined in a moment. ' This news 
 Struck a damp in the hearts of all people here, and they 
 \vilhed that the poftillions that brought it hud all broke 
 their necks in the way. 
 
 My Lord of Brijlol hereupon went to court to acquaint 
 the King with his new commiilion, and fo propofed the 
 refutation of the Palatinate. The King anfwered, it 
 was none of his to give : 'tis true, he had a few towns 
 there, but he held them as commiiTioner only from the 
 Emperor, and he could not command an Emperor, yet if 
 his Majefty of Great Britain would put a treaty a-foot, 
 he would fend his own ambafladors to join. In the in- 
 terim, the Earl was commanded not to deliver the afore- 
 faid proxy of the Prince, for the difponfories or efpoufal, 
 \\nti\Cbriftmus: (and herein it feems his Majefty with 
 you was not well informed, for thofe powers of proxies 
 expired before). The King here faid further, that if 
 his uncle the Emperor, or the Duke of Bavaria would 
 not be conformable to reafon, he would raife as great an 
 army for the Prince Palfgrave as he did under Spinola 
 when he firft invaded the Palatinate ; and to fecure this, 
 he would engage his contratation-houfe of the Weft-In- 
 die^ with his plate-fleet, and give the moft binding in- 
 {trument that could be under his hand and feal. But 
 this gave no fatisfadtion, therefore my Lord of Brift&l \ 
 believe hath not long to ftay here, for, he is commanded 
 to deliver no more letters to the Infanta, nor demand 
 
 any 

 
 Familiar LETTERS. 159 
 
 any more audience ; and that fhe fhould be no more fty- 
 led Princefs of England or Wales. The forefaid caution 
 which this King offered to my Lord of Brijiol, made me 
 think of what I read of his grandfather Philip II. who 
 having been married to our Queen Mary, and it being" 
 thought fhe was with child of him, and was accordingly 
 
 prayed for at Pau/'s-crofs, though it proved afterwards 
 but a tympany, King Philip propofed to our parliament 
 that they would pafs an a<5l that he might be Regent dur- 
 ing his or her minority that mould be born, and he wculcf 
 give good caution to furrender the crown, xvhen he or 
 
 foe mould come to age. The motion was hotly can 
 vafed in the houfe of peers, and like to pafs, when the- 
 
 Lord Paget rofe up and faid, /, but who fnail fue for 
 the King's bond ? So the bufinefs was darned. I have 
 no more news to fend you now, and I am fbrry I have, 
 fo much, unlefs it were better; for we that have bufinefe 
 to negotiate here are like to fufFer much by this rupture. 
 Welcome be the will of God, to whofe benedidion L 
 commend you, and reft 
 
 Tour moft humble fervifor, 
 Madrid, Augufl 25. 1623. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXXI. 
 
 To the Right Honourable Lord CLIFFORD. 
 
 My good Lord, 
 
 TH O U G H this court cannot afford now fuch com- 
 fortable news in relation to England as I could 
 wifh, yet fuch as it is you mail receive. My Lord of 
 Brijlol is preparing for England: I waited upon him. 
 lately when he went to take his leave at court, and the 
 King warning his hands, took a ring from off his own 
 finger, and put it upon his ; which was the greateft ho- 
 nour that ever he did any Ambafiador as they fay here \. 
 he gave him alfo a cupboard of plate, valued at 20,000 
 O 2 crowns-...
 
 160 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 crowns. There were alfo large and high promifes made 
 him, that in cafe he feared to fail upon any rock in Eng- 
 land, by reafon of the power of thofe who maligned 
 him, if he would flay in any of his dominions, he would 
 give him means and honour equal to the highefl of his 
 enemies. The Earl did not only wave, but difdained 
 thefe propofitions made unto him byOtivares; and faid, 
 he was fo confident of the King his matter's jufticc and 
 high judgment, and of his own innocency, that he con- 
 ceived no power could be able to do him hurt. There 
 hath occurred nothing lately in this court worth the ad- 
 vertifement. They fpeak much of the ftrange carriage 
 of that boifterous Bifhop of Haherfladt, (for fo they 
 term him here) that having taken a place where there 
 were two monafteries of nuns and friers, he caufed di- 
 vers feather-beds to be riped, and all the feathers to be 
 thrown in a great hall, whither the nuns and friers were 
 thruft naked with their bodies oiled and pitched, and to 
 tumble among thefe feathers ; which makes them here 
 prefage him an ill death. So, I mod affectionately kifs 
 your hands, and reft 
 
 Tour very humble fervitor, 
 Madrid, Augitft 26. 1623. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXXII. 
 To Sir JOHN NORTH. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Have many thanks to render you for the favour you 
 lately did to a kinfman of mine, Mr. Vaughan, and 
 for divers others, which I defer till I return to that 
 court, and that I hope will not be long. Touching the 
 procedure of matters here, you mall understand, that my 
 Lord Afton had fpecial audience lately of the King of 
 Spain, and afterwards prefented a memorial, wherein 
 there was a high complaint againft the mifcarriage of the
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 161 
 
 two SpaniJJ) ambafladors now in England, the Marquis 
 of Inopifa, and Don Carlos Coloma : the fubftance or" it 
 was, that the faid ambafladors in a private audience his 
 Majefty of Great Britain had given them, informed him 
 of a pernicious plot again/I his perfon and^ royal authority ; 
 which was, that at the beginning of your now parlia- 
 ment, the Duke of Buckingham with other his compli- 
 ces, often met and confulted in a clandestine way, how 
 to break the treaty both of match and Palatinate ; and 
 b cafe his Majefty was unwilling thereunto, he ihould 
 have a country-houfe or two to retire unto for his recrea- 
 tion and health, in regard the Prince is now of years and 
 judgment fit to govern. His Majefty fo refented this,. 
 that the next day he fent them many thanks for the crre 
 they had of him, and defired them to perfect the work ; 
 and now that they had detected the treafon, to difcover 
 alfo the traitors ; but they were my in that point. The 
 King fent again, defiling them to fend him the names of 
 the confpirators in a paper fealed up by one of their own" 
 confidents, which he would receive with his own hands, 
 and no foul mould fee it elfe ; advifing them withal, that 
 they mould not prefer this difcovery before their own 
 honours, to be accounted falfe accufers: they replied, 
 that they had done enough already by inftancing in the 
 Duke of Buckingham, and it might eafily be gueiTed who^ 
 were his confidents and creatures. Hereupon his Maje- 
 fty put thofe whom he had any grounds to iufpect to 
 their oaths ; and afterward fent my Lord Co;pway, and 
 Sir Francis Cottington, to tell the ambafladors that he 
 had left no means uneffayed to difcover the confpiration ; ; 
 that he had found upon oath fuch a clearnefs of ingenuity 
 in the Duke of Buckingham, that fatisfied him of his in- 
 nocency; therefore, he had juft caufe to conceive that 
 this information of theirs, proceeded rather from malice 
 and fome political ends than from truth ; and in regard " 
 they would not produce the authors of fo dangerous a 
 treafon, they made themfelves to be juftly thought the"* 
 authors of it: and therefore, though he might by his- 
 own royal juftice and the law of nations punilh this ex- ~ 
 O 3 ccfe
 
 162 Familiar LETTERS.' PART I. 
 
 cefs and infolence of theirs, and high wrong they had 
 done to his bed fervants, yea, to the Prince his fon: 
 for through the fides of the Duke they wounded him, in 
 regard it was impoffible that fuch a defign fhould be at- 
 tempted without his privity, yet he would not be his 
 own Judge herein, but would refer them to the King 
 their mafter, whom he conceived to be fo juft, that he 
 doubted not but he would fee him fatisfied, and there- 
 fore he would fend an exprefs unto him hereabouts, to 
 demand juflice and reparation : this bulinefs is now in 
 agitation, but we know not what will become of it. We 
 are all here in a fad difconfolate condition, and the mer- 
 chants (hake their heads up and down, out of an appre- 
 henfion of fome fearful war to follow : fo I molt affedi- 
 onately kifs your hands, and reft 
 
 Tour very humble and ready fervitor, 
 Madrid^ Augufl 26. 1623. J. H. 
 
 s LETTER LXXXIII. 
 To Sir KENELME DIGBY, Knight. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 YO U have had knowledge (none better) of the pro- 
 gi eflion and growings of the SpaniJIj match from 
 time to time. I muft acquaint you now with the rupture 
 and utter difTolution of it, which was not long adoing: for, 
 it was done in one audience that my Lord of Briftol had 
 lately at court ; whence it may be inferred, that 'tis far 
 more eafy to pull down than rear up ; for that ftruclure 
 which was fo many years a rearing was dafhed as it were 
 in a trice : diflblution goeth a farter pace then compofi- 
 tion. And it may be faid, that the civil actions of men, 
 especially great affairs of mobarchs (as this was) have 
 .much analogy in degrees of progreflion with the natural 
 production of man. To make man there are many acts 
 muft precede, firft, a meeting and copulation of the 
 
 fexes,
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 163 
 
 fexes, then conception ; which requires a well difpofed 
 womb to retain the prolifical feed, by the conftriclion and 
 occlufion of the orifice of the matrix ; which feed being 
 firft, and afterwards cream, is by a gentle ebullition coa- 
 gulated and turned to a cruded lump ; which the womb 
 by virtue of its natural heat prepares to be capable to 
 receive form, and to be organized, whereupon nature 
 falls a \vorking to delineate all the members, begin- 
 ning with thofe that are moft noble ; as the heart, the 
 brain, the liver, whereof, Galen would have the liver 
 which is the fhop and fource of the blood, and Arijlotls 
 the heart, to be firft framed, in regard 'tis primum i-i- 
 vens, & ultimum moriens : nature continues in this la- 
 bour until a perfed fhape be introduced ; and this is called 
 formation, which is the third acl, and is a production of 
 an organical body out of the fpermatic fubfbnce, cnufed 
 by the plaftic virtue of the vital fpirits ; and fometimes 
 this act is finifhed thirty days after the conception, fome- 
 times fifty, but moft commonly in forty two or forty five, 
 and is fooner done in the male : this being done, the 
 embryo is animated with three fouls ; the firft with that 
 of plants, called a vegetable foul, then with a fenfitive, 
 which all brute animals have, and laftly, the rational foul 
 is infufed ; and thefe three in man are like trigonus in 
 tetragono, the two firft are generated ex traduce, from 
 the feed of the parents, but the laft is by immediate in- 
 fufion from God ; and, 'tis controverted betwixt philofo- 
 phers and divines, when this infufion is made. 
 
 This is the fourth aft that goeth to make a man, and 
 is tailed animation : and as the naturalifts allow anima- 
 tion double the time that formation had from the conce- 
 ption, fo they allow to the ripening of_the embryo in the 
 womb, and to the birth thereof treble the time that ani- 
 mation had ; which happeneth fometimes in nine, fome- 
 times in ten months. This gra nd bufinefs of the Spa- 
 niJJj match may be faid to have had fuch degrees of pro- 
 greffion ; firft, there was a meeting and coupling on both 
 fides, for, a junta in Spain, and fome feleft counfellors 
 of ftate were appointed in England. After this con- 
 junction
 
 1 64 Familiar LETTERS. PAHT I. 
 
 junction the bufinefs was conceived, then it received 
 form, then life, (though the quickening was flow) but 
 having had near upon ten years in lieu of ten months to 
 be perfected, it was unfortunately ftrangled when it was 
 ripe ready for birth ; and I would they had never been 
 born that did it, for it is like to be out of my way 
 3 ooo /. And as the embryo in the womb is wrapt in 
 three membranes, or tunicles ; fo this great bufinefs you 
 know better than I, was involved in many difficulties, 
 and died fo intangled before it could break through 
 them. 
 
 There is a buz here of a match betwixt England and 
 France: I pray, God fend it a fpeedier formation and 
 animation than this had, and that it may not prove an 
 abortive. 
 
 I fend you herewith a letter from the paragon of the 
 SpaniJJj court, Donna Anna Maria Manriquf, the 
 Duke of Marquedas's fifter, who refpects you in a high 
 degree. She told me this was the firft letter (he ever 
 writ to man in her life, except the Duke her brother : 
 me was much folicited to write to Mr. Thomas Gary, 
 but me would not. I did alfo your meflage to the 
 Marquefa d'lnojofa, who put me to fit a good while 
 with her upon her eftrado ; which was no fimple favour: 
 you are much in both thefe ladies books, and much fpo- 
 ken of by divers others in this court. I could not reco- 
 ver your diamond hat-band which the Picaroon fnatched 
 from you in the coach, though I ufed all means poflible, 
 as far as book, bell, and candle, in point of excommu- 
 nication againft the party in all .the churches of Madrid, 
 by which means you know things are recovered. So, I 
 moft affectionately kifs your hands, and reft * 
 
 Tour moji faithful fervitor, J. H. 
 
 P. S. Yours of the ad of March came fafc to hand. 
 Madrid. 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 165 
 
 LETTER LXXXIV. 
 To the Lord Vifcount Colchefkr, from Madrid. 
 
 Right Honourable, 
 
 "\7~ OUR Lordftiips of the 3d current came fafe to 
 X hand ; and, being now upon the point of parting 
 with this court, I thought it worth the labour to fend 
 your Lordfliip a fhort furvcy of the monarchy of Spain; 
 a bold undertaking your Lordihip will fay, to compre- 
 hend within the narrow bounds of a letter fuch a huge 
 bulk ; but as in the bofs of a fmall diamond ring one may 
 difcern the image of a mighty mountain, fo I will endea- 
 vour that your Lordihip may behold the power of this 
 great King in this paper : 
 
 Spain hath been always efteemed a country of antient 
 renown ; and as it is incident to all others, me hath had 
 her viciffitudes and turns of fortune : me hath been thrice 
 overcome ; by the Romans, by the Goths, and by the 
 Moors. The middle conqueft continueth to this day ; 
 for this King and moft of the nobility profefs themfelves 
 to have defcended of the Goths. The Moors kept here 
 about 700 years; and it is a remarkable ftory how they 
 got in firft, which was thus upon good record : there 
 reigned in Spain, Don Rodrigo, who kept his court 
 then at Malaga, he employed the Conde Don Julian 
 Ambafiador to Barbary, who had a daughter, (a young 
 beautiful lady) that was maid of honour to the Queen : 
 the King fpying her one day refreming herfelf under an 
 arbor, fell enamoured with her, and never left till he had 
 deflowered her : me refenting much the dishonour, writ 
 a letter to her father in Barbary under this allegory, 
 That there was a fair green apple upon the table, and 
 the King's poignard fell upon it, and cleft it in two. 
 Don Julian apprehending the meaning, got letters of re- 
 vocation, and came back to Spain, where he fo complied 
 with the King, that he became his favourite. Amongft 
 other things he advifed the King, that in regard he was
 
 166 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 now in peace with all the world, he would difmifs his 
 gallics and garrifons that were up and down the fea- 
 coajls, becaufe it was a fuperfluous charge. This being 
 done, and the country left open to any invader, he pre- 
 vailed with the King to have leave to go with his Lady 
 to fee her friends in Tarragona, which was 300 miles 
 off. Having been there a while, his Lady made fern- 
 blance to be fick, and fo fent to petition the King, that 
 her daughter Donna Cava (whom they had left at court 
 to fatiate the King's luft) might come to comfort her a 
 v/hile ; Ca-va came, and the gate through which me went 
 forth is called after her name to this day in Malaga. 
 Don Julian having all his chief kindred there, he failed 
 over to Barbary, and afterwards brought over the King 
 of jMirscco, and others with an army, who fuddenly in- 
 vaded Spain, lying armlefs and open, and fo conquered 
 it. Don Rodrigo died gallantly in the field, but what 
 became of Don Julian, who for a particular revenge be- 
 trayed his own country, no ftory makes mention. A 
 few years before this happened, Rodrigo came to Toledo >, 
 vhere, under the great church there was a vault with 
 huge iron doors, and none of his predeceflbrs durfl open 
 it, becaufe there was an old prophecy, That when that 
 v.iutt ivas opened Spain JJionld be conquered. Rodrigo 
 flighting the prophecy, caufed the doors to be broke open, 
 hoping to find there fome treafure ; but when he entered, 
 there was nothing found but the pictures of Moors, of 
 fuch men that a little after fulfilled the prophecy. 
 
 Yet this lad conqueft of Spain was not perfect, for 
 divers parts Northweft kept (till under chriflian kings, e- 
 fpecially Bifcay ; which was never conquered, as IValet 
 in Britanny; and the Bifcayners have much analogy 
 with the Weljh in divers things. They retain to this 
 day the original language of Spain ; they are the mofr. 
 mountaineous people, and they are reputed the antienteft 
 gentry, fo that when any -is to take the order of knight- 
 hood, there are no inquifitors appointed to find whether 
 he be -clear of the blood of the Moors, as in other places. 
 1 'lie King when he comes upon the confines, pulls off 
 
 one
 
 Fatfiiliar LETTERS. 167 
 
 one moe before he can tread upon any Bifcay ground ; 
 and he hath good reafon to efteem that province, in re- 
 gard of divers advantages he hath by it, for, he hath 
 his beft timber to build fhips, his beft marines, and all 
 his iron thence. 
 
 There were divers bloody battles betwixt the remnant 
 of chriftians and the Moors for 700 years together; and 
 the Spaniards getting ground more and more, drove 
 them at laft to Granada, and thence aifo in the time of 
 Fe rdinand and Ifabella, quite over to Barbary. Their 
 laft King was Ckico, who, when he fled from Granada 
 crying and weeping, the people upbraided him, tkat he 
 might <vjeil <weep liks a ivojfian, *who could not defend 
 kiwfelf, and them like a wan. This was that Ferdinand 
 who obtained from Rome the title of Cat',)0iic t though 
 fome ftories fay, that many ages before Ricaredus, the 
 firft orthodox King of the Goths, ivas ftyled Catkolicus in 
 a provincial fynod held at Toledo; which was continued, 
 by Alpbonfus I. and then made hereditary by this Ferdi- 
 nand. This abfolute conqueft of the Moors happened 
 about Henry VII 's time, \\hen the {ortf&dFerJinqnJ 
 and Ifabella had by alliance joined Cajlile and Aragon; 
 which with the difcovery of the Weft-Indies, which hap- 
 pened a little after, was the firft foundation of that great - 
 nefs whereunto Spain is now mounted. Afterwards 
 there was an alliance with Burgundy and Aujlria : by 
 the firft houfe, "the feventeen provinces fell to Spain ; by 
 the fecond Charles V. came to be Emperor: and remark- 
 able it is how the houfe of Aujlria came to that height 
 from a mean Earl ; the Earl of Hasburg in German)', 
 who having been one day a hunting, he overtook a prieft 
 who had been with the facrament to vifit a poor fick 
 Lady, the Prieft being tired, the Earl lighted off his 
 horfe, helped up the Prieft, and fo waited upon him a- 
 foot all the while till he brought him to the church: 
 the Prieft giving him his benediction at his going away, 
 told him, that for this great aft of humility and piety, 
 his race foould be one of the greatejl that ever the world 
 bad; and ever fince, which is fome 240 years ago, the 
 
 empire
 
 l63 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 empire hath continued in that houfe ; which afterwards 
 was called the houfe of ^itflria. 
 
 In Philip II's time the SpaniJJy monarchy came to its 
 higheft cumble, by the conqueft of Portugal, whereby 
 the Eaft-fndies, fundry iflands in the Atlantic fea, and 
 divers places in Barbary were added to the crown of 
 Spain. By thcfe ftcps this crown came to this grandeur; 
 and truly give the Spaniard his due, he is a mighty 
 Monarch, he hath dominions in all parts of the world, 
 (which none of the four monarchies had) both in Europe, 
 Ajin, Africa, and America, (which he hath folely to 
 himfelf) though our Henry VII. had the fame proffer 
 made him: fo, the fun mines all the twenty four hours 
 of the natural day upon fome part or other of his coun- 
 tries ; for part of the Antipodes are fubjecl to him. He 
 hath eight viceroys in Europe, two in the Eaft-Indies, 
 two in the IV eft, two in Afric, and about thirty provin- 
 cial fovereign commanders more; yet, as I was told 
 lately, in a difcourfc betwixt him and our Prince at his 
 being here, when the Prince fell to magnify his fpacious 
 dominions, the King anfwered, Sir, 'tis true, it bath > 
 pleafed God to truft me with divers nations and coun- 
 tries ; hut of all thefe there are but two ivhich yield me 
 any clear revenues, viz. Spain, and my Weft-Indies, nor 
 all Spain neither, but Caftile only : the reft do fcarce 
 quit coft, for all is drunk up betwixt governors and gar- 
 rifens ; yet my advantage is, to have the opportunity to 
 propagate the Chriftian religion, and to employ my fub* 
 jecls. For the laft, it mud be granted that no Prince 
 hath better means to breed brave men, and more variety 
 of commands to heighten their fpirits with no petty but 
 princely employments. 
 
 This King befides, hath other means to oblige the 
 gentry unto him by fuch a huge number of commendams 
 which he hath in his gift to be/low on whom he plcafes 
 of any of the three orders of knighthood ; which Eng- 
 land and France want. Some noblemen in Spain can 
 fpend 50,000 /. fome forty, fome thirty, and divers 
 20,000 1. per annum. The church here is exceeding 
 
 rich
 
 Fanuliar LETTERS. 16* 
 
 rich both in revenues, plate and buildings ; one carrot go 
 to the meanert country chapel, but he will find chalices, 
 lamps and candlefticks of filver. There are feme bifhop- 
 ricks of 30,000 /. per annum and divers of io,coo /. and 
 Toledo is 100,000 /. yearly revenue. As the church is 
 rich, fo it is mightily reverenced here, and very power- 
 ful ; which made Philip II. rather depend upon the 
 clergy than the fecular power. Therefore I do not fee 
 how Spain can be called a poor country, confiderirg the 
 revenues aforefaid of princes and prelates ; nor is it fb 
 thin of people as the world makes it, and one reafon may 
 be that there are fixteen univerfities in Spain, and in one 
 of thefe there were 15,000 ftudents at one time when I 
 was there, I mean Salamanca ; and in the village .of 
 Madrid (for the King of Spain cannot keep his conftant 
 court in any city) there are ordinarily 600,000 fouls. 
 It is true, that the colonizing of che Indies, and the 
 wars of Flanders, have much drained this country of 
 people. Since the expulfion of the Moors it is alfo grown 
 thinner, and not fo full of corn ; for thofe Moors would 
 grub up wheat out of the very tops of the craggy hills, 
 yet they ufed another grain for their bread ; fo, that the 
 Spaniard had nought elfe to do but to go with his afs to 
 the market, and buy corn of the Moors. There lived 
 here alfo in times part a great number of the Jews-, till 
 they were expelled by Ferdinand ; and as I have read 
 in an old SpaniJJj legend, the caufe was this : the King 
 had a young Prince to his fon, who was ufed to play 
 with a Je*wifo Doftor that was about the court, who 
 had a ball of gold in a firing hanging down hi? breaft, the 
 little Prince one day fnatched away the faid golden ball, 
 and carried it to the next room ; the ball being hollow, 
 opened, and within there was painted bur Saviour killing 
 a Jew's tail. Hereupon they were all fliddenly difter- 
 red and exterminated, yet, I believe in Portugal there 
 lurks yet good frore of them. 
 
 For the foil of Spain, the fruitfulnefs of their vallies 
 recompences the fterility of their hills ; corn is their great- 
 eft want, and want of rain is the caufe of that, which 
 P makes
 
 rj 70 Familiar LETT E R S. PA RT I. 
 
 makes them have need of their neighbours ; yet as much 
 .as Spain bears is pafiing good, and fo is every thing elie 
 .for the quality ; nor hath any one a better horfe under 
 -him, a better cloak on his back, a better fword by his 
 fide, better (hoes on his feet than the Spaniard ; nor 
 <loth any drink better \viae, or eat better fruit than he, 
 .nor fiefh for the quantity. 
 
 Touching the people, the Spaniard looks as high, 
 though not fo big as a German ; his excefs is in too much 
 gravity, which fome who know him not well, hold to 
 vbe a pride ; he cares not how little he labours, for poor 
 Gafcons and Morjfco {laves do mo/l of his work in field 
 and vineyard : he can endure much in the war, yet he 
 Cloves not to fight in the dark, but in open day, or upon a 
 ilage that all the world might be witnefles of his valour ; 
 fo that you (hall feldom hear of Spaniards employed in 
 night-femcc, nor mail one hear of a duel here in an age. 
 He hath one good quality, that he is wonderfully obedi- 
 ent to government ; for the proudeit Don of Spain, when 
 .he is prancing upon his ginet in the ftreet,- if an algtf 
 azil (a ferjeant) mew him his vare, that is a little white 
 ftaffhe carrieth as a badge of his office, my Don will 
 down prefently off his horfe and yield him felfhis prifon- 
 ~cr. He hath another commendable quality, that when 
 he giveth alms, he pulls off his hat, and puts it in the 
 beggar's hand with a great deal of humility. His gravi- 
 ty is much leflencd (ince the late proclamation came out 
 againft ruffs, and the King himfelf {hewed the firft ex- 
 ample : they were come to that height of excefs herein, 
 that twenty ihillings were ufed to be paid for ftarching of 
 a ruff; and fome, though perhaps he had never a fliirt to 
 his back, yet he would have a toting huge fwellin'g ruff 
 about his neck. He is fparing in bis ordinary diet, but 
 when he makes a feaft he is free and bountiful. As to 
 temporal authority, efpecially martial, fo is he very obe- 
 dient to the church, and believes all with an implicit 
 faith : he is a great fervant of ladies, nor can he be blam- 
 ed, for, as* I faid before, he comes of a Gptijb race; 
 jet he never brags of, nor blazes abroad his doings that 
 
 way,
 
 familiar LETTERS. 17 r 
 
 way, but is exceedingly careful of the repute of any wo- 
 man, (a civility that we much want in England}. He 
 will fpeak high words of Don Pkilippo his King, but 
 will not endure a flranger mould do To. I have heard a 
 BifcdQner make a roJtmantad'), that he was as good a> 
 gentleman as Don Philippe himfelf, for, Don Pkilippo 
 was half a Spaniard,' half a German, half an Italian y > 
 half a Frenchman, half I know not what, but he was a 
 pure Bifcayner without mixture. The Spaniard is not 
 fo fmooth and oily in his compliment as the, Italian ; 
 and though he will make ftrong proteftations, yet he will, 
 not fwear out compliments like the French and Englifo : 
 as I heard when my Lord of Carlijle was.Ambaflador in 
 France, there came a great Mondcur to lee him, and 
 having a long time banded, and fwore compliments one 
 to another who mould go firft out at a door; at laft my 
 Lord of Carlijle faid, 6 Monfdgneur ayez pitie. de won , 
 ame, O my Lord have pity upon my foul. 
 
 The Spaniard is generally given to gaming, and that 
 in excefs ; he will fay his prayers before, and if he win 
 he will thank God for his good fortune after : their 
 common game at cards (for they very feldom play at 
 dice) \sprimera, at which the King never (hews his game, 
 but throws his cards with their faces down on the table : 
 he is merchant of all the cards and dice through all the 
 kingdom, he hath them made for a penny a pair, and he 
 retails them for twelve-pence ; fo that it is thought he 
 hath 30,000 /. a year by this trick r.t cards. The Spani- 
 ard is very devout in his way, for I have feen him kneel 
 in the very dirt when the 4ve Mary bell rings ; and feme, 
 if theyfpy two ftraws or flicks ly crofs-ways in the flreet, 
 they will take them up and kifs them, and lay them, 
 down again. He walks as if he marched, and feidora 
 looks on the ground, as if he contemned it. I was told 
 of a Spaniard, who having got a fall by a ftumble and 
 broke his nofe, rofe up, and in a difdainful manner faid, 
 Vota a fa/ ejloes caniinar por la tierra, this it is to walk 
 upon earth. The labradors and country (wains here arc 
 fhirdy and rational men, nothing fo fimple .or fexvile as 
 P. 2. -the.
 
 172 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 the Trench peafant who is born in chains. It is true, 
 the Spaniard is not fo converfable as other nations, 
 (unlefs he hath travelled) elfe he is like Mars among the 
 planets, impatient of conjunclion ; nor is he fo free in 
 his gifts and rewards ; as the laft fummer it hapened that 
 Count Gondomar with Sir Francis Cottington, went to 
 lee a curious houfe of the Conftable of CaJUle 1 ^. which 
 had been newly built here, the keeper of the houfe was 
 rery officious to mew him every room, with the garden, 
 grottos and aqueducts, and prcfented him with fome 
 fruit : Gondmtdf having been a long time in the houfe, 
 coming out, put many compliments of thanks upon the 
 mm, and fo was going away, Sir Francis whifpered 
 him in the car, and afked whether he would give the 
 nun any thing that took fuch pains ? Oh, , quoth Gondo- 
 i-.'.ir, v, r e!l remembered, Don Francifco, have you ever a 
 double piftole about you ? If you have, you may give it 
 him, and then you pay him after the Englifh manner, I 
 have paid him already after the Spanifh. The Spaniard 
 is much improved in policy fince he took footing in Italy, 
 a.id tlicre 5s no nation agrees with him better. I will 
 co.iclade this character with a faying that he hath, . 
 
 No ay hombre debaxo d'elfol, 
 Como el Italiano y el Efpanol. 
 
 Whereunto a Frenchman anfwercd, 
 
 Dizes la verdad, y tienes razon, 
 El uno et puto, el otro ladron. 
 
 Englifhed thus : 
 
 Beneath the fun there's no fuch man, 
 As is the Spaniard and Italian. 
 
 The Frenchman anfiuers, 
 
 Thou tell'ft the truth, and reafon haft, 
 The firft a thief, a buggerer the laft. 
 
 Touching
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 173 
 
 Touching their women, nature hath made a more vifible 
 distinction betwixt the two Sexes here than elfewherje ; 
 for the men for the mod part are fwarthy and rough, but 
 the women are of a far finer mould, they are commonly 
 little ; and whereas, there is a faying that makes a com- - 
 pleat woman, let her be Englijlj to the neck, French to 
 the waift, and Dutch below : I may add, for hands and 
 feet let her be Spani/b, for they have the leaft of any. 
 They have another faying, a French-wtftnan in a dance, 
 a Dutch-woman in the kitchen, an Italian in a window, 
 an Englijh-woman at board, and the Spanijl? a bed, . 
 When they are married, they have a privilege to wear 
 high (hoes, and to paint ; which is generally praclifed 
 here, and the Queen ufeth it herfelf. They are coy 
 enough, but not fo froward as ourEngliJl? ; for if a Lady 
 go along the ftreet (and all women going here vsiled, and 
 their habit fo generally alike, one can hardly diitinguifu 
 a Countefs from a cobler's wife) if one fhould caft out : 
 an odd ill-founding word, and a(!c her a favour, fhe will 
 not take it ill, but put it off, and anfvver you with fome 
 witty retort. After thirty they are commonly part child- 
 bearing ; and I have feen a woman in England look as - 
 youthful at fifty, as fome here at twenty-five. Money 
 will do miracles here in purchafing the favour of ladies, , 
 or any thing elfe, though this be the country of money, 
 for it fumifheth well near all the world befides, yea thrir 
 very enemies, as the Turk and H'Al'ixdcr ; irfbmuch, 
 that one may fay, the coin of Spain is as catholic as her 
 King. Yet though he be the greatefl King of gold and 
 filver mines in the world, (I think) yet the common cur- 
 rent coin here is copper ; and herein I believe the Hol- 
 lander hath done him more mifchief by counterfeiting ; 
 his copper coins, than by their arms, bringing it in by 
 ftrange furreptitious ways, as in hollow fows of tin and 
 lead, hollow mafls, in pitch buckets under water, and 
 otherways. But I fear to be injurious to this great King, 
 to fpeak of him in fo narrow a compafs ; a great King in- 
 deed, though the French in a flighting way compare his 
 monarchy to a beggar's cloak made up of patches : they 
 P 3 arc .
 
 17-f Familiar LETTERS.- PART I. 
 
 are patches indeed, but fuch as he hath not the like. 
 The Eajl-lndiet is a patch embroidered with pearls, 
 rubies, and diamonds : Peru -is a patch embroidered with 
 mafly gold, Mexico with filver, Naples and Milan are 
 pthes of cloth of tifTue ; and if thefe patches were in 
 one piece, what would become of his cloak embroidered 
 \A\h flower-de-luces ? 
 
 So, dejtrlng your LordJJj':p to pardon this poor im- 
 perfefi paper, conjidering the high quality of the Jul>jef tt 
 J refl 
 
 Your Lordftiip's moft humble fervant, 
 
 Madrid, Feb. i. 1623. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXXV. 
 
 To Mr. WAL SJNGHAMGRESLEY, from Madrid. 
 
 Don BALTHASAR, 
 
 I Thank you for my letter in my Lord's laft pacquet, 
 wherein among other pafTages, you write to me the 
 circumftances of Marquis Spivy/a's raifing his leaguer, 
 by flatting and firing his works before Berghen. He is 
 much taxed here, to have attempted it, and to have 
 buried fo much of the King's treafure before that town, 
 in fach coftly trenches. A gentleman came hither late- 
 ly, who was at the fiege all the while, and he told 
 me one ftrange pafTage ; how Sir Ferdinando Gary, a 
 huge corpulent Knight, was (hot through his body ; the 
 bullet entring at the navel, and coming out at his back, 
 killed his man behind him, yet he lives ftiJl, and is like 
 to recover. With this miraculous accident, he told me 
 alfo a merry one ; how a Captain that had a wooden leg 
 booted over, had it mattered to pieces by a cannon-bul- 
 let, his foldiers crying a Surgeon, a Surgeon, for the 
 Captain ; no, no, faid he, a carpenter, a carpenter ivill 
 ferve the turn. To this pleafant talc I will add another 
 that happened lately in Alcala, hard by, of a Dominican 
 
 frier,
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 17$ 
 
 frier, who in a folemn proceffion which was held there 
 upon Afcenjion day laft, had his ftones dangling under his 
 habit cut off inftead of his pocket by a cut-purfe. 
 
 Before you return hither, which I underftand will be 
 fpeedily, I pray beftow. a vifit on our friends in Bijhopf- 
 gate-Jlreet : fo I am 
 
 Your faithful fervant, 
 
 Madrid, Feb. 3. 1623.' J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXXVI. 
 
 To Sir ROBERT NAPIER Knight, at his Houfe ;'Biftx- 
 opfgate-flreet. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 THE late breach of the match, hath broke the neck 
 of all bufinefs here, and mine fuffers as much as 
 any : I had accefs lately to Olivares, once or twice ;' I 
 had audience alfo of the King, to whom I prefented a 
 memorial that intimated letters of mart, unlefs fatisfa- 
 ftion were had from his Viceroy the Cohde del Real. 
 The King gave me a gracious anfwer, but Olivares a 
 churlifh one, viz. That 'when the Spaniards had jujlice 
 in England, iue Jljould have juftice here : fb, that not- 
 withftanding I have brought it to the higheft point and 
 pitch of perfection in law that could be, and procured 
 fome difpatches, the like whereof were never granted in 
 this court before, yet I am in defpair now to do good. 
 I hope to be fhortly in England, by God's grace, to give 
 you and the reft of the proprietaries, a punctual account 
 of all things ; and you may eafily conceive how forry I 
 am that matters fucceeded not according to your expe- 
 ctation, and my endeavours ; but I hope you are none of 
 thofe that meafure things by the event. The Earl of 
 Bnfitl, Count Gondomar, and my Lord Ambaffador 
 Ajlon, did not only do counefies, but they did co-operate 
 
 with
 
 176 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 with me in it, and contribute their utraofl endeavours. 
 So I reft 
 
 Tour: to firveyou, 
 Madrid^ Feb. 19. 1623. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXXVII. 
 
 To the Honourable Sir T. S. at Towerhill. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Was yefterday at the Efcurial to fee the monaftety 
 of St. Laurence, the eight wonder of the world ; 
 and truly confidering the fite of the place, the ftate of 
 the thing, and the fymmetry of the (trufture, with divers 
 other rarities, it may be called fo ; for what I have feen 
 in Italy, and other places, are but babbles to it. It is built 
 amongft a company of craggy barren hills, which makes 
 the air the hungrier, and wholefbmer ; it is all built of 
 free-done and marble, and that with fuch folidity and mo- 
 derate height, that furely Philip Il's chief defign was 
 to make a facrifice of it to eternity, and to contelt with 
 the meteors, and time itfelf. It coft 8,000000, it was 
 twenty-four years a building, and the founder himfelf faw 
 it finimed, and enjoyed it twelve years after, and car- 
 ried his bones himfelf thither to be buried. 
 
 The reafon that moved King Philip to waflc fo much 
 treafure, was a vow he had made at the battle of St. 
 Shiintin, when he was forced to batter a monaftery of 
 St. Laurence friers, that if he had the vicloiy, he would 
 erefl flich a monaftery to St. Laurence, that the world 
 had not the like ; therefore the form of it is like a grid- 
 iron, the handle is a huge royal palace, and the body a 
 Ta(l monaftery or afTembly of quadrangular cloifters ; for 
 <here are as many as there be months in the year. There 
 be a 100 monks, and every one hath his man and his 
 mule; and a multitude of officers: befides, there are three 
 libraries there, full of the choiceft books for allfciences. 
 
 It
 
 familiar LETTERS. 177 
 
 It is beyond expreffion what grotos, gardens, walks, and 
 aquedu&s there are there, and what curious fountains in 
 the upper cloiders, for there be two ftages of cloifters : 
 in fine, there is nothing that is vulgar there. To take a 
 view of every 'room in the houfe, one muft make account 
 to go ten miles ; there is a vault called the Pantheon un- 
 der the higheft altar, which , is all paved, walled, and 
 arched with malble ; there be a number of huge filver 
 candlefticks, taller than I am ; lamps three yards com- 
 pafs, and divers chalices and crofles of mafly gold : there 
 is one quire made all of burniGied brafs, pictures and 
 flatues like giants, and a world of glorious things, that 
 purely raviflied me. By this mighty monument, it may 
 be inferred, that Philip II. though he. was a little man, 
 yet had vaft gigantick thoughts in him, to leave fuch a 
 huge pile for pofterity to gaze upon, and admire his me- 
 mory. No more now, but that I reft 
 
 Tour humble fervant, 
 Madrid, March y. 1623. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXXVIII. 
 
 To the Lord Vifcount Colcheflefter, from Madrid. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 YOU writ to me not long fince, to fend you an ac- 
 count of the* Duke of OQ'unas death, a little man, 
 but of great fame and fortunes, and much cried up, and 
 known up and down the world. He was revoked from 
 being Viceroy of Naples (the beft employment the King 
 of Spain hath for a fubjecl) upon ibme difguft ; and be- 
 ing come to this court, when he was brought to give an 
 account of his government, being troubled with the gout, 
 he carried his fword in his hand inftead of a ftaff: the 
 King mifliking the manner of his pofture, turned his back 
 to him, and fo went away : thereupon he was over- 
 heard mutter, Ejio es parafervirmuchachos : This it is to 
 
 ferve
 
 178 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 ferve boys. This coming to the King's ear, he was ap* 
 prehended, and committed prifoner to a monaftery not 
 far off, where he 'continued fome years, until his beard 
 came to his girdle ; then growing very ill, he was per- 
 mitted to come to his houfe in this town, being carried in 
 a bed upon mens moulders, and fo died fome years ago. 
 There were divers accufations againft him ; among the 
 reft, I remember thefe, that he had kept the Marquis 
 de Campslatoro's wife, fending her hufband out of the 
 way upon employment ; that he had got a baftard of a 
 Turkijh woman, and fuffered the child to be brought up 
 in the Mahometan religion ; thn.t being one day at high 
 mafs, when the hoft was elevated, he drew out of his 
 pocket a piece of gold, and held it up, intimating that 
 that was his god; that he had invited fbme of the prime 
 courtefans of 'Naples to a feaft, and after dinner made a 
 banquet for them in his garden ; where lie commanded 
 them to (trip themfelves ftark naked, and go up and 
 down while he mot fugar-plums at them out of a trunk, 
 which they were to take up from off their high chapins, 
 and fuch like extravagancies. One (amongft divers o- 
 ther) witty pafTages was told me of him ; which was, that 
 when he was Viceroy of Sicily, there died a great rich 
 Duke who left but one fon, whom with his whole eUate, 
 he bequeathed to the tutele of the jefuits ; and the words 
 of the will were, When he is paji his minority ', (Darete 
 al mio figlivolo quelque voi volete) you Jhall give 'my 
 fon what you aw'//. It feems the jefuits took to them- 
 felves two parts of three of the eftate, and gave the reft 
 to the heir : the young Duke complaining hereof to the 
 Duke of Oj/'una, (then Viceroy) he commanded the je- 
 fuits to appear before him : he aiked them how much of 
 theertate they would have, they anfwered, two parts of 
 three ; which they had almoft employed already to build 
 monaderies-and an hofpital, to ere5t particular altars, and 
 mafles, to fmg dirges and refrigeriums for the foul of 
 the deceafed Duke. Hereupon, the Duke of 0/iina 
 caufed the will to be produced, and found therein the 
 words afore-recited. When he is pajl his minority, you 
 
 flail
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 179. 
 
 Jliall-give my fen of my eflate <what you iv/'//. Then he 
 told the jefuits, you murt by virtue and tenor of thefe 
 words, give what you. will to the fon, which by your 
 own confeiGon is two parts of three; and fo he deter- 
 mined the bufinefs. 
 
 Thus have I in part fatisfied your Lordfhip's defire ; 
 which I fliall do more amply when I {hall be made 'happy 
 to attend you in perfon ; which I hope will be before it 
 be long. In the interim, I take my leave of you from 
 Spain, and reft 
 
 Teur Lord/Jilt's moft ready and humble fervitor, 
 
 Madrid, March 13. 1623. J. H. 
 
 .LETTER LXXXIX. 
 To Sir JAMES CROFTS, from Bilboa. 
 
 S I R, 
 
 BEING fafely come to the Marine, in convoy of 
 his Majefty's jewels, and being to fojourn here 
 fome days, -the conveniency of this gentleman, (who 
 knows, and much honoureth you) he being to ride poft 
 through France, invited me to fend you this. 
 
 "We were but five horfemen in all our feven days 
 journey from Madrid hither, and the charge Mr. Wickts 
 had is valued at 400,000 crowns; but 'tis fuch fafe travel- 
 ling in Spain, that one may carry gold in the palm of his 
 hand, the government is fo good. When we had gained 
 Bifcay ground, we pad one day through a foreft> and 
 lighting off our mules to take a little repaft under a tree, 
 we took down our alforjas and foroe bottles of wine, 
 (and you know 'tis ordinary here to ride with one's vi- 
 ctuals about him) but as we were eating we fpied two 
 huge wolves, who flared upon us a while, but had the 
 good manners to go away. It put me in mind of a plea- 
 fant tale I heard Sir Thomas Fairfax relate of a foldier in 
 Ireland, who having got his pailport to go for England,
 
 180 Familiar LETTERS. PART!, 
 
 as he pad through a wood with a knapfack upon his back, 
 being weary, he fat down under a tree, where he o- 
 pened his knapfack and fell to fome victuals he had, but 
 upon afudden he was furprized with two or three wolves, 
 who coming towards him, he threw them fcraps of bread 
 and cheefe till all was done ; then the wolves making a. 
 nearer approach unto him, he knew not what fhift to 
 make, but by taking a pair of bagpipes which he had ; 
 and as foon as he began to play upon them, the wolves 
 ran all away as if they had been feared out of their. wits ; 
 whereupon the foldier faid, A pox take you all, if 1 had 
 knflivn you had loved mujtc fo luell you JJjould have had 
 it before dinner. 
 
 If there be a lodging void at the three Halberts- 
 heads, I pray be pleafed to caufe it be referved to me : 
 fo, I reft jy 
 
 Tour humble fervitor, 
 
 Bilboa, Sept. 6. 1624. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XC. 
 
 To my FATHER, from London. 
 
 SIR. 
 
 Am newly returned from Spain ; I came over in con- 
 voy of the Prince's jewels, for which, one of the 
 fhips royal with the Catch were fent under the command 
 of Captain Love. We landed at Plymouth, whence I 
 came by poft to Theobald'?, in lefs than two nights and 
 a day, to bring his Majefty news of their fafe arrival. 
 The Prince had newly got a fall off a horfe, and kept 
 his chamber: the jewels were valued at above 100,000 
 pounds ; fome of them a little before the Prince's depar- 
 ture had been prefented to the Infanta, but fhe waving 
 to receive them, yet with a civil compliment they were 
 left in the hands of one of the Secretaries of ftate for 
 her ufe upon the wedding-day j and, it was no unworthy 
 thing in the Spaniard to deliver them back, notwithftand- 
 
 ing 
 
 I
 
 Familiar L E T T E R S. 181 
 
 ing that the treaties both of match and Palatinate bad 
 been di'Tolved a pretty while by aft of parliament, that 
 a war was threatened and ambafladors revoked. There 
 were jewels alfo amongft them to be preferred to the 
 King and Queen of Spain, to mod of the ladies of ho- 
 nour and the grandees. There was a great table dia- 
 mond for Olivares of eighteen carrats weight ; but the 
 richeft of all was to the Infanta herfelf ; which was a 
 chain of great orient pearl, to the number of 276, 
 weighing nine ounces. The Spaniards notwithstanding 
 they are maftcrs of the ftaple of jewels, flood aftonifhed 
 at the beauty of thefe, and confeffed themfelves to be 
 put down. 
 
 Touching the employment upon which I went to 
 Spain, I had my charges born all the while, and that 
 was all : had it taken effeJl, I had made good bufinefs 
 of it ; but 'tis no wonder (nor can it be I hope any dif- 
 repute unto me) that I could not bring to pafs what three 
 ambafladors could not do before me. 
 
 I am now catting about for another fortune, and fome 
 hopes I have of employment about the Duke of Bucking" 
 ham : he fways more than ever, for whereas, he was be- 
 fore a favourite to the King, he is now a favourite to 
 parliament, people, and city, for breaking the match 
 with Spain. Touching his own intereft, he had reafon 
 to do it, for the Spaniards love him not ; but, whether 
 the public intereft of the State will fuffer in it or no, I 
 dare not determine : for my part, I hold the SpaniJI) 
 match to be better than their pvwder, and their wares 
 better than their wars ; and I (hall be ever of that 
 mind, that no country is able to do England left hurt, 
 and more good than Spain, confidering the large traffick 
 and treafure that is to be got thereby. 
 
 I mall continue to give you an account of my courfes 
 when opportunity ferves, and to difpofe of matters fo 
 that I may attend you this fummer in the country : lb, 
 defiring ftill your bleffing and prayers, I reft 
 
 Tour dutiful f on, 
 
 London, Dec. 10. 1624. J. H. 
 
 C LET-
 
 ,r82 familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 LETTER XCI. 
 70 the Lord Vifcouni Colchefter. 
 
 Right Honourable, 
 
 MY laft to your Lordfhip was in Itdlian, with the 
 Venetian gazetta inclofed. Count Mansfelt is 
 upon point of parting, iiaving obtained it feems die fum 
 of his defires : he was lodged all the while in the fame 
 cuarter of St. James's which was appointed for the In- 
 fanta', he fupped yeflcrnight with the council of war, 
 and he hath a grant of 12000 men, EngliJJj and Scots, 
 whom he will have ready in the body of an army againft 
 the next fpring; and they fay, that England, France-, 
 Venice, and Savoy, do contribute for the maintenance 
 thereof 60,000 /. a month. There can be no conje- 
 #ure, much lefs any judgment made of his dcfign : mod 
 think it will be for relieving Breda, which is ftraitly be- 
 girt by Spinola, who gives out, that he hath her already 
 as a bird in a cage, and will have her maugre all the 
 soppofition of chriftendora ; yet, there is frefti news come 
 over, that Prince Maurice hath got on the back of him, 
 and hath belaggered him as he hath done the town ; 
 which I want faith to believe yet, in regard of the huge 
 circuit of Spitma't works ; for his circumvallations are 
 cried up to be near upon twenty miles. But while the 
 Spaniard is fpending millions here for getting fmall 
 towns, the Hollander gets kingdoms of him elfewhere. 
 He hath invaded and taken lately from the Portugal 
 part of Brazil, a rich country for fugars, cottons, bal- 
 fams, dyeing-wood, and divers commodities befides. 
 
 The treaty of marriage betwixt our Prince and die 
 youngeft daughter of France goes on apace, and my Lords 
 of Carlijle, and Holland are in Paris about it : we mail 
 fee now what difference there is betwixt the French and 
 SpanlJIj pace. The two Spanijh ambafladors have been 
 gone hence long fince: they fay, that they are both in 
 
 prilbn,
 
 Familiar LETTERS.. i&$ 
 
 prifon, one in Eurgois m Spain, the other in Flanders >- 
 for the fcandalous information they made here againft the 
 Duke of Buckingham ; about which, the day before their 
 departure hence, they defired to have one private audi- 
 ence more, but his Majefty denied them. I believe 
 they will not continue long in difgrace, for matters grow 
 daily worfe and worfe betwixt us and Spain : for, divers 
 letters of mart are granted our merchants, and letters of 
 mart are commonly the fore-runners of a war;, yet, they 
 fay Gondomar will be on his way hither again about the 
 Palatinate, for the King of Denmark appears now in his 
 niece's quarrel, and arms apace. Is T o more, now, but 
 that I kifs your Lord/hip's hand, and reft 
 
 Tour moft bumble and ready fervifar, 
 Lond.Feb. 5. 1624. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XCII. 
 To my FATHER, from London. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Received yours of the gd of February by the hands 
 of my coufin Thomas Guin of Trecajile. 
 It was my fortune to be on Sunday was fortnight at 
 Theobald's, where his late Majefty King James departed 
 this life, and went to his laft reft upon the day of re/)', 
 prefently after fermon was done. A little before the 
 break of day he fent for the Prince, who rofe out of his 
 bed and came in his night-gown ; the King, feemed to 
 have fome earned thing to fay unto him, and fo endea- 
 voured to roufe himfelf upon his pillow, but his fpirits 
 were fo {pent that he had not ftrength to make his words 
 audible. He died of a fever which began with an ague ; 
 and fome Scots doctors mutter at a planter the Countefs 
 of Buckingham applied to the outfide of his ftomach. 
 'Tis thought the late breach of the match with Spain, 
 which for many years he had fo vehemently defired,,, 
 Q2, taok...
 
 184 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 took too deep an impreflkm in him, and that he was for- 
 ced to rufh into a war now in his declining age, having li- 
 yed in a continual uninterrupted peace his whole life, 
 except fome collateral aids he had &nt his fon-in-law. 
 As foon as he expired, the privy-council fat, and in lefs 
 then a quarter of an hour, King Charles was proclaimed 
 at Theobald's court-gate, by Sir Ednua rd Zoucb Knight- 
 marihal, Mafter Secretary Conivay dictating unto him, 
 That whereas, it hath plcafed God to take to his mercy 
 our tnoft- gracious Sovereign, King James of famous me- 
 mory, We proclaim Prince Charles his rightful and in- 
 dubitable heir to be King of England, Scotland, France 
 and Ireland, &c. The Knight-marmal miftook, faying, 
 his rightful and dubitable heir, but he was rectified by 
 the Secretary. This being done, I took my horfe in- 
 Itantly, and came to London firft, except one, who was 
 come a little before me, infomuch, that I found the 
 gates fiiut. His now Majefty took coach, and the Duke 
 of Buckingham with him, and came to St. James's. In 
 the evening he was proclaimed at Whitehall gate, in 
 Ltheapfidc and other places in a fad mower of rain ; and 
 the weather was fuitable to the condition wherein he 
 finds the kingdom, which is cloudy : for, he is left en- 
 gigcd in a war with a potent Prince, the people by long 
 difuetuJe unapt for arms, the fleet royal in quarter re- 
 pair, himfclf without a Queen, his fifter without a coun- 
 try, the crown pitifully laden with debts, and the purfe 
 of the (tate lightly ballafted, though it never had better 
 opportunity to be rich than it had thefc lait twenty 
 years ; but God almighty, I hope will make him emerge, 
 and pull this ifland out of all thefe plagues, and preferve 
 . us from worfer times. 
 
 The plague is begun in White-chapel ; and as they 
 fay, in the fame houfe, at the fame day of the month, 
 with the fame number that died twenty two years fmce 
 when Queen Elizabeth departed. 
 
 There are great preparations for the funeral; and 
 there is a design to buy all the cloth for mourning white, 
 and then to put it to the dyers in grofs ; which is like to 
 
 favc
 
 Familiar L E T T'E R S. i8>" 
 
 fave the crown a good deal of money : the drapers mur- 
 mur extremely at the Lord Cranfield for it. 
 
 I am not fettled yet in any ftable condition, but I ly 
 windbound at the Cape of Good Hope, expecting fome 
 gentle gale to launch out into an employment. 
 
 So, with my love to all my brothers and fitters at the 
 Brjn, and near Brecknock, I humbly crave a continuancec 
 of your prayers and bleffing to 
 
 Your dutiful foti, 
 
 London, Dec. n. 1625. J. H; . 
 
 LETTER XCIII. 
 To Dr. P & i c H A R D. 
 
 S I R, 
 
 CJ I N C E I was beholden to you for your many favours 
 >J in Oxford, I have not heard from you (ne gry qui- 
 deni), I pray let the wonted correfpondence be now re* 
 rived and receive new vigour between us. 
 
 My Lord Chancellor Bacon is lately dead of a languifli- - 
 ing weaknefs: he died fo poor, that he fcarce left money 
 to bury him ; which though he had a great wit, did argue 
 no great wifdom, it being one of the effential properties 
 of a wife man to provide for the main chance. I have 
 read, that it hath been the fortune of all poets common- - 
 ly to die beggars, but for an Orator, a Lawyer, and Phi- 
 lofopher as he was to die fo, is rare, tt feercs the fame 
 fate befel him that attended Demoftbenes, Seneca, and 
 Cicero, (all great men) ; of whom, the two firft fell by 
 corruption. The faireil diamond may have a flaw in it, 
 but I believe he died poor out of a contempt of the pelf - 
 of fortune; as aifo out of an excefs of generofity, which 
 appeared as in divers other paflages, fo once when' the 
 King had fent him a flag, he fent up for the under- 
 keeper, and having drunk the King's health unto him in 
 a great filver gilt-bowl, he gave it him for his fee. 
 
 ( He,
 
 1 86 familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 He writ a pitiful letter to King James not long before 
 his death, and concludes, ' Help me dear Sovereign 
 ' Lord and Mafter, and pity me fo far, that I who have 
 ' been born to a bag, be not now in my age forced in 
 ' effcift to bear a wallet ; nor that I who defire to live to 
 ' ftudy, may be driven to ftudy to live :' which words, 
 in my opinion, argueth a little abje<5Hon of fpirit, as his 
 former letter to the Prince did of profanenefs ; where- 
 in he hoped, that as the Father was his Creator, the 
 Son will be his Redeemer. I write not this to derogate 
 from the noble worth of the Lord Vifcount Verulam, 
 who was a rare man, a man recondite fcientit, & ad 
 faliitem liter arum natus ; and I think the eloquentefr. 
 that was born in this ifle. They fay he (hall be the laft 
 Lord Chancellor, as Sir Edward Coke was the laft Lord 
 Chief Juftice of England ; for ever fince, they have been 
 termed Lord Chief Juftices of the King's-bench, fo here- 
 after they mall be only Keepers of the Great Seal, which 
 for title and office are depofable ; but they fay the Lord 
 Chancellor's title is indelible. 
 
 I was lately at Grays-Inn with Sir Eubule, and he de- 
 fired me to remember him unto you, as I do alfo falute 
 meum Prichardum ex imis praecordiis, 'vale xtpaxii ^ 
 
 TZfC3-y^ira.1ti. 
 
 Tours waft affeftionately ivkile, 
 LsrJ.Jaa. 6. 1625. J. H. 
 
 LETTER CIV.. 
 To my Well-behved Coufin Mr. T. V. 
 
 COUSIN, 
 
 "\7"OU have a great work in hand ; for you write unto 
 j[ me, that you are upon a treaty of marriage ; 
 a gi eat work indeed, and a work of fuch confequcnce, 
 that it may make you or mar you : it may make the 
 whole remainder of your hfe uncouth or comfortable to 
 
 youj
 
 Familiar L E T T E R S. 187 
 
 you ; for of all civil a&ions that are incident to man, 
 there is not any that tends more to his infelicity or happi- 
 ne{s, therefore, it concerns you not to be over-hafly 
 herein, nor to take the bail before the bound : you muft 
 be cautious how you thruft your neck into fuch a yoke, 
 whence you will never have power to withdraw it again, 
 for the tongue ufeth to tie fo hard a knot that the teeth 
 can never untie ; no, not Alexander's fword can cut af- 
 funder among us chriftians. If you are r folved to mar- 
 ry, chufs 'where you. love, and refelve to love your choice : 
 let love rather than lucre, be your guide in this election, 
 though a concurrence of both be good, yet for my part, 
 I had rather the latter mould be wanting than the firft ; 
 the one is the pilot, but the other the ballad of the mip 
 which mould carry us to the harbour of a happy life. If 
 you are bent to wed, I wim you anothergets wife than 
 Socrates had, who when me had fcolded him out of 
 doors, as he was going through the portal threw a 
 chamber-pot of dale urine upon his head; whereat the 
 Philofopher having been filent all the while, fmilingly 
 faid, / thought after fo much thunder ive fiould have 
 rain ; and as I wim you may not light upon fuch an 
 Zantippe (as the wifeft men have had ill luck in this 
 kind, as I could indance in two of our mod eminent 
 lawyers, C. #.) fo, I pray that God may deliver you from 
 a wife of fuch a generation, that Strowd our cook here 
 at Wejiminjier faid his wife was of, who, when (out of a 
 mifiike of a preacher) he had on Sunday in the after- 
 noon gone out of the church to a tavern, and returning 
 'towards the evening pretty well heated, to look to his 
 road, and his wife falling to read him a loud leflbn in fo 
 furious a manner, as if me would have bafted him inftead 
 of the mutton, and amongd other revilings, telling him 
 often, that the devil, the dsvil would fetch him, at laft 
 he broke out of a long filence, and told her, I prithee 
 good-wife hold thyfelf content,, for I know the devil will 
 do me no hurt, for I have married his kinfwoman. If 
 you light upon fuch a wife, (a wife that hath more bone 
 than fiefh) I wilh you may have the fame meafure of pa- 
 tience
 
 188 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 tience that Socrates and Strowd had, to fufFer the grey- 
 mare fometimes to be the better horfe. I remember 
 a French proverb : 
 
 La maifon eft miferable & mefckante 
 On la poule plus baut que le coc chante. 
 
 That houfe doth every day more wretched grow, 
 Where the hen louder than the cock doth crow, 
 
 yet we have another Englijh proverb almoft counter to 
 . this, That it is better to marry a Jhreiu than a Jbeep : 
 for, though filence be the dumb orator of beauty, and 
 the beft ornament of a woman, yet a phlegmatic dull 
 wife is fulfome and faftidious. 
 
 Excufe me coufin, that I jeft with you in fo ferious a 
 bufinefs. I know you need no counfel of mine herein, 
 you are difcreet enough of yourfelf ; nor do I prefume, 
 do you want advice of parents, which by all means muft 
 go along with you: fo, wifhing you all conjugal joy, 
 and a happy confarreation, I reft 
 
 Tour ajfstlionate coufin, 
 
 London, Feb. j. 1625. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XCV. 
 To my noble Lord> the Lord Clifford, from London. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 TH E Duke of Buckingham is lately returned from 
 Holland, having renewed the peace with the 
 dates, and articled with them for a continuation of fome 
 naval forces for an expedition againft Spain ; as alfo, ha- 
 ving taken up fome monies upon private jewels, (not any 
 of the crown's) ; and laftly, having comfoi ted the Lady 
 Elizabeth for the deceafe of his late Majefty her father, 
 and of Prince Frederick her eldeft fon, whofe difafter- 
 ous manner of death, arnongft the reft of her fad afflicli- 
 
 ons
 
 Familiar LETTERS. -189 
 
 cms is not the leafl : for paffing over Harlem Mere, an 
 huge inland loch, in company of his father who had been 
 in Amfterdam, to look how his bank of money did 
 thrive, and coming (for more frugality) in the common 
 boat, which was overfet with merchandize" and other 
 pa/Tengers in a thick fog, the veflel turned over, and fo 
 many perimed ; the Prince Palfgrave faved himfelf by 
 fwimming, but the young Prince clinging to the malt 
 and being intangled among the tackling, was half drown- 
 ed, and half frozen to death : a fad defliny ! 
 
 There is an open rupture betwixt us and the Spani- 
 ard, though he gives out,, that he never broke with us 
 to this day. Count Gondcmar was on his \vay to Flan- 
 *ders, and thence to England (as they fay), with a large 
 commiflion to treat for a furrender of the Palatinate, 
 and fo to piece matters together again, but he died in 
 the journey at a place called Bannol, of pure apprehcn- 
 fions of grief, it is given out. 
 
 The match betwixt his Majeily and the Lady Hen- 
 rietta Maria, youngeft daughter to Henry the Great, 
 (the eldeft being married to the King of Spain, and the 
 fecond to the Duke of Savoy} goes roundly on, and is in 
 a manner concluded ; whereat the Count of SoiJJ'ons is 
 much difcontented, who gave himfelf hopes to have her, 
 but the hand of heaven hath predefined her for a far 
 higher condition. 
 
 The French ambafladors who were fent hither to con- 
 clude the bufinefs, having private audience of his Ma- 
 jefty a little before his death, he told them pleafantly, 
 that he would make war againft the Lady Henrietta, be- 
 caufe (he would not receive the two letters which were 
 fent her, one from himfelf and the other from his fon, 
 but fent them to her mother, yet he thought he mould 
 caiily make peace with her, becaufe he underftood me 
 had afterwards put the latter letter in her bofom, and 
 the fipft in her culhionet ; whereby he gathered, that me 
 intended to referve his fon for her affe&ion, and him for 
 counfd. 
 
 The
 
 190 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 The Bifhop of l.ticon, now Cardinal de Richelieu, is 
 grown to be the fole favourite of the King of France, 
 being brought in by the Queen-mother, he h;ith been 
 very a<5tive in advancing the match ; but 'tis thought the 
 wars will break out afrefh againft them of the religion, 
 notuithftanding the ill fortune the King had before 
 Moniauban few years fince, where he loft above 500 of 
 his nobles, whereof the Duke of Main was one ; and 
 having lain in perfon before the town many months, and 
 received fome affronts, as that inicription upon their 
 gates mews, Roy fans fey, villt fans feu : A King 
 without faith, a town without fear, yet he was forced 
 to raze his works and raiie his fiege. 
 
 The letter which Mr. Ellis Hicks brought them of 
 l\lontauban from Rocket, through fb much danger, and 
 with fo much gallantry was an infinite advantage unto 
 them ; for whereas, there was a politic report raifed in 
 the King's army and blown to Montauban, that Rochel 
 was yielded to the Count of SoiJ/bns who lay then before 
 her, this letter did inform the contrary, and that Rocket 
 was in as good plight as ever; whereupon, they made 
 a fally the next day upon the King's forces, and did him 
 a great deal of fpoil. 
 
 There be fummons out for a parliament, I pray God 
 it may prove more profperous than the former. 
 
 I have been lately recommended to the Duke of 
 Buckingham by fome noble friends of mine that have in- 
 tmacy with him ; about whom, though he hath three 
 Secretaries already, I hope to have fome employment, 
 for I am weary walking up and down fo idly upon Lon- 
 don ftreets. 
 
 The p'ague begins to rage mightily. God avert his 
 judgments that menace fo great a mortality, and turn 
 not away his face from this poor ifland : fo, I kifs your 
 Lordmip's hand in quality of 
 
 Tour Lord/hip's mojl humble fervitor, 
 
 Lwdon, Feb. 25. 1625. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 
 
 LETTER XCVI. 
 
 Tolls Right Honourable my Lord ^Carlingford, after 
 Earl of Carberry, at Golden-Grove 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 WE have gallant news now abroad, for we are fure 
 to have a new Queen before it be long ; both 
 the contract and marriage was lately folemnized in France , 
 the one the fecond of this month in the Louvre, the other 
 the eleventh day following in the great church of Paris, 
 by the Cardinal of Rochefoucault : there was fome claming 
 betwixt him and the Archbifhop of Paris, who alleged 
 it was his duty to officiate in that church ; but the dig- 
 nity of Cardinal and the quality of his office, being the 
 King's great Almoner, which makes him chief Curate 
 of the court, gave him the prerogative. I doubt not 
 but your Lordihip hath heard of the capitulations j but 
 for better aflurance, I will run them over briefly. 
 
 The King of France obliged himfelf to procure the 
 difpenfation ; the marriage mould be celebrated in the 
 fame form as that of Queen Margaret, and of the 
 Dutc-hefs of Bar ; her dowry mould be 800,000 crowns, 
 fix millings a-piece, the one moiety to be paid the day of 
 the contract, the other twelve months after. The Queen 
 fliall have a chapel in alJ the King's royal houfes, and any 
 where elfe, where me (hall refide within the dominions 
 of his Majefty of Great Britain, with free exercife of the 
 Roman religion, for herfelf, her officers, and all her 
 houfhold, for the celebration of the mafs, the predica- 
 tion of the word, administration of the facraments, and 
 power -to procure indulgences from the holy father. 
 To this end me mall be allowed twenty-eight pr". fcs, or 
 ccclefuiHcs in her houfe, and a Bilhop in quality of Al- 
 moner, who mall have jurifdiclion over all the reft; and 
 that none of the King's officers fhaJl have power over 
 them, unlefs in cafe of treafon ; therefore all her ec- 
 clefiaftics (hall take the oath of fidelity to his Majefty of 
 
 Great
 
 I 9 2 Familiar LETTERS. PART \. 
 
 Great Britain : there (hall be a cemetery or church-yard 
 clofed about to bury thole of her family. That in con- 
 fideration of this marriage all Englijli catholics, as well 
 ecclefiaftics as lay, who (hall be in any prifon merely for 
 religion, fince the lad edift, fliall be fet at liberty. 
 
 This is the eighth alliance we have had with Francs 
 fince the conqueft ; and as it is the beft that could be 
 made, in chrljlsndom, fo I hope it will prove the happieft. 
 So, I kifs your hand, being 
 
 Your Lordjbi/>'s mofl humble fervant, 
 
 London, March I. 1625. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XCVII. 
 
 To the Honourable Sir THOMAS SAVAGED 
 
 SIR, 
 
 IConverfed lately with a gentleman that came from 
 France, who among other things difcourfed much of 
 the favourite Richelieu, who is like to be an active man, 
 and hath great defigns. The two firft things he did, was 
 to make fure of England and the Hollander : he thinks 
 to have us fafe enough by this marriage ; and Holland, 
 by a late league, which was bought with a great fum of 
 money ; for he hath furniihed the States with 1,000000 
 oflivres, at two (hillings a-piece in prefent, and 600,000 
 Jiyres every year of thefe two that are to come, provided 
 that the States repay thefe fums two years after they are 
 in peace or truce. The King prefled much for liberty 
 of confcience to Roman catholics among them, and the 
 deputies promifcd to do all they could with the States 
 G-eneny about it ; they articled likewife for the French 
 to be aflbciated with them in the trade to the Indies. 
 
 Monfieur is lately married to Mary of Bourbon, the 
 Duke of Montpenjiers daughter ; he told her, that ht 
 would be a better husband, than he had been a fuitor fo 
 her, for he hung off a good while. This marriage was 
 
 made
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 193 
 
 made up by the King, and Monfieur hath for his ap- 
 penage 100,000 livres annual rent from Chart res and 
 Blois, 100,000 livres penfion, and 500,00010 L>e charg- 
 ed yearly upon the general receipts of Orleans, in 'all 
 about 70,000 pounds. There was much ado before this 
 match could be brought about ; for there were many op- 
 pofers, and there.be dark whifpers, that there was a deep 
 plot to confine the King to a monaftery, and that Mon- 
 fieur mould govern, and divers great ores have fufTercd 
 for it, and more are like to be difcox ered. So, I take 
 my leave for the prefent, and reft 
 
 Tour very humble and ready fervant, 
 Lyndon, March 10. 1626. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XCVIII. 
 
 To the Right Honourable ', the Lord Clifford. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 I Pray be pleafed to difpenfc with this flownefs o^ 
 mine, in anfwering yours ofthefirft of this prefent. 
 
 Touching the dcmeftic occurrences, the gentleman who 
 s bearer hereof, is more capable to give you account by 
 difcourfe than I can in paper, 
 
 For foreign tidings, your . Lordihip may underftand, 
 that the town of Breda hath been a good while making 
 her laft will and tcflament ; but now there is certain news 
 come, that me hath yielded up the ghoft to Sfino/a's 
 hands after a tough fiege of thirteen months, and a cir- 
 cumvallation of near upon twenty miles con.pafs. 
 
 My Lord Southampton^^ his eldeft fon fickened at die 
 fiege, and died at Bergfan ; the adventurous Earl Henry 
 of Oxford, feeming to tax the Prince of Orange of flack- 
 nefs to fight, was fet upon a defperate work, where he 
 melted his greafe, and fo being carried to the Hague, 
 he died alfo. I doubt not but you have heard of Grave 
 Maurice's death, which happened when the town was 
 R pall
 
 194 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 paft cure ; \vhich was his more than the the States i for 
 he was Marquis of Breda, and had near upon 30,000 
 dollars annual rent from her ; therefore he feemed in 
 a kind of fympathy to ficken with his town, and died 
 before her. He had provided plentifully for his natural 
 children, but could not, though much importuned by 
 Dr. Rofcttr, and other divines upon his death-bed, be 
 induced to make them legitimate by marrying the mother 
 of them : for the law there is, that if one hath got 
 children of any woman, though unmarried to her, yet if 
 he marry her never fo little before his death, he makes 
 her honeft, and them all legitimate- But it feems the 
 Prince poftponed the love he bore to this woman and 
 children, to that which he tore to his brother Henry ; 
 for had he made the children legitimate, it had preju- 
 diced the brother in point of command and fortune ; yet, 
 lie had provided plentifully for them and the mother. 
 
 Grave Henry hath fucceeded him in all things,, and is 
 a gallant gentleman, of a French education and temper : 
 he charged him at his death to marry a young Lady, the 
 Count of Solmes daughter attending the Queen of Bohe- 
 mia, whom he had long courted ; which is thought wiJl 
 take fpeedy effect. 
 
 When the fiege before Breda had grown hot, Sir Ed- 
 *-varJ Vcre being one day attending Prince Maurice, 
 he pointed at a rifing place called Terhay, where the 
 enemyhad built a fort, (which might have been prevent- 
 ed). Sir Edward told him, he feared that fort would be 
 the caufe of the lofs of the town : the Grave fputtered 
 and fiiook his head, faying, it was the greater! error he 
 had committed fince he knew what belonged to a foldier ; 
 as alfo, in managing the plot for furprizing the citadel of 
 Antwerp ; for he repented that he had not employed 
 JEnglljh and French in lieu of the flow Dutch, who aimed 
 to have the fole honour of it, and were not fo lit inftru- 
 ments for fuch a nimble piece of fervice. As foon as Sir 
 Charles Morgan gave up the town, Spirilla caufed a new 
 gate to be erected, with this infcription in great golden 
 sharactere. 
 
 Philippo
 
 Familiar L E T T E R"S. 105 
 
 Philippo quarto regnante, 
 Clara Eugrenia llabella gubernante* 
 Ambrofio Spinola ob/idente, 
 natuor regibus contra conantibus* 
 Breda captafuit idibus, fcc* 
 
 It is thought Spinola now, that he hath recovered 
 
 the honour he had loft before Berghen-op-zoovi three 
 
 years fince, will not long flay in Flanders, but retire^ 
 
 Ko more now, but that I am refolved to continue ever 
 
 Tour Lord/flip's nnji humble fcrzant 
 
 London, March 19. 1626* J- H 
 
 LETTER XCIX. 
 To Dr. FIELD, Lord Bificp of LandaiF. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 I Send you my humble thanks for thole worthy hof- 
 pitable favours you were pleaicd to give me at your 
 lodgings at Weftminfter. I had yours ot the fifteenth 
 of this prefent, by the hand of Mr. Jonathan Fieli*. 
 The news which fills every corner of the town at this 
 time is the (brry and unfuccefsful return that Wimblcdsri* 
 fleet hath made from Spain. It was a fleet that deferved 
 to have had a better deftiny, confidciing the flrengthof it, 
 and the huge charge the crowr^was at : for, befides a 
 fquadron of fixteen Hollanders, whereof Ccunt William t 
 one of Prince Maurice's natural fons was Admiral, there 
 were above eighty of ours, the greatefl joint naval power 
 (of fliips without gallies) that ever fpread fail upon 
 felt-water ; which makes the world abroad to ftand L.- 
 fbonimed how To huge a fleet could be fo fuddenly 
 made ready. The finking of the -Long Robin with 176 
 fouls in her, in the bay of Bifeay, before fhe had gone 
 half the voyage, was no good augury ; and the critics 
 of the time fay, diere-wcre many other thinos that pro- 
 R 2 noifed
 
 196 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 mifed no good fortune to this fleet ; beiides, they would 
 poirtt at divers errors committed in the conduct of the 
 main deflgn : firft, the odd choice that was made of the 
 Admiral, who was a mere landman ; which made the fca- 
 men much flight him ; it belonging properly to Sir Robert 
 * \tanjel, Vice-Admiral of England, to have gone in cafe 
 the High- Admiral went not. Then they fpeak of the 
 uncertainty of the enterprize, and that no place was 
 pitched upon to be invaded, till they came to the height 
 of the South Cape, and in fight of more ; where the Lord 
 Wimbledon firfl called a council of war, wherein fome 
 would be for Malaga, others for St. Mary-Port, o- 
 thers for Gibralter, but mod for Cales ; and while they 
 were thus confulting, the country had an alarm given 
 them. Add hereunto the blazing abroad of this ex- 
 pedition before the fleet went out of the Downs; for 
 Mercurius Gallobelgicus had it in print, that it was for 
 the Streights-mouth. Nona it is a rule, that great deftgns 
 offtatejhould be myfteries till they come to the very aft 
 of performance, and then they Jhould turn to exploits. 
 Moreover, when the local attempt was refolved on, there 
 were feven (hips (by the advice of one Capt. Love'} fuffer* 
 ed to go up the river, which might have been eafily taken ; 
 and being rich, it is thought they would have defrayed 
 well near the charge of our fleet ; which (hips did much 
 infelt us afterwards with their ordnance, when we had 
 taken the fort of PontalL Moreover, the diforderly 
 carriage and excefs of our landmen (whereof there were 
 10,000) when they were put afliore, who broke into 
 the friers caves, and other cellars of fwcet wines, where 
 many hundreds of them being Jurprized, and found dead 
 drunk, the Spaniards came and tore off their ears and 
 nofes, and plucked out their eyes ; and I was told of one 
 merry fello-.v efcaping, that killed an afs for a buck. 
 Laitly, it is laid to the Admiral's charge, that my Lord de 
 /.? /^rt/v's (hip bsing infected, he mould give orders that the 
 lick men fliould be fcattered into divers (hips ; which dif- 
 perfed the contagion exceedingly, fo.that fome thoufands 
 died before tli'j iieet returncd 3 which was done in a con- 
 
 fufcd
 
 LETTERS. 197 
 
 fufcd manner, \vithout any obfervancc of fea orders, yet 
 I do not hear of any that will be punifhed for thefe mif- 
 carriages, which will make the difhonour fail more foully 
 upon the State ; but the mod unfortunate paffage of all 
 was, that though we did nothing by land that was con- 
 fiderable, yet, if we had ftaid but a day or r.vo longer, 
 and fpent time at fea, the whole fleet of galleons from 
 Nova Hifpania had fallen into our mouths, \\hich came 
 prefently in, clofe along the coaft of BarLiry ; and in all 
 likelihood we might have had the opportunity to have 
 taken the richeft prize that ever was taken on falt-water.. 
 Add hereunto, that while we were thus maftersof thefe 
 feas, a fleet of fifty fail of Brajil men got fife into LL'bcn t 
 with four of the richeft Carnch that ever came from the 
 Eaft-lndies. 
 
 I hear that my Lord St. David's is to be remo- 
 ved to Bath and/^W/r, and it were worth yourLordfhip's 
 coming up to endeavour the fucceeding of him. So, I 
 humbly reft 
 
 Tour LordJJjip's mojl ready ferzant, 
 
 London, Nov. 2.0. 1626. J. H. 
 
 L E T T E R C. 
 
 To my Lord Duke of Buckingham'/ Grace, at -A'f-u'- 
 Market. 
 
 MAY it pleafe your Grace to perufe: and pardon 
 thefe few advertifements, which I would not ; 
 dare to prefent, had I not hopes that the goodnefs which 
 is concomitant with your greatnefs, would make them 
 venial. 
 
 My Lprd, a parliament is at hand ; the laft was bojfle- 
 rous, God grant that this may prove more calm : a r umor 
 runs that there are clouds already ingendered, which will 
 break out into a ftorm in the lower region, and moft of 
 the drops are lie to fall upon your Grace. This, thouglv 
 R 3 it
 
 198 Familiar LETTERS. PART!. 
 
 it be but rulgar aftrology, is not altogether to be con- 
 temned, though I believe that his Majefty's countenance 
 refining fo ftrongly upon your Grace with the bright- 
 nefs of your own innocency, may be able to difpel and 
 fcatter them to nothing. 
 
 My Lord, you are a great Prince, and all eyes are 
 upon your actions : this ma,kes you more fubject to envy ; 
 which like the fun-beams beats always upon rifing grounds. 
 I know your Grace hath many (age and folid heads a- 
 bout you, yet I truft it will prove no offence, if out of 
 the late relation I have to your Grace, by the recommen- 
 dation of fach noble perfonages, I put in alfo my mite. 
 
 My Lord, under favour, it were not amifs if your 
 Grace would be pleafed to part with fome of thofe places 
 you hold which have lead relation to the court, and it 
 would take away the niutterings that run of multiplicity 
 of offices, and in my (hallow apprehenfion your Grace 
 might ftand more firm without an anchor. The office of 
 High-Admiral in thefe times of aftion requires one whole 
 man to execute it : your Grace hath another fea of bufi- 
 nefs to wade through, and the voluntary refigning of this 
 office would fill all men, yea even your enemies, with 
 admiration and affeclion, and make you more a Prince, 
 than detmcl from your greatnefe. If any ill fucceffes 
 happen at fea, (as .that of the Lord Wimbledon's lately) 
 or if there be any murmurs for pay, your Grace will be 
 free from all imputation, befides, it will afford your 
 Grace more leifure to look into your own affairs, which 
 ly confufed and unfettled. Laftly, (which is not the 
 lead thing) this act will be fb plaufible, that it may much 
 advantage his Majcfty in point of fubfidy. 
 
 Secondly, it were expedient (under correction) that 
 your Grace would be pleafed to allot fome fet hours 
 for audience and accefs of fuitors ; and it would be 
 lefs cumber to yourfelf and your fervants, and give more 
 content to the world, which often mutters for difficulty 
 of accefs. 
 
 Laftly, it were not amifs that your Grace would fettle 
 a {binding manfion-houfe and family, that fuitors may 
 
 know
 
 Familiar LETTERS. _ 199 
 
 know whither to repair conftantly ; and that your fer- 
 vants, every one in his place might know what belongs 
 to his place, and attend accordingly : for, though confu- 
 fion in a great family carry a kind of a ftate with it, yet 
 order and regularity gains a greater opinion of virtue 
 and wifdom. I know your Grace doth not (nor needs 
 not) afFe<5l popularity : it is true, that the peoples love is 
 the ftrongeft citadel of a fovereign Prince, but to a great 
 fubjeft, it hath often proved fatal ; for he who pulleth 
 off his hat to the people giveth his head to the Prince : 
 and it is remarkable what was faid of a late unfortunate 
 Earl, who a little before Queen. Elizabeth's death, had 
 drawn the ax upon his own neck, That he 'was grown 
 Jb popular, that he 'was too dangerous for the times , and 
 the times for him. 
 
 My Lord, now that your Grape is threatened to be 
 heaved at, it mould -behove every one that oweth you 
 duty and good-will, to reach out his hand fome way or 
 other to ferve you : amongft thefe, I am one that pre- 
 fiimes to do it in this poor impertinent paper ; for which, 
 I implore pardon, becanfe I am 
 
 Your Grace's mq/i humble and faithful fervant, 
 
 London, Feb. 18. 1626. j H. 
 
 LETTER CI. 
 
 To the Right Honourable the Earl R. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 \ C CORD ING to promife, and that portion of o- 
 jT\. bedience I x>we to your commands, I fend your 
 Lordfhip thefe few avifos, fome whereof I doubt not but 
 you have received before, and that by abler pens than 
 mine, yet your Lordmip may happily find herein fome- 
 thing which was omitted by others, or the former .news 
 made dearer by circumstances. 
 
 I
 
 200 Familiar LETTERS. PART L 
 
 I hear Count Mansfelt is in Paris, having now recei- 
 ved three routings in Germany', 'tis thought the French 
 King will piece him up again with new recruits. 1 was 
 told, that as he was feeing the two queens one day at 
 dinner, the Queen-mother faid, they fay, Count Manf- 
 fe/t is here amongft this croud; I do not believe it 
 quoth the Queen, for whenfoever he feeth a Spaniard 
 he runs away. 
 
 Matters go on untowardly on our fide in Germany, 
 but the King of Denmark will be ftiortly in the field in 
 perfon ; and Bethlem Gabor hath been long expecled to 
 do fomething, but fome think he will prove but a bug- 
 bear. Sir Charles Morgan is to go to Germany with 
 6000 auxiliaries to join with the Dani/Ji army. 
 
 The parliament is adjourned to Oxford, by reafon of 
 the ficknefs which increafeth exceedingly, and before 
 the King went out of the town there died 1500 that 
 very week, and two out of Whitehall itfelf. 
 
 There is high claming again betwixt my Lord Duke 
 and the Earl of Briftol, they recriminate one another of 
 divers things : the Earl accufeth him amongft other mat- 
 ters, of certain letters from Rome, of putting his Maje- 
 (ty upon that hazardous journey to Spain, and of fome 
 mifcarriages at his being in that court : there be articles 
 alfo againft Lord Cofiiuey, which I fend your Lordfhij) 
 here inclofed. 
 
 I am for Oxford the next week, and thence for Wales, 
 to fetch my good old father's bleffing : at my return, if 
 it mall pieafe ^od to reprieve me in thefe dangerous 
 times of contagion, I mall continue my wonted fervicc 
 to your Lordfhip, if it may be done with fafety : fo, I 
 reft 
 
 Tour Lordfiip' 's moft kumlle fervitor, 
 
 Lond. Mareb 1.5. 1626. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 201 
 
 LETTER GIL 
 
 To ihe Honourable the Lord Vifcount C. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 SI R John North delivered me one lately from your 
 Lordfhip, and I fend my humble thanks for the ve- 
 nifon you intend me. I acquainted your Lordfhip as 
 opportunity ferved, with the nimble pace the French 
 match went on by the fuccefsful negotiation of the earls 
 of Carlifle, and Holland, (who outwent the monfieurs 
 themfelves in courtlhip) and how in Ids than nine moons 
 this great bufinefs was propofed, purfued and perfected; 
 whereas they?//; had leifure enough to iiniili his annual 
 progrefs, from one end of the Zodiac to the other fo 
 many years, before that of Spain could come to any 
 dupe of perfection. This may ferve to mew the diffe- 
 rence betwixt the two nations, the leaden-heeled pace of 
 the one, and the quick-jilvered motions of the other. It 
 mews alfo how the French is more generous in his pro- 
 ceedings, and not fo full of fcruples, refervations, and 
 jealoufies as the Spaniard, but deals more frankly, and 
 with a greater confidence and gallantry. 
 
 The Lord Duke of Buckingham is now in Paris ac- 
 companied with the Earl of Montgomery, and he went 
 in a very fplendid equipage. The Venetian and Hol- 
 lander with other dates that are no friends to Spain, did 
 fome good offices to advance this alliance ; and the new 
 Pope propounded much towards it, but Richelieu the 
 new favourite of France was the cardinal inftrument in it. 
 
 This Pope Urban grows very active, not only in 
 things prefent, but ripping up of old matters, for which 
 there is a felect committee appointed to examine accounts 
 and errors part, not only in the time of his immediate 
 predecefibrs, but others. And one told me of a merry 
 pafquil lately in Rome ; that whereas there are two great 
 flames, one of Peter, the other of Paul, oppofite one 
 to the other upon a bridge, one had clapt a pair of fpurs 
 
 upon
 
 2D2 Tamiliar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 upon St. Peter's heels, and St. Paul aflung him whither 
 he was bound, he anfwered, I apprehend fome danger 
 to (by now in Rome, becaufe of this new commiflion, 
 for, I fear they will queftion me for denying my matter. 
 Truly brother Peter, I mall not ftay long after you, for I 
 have as much caufe to doubt that they will queftion me 
 for perfecuting the chriftians before I was converted. So 
 I take my leave, and reft 
 
 Tour Lord/flip's nioft humble fervitcr, 
 Lond. March 3. 1626. J. H. 
 
 LETTER CIII. 
 To niy Brother Mr. HUG H PE N RY. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Thank you for your late letter, and the feveral good 
 tidings fent me from Wales: in requital, lean fend 
 you gallant news, for we have now a moft noble new 
 Queen of England, who in true beauty is beyond the 
 long wooed Infanta : for me was of a fading flaxen hair, 
 big lipped, and fomewhat heavy eyed ; but this daughter 
 of France, this youngeft branch of Bourbon (being but 
 i;i her cradle when the great Henry her father was put 
 out of the world) is of a more lovely and hfting com- 
 } lexion, a dark brown ; fhe hath eyes that fparkle like 
 fhirs, and for her phyfiognomy {he may be faid to be a 
 mirrour of perfection. She had a rough paflage in her 
 transfrctation to Dover caftle ; and in Canterbury the 
 King bedded iirft with her: there were a goodly train of 
 choice ladies attended her conong upon the bowling-green 
 onBarram downs upon the way, who divided themfelves 
 into two rows, and they appeared like fo many conftellati- 
 ons; but, methoaght that the country ladies outmined 
 the courtiers. She brought over with her 400,000 
 crowns in gold and filver, as half her portion, and the 
 Other moiety is to be paid at the year's end. Her fir.ft 
 
 full
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 203 
 
 fuit of fervants (by article) are to \>e French, and as 
 they die Englijb are to fucceed: me is alfo allowed 
 twenty eight ecclefiafHcs of any order except jefuits ; a 
 Bifliop for her Almoner, and to have private exercife of 
 her religion .for her and her fervants. 
 
 I pray convey the inclofed to my father by jhe next 
 convenience, and pray prcfent my dear love to my filler, 
 I hope to fee you at Dyvinntck about Michaelmas, for 
 I intend to wait upon my father, and take my mother in 
 the way ; I mean Oxford. In the interim, I reft 
 Tour mojl affettionate brother, 
 
 Lond. May 16. 1626. J. II. 
 
 LETTER CIV. 
 
 To my Uncle Sir SACKVILE TREVOR, /r0? Oxford. 
 
 SIX, 
 
 I Am forry I mud write unto you the fad tidings of the 
 diflblution of the parliament here ; which was done 
 fuddenly. Sir John Elliot was in the heat of a high 
 fpeech againft the Duke of Buckingham, when the Umcr 
 of the black-rod knocked at the door, and fignified the 
 King's pleafure ; which ftruck a kind of confternation in 
 all the houfe. My Lord Keeper Williams hath parted 
 with the broad-feal, becaufe as fome fay, he went about 
 to cut down the fcale, by which he rofe, for fome it 
 feems did ill offices betwixt the Duke and him. Sir 
 Thomas Coventry hath it now: I pray God he be tender 
 of the King's confcience, whereof he is keeper, rather 
 tli an ofthcfea/. 
 
 I am bound to-morrow upon a journey towards the 
 mountains to fee fome friends in Wales, and to bring 
 back my father's blefling. For better aflurance of lodg- 
 ing where I pafs, in regard of the plague, I have a poft 
 warrant as far as St. David's ; which is far enough you 
 will fay, for the King hath no ground further on this 
 
 ifland.
 
 
 104 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 '/land. If the fickncfs rage in fuch extremity at London, 
 the term will be held at Reading. 
 
 All your friends here are well, but many look blank 
 becaufe of this fudden rupture of the parliament. God 
 almighty turn all to the beft, and ftay the fury cf this 
 contagion, and preferve us from fuither judgment: fo, 
 I rcit 
 
 Tour mofl affeflionate nepkew, 
 
 Oxford, Augitjl 6. 1626. J. H. 
 
 LETTER CV. 
 
 To my FATHER, from London. 
 
 SIR,' 1 
 
 I Was the fourth time at a dead (land in the 
 of my fortunes : for though I was recommended to the 
 Duke, and received many noble refpecls from him, yet 
 I was told by fome who are neareft him, that fome body 
 hath done me ill offices, by whifpering in his ear I was 
 too much Digbyfiedi and fo, they told me pofitu -ely that 
 I muft never expect any employment about him of truft. 
 While I was in this fufpence, Matter Secretary Conway 
 fent for me, and propofed unto me that the King had 
 occafion to fend a gentleman to Italy, in nature of a mo- 
 ving Agent, and though he might have choice of perfons 
 of good quality that would undertake this employment, 
 yet nptwithftanding, hearing of my breeding, he made the 
 firft proffer unto me, and that Ifhould go as the King's fer- 
 vant, and have allowance accordingly. I humbly thank- 
 ed him for the good opinion he pleafed to conceive of 
 me feeing a ftranger to him, and defined fome time to 
 confidcr of the propofition, and of the nature of the em- 
 ployment ; fo he granted me four days to think upcn it, 
 and two of them are paft, already. If I may have a fup- 
 port accordingly, I intend by God's grace (defiring your 
 confent and bleffing to go along) to apply myfelf to this 
 
 courfe ;
 
 Familiar LETTERS. . 105 
 
 courfe ; but before I part with England, I intend to 
 fend you further notice. 
 
 The ficknefs is miraculoufly decreafed in this city and 
 fuburbs, for from 5200, which was the greateft num- 
 ber that died in one week, and that was fome forty days 
 fince, they are now fallen to 300. It was rlie violenteft 
 fit of contagion that ever was for the time in this iiland, 
 and fuch as no ftory can parallel ; but the ebb of it was 
 more fwift than the tide. My brother is well, and fo 
 are all your friends here ; for I do not know any of your 
 acquaintance that is dead of this furious infection. Sir 
 John Walter aflced me lately how you did, and wimed 
 me to remember him to you. So, with my love to my 
 brothers and fitters, and the reft of my friends which 
 made fo much of me lately in the country, I reft 
 
 Tour dutiful fon, 
 Lond. Augufl j. 1626. J. H, 
 
 LETTER CVI. 
 
 To the Right Honourable the Lord Conway, principal 
 Secretary of State to his Majejiy, at Hampton-Court. 
 
 Right Honourable, 
 
 SINCE I laft attended your Lordftiip here, I fum- 
 moned my thoughts to -counfel, and canvafed to 
 and fro within myielf the bufinefs you pleafed to impart 
 unto me, for going upon the King's fervice to Italy. I 
 coniidered therein many particulars : firft, the weight 
 of the employment, and what maturity of judgment, dif- 
 cretion; and parts are required in him that will perfonate 
 fuch a man : next, the difficulties of it ; for one muft fend 
 fometimes light out of darknefs, and like the bee fuck ho- 
 ney out of bad, as out of good flowers : thirdly, the danger 
 which the undertaker muft converfe withal, and which 
 may fall upon him by interception of letters or other 
 crofs cafuahties : laftly, the great expence it will require 
 S being
 
 so6 Familiar LETTERS. PART I, 
 
 being not to remain fedentary in one place as other a- 
 gents, but to be often in itinerary motion. 
 
 Touching the firft, I refer myfelf to your honour's 
 favourable opinion, and the chara&er which my Lord S. 
 and others {hall give of me: -for -the fccond, I hope to 
 overcome it : for the third, I weigh it not, ib that I 
 may merit of my King and country: for the laft, I crave 
 leave to deal plainly with your Lordfhip, that I am a 
 Cadet, and have no other patrimony or fupport but my 
 breeding, therefore I muft breathe by the employment ; 
 and my Lord, I (hall not be able to perform what mail 
 be expefled at my hands under 100 /. a quarter, and to 
 have. bills of credit according. Upon thefe terms, my 
 Lord, I (hall apply myfelf to this fervice, and by God's 
 bleffing hope to anfwer all expectations. So, referring 
 the premises to your noble confederation, I reft 
 Jlfy Lord, your very humble and ready fervitor, 
 Loiidw, SeJ>t. 8. 1626. J. H, 
 
 LETTER CVII. 
 7V my Brothr, cftcr Dr. Ho WELL, BiJJiopofRn{\.<o\. 
 
 My Brother, 
 
 NE X T to my father, 'tis fitting you mould have 
 cognizance" of my affairs and fortunes. You 
 heard how I was in agitation for an employment in Italy, 
 but my Lord Conivay demurred upon the falary I pro- 
 pounded : I have now waved this courfe, yet I came off 
 fairly with my Lord; for, I have a {table home -employ- 
 ment proffered me by my Lord Scroop, Lord Prefident 
 .of the North, who Tent for me lately to Worceftcr- 
 houfe, though I never faw him before ; and there the 
 bargain was quickly made, that I mould go down with 
 him to Tork for Secretary ; and his Lordmip hath pro- 
 mifed me fairly. I will fee you at your houfe in HorJJey 
 
 before
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 207 
 
 before I go, and leave the particular circumftances of this 
 bufinefs till then. 
 
 The French that came over with her Majefty, for 
 their petulancy and fome mifdemeanors, and irapoiing 
 fome odd penances upon the Queen, are all camired this 
 week, about the matter of fixfcore; whereof the Bifhop 
 of Maude was one, who had flood to be Steward of her 
 Majefty 's courts ; which office my Lord of Holland hath. 
 It was a thing fuddenly done; for about one o'clock as 
 they were at dinner, my Lord Coniuay and Sir Thomas 
 Edmonds came with an order from the King, that they 
 muft inftantly away to Someret-houfe> for there were 
 barges and coaches flaying for them ; and there they 
 , mould have all their wages paid them to a penny, and' 
 they muft be content to quit the kingdom. This fudden 
 undreamed of order ftruck an aftonimment into them all, 
 both men and women; and running to complain to the 
 Queen, his Majefty had taken her before into his bed- 
 chamber, and locked the doors upon them, until he had 
 told her how matters ftood : the Queen fell into a vio- 
 lent pafiion, broke the glafs-windows, and tore her hair, 
 but me was calmed afterwards. Juft fuch a deftiny hap- 
 pened in France fome years fince to the Queen's Spanijb 
 fervants there, who were all difmuTed in like manner for 
 fome milcarriages : the like was done in Spain to the 
 Trench, therefore 'tis no new thing. 
 
 They are all now on their way to Dover, but I fear 
 this will breed ill blood betwixt us and France > and may 
 break out into an ill-favoured quarrel. 
 
 Mr. Montague is preparing to go to Paris as a mef- 
 fenger of honour, to prepoflefs the King and council tliera 
 with the truth of things So, with my very kind refpecls 
 to my filter, I reft 
 
 Tour loving brotb&r t 
 
 London, March 15. 1626. J. H. 
 
 S 2. L E T-
 
 2o8 Familiar LETTERS. PART j. 
 
 LETTER CVIIT. 
 To the Right Honourable the Lord S. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 I Am bound fhortly for York, where I am hopeful of a 
 profitable employment. There is fearful news from 
 Germany, that fince Sir Charles Morgan went thither 
 with 6000 men for the afliftance of the King of Den- 
 mark, the King hath received an utter overthrow by 
 Tilly : he had received a fall off a horfe from a wall five 
 yards high a little before, yet it did him little hurt. 
 
 'Tilly purfueth his victory ftrongly, and is got over the 
 Ehf to Holfteinland, 'infomuch, that they write from 
 Hamburgh, that Denmark is in danger to be utterly 
 lo!h The Danes and Gentians feem to lay fome fault 
 upon our King, the King upon the parliament, that 
 would not fapply him with fubfidies to affift his uncle, 
 and Prince Pat/grave, both which was promifed upon 
 the rupture of the treaties with Spain; which was done 
 by the advice of both houfes. 
 
 This is the ground that his Majefty hath lately fent 
 out pri/y-feils for loan monies, until a parliament be cal- 
 Jed, in regard that the King of Denmark is diftrefled, 
 the Sound like to be loft, the Eaftland trade and the 
 Itaple at Hamburgh like to be deftroyed, and the Eng- 
 LiJJj garrifon under Sir Charles Morgan at Stoad ready 
 to be ftarved. 
 
 Thefe loan monies keep a great noife, and they arc 
 imprisoned that deny to conform themfelves. 
 
 I fear I (hall have no more opportunity to fend tot 
 your Lordfhip till I go to Tork , .therefore I humbly take 
 my leave, and kifs your hands, being ever, 
 My Lord, 
 
 Tour obedient and ready fervitor, 
 
 J.H. 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 209 
 
 LETTER CIX. 
 To Mr. R. L. Merchant. 
 
 I Met lately with J. Harris in London, and I had not", 
 feen him two years before ; and then I took him, 
 and knew him to be a man of thirty, but now one would, 
 take him by his hair to-, be near threefcore, for he is all 
 turned gray. I wondered at fuch a metamorphofis in fo 
 (hort a time : he told rae, 'twas for the death of his 
 wife that nature had thus antedated his years. 'Tre 
 true, that a weighty fettkd forrow is of that force, that 
 * befides the contraction of the fpirits it will work upon the 
 radical moifture, and dry it up, fo that the hair can have 
 no moifture at the root. This made me remember a 
 ftory that a Spanifi Advocate told me, which is a thing 
 very remarkable.. 
 
 When the Duke of Aha was m-Bntffels, about the 
 beginning of the tumults in the Netherlands, he had fat 
 down before Hulft in Flanders, and there was a provoft - 
 marmal in his army who was a favourite of his ; and this 
 provoft had put fome to death by fecrct commiffion from 
 the Duke. There was one Captain Bolea in the army, 
 who was an intimate friend of the provoft 's ; and one 
 evening late, he went to the faid Captain's tenr, ancV 
 brought with him a confijj'or and an e\tcut';oner t as it was 
 his cuftom, he told the Captain, that he came to execute 
 his Excellency's commiffion and martial law upon him:, 
 the Captain ftarted up fuddenly, his hair {landing at aa 
 end, and being ftruck with amazement afked him where- 
 in he had offended the Duke : the provoft anfwered, Sir, 
 J come not to expoftulate the bufmefs with you, bat to. 
 execute my commiifion, therefore, I'pr.ay prepare your- 
 felf, for there is your gfroft/y father and executioner, fo- 
 he fell on his knees before the prieft, 2nd having done, 
 the hangman going to put the halter about his neck, the 
 provoft threw it away, and breaking into a laughter, told 
 him, there was no fuch thing, and that he had done thia 
 .83 to
 
 210- FcrmiTtar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 to try his courage how he could bear the terror of 
 death. The Captain looked ghaftly upon him, and 
 faid, then fir get you out of my tent, for you have done 
 me a very ill office. The next morning the faid Cap- 
 tain Bolea, though a young man of about thirty had his 
 hair all turned gray, to the admiration of all the world, 
 and of the Duke of Aha himfelf, who queftioned him 
 about it, but he would confefs nothing. The next year 
 the Duke was revoked, and in his journey to the court 
 of Spain he was to pafs by SaragoJ/a, and this Captain 
 Bolea and the provoft went- along with him as his do- 
 meftics. The Duke being to repofe fome days in Sara- 
 grfa, the young old Captain Bolea., told him that there 
 was a thing in that town worthy to be feen by his Excel- 
 lency; which was a cafa de locos, a bedlam-houfe, for 
 there was not the like in chriftendom : well faid the 
 Duke, go and tell the 'warden I will be there to-morrow 
 in the afternoon, and wifh him to be in the \vay. The 
 Captain having obtained this, went to the warden and 
 told him, that the Duke would come to vifit the houfe 
 the next day; and the chiefeft occafion that moved him 
 to it, was, that he had an unruly provoft about him, 
 who was fubjecl oftentimes to fits of frenzy, and becaufe 
 he__wifht:d him well, he had tried divers means to cure 
 him, but all would not do, therefore he would try whe- 
 ther keeping him clofe in bedlam fome days would do 
 him any good. The next day the Duke came with a 
 ruffling train of captains after him ; amongft whom was 
 the faid provoft, very fhinning brave, being entered into 
 the houfe about the Duke's perfon, Captain Bolea told 
 the warden, pointing at the provoft, that's the man ; fa 
 he took him afide into a dark lobby, where he had pla- 
 sed fome of his men, who muffled him in his cloak, feized 
 upon his gilt fword with his hat and feather, and fo hur- 
 ried him. down into a dungeon-. My proved had lain 
 there two nights and a day ; and afterward, it happened 
 diat a gentleman coming out of curiofity to fee the houfe,. 
 peeped in at a fmall grate where the provoft was ; the 
 jcovoit conjured him aa he was a chriftian, to go and? 
 
 tell
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 2 II 
 
 tell the Duke of Ah a his provoft was there clapped up, 
 nor could he imagine why. The gentleman did the er- 
 rand, whereat the Duke being aftonilhed, fent for the 
 warden with his prifoner ; fo he brought my provoft en 
 cuerpo, madman like, full of ftraws and feathers before 
 the Duke, who at the firft fight of him, breaking out in- 
 to laughter, alked the 'warden why he made him his 
 prifoner, Sir, faid the warden, it was by virtue of your 
 Excellency's commiffion brought me by Captain Bolea. 
 Bolea ftept forth and told the Duke, Sir, you have afked 
 me oft how thefe hairs of mine grew fo fuddenly gray ? 
 I have not revealed it yet to any foul breathing, but now 
 I will tell your Excellency ; and fo fell a relating the 
 paflage in Flanders. And Sir, I have been ever fince 
 beating my brains how to get an equal revenge of him j 
 and, I thought no revenge to be more equal or corre- 
 fponding, now that you fee he hath made me old before 
 my time, than, to make him mad if I could ; and had he 
 ftaid fome days longer clofe prifoner in the bedlam-houfe, 
 it might happily have wrought fome impreffions upon his 
 pericranium. The Duke was fo well pleafed with the 
 ftory and the wittinefs of the revenge, that he made 
 them both friends; and the gentleman that told me this 
 paflage, faid, that the {aid Captain Bolea was yet alive, 
 to that he could not be lefs than ninety years of age. 
 
 I thank you a thoufand times for the Cephahnia Muf- 
 cadd and Bctargo you fent me. I hope to be fhortly 
 quit with you for all courtefies : in the interim, I am 
 Tour obliged friend to ferve you* 
 
 York, May r. 1626. J, H.. 
 
 P. S. I am fbrry to hear of the trick that Sir John 
 Ayrs put upon the company by the box of Hailjhot^ 
 figned with the Ambaflador's feal, that he had fent fc* 
 fblemnly from Conflantinople ; which, he made the world 
 believe to be full oC6fftaju and Turfy gold. 
 
 LET-
 
 212 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 LETTER CX. 
 To Sir EDWARD SAVAGE, Knight. 
 
 SI R, It was no great matter to be a prophet, and 
 to have foretold this rupture between us and France 
 upon the fudden renvoy of her Majefty's fervants ; for 
 many of them had Ibid their eftates in France, given 
 money for their places, and fo thought to live and die in 
 England in the Queen's fervice, and fo have pitifully 
 complained to that King ; thereupon he hath arrefted 
 above 100 of our merchant-men that went to the vin- 
 tage at Bourdeaux. "We alfo take fome ftragglers of 
 theirs, for there are letters of mart given on both fides. 
 There are writs iflued out for a parliament, and the 
 town of Richmond in Richmond/hire hath made choice of 
 me for their burgefs, though Mr. Chriftopher Wandesford t 
 and other powerful men, and more deferving than I, 
 ftood for it. I pray God lend me fair weather in the 
 houfe of commons, for there is much murmuring about 
 the reftraint of thofe that would not conform to loan 
 monies. There is a great fleet preparing, and an army 
 of landmen ; but the defign is uncertain, whether it be 
 again/I Spain or France, for we are now in enmity with 
 both thofe crowns. The French Cardinal hath been 
 lately the other fide the Alps, and fettled the Duke of 
 Nevers in the Dutchy of Mantua, notwithflanding the 
 oppofition of the King of Spain and the Emperor, who 
 alledged, that he was to receive his inveftiture from him, 
 and that was the chief ground of the war ; but the 
 French arms hath done the work, and come triumphant- 
 ly back over the hills again. Iso more now, but that I 
 am, as always 
 
 Tour true friend, 
 Mard> 2. 1627, J. H.. 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 213 
 
 LETTER CXJ. 
 
 To the Worfbipful Mr. Alderman of the Town of 
 Richmond, and the reft of the 'worthy Members of 
 that antient Corporation. 
 
 SIB, 
 
 I Received a public instrument from you lately, fub- 
 fcribed by yourfelf and divers others ; wherein 1 find 
 that you have made choice of me to be one of your bur- 
 gefles for this now near approaching parliament. I 
 could have wilhed that you had not put by Mr. Wandef- 
 ford, and other worthy gentlemen that flood fo earneflly 
 for it, who being your neighbours, had better means 
 and more abilities to ferve you. Yet, fince you have 
 cart thefe high refpetfs upon me, I will endeavour to ac- 
 quit myfelf of the truft, and to an&yer your expectations 
 accordingly ; and as I account this election an honGlir IIH* 
 to me, fo I efteem it a great advantage, that fo worthy 
 and well experienced a Knight as Sir Talbct Bcnvs is to 
 be my collegue and fellow-burgefs. I fhall fteer by his 
 compafs, and follow his directions in aoy thing that may 
 conduce to the further benefit and advantage thereof; 
 and this ttake to be the true duty of a parliamentary 
 burgefs, without roving at random to generals. I hope 
 to learn of Sir T allot what is fitting to be done, and I 
 {hall apply myfelf accordingly to join with him to ferve 
 you with my bed abilities : fo, I reft 
 
 Tour moft affeftionate and ready friend to. ferve you* 
 London, March 24. 1627. J. H. 
 
 LETTER CXII. 
 
 fo the Right Hon* the Lord .Clifford, at Kna/brugh. 
 My LORD, 
 
 THE news that fills afl our mouths at prefent, is 
 the return of the Duke of Buckingham from the 
 iile ofRee, or as fome call it, the ifle of Rue, for the 
 
 bittej:
 
 214 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 bitter fuccefs we had there : for we had but a tart enter- 
 tainment in that fait ifiand. Our firft invafion was mag- 
 nanimous and brave; whereat, near upon 2 oo Fre nch 
 gentlemen perifhed, and divers barons of quality. My 
 Lord Newport had ill luck to diforder our cavalry with 
 an unruly horfe he had. His brother Sir Charles Rich 
 was flain, and divers more upon the retreat ; amongfl 
 others, great Colonel Gray fell into a fak-pit, and being 
 ready to be drowned, he cried out, Cent mille efcus pour 
 ma ran^on, a hundred thoufand crowns for my ranfom : 
 the Frenchmen hearing that, preferved him, though he 
 was not worth a hundred thoufand pence. Another mer- 
 ry pafTage a Captain told me, that when they were riffling 
 the dead bodies of the French gentlemen after the firit 
 invafion, they found that many of them had their miftref- 
 fes favours tied about their genitories. The French do 
 much glory to have repelled us thus ; and they have rea- 
 fon, for the truth is, they comported themfeves gallant- 
 ly, yet, thsy confefs our landing was a notable piece of 
 courage ; and if our retreat had been anfwerable to the 
 invafion, we had loft no honour at all. A great number 
 of gentlemen fell on our fide, as Sir JohnHe\dcn> Sir 
 Jo. Burro<wes, Sir George Blundel, Sir Alexander Bret t 
 with divers veteran commanders, who came from the 
 Netherlands to this fervice. 
 
 God fend us better fuccefs the next time, for there is 
 another fleet preparing to be fent under the command of 
 the Lord Denbigh : fo, I kifs your hand, and am 
 
 Tour bumble fervltor, 
 London, Sept. 24. 1627. J, H.. 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 215 
 
 LETTER 
 
 To the Right Honourable the Lord Scroop, Ear] s/^Sun- 
 derland, Lord Prefident of the North. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 MY Lord Denbigh is returned from attempting to 
 relieve Rocket, which is reduced to extreme exi- 
 gence ; and now, the Duke is preparing to go again with 
 as great power as was yet raifed, notwithitanding that 
 the parliament hath flown higher at him than ever ; which 
 makes the people here hardly wifli any good fuccefs .to 
 the expedition becaule he is General. The Spaniard 
 (lands at a gaze all this while, hoping that we may do 
 the work, otherwife I think he would find fome way to 
 relieve the town ; for there is nothing conduceth more 
 to the uniting and ftrengthening of the French monarchy 
 than the reduction of Rachel. The King hath been there 
 long in perfon with his Cardinal, and the flupendous 
 works they have raifed by fea and land are beyond be- 
 lief, as they fay. The fea-works and booms were tra- 
 ced out by Marquis Spinola, as he was pafling that way 
 for Spain from Flanders. 
 
 The parliament is prorogued till Michaelmas term : 
 there were five fubfidies granted, the greatefl gifts that 
 ever fubjeft gave their King at once ; and it was in re- 
 quital that his Majefty parTed the petition of right, where- 
 by the liberty of the freeborn fnbjecl: is fo ftrongly and 
 clearly vindicated, fo that there is a fair correfpondence 
 like to be betwixt his Majefty and the two houfes. The 
 Duke made a notable fpeech at the council-table in joy 
 hereof:, amongft other paflages one was, * That here- 
 * after his Alajefty would pleafe to make the parliament 
 ' his favourite, and he to have the honour to remain ftill 
 ' his fervant.' No more now, but that I continue 
 
 Tour Lordfoip's mojl dutiful fervant, 
 London, Sept. 25. 1627. J. H. 
 
 LET
 
 216 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 LETTER CXIV. 
 
 To the Right Honourable the L*dy Scroop, Countefs of 
 Sunderland, from Stamford. 
 
 Madam, 
 
 I Lay yeftcrnight at the poft-houfe at Stilton, and this 
 morning betimes the poft-mafter came to my bed's 
 head, and told me the Duke of Buckingham was flain : 
 my faith was not then ftrong enough to believe it, till an 
 hour ago I met in the way with my Lord of Rutland 
 (your brother) riding port towards London; it pleafed 
 him to alight and mew me a letter, wherein there was an 
 exact relation of all the circumftances of this tragedy. 
 
 Upon Saturday lafl, which was but next before ycfter- 
 day, being Bartholomew eve, the Duke did rife up in a 
 well-difpofed humour out of his bed, and cut a caper or 
 two, and being ready, and having been under the bar- 
 ber's hands, (where the murderer had thought to have 
 done the deed, for he was leaning upon the window all 
 the while) he went to breakfalt attended by a great com- 
 pany of commanders, where Monfieur Soubize came un- 
 to him, and whifpered him in the ear that Rochd was 
 relieved: the Duke feemed to flight the news, which 
 made fome think that Soubize went away difcontented. 
 After breakfaft the Duke going out, Colonel Fryer (tept 
 before him, and (topping him upon fome bufincfs, one 
 Lieutenant Felton being behind, made a thruft with a 
 common ten-penny knife over Fryer's arm at the Duke; 
 which lighted fo fatally, that he flit his heart in two, 
 leaving the knife (licking in the body. The Duke took 
 out the knife and threw it away, and laying his hand on 
 his fword, and drawing it half out, faid, the villain hath 
 killed me, (meaning as fome think, Colonel Fryer) for 
 there had been fome difference betwixt them ; fo reeling 
 againft a chimney he fell down dead. The Dutchefs be- 
 ing with child, hearing the noife below, came in her 
 night-gcers from her bed-chamber, which was in an up- 
 per-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 217 
 
 pcr-room, to a kind of rail, and thence beheld him wel- 
 tering in his own bleed. Felton had loft his hat in the 
 
 croud, wherein there was a paper fe\ved, wherein he 
 declared, that the reafbn which moved him to this ' act 
 was no grudge of his own, though he 'had been far be- 
 hind for his pay, and had been put by his Captain's place 
 twice, but in regard he thought the Duke an enemy to 
 the State, becaufe he was branded in parliament, there- 
 fore what he did was for die public good of his country. 
 Yet, he got clearly down, and fo might have gone to his 
 horfe which was tied to a hedge hard by, but he was fo 
 amazed that he miffed his way, and fo ftruck into the 
 paftery, where, though the cry went that fome French- 
 
 1 man had done it, he thinking the word was Felton, he 
 boldly confefTed it was he that had done the deed ; and 
 fo he was in their hands. Jack Stamford would have 
 run at him, but he was kept off by Mr. Nicholas ; fo be-' 
 ing carried up to a tower, Captain Mince tore oft his 
 fpurs, and aflcing how he durft attempt fuch an act, ma- 
 king him believe the Duke was not dead, he anfwered 
 boldly that he knew he was difpatched, for it was not he, 
 but the hand of heaven that gave the ftioke, and though 
 his whole body had been covered over with armour of 
 proof he could not have avoided it. Captain Charles 
 Pries went poft prefently to the King four mites off, who 
 being at prayers on IMS knees when it was told him, yet 
 he never ftirred, nor was he dHturbed a wliit till all di- 
 vine fen ice was done. This was the relation as far as 
 my memory could bear, in my Lord of Rutland's letter, 
 who willed me to remember him unto your Ladyfhip, 
 and tell that he was going to comfort your niece (the 
 Dutchefs) as faft as he could ; and fo, I have fcnt the 
 truth of this fad ftory to your Ladyfliip as faft as I could 
 by this port, becaufe I cannot make that fpeed rnyfclf, in 
 regard of fome bufinefs I have to difpatch for my Lord 
 in the way: fo I humbly take my leave, and reft 
 Tour LadyJJyip's mofl dutiful Jervant, 
 Stamford, Aug. 5. 1628. J. H. 
 
 T LET-
 
 2i3 _ Faauliar L.E T T E R S. PART!. 
 
 L E T T E R CXV. 
 
 To the Right Honourable Sir PETER WICHTS, Ins 
 Majeftys Ambaffador at Conftantinoplc, 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 YOURS of thc.zd of July came fafe to hand, and 
 I did all thofe particular recandos you enjoined me 
 to do forne of your friends here. 
 
 The town of Rochel hath been fatal and unfortunate 
 to England, for this is the third time that we have at- 
 tempted to relieve her, but our fleets and forces return- 
 ed without doing any thing. My Lord of Lindfey went 
 thither with the fame fleet the Duke intended to go on, 
 : but he is returned without doing any good: hemadefome 
 (hots at the great boom, and other barricadoes at fea, but 
 at fuch a diftance that they could do no hurt, infomuch, that 
 .the town is now given out for loft, and to be pad cure ; 
 and they cry. out, we have betrayed them. At the re- 
 tJrn of this fleet, two of the Wkelp-s were cart away,' and 
 three (hips more, and fome five (hips who had fome of 
 thofe great ftoncs that were brought to build Paul's, for 
 ballad, and for other ufes within them ; which could pro- 
 ,ieiTe no good fuccefs, for I never heard of any thing that 
 profpered which being once defigned for the honour of 
 (Jod was alienated from that ufe. The Queen inter- 
 poleth for the releafement of my Lord of Newport and 
 others who are prifoners of war. I hear that all the co- 
 lours they took from us are hung up in the great church 
 of Nojirc Du7ne, as trophies in Paris. Since I began 
 this letter, there is news brought that Rochel hath yield- 
 ed, and that the King hath difmantled the town, and 
 razed all the fortifications landwards, but leaves thofe 
 (landing which are toward the fea. It is a mighty ex- 
 ploit the French King hath done, for Rochel was the 
 diiefeft propugnacle of the proteftants there; and now, 
 queiHonlefs all the reft of their cautionary towns which 
 tney kept for their own defence will yield, fo that they 
 
 muft
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 21 J 
 
 muft depend upon the King's mere mercy. I hear of an 
 overture of peace betwixt us and Spain, and that my 
 Lord Cottington is to go thither, and Den Carlos Coloma 
 to come to us. God grant it, for you know the faying in 
 Spanifl), NiiKca vi tan mala paz, que no f tier a tnejor, 
 que la tnejor guerra. It was a bold thing in England, 
 to fall out with the two greate ft monarchies of chriften- 
 don, and to have them both her enemies at one time ; 
 and as glorious a thing it was to bear up againlt them. 
 God turn all to the beft, and difpofe of things to his* 
 glory : fo, I reft 
 
 Tour Lordjlnp's rsdy fervitcr, 
 London, Sept. I. 1628. J. H. 
 
 LETTER CXVI. 
 
 To my Coujin Mr. ST. G EON, at Ckrifl-CKiircl) Col- 
 lege in Oxford. 
 
 COUSIN, though you want no incitements to go 
 on in that fair road of virtue where you are now 
 running your courfe, yet being lately in your noble fa- 
 ther's company, he did intimate unto me that any thing 
 which came from me would take with you very much. I 
 hear fo well of your proceedings, that I mould rather 
 commend than encourage you. I know you were remo- 
 ved to Oxford in full maturity; you were a good Orator, 
 a good Poet, and good Linguift for your time. I would 
 not have that fate light upon you which ufcth to befal 
 fome, who from golden ftudents, become filver batche- 
 lors, and leaden mailers. I am far from entertaining any 
 fuch thought of you, that Logic with her quiddities and 
 que ca vel hipps, can any way unpoliih your human fhr- 
 dies. As Logic is cJubfifled and crabbed, fo (he is ter- 
 rible at firft fight ; me is like a Gorgon 's head to a young 
 ftudent, but after a twelvemonth's conftancy and patience, 
 this Gorgon's head will prove a mere bugbear : wheruyou 
 have devoured the Organon, you will find piiilofophy far 
 T 2 more
 
 220 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 more delightful and pleafing to your palate. In feeding 
 the foul with knowledge, the under/binding requireth the 
 fame confecutive acts which nature ufeth in nourishing the 
 body. To the nutrition of the body, there are two ef- 
 fential conditions required, afumptio* and retention; 
 then there follows two more CT '4-<? and ?*!*{ concofti- 
 on and agglutination or adhefion : fo in feeding your foul 
 with fcience, you mult firft afiume and fuck in the matter 
 into your apprehenfion, then muft the memory retain and 
 keep it in j afterwards by difputation, difcourfe, and me- 
 ditation, it muft be well concocted; then muft it be ag- 
 glutinated and converted to nutriment. All this may be 
 reduced to tliefe two heads, tenere fideliter, <& utl f<eli- 
 c/ter ; which are two of the happieft properties in a ftu- 
 dent. There is another act required to good concoction, 
 called the act of expul/ion y wich puts off all that is un- 
 fouud and noxious ; fo in ftudy, there rauft be an expul- 
 Cve virtue to ftvan all that is erroneous; and there is no 
 fcience but is full of fuch ftuff, which by direction or 
 tutor, and choice of good books muft be exccrned. Do 
 not confound yourfelf with multiplicity of authors, two 
 is enough upon any fcience, provided they be plenary 
 and orthodox : Philofpby ihould be your fubftantial food, 
 poetry your banquetting-ftufF. Philofophy hath more of 
 reality in it than any knowledge ; the Philofopher can 
 fathom the deep, meafure the mountains, reach die ftars. 
 with a ftafF, and blefs heaven with a girdle. 
 
 But amongft thefe ftudies, you mufl not forget the 
 'unlcam necejfarius. On Sundays and holidays, let divi- 
 nity be the fole object of your fpeculation ; in companion 
 whereof, other knowledge is but cobweb learning ; pr<e- 
 qua I'.iifquilitie cetera. 
 
 When you can make truce with ftudy, I mould be 
 glad you would employ fome fuperfluous hour or other 
 to write unto me, for I much covet your good, becaufe 
 I am 
 
 Tour affefticnate csujin, 
 
 l.ondon> Otf. 25. 1627. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 221 
 
 LETTER CXVII. 
 To Sir SACK VILE TREVOR, Knight. 
 
 Nolle Uncle, 
 
 I Send you my humble thanks for the curious fea-cheft 
 of gkfTes you pleafed to beftow on me; which I mall 
 be very chary to keep as a monument of your love. I 
 congratulate alfo the great honour you have got lately 
 by taking away the fpirit of France, I mean, by taking the 
 third great veflel of her Sea-Trinity, her Holy Spirit, 
 which had been built in the mouth of the Te.<el for the 
 fervice of her King. "Without complimentirrg with you, 
 it was one of the bed exploits that was performed fince 
 the wars began; and befides the renown you have pur- 
 chafed, I hope your reward will be accordingly from his 
 Majefty, whom I remember you fb happily preferred 
 from drowning in all probability at SuT Andertf* road in 
 Spain. Though princes guerdons come flow, yet they 
 come fure ; and it is oftentimes the method of God al- 
 mighty himfelf to be long both in his rewards and punim- 
 ments. 
 
 As you have bereft the French of thfir Saint Efprit, 
 their Holy Spirit, fo there is news that the Hollanders 
 have taken from Spain all her faints ; I mean todes los 
 fantos, which is one of the chiefelt ftaples of fugar in 
 BrafiL No more, but that I wifh you all health, ho- 
 nour and heart's defire. 
 
 London, Oc7. 26. 1625. J. H. 
 
 LETTER CXVIII. 
 To Captain THO. B. from York. 
 
 NOBLE Captain, yours of the ift of March was 
 delivered me by Sir Richard Scot ; and I held it 
 r.o profknation of this Sunday evening, considering the 
 T 3 Duality
 
 22? Familiar LETTERS. PART!. 
 
 quality of my fubjeft, and having (I thank God for it) 
 performed all church-duties, to employ fome hours to 
 meditate on you, and fend you this friendly falute, 
 though I confefs in an unufual monitory way. My dear 
 Captain, I love you perfectly well, I love both your per- 
 fon and parts, which are not vulgar : I am in love with 
 your difpofition which is generous ; and I verily think 
 you were never guilty of any pufiilanimous act in your 
 life t nor is this- love of mine conferred upon you gratis, 
 but you may challenge it as your due, and by way of cor- 
 refpondence, in regard of thofe thoufand convincing evi- 
 dences you have given me of yours to me; which afcer- 
 tain me, that you take me for a true friend. Now I am 
 of the number of thofe that had rather commend the vir- 
 tue of an enemy than footh the vices of a friend : for 
 your own particular, if your parts of virtue, and your 
 infirmities were call into a baLnce, I know the firft would 
 much out-poife the other j yet give me leave to tell you, 
 that there is one frailty, or rather Ul-favoured cuftom 
 that reigns in you, which weighs much, it is a humour 
 of faearvig in all your difcoui fes ; and they are not 
 flight, but deep, far fetched oaths that you are wont to 
 rap o'-it, which you nfe as flowers of rhetoric to enforce a 
 Lull upon the hearers, who believe you never the more j 
 and you ufe this in cckl blood when you are not provo- 
 ked, v.'bich makes the humour far more dangerous. I 
 know many, (and I cannot lay I myfelf am free from it, 
 God forgive me) that being trunfported with choler, and 
 as it were made drunk with pafiion by fome fudden pro- 
 yoking accident, or extreme ill fortune at play, will Jet, 
 fall oaths and deep protections ; but to belch out, and 
 fend forth as it were whole vollies of oaths and curfes in 
 a calm, humour to verify every trivial thing,- is a thing 
 ef horror. I knew a King that being crofTed in his 
 game, would amongft his oaths fall on the ground, and 
 bite the very earth in the rough of his paffion. I heard 
 of another King {Henry IV. of France} that in his higheft 
 diftemper would fwear but venire de St. Grit ; by the 
 kflly. of St. Gris* 1 heard of an Italian, that having 
 
 bcea
 
 Fantiliar LETTERS. 22 
 
 been much accuftomed to blafpheme, was weaned from 
 it by a pretty wile ; for having been one night at play, and 
 loft all his money, after many execrable oaths, and ha- 
 ving offered money to another to go out to deface hea- 
 ven and defy God, he threw himfelf upon a bed hard 
 by, and there fell afleep : the other gamefters played on 
 frill, and finding that he was faft afleep, they put out the 
 candles, and made femblance to play on ftill ; they fell a 
 wrangling, and fpoke fo loud that he awaked : he hear- 
 ing them play on ftill, fell a rubbing his eyes, and his 
 confcience prefently prompted him that he was (truck 
 blind, and that God's judgment had defcrvedly fallen 
 down upon him for his blafphemies ; and fo he went to 
 figh and weep pitifully : a ghoftly father was fent for, who 
 undertook to do fome afls of penance for him, if he 
 would make a vow never to play again or blafpheme j 
 which he did, and fo the candles were lighted again, 
 which he thought were burning all the while : fo, he 
 became a perfect convert. I could wifti this letter might 
 produce the fame effect in you. There is a ftrong text, 
 that the curie of heaven hangs always over the dwelling 
 of the fwearer; and you have more fearful examples of 
 miraculous judgments in this particular, than of any o- 
 ther fin. 
 
 There is a little town in Languedoc in France, that 
 hath a multitude of the pictures of the virgin Mary up 
 and down, but me is .nade to carry Chrift in her right- 
 arm, contrary to the ordinary cuftom; and the reafon 
 they told me was this, that two gamefters being at play, 
 and one having loft all his money, and bolted out many 
 blafphemies, he gave a deep oath, that that -whore upon 
 the wall, meaning the pifture of the blefied Virgin, was 
 the caufe of his ill luck : hereupon, the child removed 
 knperceptably from the left -arm to the right, and the 
 man fell ftark dumb ever after : thus went the tradition 
 there. This makes me think upon the Lady Soutbiuel's 
 news from Utopia, that he who fweareth when he playeth 
 at dice, may challenge his damnation by way of purchafe. 
 This infandous cuftom of fwearing, I obferve, reigns in.
 
 224 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 England lately more than anywhere elfe ; though a Ger- 
 inan in the higheft puff of paffion fwear a hundred thou- 
 fand facrame nts, the Italian by the life of Cod, the 
 French by his death, the Spaniard by his fiefi, the 
 JVelJJyman by hisfweat, the Irifoman by his/w wounds; 
 though the Scot commonly bids the devil hale his foul, 
 yet for variety of oaths the Englijf) roarers put down all. 
 Confider well what a dangerous thing it is to tear in pieces 
 that dreadful name which makes the vaft fabric of the 
 worlcl to tremble ; that holy name wherein the whole 
 hierarchy of heaven doth triumph ; that blifsful name, 
 wherein confifta the fulnefs of all felicity. I know this 
 cuftom in you yet, is but a light difpojition, 'tis no habit 
 I hope: let me therefore conjure you by that power of 
 friendihip, by that holy league of love which is between 
 us, that you would fupprefs it before it come to that ; 
 for I muft tell you, that thofe who could find in their 
 hearts to love you for many other things, do difrefpe<5t 
 you for this ; they hate your company, and give no credit 
 to whatfoever you fay, it being one of the punifhments 
 of a fwearer as well as of a liar, not to be believed when 
 he fpeaks truth. 
 
 Excufe me that I am fo free with you : what I write 
 proceeds from the clear current of a pure affection ; and 
 I (hall heartily thank you, and take it for an argument 
 of love, if you tell me of my weaknefles, which are (God 
 wot, too too many ; for my body is but a cargazon of 
 corrupt humours, and being not able to overcome them 
 all at once, I do endeavour to do it by degrees, like Ser- 
 forius^s foldier, who when he could not cut off the horfe 
 tail with his fword at one blow, fell to pull out the hairs 
 one by one. And touching this particular humour from 
 which I diffuade you, it hath raged in me too often by 
 contingent fits ; but I. thank God for it, I find it much a- 
 bated and purged. Now the only phyfic I ufed was a 
 precedent faft, and recourfe to the holy facrament the 
 next day, of purpofe to implore pardon for what had 
 pafied, and power for the future to quell thofe exorbi- 
 tant motions, thofe ravings and fcverifh fits of the foul,
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 225 
 
 in regard there are no infirmities more dangerous ; for at 
 the fame inftant they have being, they become impieties. 
 And the greateft fymptoms of amendment I find in me is, 
 becaufe, whenfoever I hear the holy name of God blaf- 
 pliemed by any other, it makes my heart to tremble 
 witliin my breaft. Now it is a penitential rule, that if 
 fins prefent do not pi safe thee, f*ns pajl uv7/ not hurt 
 thes. All other lins have for their object either pleafurc 
 or profit, or fome aim and fatisfaclion to body or mind, 
 but this hath none at all ; therefore fy upon it, my dear 
 Captain, try whether you can make a conquefl of your- 
 fclf in fubduing this execrable cufiom. Alexander fub- 
 dued the world, Cxfar his enemies, Hercules mongers ; 
 but he that overcomes himfelf is the true valiant Cap* 
 tain. 
 
 All your friends here are well, Tern Toting exceptcd, 
 who I fear hath not long to live amongft us : fo, I reft 
 Tour true friend, 
 
 Tork>AuguJi i. 1628. J. H. 
 
 LETTER CXIX. 
 
 To WILLIAM 
 
 SIR, 
 
 T Have many thanks to give yon for that excellent poem 
 JL you fent me upon the paffion ofChrift; furely \ou 
 were poflefled with a very ftrong fpirit when you penned 
 it, you were become a true enthufiaft : for, let me de- 
 fpair if I lie unto you, all the while I was perufing it, it 
 committed holy rapes upon my fcul : mtthought I felt 
 ray heart melting within my breaft, and my thoughts 
 tranfported me to a true elyjium all the while, there 
 were fuch flexanimous ftrong ravifhing ftrains throughout 
 it. To deal plainly with you, it were an injury to the 
 public good, not to expofe to open light fuch divine 
 raptures j for they have an edifying power in them, and 
 
 may
 
 226 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 may be termed the very quintefience of devotion. You 
 difcover in them what a rich talent you have ; which 
 mould not be buried within the walls of a private ftudy, 
 or pals through a few particular hands, but appear in pu- 
 blick view, and to the fight of the world, to the inrich- 
 ing of others, as they did me in reading them. There- 
 fore I mail long to fee them pafs from the bankfide to 
 Paul's church-yard, with other precious pieces of yours, 
 which you have pleafed to impart unto me. 
 
 Tour mojl affeftior.ate fervitcr, 
 Oxford, sfugitft 20. 1628. J- H. 
 
 LETTER CXX. 
 To Sir J. S. Knight. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 YOU writ to me lately for a footman, and I think 
 this bearer will fit you : I know he can run well, 
 for he hath runaway twice from me, but he knew the way 
 back again; yet, though he hath a running head as well 
 as running heels, (and who will expeft a footman to be a 
 ftayed man ?.) I would not part with him were I not to 
 go pod to the North. There be fome things in him 
 that anfwer for his waggeries : he will come when you 
 call him, go when you bid him, and (hut the door after 
 him ; he is faithful and ftout, and a lover of his mafter. 
 He is a great enemy to all dogs, if they bark at him in 
 his running ; for I have feen him confront a huge maftiff, 
 and knock hint-down. W hen you go a country journey, 
 or have him run with you a-hunting, you muft fpirit him 
 with liquor ; you muft allow him alfo fomething extraor-" 
 dinary for focks, elfe you muft not have him to wait at 
 your table; when his greafe melts in running hard, it is 
 Aibjedl to fall into his toes. I -fend him you but for 
 trial, if he be not for your turn, turn him over to me 
 again when I come back. 
 
 The
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 227 
 
 The beft news I can fend you at this time, is, that we 
 are like to have peace both with France and Spaitr, fo 
 that Harwich men your neighbours, fhall not hereafter 
 need to fear the name of Spinola, who (truck fuch an 
 apprehenfioii into them lately, that I underftand they be- 
 gin to fortify. 
 
 I pray prefent my mod humble fervice to my good 
 Lady; and at my return from the North I will be bold to 
 kifs her hands and yours: fo, I.am 
 
 Tour nioft obliged fervitor, 
 London, May 25. 1628. * J. H. 
 
 LETTER CXXJ; 
 
 To my FA T H E R. 
 
 O-U R two younger brothers which you fent hither 
 are difpofed of: my brother Doclor hath placed 
 the elder of the two with Mr. Howes, a mercer in 
 Cheapjide* and he took much pains in it ; and I had pla- 
 ced my brother Ntd with Mr. Harrington, a filkman in 
 the fame (treet ; but afterwards for fomc inconveniencies, 
 I removed him to one Mr. Smith at the Flwvtr-de-luce in 
 Loinbard-Jlreet, a mercer alfo. Their mailers are both 
 of them very well to pafs, and of good repute : I think 
 it will prove fome advantage to them hereafter, to be 
 both of one trade, becaufe'when they are out of their 
 time they may join flocks together ; fo that I hope, Sir, 
 they are well placed as any two youths in London, but 
 you mui't not ufe to fend them fuch large tokens in mo- 
 ney, for that may corrupt them. When I went to bind 
 my brother Ned apprentice in Drappers-hall, carting my 
 eyes upon the chimney-piece of the great room, I fpied a 
 picture of an antient gentleman, and underneath T hornets 
 HonvelL I afked the clerk about him, and he told me 
 tlut he had been a Spanijl? merchant in Henry V Ill's 
 
 time,
 
 22 S Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 time, and coming home rich, and dying a batchellor, he 
 gave that hall to the company of Drapers, with other 
 things, fo that he is accounted one of their chiefeft be- 
 nefa&ors. I told the clerk, that one of the fons of 
 Thomas Howe I I came now thither to be bound ; he an- 
 fweredf, that if he be a right Hmuell, he may have when 
 he is free, 300 pounds to help to fet up, and pay no 
 intcreft for five years. It may be hereafter we may 
 make ufe of this. He told me alfo, that any maid that 
 can prove her father to be a true Honvell, may come and 
 demand fifty pounds towards her portion, of the faid 
 hall. I j^m to go port towards York to-morrow, to my 
 charge, but hope, God willing, to be here again the 
 next term : fo, with my love to my brother Harwell, and 
 my fifter his wife, I reft 
 
 Tour dutiful fon y 
 London, Sept. 30. 1629. J. H. 
 
 LETTER CXXII. 
 
 To my Father Mr. BEN. JOHNSON. 
 
 FEATHER /?. Niillum fit magnum ingeniumjine 
 mixttira dementi*, there is no great wit without 
 fome mixture of madnefs, fo faith the Philofophcr: nor 
 was he a fool who anfwered, nee parvitm fine mixtura 
 
 Jlultitix, nor fmall wit without fome allay of fooliihnefs. 
 
 " Touching the lirfr., it is verified in you, for I find that 
 you have been oftentimes mad ; you were mad when you 
 writ your fox, and madder when you writ your Alchi- 
 iHtft; you were mad when you writ your Catilin, and 
 fhirk mad when you writ Sejanus ; but when you writ 
 your EpigroJtu, and the Magnetic Lady, you were not 
 fo mid, infomuch, that I perceive there be degrees of 
 madnefs in you. Excufe me that I am fo free with you. 
 The madnefs I mean, is that divine fury, that heating 
 and heightening fpirit which Ovid /peaks of. 
 
 Efl
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 229 
 
 Eft deus in nobis, agltante calefcimus illo : that true 
 cnthufiafm which tranfports, and elevates the fouls of 
 poets above the middle region of vulgar conception, and 
 makes them foar up to heaven to touch the ftars with 
 their laurelled heads, to walk in the Zodiac with Apollo 
 himfelf, and command Mercury upon their errand. 
 
 1 cannot yet light upon Dr. Davies's Weljh grammar ; 
 before Chrijlmas I am promifed one : fo, defiring you to 
 look better hereafter to your charcoal-fire and chimney ; 
 which I am glad to be one that preferved from burning, 
 this being the fecond time that Vulcan hath threatened 
 you, it may be becaufe you have fpoken ill of his wife, 
 and been too bufy with his horns. I reft 
 
 Tour fon and contiguous neighbour, 
 
 Weftmittfler, June it ,1629. J. H. 
 
 k L E T T E R CXXIII. 
 To R. S. Efc 
 
 S I R t 
 
 Am one of them who value not a courtefy that hangs 
 long betwixt the fingers. I love not thofe vifcofa. 
 btneficia^ thofe bird-limed kindnefles which Pliny fpeaks 
 of; nor would I receive money in a dirty clout, if poffi- 
 bly I could be without it : therefore, I return you the 
 courtefy by the fame hand that brought it. It might have 
 pleafured me at firft, but the expectation of it hath pre- 
 judiced me, and now, perhaps you may have more need 
 of it than 
 
 Tour humbls fervitor, 
 Wejlnrinjler, Auguft 3. 1620. J. H. 
 
 I 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 LETTER CXXIV. 
 To the Countefs of Sunderland at York. 
 
 MY Lord continues ftill in courfe of phyfic at Dr. 
 Napier's. I wrote to him lately, that his Lord- 
 .fliip would pleafe to come to his own houfe here in St. 
 Martins, lane, where there is a greater accommodation 
 :for the recovery of his health, Dr. Mayern being on the 
 one fide, and the King's Apothecary on the other ; but I 
 fear there be fome mountebanks that carry him away, 
 and, I hear he intends to remove to Wickham, to one 
 Atk'mfon a mere Qdack&lver that was once Dr. Lopez's 
 man. 
 
 The little Knight that ufeth to draw up his breeches 
 with a flioeing-horn, I mean, Sir Pafthumns Hobby > flew 
 high at him this parliament, and would have inferted his 
 name in the fcroll of recufants that is fhortly to be pre- 
 fented to the King; but, I produced a certificate from 
 Linford under the minifter's hand, that he received the 
 communion at Eafter laft, and fo got his name out : be- 
 ifides, the Deputy -lieu tenants of BuckingbamJJjire would 
 .have charged Biggin farm with a light-horfe, but Sir 
 William Alfard and others joined with me to get it off. 
 . Sir Thomas Jfcut<worth and Mr. Wansford t are grown 
 great courtiers lately, and come from Weftminfter-ball 
 -to Whitehall: (Sir Jo. Savill their countryman having 
 fhewn them the way with his white ftaff). The Lord 
 Wejlon tampered with the one, and my Lord Cottington 
 took pains with the other, to bring them about from their 
 violence againft tin& prerogative t and I am told, the firft 
 of them is promrfed my Lord's place at York, in cafe his 
 ficknefs continues. 
 
 We are like to have peace with Spain and France; 
 and for Germany, they fay the Swedes are like to ftrike 
 into her, to try whether they may have better fortunes 
 than the Danes. 
 
 My
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 73 r 
 
 My Lady Scroop (my Lord's mother) hath Iain fick a- 
 good while, and is very v/eak. So I reft, Madam, 
 
 Tour bumble and dutiful fervitor, 
 Weflminftcr, Auguft 4. 1629. J. H~ 
 
 LETTER CXXV. 
 
 To trie Rigkt Honourable my Lady Scroop, Coittitefs of 
 Sunderland, at Langar. 
 
 Madam, 
 
 I Am newly returned from Hun/don, from- giving the 
 rites of burial to my Lord's mother : (he made my 
 Lord fole executor of all. I have all her plate and. 
 houfhold-ftufFin my cuftody; and unlcfs I had gone as I 
 did, much had been embezzled. I have fent herewith 
 the copy of a letter the King, wrote to my Lord upon the 
 resignation of his place, which is fitting to be preferved. 
 for posterity among the records of Bclton caftle. His 
 Majefty exprefleth therein that he was never better fer- 
 ved, nor with more exa&nefs of fidelity and juHice by 
 any, therefore he intends to fet a fpecid mark of his 
 favour upon him, when his health will ferve him to come 
 to court : my Lord Carlcton delivered it me, and told 
 me he never remembered that the King wrote a more gra- 
 cious letter. 1 have lately bought in fee-farm, Wanlefs- 
 park of the King's commiilioners for my Lord : 1 get it 
 for 600 /. doubling the old rent, and the next day I was 
 offered 500 /. for the bargain: there were divers that 
 put in for it, and my Lord of Anglefty thought himfclf 
 fure of it, but I found means to fruftrate them all. I 
 alfo compounded with his Majefty's commiffioners for 
 refpite of homage for Rabbi cafHe ; there was 120 /. de- 
 manded, but 1 came off for forty (hillings. My Lord 
 Weniworth is made Lord Deputy of Ireland, and carries 
 a mighty ftroke at court. There have been fome clafh-r 
 ings betwixt him and my Lord of P:mbrske lately, with 
 U 2 others
 
 232 Familiar LETTERS. PART i. 
 
 others at court, and divers in the North ; and fome, as 
 Sir David Fowler, with others, have been crumed. 
 
 He pleafed to give me the difpofing of the next Attor- 
 ney's place in York ; and John Lifter being lately dead, I 
 went to make ufe of the favour, and was offered 300 /. 
 for it, but fbme got betwixt me and home, fo that I 
 was forced to go away contented with 100 pieces Mr. 
 Ratclijf delivered me in his chamber at Grays-Inn, and 
 fo to part with the legal inftrument I had ; which I did 
 rather than conteft. 
 
 The Dutchefs your niece is well. I did what your 
 Ladyfhip commanded me at York houfe. So I reft, 
 Madam, 
 
 Your Ladyjbifi' 'j . ready and faithful firvant, 
 
 Wejlminjier, July i. 1629. J. H. 
 
 LETTER CXXVI. 
 
 To the Right Honourable the Earl of Briftol at Sher- 
 burn Cqftle. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 I Attended my Lord Cottington before he went on his 
 journey towards Spain, and put him in mind of the 
 old bufiaefs againft the Viceroy of Sardinia, to fee whe- 
 ther any good can be done, and to learn whether the 
 Conde or his fon be folvent. He is to land at Lisbon; 
 one of the King's mips attends him ; and fome merchant- 
 men take the advantage of this convoy. 
 
 The news that keeps greateft noife now, is, that the 
 Emperor hath made a favourable peace with the Dane; 
 for Tilly had crofled the Elve, and entered deep into 
 Holftein land, and in all probability might have carried 
 all before him, yet that King had honourable terms gi- 
 ven him, and a peace is concluded, (though without the 
 privity of England}. But I believe the King of Den- 
 mark fared the better, becaufe he is grandchild to Char- 
 let
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 233 
 
 les the Emperor's filler. Now it feems another fpirit is 
 like to fall upon the Emperor; for, they write, that Gu- 
 Jlavtis King of Swethland is ftruck into Germany, and 
 hath taken Mecklenburgh. The ground of this quarrel 
 as I hear, is, that the Emperor would not acknowledge, 
 much lefs give audience to his ambaffadors : he alfo gives 
 out to come for the afliftance of his allies, the Dukes of 
 Pomerland and Mecklenburgh ; nor do I hear that he 
 fpeaks any thing yet of the Prince Pa/fegravis bufinefs. 
 
 Don Carlos Colo?a is expected here from Flanders a- 
 bout the fame time that my Lord Cottington fhall be ar- 
 rived at the court of Spain. God fend us an honourable 
 peace, for as the Spaniard fays, Nunca vi tan mala 
 * pazque no fuejfe laejor, que la mejvr guerra. 
 
 Tour Lordjhip's moji humble and ready fervant, 
 1629. .. -. J..IL- 
 
 LETTER 'CXXVII. 
 
 To my Coujt/i J. P' at Mr. CONRADUS'S. 
 
 Coujin, . 
 
 A Letter of yours was lately delivered me, I made 
 a fhift to read the fuperfcription, but within I won- 
 dered what language it might be in which it was written : 
 at firft, I thought it was Hebrevj, or fome of her dia- 
 Ie5:s, and fo went from the liver to the heart, from the 
 right hand to the left to read it, but could make nothing 
 of it: then I thought it might be the Ghinefi\ language, 
 and went to read the words perpendicular; and the lines 
 were fo crooked and distorted, that no coherence could, 
 be made. Greek I perceived it was not, nor Latin or 
 EngliJJj; fo, I gave it for mere gibberi^ fo, and your cha- 
 racters to be rather bierdglyphicks than letters. The 
 bed is, you keep your lines at a good diflance, like thofe 
 in chancery bills, who as a clerk faid, were made fo wide 
 of p"urpofe, becaufe the clients mould have room enough 
 U 3 te
 
 234 Familiar LETTERS. PART!. 
 
 to walk between them without juftling one another ; yet, 
 this widenefs had been excufeable if your lines had been 
 ftreight, but they were full of odd kind of undulations 
 and windings. If you can write no otherways, one may 
 read your thoughts as foon as your characters. It is 
 fome excufe for you that you are but a young beginner : 
 I pray let it appear in your next what a proficient you 
 are, otherwife forae blame might light on me who placed 
 you there. Let me receive no more gibberijh or hiero* 
 glyphicb from you, but legible letters, that I may ac- 
 quaint your friends accordingly of your good proceed- 
 ings: fo, I reft 
 
 Tour very loving coujin, 
 Weftminfter^Sept. 20. 1629. J. H. 
 
 LETTER CXXVIII. 
 
 To the Lord Vifcount Wentworth, Lord Prefident of 
 York. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 MY laft was of the firft current, flnce which, I re- 
 ceived one from your Lordfhip, and your com- 
 mands therein ; which I mall ever entertain with a great 
 deal of chearfulnefs. The greateft news from abroad is, 
 that the French King with his Cardinal are come again on 
 this fide the hills, having done his bufinefs- in Italy and 
 Savoy, and referved ftill Pignerol in his hands ; which 
 will ferve him as a key to enter Italy at pleafure. Upon 
 the higheft mountain amongft the Alps, he left this often- 
 tuous inscription upon a great pillar: 
 
 A la memoir etemelle de Louis treiziefme, 
 Roy de France & de Navarre, 
 Tres-AuguJle, tres-viftorreux, tres-heureux, 
 Conquer ant t tres-jujlc : 
 
 Lfquei
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 23 J 
 
 Lequel dpres avoir vaicu toutes les nations 
 
 de PEurope, 
 // a encore triumphe les elements 
 
 Du del fa de la terre, 
 Ay ant pajffe deux fois cefmonts au mois 
 
 De Mars avec Jon armee, 
 Vittorieufe pour remmettre les Princes 
 
 d'ltalic en leures eftates, 
 Defendre fa protege r fes alliez, 
 
 To the eternal memory of Lewis XIII. King of France 
 and Navarre, mod gracious, moft victorious, moft hap- 
 py, moft juft ; a Conqueror, who having overcome all 
 the nations of Europe: he hath alfo triumphed over the 
 elements of heaven and earth, having twice pa/Ted over 
 thefe hills in the month of March with his victorious ar- 
 my, to reftore the princes of Italy to their eftates, and 
 to defend and protedt his allies : fo, I take my leave for 
 the prefent, and reft 
 
 Tur Lord/hip's moft humble and ready fervitor, 
 Wejlminfter, Auguft 5. 1629. J. H. 
 
 LETTER CXXIX. 
 
 To Sir KENELM DIGBY Knight. ' 
 
 SIR, 
 
 GI V E me leave to congratulate your happy return 
 from the Levant, and the great honour you have 
 acquired by your gallant comportment in Algier, in re- 
 fcuing fo many Englijh flaves ; by bearing up fo bravely 
 againft the Venetian fleet in the bay of Scanderoon, and 
 making the Pantaloni to know themfelves zndyou better. 
 I do not remember to have read or heard that thofe huge 
 galeafles of St. Mark were beaten afore. I give you 
 the joy allb, that you have born up againft the Venetian 
 Ambaflador here, and vindicated yourfelf of thofe foul 
 
 fcandaJs
 
 236 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 fcandals he had caft upon you in your abfence. Whereas 
 you defire me to join with Lord Cottington and others, to 
 make affidavit touching Bartholomew Spinola, whether 
 he be Vezino de Madrid, viz. free Denifon of Spain ; 
 I am ready to ferve you herein, or to do any other office 
 that may right you, and tend to the making of your prize 
 good. Yet, I am very forry that our Alleppo merchants 
 fuffered fo much. 
 
 I mail be fhortly m London, and I will make the great- 
 er fpeed, becaufe I may ferve you. So, I humbly kifs 
 my noble Lady's hand, and reft 
 
 Tour thrice ajurtd fervant, 
 
 Wejlminjl. Nov. 25. 1629. J. H. 
 
 LETTER CXXX. 
 
 To the Right Honourable Sir PETER WIGHT, Amlajfa- 
 dor at Conflantinople. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 MR. Simon T)igl>y delivered me one from your 
 Lordfhip of the firft of June ; and I v/as ex- 
 tremely glad to have it, for I had received nothing from 
 your Lordfhip a twelvemonth before. Mafter Controller 
 Sir Thomas Edmondvs, lately returned from Trance, hav- 
 ing renewed the peace which was made up to his hands 
 before by the Venetian ambafladors, who had much la- 
 boured in it, and had concluded all things beyond the 
 Alps, when the King of France was at S ufa to relieve 
 Cafal. The JMonJteur that was to fetch him from St. 
 Dennis to Paris, put a kind of jeering compliment upon 
 him, viz. that his Excellency mould not think it ftrange, 
 that he had fo few French gentlemen to attend in this 
 fervice to accompany him to the court^ / regard there 
 were fo many killed at the ijle 0/"Rhee. The Marquis 
 of Chateauneuf is here from France ; and it was an odd 
 ipeech alfo from him, reflecling upon Mafter Controller, 
 
 that
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 237 
 
 that the King of Great Britain ufed to fend for his am" 
 baj/adors from abroad to pluck capons at home. 
 
 Mr. Burlemach is to go fhortly to Paris, to recover 
 the other moiety of her Majefty's portion ; whereof they 
 fay my Lord of Holland 'is to have a goodfliare. The 
 Lord Treafurer Wefion is he who hath the greateft vogue 
 now at court, but many great ones have clamed with 
 him. He is fo potent, that I hear his eledeft fon is to 
 marry one of the blood-royal of Scotland, the Duke of 
 Lenox's fifter, and that with his Majefty's confent. 
 
 Bifhop Laud of London is alfo powerful in his way, for 
 he fits at the helm of the church, and doth more than 
 any of the two archbimops, or all jche red of his two and 
 twenty brethren befides. 
 
 In your next I mail be glad your Lordmip would do 
 me the favour, as to write how the Grand Signior is like 
 to fpeed before Bagdat, in this his Perfian expedition. 
 No more now, but that I always reft 
 
 Tour Lordjhip's ready and mojl faithful fervant, 
 
 Wejlminjl. Jan. I. 1629. j. H. 
 
 LETTER CXXXI. 
 
 To my F A T H E R. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 SI R Thomas Wentiuorth hath been a good while Lord 
 Prefident of York, and fince is fworn Privy-counfel- 
 lor, and made Baron and Vifcount ; the Duke of Buck- 
 ingham himfelf flew not fo high in fo fhort a revolution 
 of time. He was made Vifcount with a great deal of high 
 ceremony upori a Sunday in the afternoon at Whitehall. 
 My Lord Po<ujis (who affecls him not fo much) being 
 told that the heralds had fetched his pedigree from the 
 blood -royal, viz. from John of Gaunt, faid, damrny 
 if ever he come to be King of England, / will turn 
 
 rebeL
 
 238 Familiar LETTERS. PART T. 
 
 rebel. When I went firft to give him joy, he pleafed 
 to give me the difpofing of the next Attorney's place that 
 falls void in York, \vhich is valued at 300 /. I have no rea- 
 fontole;ive my Lord of Sunderland, for I hope he will be 
 noble unto me. The perquifites of my place, taking 
 the King's fee away, "came far fliort of what he promi- 
 fed me at my firft coming to him, in regard of non-refi- 
 dence at York ; therefore I hope he will confider it fome 
 other way. This languifhing ficknefs ftill hangs on him, 
 and I fear will make an end of him. There is none can 
 tell what to make of it, but he voided lately a ftrange 
 worm at Wickham ; but, I fear there is an impofthunie 
 growing in him, for he told me a pafTage, how many 
 years ago my Lord Willtnugkby and he, with fo many 
 of their fervants (de gayete de cxur) played a match at 
 foot-ball againft fuch a number of countrymen, where, 
 my Lord of Sunderland being bufy about the ball, got 
 a bruife in the bread ; which put him in a fwoon for the 
 prefect, but did not trouble him till three months after, 
 Y/hea being at Sever caftle (his brother-in-law's houfe) 
 a qualm took him on a fudden, which made him retire 
 to his bed-chamber. My Lord of Rutland following 
 him, put a pipe full of tobacco in his mouth ; he being 
 rot accuftomed to tobacco, taking the fmoke downwards, 
 fell a cafting and vomiting up divers little impofthumated 
 bladders of congealed blood ; which faved his life then, 
 and brought him to have a better conceit of tobacco ever 
 after ; and I fear there is fome of that clodded blood 
 ftill in his body. 
 
 Becaufe Mr. Haws otCheapjsde is lately dead, I have 
 removed my brother Griffith to the hen and chickens in 
 Pater-nofter-row to Mr. Taylor's, as genteel a fhop as 
 any in the city ; but I gave a piece of plate of twenty 
 nobles price to his wife. I wifh the Yorkshire horfe may 
 be fit for your turn, he was accounted the beft fiddle 
 gelding about York, when I bought him of Captain Philipt 
 the Mufter-mafter ; and when he carried me firft to Lon- 
 don, there was twenty pounds offered for him by my Lady. 
 
 Carlilk.
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 23* 
 
 Cari/le. No more now, but defiling a continuance of 
 your bleffing and prayers, I reft 
 
 Tour dutiful fen t 
 'London, Dec. 3, 1630 J. H. 
 
 LETTER GXXXII. 
 
 To toe Lord Cottington, Ambajjador Extraordinary for 
 his Majefly of Great Britain in the Court of Spain. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 1 T Received your Lordfhip's lately by Harry Davies 
 A the Correo Santo; I return my humble thanks, that 
 you were pleafed to be mindful (among fo many high 
 negotiations) of the old bufinefs touching the -Viceroy 
 of Sardinia^ I have acquainted my Lord of Briftol ac- 
 cordingly ; our eyes here look very greedily after your 
 Lordihip, and the fuccefs of your embafly ; we are glad 
 to hear the bufinefs is brought to fo good a pafs, and that 
 the capitulations are fo honourable (the high effects of 
 ~your wifdom). 
 
 For news, \h& Swedes do notable feats in Germany; 
 and we hope, they cutting the Emperor and Bavarian 
 io much work to do, and the good oifices we are to ex- 
 pect ftom Spain upon this redintegration of peace, will 
 be an advantage to the Prince Palatine, and facilitate 
 matters for reltoring him to his country. 
 
 There is little news at our court, but that there fell 
 an ill-favoured quarrel betwixt Sir Kenelm Digby, and 
 Mr. Gcringy Mr. Jerniin, and others at St. James's 
 lately, about Mrs. Baker the maid of honour, and duels 
 were like to grow of it, but that die bufinefs was taken 
 up by the Lord Treafurer, my Lord of Dorfet, and o- 
 thers appointed by the King. My Lord of Sunderland 
 is ftill indifpofed : he willed me to remember his hearty 
 fervice to your Lordihip, and fo did Sir sirthur Irigrarn, 
 
 and
 
 240 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 and my Lady : they all wifh you a happy and honourable 
 return, as doth 
 
 Tour Lord/hip's mojl humble and ready fervitor, 
 London, March i, 1630. J. H, 
 
 LETTER CXXXIII. 
 
 To the Earl of Briftol. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 I Doubt not but your Lordlhip hath had intelligence 
 from time to time what firm invafions the King of 
 Swedes hath made into Germany, and by what degrees 
 he hath mounted to this height, having but 6000 foot, 
 and 500 horfe when he entered firft to Mecklenburgh, 
 and taken that town while commiflioners flood treating 
 on both fides in his tent : how thereby his army much 
 increaled, and fo rufhed further into the heart of the 
 country, but palling near Magdenbourg, being diffident 
 of his own ftrength, he fuffered Tilly to take that great 
 town with fo much effufion of blood, becaufe they would 
 receive no quarters. Your Lordlhip hath alfo heard of 
 the battle of Leipjick, where Tilly notwithstanding the 
 victory he had got over the Duke of Saxony a few days 
 before, received an utter difcomfiture ; upon which vi- 
 ctory the King fent Sir Thomas Roe a prefent of 2000 /. 
 and in his letter calls him his ftrenuum confultorew, he 
 being one of the firft who had advifed him to this Ger- 
 man war after he had made peace betwixt him and the 
 Polander. I prefume alfo your Lordlhip heard how he 
 met Tilly again near Aufpurg, and made him go upon a 
 wooden leg, whereof he died, and after foundly plun- 
 dered the Bavarian, and made him flee from his own 
 houfe at Munchen, and rifled his very clofets. 
 
 Now, your Lordfhip (hall underiland, that the faid 
 King is at Meatz, and keeps a court there like an Em- 
 peror, there being above twelve ambafladors with him. 
 
 The
 
 Fawiliar LETTERS. 241 
 
 The King of France fent a great Marquis for his Am- 
 bafTador, to put him in mind of his articles, and to tell 
 him, that his Chriilian Majefty wondered he would crofs 
 the Rhine without his privity, and wondered more that 
 he would invade the church lands, meaning the Archbi- 
 fhop of Mentz, who had put himfelf under the protection 
 of France. The Swede anfwered, that lie had not broke 
 the leaft title of the articles agreed on ; and touching the 
 faid Archbifhop, he had not flood neutral as was promi- 
 fed, therefore he had juftly feton his fkirts. The Ambaf- 
 fador replied, in cafe of breach of articles, his mafler had 
 80,000 men to pierce Germany when he pleafed. The 
 King anfwered, that hd had but 20,000, and thofe 
 would be fooner at the walls of Paris, than his 80,000 
 mould be on the frontiers of Germany. If this new con- 
 queror goes on with this violence, I believe it will caft 
 the policy of all chriftendom into another mould, and 
 beget new maxims of ftate ; for none can foretel where 
 his monftrous progrcfs will terminate. Sir Henry Vane is 
 frill in Germany obferving his motions, and they write 
 that they do not agree well : as I heard the King mould 
 tell him, that he fpoke nothing but Spanifi to him. Sir 
 Robert Anftruther is alfo at Vienna* being gone thither 
 from the diet at Ratisbon. 
 
 I hear the infante Cardinal is defigned to come Gover- 
 nor of the Netherlands, and pafleth by way of Italy, 
 and fo through Germany : his brother Don Carlos is 
 lately dead. So J humbly take my leave, and reft 
 
 Tour Lordfoip's mofl humble and ready fervitor, 
 Weflm. April 23, 1630. J. H. 
 
 L E T T E.R CXXXIV. 
 To my nvbfe Lady, the Lady Cot. 
 Madam, 
 
 YO U fpoke to me for a cook who had feen the world 
 abroad, and I think the bearer hereof will fit your 
 Lad) (hip's turn. He can marinate fifh, and gellies; he 
 X is
 
 242 Familiar LETTERS. PART L 
 
 is excellent for a pickant faucc, and thehaugou: be- 
 fides, Madam, he is pafling good for an ollia. He will 
 tell your Ladyftiip, that the reverend matron the oil a 
 podrida hath intellectuals and fenfes ; mutton, beef, and 
 bacon, are to her, as the will, underftanding, and memo- 
 ry are to the foul. Cabbage, turnips, archichocks, po- 
 tatoes and dates, are her five fenfes, and pepper the 
 common fenfe : Ihe muft have marrow to keep life in her, 
 and fome birds to make her light; by all means fhe muft 
 go adorned with chains of fauceages. He is alfo good 
 at larding of meat .after the mode of France. Madam, 
 you may make proof of him, and if your Ladyfhip find 
 him too .fancy or wafteful, you may return him from 
 .whence you had him. So, I reft, Madam, 
 
 Tour Ladyfhip's nioft humble fervhor, 
 Wejlminfter, June 2. 1 63 a J. H. 
 
 LETTER CXXXV. 
 
 To Mr. E, D. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 YO U write to me, that T. B. defigns to give mo- 
 ney for fach a place ; if he doth, I fear it will be 
 verified in him, that a fool and his money is foon parted, 
 for, I know he will never be able to execute it. I heard 
 of a late Secretary of ftate that could not read the next 
 morning his own hand-writing ; and I have heard of 6#- 
 //j?a/rf's horfe that was made Conful : therefore, I pray 
 tell him from me, (for I wifh him well) that if he thinks 
 he is fit for that office, he looks upon himfelf through a 
 falfe glafs : a trotting horfe is fit for a coach, but not 
 for a Lady's faddle, and an ambler is proper for a Lady's 
 faddle, but not for a coach. If Tom undertakes this 
 jplace, he will be as an ambler in a coach, or a trotter 
 under a Lady's fuddle. When I come to town, I will 
 
 put
 
 Familiar L E T T E R S. 243 
 
 put Mm upon a far fitter and more feafible bufinefs for 
 him ; and fo, commend me to him, for I am his, and 
 
 Your true friend, 
 Wejlminjler, June 5. 1630. J. H. 
 
 LETTER CXXXVI. 
 
 71? my FATHER. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 THERE are two ambafTadors to go abroad ihortly, 
 the Earl of Leicejhr, and the Lordti f ejloti: this 
 latter goes to France, Savoy, Venice, and fo returns by 
 Florence; a pleafant journey, for he carrieth prcfents 
 with him from the King and Queen. The Earl of 
 L-ieceJler is to go to the King of Denmark, and other 
 princes of Germany. The main of the embaffy is to 
 condole the late death of the Lady Sophia, Queen Dow- 
 ager of Denmark. She was the Duke of Meeilen- 
 burgh's daughter, and her huiband Chriftian III. dying 
 young, her portion, which was 40,000 /. was reiiored 
 her ; and living a widow forty four years, (he grew to 
 be fo great a houfe-wife, fetting near three or 400 hun- 
 dred people at work, that (he died worth near 2,000000 
 of dollars ; fo that me was reputed the richcit Queen of 
 chriftendom. By the constitutions of Denmark this c- 
 ftate is divifible amongft her children, whereof (he had 
 five ; the King of Denmark, the Dutchefs of Sa\ctij, 
 the Dutchefs of Brunfiuick, Queen Anne, and the 
 Dutchefs of Hclflein. The King being male, is to have 
 two mares, our King and the Lady Elizabeth, is to have 
 that which mould have belonged to Queen Anne ; fo he 
 is to return by the Hague. It pleafed my Lord of Lei- 
 cefter to fend for me to Baynard\ caflle, and proffer me 
 to go Secretary in this embafiage, afiuring me, that the 
 journey mail tend to my profit and credit ; fo, I have 
 accepted it, for I hear very nobly of my Lord, fo that 
 
 X 2 I
 
 244 Familiar LETTERS. PART!. 
 
 I hope to make a boon voyage of it. I defire as hither- 
 to your prayers and bleffing may accompany me : fo, 
 with my love to my brothers and fitters, I reft 
 
 Your dutiful fan, 
 London, May $. 1632. J. H. 
 
 LETTER CXXXVIL 
 
 To tb: Right Honourable the Earl of Leiceflcr, at 
 Petworth. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 SI R. John Penninglon is appointed to carry your Lord- 
 fhip and your company to Germany, and he intends 
 TO take you up at Margate. I have been with Mr. Bour- 
 l.unack, and received a bill of exchange from him for 
 10,000 dollars, payable in Hamburgh. I have alfo re- 
 ceived 2OOO/. of Sir Paul Pinder for your Lordfkip's 
 ufe, and he did me the favour to pay it me all in old 
 gold. Your allowance hath begun fiace the 2jth of 
 July laft, at eight pound per diem, aud is to continue fo 
 till your Lordfhip return to his Majefty. I underftand 
 by fome merchants to-day upon the exchange, that the 
 King of Denmark is at Luck/tad, and ftays there all this 
 iummer : if it be fo, it will fave half the voyage of go- 
 ing to Copenhagen, for in lieu of the Sound, we need go 
 no further than the river ofEtve: fo, I reft 
 Tour Lordjhip's moft humble 
 
 and faithful fervitor, 
 Wejlmlnjler, Auguft 13. 1632. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 245 
 
 LETTER CXXXVIII. 
 
 To the Right Honourable the Lord Mohun. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 THOUGH any command from your Lordfhip be 
 welcome to me at all times, yet that which you 
 enjoined me in yours of the I2th of Augujl, that I mould 
 inform your Lordfhip of what I know touching the inqui- 
 fition, is now a little unfeafonable, becaufe I have much 
 to do to prepare myfelf for this employment to Ger- 
 many, therefore I cannot fatisfy you in that fulnefs as I 
 could do otherwife. The very name of the inquifition is 
 terrible all chriftendom over, and the King of Spain 
 himfelf with the chiefeft of his grandees tremble at it. 
 It was founded firft by the catholick King Ferdinand (our 
 Henry VIII's father-in-law), for he having got Granada, 
 and fubdued ail the Moors, who had a firm footing in 
 that kingdom about 700 years, yet he fuffered them to 
 live peaceably a while, in point of confcience ; but after- 
 wards he fent a folemn mandamus to the Jacobin friers, 
 to endeavour the converfion of them by preaching, and 
 all other means. They finding their pains did little 
 good, (and that thofe whom they had converted turned 
 apoftates) obtained power to make a refcarch ; which af- 
 terwai ds was called tnqxifition : and it was ratified by 
 Pope Sixtus, that if they would not conform themfelves 
 by fair means, they would be forced to do it. The 
 Jacobins being found too fevere herein, and for other a- 
 bules befides, this inquijition was taken from them, and 
 put into the hands of the moll fufficient ecckfiaflics. So- 
 a council was eftablimed, and officers appointed accord- 
 ingly: whofoever was found pendulous and brandling in 
 his religion was brought by a ferjeant called a Familiar, 
 before the faid council of inquiftthn ; his accufer or di- 
 lator ftands behind a piece- of tapeftry to fee whether he 
 be the party, and if he be, then they put divers fubtile 
 and entrapping interrogatories unto him ; and whether he 
 X 3 ' confefs
 
 246 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 confefs any thing or no, he is fent to prifbn. When the 
 faid Familiar goes to any houfe, though it be in the dead 
 of the night, (and that is the time they commonly ufe to 
 come, or in the dawn of the day) all doors, and trunks, 
 and cherts,- fly open to him, and the firft thing he doth 
 he feizeth the party's bretches, fearchcth his pockets, 
 and takes his keys, and fo rumageth all his clofets and 
 trunks ; and a public Notary whom he carrieth with him, 
 takes an inventary of every thing ; which is fequeftred 
 and depofited in the hands of fome of his next neigh- 
 bours. The party being hurried away in a clofe coach, 
 and clapt in prifon, he is there eight days before he make 
 his appearance; and then, they prefent unto him the 
 crofs, and the miflal-book to fwear upon : if he refufcth 
 to fwear, he convicteth himfelf, and though he fwear, 
 yet he is remanded to prifon. This oath commonly is 
 preferred before any accufation be produced. His goa- 
 ler is ftriclly commanded to pry into his actions, his de- 
 portment, words, and countenance, and to fet fpies upon 
 him ; and whofoever of his fellow-prifoners, or others, 
 can produce any thing againft him, he hath a reward for 
 it. At kft, after divers appearances, examinations, and 
 fcrutinies, the information againft him is read, but the 
 witnefTes names are concealed : then is he appointed a 
 Reftor and Advocate, but he muft not confer or advife 
 \vith them privately, but in the face of the court. The 
 King's Attorney is a party in it, and the accufers com- 
 mor ly the fole witnefles. Being to name his own lawy- 
 ers, oftentimes others are difcovered, and fall into 
 troubles : while he is thus in prifon, he is fo abhored and 
 abandoned of all the world, that none will, at leaft dare 
 not vifit him. Though one clear himfelf, yet he can- 
 not be freed till an aft of faith pafs ; which is done fel- 
 dom, but very folemnly. There are few who having 
 fallen into the grips of the inquifition do efcape the rack, 
 or the fambcnito ; which is a ftraight yellow coat without 
 fleeves, having the pourtrait of the devil painted up and 
 down in black; and upon their heads they carry a mit- 
 ter of paper, with a man frying in the flames of hell upon 
 
 it:
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 247 
 
 it : they gag their mouths, and tie a great cord about 
 their necks. The judges meet in fome uncouth dark 
 dungeon, and the executioner {lands by, dad in a 
 clofe dark garment, his face and head covered with a 
 chaperon, out of which there are but two holes to look 
 through, and a huge link burning in his hand. When 
 the ecclefiaftic inquifitors have pronounced the anathema 
 againfl him, they tranfmit him to the fecular judges to 
 receive the fentence of death ; for church-men muft not 
 have their hands imbrued in blood : the King can miti- 
 gate any punimment under dtfath, nor is a nobleman fub- 
 jecl: to the rack. 
 
 I pray be pleafed to pardon this rambling imperfect re 
 lation, and take in good part my conformity to your 
 commands, for, I am 
 
 Tour Lord/hip's moft ready and faithful fervit or t 
 Weftminft. Augufl 30. 1632. ' J. H. 
 
 LETTER CXXXIX. 
 
 To P. "W. Efy; at the Signet-Office* from tke Englilh 
 Houfe in Hamburgh. 
 
 WE are fafely come to Germany, Sir J. Penning- 
 ton took us aboard in one of his Majefty's (hips at 
 Margate's ; and the wind flood fo fair, that we were at 
 the mouth of the Ehe upon Monday following. It plea- 
 fed my Lord I mould land firft with two footmen, to 
 make hafte to Gluckftad, to learn where the King of 
 Denmark was ; and he was at Reinsburg, fome two days 
 journey off, at a richfdacb, an afTembly that correfponds 
 to our parliament. My Lord the next day landed at 
 Gluchftad, where I had provided an accommodation for 
 him, though he intended to have gone for Hamburgh ; 
 but I was bold to tell him, that in regard there were 
 fome umbrages, and not only fo, but open and aclual 
 difFerences betwixt the King and that town, it might be 
 vv-i* ill
 
 348 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 ill taken if he went thither firft, before he had attended 
 the King. So I left my Lord at Gluckftad; and being 
 come hither to take up 8000 rich dollars upon Mr. Bur- 
 lamacks's bills, and fetch Mr. Avery our Agent here, I 
 return to-morrow to attend my Lord again. I find that 
 matters are much off the hinges betwixt the King of 
 Denmark and this town. 
 
 The King of Sweden is advancing apace to find out 
 Wallejlein, and JValleftein him; and in all appearance 
 they will be fhortly engaged. 
 
 No more now, for I am interpelled by many bufinef- 
 fes: when you write, deliver your letters to Mr. Rail- 
 ton t who will fee them fafely conveyed ; for a little be- 
 fore my departure, I brought him acquainted with my 
 Loid, that he might negotiate fome things at court. So, 
 with my fervice and love to all at Weftminfler, I reft 
 Tour faithful firvitor, 
 
 Hamburgh, Off. 23. 1632. J. H. 
 
 LETTER CXL. 
 
 To my Lord Vifcount S. from Hamburgh. 
 
 SINCE I was laft in town, my Lord of Leicejler 
 hath attended the King of Denmark at Reinsburgk 
 in Holfteinland : he was brought thither from Cluck/lad 
 in indifferent good equipage, both for coaches and wag- 
 gons, but he flaid fome days at Reinsburgh for audience : 
 we made a comely gallant fliow in that kind, when we 
 went to court, for we were near upon a hundred all of 
 one piece in mourning. It pleafed my Lord to make me 
 the orator ; and fo I made a long fpeech, alia voce, to 
 the King in Latin, of the occafion of this embafiy, and 
 tending to die praife of the deceafed Queen ; and, I had 
 better luck than Secretary Nantcn had fome thirty years 
 fincc, with Rcger Earl of Rutland: for at the beginning 
 of his fpeech, when he had pronounced feremfime.Re^ 
 
 he
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 249 
 
 he was dafhed out of countenance, and fo gravelled that 
 he could go no further. I made another to Chrijiian V. 
 hiseldeftfon, King elect of Denmark. For though that 
 crown be purely elective, yet for thefe three lalt kings, 
 they wrought fo with the people, that they got their el- 
 deft fons chofen, and declared before their death," and to 
 afllime the title of King's elect. At the fame audience, 
 I made another fpeech to Prince Frederick, Archifiiop of 
 Breme, the King's third fon ; and he hath but one more, 
 (befides his natural iflue) which is Prince Ulric, now in 
 wars with the Duke of Sax ; and they fay there is an al- 
 liance contracted already, betwixt Ckriftian V. and the 
 Duke of Sax's daughter. This ceremony being pur- 
 formed, my Lord defired to find his own diet, and then 
 he fell to divers bufinefles, which is not fitting for me to 
 foreftal or impart to your Lordmip now ; fo we ftaid 
 there near upon a month. The King feafted my Lord 
 once ; and it lafted from eleven o' clock, till towards the 
 evening, during which time, the King began thirty five 
 healths : the firfl to the Emperor, the fecond to his ne- 
 phew of England; and fo went over all the kings and 
 queens of chriftendom, but he never remembered the 
 Prince Pa/fegrave's health, or his niece's all the while. 
 The King was taken away at lafl in his chair, but my 
 Lord of Leiccfler bore up ftoutly all the while, fo that 
 when there came two of the King's guard to take him by 
 the arms as he was going down the flairs, my Lord fliook 
 them off and went alone. 
 
 The next morning I went to court for fome difpatches, 
 but the King was gone a-hunting at break of day ; but 
 going to fbme other of his officers, their fervants told 
 me widiout any appearance of fhame, that their mafters. 
 were drunk over night, and fo it would be late before 
 they would rife. 
 
 A few days after we went to Gcthorp caftle in Slef- 
 ivickland, to the Duke of Ho/ftein's court, wheie, at 
 my firft audience, I made another Latin fpeech to the 
 Duke, touching his grandmother's death. Our enter- 
 tainment there was brave, (though a little fulfome) : my 
 
 Lord
 
 25Q Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 Lord was lodged in the Duke's caftk, and parted with 
 prefents ; which is more than the King of Denmark did. 
 Thence we went to Hufem in Ditzmarjb, to the Dut- 
 chefs of Holjtein's court, (our Queen Annis youngeft 
 fifter) where he had alfo very full entertainment. I 
 made a fpeech to her alfo, about her mother's death ; 
 and when I named the Lady Sophia, the tears came 
 down her checks. Thence we came back to Reinsburgh, 
 and fo to this town of Hamburgh* where my Lord in- 
 tends to repofe fome days, after an abrupt odd journey 
 We" had through Holfteinland ; but, I believe it will not 
 be long, in regard Sir John Pennir.gton flays for him 
 upon the river. We expecT: Sir Robert Anjfrutber to 
 come from Vienna hither, to take the advantage of the 
 King's fhip. . _, 
 
 We understand that the imperial and the Swedifo ar- 
 mies ha\e made near approaches one to another, and 
 that fjme fitirmiflies and blows have been already betwixt 
 them ; which are the forerunners of a battle. So my 
 good Lord, I reft 
 
 Tour mofl humble and faithful fervit or t 
 
 Hamburg/; Off. 9. 1632. J. H. 
 
 LETTER CXLI. 
 
 To the Right Honourable the Earl 'R. from Hamburgh. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 THOUGH your Lordfliip muft needs, think, that in 
 the employment T am in (which requires a whole 
 man) my fpints muft be diftracted by multiplicity of 
 bufinefles ; yet becaufe I would not recede from my old 
 method an. 1 firir principles of travel, when I came to any 
 great city, to couch in writi >g what is moft obfervable, 
 J fequeftered myitlffrom other afTairs, to fend your 
 Lordfhip what ibllowech toucaing this great kanfc town. 
 
 The
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 25! 
 
 The hanfe or hanjiatic league, is very antient ; fome 
 would derive the word from hand, becaufe they of the 
 fociety plight their faith by that action : others derive 
 it from ha f i/a, which in the Gothic tongue is council : 
 others would have it come from hander-fee, which figni- 
 fiesnearor upon the fea; and this pafleth for thd belt 
 etymology, becaufe their towns are all feated fo, or upon 
 fome navigable river near the fea. The extent of the 
 
 - old hanfe was from Nerve in Livonia to the Rhine, and 
 contained fixty-two great mercantile towns, which were 
 divided into four precincts : the chiefeft of .the firit pre- 
 cinct was Lubeck, where the archives of their antient re- 
 cords and their prime chancery is dill, and this town is 
 
 within that verge. Cullen is chief of tie fecond precinct, 
 Brunfwick of the third, and Dantzick of the fourth.^ 
 The kings of Poland 'and Sweden have fued to be their 1 ' 
 Proteclor, but they refufed them becaufe they were not 
 princes of the empire ; they put off alfo thd King of 
 Denmark with a compliment, nor would they admit the 
 King of Spain when he was moil: potent m the Nether- 
 lands, though afterwards, when it was too late, they 
 defired the help of the ragged-ftaff ' ; nor of the Duke 
 of Anjon, notwithflanding that the world thought he 
 fliould have married tur Queen, who interceeded for 
 him ; and fo it was probable that thereby they might 
 recover their privileges in England : fo that I do not 
 find they ever had any protector but the great Mailer of 
 Pruffia; and their want of a protector did do them fome 
 prejudice in that famous difference they had with our 
 Queen. 
 
 The old hanfe had extraordinary immunities given 
 them by our Henry III. becaufe they afiifted him in his 
 wars with fo many mips ; and as they pretend, the King 
 was not only to pay them for the fervice of the faid {hips, 
 but for the veflels themfelves if they mifcarried : ,now, 
 it happened that at their return to Germany, from fei ving 
 Henry III. there was a great fleet of them cafh away ; 
 for which, according to covenant, they demanded re- 
 paration. Our King in lieu of money, among other acts 
 
 of 

 
 35 2 Familiar LETTERS. PART I- 
 
 of grace, gave them a privilege to pay but ene per cent. 
 which continued till Queen Mar/s reign ; and me by the 
 advice of King Philip her huiband, as it was conceived, 
 enhanced the one, to twenty per, cent. The hanfe not 
 only complained, but clamoured loudly for breach of 
 their antiejit privileges, confirmed to them time out of 
 mind by thirteen fucceffive kings of England ' ; which they 
 pretended to have purchafed with their money. King 
 Philip undertook to accommodate the bufinefs ; but 
 Queen Mary dying a little after, and he retiring, there 
 could be nothing done. Complaint being made to Queen 
 Elizabeth, fhe anfwered, that as foe would not innovate 
 any thing, fo jhe 'would maintain then ftill in the fame 
 condition foe found them. Hereupon the navigation and 
 traffic ceafed a while : whereupon the EngliJJy tried what 
 they could do themfelves, and they thrived fo well, that 
 they took the whole trade into their own hands, and fo 
 divided themfelves (though they be now but one) to 
 fiaplers ; and merchant adventurers, the one refiding con- 
 ftantin one place, where they kept their magazine of 
 wool, the other fHrring, and adventuring to divers places 
 abroad with cloth, and other manufactures ; which made 
 the hanfe endeavour to draw upon them all the malig- 
 nancy they could from all nations. Moreover the hanfe 
 towns being a body-politic incorporated in the empire, 
 complained hereof to the Emperor, _v/ho fcnt over perfons 
 of great quality to mediate an accommodation, but they 
 could effect nothing. Then the Queen caufed a procla- 
 mation to be published, that the Eafterlingi or merchants 
 of the hanfe fliould be treated and ufed as all other frran- 
 gers were within her dominions, without any mark of 
 difference in point of commerce. This nettled them 
 more ; thereupon they bent their forces mor eagerly, 
 and in a diet at Ratisbon they piocured that the Englifo 
 merchants who had arTociated themfelves into fraternities 
 in RinbJen and other places, fhould be declared tnenopo- 
 lifts ; and fo there was a coiniiial edict published againft 
 them, that they fiiould be externiin,ued, and bam'flied 
 out of all parts of the e,mpire ; and tliis was done by the 
 p} activity
 
 Familiar L'E T T E R S. 253 
 
 activity of Suderman a great civilian. There was there 
 for the Queen, Gi!p:n, as nimble a man as Sttdfrmlthi 
 and he had the Chancellor ofEmbden to fecond and coun- 
 tenance him ; but they could not ftop the faid edift, 
 wherein the fociety of Englifo merchant adventurers was 
 pronounced to be a monopoly ; yet Gilpin plaid his game 
 fo well, that he wrought under-hand, that -the faid /';- 
 perial ban mould not be publifhed till after the diflblutkm 
 of the diet, and that in the interim, the Emperor fhould 
 lend ambafladors to England, to advertife the Queen of 
 fuch a ban againft her merchants. But this wrought fo 
 little impreffion upon the Queen, that the fakl ban grew 
 rather ridiculous than formidable, for the town di-Embdsn 
 harboured our merchants notwithftanding, and 'afterwards 
 Stode ; but they not being able to proteft them fo veil 
 from the imperial ban, they fettled in this town of Ham* 
 burgh. After this the Queen commanded another pro- 
 clamation to be divulged, that the Eajierl'mgs or fan* 
 Jiatic merchants mould be allowed to trade in England 
 upon the fame conditions and payment of duties, as her 
 own fubjecls, provided that the Engliflj merchants might 
 have interchangeable privilege, 'to refide and trade peace- 
 ably in Stode or Hamburgh, t>r any where die, within 
 the precincl of the hanfe, This incenfed them more ; 
 thereupon they refolved to cut offStode and Hamburgh 
 from being members of the hanfe, or of the 'empire ; btft 
 they fufpendcd this defign till they faw what fuccels the 
 great Spatrifo fleet mould have, which was then prepar- 
 ing in the year eighty-eight : for they had not long be* 
 fore hud recourfe to the King of Spain, and made him 
 their own, and he had done them fome material good 
 offices ; wherefore to this day the SpaniJJj council is taxed 
 of improvidence and imprudence, that there was no ufe 
 made of the hanfe towns in that expedition. 
 
 The Queen finding that they of the hanfe would not 
 be contended with that equality flie had offered betwixt 
 them and her own fubjects, put out a proclamation, that 
 they mould carry neither corn, victuals, arms, timber, 
 mafts, cables, minerals, nor any other materials, or men 
 Y -to
 
 254 Familiar LETTERS. PART j. 
 
 to Spain or Portugal. And after the Queen growing 
 more redoubtable and famous by the overthrow of the 
 fleet of eighty-eight, the Eajlerlings fell to defpair of 
 doing any good. Add hereunto another difafter that be- 
 fel them, the taking of fixty fails of their Ships about 
 the mouth of Tag us in Portugal, by the Queen's (hips, 
 that were laden with ropas de contrabando, viz. goods 
 prohibited by her former proclamation into the domini- 
 ons of Spain : and as thefe {hips were upon point of 
 being difcharged, me had-intelligence of a great afTembly 
 at Lubeck, which had met of purpofe to confult of means 
 to be revenged of her; thereupon fhc ftaid and feized 
 upon the faid fixty mips, only two were freed to bring 
 news what became of the reft. Hereupon the Pole fent 
 an Ambaflador to her, who fpake in a high tone, but he 
 tfas anfwered in a higher. 
 
 Ever fince our merchants have beaten a peaceful and 
 free uninterrupted trade into this town and elfewhere, 
 within and without the Sound, with their manufactures of 
 wool, and found the way alfo to the JVbite-fea, to Arch- 
 angel and Mofco : infomuch, that the premifes being well 
 confidered, it was a happy thing for England^ that that 
 chiming fell out betwixt her and the hanfe ; for it may 
 be faid to have been the chief ground of that fhipping and 
 merchandizing which me is now come to, and wherewith 
 me has flouriihed ever fince. But one thing is obfervable, 
 that as the imperial or comitial ban, pronounced in the 
 diet at Ratisbon againft our merchants and manufactures 
 of wool, incited them more to induflry, fo our procla- 
 mation upon Alderman CockeirFt project of transporting 
 no white cloths, but dyed, and in their full manufacture, 
 did caufc both Dutch and German to turn neceflity to a 
 virtue, and made them far more ingenious to find ways 
 not o.nly to dye, but to make cloth, which hath much 
 impaired our markets ever fince ; for there hath not 
 been the third part of our cloth fold fince, either here or 
 in Holland. 
 
 My- Lord, I pray be pleafed to difpenfc with the 
 prolixity of this difcourfe, for I could not wind it up 
 
 dofer,
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 25$ 
 
 clofer, nor on a leffer bottom. I mall be careful to 
 bring with me thofe furrs I had inflections for. So, 
 I am 
 
 Tour Lord/trip 'j mojl humbls fervant, 
 Hamburgh, Off. 20. 1632. J. H- 
 
 LETTER CXLII. 
 To Caff. J. SMITH, at the Hague. 
 
 Captaitty 
 
 HAVING fo wifliful an opportunity as this nobler 
 gentleman Mr. James Crofts, who conies with a. 
 pacquet for the Lady Elizabeth from my Lord of Leicefter* 
 I could not but fend you this friendly falute. We are 
 like to make a fpeedier return than we expected frona 
 this embafly ; for we found the King of Denmark ire 
 Holftein, which fhortened our voyage from going to the 
 Sound : the king was in an advantageous pofture to give 
 audience, for there was a parliament then at Reimburgk* 
 where all the Tounkers met. Among other things, I 
 put myfelf to mark the carriage of the Holftein gentle- 
 men, as they were going in and out at the parliament- 
 houfe ; and obferving \,'ell then- phyfiognomies, their 
 complexions and gaite, I thought verily I was in Eng- 
 land, for they refemble the Engliflj more than either 
 Weljb or Scot, (though cohabiting upon the fame ifland), 
 or any other people, that ever I faw yet ; which makes 
 me verily believe, that the Englijlj nation came -firft 
 from this lower circuit of Saxony ; and there is one thing 
 that flrengtheneth me in this belief, that there is an an- 
 tient town hard by called Lunden, and an ifland called 
 Angles ; whence it may well be that our country came 
 from Britannia, to be Anglla. 
 
 This town of Hamburgh from a fociety of brewers, is 
 
 qome to be a huge wealthy place,, and her new town is al- 
 
 Y 2 mo(fc
 
 256 Familiar LETTERS. PART I. 
 
 moft as big as the old ; there is a fhrewd jar betwixt her 
 and her Protestor, the King of Denmark, 
 
 My Lord of Leicefter hath done fome good offices to 
 accommodate matters. She chomps extremely, that there 
 mould be fuch a bit put lately in her mouth, as the fort 
 of Lztckftadt, which commands her river of Elve, and 
 makes her pay what toll he pleafes. 
 
 The King begins to fill his cherts apace, which were 
 fo emptied in his late marches to Germany : he hath fet 
 a new toll upon all mips that pafs to this town ; and in 
 the Sound alfo there be fome extraordinary duties impof- 
 cd, whereat all nations begin to murmur, efpecially the 
 Hollanders, who fay, that the old primitive toll of the 
 Sound was but a rofe-noble for every (hip, but by a new 
 fophiftry, it is now interpreted for every fail that mould 
 pafs through, infomuch, that the Hollander, though he 
 be a low-countryman, begins -to fpeake High-Dutch in 
 this point, a rough language you know ; which made the 
 Italian tell a German gentleman once, that when God 
 almighty thru/I Adam out of paradife, he fpoke Dutch ; 
 but the German returned wittily, then, Sir, if God 
 fpoke Dutch 'when Adam luas ejetted, Eve fpoke Italian 
 luhen Adam 'was feduced. 
 
 I could be larger, but for a fudden avocation to bufinefs; 
 fo I mod affectionately fend my kind refpecls to you, 
 defiring, when I am rendered to London, I may hear 
 from you : fo I am 
 
 Tour faithful friend to ferve j^ou, 
 
 Hamburgh, Oct. 22. 1632. J. H. 
 
 F A M I-
 
 2*7 
 
 FAMILIAR 
 
 LETTER S. 
 
 PART II, 
 
 LETTER I. 
 To the Right Honourable the Earl of Brv 
 
 My LORD>, 
 
 I Am newly returned from Germany, where there came 
 lately two ambafladors extraordinary in one of the 
 mips royal, the Earl of Leicefter, and Sir Robert 
 Anftruther : the latter came from Vienna, and I know 
 little of his negotiations"; but for my Lord of Leicefter, I 
 believe there was never fo much bufmefs difpatched in fo> 
 fhort a compafs of time, by any Ambaflador, as your 
 Lordfliip, who is beft able to judge, will find by this fhort 
 relation. "When my Lord was come to the King of 
 Denmark's court, which was then at Reinsburgh, a 
 good way within Holjlein ; the firft thing he did was to 
 condole the late Queen Dowager's death-, (our King's 
 grandmother) which was done in fuch an equipage, that 
 the Danes confefled, there was never Queen of Den- 
 mark fo mourned for. This ceremony Being pafTed, my 
 Lord fell to bufmefs ; and the firft thing which he pro- 
 pounded, was, that for preventing the farther effufi- 
 on of chriftian blood in Germany, and for facilitating a 
 way to reftore peace to all chriftendom, his- Majefty of 
 Denmark would join with his nephew of Great Britain*. 
 to fend a folemn embafly to the Emperor, and 1 the King- 
 of Sweden, (the end of whofe proceedings were doubtful) 
 to mediate an accommodation, and to appear for him who 
 will be found mod conformable to reafon. To this, that 
 T 3 King
 
 258 Familiar LETTERS. PART tl. 
 
 King anfwered in writing, (for that was the way of pro- 
 ceeding) that the Emperor and the Swede were come to 
 that height and heat of war, and to fuch a violence, that 
 it is no time yet to fpeak to them of peace ; but when the 
 fury is a little pafled, and the times more proper, he 
 would take it for an honour to join with his nephew, and 
 contribute the bed means he could to bring about fo good 
 a work. 
 
 Then there was a computation made, what was due to 
 the King of Great Britain and Lady Elizabeth, out of 
 their grandmother's eftate ; which was valued at near 
 upon two millions of dollars ; and your Lordfhip mull 
 think it was a hard tafk to liquidate fuch an accompt. 
 This being done, my Lord defired th"t part which was 
 due to his Majefty (our King) and the Lady his lifter ; 
 which appeared to amount unto 1 60,000 /. SterL That 
 King anfwered, that he confe/Ted there was fo much mo- 
 ney due, but his mother's eflate was yet in the hands of 
 commiilioners ; and neither he nor any of his fitters had 
 received their portions yet, and that his nephew of Eng- 
 land, and his niece of Holland, mould receive theirs 
 Avith the firft; but he did intimate befides, that there 
 were fome confiderable accompts betwixt him and the 
 crown of England, for ready monies he had lent his 
 brother King James, and for the 3 0,000 /. a month, 
 that v/as. by covenant promifed him for the fupport of his 
 late army in Germany. Then my Lord propounded, 
 that his Majeity's fubjeds of Great Britain were not 
 well ufed by his officers in the Sound: for, though that 
 v/as but a tranfitory pafTage into the Baltick fea, and that 
 they neither bought nor fold any thing upon the place, 
 yet they were forced to flay there many days to take up 
 money at high intereft, to pay divers tolls for their 
 merchandize, before they have expofcd them to vent : 
 therefore it was defired, that for the future what Eng- 
 l:jb merchants foever mould pafs through the Sound, it 
 mould be fufficient for him to regifler an invoice of his 
 cargazon in the cuftom-houfe book, and give his bond to 
 pay all duties at his return, when he had made his mar- 
 
 "'* ". kct.
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 259 
 
 ket. To this my Lcfrd had a fair anfwer, and fo pro- 
 cured a public instrument under that King's hand and 
 feal, and figned by his counfellors, which he had 
 brought over, wherein the propofition was granted ; 
 which no Ambaflador could obtain before. Then it was 
 alledged, that the Englijh merchant adventurers who 
 trade into Hamburgh, have a new toll lately impofed 
 upon them at Luckftadt ; which was defired to be taken 
 off: to this alfo, there was the like inftrument given, that 
 the faid toll fhould be levied no more. Laftly, my 
 Lord (in regard he was to pafs by the Hagui) defired 
 that hereditary part, which belonged to the Lady Eliza- 
 beth out of her grandmother's eftate, becaufe his Maje- 
 lly knew well what crofles and afflictions me had paffed, 
 and what a numerous iffue me had to maintain ; and my 
 Lord of Leicefter would engage his honour, and all the 
 eftate he hath in the world, that this mould no way pre- 
 judice the accompts he is to make with his Majefty of 
 Great Britain. The King of Denmark highly extolled 
 the noblenefs of this motion ; but he protected, that he 
 had been fo drained in the late wars, that his chefts are 
 yet very empty. Hereupon my Lord was feafled, and 
 fo departed. 
 
 He went to the Duke of Holfte'm to Slefiuick, where 
 he found him at his caftle of Gothorp; and truly, I did 
 not think to have found fuch a magnificent building in 
 thefe bleak parts. There alfo my Lord did condole the 
 death of the late Queen, that Duke's grandmother ; and 
 he received very princely entertainment. 
 
 Then we went to Hufem, where the like ceremony of 
 condolement was performed at th'e Dutchefs of Hoi" 
 Jfein's court, his Majefty's (our King's) aunt. 
 
 Then he came to Hamburgh, where that inftrument 
 which my Lord had procured, for remitting of the new 
 toll at Gluckftadt was delivered to the company of our 
 merchant adventurers, and fome other good offices done 
 for that town, as matters flood betwixt them and the 
 King of Denmark. 
 
 Then
 
 2&> familiar LETTERS. PART II, 
 
 Then we came to Stode, where Lefly was Governor, 
 who carried his foot in a fcarf for a wound he had re- 
 ceived at Buckjlobo, and he kept that place for the King 
 of Sweden; and fome bufinefs of confequence was done 
 there alfo. 
 
 So we came to Broomsbottle, where we ftaid for a 
 wind fome days ; and in the mid-way of our voyage we 
 met with a Holland fliip, who told us, the King of Swe- 
 den was flain : and fo, we returned to London in lefs 
 than three months ; and if this was not bufinefs enough 
 for fuch a compafs of time, I leave your Lordfliip to 
 judge. So craving your Lordfhip's pardon for this lame 
 account, I reft 
 
 Tour Lordfoifs moji humble and ready fervant, 
 ^London, Oft. i. 1632. J. H. 
 
 LETTER II. 
 To my Brother Dr. Ho WELL, at his Houfe in Horfley. 
 
 My good Brother, 
 
 I Am fafely returned from Germany, thanks be to God ; 
 and the news which we heard at fea by a Dutch 
 Skipper, about the midft of our voyage from Hamburgh, 
 it feems proves too true ; which was of the fall of tha 
 King oi Sweden. One Jerbire, who fays that he was in 
 the very action brought the firft news to this town, and 
 every corner rings of it ; yet fuch is the extravagancy of 
 fome, that they will lay wagers he is not dead; and tha 
 Exchange is full of fuch people. He was flain at Lutzen 
 field battle, having made the imperial army give ground 
 the day before ; and being in purfuance of it, the next 
 morning in a fudden fogg that fell, the cavalry on both 
 fides being engaged, he was killed in the midft of the 
 troops, and none knows who killed him, whether one of 
 his own men, or the enemy; but, finding himfelf mortal- 
 ly hurt he told Saxen Waytpar, Coufin, / pray look to 
 
 the.
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 261 
 
 the troops, for I think I have ensugh. His body was not 
 only refcucd, but his forces had the better of the day ; 
 Papenheim being killed before him, whom he efteemed 
 the greateft Captain of all his enemies: for, he was ufed 
 to fay, that he had three men to deal withal, a Pultrona, 
 a Jefuit, and a Soldier ; by the two firft, he meant Wid- 
 Jlein and the Duke of Bavaria; by the laft, Papenheim. 
 
 Queftionlefs this Gttftavus (whole anagram is sli/gti- 
 Jlus') was a great Captain, and a gallant man; and, had 
 he furvived that kft victory, he would have put the Em- 
 peror to fuch a plunge, that fome think he would hardly 
 have been able to have made head againft him to any pur- 
 pofe again. Yet his own allies confefs, that none knew 
 the bottom of his defigns. 
 
 He was not much affected to the Englijh; witnefs the 
 ill ufage Marquis Hamilton had with his 6000 men, 
 whereof there returned not 600: the reft died of hun- 
 ger and ficknefs, having never feen the face of an ene- 
 my; witnefs alfo his harfhnefs to our amhafladors, and 
 the rigid terms he would have tied the Prince Palfegravs 
 unto. So, with my affectionate refpects to Mr. Mouf- 
 champ, and kind commends to Mr. Bridger, I reft 
 Your loving brvther t 
 
 Weftminjlcr, Dec. 5. 1632. J. H. 
 
 LETTER III. 
 To the R. R. Dr. FIELD, Lord Bifiop of Si. David's. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 YOUR late letter affetfted me with two contrary 
 paflions, with gladnefs and forrow : the beginning 
 of it dilated my fpirits with apprehenfions of joy, that 
 you are fo well recovered of your late ficknefs, which I 
 heartily congratulate ; but the conclufion of your Lord- 
 fhip's letter contracted my fpirits, and plunged them in a 
 deep fenfe of juft forrow, while you pleafe to write me 
 
 the
 
 262 Familiar LETTERS. TART it. 
 
 the ne\vs of my dear father's death. Permuljit inilium, 
 perctijit finis. Truly my Lord, it is the heaviest news 
 that ever was fent me ; but when I recoiled myfelf, and 
 confider the fairnefs and maturity of his age, and that iz 
 was rather a gentle diflblution than a death. When I 
 contemplate that infinite advantage he hath got by this 
 change and tranfmigration, it much lightens the weight 
 of my grief: for, if ever human foul entered heaven, 
 furely his is there ; fuch was his com'tant piety to 
 God, his rare indulgence to his children, his charity to 
 his neighbours, and his candour in reconciling differen- 
 ces ; fuch was the gentlenefs of his difpofition, his un- 
 wearied courfe in adions of virtue, that I wifli my foul 
 no other felicity when me hath fhaken off thefe rags of 
 flefh, than to afcend to his, and co-enjoy the fame blifs. 
 
 Excufe me, my Lord, that I take my leave at this 
 time fo abruptly of you. \Vhen this forrow is a little di- 
 gefted you mall hear further from me, for I am 
 Tour Lord/trip's inojl true and humble feri'itor,. 
 
 Wejlminjter, May I. 1633. J. H. 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 To the Earl of Leicefter, at Penfhurf!. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 I Have delivered Mafter Secretary Cook an account of 
 the whole legation, as your Lord/hip ordered me ; 
 which contained near upon twenty meets. I attended 
 him alfo with the note of your extraordinaries, wherein I 
 find him fomething difficult and dilatory yet. The Go- 
 vernor of the EajUand company, Mr. Alderman Glethero* 
 will attend your Lordfhip at your return to court, to ac- 
 knowledge your favour unto them. I have delivered him 
 a copy of the tranfa&ions of things that concerned their 
 company at Reinsburgh. 
 
 Tht
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 2*63 
 
 The news we heard at Tea of the King of Sweden's death 
 is confirmed more and more, and by the computation I 
 have been a little curious to make, I find that he was 
 killed the fame day your Lordftup fet out of Hamburgh. 
 But there is other news come fince, of the death of the 
 Prince Palatine; who, as they write, being returned 
 from vifiting the Duke de deux Fonts to Mentz, was 
 {truck there with the contagion, yet by fpecial ways of 
 cure, the malignity was expelled and great hopes of re- 
 covery, when the news came of the death of the King 
 of Sweden, which made fuch impreflions in him, that he 
 died a few days after, having overcome all difficulties 
 concluding with the Swede, and the Governor of Franc- 
 * kindale, and being ready to enter into a repofTeffion of 
 his country : a fad defliny ! 
 
 The Swedes bear up ftill, being fomented and fup- 
 ported by the French, who will not fuffer them to leave 
 Germany yet. A gentleman that came lately from Ita- 
 ly, told me, that there is no great joy in Rome for the 
 death of the King of Sweden. The Spaniards up and 
 down, will not (tick to call this Pope Lutherano, and 
 that he had intelligence with the Swede : 'tis true, that 
 he hath not been fo forward to aflift the Emperor in this 
 quarrel, and that in open confiflory, where there was 
 fuch a contrafto betwixt the cardinals for a fupply from 
 St. Peter, he declared, that he was well fatisfied that 
 this war in Germany was no war -of religion, which made 
 him difmifs the imperial ambaffadors with this fliort an- 
 fwer, that the Emperor had drawn thefe mifchiefs upon 
 himfelf ; for at that time when he fawthe Swedes upon the 
 frontiers of 'Germany, if he had employed thofe men and 
 monies which he confumed to trouble the peace of Italy, 
 in making war againft the Duke of Mantua, againft them, 
 he had not had now fo potent an enemy. So 1 t ike my 
 leave for this time, being 
 
 Tour Lordflj'tp's moft humble and obedient fervant, 
 Weftminfter, Jan. 3. 1632. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 2$4 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 LETTER V. 
 To Mr. E. D. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Thank you a thoufand times for the noble entertain- 
 ment you gave me at Berry, and the pains you took 
 in {hewing me the antiquities of that place. In requital, 
 I can tell you of a ftrange thing I faw lately here, and I 
 believe it is true : as I pad by St. Dunftan's in Fleet- 
 Jlreet the laft Saturday, I ftept into a lapidary, or ftone- 
 cuttcr's mop, to treat with the mafter for a ftone to be 
 put upon my father's tomb ; and cafting my eyes up and 
 down, I fpied a huge marble with a large infcription upon 
 it ; which was thus to my beft remembrance : 
 
 " Here lies John Oxenham, a goodly young man, in 
 " whofe chamber, as he was ftruggling with the 
 " pangs of death, a bird with a white breaft was feen 
 " fluttering about his bed, and fo vanifhed. 
 
 *' Here lies alfo Mary Oxenham, the fifter of the faid 
 " John, who died the next day, and the fame appa- 
 " rition was feen in the room." Then another fifter 
 is fpoken of. 
 
 Then, " Here lies hard by James Oxenham the fon of 
 " the faid John, who died a child in his cradle a little 
 " -after, and fuch a bird was feen fluttering about his 
 " head a little before he expired, which vanished af- 
 " terwards." 
 
 At the bottom of the ftone there is : 
 " Here lies Elizabeth Oxenham, the mother of the faid 
 " John, who died fixteen years fince, when fuch a 
 tf bird with a white breaft was feen about her bed be- 
 <e fore her death." 
 
 To all thefe there be divers witnefTcs, both fquires 
 and ladies, whofe names are engraven upon the ftone. 
 
 This
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 265 
 
 This ftone is to be fent to a town hard by Exeter where 
 this happened. 
 
 Were you here, I could raife a choice difcourfe with 
 you hereupon. So, hoping to fee you the next term, to 
 requite fome of your favours, I reft 
 
 Tour true friend to ferve you, 
 
 Wejlminjter, July 3. 1632. J. H. 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 To Sir ARTHUR INGRAM, at York. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 OUR greateft news here now, is, that we have a 
 new Attorney-General, which is news indeed, 
 confidering the humour of the man, how he hath been 
 always ready to entertain any caufe whereby he might 
 dam with the prerogative ; but now as judge RichardfiK 
 told him, his head is full of proclamations and devices 
 how to bring money into the exchequer. He hath lately 
 found out amongft the old records of the Tower, fome 
 precedents for raifing a tax called Jhip -money in all the 
 port towns, when the kingdom is in danger. Whether 
 we are in danger or no at prefent it were prefumption in 
 me to judge ; that belongs to his Majefty, and his privy- 
 council, who have their choice inftruments abroad for 
 intelligence, yet one with half an eye may fee we cannot 
 be fecure while fuch huge fleets of men of war, both 
 Spani/h, French, Dutch, and Dunkirkers, fome of them 
 laden with ammunition, men, arms, and armies, do 
 daily fail on our feas, and confront the King's chambers, 
 while we have only three or four mips abroad to guard 
 our coaft and kingdom, and to preferve the faireft flower 
 of the crown, the dominions of the narrow -fea; which I 
 hear the French Cardinal begins to queftion: and, the 
 Hollander lately, would not vail to one of his Majefty's 
 (hips that brought over the Duke of Lenox and my Lord 
 Z Weflon
 
 2 66 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 IVejlon from Bullen -, and indeed we are jeered abroad, 
 that we fend no more mips to guard our feas. 
 
 Touching my Lord Ambaffador Wejlon, he had a brave 
 journey of it, though it coft him dear : for, it is thought 
 it will ftand his Majefty 25,000 /. which makes fome 
 critics of the rimes to cenfure the Lord Treafurer, that 
 now the King wanting money fo much, he would fend 
 his fon abroad to fpend him fucb a fum, only for deliver- 
 ing of prefents and compliments ; but, I believe they 
 were deceived, for there were matters of (late alfo in 
 the embafly. 
 
 The Lord Wejlon pafling by Paris, intercepted, and 
 opened a pacquet of my Lord of Holland's, wherein 
 there were fome letters of her Majefty's : this my Lord 
 of Holland takes in that fcorn, that he defied him fince 
 his corning, and demanded a combate of him, for which 
 he is confined to his houfe at Kenfington : fb, with my 
 humble fervice to my noble Lady, I reft 
 
 Tour mojl obliged fervitor, 
 
 Weftminji. April I. 1633. J. H. 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 To the Lord Vifcount \Ventworth, Lord Deputy <?/" Ire- 
 land, and Lori Prefident c/'York, <bc. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 I Was glad to apprehend the opportunity of this pac- 
 quet to convey my humble fervice to your Lordfliip. 
 There are odd doings in France ; and it is no new 
 thing for the French to be always a-doing, they have 
 fuch a ftirring genius. The Queen-mother hath made an 
 cfcape to Bru/els, and Monfieur to Lorrain, where they 
 fay, he coarts very earnefUy the Duke's fifler, a young 
 Lady under twenty : they fay a contract is pa/Ted already, 
 but the French Cardinal oppofeth it ; for they fay, that 
 Lorrain milk feldom breeds good blood in France. Not 
 * only
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 267 
 
 only the King, but the whole Galilean church hath pro- 
 tefted againft it in a folemn fynod, for, the heir apparent 
 of the crown of France cannot marry without the royal 
 confent. This aggravates a grudge the French King 
 hath to the Duke, for fiding with the imperialists, and 
 for things reflecting upon the dutchy of Bar; for which 
 he is homageable to the crown of France, as he is to the 
 Emperor for Lorrain. A hard tafk it is to ferve two 
 mafters; and an unhappy fituation it is to ly betwixt two. 
 puhTant monarchs, as the dukes of Savoy and Lorrain 
 do : fo, I kifs your Lordmip's hand, and reft, my Lord, 
 
 Tour mofl affettionate and ready fervifor, 
 Wejlminjler, April I. J. H. 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 To the Lord Clifford, at Knafburgh. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 I Received your Lordmip's of the kft of June, and I 
 return you moft humble thanks for the choice nag 
 you pleafed to fend me, which came in very good plight. 
 Your Lordmip defires me to lay down what in my tra- 
 vels abroad I obferved of the prefent condition of the 
 Jews, once an eledt people, but now grown contemp- 
 tible, and ftrangely fquandered up and down the world. 
 Though fuch, a difcourfe exactly framed, might take up 
 a volume, yet I will twift up what I know in this point, 
 upon as narrow a bottom as may be fhut up within the 
 compafs of this letter. 
 
 The firft country that expelled the Jews was England. 
 France followed our example next, then Spain, and af- 
 terwards Portugal: nor were they exterminated thefe 
 countries for religion, but for villanies and cheating, for 
 clipping coins, poifoning of water, and counterfeiting of 
 feals. 
 
 Z 2. Thofcr
 
 268 Familiar LETTERS. PA RT II. 
 
 Thofe countries they are permitted to live now mofl 
 in amongft chrifKans, are Germany, Holland, Bohemia 
 and Italy, but not in thofe parts where the King of 
 Spain hath to do. In the Levant and Turky they fwarm 
 mofl ; for their Grand Vizier, and all other great ba- 
 fhaws, have commonly fome Jew for their counfellor or 
 fpy, who inform them of the ftate of chriftian princes, 
 poflefs them of a hatred of the religion, and fo incenle 
 them to a war againft them. 
 
 They are accounted the fubtileft and moft fubdolous 
 people upon the earth : the reafonwhy they are thus de- 
 generated from their primitive fimplicity and innocence, 
 is their often captivities, their defperate fortunes, the 
 neceffity and hatred to which they have been habituated ; 
 for, nothing depraves ingenious fpirits, and corrupts clear 
 wits more'than indigence. By their profeflion, they are 
 for the moft part brokers, and lombardeers, yet by that 
 bafe and fervilc way of frippery trade, they grow rich 
 wherefoever they neft themfelves ; and this with their 
 multiplication of children, they hold to be an argument 
 that an extraordinary providence attends them ftill. Me- 
 thinks that fo clear accomplifhments of the prophecies of 
 our Saviour touching that people, fhould work upon 
 them for their converfion, of the deftruclion of their city 
 and temple; that they mould become defpicable, and 
 the tail of all nations ; that they mould be vagabonds, and 
 have no firm habitation. 
 
 Touching the firft, they know it came punctually to 
 pafs, and fb have the other two : for they are the moft 
 hateful race of men upon earth, infomuch, that in Turky 
 where they are moft valued, if a mufulman come to any 
 of their houfes, and leave his flioes at the door, the 
 Jena dare not come in all the while, till the Turk hath 
 done what he will with his wife. For the laft, it is 
 wonderful to fee in what confiderable numbers they are 
 difperfed up and down the world ; yet, they can never 
 reduce themfelves to fuch a condition and unity as may 
 make a republic, principality or kingdom. 
 
 They
 
 Familiar LETTERS.. 269 
 
 They hold that the Jews of Italy, Germany, and the 
 Levant, are of Benjamin 's tribe. Ten of the tribes at 
 the destruction of Je roboanis kingdom were led captives 
 beyond Euphrates ; whence they never returned, nor do 
 they know what became of them ever after, yet they be- 
 lieve they never became apoflates and Gentiles : but the 
 tribe of Judah, whence they expect their Me/ias, of 
 whom one mall hear them difcourfe with fo much confi- 
 dence, and felf-pleafing conceit, they fay is fettled in 
 Portugal; where they give out to have thoufands of 
 their race, whom they difpenfe withal to make a feni- 
 blance of chriftianity, even to church degrees. 
 
 This makes them breed up their children in the Luji- 
 tanian language ; which makes the Spaniard have an 
 odd faying, that el Portuguez fe crio del pedo de un 
 Judio ; a Portuguese was engendered of a Jew'j fart : 
 as the Mahometans have a paflage in their alcoran, that 
 a cat laas'tnade of a lions breath. 
 
 As they are the moft contemptible people, and hare 
 a kind of a fulfome fcent no better than a ftink, that di- 
 ftingaimes them from others, fo are they the moft timer- 
 ous people on- earth, and, fo utterly incapable of arms ; 
 for they are made neither foldiers nor failors: and this 
 their puiilanimity and cowardice, as well as their cun- 
 ning and craft, may be imputed to their various thral- 
 doms, contempt and poverty, 'which hath cowed and 
 dallardized their courage. Befides thefe properties, 
 they are light and giddy-headed, much fymbolizing 
 in fpirits with our apocalyptical zealots, and fiery inter- 
 preters of Daniel and other prophets ; whereby they of- 
 ten footh, or rather fool themfelves into fome illumina- 
 tion, which really proves but fome egregious dotage. 
 
 They much glory of their myfterious cabal, wherein 
 they make the reality of things to depend upon letters 
 and words ; but they fay that Hebrew only hath this 
 privilege. This cabal, which is nought elfe but a tra- 
 dition, they fay, being tranfraitted from one age to ano- 
 ther, was in fome meafure a reparatioa of our knowledge 
 loft in. Adam; and they fay it was revealed four times : 
 Z 3 rit
 
 270 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 firft to Adam, who being thruft out of paradife, and fit- 
 ting one day very fad, and forrowing for the lofs of the 
 knowledge he had, of that dependance the creatures 
 have with their Creator, the angel Raguel was fent to 
 comfort him, and inftrucl: him, and repair his knowledge 
 herein; and this they call the cabal ; which was loft the 
 fecond time by the flood and Babel. Then God difco- 
 vcred it to Mofes in the bufh ; the third time to Solomon 
 in a dream, whereby he came to know the beginning, 
 mediety, and confummation of times, and fo wrote di- 
 vers books, which were loft in the grand captivity. The 
 laft time, they hold that God reftored the cabal to Ef- 
 drat, (a book they value extraordinarily) who by God's 
 command withdrew to the wildernefe forty days with 
 five fcribes, who in that fpace wrote 204 books : the 
 firft 130 were to be read by all, but the other 70 were 
 to pafs privately amongft ihtLevites; and thefe they 
 pretend to be cabaliflic, and not yet all loft. 
 
 There are this day three fedts of Jews; the African 
 firft, who befides the holy fcriptures, embrace the Tal- 
 mud alfo for authentic ; the fecond receive only the 
 fcriptures ; the third, which are called the Samaritans, 
 (whereof there are but a few) admit only of the Penta- 
 teuch, the five books of Mofes. 
 
 The Jews in general drink no wine without a difpen- 
 fation : when they kill any creature, they turn his face 
 to the Eaft, faying, Be it fanclified in the great name 
 of God : they cut the throat with a knife without a gap, 
 which they hold very profane. 
 
 In their fynagogues, they make one of the beft fort to 
 read a chapter of Mofes, then fome mean boy reads a 
 piece of the prophets : in the midft, there is a round 
 place arched over, where one of their Rabbies walks up 
 and down, and in Portuguefe magnifies the Mefftas to 
 come, comforts their captivity, and rails at Chrift. 
 
 They have a kind of cupboard to reprefent the taber- 
 nacle, wherein they lay the tables of the law, which 
 now and then they take out and kifs : they fing many 
 tunes, and Adonai they make the ordinary name of Ged. 
 
 Jehovah
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 271 
 
 Jehovah is pronounced at high feftivals : at circumcifion, 
 boys are put to Ting forae of David's Pfalms fo loud, as 
 drowns the infant's cry. The fynagogue is hung about 
 with glafs-lamps burning ; every one at his entrance puts 
 on a linen-cope, firft kiffing it, elfe they ufe no manner 
 of reverence all the while. Their elders fometimes fall 
 together by the ears in the very fynagogue, and with the 
 holy utenfils, as candlefticks, incenfe-paas, and fuch like, 
 break one another's pates. 
 
 Women are not allowed to enter the fynagogue, but 
 they fit in a gallery without ; for they hold they have not 
 fo divine a foul as men, and are of a lower creation, 
 made only for fenfual pleafure and propogation. 
 
 Amongft the Mahometans there is no Jew capable of 
 a Turkijh habit unlefs he acknowledge Chrift as much as 
 Turks do; which is to have been a great Prophet, 
 whereof they hold there are three only, Mfet, Chrift, 
 and Mahomet. 
 
 Thus my Lord, to perform your commands, which 
 are very prevalent with me, have I couched in this let- 
 ter what I could of the condition of the Jews; and if it 
 may give your Lordfliip any fatisfaction, I have my re- 
 ward abundantly. So-, I reft 
 
 Tour Lordfoip 's moft humble and ready fervitor, 
 Wejlmin/ler,. June 3, 1633. J. H. 
 
 L E T T E R IX. 
 To Mr* PHILIP- WARRICK, at Paris. 
 
 S I R, 
 
 YOUR laft unto me was in French, of the firft 
 current, and I am glad you are come fo fafe from 
 Sityffa.rland ' to Paris, as alfo, that you are grown fo 
 great a proficient in the language. I thank you for the 
 variety of news you fent me fb handibraely couched and 
 knit together.. 
 
 To
 
 2)2 Familiar LETTERS. PART IT, 
 
 To correfpond with you, the greateft news we have 
 here, is, that we have a" gallant fleet-royal ready to fet 
 to fea, for the fecurity of our coafts and commerce, and 
 for the fovereignty of our feas. Hanfi faid the King of 
 England was afleep all the while, but now he is awake ; 
 nor do I hear doth your French Cardinal tamper any 
 longer with our King's title and right to the dominion of 
 the narrow feas. Thefe are brave fruits of the fhip- 
 monies. 
 
 I hear that the infante Cardinal having been long upon 
 his way to Bniffels, hath got a notable victory over the 
 Swedes at Nordlinghen, where 8000 were (lain, Gujla- 
 vus Horn, and other of the prime commanders taken pri- 
 foners : they write alfo that Monfieur's marriage with 
 Madam of Lorrain was folemnly celebrated at Brujfels : 
 (he had followed him from Nancy in page's apparel, be- 
 caufe there were forces in the way. It muft needs be a 
 mighty charge to the King of Spain, to maintain mother, 
 and fon in this manner. 
 
 The court affords little news at prefent, but that there 
 is a love called phitonic love, which fways there of late. 
 It is a love abftrafted from all corporeal grofs impreffions 
 and fenfual appetites, but confifts in contemplations and 
 ideas of the mind, not in any carnal fruition. This love 
 fets the wits of the town on work ; and they fay there 
 will be a mafk mortly of it, whereof her Majefty and 
 her maids of honour will be part. 
 
 All your friends here in Weftminfler are very well, and 
 very mindful of you, but none more often than 
 
 Tour moft affeftionate fervitor, 
 Weftminftery June 3.. 1634. J. H* 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 273 
 
 LETTER X. 
 To my Brother, Mr. H. P. 
 
 Brother, 
 
 MY brain was overcaft with a thick cloud of melan- 
 choly, I was become a lump f I know not what, 
 I could fcarce find any palpitation within me on the left 
 fide, when yours of the firft of September was brought 
 before me ; it had fuch a virtue, that it begot new mo- 
 tions in me, like the loadftone, which by its attractive 
 * occult quality moves the dull body of iron, and makes 
 it active ; fo dull was I then, and fuch a magnetic pro- 
 perty your letter had to quicken me. 
 
 There is fome murmuring, againft \hz JJrip-money, be- 
 caufe the tax is indefinite, as alfb, by reafon that it is 
 levied upon the country towns, as well as maritime ; and 
 for that they fay, Noy himfelf cannot (hew any record. 
 There are alfo divers patents granted, which are mutter- 
 ed at, as being no better than monopolies. Among others 
 a Scotfman got one lately upon the ftatute of levying 
 twelve-pence for every oath, which the juftices of peace 
 and conftables had power to raife, and have ftill ; but 
 this new patentee is to quicken and put more life in the 
 law, and fee it executed. He hath power to nominate 
 one, or two, or three in fome parifhes, which are to have 
 commiffion from him for this public fervice, and fo they 
 are to be exempt from bearing office, which muft needs de- 
 ferve a gratuity ; and I believe this was the main drift 
 of the Scots patentee, fo that he intends to keep his 
 office in the temple, and certainly he is like to be a mighty 
 gainer by it ; for who would not give a good piece of 
 money to be freed from bearing all cumberfome offices ? 
 No more now, but that with my dear love to my fifter, 
 J reft 
 
 Tour me/} affeftionate brother, 
 Weftminfter, Aug. i. 1633. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 274 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 To the Right Honourable the Lord V if count SAVAGE at 
 Long-Melford. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 TH E old {reward of your courts, Mafter Atorney- 
 General Nvy, is lately dead, nor could Tunbridge 
 waters do him any good : though he had good matter in 
 his brain, he had, it feems, ill materials in his body ; 
 for his heart was fhrivelled like a leather penny-purfe 
 when he was diflecled, nor were his lungs found. 
 
 Being fuch a clerk in the law, all the world wonders 
 he left fuch an odd will, which is fhort, and in Latin : 
 the fubftance of it is, that he having bequeathed a few 
 legacies, and left his fecond fon 100 "marks a-year, and 
 500 pounds in money, enough to bring him up in his fa- 
 ther's profelfion, he concludes, Rdiqua meorum oinnia 
 primogenito ?neo Kduardo, dijjipanda^ nfc mel'tus unquam 
 fperavi ego : I leave the reft of all my goods to my 
 firll-born EJivard, to be confumed or Scattered, for I 
 never hoped better. A ftrange, and fcarce a chriiiian will, 
 in my opinion, for it argues uncharitablenefs. Nor doth 
 the world wonder lefs, that he mould leave no legacy 
 to fbme of your Lordfhip's children, confidering what 
 deep obligations he had to your Lordfhip ; for I am con- 
 fident he had never been Attorney-General elfe. 
 
 The vintners drink caroufes of joy that he is gone, for 
 now they are in hopes to drefs meat again, and fell to- 
 bacco, beer, fugar, and faggots ; which by afullen capricio 
 of his, he would have retrained them from. He had 
 his humour as other men, but certainly he was a folid 
 rational man ; and though no great orator, yet a pro- 
 found Lawyer, and no man better verfed, in the records 
 of the Tower. I heard your Lordmip often fay, with 
 what infinite pains and indefatigable ftudy he came to this 
 knowlege ; and I never heard a more pertinent anagram 
 than was made of his name, IVilliam Noy, I moile in
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 27$ 
 
 law. If an / be added, it may be applied to my country- 
 man Judge Jones, an excellent Lawyer too, and a far 
 more genteel man William Jones, I moils In laws. No 
 more now, but that I reft 
 
 Tour Lord/hip's mojl humble and obliged Jervant, 
 Wejlminjler, Oft. I. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 To the Right Honourable the Countefs of Sunderland. 
 
 Madam, 
 
 HERE inclofed I fend your Ladymip a letter from 
 the Lord-deputy of Ireland, wherein he declares , 
 that the difpofing of the Attorneyfhip in York, which he 
 pafled over to me, had no relation to my Lord at all, 
 but it was merely done out of a particular refpedt to me : 
 your Ladymip may pleafe to think of it accordingly touch- 
 ing the accounts. 
 
 It is now a good while the two nephew princes have 
 been here, I mean the Prince Elector, and Prince Robert. 
 The King of Sweden's death, and the late blow at Nor- 
 linghen hath half blafted their hopes to do any good for 
 recovery of the Palatinate by land : therefore, I hear 
 of fome new defigns by fea, that the one (hall go to 
 Madagafcar, a great ifland eighty miles long in the Eajl- 
 Indies, neves yet colonized by any chriftian and Cap- 
 tain Bond is to be his Lieutenant ; the other is to go 
 with a confiderable fleet to the Wejl-lndies, to feize up- 
 on fome place there that may countervail the Pala- 
 tinate, and Sir Henry Meruin to go with him : but I 
 hear my Lady Elizabeth oppofeth it, faying, ihztfoe mill 
 have none of her fins to be Knights-errant. There is 
 now profefled actual enmity betwixt France and Spain, 
 for there was a Herald at Arms fent lately from Paris 
 to Flanders, who by found of trumpet denounced and 
 proclaimed open war againft the King of Spain and all 
 
 his
 
 276 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 his dominions : this Herald left and fixed up the defi- 
 ance in all the towns as he pafled ; fo that whereas be- 
 fore, the war was but collateral and auxiliary, there is now 
 proclaimed hoftility between them, notwithftanding that 
 they have one another's filters in their beds every night. 
 What the reafon of this war is, truly, Madam I cannot 
 tell, unlefs it be reafon of ftate, to prevent the fur- 
 ther growth of the SpaniJJj monarchy ; and there be 
 a multitude of examples how preventive wars 4iave been 
 pradifed from all times. Howfoever, it is too fure that 
 abundance of chriftian blood will be fpilt. So, I humbly 
 take my leave, and reft, Madam, 
 
 Tour LadyJJrip's mofl obedient and faithful fervant, 
 Wejlminflcr, June 4. 1635. J H. 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 To the Earl of Leicefler, at Penmurft. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 I Am newly returned out of France from a flying jour- 
 ney as far as Orleans, which I made at the requeft 
 of Mafter Secretary Wi'ndebank, and I hope I (hall re- 
 ceive fome fruits of it hereafter. There is yet a great 
 refentment in many places in France for the beheading of 
 Montmorency, whom Henry IV. was ufed to fay to be 
 the better gentleman than himfelf, for in his colours he 
 carried this motto, D"ieu ayde le premier Chevalier de 
 France. God help the firft Knight of France, he died 
 upon a fcaffold in Tholoufe in the flower of his years, at 
 thirty-four, and hath left no iflue behind, fo that noble 
 old family extinguifhed in a fnufF. His treafon was very 
 foul, having received particular commiiEons from the 
 King to make an extraordinary levy of men and money in 
 Lapguedic, which he turned afterwards direclly againft 
 the King ; againit whofe perfon he appeared armed in open 
 
 field,
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 277 
 
 field, and in a hofKle po(rure for fomenting of Monfieur's 
 rebellion. 
 
 The infante Cardinal is come to Bm/eJs at laft through 
 many difficulties ; and fome few days before, Monfieur 
 made femblance to go a hawking, and fo fled to France* 
 but left his mother behind, who fince the Archdutchefs 
 death is not fo well looked on as formerly in that coun- 
 try. 
 
 Touching our bufinefs In the exchequer, Sir Robert 
 Pye went with me this morning of purpofe to my Lord 
 Treafurer about it, and told me with much earneftnefs 
 and affurance, that there (hall be a fpeedy courfe taken 
 for your Lordfhip's fatisft&ion. 
 
 I delivered my Lord of Llndfey the manufcript he lent 
 your Lordfhip of his father's embafTy to Denmark ; and 
 herewith I prefent your Lordihip with a compleat diary 
 of your own late legation, which hath coft me fome toil 
 and labour. So, I reft always 
 
 Tour Lordjhifs moft humble and 'ready fervitcr, 
 Weflminjl. June 19. 1635. J. H, 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 To my honoured Friend and Fat her > Mr. BEN. JOHNSON. 
 
 Father BEN. 
 
 BEING lately in France, and returning in a coach 
 from Paris to Rouen, I lighted upon the fociety 
 cf a knowing gentleman who related unto me a choice 
 ftory, whereof peradventure you may make fome ufe in 
 your way. 
 
 Some hundred and odd years fince, there was in 
 France one Captain Coucy a gallant gentleman of an an- 
 tient extraction, and keeper of Coucy caftle, which is yet 
 {landing, and in good repair. He tell in love with a 
 young gentlewoman, and courted her for his wife : there 
 was a reciprocal love between them, but her parents un- 
 A a derftunding
 
 2^8 "Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 derfhnding of it, by way of prevention they (hufflcd up 
 a forced match betwixt her and one Monfieur Faiel, who 
 \vas a great heir. Captain Coucy hereupon quitted France 
 in difcontent, and went to the wars in Hungary againil 
 the Turk, where he received a mortal wound, not far 
 from Bzida. Being carried to his lodging, he languished 
 fame days, but a little before his death he fpoke to an 
 antient fervant of his, that he had many proofs of his fi- 
 delity and truth, but now he had a great bufinefs to en- 
 truft him with, which he conjured him by all means to 
 do ; which was, that after his death, he ihould get his 
 body to be opened, and then to take his heart out of his 
 breaft, and put it in an earthen-pot to be baked to pow- 
 der, then to put the powder into a handfome box, with 
 that bracelet of hair he had worn long about his left 
 wrift ; which was a lock of Madamoifelle Faiel's hair, 
 and put it amongft the powder together with a little note 
 he had written with his own blood to her; and, after he 
 had given him the rites of burial, to make all the fpeed 
 he could to France, and deliver the faid box to Mada- 
 moifelle Faiel. The old fervant did as his mafter had 
 commanded him, and fo went to France ; and coming 
 one day to Monfieur Faie/'s houfe, he fudderily met with 
 that gentleman, who examined him, becaufe he knew 
 he was Captain Coney's fervant ; and finding him timerous 
 and faltering in his fpecch, he fearched him, and found 
 the faid box in his pocket, with the note which exprefled 
 what was therein. He difmiffed the bearer with mena- 
 ces, that he mould come no more near his houfe. Mon- 
 fieur Faiel going in, fent for his cook, and delivered him 
 the powder, charging him to make a little well relifhed 
 difli of it, without lofing a jot of it, for it was a very 
 coftly thing ; and commanded him to bring it in himfelf, 
 after the laft courfe at fupper. The cook bringing in 
 the dim accordingly, Monfieur Faiel commanded all to 
 void the room, and began a ferious difcourfe with his 
 wife, how ever fince he had married her, he obferved 
 flie was always melancholy, and he feared me was inclin- 
 ing to a confumption, therefore he had provided for her a 
 * very
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 279 
 
 very precious cordial, which he was well a/lured would 
 cure her: thereupon he made her eat up the whole difh, 
 and afterward, much importuning him to know what it 
 was, he told her at laft, me had eaten Coney** heart, and 
 fo drew the box out of his pocket, and fhewed her the 
 note and bracelet; in a fudden exultation of joy, (he with 
 a far fetched figh faid, This is precious indeed, and fo 
 licked the dim, faying, // is fo precious, that it is pity 
 to put ever any meat upon it. So me went to bed, and 
 in the morning me was found ftone dead. 
 
 This gentleman told me that this fad ftory is painted 
 in Coney caftle, and remains frefh to this day. 
 
 In my opinion, which vails to yours, this is choice 
 and rich fluff for you to put upon your loom, and make* 
 a curious web of. 
 
 I thank you for the laft regalo you gave rue at your 
 ntufeum, and for the good company. I heard you cen- 
 fured lately at court, that you have lighted too foul upon 
 Sir Inigo, and that you write with a pore upin^s quill 
 dipped in too much gall. Excufe me that J am fo free 
 with you j it is becaufe I am in no common way of friend - 
 fliip. 
 
 \ "V* " Yours j. 
 Weftminjler, May 3.. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XV.; 
 To my Lord V if count S. 
 
 My LoRDj 
 
 HI S Majefty is lately returned from Scotland, having; 
 given that nation fatisfaftion to their long defires, 
 to have him come hither to be crowned. I hear fome 
 mutter at Bifhop Laud's carriage there, that it was too 
 haughty and pontifical. 
 
 Since the death of the King of Sweden* a great many 
 
 Scots commanders arc come over, and make a,.fhin- 
 
 A a 2. ing,
 
 aSo Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 ing fliew at court : what trade they will take hereafter I 
 know not, having been fo inured to the wars. I pray 
 God keep us from commotions at home, betwixt the two 
 kingdoms, to find them work. I hear one Colonel Lejly 
 is gone away difcontented, becaufe the King would not 
 Lord him. 
 
 The old rotten Duke of Bavaria, for he hath divers 
 i flues about his body, hath married one of the Emperor's 
 fillers, a young lady little above twenty, and he near 
 upon fourfcore. There is another remaining, who they 
 fay, is intended for the King of Poland, notwithstanding 
 his pretences to the young Lady Elizabeth ; about which, 
 Prince Razevill and other ambafladors have been here 
 lately, but that King being eletfive, mud marry as the 
 eftates will have him. His mother was the Kmperor's 
 fifter, therefore fure he will not offer to marry his cou- 
 fin-german ; but it is no news for the houfe of Aujlria 
 to do fo, to (trengthen their race. And if the Bavarian 
 hath male-ifliie of this young Lady, the Ion is to fucceed 
 him. in the eleftorfliip, which may conduce much to 
 ftrengthen the continuance of the empire in the Auftnan 
 family. So, with a conftant perfervance of my hearty 
 defires to ferve your Lordfhip, I re(t, my Lord, 
 Tour moft humble fervitor, 
 
 Weflminftcr, Sept. 7. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 To my Cotijin Mr. WILL. ST. GEON> at St. Omer. 
 
 Coujln t 
 
 I\Vas lately in your father's company, and I found him 
 much difcontented at the courfe you take ; which lie 
 not only protefts againft, but he vows never to give you 
 his blcffing if you perfevere in it. I would wim you to 
 defcend into yourfelf, and ferioufly ponder what a weight 
 a father's bleffing or curfe carries with k ; for, there is 
 
 nothing
 
 Familiar LETTERS. affi 
 
 nothing conduceth more to the happinefs or infelicity of 
 the child. Amongft the ten commandments in the dsca- 
 logue, that which enjoins obedience from children to pa- 
 rents, hath only a benediction (of longevity) added to 
 it. There be clouds of examples for this, but one I 
 will inftance in: when I was in Valentia in Spain, a 
 gentleman told me of a miracle which happened in that 
 town ; which was, that a proper young man under twenty, 
 was executed there for a crime, and before he was ta-- 
 ken down from off the tree, there were many gray and 
 white hairs had budded forth of his chin, as if he had 
 been a man of fixty. It ftruck amazement in all men, 
 but this interpretation was made of it, that the faid 
 young man might have lived to fuch an age, if he had 
 been dutiful to his parents, unto whom, he had been bar- 
 baroufly difobedient all his life time. 
 
 There comes herewith a large letter to you from 
 your father: let me advife you to conform your courfes 
 to his counfel, otherwile, it is an eafy matter to be a 
 Prophet what misfortunes will inevitably befal you ; which 
 by a timely obedience you may prevent, and I wifh you 
 may have grace to do it accordingly. So, I reft 
 Your loving luell-wijhing couji/t, 
 
 Lond. May I. 1634, J. H, 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 To the Lord Deputy of Ireland. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 *T""*HE Earl of Arundel is lately returned from Ger- 
 JL many, and his gallant comportment in that em- 
 bafly deferved to have had better fuccefs. He found the 
 Emperor conformable, but the old Bavarian froward, 
 who will not part with any thing till he have monies re- 
 imburfedr which he fpent in thefe wars, and for which he 
 hath the upper Palatinate in depofito^ infbmuchj that in 
 A a 3 all
 
 282 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 all probability all hopes are cut off of ever recovering 
 that country, but by the fame means that it was taken 
 away, which was by the fword : therefore, they write 
 from Holland of a new army, which the Prince Palatine 
 is like to. have fhortly, to go up to Germany, and pufli 
 on his fortunes with the Swedes. 
 
 The French King hath taken all Nancy and almofl aJI 
 Lor rain lately, but he was forced to put a fox tail to the 
 lion's fkin, which his Cardinal helped him to before he 
 eould do the work. The quarrel is, that the Duke 
 fhould marry his fifler to Monfieur, contrary to promife ; 
 that he fided with the imperialifts againft his confederates 
 in Germany, and that he neglected to do homage for 
 the dutchy of Bar. 
 
 My Lord Vifcount Savage is lately dead, who is very 
 much lamented by all that knew him, I could have 
 wifhed had it pleafed God, that his father-in-law, who 
 is riper for the other world had gone before him: fo, I 
 red 
 
 Tour Lordship's moft humble and ready fervitor, 
 r/eftHihifter, April 6. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XVIII, 
 
 TV the Rigi.t Honourable Sir PETER WIGHT $, Lord 
 Ambajfador at Conitantinople. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 IT fecms there is fome angry ftar that hath hung over 
 this bufinefs of the Palatinate from the beginning of 
 thefe German wars to this very day, which will too evi- 
 dently appear, if one mould mark and deduce matters 
 from their firfl rife. 
 
 You may remember how poorly Prague was loft : the 
 Bimop of Halverftadt and Count Mansfclt muffled up 
 and down a good while, and did great matters, but all 
 eame to nothing at laft. You may remember how one 
 
 of
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 283 
 
 of the fhips-royal was caft away in carrying over the laft, 
 and the 1 2,000 men he had hence perifhed very mifer- 
 ably, and he himfelf, as they write, died in a poor ho- 
 (trey with one lacquey, as he was going to Venice to a 
 bank of money he had flored up there for a dead lift. 
 Your Lordfhip knows what fuccefs the King of De twtark 
 had, (and our 6000 men under Sir Charles Morgan} for 
 while he thought to make new acquefls, he was in ha- 
 zard to lofe all that he had, had he not had favourable 
 propositions tendered him. There were never poor chri- 
 flians perimed more lamentably than thole 6000 we fent 
 under M. Hamilton for the afliftance of the King of 
 Sweden, who did much, but you know what became of 
 him at lafl ; how difafteroufly the Prince Palatine him- 
 felf fell, and in what an ill conjuncture of time, 
 being upon the very point of being reftored to his coun- 
 try. 
 
 But now we have as bad news as any we had yet, for 
 the young Prince Palatine, and his brother Prince Ru- 
 pert, having got a jolly confiderablc army in Holland to 
 try their fortunes in Germany with the Swedes, they had 
 advanced as far as Munflerland and Wejipbalia, and, 
 having lain before Lengua, they were forced to raife the 
 fiege j and one General Hatzfield purfuing them, there 
 was a fore battle fought, wherein Prince Rupert, my 
 Lord Craven and others were taken prifoners. The 
 Prince Palatine himfelf, with Major King, thinking to 
 get over the Wefer in a coach, the water being deep, 
 and not fordable, he faved himfelf by the help of a wil- 
 low, and fo went a-foot all the way to Munden, the 
 coach and the coachman being drowned in the river. 
 There were near upon 2000 flain on the Ralftgravtii 
 fide, and fcarce the twentieth part fo many on Hatz- 
 /c7J's. Major Gust us, one of the chief commanders wa* 
 killed. 
 
 I am forry I muft write unto you this fad ftory; yet to 
 countervail fomething, Saxon Waymar thrives well, and 
 is like to get Brifac by help of the French forces. Ail 
 
 your
 
 I 
 
 284 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 your friends here are well, and remember your Lordfhip, 
 but none more oft than 
 
 Tour moft humble and ready fervitor, 
 London^ June 5. 1635. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 To Sir S A c K v i L C. Knight. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 Was as ^lad that you have lighted upon fb excellent 
 a Lady, as if an Aftronomer by his optics had found 
 out a new itar; and, if a wife be the beft or worft for- 
 tune of a man, certainly you are one of the fortunatefl 
 men in this ifland. 
 
 The greateft news I can write unto you, is of a bloody 
 banquet that was lately at Liege, where a great faction 
 v/as a fomenting betwixt the imperialifts, and thole that 
 were devoted to France; amongft whom, one Ruelle, a 
 popular Burgue-mafter was chief. The count of War- 
 fitzce, a vaflal of the King of Spain, having fled thither 
 for fome offence, to ingratiate himfelf again into the 
 King of Spain's favour, invited the faid Ruelle to a 
 feaft, and after brought him into a private chamber, 
 where he had provided a ghoftly father to confefs him ; 
 and fo fome of the fbldiers whom he had provided before 
 to guard the houfe, difpatched the Burgue-mafter. The 
 town hearing this, broke into the houfe, cut to pieces 
 the faid Count, with fome of his foldiers, and dragged 
 his body up and down the ftreets. You know fuch a 
 fate befel Walftein in Germany of late years, who having 
 got all the Emperor's forces into his hands, was found 
 to have intelligence with the Swedes; therefore the im- 
 perial ban was not only pronounced againft him, but a 
 reward promifed to any that {hould difpatch him : fome 
 of the Emperor's foldiers at a. great wedding in Egra, of 
 which band of foldiers Colonel Sutler an IriJJman was 
 
 chief
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 285 
 
 chief, broke into his lodging -when he was at dinner, 
 killed him, with three commanders more that were at 
 table with him, and threw his body out at a window in- 
 to the ftreets. 
 
 I hear Butler is made fmce Count of the empire : ib> 
 humbly kifling your noble Lady's handsj I reft 
 Tour faithful fervitor, 
 
 London, Jan. 5. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 Ts Sir EDWARD B. Knight* 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Received yours this Maunday-ThurfJay : and where- 
 as amongft other paflages, and high endearments of 
 love, you deflre to know what method I obferve in the 
 exercife of .my devotions, I thank you for your requeft, 
 which I have reafon to believe doth proceed from an ex- 
 traordinary refpeft unto me ; and I will deal with you 
 herein, as one mould do with his confeflbr. 
 
 'Tis true, though there be rules and rubrics in our 
 ^Liturgy fufficient to guide every one in the performance 
 of all holy duties, yet I believe every one hath fomc 
 mode and model or formulary of his own, fpecially for 
 private cubicular devotions. 
 
 I will begin with the lail day of the week, and with 
 the latter end of that day, I mean Saturday evening, on 
 which, I have faded ever (Ince I was a youth in Venice, 
 for being delivered from a very great danger. This 
 year I ufe fome extraordinary ads of devotion to uflier 
 in the enfuing Sunday in hymns, and prayers of my o\vn 
 penning before I go to be4 On Sunday morning I rife 
 earlier than upon other days, to prepare myfelf for the 
 fan&ifying of it : nor do I ufe barber, taylor, ftioemaker, 
 or any other mechanic that morning; and whatfoever 
 diverfions, or lets may hinder me the week before, I 
 
 never
 
 286 Familiar LETTERS. PART IT. 
 
 never mifs, but in cafe of ficknefs, to repair to God's 
 holy houfe that day, where I come before prayers be- 
 gin, to make myfelf fitter for the work by fome previous 
 meditations, and take the whole fervice along with me : 
 nor do I love to mingle fpeech with any in the interim, 
 about news or worldly negotiations in God^s holy houfe. 
 I proftrate rnyfelf in the humbleft and decenteft way of 
 genuflexion I can imagine : nor do I believe there can be 
 any excefs of exterior humility in that place; there- 
 fore I do not like thofe fquatting unfeemly bold poftures 
 upon one's tail, or muffling the face in the hat, or thruft- 
 ing it in fome hole, or covering it with one's hand ; but 
 with bended knee and an open confident face, I fix my 
 eyes on the Eaft part of the church, and heaven. I en- 
 deavour to apply every title of the fervice to my own 
 confcience and occafions ; and I believe the want of this, 
 with the huddling up, and carelefs reading of fome mi- 
 nifters, with the commonnefs of it, is the greateft caufe 
 that many do-undervalue and take a furfeit of our public 
 fervice. 
 
 -i'or the reading and fmging pfalms, whereas moft of 
 them are either petitions or euchariftical ejaculations, I 
 Men to them more attentively, and make them my own. 
 When I (land at the Creed, I think upon the cuftom 
 they have in Poland, and elfewhere, for gentlemen to 
 draw their fwords all the while, intimating thereby that 
 they will defend it with their lives and blood. And for 
 the decalogue, whereas others ufe to rife, and fit, I e- 
 ver kneel at it in the humbled and tremblingeft pofture 
 of all, to crave remiflion for the breaches part of any 
 of God's holy commandments, (efpecially the week be- 
 fore) and future grace to obferve them. 
 
 I love a holy devout fermon, that firft checks, and 
 then chears the confcience, that begins with the law, 
 and ends with the gofpel : but I never prejudicate or 
 - cenfure any preacher, taking him as I find him. 
 
 And now that we are not only adulted, but anticnt 
 chriftians, I believe the moft acceptable facrifice we can 
 fend up to heaven, \sprayer undpraife ; and tha
 
 Fanifiar LETTERS. 287 
 
 are not fo e/Tential as either of them to the true practice 
 of devotion. The reft of the holy Sabbath, I feque- 
 fter my body and mind as much as I can from world- 
 ly affairs. 
 
 Upon Monday morning, as foon as the Cinq-poHt are 
 open, I have a particular "prayer of thanks, that I am 
 reprived to the beginning of that week ; and every day 
 following, I knock thrice at heaven's gate, in the morn- 
 ing, in theevening, and at night ; befides prayers at 
 meals, and fome other occasional .ejaculations, as upon 
 the putting on of a clean fliirt, warning my hands, and at 
 lighting of candles ; which becaufe they are fudden, I do 
 in the the third perfon. 
 
 Tuefday morning I rife winter and fummer as foon 
 as I awake, and fend up a more particular facrifice for 
 iome reafons ; and as I am difpofed, or have bufincfs, 
 I go to bed again. 
 
 Upon Wednefday night I always faft, and perform alfo 
 iome extraordinary acts of devotion, as alfo upon Friday 
 night ; and Saturday morning, as foon as my fenfes are 
 unlocked, I get up. And in the fummer time, I am 
 oftentimes abroad in fome private field, to attend the 
 fun-rifing ; and as I pray thrice every day, fo I fart thrice 
 very week, at leaft I eat but one meal upon We due f days, 
 Fridays, and Saturdays, in regard I am jealous with my- 
 felf, to hare more infirmities to anfwer for than others. 
 
 Before I go to bed I make a icratiny what peccant 
 humours have reigned in me that day, and fo I reconcile 
 rnyfelf to my Creator, and ftrike a tally in the exchequer 
 of heaven for my qiiiettn eft, before I clofe my eyes, and 
 leave no burden upon my confcience. 
 
 Before I prefume to take the holy facrament, I ufe 
 fome extraordinary ads of humiliation to prepare my- 
 fc'lf fome days before, and by doing fome deeds of cha- 
 rity; and commonly I compofe fome new prayers, and 
 divers of them written in my own blood. 
 
 I ufe not to rum rafhly into prayer without a trembling 
 precedent meditation; and if any odd thoughts intervene, 
 and grow upon me, I check myfelf, and recommence ; 
 
 and
 
 -88 Fatotfiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 and this is incident to long prayers, which are more Tub- 
 jecl-to man's weaknefs and the devil's malice. 
 
 I -thank God I have this fruit of my foreign travels, 
 that I can pray to him every day of the week in a feveral 
 kngmige, and upon Sunday in feven, which in oraifons 
 cf my own I punctually perform in my private pomeridian 
 devotions. 
 
 Et Jtc xternam contendo attingere 
 
 By thcfe fteps I flrire to climb up to heaven, and my 
 &>ul prompts me I fiiall thither ; for there is no obje<5t in 
 he world delights me more than to caft up my eyes that , 
 way, efpccially in a ftar-light night : and if my mind be 
 evercalt with any odd clouds of melancholy, when I 
 look up and behold that glorious fabrick, which I hope 
 lhall be my country hereafter, there are new fpirits begot 
 in me prefcntly, which makes me fcorn the world, and 
 the pleafurcs thereof, confidering the vanity of the one, 
 and the inanity of the other. 
 
 Thus my foul ftill meves EaflinarJ, as all the heaven- 
 ly bodies do ; but I muft tell you, that as thofe bodies 
 arc over-maftered, and {hatched away to the Weft, raptit 
 pr:ii mobility by the general motion of the tenth fphere, 
 lo by thofe epidemical infirmities which are incident to 
 man, I am often fnatched away a clean contrary courfe, 
 yet my foul ftill perfifts in her own proper motion. I am 
 often at variance and angry with myfelf, (nor do I hold 
 this anger to be any breach of cliarity) when I confidcr 
 that as my Creator intended this body of mine, though 
 a lump of d<iy, to be a temple of his Holy Spirit, my af- 
 fedions mould turn it often to a broihel-houfe, my paf- 
 fions to a bedlam, and my exceffes to an hofpital. 
 
 Being of a lay profeflion, I humbly conform to the 
 conititutioris of the church, and my fpiritual fuperiors $ 
 and I hold this obedience to be an acceptable facrifice 
 to God. 
 
 Difference in opinion may work a difafFection in me, 
 but not a deteftatloi.. ; I rather pity than hate Turk or 
 infidel, for they are of the fame metal, and bear the fame 
 
 ftamp
 
 Familiar LETTERS.' 289 
 
 ftamp as I do, though the infcriptions differ : if I hate 
 any, it is thofe fchifmaticks that puzzle the fweet peace 
 of our church, fo that I could be content to fee an Ana- 
 baptift go to hell on a Brown //?s back. 
 
 Noble Knight, now that I have thus evifcerated myfelf, 
 and dealt clearly with you, I defire by way of correfpon- 
 dence that you would tell me, what way you take in 
 your journey to heaven : for if my breaft ly fo open to 
 you, it is not fitting yours mould be ftrat up to me ; 
 therefore I pray let me hear from you when it may ftand 
 with your convenience. 
 
 So I wim you your heart's defire here, and heaven 
 hereafter, becaufe I am 
 
 Tours in no vulgar <waj of friendship, 
 
 London, July 25. 1635. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 To SIMON DIG BY, Efq; at Mofcow, the Emperor of 
 RufEaV Court. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Received yours by Mr. Pickhurft, and I am glad to 
 find that the rough clime of Rtiffia agrees fo we}l 
 with you ; fo well, as you write, as the catholick air of 
 Madrid, or the imperial air of Vienna, where you had 
 fuch honourable employments. 
 
 The greateft news we have here is, that we have a 
 Bilhop Lord Trcafurer ; and it is news indeed in thefe 
 times, though it was no news you know in the times of 
 old to have a Bimop Lord Treafurer of England. \ be- 
 lieve he was merely paflive in this bufmefs : the aftive 
 inftrument that put the white ftaff in his hands, was the 
 metropolitan at Lambeth. 
 
 I have other news alfo to tell you : we have a brave 
 
 new fhip, a royal galleon, the like they fay did never 
 
 fpread fail upon falt-water, take her true and well com- 
 
 B b patted
 
 2 po Familiar LETTERS. PA R T II. 
 
 packed fymmetry, with all her dimcnfions together: for 
 her burden, (lie hath as many tons as there were years 
 :flnce the incarnation, when fhe was built, which are 1636 : 
 flie is in length 127 foot, her grcateft breadth with the 
 planks is 46 foot and fix inches: her depth from the 
 breadth is 19 foot and four inches: fhe carrieth 100 
 pieces of ordnance, wanting four, whereof (lie hath three 
 tyre : half a fcore of men may ftand in her lanthorn : the 
 charges hie Majedy hath been at in building of her, are 
 computed at 3o,ooo /. one whole year's (hip-money. Sir 
 Robert Manfel launched her, and by his Majefty's com- 
 mand called her the Sovereign of the fea. Many would 
 have had her to- be named the Edgar ; who was one of 
 the moft famous Saxon kings this ifland had, and the 
 moft potent at fea. Ranulphus Gt/TrenJts writes, that 
 :he had 400 (hips, which every year after Eafter went 
 out in four fleets to fcour the coafts. Another author 
 writes, that he had four kings to row him once upon the 
 Dee. But the title he gave himfelf, was a notable lofty 
 tone ; which was this, Altitonantis Dei largefiua dementia 
 (jui eft Rex regum, ego Edgardus Anglorum Bajilius, om- 
 nium rcgum, infularum, oceanique Britanniam circum- 
 jacentis, cunttar unique nationum qux infra earn inclu- 
 duntur, Imperator & Dominus, Sec. I do not think 
 your grand Emperor of Ru/ia hath a loftier title. I 
 confefs the Sophy oiPerJta hath a higher one, though 
 jjjofane and ridiculous, in comparifon of this : for he 
 calls himfelf, The ftar high nnd mighty* ivbofe head is 
 -covered with the fun, ivbofe motion is comparable to the 
 ethereal firmament, Lord of the mountains Caucafus 
 and Taurus, of the four rivers Euphrates, Tygris, Ara- 
 xis and Indus ; bud of honour, mirror of 'virtue \ rofe of 
 delight, and nutmeg of comfort. It is a huge defcent 
 juethinks, to begin with tijlar and end in a nutmeg. 
 
 All your friends here in court and city are well, and 
 often mindful of you, with a world of good wifhes ; and 
 you cannot be Taid to be out of England, as long as you 
 live in fo many noble memories. Touching mine, you 
 
 have
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 2 pi 
 
 have a large room in it, for you are one of my chief in- 
 mates. So, with my humble fervice to your Lady, I reft 
 
 Tour inoft faithful fervitor, 
 Lond. July i. 1635. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 To .Dr. THOMAS PRICHARD. 
 
 Dear Dr. 
 
 I Have now had too long a fuperfedeas from employ- 
 ment, having engaged myfelf to a fatal man at court, 
 (by his own feeking) who I hoped, and had reafon to 
 expecl (for I waved all other ways) that he would have 
 been a fcale towards my rifing, but he hath rather pro- 
 ved an injlrument to my ruin : it may be he will profper 
 accordingly. 
 
 I am fhortly bound for Ireland^ and it may be the 
 -ftars will caft a more benign alpe<ft upon me in the 
 Weft; you know who got the Perjian empire "by looking 
 that way for the firft beams of the fun-riling, rather than 
 towards the Eaji. 
 
 My Lord Deputy hath made often profeffions to do 
 me a pleafnre, and I intend now to put him upon it. 
 
 I purpofe to pafs by the Bath for a pain I have in my 
 wro, proceeding from a defluxion of rheum ; and then I 
 I will take Brecknock in my way, to comfort ray filter 
 Penry, who I think hath loft one of the belt hufbands in 
 all the thirteen (hires of Wales. 
 
 So with apprecation of all happinefs to you, I reft 
 "Tours while, 
 
 London, Tsb. 10. 1637. J. H.
 
 29? Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 To Sir KEN ELM DIGBY Knight, from Bath. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 YOUR being then in the country, when I began my 
 journey for Ireland, was the caufe I could not 
 kifs your hands, therefore, I (hall do now from Bath 
 what I fhould have done at London. 
 
 Being here for a diftillation of rheum that pains me in 
 one of my arms, and having had about 3000 ftrokes of a 
 pump upon me in the Queen's bath ; and having been here 
 now divers days, and viewed the feveral qualities of thefe 
 waters, I fell to contemplate a little what mould be 
 the reafon of fuch extraordinary adlual heat, and medi- 
 cinal virtue in them. I have feen and read of divers 
 baths abroad, as thofe of Cadanel and Avlnian, in lagro 
 Senenjt, the Grot fa in Vicerbio, thofe between Naples 
 satiL Puteiixm in Campania; and, I have been a little 
 curious to know the reafon of thofe rare lymphatical pro- 
 perties in them above other waters. I find that fome im- 
 pute it to wind, or air, or fome exhalations fhut up in 
 the bowels of the earth ; which either by their own na- 
 ture, or by their violent motion and agitation, or attri- 
 tion upon rocks, and narrow paflages do gather heat, and 
 fo impart it to the waters. 
 
 Others attribute this balneal heat unto the fun, whofc 
 all-fearching beams penetrating the pores of the earth, do 
 heat the waters. 
 
 Others think this heat to proceed from quick-lime, 
 which by common experience we find to heat any waters 
 cart upon it, and atfo to kindle any combuftible fubftance 
 put upon it. 
 
 Laftly, there are fome that afcribe this heat to a fub- 
 terranean fire kindled in the bowels of the earth upon 
 fulphury and bituminous matter. 
 
 'Tis true, all thefe may be general concurring caufes, 
 but not the adequate, proper and peculiar reafon
 
 Fawiliar LETTER S'. 293 
 
 wtal heats; and herein, truly our learned countryman 
 Dr. Jorden hath got the itart of any that ever wrote of 
 this (object, and goes to work like a folid Philofopher : 
 for, having treated of the generation of minerals, he 
 finds that they have their feminaries in the womb of the 
 earth replenished with active fpirits ; which meeting with 
 apt matter and adjuvant caufes, do proceed to the ge- 
 neration of feveral fpecies, according to the nature of 
 the efficient, and fitnefs of the matter. In this work of 
 generation, as there is generatio unius, fb there is cor- 
 ruptio alterias ; and this cannot be done without a fupe- 
 rior power which by moifture dilating itfelf, works upon 
 the matter like a leavening and ferment, to bring it to 
 its own purpofe, 
 
 This motion betwixt the agent fpirit, and patient mat- 
 ter, produceth an actual heat : for -mot ion is thefsuntctin 
 of heat, which ferves as an inftrument to advance the 
 work ; for as cold dulls, fo heat quickeneth all things. 
 Now for the nature of this heat, it is not a deftructive 
 violent heat, as that of fire, but a generative gentle 
 heat joined with moifture, nor needs it air for eventtla- 
 tion. This natural heat is daily obfefved by digging in 
 the mines ; fo then, while minerals are thus engendering, 
 and in foltitis princif>iis y in their liquid forms, and not 
 confolidated into hard bodies, (for then they hare not 
 that virtu?) they impart heat to the neighbouring waters. 
 So then it may be concluded, thtrt this foil about the 
 bath is a. mineral vein of earth, and the, fermenting gentle 
 temper of generative heat that goes ta the production of 
 the faid minerals doth impart scd actually communi- 
 cate this balnsal virtue and medicinal heat to thefe 
 waters. 
 
 This fubject of mineral waters v/o'tild afford an ocean 
 of matter, were one tocompile a folid difcourfe of it ; and 
 I pray excufe me, that I have prefumed in fo narrow a 
 compais as a letter to comprehend fo much, which is 
 nothing I think in comparifon of what you knowalready 
 of this matter. 
 
 B b 3 So
 
 294 Familiar LETTERS. TART II. 
 
 So I take my leave, and humbly kifs your hands, be- 
 ing always 
 
 Tour moft faithful and ready fervitor, 
 at7>, Jufy$. 1638. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 To Sir EDWARD SAVAGE, Knight, at TowerhiJI. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Am come fafely to Dublin, over an angry boifterous 
 fea ; whether it was my voyage on falt-water, or 
 change of air, being now under another clime, which 
 was the caufe of it, I know not, but I am fuddenly 
 freed of the pain in my arm, when neither bath, nor 
 plaifters, and other remedies could do me good. 
 
 I delivered your letter to Mr. James Dillon, but no- 
 thing can be done in that bufinefs till your brother Pain 
 comes to town. I met here with divers of my Northern 
 friends, who I knew at TorL Here is a moft fplendid 
 court kept at the caftle, and except that of the Viceroy 
 of Naples, I have not feen the like in chriftendom ; and 
 in one point of grandeza, the Lord Deputy here goes 
 beyond him, for he can confer honours, and dub knights ; 
 which that Viceroy cannot, nor any other I know of. 
 Traffkk increafeth here wonderfully, with all kind of 
 bravery and building. 
 
 I made an humble motion to my Lord, that in regard 
 bufinefTes of all forts did multiply here daily, and that there 
 was but one Clerk of the council (Sir Paul Davis} who 
 was able to difpatch bufinefs, (Sir William Ufoer his col- 
 legue being very aged and bedrid) his Lordmip would 
 pleafe to think of me. My Lord gave me an anfwer full 
 of good refpect, to fucceed Sir William after his death. 
 
 No more now, but with my moft affectionate refpects 
 unto you, I reft 
 
 Tour faithful fervitor, 
 
 Dublin, May 3. 1639. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 2JJ 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 To Dr. USHER, Lord Primate of Ireland. 
 
 MAY it pleafe your Grace to accept of my mod 
 humble acknowledgment, for thofe noble favours 
 I received ztDrogheda; and that you pleafed to com- 
 municate unto me thofe rare manufcripts in fo many lan- 
 guages, and divers choice authors in your library. 
 
 Your learned work, De primordiis ecclefiarum Bri- 
 tannicarum, which you pleafed to fend me, I have fent 
 to England, and fo it mall be conveyed to Jffus College 
 in Oxford, as a gift from your Grace. 
 
 I hear that Cardinal Barberino, one of the Pope's 
 nephews, is fetting forth the works vlfaftidius, a Bri- 
 tijh Bilhop called De vita Chrijliana. It was written 
 300 years after our Saviour, and Holftenius hath the 
 care of the impreffion. 
 
 I was lately looking for a word in Suidas, and I 
 lighted upon a ftrange pafTage in the name IDT*?, that in 
 the reign of Juftinian the Emperor, one Tbeodo/ius a 
 Je*w, a man of great authority, lived in Jerufalent, with 
 whom a rich goldfmith who was a chriftian, was in much 
 favour and very familiar, The goldfmith in private dif- 
 courfe told him one day, that " he wondered, he being 
 a man of fo great underftanding did not turn chriftian, 
 confidering how he found all the prophecies of the 
 law fo evidently accomplifhed in our Saviour, and our 
 Saviour's prophecies accomplifhed fince." Thesdofius 
 anfwered, " that it did not fland with his fecurity and 
 continuance in authority to turn chriftian, but he had, 
 a long time a good opinion of that religion, and he 
 would difcover a fecret unto him, which was not yet 
 come to the knowledge of any chriftian." It was, that 
 when the temple was founded in Jerufalem, there were 
 twenty-two priefts according to the number of the He- 
 brew letters, to officiate in the temple ; and when any 
 was chofen, his name, with his father's and mother's were 
 
 ufed
 
 296 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 ufed to be regiftered in a fair book. In the time of 
 Chrift, a Prieft died, and he was chofen in his place, but 
 when his name was to be entered, his father Jofeph be- 
 ing dead, his mother was fent for, who being afked who 
 was his father ? She anfwered, that fhe never knew man, 
 but that fhe coaceived by an angel : fo his name was re- 
 giftered in thefe words, JESUS CHRIST THE Sow OF 
 GOD AND OF THE VIRGIN MARY. This record at 
 the deftruction of the temple was preferred, and is to be 
 feen in Tiberias to this day. I humbly deiire your Grace's 
 opinion hereof in your next. 
 
 They write to me from England of rare news in 
 France; which is, that the Queen is delivered of a 
 Dauphine, the wonderfullcft thing of this kind that any 
 flory can parallel; for this is the twenty-third year fince 
 {he was married, and hath continued childlcfs all this 
 while, fo that now Monfieur's cake is dough and I be- 
 lieve he will be more quiet hereafter. So, I reft 
 Tour Grace's moft devoted fervitor, 
 
 Dublin, March I. 1639. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 To my Lord Clifford, from Edinburgh. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 Have ieea now all the King of Great Britain's 
 dominions ; and he is a good traveller that hath feen 
 nil his dominions. I was born in Wales, I have been in 
 all the four corners of England: I have traverfed the 
 diameter of France more than once, and now I am come 
 through Inland into this kingdom of Scotland. This 
 town of Edinburgh is one of the faireft ftreets that ever 
 I {aw, (excepting that of Palermo in Sicily) it is about a 
 mile long, coming floping down from the caftle (called of 
 old the Cafile of Virgins, and by Pliny, Cajirum da- 
 tum) to Holyrovdhoiife, now the royal palace ; and thefe 
 
 two 
 
 I
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 297 
 
 two begin and terminate the town. I am corae hither 
 in a very convenient time, for here is a national affi-mbly t 
 and a parliament , my Lord Traquair being his Majefty's 
 Commiffioner. The bifhops are all gone to wreck, and 
 they have had but a forry funeral : the very name is grown 
 fo contemptible that a black dog if he hath any white 
 marks about him, is called Bifhop. Our Lord of Can- 
 terbury is grown here fo odious, that they call him com- 
 monly in the pulpit, tke Pricjl ^TBaal, and the fan of 
 Belial. 
 
 I will tell your Lordfhip of a pafTage which happened 
 lately in my lodging, which is a tavern. I had fent for 
 fhoemaker to make me a pair of boots, and my land- 
 lord, who is a pert fmart man brought up a chopin of 
 white wine ; and for this particular, there are better 
 French wines here than in England and cheaper, for 
 they are but a groat a quart ; and it is a crime of a 
 high nature to mingle or fophifticate any wine here. 
 Over this chopin of white wine, my vintner and fhoe- 
 maker fell into a hot difpute about bifhops. The fhoe- 
 maker grew very furious, and called them the firebrands 
 of hell, the panders of the whore of Babylon, and the 
 instruments of the devil ; and that they were of his infti- 
 tution, not of God's. My vintner took him 'up fmartly 
 and faid, " Hold neighbour there, do you not know as 
 well as I, that Titus and Timothy were bifhops ? that 
 our Saviour is intitled the Bifoop of our fouls ? That 
 the word BiJJjop is as frequently mentioned in fcripture 
 as the name Pajlor, Elder, or Deacon? Then, why 
 do you inveigh fo bitterly againft them." The fhoe- 
 naker anfwered, " I know the name and office to be 
 good, but they have abufed it." My vintner replies., 
 Well then, you are a fhoemaker by your profeffion, 
 imagine that you, or a hundred, or a thoufand, or a 
 hundred thoufand of your trade fhould play the knaves, 
 and fell calfskin-leather boots for neats -leather, or 
 do other cheats, mutt we therefore go barefoot ? 
 Muft the gentle craft of fhoemakers fall therefore to 
 ' the ground ? It is the fault of the men not of the caJl- 
 
 " "
 
 298 Familiar LETTERS. TART II. 
 
 " ing." The fhoemaker was fo gravelled at this, that 
 he was put to his lajl ; for he had not a word more to 
 fay, fo my vintner got the day. 
 
 There is a fair parliament honfe built here lately, and 
 it was hoped his Majefly would have taken the maiden- 
 head of it, and come hither to fit in perfon ; and, they 
 did ill who advifed him otherwife. 
 
 I am to go hence fhortly back to Dublin, and fo to 
 London, where I hope to find your Lordfhip, that ac- 
 cording to my accuftomed boldnefs I may attend you. 
 In the interim, I reft 
 
 Your LcrdJJy-p's woft bumble ferviicr, 
 
 Edinburgh, 1639. J- ^* 
 
 LETTER XXVII. 
 
 7*o Sir SACK v ILL CROW, his Majefly s Amba/adar at 
 the Port 0/Xonftantiiiople. 
 
 Right Honourable Sir, 
 
 TH E greateft news we have here now, is a notable 
 naval fight that was lately betwixt the Spaniard 
 and the Hollander in the Downs ; but to make it more 
 intelligible, I will deduce the bufmefs from the beginning. 
 The King of Spain had provided a great fleet of gal- 
 leons, whereof the Vice- Admirals of Naples and Portu- 
 gal were two, (whereof he had fent advice to England be- 
 fore). The dciign was to meet with the French fleet, un- 
 der the command of the Archbifhop of Bourdeaux, and in 
 default of that, to land fome trenfure at Dunkirk, with a 
 recruit of Spaniards which were grown very thin in Flan- 
 ders. Thefe recruits were got by an odd trick, for fome 
 of the fleet being at St. Andreas, a report was blown up of 
 purpofe that the French were upon the coafts : hereupon 
 all the young men of the country came to the fea-fide, and 
 fo a great number of them were tumbled a fhipboard, and 
 fo they fet fail towards the coaft of France; but the Arch- 
 bifhop
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 299 
 
 bifhop it feems had drawn in his fleet. Then ftriking in- 
 to the narrow-fcas, they met with a fleet of about fixtecn 
 Hollanders, whereof they funk and took two, and the 
 reft got away to Holland to give an alarum to the States ; 
 who in lefs than a month got together a fleet of about 
 100 fail, and the wind being a long time eafterly, they 
 came into the Downs, where Don Antonio (fOqaendo 
 \\iz*Spa/iiJ]? Admiral had ftaid for them all the while. 
 Sir John Pennington was then abroad with feven of his 
 Majefty's (hips ; and Don Antonio being daily -warned 
 what forces were preparing in Zealand and Holland, and 
 fo advifed to get over to the Flemifo coalts. In the in- 
 terim, with a haughty fpirit he anfwered, Tengo de qusd- 
 arme aqui para cajiigar eflof rebeldes : I will flay kere 
 to cbajlife thefe rebels. There were ten more of his 
 Majefty's mips appointed to go join with Sir John Pen~ 
 nington to obferve the motions of thofe fleets, but the 
 wind continuing {till Eaft, they could not get out of the 
 river. 
 
 The Spanijh fleet had frefh waters, vicluals, and o- 
 ther neceflaries from our coafls for their money, accord- 
 ing to the capitulations of peace, all this while. At lafr, 
 being half furprized by a cloud of Hollanders, confiding 
 of 1 14 (hips, they launched out from our coafts, and a 
 moft furious fight began, our (hips having retired -hard 
 by all the while. The Vice-Admiral of Portugal, a fa- 
 mous fea Captain, Don Lope de Hozes, was engaged in 
 clofe fight with the Vice- Admiral of Holland ; and af- 
 ter many tough rencounters they were both blown up, 
 and burnt together. At laft, night came and parted the 
 reft, but fix Spanifo (hips were taken, aud about twenty 
 of the Hollanders periflied. Oquendo then crofled over 
 to Nardic, and fo back to Spain, where he died before 
 he came to the court; and 'tis thought, had he lived, 
 he had been queftioned for fome mifcarriages : for if he 
 had fufFered the Dunkirkers, who are nimbler and more 
 fit for fight, to have had the van, and dealt with the 
 Hollander, it is thought matters might Have been better 
 
 with
 
 -DO Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 vith him; but his ambition was, that the great Spam/I} 
 galleons mould get the glory of the day. 
 
 The Spaniards give out that they had the better, in 
 regard they did the main work ; for Oqucndo had con- 
 veyed all his recruits and treafure to Flanders, while he 
 lay hovering on our coafts. 
 
 One thing is here very obfervable, what a mighty na- 
 vigable power the Hollander is come to, that in fo (hort 
 a compafs of time he could appear with fuch a numerous 
 Fleet of 1 1 4 fails of men of war, in fuch a perfect equi- 
 page. 
 
 The times afford no more at prefent ; therefore with 
 a tender of my moft humble fervice to my noble Lady, 
 and my thankful acknowledgment for thofe great favours, 
 vhich my brother Edward writes to me he hath received 
 from your Lordfhip in fo fingular a manner at that port,- 
 defiring you would dill oblige me with a continuance of 
 them, I reft, among thofe multitudes you have behind you 
 in England, 
 
 Your Lord/flip's nnjt faithful fervatit, 
 
 London, Aug. 31. 1639. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXVIII. 
 To SIMON DIGBY Efq; at Mofcow /// 
 
 S //?, 
 
 I return you many thanks for your laft, of the firfl of 
 June, and that you acquaint me with the ftate df 
 things in that country. 
 
 I doubt not but you have heard long fince of the revolt 
 of Catalonia from the King of Spain ; it ,/eems the 
 fparkles of thofe fires are flown to Portugal, and put that 
 country alfo in combuttion. The Duke of Braganza, 
 whom you may well remember about the court of Spain, 
 is now Kina of Portugal, by the name of El Rcy Don 
 Juan ; and he is generally obeyed, and quietly fettled,
 
 LETTERS. 301 
 
 as if he had been King thefe twenty years there ; for the 
 whole country fell fuddenly to him, not one town /landing 
 out. When the King of Spain told Qlizares of it firft, 
 he flighted it, faying, that he was but Re}- de havat, a 
 bean-cake King. But it feems ftrange to me, and fb 
 ftrange that it transformed me to wonder, that the 
 Spaniard being accounted fo politic a nation, and fo full 
 of precaution, could notforefee this ; efpecially there being 
 divers intelligences given, and evident fymptoms of _ the 
 general difcontentment of that kingdom, (becaufe they 
 could not be protected againft the Hollander in Brafd) 
 and of fome defigns a year before, when this Duke of 
 Braganza was at Madrid. I wonder, I fay, they did 
 not fecure his perfon, by engaging him to fome employ- 
 ment out of the way : truly, I thought the Spaniard was 
 better fighted, and could fee further off than fo. You 
 know what a huge limb the crown of Portugal was to the 
 SpaniJJj monarchy, by the iflands in the Allantick fea, 
 the towns in dfrick, and all the EaJi-Indies, infomuch 
 that tlie Spaniard hath nothing now left beyond the Line. 
 
 There is no ofFenfive war yet made by Spain againft 
 King John, (he only (lands upon the dcfenfive part, un- 
 til the Catalan be reduced : and I believe, that will be 
 a long winded bufinefs, for this French Cardinal ftirs all 
 the devils of hell againft Spain, infomuch that moft men 
 fay, that thefe formidable fires which are now raging in 
 both thefe countries, were kindled at firft by a grenado 
 hurled from his brain : nay, fome will not ftick to fay, 
 that this breach betwixt us and Scotland is a reach of 
 his. 
 
 There was a ruthful difafter happened lately at fea, 
 which makes our merchants upon the Exchange hang 
 down their heads very fadly. The (hip Sivan, whereof 
 one Limery was mafter, hating been four years abroad 
 about the Streights, was failing home with a cargazon 
 valued at 8oo,ooo/. whereof 450,000 was in money, 
 the reft in jewels and merchandize; but being in fight of 
 fhore, fhe fprung a leak r and being ballafted with fait, 
 it choaked the pump, fo that the Swan could fwim no 
 G c longer
 
 502 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 longer: fixteen were drowned, and fome of them 
 with ropes of pearl about their necks ; the reft were fa- 
 ved by an Hamburgher not far off. The King of Spain 
 Jofeth little by it, (only his affairs in Flanders may fiiffer) 
 for his money was iniiired, and few of the principals, 
 but the infurers only, who were moft of them Genoefe 
 and Hollanders. A moft unfortunate chance ! for had 
 {he come to fafe port, me had been the richeft fhip that 
 ever came into the Thames, fb that Neptune had never 
 :fdch a morfel at one bit. 
 
 All your friends here ?.re well, as you will underftand 
 more particularly by thofe letters that go herewith. So 
 .1 wifh you all health and comfort in that cold country, 
 c.nd defire that your love may continue ftill in the fame 
 .degree of heat towards 
 
 Tour faithful fervitor t 
 
 lend. March 5. 1639. J. H. 
 
 LETT E R XXIX. 
 To Sir K. D. Knight. 
 
 S 7 tf, 
 
 IT was my fortune to be in a late communication, 
 where a gentleman fpoke of a hideous thing that hap- 
 .pened in High Holborn, how one John Pennant a young 
 man of twenty-one being diflefled after his death, there 
 was a kind of ferpent with divers tails found in the left 
 ventricle of his heart ; which you know is the mod de- 
 fended part, being thrice thicker than the right, and in 
 the pell which holds the pureft and moft illuftrious liquor, 
 .the arterial blood and the vital fpirits. This ferpent was 
 it feems three years engendering, for fo long a time he 
 found himfelf indifpofed in the breaft j and it was obfer- 
 ved, that his eye in the interim grew more fharp and 
 fiery, like the eye of a cock, which is next to a ferpent's 
 eye in rednefs, fo that the fymptom of his inward dif- 
 
 eae
 
 familiar LETTERS. 303 
 
 eafe might have been told by certain exterior rays and 
 fignatures. 
 
 God preferve us from public calamities, for ferpentine 
 monfters have been often ill-favoured prefages. I re- 
 member in the Roman ftory to have read, how when 
 fnakes or ferpents were found near the ftatutes of their 
 gods, as one time about Juj>/fer'sntck, another time a- 
 bout Minerva's thigh, there followed bloody civil wars 
 after it. 
 
 I remember alfo a few years fince to have read the re- 
 lation and depofition of the carrier of Trvntbtuy, who, 
 with divers of his fervants, pafling a litde before the- 
 dawn of the day with their packs over Cots-frill, faw moft 
 fenfibly and very perfpicuoufly in the air, mu&jueteers har- 
 neffed men, and horfemen, moving in battle array, and 
 a/Faulting one another in divers furious poftures. I 
 doubt not but that you have heard of thofe fiery meteors 
 and thunderbolts that have fallen upon fundry of our 
 churches and done hurt. Unlefs God be pleafed to make 
 up thefe ruptures betwixt us and Scotland, we are like 
 to have ill days. The Archbifihop of Canterbury was 
 lately outraged in his boufe by a pack of common 
 people ; and Captain Mahun was pitifully maflacrcd by 
 his own men lately, fo that the common people it fecms 
 have ftrange principles infufed into them, which may 
 prove dangerous : for I am not of that Lord's mind who 
 faid, That they ivAo fear any popular infurreclion in 
 England, are like boys and women,- that are afraid of a 
 a turnip cut like- a death's head with a candle in it. 
 
 I am (hortly for France, and I will receive your com- 
 mands before I go. So I am 
 
 , Tour moft humble fervant+ 
 Lond. May 2. 1640. JyHL- 
 
 G c Z- >li E T~
 
 304 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. " 
 
 LETTER XXX. 
 Ty the Honourable Sir P. M. in Dublin. 
 
 SIX, 
 
 I Am newly returned from France^ and now that Sir 
 Edward Nicholas is made Secretary of State, I am 
 put in fair hopes, or rather afTurances to fucceed him in 
 the clerkfliip of the council. 
 
 The Duke de la Palette b lately fled hither for fan- 
 i5tuary, having had ill luck in Fontarabia, they fay his 
 proceis was made, and that he was executed in effigy in 
 Paris. 'Tis true, he could never fcjuare well with his 
 eminency the Cardinal, (for this is a peculiar title he got 
 long fince from Rome, to diftinguiih him from all other) 
 nor his father neither, the little old Duke of Efpernon t 
 the anticnteft foldier in the world, for he wants but one 
 year of a hundred, 
 
 'When I was laft in Paris, I heard of a facetious paf- 
 fage betwixt him and the Archbilhop of Bourdeaux, who 
 in efFedl is Lord High Admiral of France, and it was 
 thus: the Archbifhop was to go General of a great 
 fleet, and the Duke came to his houfe in Bourdeaux one 
 morning to vifit him : the Archbimop fent fome of his 
 gentlemen to defire him to have a little patience, for he 
 was difpatching away fome fea-commanders, and that 
 he would wait on him prefentry. The little Duke 'took 
 a pet at it, and went away to his houfe at Cadillac, fome 
 fifteen miles off. The next morning the Archbimop 
 came to pay a vifit, and to apologize for himfelf : being 
 come in, and the Duke told of it, he fent his chaplain 
 to tell him, That be ivas newly fallen upon a chapter 
 of St. AuftinV de civitate Dei, and when he had read 
 that chapter, he would come to him. 
 
 Some years before, I was told he was at Paris, and 
 Richelieu came to vifit him, he having notice of it, Riche- 
 lieu found htm in a Cardinal's cap, kneeling at a table 
 
 altar-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 305 
 
 altar-wife, with his book and beads in his hand, and 
 candles burning before him. 
 
 I hear the Earl of Leicefler is to come fhortly over, 
 and fo over to Ireland to be your Deputy. ]So more 
 now, but that I am 
 
 Tour ruoft failhful fcrvitor t 
 
 London, Sept. J. 1641. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXXI. 
 To the Earl of B. from the Fleet. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 I Was lately come to London upon fome occaflons of" 
 mine own, and I had been divers times in Wcftmin- 
 Jier-hall, where I converfed with many parliament men 
 of my acquaintance; but one morning betimes there rufli- 
 ed into my chamber five armed men with f\vords, piftols, 
 and bills, and told me they had a warrant from the par- 
 liament for me : I defired to fee their warrant, they de- 
 nied it : I defired to fee the date of it, they denied it : 
 I defired to fee my name in the warrant, they denied 
 all. At laft one of them pulled a greafy paper out 
 of his pocket, and mewed me only three or four names 
 fubfcribed, and no more : fo, they rumed prefently into 
 my clofet, and feized on all my papers, and letters, and 
 any thing that was manufcript; and many printed books 
 they took alfo, and hurled all into a great hair trunk, 
 which they carried away with them. . I had taken a little 
 phyfic that morning, and with very much ado, they fuf- 
 fered me to Hay in my chamber with two guards upon 
 me till the evening : at which time they brought me be- 
 fore the committee for examination, where I confefs I 
 found good refpeft ; and being brought up to the cloie 
 committee, 1 was ordered to be forth-coming till fome 
 papers of mine were perufed, and Mr. Corbet was ap- 
 pointed to do it. Some days after, I came, to Mr. Cor- 
 C c 3 1st
 
 3 o6 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 f>et, and he told me he had perufed them, and could find 
 nothing that might give offence. Hereunto, I defired 
 him to make a report to the houfe, according to which 
 *(as I was told) he did very fairly ; yet fuch was my hard 
 hap, that I was committed to the F/eet, where I am how 
 under clofe reftraint ; and as far as I fee, I muft ly at 
 dead anchor in this fleet a long time, unlefs fome gentle 
 gale blow thence to make me launch out. God's will 
 be done, and amend the times, and make up thefe rup- 
 tures which threaten fo much calamity. So, I am 
 Tour Lord/hip's 7nofl faithfnl, 
 
 (though awn ajfliftsd) fswitor, 
 
 Fleet t Nov. 20. 1642. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXXII. 
 
 70 &> BE vis THELWALL, Knight, (Petri ad vincula) 
 at Peter-houfe in London. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 TH OUGH we are not in the fame prifon, yet are 
 we in the fame predicament of fufferance ; there- 
 fore, I pWume you fubjecl to the like fits of melanchol- 
 ly as I. The fruition of liberty it tiot fo pleajing t as a 
 conceit of the 'want of it is irkfome, fpecially to one of 
 fuch free-born thoughts as you. Melancholly is a black 
 noxious humour, and much annoys the whole imvard 
 man : if you would know what cordial I ufe againft it in 
 this my fad condition, I will tell you, I pore fometimes 
 on a book, and fo I make the dead wy companions ; and 
 this is one of my chiefeft folaces. If the humour work 
 upon me flronger, I rouze my fpirits, and raife them up 
 towards heaven, my future country; and one may be on 
 his journey thither, though fhut up in prifon., and hap- 
 pily go a ftraighter way than if he were abroad. I con- 
 lider, that my foul while me is cooped within thefe walls 
 of flefh, is but in a perpetual kind of prifon : and now my 
 
 body
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 307 
 
 body correfponds with her in the fame condition; my 
 body is the priibn of the one, and thefe brick walls the 
 prifon of the other. And let the EngliJJj people flatter 
 themfelves as long as they will, that they are free, yet 
 are they in erTect but prifoners, as all other iflanders are : 
 for, being furrounded and inclofed about with fall-water, 
 (as I am with thefe walls) they cannot go where they 
 lilt unlefs they afk the winds leave firft, and Neptune 
 muft give them a pafs. 
 
 God almighty amend the times, and compofe thefe 
 woful divifions, which menace nothing but public ruin, 
 the thoughts whereof drown in me the fenfe of mine 
 own private affliction. 
 
 So wifhing you courage (whereof you have enough, if 
 you put it in practice) and patience in this fad condition, 
 I reft 
 
 Tour true fervant and compatriot, 
 
 Fle.et, Aiigujl 2. 1643. J. H. - 
 
 LETTER XXXIJI. 
 To. Mr. E. P. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Saw fuch prodigious things daily done thefe few years, 
 that I had refolved with myfelf to give over wonder- 
 ing at any thing, yet a paflage happened this week that 
 forced me to wonder once more, becaufe it is without 
 parallel. It was, that fome odd fellows went fculking 
 u^p and down London ftreets, and with figs and raifins al- 
 lured little children, andfo purloined them away from their 
 parents, and carried them a fhip-board to tranfport them 
 beyond fea, where, by cutting their hair, and other devices, 
 they fo difguiie them that their parents could not know 
 them. This made me think upon that miraculous paf- 
 iage in Hamelen, a town in Germany ', which I hoped to 
 have paffetf through \vhen I was in Hamburgh, had we 
 
 returned
 
 3 o8 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 returned by Holland ; which was thus, (nor would I re- 
 late it unto you were there not feme ground of truth for 
 it). The faid town of Hamelen was annoyed with rats 
 and mice ; and it chanced, that a pied-coated piper came 
 thither, who covenanted with the chief burghers for fuch 
 a reward, if he coald free them quite from the faid ver- 
 min, nor would he demand it till a twelvemonth and a 
 day after. The agreement being made, he began to 
 play on his pipes, and all the rats and the mice followed 
 him to a great lech hard by, where they all perimed, 
 fo the town was infefted no more. At the end of the 
 year, the pied-piper returned for his reward, the burgh- 
 ers put him off with {lightings and neglecls, offering him 
 fome fmall matter ; which he refufing, and flaying fome 
 days in the town, on Sunday morning at high mafs when 
 mod people were at church, he fell to play on his pipes, 
 aud all the children up and down followed him out of the 
 tov/n, to a great hill not far ofF, which rent in two, and 
 opened, and let him and the children in, and fo clofed 
 up again. This happened a matter of about 250 years 
 fince ; and in that town, they date their bills and bonds, 
 and other inflruments^in law, to this day, from the year 
 of the going out of their children : befides, there is a 
 great pillar of ftone at the foot of the faid hill, whereon 
 this ftory is engraven. 
 
 No more now, for this is enough in confcieace for one 
 time: fo, I am 
 
 TCour mofi afeftionate fervitcr, 
 
 Fleet, Ott. i. 1643. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXXIV. 
 To .my Lord G. D. 
 
 THERE be two weighty fayings in Seneca, Nihil 
 eft infelicius eo, cut nil unquain contigit adi-.-rJi : 
 There is nothing more unhappy than ke who never felt an 
 
 advsrfitj.
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 309 
 
 adverfity. The other is, Nullum eft majus malum, 
 quam non poffe ferre maltim : There is no greater crofs > 
 than not to be able to bear a crofs. Touching the firlt, 
 I am not capable of that kind of unhappinefs, for I have 
 had my fliare of adverfity : I have been hammered, and 
 dilated upon the anvil, as our countryman Breakfpear 
 (Adrian IV.) laid of himielf, / have been jlrained 
 through the limbec of affiifton. Touching the fecond, 
 I am alfo free of that crofs ; for, I thank G od for it, I 
 have that portion of grace, and fo much philofophy as to 
 be able to endure, and confront any mifery : it is not fo 
 tedious to me as to others to be thus immured, becaufe 
 I have been inured and habituated to troubles. That 
 which finks deepeft in me, is the fenfe I have of the 
 common calamities of this nation : there is a ftrange fpi- 
 rit hath got in amongft us, which makes the idea of holi- 
 aefs the formality of good, and the very faculty of reafon, 
 to be quite differing from what it was. I remember to 
 have read a tale of the ape in Paris, who having got a 
 child out of the cradle, and carried him up to the top of 
 the tiles, and there fat with him upon the ridge : the pa- 
 rents beholding this ruthful fpe&acle, gave the ape fair 
 and fmooth language, fo he gently brought the child 
 down again and replaced him in the cradle. Our country 
 is in the fame cafe this child was in, and I hope there 
 will be fweet and gentle means ufed to preferve it from 
 precipitation. 
 
 The city of London fticks conftantly to the parliament, 
 and the common-council fways much, infomuch, that I 
 believe, if the Lord Chancellor Egerton were now hying, 
 he would not be fb pleafant with them as he was .once 
 to a new Recorder of London, whom he had invited to 
 a dinner to give him joy of his office, and having a great 
 woodcock pye ferved in about the end of the repaft; 
 which had been fent him from Chejhire, he faid, Ncnu, 
 Jttajler Recorder you are 'welcome to a common-council. 
 
 There be many difcreet brave patriots in the city, and 
 I hope they will think upon fome means to preferve us 
 
 and
 
 3ro Familiar LE T T E R S. TART II. 
 
 and themfelves from ruin : fuch are the prayers early anJ 
 late of 
 
 Tour Lord/flip's moft humble fervitor, 
 Fleet, "Jan. 2. 1643. J, H. 
 
 LETTER XXXV. 
 To Sir ALEXANDER R. Knight. 
 
 ^ I R, 
 
 SURE LY God almighty is angry with England, and 
 it is more fure, that God is never angry without 
 caufe : now .to know the caufe, the beft way is, for e- 
 very one to lay his hand on his bread and examine him- 
 felf thoroughly, to fammon his thoughts, and winnow 
 them, and fo call to remembrance how far he hath of- 
 fended heaven ; and then it will be found, that God is 
 .not angry with England, but with F*nglijkiuen. "When 
 that doleful change was pronounced againfl Ifrael, Per* 
 ditto ex te Ifrael, it was meant of the concrete, (not the 
 abftracl} Oh! Ifraelites, your ruin conies from your- 
 filves. When I make this fcrutiny within myfelf, and 
 enter into the clofeft cabinet of my foul, I find (God 
 help me) that I have contributed as much to the drawing 
 oa of thefe judgments on England as any other. When 
 I ranCick the three cells of my brain, I find that my ;'- 
 ma^ifijthn hath been vain and extravagant : my memory 
 h.uh kept the bad, and let go the good, like a wide fieie 
 tli.it retains the bran and parts with the flour: my undcr- 
 jianding hath been full of error and obliquities : my it/'// 
 hith been a rebel to reafon: my reafon a rebel to faith, 
 (which I thank God I have the grace to quell prefently 
 with this caution) Succumbat ratio fidsi, & captive 
 q' lief cat. 
 
 When I defcend to my heart, the center of all my 
 affections, I find it hath fwelled often with tympanies of 
 tVj and tumors of wrath. When I take my whole 
 
 fclf
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 311 
 
 felf in a lump, I find that I am nothing elfe but a car- 
 gazon of malignant humours, a rabble of unruly pafiions, 
 amongft which my poor foul is daily crucified, as betwixt 
 fo many thieves. Therefore, as I pray in general, that 
 God would pleafe not to punifh this ifland for the fins of 
 the people, fo more particularly I pray, that fne f^ffer 
 not for me in particular; who, if one would go byway 
 of indi&ion, would make one of the chiefeft inftances of 
 the argument ; and as I am thus confcious to myfelf of 
 my own demerits, fo I hold it to be the duty of every 
 one to complete himfelf this way, and to remember the 
 faying of a noble Englijh Captain, who when the town of 
 Calais was loft (which was the laft footing we had in 
 France} being jeered by a Frenchman, and afked, now 
 EngliJJjman, when will you come back to France ? an- 
 fwered, O Sir, mock not, when the fins of France are 
 greater than the fins of England, then the Engli/Jjmsn 
 will come again to France* 
 
 Before the fack of Troy, it was faid and fung up and 
 down the ftreets : 
 
 Iliacos infra muros psccatur & extra. 
 The verfe is as true for fenfe and feet : 
 
 Infra Londini muros peccatur & extra. 
 
 Without and eke within 
 
 The walls of London there is fin. 
 
 The way to better the times is, for every one to mend 
 one. I will conclude with this ferious invocation : I pray 
 God avert thofe further judgments (of famine and pefti- 
 lence) which are hovering over this populous and once 
 flourishing city, and difpofe of the brains and hearts of 
 this people to feek and ferve him aright. 
 
 J thank you for your lafl vifit, and for the poem you 
 fent me fince : fo, I am ' 
 
 Tour moft faithful fervitor, 
 
 Fleet, June 3 . J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 I 
 
 2 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 LETTER XXXVI. 
 To Mr. JOHN BATTY, Merchant. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 Received the printed difcourfe you pleafed to fend me, 
 called the merchant's remonstrance, for which I re- 
 turn you due and deferved thanks. 
 
 Truly Sir, it is one of the mod material and folid pieces 
 I have read of this kind ; and, I difcover therein two 
 things : firft, the affection you bear to your country, 
 with the refentment you have of thefe woful diftraclions : 
 then the judgment and choice experience you have pur- 
 chafed by your negotiations in Spain and Germany. In 
 you may be verified the tenet they hold in Italy, that 
 the merchant bred abroad, is the beft commonwealths- 
 man, being properly applied : for my part, I do not 
 know any profeflion of life (efpecially in an ifland) more 
 to be cherimed and countenanced with honourable em- 
 ployments than the merchant-adx'tnturer ; (I do not 
 mean only the ftaplers of Hamburgh and Rotterdam} for 
 if valiant and-dangerous actions do ennoble a man, and 
 make him merit, furely the merchant-adventurer deferves 
 more honour than any ; for he is to encounter not only 
 with men ef all tempers and humors, (as a French Coun-_ 
 fellor hath it) but he contefts and tugs oft-times with all 
 the elements : nor do I fee how fome of our country 
 fquires, who fell calves and runts, and their wives per- 
 haps cheefe and apples, fkould be held more genteel than 
 the noble merchant-adventurer, who fells filks andfattins, 
 tifTues and cloths of gold, diamonds and pearl, with 
 filver and gold ; . 
 
 In your difcourfe, you foretel the fudden calamities 
 which are like to befal this poor ifland, if trade decay , 
 and that this decay is inevitable, if thefe commotions laft : 
 herein you are proved half a Prophet already, and I fear 
 your prophecy will be fully accompliflied if matters hold 
 thus. Good Lord ! was there ever people fo aclive to 
 
 draw
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 313 
 
 draw on their own ruin ? Which is fo viable, that a 
 pur-blind man may take a profpeft of it. \\z all fee 
 this apparently, and hear it told us every minute ; but we 
 are fallen to the condition of that foolifh people the Pro- 
 phet fpeaks of, who bad eyes but would net fee, anil 
 ears, but 'would not hear. All men know there is no- 
 thing imports this ifland more than trade : it is thajt wheel 
 of induftry which fets all other a going : it is that which 
 preferves the chiefeft caflles and walls of this kingom, I 
 mean the {hips ; and how thefe are impaired within this 
 four years, I believe other nations (which owe us an in- 
 vafion) obferve and know better than we : for truly, I 
 believe a million, (I mean of crowns) and I {peak within 
 compafs, will not put the navy-royal in that flrength it 
 was in four years fince, befides the decay of merchants 
 fhips. A little before Athens was overcome, the oracle 
 told one of the areopagites, that Athens had feen her beft 
 days, for her wooden walls (meaning her fhips) were 
 decayed. As I told you before, there is a nation or two 
 owe us an invafion. 
 
 No more now, but that with my raoft kind and friendly 
 refpecls unto you, I reft always 
 
 Yours to difpofe of, 
 
 Fleet* May 4. 1644. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXXVII. ^ . % ,j- 
 To my honoured Friend Mr. E. P. 
 
 S I R, 
 
 TH E times are fb ticklim, that I dare not adven- 
 ture to fend you any London intelligence, {he be- 
 ing now a garrifon town, and you know as well as I, 
 what danger I may incur; but for foreign indifferent 
 news, you mail underftand that Pope Urban VIII. is 
 dead, having fat in the chair above twenty years, a rare 
 thing : for it is oblerved, that no Pope yet arrived to the 
 D d years
 
 g ! 4 Familiar LETTERS. PA R T II. 
 
 years of St. Peter, who, they fay, was Bimop of Rome 
 twenty and five. Cardinal Pamflio a. Rowan born, a 
 knowing man, and a great lawyer is created Pope by af- 
 fumption of the name of Innocent X. There was rough 
 canvafing for voices, and a great contrafto in the con' 
 clave, betwixt the Spani/h and French faftion, who with 
 the Barberino ftood For Sachetii, but 'he was excluded, 
 as alfo another Dominican. By thefe exclufions the Spa- 
 nlfh party, whereof the Cardinal of Florence was chief, 
 brought abotrt Barberino to join with them for Pamfilio, 
 as being alfo a creature of the deceafed Pope. He had 
 been Nuncio in Spair. eight years, fo that it is conceived 
 he is much devoted to that crown, as his predeceflbr was 
 to the French, who had been Legate there near upon 
 twenty years, .and was godfather to the laft King; which 
 made him to be feurdclize, to 'be flower-de-luced all 
 over. This new Pope hath already pa/Ted that number 
 of years which the Prophet afligns to man, for he goes 
 upon fevcnty-onc, and is of a flrong promifing conftitu- 
 tion to live fome years longer. He hath but one ne- 
 phew, who is but eighteen, and fo not capable of bufi- 
 ne'fs : he hath therefore made choice of fome cardinals 
 more to be his coadjutors. Par.cirellio is his prime con- 
 "fident, and lodged in St. Peter's. It is thought he will 
 prefently fet all wheels a going to meditate an univcrfal 
 peace. They write of one good augury among the reft ; 
 that part of his arms is a dove, which hath been always 
 held for an emblem of peace ; but, I believe it will prove 
 'One of the knottieft and dirHculteft taflcs that ever was at- 
 tempted, as the cafe (lands betwixt the houfe of Anjlria 
 and France ; ' and the rougheft and hardeit knot I hold 
 robe that 61 Portugal, for it cannot yet enter into any 
 man's imagination, how that may be accommodated, 
 though many politicians have beaten their brains about it. 
 God almighty grant, that the appeafing of our civil wars 
 prove not fo intricate a work ; and that we may at laft 
 *ake warning by the devaluations of other countries, be- 
 fore -our own be paft cure. 
 
 They
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 3 If 
 
 They write from Paris, \httS\rKenelmDigby is to 
 be employed to Rome from her Majefty, in quality of a 
 high Mejjenger of honour to congratulate the new Pope, 
 not of an Ambaflador, as the vulgar give out : for, none 
 can give that character to any, but a fovereign indepen- 
 dant Prince ; and all the world knows, that her Majefty 
 is under Covert Baron, notwithftanding, that fome cry 
 her up for Queen Rtgent c/" England, as her fifter is of 
 France. The Lord Aubigny hath an abbacy of 1500- 
 piftoles a year given him yearly there, and is fair for a 
 Cardinal's cap. 
 
 I continue ftill under this heavy prefTure of clofe re- 
 ftraint, nor do I fee any hopes (God help me) of getting 
 forth till the wind fhift out of his unlucky hole. How- 
 foever, I am refolved, that if innocence cannot free my 
 body, yet patience (hall preferve my mind ftill in its 
 freebarn thoughts : nor mail this ftorm flacken a whit 
 that firm league of love, wherein I am eternally tied un- 
 to you. I will conclude with a difHch, which I found 
 amongft thofe excellent poems of the late Pope : 
 
 Quern valide Jlrixit prxjlanti pollice virtus, 
 Nefcius eft fohi nodus amicitix. 
 
 Tour conftant fervitor, 
 Fleet, Jan. i. 1644. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXXVIII. 
 
 To the Lord Bifoop of London, late Lord Treafurer 
 of England. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 YOU are one of the miracles of thefe times, the 
 greateft mirrour of moderation, our age affords ; 
 and as heretofore when you carried the w,hite ftaff, with 
 fuch clean incorrupted hands, yet the crojter was ftill 
 your chief care: nor was it perceived that that high all- 
 obliging office did alter you a jot, or alienate you from 
 D d 2 yourfelf,
 
 3 1 6 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 yourfelf, but the fame candour and countenance of raeck- 
 nefs appeared (till in you. As whofoever had occafion to 
 make their addrefs to your gates, went away contented 
 whether they fped in their bufinefs or not, (a gift your 
 predeceflbr was faid to want) fo fmce the turbulency of 
 thefe times, the fame moderation mines in you, notwith- 
 flanding that the mitre is fo trampled upon, and that 
 there be fuch violent factions a-foot, infomuch, that you 
 live not only fecure from outrages, but honoured by all 
 parties. 'Tis true, one thing fell out to your advan- 
 tage, that you did not fubfcribe to that petition which 
 proved fo fatal to prelacy ; but the chief ground of the 
 conflant efteem the diffracted world hath flill of you, is 
 your wifdom and' moderation, paffed and prefcnt. This 
 put me in mind of one of your predecefTors (in your late 
 office) Marquis Pawlc-t, who it feems failed by the fame 
 compafs ; for there being divers bandings, and factions at 
 court in his time, yet was he beloved by all parties; 
 and being afked how he flood fo right in the opinion of 
 all, he anfwered, By being a willow, and not an oak. 
 
 I have many thanks to give your Lordfhip for the late 
 vifits I had ; and when this cloud is fcattered, that I may 
 refpire free air, one of my journies mail be to kifs your 
 Lordmip's hands. In the interim, I reft 
 
 Your nfift devoted and ready fervitor, 
 
 Fleet, Sept. 3. 1644. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XXXIX. 
 
 To PHIL. WARWICK, Efq; 
 SIR, 
 
 TH E earth doth not always produce rofes and lillies, 
 but me brings forth alfo nettles and thirties ; fo 
 the world affords us not always contentments and plea- 
 fures, but fometimes affliction and troubles : Ut ilia, tri- 
 bulos, Jic ifle tribulationes producit. The fea is not 
 more fubject to contrary Walls, nor the furges thereof to 
 
 toflings
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 317 
 
 tofllngs and tumblings, as the actions of men are to in- 
 cumbrances and crofTes; the air is not fuller of meteors, 
 than man's life is of miferies : but as we find that it is 
 not a clear fky, but the clouds that drop fatnefs, as the 
 holy text tells us, fo adverfity is far more fertile thau 
 prosperity : it ufeth to water and mollify the heart, which 
 is the centre of all our affections, and makes it produce 
 excellent fruit ; whereas the glaring fun-mine of a con- 
 tinual profperity would enharden and dry it up, and fo 
 make it barren. 
 
 There is not a greater evidence of Cod's care and 
 love to his creature than affliction ; for a French author 
 doth illuftrate it by a familiar example : if two boys 
 mould be fecn to fight in the ftreets, and a ring of people 
 about them, one of the ftanders by parting them, lets the 
 one go untouched, but he falls a correcting the other y 
 whereby the beholders will infer, that he is his child, or 
 at leaft one whom he wiflieth well unto : fo the ftrokes 
 of adverfity which fall upon us from heaven, mew that 
 God is our Father as well as our Creator. This makes 
 this bitter cup of affliction become neftar, and the bread 
 I now eat, to be true ambrofia unto me. This makes 
 me efreem thefe walls, wherein I have been immured 
 thefe thirty months, to be no other than a college of in- 
 ftruction unto me; and whereas Varro faid, that the 
 great world was but the houfe of a little man, I hold 
 this Fleet to be one of the beft lodgings in that houfe. 
 
 There is a people in Spain called Los Patuecos, who 
 fome threefcore and odd years fince were difcovered by 
 the flight of a hawk of the Duke of Aha* : this people, 
 then all favage, (though they dwelt in the .centre of 
 Spain, not far from Toledo, and are yet held to be a 
 part of thofe aborigines that Tubal Cain brought in) be- 
 ing hemmed in, and imprifoned as it were, by a multi- 
 ' tude of huge craggy mountains, thought that behind 
 thofe mountains there was no more earth. I have been 
 fo habituated to this prifon, and accuftomed to the walls 
 thereof fo long, that I might well be brought to think, 
 that there is no other world behind them. And in my 
 D d 3 extravagant
 
 3iS Familiar LETTERS. PART IT. 
 
 extravagant imagination, I often compare this Fleet to 
 Noab\ ark furrounded with a vaft fea, and huge deluge 
 of calamities, which hath overwhelmed this poor ifland : 
 nor, although I have been fo long aboard here, was I 
 yet under hatches, for, I have a cabin upon the upper 
 deck, whence I, breathe the beft air the place affords : 
 add hereunto, that the fociety of Mr. Hopkins the war- 
 den is an advantage unto, me, who is one of the know- 
 ingeft and mod civil gentlemen that I have converfed 
 withal. Moreover, there are here feme choice gentle- 
 men who are my co-martyrs ; for, a prifoner, and a martyr 
 are the fame thing, fave that the one is buried before 
 f)is death t and the other after. 
 
 God almighty amend thefe times, that make imprifon- 
 ment to be preferred before liberty, it being mpre fafe, 
 and defir&ble by fome, though not by 
 
 Tour affeflionate fervitor, 
 
 Fleet, Nov. 3. 1643. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XL. 
 71? THOMAS YOUNG, Efq; 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Received yours of the fifth of March, and it was as 
 welcome to me as flowers in May ; which are com- 
 ipg on apace. You feem to marvel I do not marry all 
 this while, confidering that I am paft the meridian of my 
 age, and that to your knowledge there have been over- 
 tures made me of parties above my degree. Truly in 
 this point, I will deal with you as one mould do with his 
 confefibr: had I been difpofed to have married for 
 wealth without affedion, or for affection without wealth, 
 I had bee'n in bonds before now ; but I did never caft my 
 eyes upon any yet, that I thought I was born for, where 
 both thefe concurred. It is the cuftom of fome (and it 
 is a common cuftom) to chufe wives by the weight, that
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 319 
 
 is, by their wealth. Others fkll in love with light wives, 
 I do not mean venerean lightnefs, but in reference to 
 portion. The late Earl of Salisbury gives a caveat for 
 this, That beauty without a dowry, (without that un- 
 guent uw tndicuni) is as a gilded foell 'without a kernel^ 
 therefore he warns his fon to be furc to have fomething 
 with his wife, and his reafon is, becaufe nothing can be 
 bought in the market 'without money. Indeed it is very 
 fitting that he or fhe mould have wherewith to fupport 
 both according to their quality, at leaft to keep the wolf 
 from the door, orherwife it were a meet madnefs to 
 marry ; but he who hath, enough of his own to maintain 
 a wife, and marrieth only for n^oney., difcovere.th a poor 
 fordid difpofition. There is nothing that my nature dif- 
 dains more, than to be a flave to filver or gold, for 
 though they both carry the King's face, yet they mall 
 never reign over, me ; and, I would. I were free from all 
 other infirmities as I am from this. I am none of thofe 
 mammonifts who adore white and red earth, and make 
 their Princes picture their idol that way : fuch may be 
 (aid to be under a perpetual eclipfe, for the earth ftands 
 always betwixt them, and the fair face of heaven j yet 
 my genius prompts me, that I was born under a planet, 
 not to die in a lazaretto. I have upon occafion of a fud- 
 den diftemper, fpmetiraes a madmarj, fometimes a fool, 
 fometimes a melancholy odd fellow to deal withal, I 
 mean myfelf, for I have the humours within me that 
 belongs to all three j therefore who would caft herfelf 
 away upon fuch a one. Befides, I came tumbling out 
 into the world a pure cadet, a true cofmopolite, not born 
 to land, leafe, houfe or office. It is true, I have pur- 
 chafed fince, a fmall fpot of ground upon Parnaffus; 
 which I hold in fee of die mufes, and I have endea- 
 voured to manure it . as well as I could, though I con- 
 fefs it hath yielded me little fruit hitherto; and what 
 woman would be fo mad, as to take that only for her 
 jointure. 
 
 But to come to the point of wiveing, I would have 
 you know that I have, though" never married, divers 
 
 children
 
 320 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 children already, fome French, fome Latin, one Italian, 
 and many Engliflj ; and though they be but poor brats 
 of the brain, yet are they legitimate, and Apollo himfelf 
 vouchfafed to co-operate in their production. I have ex- 
 pofed them to the wide world, to try their fortunes ; 
 and fome (out of compliment) would make me believe 
 they are long-lived. 
 
 But to come at laft to your kind of wiveing, I ac- 
 knowledge that marriage is an honourable condition, nor 
 dare I think otherwife without profanenfs, for it is the 
 epithet the holy text gives it : therefore it was a wild 
 fpeech of the Philofopher to fay, that if our converfa- 
 tion could be 'without 'women, angels would covie down 
 and dwell amongft us ; and a wilder fpeech it was of 
 the Cynic, when paffing by a tree where a maid made 
 herfelf away, wifhed, that all trees might bear fiich 
 fruit. But to pafsfrom thefe moth-eaten philofophers, 
 to a modern phyfician of our own, it was a moft unmanly 
 thing in him, while he difplays his own religion, to wifli 
 that there were a way to propagate the world otherwife 
 than by conjun&ion with women, (and Parcelfus under- 
 takes to mew him the way) whereby he feems to repine 
 (though I underftand he was wived a little after) at the 
 honourable degree of marriage ; which I hold to be the 
 prime link of human fociety, the chiefeft happinefs of 
 mortals, and wherein heaven hath a fpecial hand. 
 
 But I wonder why you write to me of wiveing, when 
 you know I have much ado to man or maintain myfelf, 
 as I told you before; yet notwithftanding that the bet- 
 ter part of my days are already threeded upon the firing 
 of time, I will not defpair, but I may have a wife at 
 laft, that may perhaps enable me to build hofpitals : for, 
 although nine luftres of years have long pafTed over my 
 head, and fome winters more, (for all my life, confider- 
 ing the few fun-fhines I have had, may be called nothing 
 but winters) yet, I thank God for it, I find no fymptom 
 of decay either in body, fenfes, or intellectuals. But 
 writing thus extravagantly methinks I hear you fay, that 
 
 this
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 321 
 
 this letter mews I begin to dote and grow idle, therefore 
 I will difplay myfelf no farther unto you at this time. 
 
 To tell you the naked truth, my dear Tow, the higheft 
 pitch of my aim is, that by fome condition or other, I 
 may be enabled at loft (though I be put to fow, the time 
 that others ufe to reap) to quit fcores with the world, 
 bat never to cancel that precious obligation, wherein \ 
 am indiflblubly bound to live and die 
 
 Tour true conjlant friend, 
 
 Fleet, April 28. 1645. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XLI. 
 
 To Mr. B. J. 
 
 FV B. The fangs of a bear, and the tuflcs of a wild 
 boar, do not bite worfe, and make deeper gafhes 
 than a goofe-quill fometimes ; DO not the badger himfelf, 
 who is faid to be fo tenacious of his bite, that he will 
 not give over his hold, till he feels his teeth meet, and 
 the bone crack. Your quill hath proved fo to Mr. Jones ; 
 but the pen wherewith you have fo gamed him, it feems 
 was made rather of a porcupine, than a goofe-quill, it is 
 fo keen and firm : you know ; 
 
 Anfer, apis, vittilus, populos & regna gubernant. 
 
 The goofe, the bee, and the calf (meaning wax, parch- 
 ment, and the pen) rule the world ; but of the three, 
 the pen is the mod predominant. I know you have a 
 commanding one, but you muft not let it tyrannize in 
 that manner, as you have done lately. Some give out 
 there was a hair in it, or that your ink was too thick 
 with gall, elfe it would not have fo befpattered and ma- 
 ken the reputation of a royal Architect ; for reputa- 
 tion, you know, is like a fair ftructure, long time a rear- 
 ing, but quickly ruined. If your fpirit will not let you 
 j yet you fhall do well to reprefs any more copies 
 
 of
 
 322 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 of the fa tire ; for to deal plainly with you, you have 16ft 
 feme ground at court by it ; and, as I hear from a good 
 hand^ the King who hath fo great a judgment in poetry 
 (as in all other things elfe) is not well pleafed therewith. 
 Difpenfe with this freedom of 
 
 Tour refpeffful S. and fervitor. 
 Weflminjlcr, July 3. 1635. J. Hv 
 
 LETTER XLII. 
 To T. D. Efq; 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Had yours lately by a fafe hand : wherein I find you 
 open to me all the boxes of your breaft. I perceive 
 you arc fore hurt, and whereas all other creatures run a- 
 way from the inllrument and hand that wounds them, 
 you feem to make more and more towards both. I 
 confefs fuch is the nature of love, and which is worfe, 
 the nature of woman, is fuch, that like fhadows the more 
 you follow them, the falter they flee from you. Nay, 
 fome females are of that odd humour, that to feed their 
 pride, they will famifh affection, they will ftarve thofe 
 natural pailions, which are owing from them to man. 
 J confefs coynefs becomes fome beauties, if handfomely 
 asfted ; a frown from fome faces penetrates more, and 
 makes deeper impreffion than the fawning and foft glances 
 of a mincing fmile : yet, if this coynefs and thefe frowns 
 favour of pride, they are odious ; and it is a rule, that 
 where this kind of pride inhabits, honour fits not long 
 porter at the gate. There are fome beauties fo ftrong, 
 that they are leauger-proof, they are fo barricadoed, 
 that no battery, no petard, or any kind of engine lapping 
 or mining, can do good upon them. There arc others 
 that are tenable a good while, and will endure the brunt 
 of allege, but will incline to parley at lafl ; and you know 
 that fort and female which begins to parley, is half won ; 
 
 for
 
 Familiar LET^TERS. 323 
 
 for my part, I think of beauties as Philip King of Ma- 
 cedon thought of cities, there is none fb inexpugnable, 
 but an afs laden with gold may enter into them ; you 
 know what the Spaniard faid, davidos quebrantan pen- 
 nas, prefents can rend rocks. Pearls and golden bullets 
 may do much upon the impregnableft beauty that is : it 
 muft be partly your way. I remember a great Lord of 
 this land fent a puppy with a rich collar of diamonds, 
 to a rare Frercb Lady, Madam St. L. that had come 
 over hither with an Arubaflador ; fhe took the dog, but 
 returned the collar. I will not tell you what effecl: it 
 wrought afterwards. 'Tis a powerful fex, they were 
 too ftrong for the firft, the ftronge/l, and wifefl man that 
 was : they mud needs be ftrong when one hair of a ivo- 
 inan can draw more than a hundred pair of oxen; yet 
 for all their ftrength, in point of value, if you will be- 
 lieve the Italian, A man ofjiraiv is worth a woman of 
 gold: therefore, if you find the thing perverfe, rather 
 than to undervalue your fex (your manhood) retire 
 handfomcly, for there is as much honour to be won at 
 an handfome retreat as at a hot onfet, it being the dif- 
 ficulteft piece of war. By this retreat you will get a 
 greater vidlory than you are aware of, for thereby you 
 will overcome yourfelf, which is the greateft conqueft 
 that can be. Without feeking abroad, we have enemies 
 enough within doors to praclife our valour upon, we have 
 lumultary and rebellious paflions, with whole hofts of 
 humours within us. He who can difcomfit them is the 
 greateft Captain, and may defy the devil. I pray recol- 
 Jcft yourfelf, and think on this advice of 
 
 Tour true and moft affefiionate fervitor, 
 Weflminfter, Dec. 4. 1637. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 324 Familiar LETTERS. TART II. 
 
 LETTER XLIII. 
 To G. G. Ej\; at Rome. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Have more thanks to give you than can he folded up 
 in this narrow paper, though it were all wrote in the 
 clofeft kind of (tenography, for the rich and accurate ac- 
 count you pleafe to give me of that renowned city where- 
 in you now foiourn. I find you have vnoft judicioufly 
 pried into all matters both civil and clerical, efpecially 
 the latter, by obferving the poverty and pennances of 
 the frier, the policy and power of the jefuit, the pomp 
 of the Preb.te aiid Cardinal. . Had it not been for the 
 two fa-ft, I believe the two laft, arid that See had been 
 at a low ebb by this time : for the leapning, the pruden- 
 tial (late, knowledge .and aufterky of the one, and the 
 venerable opinion the people have of the abftemious and 
 rigid condition of the other, fpecially of .the mendicants, 
 feem to make fome compenfation for the lux and magni- 
 ficence of the two la(l : befides, they are more behold- 
 ing to the p'roteftant than they are aware of, for unlefs 
 he had rifen up about the latter end of the laft century 
 of years, which made them more circumfpect and warry 
 of their ways, life, and actions, to what an intolerable 
 high excefs that court had come to by this time, you 
 may eafily conjecture. But, out of my {"mall reading I 
 I have obferved that no age ever fmce Gregory the Great 
 hath pa/Ted, wherein fome or other have not repined and 
 murmured at the pontificial pomp of that court, yet for 
 my part 1 have been always fo charitable as to think that 
 the religion of Rome, and the court of Rome were diffe- 
 rent things. The coanterbufF that happened betwixt 
 Leo X. and Frauds I. of France is very remarkable, 
 who being both met at Bolonia, the King feemed to give 
 a light touch at the Pope's pomp, faying, it wa not ufed 
 to be fo in former time. It may be fo, faid Leo, but it 
 v/as then when the kings kept fheep j (as we read in the 
 
 0!d
 
 LETTERS. 52JT 
 
 Old TePtament) no, the King replied, I fpeak of times 
 under the gofpel. Then rejoined the Pope, it was then 
 when kings did vifit hofpitals, hinting by thcfe words at 
 St. Lewis who oft ufcd to do fb. It is memorable what 
 is recorded in the life of Robert Crofted Bifhop of Lin- 
 coln, who lived in the time of one of the Leo's, that he 
 feared the fame fin would overthrow Let, as overthrew 
 Lucifer. 
 
 For news hence, I know none of your friends but are as 
 \vell as you left them, kombres y I.eiabras : you are frefli 
 and very frequent in their memory, and mentioned with 
 a thoufand good wimes and benedictions. Amongft o- 
 thers, you have a large room in the memory of my Lady 
 Elizabeth Gary; and, I do not think all Rome can afford 
 you a fairer lodging. I pray be cautious of your car- 
 riage under that meridian, it is a fearchiqg (inquifitive) 
 air : you have two eyes, and two ears, but one tongue ; 
 you know my meaning. This laft you muft imprifon, 
 (as nature hath, already done with a double fence of 
 teeth and lips) or elfe flie may imprifon you, according 
 to our countryman Mr. Ho/kin's advice when he was in 
 the Teiuer. 
 
 Vinctila da lingua:, vet tilt lingua dablt. 
 
 Have a care of your health, take heed of the fyicr.', 
 of excefs in fruit ; and be furc to mingle your wine well 
 with water. No more now, but that in the large cata- 
 logue of friends you have left behind here, there is none 
 who. is more mindful of you than 
 
 ICour mift affectionate end fxittful fcrvitor, 
 
 J.H. 
 
 EC LET-
 
 32$ Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 LETTER XLIV. 
 To Dr. T, P. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Had yours of the loth current, wherein you write 
 me tidings of our friend Tom D. and what his defires 
 tend unto: in my opinion, they are fomewhat extrava- 
 gant. I have read of one, that loving honey more than 
 ordinary, feemed to complain p.gaiaft nature, that (he 
 made not a bee as big as a bull, that we might have it 
 in greater plenty. Another who was much given to 
 fruit, wifhed that pears and plumbs were as big as pum- 
 pions. Thefe were but filly vulgar wimes, for if a bee 
 were as big as a bull, it muft have a (ling proportionable ; 
 and what mifchiefs do you think fuch (tings would do, 
 when we can hardly endure the fting of that fmall in- 
 fected animal as now it is ? And if pears and plumbs were 
 as big as pumpions. it were dangerous walking in an 
 orchard about the autumnal equinoctial, (at which time 
 they are in their full maturity) for fear of being knocked 
 on the head. Nature the handmaid of God almighty 
 <!oth nothing but with good advice, if we make refearches 
 into the true reafon of things. You know what anfwer 
 the fox gave the ape, when he would have borrowed 
 part of his tail to cover his pofteriors. 
 
 The wiihes you write that 7". D. lately made, were 
 almofl as extravagant in civil matters as the aforemen- 
 tioned were in natural: for, if he were partaker of 
 them, they would draw more inconveniencies upon hira 
 than benefit, being nothing fortable either to his difpofi- 
 tion or breeding, and for other reafons befides, which I 
 will referve till ray coming up ; and I pray let him know 
 fo much, from me, with ray commendations. So, I 
 4-eft 
 
 Tours in the perfefteft degree of friend/Jytp t 
 
 Wfjlminjler, Sefu 6, 1640. J. H. 
 
 LET- 

 
 Familiar LETTERS. 327 
 
 LETTER XLV. 
 To Dottor B. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 WHEREAS upon the large theorical difcourfe, 
 and bandings of opinions \ve had lately at Gre- 
 Jham college, you defired I fhould couch in writing what 
 I obferved abroad of the extent and amplitude of the 
 chrifhan commonwealth in reference to other religions : 
 I obtained leave of myfelf to put pen to paper, rather to 
 obey you, than oblige you with any thing that may add 
 to your judgment, or inrich that rare knowledge I find 
 you have already treafured up; but I mud begin with 
 the fulfilling of your defire in a preambular way, for the 
 fubjetfl admirs it. 
 
 'Tis a principle all the world over, except amongft 
 atheifts, that omne verum efraDeo, omne falfum eft a 
 diabolo, fo omnis error ab homlne : Ail truth is from 
 God, all falfhood from the devil, and all error from 
 man. The lad: goes always under the vifard of the firft, 
 but the fecond confronts truth to the face, and ftands in 
 open defiance of her: error and fin are contemporary, 
 when one crept firft in at the fore-door, the other came 
 in at the poftern. This made Trifmegijlus one of the 
 great Lords of reafon to give this character of man, 
 Homo ejl imaginatio atufdam, <& imaginatio ejl Juptt- 
 mum mendacium : Man is nought elfe but a kind cf i- 
 niaghiation, and imagination is the greatejl lie. Error 
 therefore entering into the work! with fin among us poor 
 Adamite!, may be faid to fpring from the tree of know- 
 ledge itfelf, and from the rotten kernels of that fatal 
 apple. This, befides the infirmities that attend the body, 
 hath brought in perverfity of will, depravation of mind, 
 and hath caft a kind of cloud upon all our intellectuals, 
 that they cannot difcern the true effence of tilings with 
 that clearnefs as the protoplaft our firft parent could ; bi.t 
 we are. involved in a mift, and grope as it were ever 
 E e 2 fbce
 
 3-8 F^fiiliar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 lince in the dark, as if truth were got into fome dun- 
 geon, or as the old wizard fnid, into forae deep pit which 
 the {hallow apprehenfion of men could not fathom. 
 Hence comes it that the earth is rent into fo many reli- 
 gions, and thofe religions torn into fo many fchifms, and 
 various forms of devotion, as if the heavenly Majefty 
 were delighted as much in diverfities of worihip as in di- 
 verdties of works. 
 
 The tiril religion that ever was reduced to exact ruk'S 
 and ritual obfervances was that of the H threw*, the an- 
 lient people of God, called afterwards Jiuiitifi>i y the (e- 
 cond Chrljliitnity y the tliird Mabowctiftit, which is the 
 youngeft of all religions . Touching Pajaaifiu, and 
 heathcniih idolatry, they fcarce deftrve the name of re- 
 ligion ; but for the former three, there is this analogy 
 between them, that they all agree in the firfr, perfon of 
 the Trinity, and all his attributes. What kind of reli- 
 gion there was before the flood, it is in vain to make 
 any refearches, there having been no monuments at all 
 left, (befidcs that little we find in Alofes and the Pkceni- 
 clan flory) but &Y//S pillars, and thofe fo defaced, that 
 nothing was legible upon them, though Jofephus faith, 
 th.u one was extant in his days : as alfo the oak under 
 which Abraham feafted God almighty, which was 2000 
 years after. The religion (or cabal) of the Hebrews 
 was transferred from the patriarchs to Mnfes, and from 
 him to the prophets. It was honoured with the appear- 
 ance and promulgation of God himfelf, fpecially the bet- 
 ter part of it, I mean the decalogue containing the ten 
 commandments ; which being moil: of them moral and 
 agreeing with the common notions of man, are in force 
 all the world over. The Jews at this day are divided 
 into three fe-.fls : the firft, which is the greatcft, are called 
 the TalmtidiJJsy in regard that befidcs the holy Scriptures 
 they embrace the Talmud, which is fluffed with the tradi- 
 tions of their rabbins and chacams: the fecond receive the 
 Scriptures alone : the third the pentateuch only, viz. the 
 five books of Mofes, who are called Samaritans. Now 
 touching what pat t of the earth is pofTefTed by Jfutf I 
 
 cannot
 
 familiar LET T E R'S. . 329 
 
 cannot find they have any at all peculiar to themfelves ; 
 but in regard of their murmurings, their frequent idi la- 
 tries, defections, and that they crucified the Lord of life, 
 this once felect nation of God, and the inhabitants of the 
 land flowing with milk and honey, is become now a 
 fcorned fquandered people all the earth over, being ever 
 fince incapable of any coalition or reducement into one 
 body politic. There where they are moft without mix- 
 ture, is Tiberias in Palefline, which Amnrath gave 
 Mendez the Jew; whither, and to Jerufalem, upon 
 any conveniency, they convey the bones of their dead 
 friends from all places to be reinterred. They are to be 
 found in all mercantile towns and great marts, both in 
 Africa, Afia, and Europe, the dominions of England, 
 of the Spaniard and French excepted ; and as their per- 
 fons, fo their profeflion is defpicable, being for the mofl 
 part but brokers every where. Among other places they 
 are allowed to be in Rome herfelf near St. Peter's chair ; 
 for they advance trade wherefoever they come, with 
 their banks of money, and fo are permitted as neccflary 
 evils. But put cafe the whole nation of the Jews now 
 living were united into one collective body, yet according 
 to the befi: conjecture and exacteft computation that I 
 could hear made by the knowingefl men, they would not 
 be able to people a country bigger than the feventeen pro- 
 vinces. Thofe that are difperfed now in chriftendom 
 and Ttirky, are the remnants only of the tribes of Jndah 
 and Benjamin, with fome Levites which returned from 
 Babylon with Zerubbabel. The commmon opinion is, 
 that the other ten are utterly loft; but they themfelves 
 fancy that they are in India, a mighty nation, environed 
 with ftony rivers, which always ceafe to run their courfe 
 on their Sabbath ; from whence they expect their Ah-f- 
 Jias, who mail in the fulnefs of time over-run the world 
 with fire and fword, and re-efrablifh them in a temporal 
 glorious eftate. But this opinion fvvays moft among the 
 oriental Jeivs, whereas they of the Weft attend the 
 coming of their Meffias from Portugal ' ; which language 
 is more common among them auy other. And thus 
 E e 3 much
 
 330 Familiar LETTERS. PART IT/ 
 
 much in brief of the Jews, as much as I could digeft, 
 and comprehend within the compafs of this paper-meet ; 
 and let it ferve for the accomplilhment of the firft part 
 of your deGre.. In my next I fliall give you the beit fa- 
 tisfaclion I can concerning the extent of chriiHanity up 
 and down the globe of the earth ; which I (hall fpeedily 
 fend : for, now that I have undertaken fuch a talk, my 
 pen mall not reft till I have finimed it. So, I am 
 
 Tour mojl affectionate ready fervitor, 
 Wcjiminjt. Augufl j. 1635. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XLVI. 
 To Dcflor B. 
 
 S IF, 
 
 HAVING in my laft fent you fomething touching 
 die ftate of Judalfm up and down the world, in 
 this you fliall receive what extent chriftianity hath , which 
 is the fecond religion in fucceffion of time and truth : a 
 religion that makes not fenfe fo much fubjtfl to rcafon, 
 as rcafon fuccumbcnt to faith. There is no religion fb 
 hai (h and difficult to flefh and blood, in regard of divers 
 myflejious portions it confiib of j as the incarnation, rc- 
 furreclion, the Trinity, 6f. which, as one faid, are bones 
 to philofophy, but milk to faith. There is no religion 
 fo purely fpiritual, and abftracled from common natural 
 ideas and fonfual happinefs, as the chriiHan : no religion 
 that excites men more to the love and 1 practice of virtue, 
 and hatred of vice, or that prefcribes greater rewards 
 for the one, and pmifhments for the other: a religion 
 th.it in a mod miraculous manner did expand herfclf, and 
 propagate by fimplicity, humblenefs, and by a mecr paf- 
 five way of fortitude, growing up like the palm-tree un- 
 der the heavy weight of perfection: for never any reli- 
 gion had more powerful oppofition, by various kinds of 
 puaif. ments, o iprcilions aud torture j which may be 
 
 faid
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 3^1 
 
 faid to have decked her with rubies in her very cradle ; 
 infomuch, that it is granted by her very enemies, that 
 the chriflian in point of paflive valour hath exceeded all 
 other nations upon earth. And it is a thing of wonder- 
 ment, how at her very firft growth me flew over the 
 heads offo many interjacent vaft regions into this remote 
 ifle fo foon, that her rays fhould mine upon the crown cf 
 a Britifh King firft of any ; I mean King Lucius, the 
 true proto-chriftian King in the days of Eleutherius, at 
 which time (he received her propagation; but for her 
 plantation, fhe had it long before, by fome of the a- 
 poftles themfelves. Now, as the chriftian religion hath 
 the pureft and mod abftrackd, the hardeft and higheft 
 fpiritual notions, fo it hath been moft fubject to differen- 
 ces of opinions and diftra&ions of confcience : the purer 
 the wheat is, the more fubject it is to tares, and the moft 
 precious gems to flaws. The firft bone that the devil 
 flung, was into the Eaftern churches ; then betwixt the 
 Greek and the Roman, but it was rather for jurifdidtion 
 and power, than for the fundamentals of faith; and 
 lately betwixt Rome and the North Weft churches. Now 
 the extent of the Eaftern church is larger far than that 
 of the Roman, (excluding America) which makes fome 
 accufe her as well of uncharitableneis as of arrogance, 
 that fhe mould pofitively damn fo many millions of chri- 
 ftian fouls, who have the fame common fymbols of faith 
 with her, becaufe they are not within the clofe of her 
 fold. 
 
 Of thofe Eaftcrn and South-Eafl churches, there are no 
 lefs than eleven feels, whereof the three principalleft are 
 the Grecian, the Jacobite, and the Nejlorian, with whom 
 the reft have fome dependance or conformity; and they 
 acknowledge canonical obedience either to the Patriarch 
 of Conflantinople, of Alexandria, of Jerufalem, or An- 
 tioch : they concur with the Wefiern reformed churches, 
 in divers poiltions againft Rome; as in denial of purga- 
 tory, in rejecting of extreme unclion, and celebrating the 
 facrament under both kinds ; in admitting their clergy to 
 marry j in. abhorring the ufe of mafTy ftatucs, and cele- 
 brating
 
 332 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 brating their liturgy in the vulgar language : among 
 thefe, the Rujje, and the Habajjin emperors are the 
 greateft ; but the latter is a Jew alfo from the girdle 
 downward, for he is both circumcifed and chriftened, 
 having received the one from Solomon, and the other 
 from the Apoitle St. Thomas. They obferve other rites 
 of the Levitical law : they have the crofs in that efteem, 
 that they imprint the fign of it upon fome part of the 
 child's body when he is baptized : that day they take the 
 holy facrament they fpit not till after fun-fet ; and the 
 Emperor in his progrefles, as foon as he comes to the fight 
 of a church, lights off his camel, and foots it all along, 
 till he lofeth the fight of it. 
 
 Now touching that proportion of ground that the 
 chriftians have on the habitable earth, (which is the main 
 of our tafk) I find that all Europe with her adjacent ifles 
 is peopled with chriftians, except that ruthful country of 
 Lapland, where idolaters yet inhabit: towards the Eajl 
 allb, that religion which lieth betwixt Tanais and Borift- 
 tsnes, the antient country of the Goths, is poflefTed by 
 Mahometan Tartars ; but in thefe territories which the 
 Turk hath betwixt the Danube and the fea, and betwixt 
 Ragufa and Buda, chriftians are intermixed with Maho- 
 metans ; yet in this cohabitation, -chriftians are computed 
 to make two third parts at leaft : for here and clfewhere, 
 all the while they pay the Turk the quarter of their in- 
 creafe, and a fultanin for every poll, and fpeak nothing 
 in derogation of the alcoran, they are permitted to en- 
 joy both their religion and lives fecurely. In Conjlan- 
 tinople herfelf, under the Grand Signior's nofe, they 
 have twenty churches; in Saloniche (or Theffalonica) 
 thirty. There are 150 churches under the metropoli- 
 tan of Philippi, as many under him of Athens, and he of 
 Corinth hath about 100 fufFragan bifhops under him. 
 
 But in Afric, (a thing which cannot be too much la- 
 mented) that huge extent of land which chriftianity pof- 
 feffed of old betwixt the Mediterranean fea, and 'the 
 mountain Atlas, yea as far as Egypt, with the large re- 
 gion of Nubia t the Turks have over-maftered. "We 
 
 read
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 333 
 
 read of 200 bifhops met in fynods in thofe parts; and in 
 that province where old Carthage flood, there were 164 
 bifhops under one Metropolitan; but Mahometifm hath 
 now overfpread all thereabout, only the King of Spain 
 hath a few maritime towns under chriftian fubjeclion, as 
 Septa, Tangier, Or an, and others. But through all the 
 huge continent of Afric, which is eftimated to be thrice 
 bigger than Europe, there is not one region intirely chri- 
 ftian, but Habaj/ia or Ethiopia : befides, there is in E- 
 gypt a confiderable number of them yet fojourning. 
 Now Habajjia, according to the itineraries of the obier- 
 vingeft travellers, in thofe parts, is thought to be in rs- 
 fpective magnitude as big as Germany, Spain, France ; 
 and Italy conjunclly : an eftimate which comes nearer 
 truth than that which fome make by ftretching it from 
 one tropkk to the other, viz. from the Red-fca to the 
 Weftern ocean. There are alfo divers ifles upon the 
 coaft f Afric, that are colonized with chriftians, as the 
 Madera, the Canaries, Cape Verd, arid St. Thomas's ; 
 but on the Eajl fide there is none but Zocotora. 
 
 In Afia there is the empire of Rttffia that is purely 
 chriftian, and the mountain Libanus in Syria. In cthtr 
 parts they are mingled with Mahometans, who exceed 
 them one day more than another in numbers, efpecially 
 in thofe provinces (the more is the pity) where the gof- 
 pel was firft preached, as Anatolia, Armenia, Sjrit>, 
 Mefopotamia, Palejlina, Chaldea, Ajjyria, Perfa, the 
 North of Arabia, and South of India, In fome of 
 thefe parts, I fay, efpecially in the four firft, chriftiar.s 
 are thick mixed with Mahometans, as alfo in Eafl- India, 
 fince the Portugal* difcovery of the paflage by the Cape 
 of Good Hope, chriftians by God's goodnefs have multi- 
 plied in coniiderable numbers ; as likewife in Goa, fince 
 it was made an archbimoprick, and the court of a Vice- 
 roy. They fpeak alfo of a chriftian church m>uinfay 
 in China, the greateft of all earthly cities ; but in the 
 iflands thereabouts called the Philippines, which they fay 
 are above iioo in number, in thirty whereof the Spa- 
 aiard hath taken firm footing, chriftianity hath made a 
 
 good
 
 334 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 goi/d progrefs, as alfo in Japettie, In the North-EaJl 
 part of Afia, fome 400 years fince, chriftianity had ta- 
 ken deep root under the King of Tenduc, but he was 
 utterly overthrown by Cbingis one of his own vaflals, 
 who came thereby to be the firft founder of the Tarta- 
 rian empire : this King of Tenduc was the true Prefler 
 John, not the Ethiopian King of the Habaffines, as Sca- 
 liger would have it ; whofe opinion is as far diftant from 
 truth in this point, as the Sontherneft part of Afric from 
 the North-EaJi part of Afia, or as a Jacobite is from a 
 Neftorian. Thus far did chriftianity find entertainment 
 in the old world : touching the new, I mean America, 
 which is conjectured to equal, well near, the other three 
 parts in magnitude, the Spanijh authors and merchants 
 (with whom I have converfed) make report of a marvel- 
 lous growth that chriftianity hath made in the kingdoms 
 of Mexico, Peru, Brajil, and Cajlilia de loro ; as alfo 
 in the greater iflands adjoining, as Htfpaniole^ Cuba, 
 Portorico, and others, infomuch that they write of one 
 antient Prieft who had chriftened himfelf 700 Savages 
 fome years after the firft difcovery; but there are 
 fome who feeming to be no friends to Spain, report 
 that they did not baptize half fo many as they have 
 butchered. 
 
 Thus you have as compendioufly as an epiftle could 
 fnake it, an account of that extenfion of ground which 
 chriftians poffefs upon earth. My next mail be one of 
 the Mahometan, wherein I could wim I had not occa- 
 fion to be fo large as I mull: be : fo, I am, Sir, 
 
 Tour refpettful and humble fervant, 
 Wejlminjl. Augiift 9. 1635. J. H. 
 
 LKT-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 335 
 
 LETTER XLVII. 
 To Doftor B. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 MY two former were of Judaifm and chrtftianity : 
 I come now to the Mahometans, the moderneft 
 of all religions, and the moft mifchievous and deftrudtive 
 to the church of Chrift; for this fatal feft hath juftled 
 her out of divers large regions in Afric, in Tartary and 
 other places, and attenuated their number in djia, which 
 *they do wherefoever they come, having a more politic 
 and pernicious way to do it than by fire and faggot : for, 
 they having understood well that the duft of martyrs were 
 the thrivingelt feeds of chriftianity ; and obferved that 
 there reigns naturally in mankind, being compofed all of 
 a lump, and carrying the fame ftamp, a general kind of 
 compaffion and fympathy ; which appears moft towards 
 them who lay down their lives, and poftpone all worldly 
 things for the prefervation of their confciences, (and ne- 
 ver any died fo, but he drew followers after him) 
 therefore the Turk goes a more cunning way to work: 
 he meddles not with life and limb to prevent the fenfe 
 of compaflion which may arife that way; but. he grinds 
 their faces with taxes, and makes them incapable of any 
 offices either of authority, profit, or honour; by which 
 means, he renders them defpicable to others, and makes 
 their lives irkfome to themfelves. Yet the Turks have 
 a high opinion of Chrifl, " That he was a greater Pro- 
 phet thznMofes; that he was the fon of a virgin, 
 who conceived by the fmell of a role prefented to her 
 by Gabriel the angel: they believe he never finned; 
 nay, in their alcoran, they term him the breath and 
 word of God: they puniih all that blafpheme him, 
 and no Jew is capable to be a Turk, but he mud be 
 firft anABDULA, a chnftian." He muft eat hog's 
 fleih, and do other things for three days, then he is 
 
 made
 
 33$ familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 made a Mahometan, but by abjuring of Ckrift to be a 
 greater Prophet than Mahomet. 
 
 It is the Alfange that ufhers in the faith of Mahomet 
 every where, nor can it grow in any place, unlefs it be 
 planted and fo\vn with gunpowder intermixed: when 
 planted, there are divers ways of policy to preferve it: 
 they have their alcoran in one only language, which is 
 the Arabic, ihe mother-tongue of their Prophet. It is 
 as bad as death for any to raife fcruples of the alcoran; 
 thereupon there is a reftraint of the fhdy of philofophy, 
 and other learning, becaufe the impoftors of it may not 
 be difcerned. The Mufti is in as great reverence a- 
 mongft them as the Pope is among the Romanifts : for, 
 they hold it to be a true principle in divinity, that no 
 ene thing preferves and improves religion more than a 
 venerable, high, pious cfteem of the chief minifters, 
 They have no other guide or law both for temporal and 
 church -affairs than the alcoran; which they hold to be 
 the rule of civil jujlice, as ivsll as the divine charter of 
 their falvation ; fo that their judges are but expofitors 
 of that only: nor do they trouble themfelves or puzzle 
 the plaintiff with any moth-eaten records, or precedents 
 to entangle the bufinefs, but they immediately determine 
 it, according to the -frefh circumftances of the aclion, & 
 fecundum alltgata, <b probata, by witnefles. They 
 have one extraordinary piece of humanity to be fo ten- 
 der of the rational faul, as not to put chriftian, Jciv, 
 Greet, cr any ether to his oath, in regard that if, for 
 feme advantage of gain or occafion of inconvenience and 
 pucimrnent any mould forfwear himfelf, they hold the 
 impofers of the oath to be accefibry to the damnation of 
 the perjured man. By thefe and di/ers other reaches of 
 policy (befide their arms) not praftifed elfewhere, they 
 conferve that huge balk, of the Ottoman empire, which 
 extends without interruption (the Helie/fcat only be- 
 tweea)in one continued piece ot earth 3200 miles, from 
 Buda in Hungary to a good way into Perfta : by thefe 
 means, they keep alfo their religion from diftracling opi- 
 nions, from every vulgar fancy and fchifms in their 
 
 church,
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 337 
 
 church, for there is no where fewer than here : the dif- 
 ference that is, is only with the Perjlan, and that not 
 in fundamentals of faith, but for priority of government in 
 matters of religion. This fo univerfaJ^conformity in 
 their religion, is afcribed as to other politic inftitutions, 
 fo efpccially to the rigorous inhibition they have of raifing 
 fcruples and difputes of the alcoran under pain of death, 
 efpecially among the laity and common people; \\hdfe 
 zeal commonly is ftrsnger than their judgment. 
 
 That part of the world where Mahomet hath furthefl 
 expanded hirnfelf, is AJia ; which, as I faid before, ex- 
 ceeds Africa in greatnefs, and much iiaorc in people : he 
 ' hath firm footing in Perfia, Tartary, (upon tlie latter of 
 which the Mujjulman empire is entailed) in Turcomania. 
 itfelf, and Arabia, four mighty kingdoms : the laft of 
 thefe was the'neft where that cockatrice egg was hatch- 
 ed, which hath diffufed its poifon fo far and near, through 
 the veins of fo many regions : all the Southerly coafts of 
 AJia, from the Arabian bay to the river of I idus is in* 
 fected therewith, the vaft kingdom cf Cambaia and Ben- 
 gala; and about the South part, the inhabitants of Ma- 
 labar have drank of this poifon, infomuch, that by no 
 xvrong computation it may well be faid, that Mdk'on^etifm 
 hath difperfed itfelf over almoft one half of the huge 
 continent of AJia, befides thofe multitudes of ifles efpc- 
 cially feven, Moldavia, Ceylon, the fea-coaft of Suma- 
 tra, Java, Sunda, the ports of Banda, Borneo, with 
 fivers others, whereof there are many thou r a.ids about 
 AJia, who have entertained the alccran. In Europe the 
 Mahometans pofTefs all the region betwixt Den and 
 Meper, called of old Tanais and Borijlhenes, being a- 
 bout the twentieth part of Europe : the King of Poland 
 difpenfeth with fome of them in Lithuania. Touching 
 Greece, Maccdon,' Thracia, Bulgaria, Servia, Bofnia, 
 Epire, the greateft part of Hungary and Dalmatia, 
 although they be wholly under Turks obedience, yet 
 Mahometans fcarce make the third part of the inhabi- 
 tants. In Africa this contagion is further fpread : it hath 
 intoxicated all the fnore of Ethiopia, as fur as Mcfum- 
 F f tick.
 
 338 Familiar LETTERS. PA RT II. 
 
 bicky which Heth oppoflte to Madagafcar, It is worfe 
 with the firm land of Africa on the North and Weft parts : 
 for, from the Mediterranean fea to the great river A'.--. 
 per, and along the banks of Nile, all Egvpt and Barbary t 
 with Lybia and the Negro's country, are tainted and tan- 
 ned with this black religion. 
 
 The vaft propagation of this unhappy fe may be afcri- 
 bed firft to the fword, for the cwfcience commonly is apt 
 to follow the conqueror: then to the loofe reins it gives 
 to all fenfaal liberty, as to have eight wives, and as many 
 concubines as one can maintain, with the affurance of 
 venerial delights in a far higher degree, to fucceed after 
 death to the religious obfervers of it, as the fruition 
 of beautiful damfels, with large rolling eyes, whofe 
 virginity (lull renew after every ad : their youth fhall Lift 
 always with their luft, and love fhall be fatiated with only 
 one, where it fhall remain inalienable. They concur, 
 with the chriftian but only in the acknowledgment of one 
 God, and in his attributes. With the Jeiv they fymbo- 
 lize in many things more, as in circumcifion, in refrain- 
 ing from fwine's flefh, in delegation of images, and 
 fpmewhat in the quality of future happinefs; which, as 
 we faid before, they place in venerial pleafure, as the 
 Jew doth in feafting and banquetings, fo that neither of 
 their laws have punifhment enough to deter mankind from 
 v/ickednefs and vice, nor do they promife adequate re- 
 wards for virtue and piety : for, in the whole alcsran t 
 and through all the writings of Mofcs, there is not a 
 word of angelical joys and eternity. And herein chri- 
 ftianity far excels both thefe religions, for fhe placeth 
 future happinefs in fpiritual, everlafting and unconceive- 
 able blifs, abftradted from the fading and faint grofsnefs 
 of fenfe. The Je-iu and fur.k alfo agree in their opi- 
 nion of women, whom they hold to be of an inferior 
 creation to man; which makes the one to exclude them 
 from the mofques, and the other from his fynagogues. 
 
 Thus far have I rambled through the vaft Ottoman 
 empire, and taken a curfory furvey of Mahomet's reli- 
 gion. In my next I {hail take the belt view I can of 
 
 Pagant
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 339 
 
 Pagans and idolaters, with thofe who go for athiefts ; 
 and in this particular, it may be faid to be worfe than 
 'hell itfelf, and the kingdom of the devil, in regard there 
 are no athiefts there : for the very damned fouls find and 
 'feel in the midfl of their tortures, that there is a God by 
 his juftice and punimments ; nay, the prince of darknefs 
 himfelf and all the cacodaemons by an hiftorical faith be- 
 lieve there is a God, whereunto the poet alludes very di- 
 Tinely : 
 
 Nulliii In inferno eft Atheus, ante fuit. 
 To, I very affectionately kifs your hand, and reft 
 Tour faithful ready feruitor, 
 Wejlminjter, Augujl 14. 16^. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XLVIII. 
 To DoftorB. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 HAVING in my three former letters warned my 
 hands of the Mahometan and the Jew, and at- 
 tended chrifKanity up and down the earth, I come now 
 to the Pagan idolater or Heathen, who (the more to be 
 lamented) make the greateft part of mankind. Emtpe 
 herfelf, though the beams of the crofs have mined upon 
 her above thrle iixteen ages, is not free from them, for 
 they poflefs to this day Lappia, Coretia, Biarntia, Scri- 
 fnnia, and the North parts of Finmark : there are alfo 
 fo;ne fhreds of them to be found in divers places of Lrtu- 
 anla and Somtgitia, which make a region 900 miles ia 
 compafs. 
 
 But in Africa their numbers is incredible, for from 
 Cape Blanc, themoft vVefterly point of 'Jfrica, all South- 
 ward to the Cape of Good Hope, and thence turning by 
 the back of Africa to the Cape of Mo-arnbric, all thefe 
 xoails being, about the one half of the circumference of 
 F f 2 Africa,
 
 340 F^xi'Lir LETTERS. PART H. 
 
 Africa, is peopled by idolaters, though in fome places in- 
 termixed with Mahometans and chriftians, as in the 
 kingdom otCvn^ and Angola ,- but, if we furvey the in- 
 I in J territories Q$ Africa between the river of Nils, and 
 the Weft fea of Ethiopia* even all that country from 
 about die North parallel of ten degrees, to the South 
 parallel of fix decrees, all is held by idolaters ; befides, 
 t'.ie kingdom of Borno, and a great part of Nubia and 
 Lybia, continue (till in their old Paganifm, fo that by 
 this account we have above one half of that immenfe con- 
 tinent of Africa peopled by idolaters. But in Afta, 
 which is far more fpacioas and more populous than A- 
 frica, Pagan idolaters, veA f Genti[ti t fwaim in great 
 numbers, for from the river Pcckora eaftward to the 
 ocean, and thence fouthward to the CapfofCincapwa; 
 and from that point returning weft ward by the South 
 eoafts to the outlets of the river Indus, all that -niaiitime 
 traft, which makes a good deal more than half the cir- 
 cumference of Afia, is inhabited by idolaters : fo are the 
 inland parts. There are two mighty mountains that tra- 
 vcrfe all Aft a, Taurm and Imaus : the firft runs from the 
 Weft to Eaft, the other from North to South, and fo 
 quarter and cut that huge mafs of earth into equal parts: 
 this fide thofe mountains moll of the people are Maho- 
 metans, but the other fide they arc all idolaters. And 
 as on the firm continent Paganifm thus reigns, fb in 
 many thoufand iflands fquandered in the vaft ocean, on 
 the Eaft and South-eaft of dfia, idolatry overfpreads all, 
 except in fome few iflands that are poiFcfled by Spani- 
 ards and Arabs. 
 
 Laftly, if one take a furvey of America, (as none 
 hath done yet exactly) which is estimated to be as big as 
 all .the old earth : idolaters there poflefs four parts of 
 five. It is true fome years after the firft navigation thi- 
 ther, they were converted daily in great multitudes, but 
 afterwards obferving the licentious lives of the chriftians, 
 their greedinefs for gold, and their cruelty, they came 
 not in fo faft ; which made an Indian anfwer a SpaniJIj 
 frier who was difcourfing with him of the joys of heaven, 
 
 and
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 341 
 
 and how all Spaniards went thither after this life. Then 
 laid the Pagan, I do not defire to go thither if Spani- 
 ards be there, I had rather go to hell to be free of their 
 company. America differs from the reft of the earth in 
 this, that fhe hath neither Jew nor Mahometan in her, 
 t>ut chrirtians and Gentiles only. There are, befides 
 all thofe religions and people before mentioned, an ir- 
 tegular confuted nation in Europe, called the Morduits ; 
 \vhich occupy the middle confines betwixt the Tartars 
 and the Ruffe, that are mingled in rites of religion with 
 all thofe that have been fore-fpoken : for from the 
 privy-members upward they are chriilian, in regard they 
 admit of baptifm : from the navel downward they are 
 Mahometans or Jews, for they are circumcifed ; and 
 tefides, they are given to the adoration of heathenifh 
 idols. In Ajia there are the Cardi, which inhabit the 
 mountainous country about Mo~a!> between Armenia 
 and Mefopotamla, and the Druci in Syria, who are demi- 
 Mahoinetans and chriftians. 
 
 Now concerning Pagans and heathenifh idolaters, 
 whereof there are innumerable forts up and down the 
 fiirface of the earth. In my opinion, thofe are the ex- 
 cufeableft kind who adore the fun and moon, with the 
 hoft of heaven. And in Ireland, the Kerns of the 
 mountains, with fotne of the Scots ifles, ufe a fafhion of 
 adoring tile moon to this very day, praying, fhe would 
 leave them in as good health as fhe found them. This is 
 not fo grofs an idolatry as that of other heathens : for, 
 the adoration of thefe glorious celeflial bodies is more 
 excufeable than that of garlick and onions with the ?- 
 g\ptian, who fome think; (with the Sicynian) was the 
 antienteft idolater upon earth; which he makes thrice 
 older than We do : for DioJorus Sicttlus reports that the 
 Egyptian had a religion and kings 18,000 years flnce; 
 yet, for matter of philofophy and fcience, he had it 
 from the Chaldean, he from the Gymnofophifts, and 
 Brachmans of India ; which country, as fhe is the next 
 neighbour to the riflng fun, in reference to this fide of 
 the hemifphcre, fo the beams of learning didirft en- 
 '
 
 342 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 lighten her. Egypt was the nurfe of that famous Her' 
 mcs Trifmagiftus, who having no other fcale but that of 
 natural reafon, mounted very high towards heaven: for 
 he hath very many divine fayings, whereof I think it not 
 impertinent to infcrt here a few, firft he faith, That all 
 human fins are venial with the gods, impiety excepted. 
 2. That gwdnefs belongs to the gods, piety to men, rc- 
 vsnge and wickednsfs to the devils. 3. That the ii-ord 
 is iucens Dei filius, the bright fin of Cod, Sic. 
 
 From Egypt theoric.il knowledge came down the.-A7Ar, 
 and landed at fome cf the Clreek iflands ; where, betwixt 
 the 33d, 34th, and the 3$th century of years after the 
 creation, there flourifhed all thofe renowned philofophtrs 
 thut fway now in our fchools : Plato flew in the highefl 
 divine notions, for fome call him another Mcfes fpeaking 
 Athenian. Jn one of his letters to a friend of his, he 
 writes thus : " 'When I ferioufly falute thee, I begin my 
 " letter with one God; when otherwife, with many." 
 His fcholar Arijlotlc commended himftlf at his death to 
 the Being of Beings ; and Socrates may be faid to be a 
 martyr for the fiiit perfon of the. Trinity. Thefe great 
 fecretaries of nature, by ftudying the vaft volume of the 
 vorld, came by main rtrength of reafon to the know- 
 ledge of one Deity, w primus motor; and of his attri- 
 butes, they found by yndeniable conferences that he 
 vas infinite^ eternal* tilitfuifaiy 9 omnipotent^ and not 
 ciif-able oj any definition-, which made the philofopher 
 being commanded of his King to define dod, to afk the 
 recite of a day to meditate thereon, then two, then 
 f . ;r: at laff, he ingeniously confefied, that the more he 
 thought to dive into this myftery, the more he was in- 
 gi(lpkedin the fpeculati n of it : for the quiddity and ef- 
 fo ice cf the incomprehenfible Creator, cannot imprint 
 any formal conception upon the finite intellect of the 
 creature. To tins I might refer the altar which St. Paul 
 found among the ''recks with this infcription, rZ iy^s-f ei, 
 To the nniawatt God. 
 
 From the ^reek ifles philofbphy cnme to Italy, thence 
 to this \\eitern world among the Druids, whereof 
 
 thofe
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 543 
 
 thofe of this ifle were moft celebrous ; for, we read that 
 the Gauls (now the French} carae to Britany in great 
 numbers to be inftrutfed by them. The Romans were 
 mighty great zealots in their idolatry ; and their bed au- 
 thors affir.n, that they extended their monarchy fo far 
 and near, by a particular deference they had for their 
 gods, (which the Spaniard feems now to imitate) though 
 thofe gods of theirs were made of men, and of good fel- 
 lows at firft: befides, in the courfe of their conquefts, 
 they adopted any ftrange gods to the fociety of theirs, 
 and brought them folemnly to Rome ; and the reafon one 
 faith was, that they believed the more gods they had 
 the fafer they were, a few being not fufficient to con- 
 fer ve and protect fo great an empire. The Rowan Gen- 
 tiles had their altars and facrifices, their arch-flamins and 
 veftal nuns : and it feems the fame genius reigns ftill in 
 them ; for in the primitive church, that which the Pa- 
 gans mifliked moft in chriltianity was, that it had not the 
 face and form of religion, in regard it had no oblations, 
 altars, and images; which may be a good reafon vhy 
 the facrifice of the mafs and other ceremonies were firft 
 inftituted to allure the Gentiles fo chriftianity. But to 
 return a little further to our former fubjecl: in the condi- 
 tion that mankind (lands now, if the globe of the earth 
 were divided into thirty parts, it is thought that idola- 
 ters, (with horror I fpeak it) having as I faid before, 
 the one half of AJla and Africa, both for the inland coun- 
 try and maritime coafts, with four parts of five in dme- 
 rica, inhabit twenty parts of thofe regions that are al- 
 ready found out upon earth. Befides, in the opinion of 
 the knowing and mod inquifitive mathematicians, there 
 is toward the ^outhern clime as much land yet undifco- 
 vered, as may equal indimenfion the late new world, in 
 regard, as they hold there muft be of neceffity fuch a 
 portion of earth to ballance the centre on all fides ; and 
 it is more than probable, that the inhabitants there muft 
 be Pagans. Of all kinds of idolaters thofe are the hor- 
 rideft who adore the devil, whom they call tantara, who 
 appears often unto them, efpecially in a hurricane, though 
 
 he
 
 944 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 he be not vifible to others. In fome places they worfhip 
 both God and the devil : the one, that he may do them 
 good, the other, that he may do them no hurt : the firft 
 they call tantum, the other fquantum. It were pre- 
 fumption beyond that of Lucifer's or Adam's, for man to 
 Cenfure the juflice of the Creator in this particular, why 
 he makes daily fuch innumerable veflels of dishonour. 
 It is a wifer and fafer courfe far, to fit down in an humble 
 admiration, and cry out, Oh, the profound infcrutable 
 judgments of God ! his ways are part finding out; and 
 fo to acknowledge with the divine Philofopher, Quod cc- 
 culus vefpertilionis ad folem, idem eft omnis intellecJut 
 bumanus ad Deum : what the eye of a bat is to the fun, 
 the fame is all human underflanding to God wards. 
 
 Now to draw to a conclufion, touching the refpe<5Hve 
 largenefs of chriftianity and Mahomet anifm upon the 
 earth, 1 find the firft to exceed, taking the new world 
 with the old, confidering the fpacious plantations of the 
 Spaniard in America, the colonies the Englijh have 
 there in Virginia, New-England and Caribbee iflands, 
 with thofe of the French in Canada, and of the Hollan- 
 der in Raft-India : nor do I find that there is any region 
 purely Mahometans without intermixtures, as chriitianity 
 Bath many ; which makes me to be of a differing opinion 
 to that gentleman, who held, that chrifHanity added 
 little to the general religion of mankind. 
 
 Now touching the latitude of chrrftian faith in reference 
 to the differing profeffors therof, as in my former I fhew- 
 ed that trie Eaftern churches were more fpacious than 
 the Latin or Roman (excepting the two Indies') fo they 
 who have fallen off from her in. the Weftern parts are 
 not fo far inferior to her in Europe as fome would make 
 one believe ; which will appear, if we caft them in coun- 
 terbalance. 
 
 Among the Roman catholicks, there is the Emperor, 
 and in him the King of Hungary, the three kings of 
 Spain France, and Poland; Italy, the dukes of Savoy t 
 Bavaria, and Lorain, the three fpiritual electors, with 
 fome few more. Touching them who have renounced 
 
 all
 
 familiar LETTERS. 34$ 
 
 all obedience to ~Rome, there are the three kings of Great 
 Britain, Denmark, and Swetklatid, the Duke of Saxon, 
 Holftein, and Wittenberg : the Marquis of Brandenburg* 
 and Baden, the Landgrave of Heffe, moft of the Han- 
 Jiatic towns, which are eighty-eight in number, fome 
 wherof are equal to republics, the (almoft feven) provin- 
 ces the Hollander hath. The five cantons of Siui/s and 
 Geneva ; they of France who are reputed the fafth part 
 of the kingdom ; the Prince of Tranfylvania ; they of 
 Hungary, and of the large kingdom of Bohemia* of the 
 rnarquifates of Lufatia, Moravia, and the dukedom of 
 Silcjta ; as alfo they have the huge kingdom of Poland^ 
 wherein proteftants are diflus'd through all quarters in 
 great numbers, having in every province their public 
 churches and congregations orderly fevered and founded 
 with diocefies, whence are fent fome of the chiefeft and 
 moft principal men of worth, unto their general fynods : 
 for although there are divers forts ofthefe Polofiian^ra- 
 teftants, fome embracing the Waldenjian or the Bohemic, 
 others the Auguftane, and fome die Helvetian confefff 
 on; yet they all concur in opposition to the Roman 
 church, as alfo they of the Anglican, Scctican, Gallic^ 
 Argentine, Saxonick, Wirtenbergick, Palatine and Bel- 
 gick confeffions. They alfo harmonioufly fymbolize ia 
 the principal articles of faith, and which mainly concern 
 eternal falvation ; in the full fufficiency of the fcriptures, 
 divine efience, and unity of the everlafling Godhead, 
 the facred trinity of the three glorious perfons, the blef- 
 fed incarnation of Chrift, the omnipotent prefence of 
 God, the abfolute fupreme head of the church, Chrift 
 himfelf, juftification by faith through his merits, and 
 touching the nature of lively faith, repentance, regenera- 
 tion, and fanflification, the difference between the law 
 and the gofpel, touching free-will, fin, and good works, 
 the facraments, their number, ufe and efficacy, the marks 
 of the church, the refurreclion and flate of fouls de- 
 ceafed. It may feem a rambling wild fpeech at firft 
 view, of one who faid, that to make one a complete chri- 
 ftian, he mail have the * works of a papift, the words 
 
 of
 
 246 Familiar LETTERS. 
 
 * of a puritan, and the faith of a proteftant ;* yet this 
 vim if well expounded may bear a good fenfe, v hich 
 were unfitting for me to give, you being better able to 
 put a glofs upon it yourfelf. 
 
 Thus learned Sir, have I exercifed my pen, according 
 to my fmall proportion of knowledge, and convention 
 with books, men, and maps, to obey your defire, though 
 in comparifon of your fpacious literature, I have held all 
 this while but a candle to the fun, yet by the light of 
 this fmall candle you may fee how ready I am to (hew 
 myfelf 
 
 Tour very humble and affectionate fervitor, 
 
 Weftminfter, Aug. 25. 1635. JH, 
 
 LETTER XLIX. 
 To Sir T HO. HAWK, Knight. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 Was invited yefte might to a folemn fapper by B J. 
 where you were deeply remembered, there was good 
 company, excellent cheer, choice wines, and jovial wel- 
 -come: one thing interveened, which almoft fpoiled the 
 Telifh of the reft, that B. began to engrofs all the dif- 
 courfe, to vapour extremely of himfelf, and by villifying 
 others to magnify his own mufe. T. C. buzzed me in 
 the ear, that though Ben had barrelled up a great deal 
 of knowledge, yet it feems he had not read the ethics ; 
 which among other precepts of morality forbid felf-com- 
 mendation, declaring it to be an ill-favoured folecifm hi 
 in good manners. It made me think upon the lady, (not 
 Tery young) who having a good while given her gnerts 
 re u entertainment, a capon being brought upon the 
 table, inftead of a fpoon (he took a mouthful of claret 
 and fpouted it into the poop of the hollow bird : fuch 
 an accident happened in this entertainment, you know 
 
 I
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 347 
 
 Proprlo latis fordet in ore : Be a mail's breath never fo 
 fweet, yet it makes one's praifc ftink, if he makes his 
 own mouth the coaduit-pipe of it. But for my part, I 
 am content to difpenfe with the Roman infirmity of B. 
 now that time hath fnowed upon his pericranium. You 
 know Ovid and (your) Horace were lubjeft to his hu- 
 mour, the firft burtting out into 
 
 Jamq; exegi quod nee Jovis ira nee ignis, &c. 
 The other into, 
 
 Exegi monumentum are perennlus, &c. 
 
 As alfo Cicero, while he forced himfelf into this exa- 
 meter, fortunatum natum, me confute, Poniam! there 
 is another reafon that excufeth B. \vhich is, that if one 
 be allowed to love the natural iflue of his body, why not 
 that of the brain, which is of a fpiritual and more noble 
 extraction ? I preferve your manufcripts fafe for you till 
 you return to London : what news the times afford, this 
 bearer will impart unto you. So, I am, Sir, 
 
 Tour very humble and mojl faithful fe rvftor, 
 Weftminflcr, slpril $. 1636. J. H. 
 
 LETTER L. 
 
 To my Coufin Mr. J. P. at Gravefend. 
 
 Cou s IN, 
 
 GO D fend you a good paflage to Holland, and the 
 world to your mind when you are there. Now, 
 that you intend to trail a pike, and make profeffion of 
 arms, let me give you this caveat, that nothing mud be 
 more precious to you than your reputation. As 1 know 
 you have not a fpirit to receive wrong, fo you muft be 
 careful not to offer any, for the one is as bafe as the 
 other: your pulfe will be quickly felt, and trial made 
 what mettle you are nude of after your coming. If you
 
 34$ Familiar LETTERS. TART IT. 
 
 get but once handfomely off, you arc made ever after, 
 for you will be free from all baffles and affronts. He 
 that hath once got the name of early rljing may ly till 
 noon-; therefore be wondrous warry of your firft com- 
 portments, get once a good name, and be very tender of 
 it afterwards, for it is like Venice glafs, quickly cracked, 
 never to be mended, patched It may be. To this purpofe 
 take along with you this fable : it happened that fire, 
 water, and fame, went to travel together, (as you ars 
 going now) they confulted, that if they loft one another, 
 how they might be retrieved and meet again: fire faid, 
 where you fee fmoke, there you (hall find me: water 
 faid, where you fee marm and moorifh low ground, there 
 you (hall find me : but fame faid, take heed you do not 
 lo'fe me, for if you do, you will run a great hazard never 
 to meet me again, there is no retrieving of me. 
 
 It imports you alfo to conform yourfclf to your com- 
 manders, and fo you may more confidently demand obe- 
 dience, when you come to command yourfelf^ as I doubt 
 not but you may do in a fmall time. The Hcgen Mo~ 
 gen are very exaft in their polemical government, their 
 pay is fure, though fmall, four millings a week being too 
 little a hire, as one faid, to kill men. At your return, 
 I hope you will give a better account of your doings than 
 he who being aflced what exploits he had done in the 
 Lnu-Cwntries, ,anfwered, that he had cut off a Spam- 
 ant's legs : reply being made/ that that was no great 
 matter, it had been fomething if he had cut off his head; 
 O, faid he, you mu'l confider his head was off before. 
 Excufe me that I take my leave of you fo pleafantly, but 
 I know you will tiike any thing in good part from him 
 Avho is fo much 
 
 Tour truly ajfiflionate Coi<Jin t 
 
 Wejltainjter, Aug. 3. 1634. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 349 
 
 LETTER LI. 
 To the Lord C. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 THERE are two fayings which are fathered upon 
 Secretary Walfingkam^ and Secretary Cecil, a pair 
 of the beft weighed tratefmen this ifland hath bred : one 
 was ufed to fay at the council -table, ' My lords, flay a 
 ' little, and we (hall make an end the fooner:' the other 
 would oft-times fpeak of himfelf, ' It (hall never be faid 
 ' of me, that I will defer till to-morrow what I can do 
 to-day.' At firrt view thefe fayings feem to clam 
 with one another, and to be diametrically oppofite, but 
 being rightly underftood, they may very well be recon- 
 ciled. Touching the firft, it is true, that hafte and cho- 
 ler are enemies to all great actions : for, as it is a prin- 
 .ciple in chymiftry, that omni fcftinatio eft a diabolo ; all 
 hafte comes from hell : fo in the confutations, contri- 
 vings, and conduct of any bufinefs of ftate, all rafhnefs 
 and precipitation comes from an ill fpirit. There cannot 
 be a better pattern for a grave and confederate way of 
 deliberation than the antient courfe of our high-court of 
 parliament, who, when a law is to be made which con- 
 cerns the welfare of fo many thoufands of men, after a 
 mature debate and long dilcuffion of the point before- 
 hand, caufe the bill to be read folemnly three times in 
 the houfe before it be tranfmitted to the lords; and 
 there alfo, it is fo many times canvafled, and then pre- 
 fented to the Prince. That which muft ftand for law, 
 mud be long flood upon, becaufe it impofeth an universal 
 obedience, and is like to be everlafling, according to the 
 Ciceronian maxim, deliberandum eft din quod flat uendurtt 
 eft feme I. Such a kind of cuntation, advifednefs, and 
 procraflination is allowable alfo in all councils of irate 
 and war : for the day following may be able commonly to 
 be mafter to the day pafled, fuch a world of contingen- 
 cies human adlions are fubjedt unto. Yet, under favour, 
 G g J
 
 35<3 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 I believe this firft faying to be meant of matters while 
 they are in agitation, and upon the anvil ; but when they 
 have received form and are refolved upon, I believe then, 
 nothing is fo advantageous as fpecd. And at this, I am 
 of opinion, the fecond faying aims; for when the 
 weights that ufe to hang to all great bufinefTes are taken 
 away, 'it is good then to put wings unto them, and to 
 take the ball before the bound, for expedition is the life 
 of action ; otherwife, time may mew his bald occiput, 
 and make his pofteriors at them in derKion. Among o- 
 ther nations, the Spaniard is obferved to have much 
 phlegm, and to be raofl dilatory in his proceedings; yet 
 they who have pried narrowly into the fequel and fuccefs 
 of his actions, do find that this gravity, refervednefs and 
 tergiverfations of his, have tifrned rather to his prejudice 
 than advantage, take one with another. The two laft 
 matrimonial treaties we had with him continued long, 
 the Crft, betwixt Ferdinand and Henry VII. for Catha- 
 rine of Arragon for feven years; that betwixt King 
 James and the now Philip IV. for Mary of Aujlria, 
 lifted eleven years, (and feven and eleven is eighteen) ; 
 the firft took effeft for Prince Arthur, the latter mifcar- 
 ried for Prince Charles ; and the Spaniard may thank 
 himfclf and his own flow pace for it, for had he mended 
 his pace to perfect the work, I believe his monarchy had 
 not received fo many ill-favoured (hocks fmcc. The 
 late revolt of Port ugal was forefeen and might have been 
 prevented, if the Spaniard had not been too flow in his 
 purpofe to have font the Duke of Braganza out of the 
 way upon fome employment as was projected. 
 
 Now will I reconcile the former fayings of thefe two 
 renowned fecrctaries, with the gallant comparifon of 
 Charles the Emperor, (and he was of a more temperate 
 -mould than a Spaniard, being a Fleming born) he was 
 ufcd to fay, that wliile any great bufmefs of ftate was 
 yet in confutation, we mould obferve the motion of Sa- 
 turn, which is plumbeous, long, and heavy ; but when it 
 is abfolutely refolved upon, then we fliould obferve the 
 cuotion tf Mercury t the nimblcftof ail the planets: Ubi
 
 Familiar LETTER?. gjl 
 
 cfefitiit Saturnus, ibi incipiat Mercurius. Whercunto, I 
 will add, that we fhould imitate the mulberry, wlio of all 
 trees caftsout her buds lateft, for me doth it not till all 
 the cold weather be paflcd, and then me is lure they 
 cannot be nipped, but then me (hoots them all out * in 
 one night ; fo though me be one way the floweft, me is 
 another way the nimblefr. of all trees. 
 
 Thus have I obeyed your Lordfhirr's command in ex- 
 pounding the fenfe of thtfe two fayings, according to my- 
 mean apprehenfion ; but this expofition relates only to 
 public affairs, and political negotiations, wherein your 
 Lordfhip is fo excellently verfed. I (hall moll willingly 
 4 * conform to any other inflruclions of your Lordfhip's, and; 
 efteem them always as favours, while I am 
 
 Weftminjler, Sept. 5. 1633. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LIT. 
 To Sir J. BROWK, Knight. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 ONE would think that the utter falling offoffaf,?- 
 lonia and Portugal in fo fhort a compafs of time 
 fhould much leflen the Spaniard) the people of both, 
 thefe kingdoms being from (ubjefts become enemies a- 
 gainft him, and in adtual hoftility : without doubt it hath. 
 done fo, yet not fo much as the world imagines. It is 
 true, in point of regal power, and divers brave fubordi- 
 nate commands for his fervants, he is a great deal leflcncd 
 thereby; but though he be lefs powerful, he is not a 
 penny poorer thereby, for there comes not a farthing lefs 
 every year into his exchequer, in regard that thofc coun- 
 tries were rather a charge than benefit unto him, all their 
 revenue being drunk up in penfions, and payment of of- 
 ficers and garrifons : for, if the King of iS 1 /**//';; Imd loll all 
 except the Weft-Indies t and all Sf>aih< except Cafl He \\er- 
 C g 2 fclf, 
 
 * Quodumcum ftrepitu. PUN.
 
 3$2 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 felf, it would little diminiih his treafury. Touching Ca- 
 talonia and Portugal, efpecially the latter, it is true, 
 they were mighty members of the Cafiilian Monarchy ; 
 but, I believe they will fooner want Caftile, than Cajtile 
 them becaufe flic filled them with treafure : now that Bar- 
 celona and Lisbon hath fhaken hands with Sevil, I do not 
 think that either of them hath the tithe of that treafure 
 they had before, in regard the one was the fcale whereby 
 the King of Spain fent his money to Italy ; the other, 
 becaufe all her Eaft-lndia commodities were bartered com- 
 monly in Andaluzia and elfewhere for bullion. Catalonia 
 i- fed with money from France, but for Portugal, (he hath 
 little or none ; therefore I do not fee how flic could fup 
 port a war long to any purpofc if Cajiile were quiet, un- 
 lefs foldiers would be contented to take cloves and pep- 
 per-corns for pa tt aeons and pijloles. You know money 
 is the finew and foul of war. This makes me think on 
 that blunt anfwer which Capt. Talbot returned Henry 
 VIII. from Calais, who having received fpecial command 
 from the King to erect a new fort at the water-gate, and 
 to fee the town well fortified, fent him word, that he 
 co;tld neither fortify nor fftify without money. There 
 is no news at all fHrring here now, and I am of the Italian's 
 mind that faid, nulla nuova buona nuova ; no news good 
 news. But it were great news to fee you here, whence 
 you have been aa alien fo long to 
 
 Tour moft affeftionate friend, 
 Holkorn, June 3. 1640. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LIII. 
 To Captain C. PRICE. 
 
 Cous IN, 
 
 YOU have put me upon fuch an odd intricate piece of 
 buiinefs, that I think there was never the like of 
 it. I am more puzzled and entangled with it than oft- 
 times
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 353 
 
 times I ufe to be with ray bandftrings when I go haftily 
 to bed, and want fuch a fair female hand as you have to 
 untie them. I muft impute all this to the peevifli humour 
 of the people I dealt withal. I find it true now, that 
 one of the greateft tortures that can be in the negotiation 
 of the world is, to have to do with perverfe irrational 
 half-witted men, and to be worded to death by non- 
 fenfe ; befides, as much brain as they have is as full of 
 fcruples, as a bur is of prickles ; which is a quality inci- 
 dent to all thofe that have their heads lightly ballafted, 
 for they are like buoys in a barred port, waving perpetu- 
 ally up and down. The father is fcrupulous of the fon, 
 ^the fon of the filters, and all three of me, to whofe a- 
 ward they referred the bufinefs three feveral times. It 
 is as hard a talk to reconcile the fanes of St. Sepulcker's 
 fteeple, which never look all four upon one point of the 
 heavens, as to reduce them to any conformity of reafon. 
 I never remember to have met with father and children, 
 or children among themfelves, of a more differing genius 
 and contrariety of humours ; infomuch that there can- 
 not be a more pregnant inftance to prove that human 
 fouls come not ex traduce, and by feminal produftion 
 from the parents. For my part, I intend to fpend my 
 breath no longer upon them, but to wafli my hands 
 quite of the bufinefs ; and fo I would wifh you to do, un- 
 lefs you love to walk in a labyrinth -of briers. So expect- 
 ing with impatience your return to London, I reft- 
 
 Tour 77/5/7 faithful fervitor, 
 Weftifiitifter, April 27 '. 1632. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LIV. 
 To Sir J. B, 
 
 Noble Sir, 
 
 THAT odd opinion the Jew and Turk have of wo* 
 men, that they are of an inferior creation to man, 
 and therefore exclude them, the one from theic Cfl ' 
 
 nagogues,
 
 35:4 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 nagogucs, the other from their mofques, is in my judg- 
 ment not only partial, but profane : for the image of 
 the Creator fhines as clearly in the one, as in the other ; 
 and I believe, there are as many female faints in heaven 
 as male, unlefs you could make me adhere to the opi- 
 nion that women muft be all mafculine before they be 
 capable to be made angels of. Add hereunto, that 
 there went better and more refined fluff to the creation 
 of woman than man. It is true, it was a weak part in 
 Eve to yield to the feducement of Satan ; but it was a 
 weaker thing in Adam to fufTer himfelf to be tempted by 
 Eve, being the weaker veflel. 
 
 The antient philofophers had a better opinion of that 
 fex, for they afcribed all fcitnces to the mufes, all fweet- 
 nefs and morality to the graces, and prophetic infpirati- 
 ons to the Sybils. In my fiiiall revolving of authors, I 
 find as high examples of virtue in women as in men ; I 
 could produce here a whole regiment of them, but that 
 a letter is too narrow afield to mufter them in. I muft 
 confefs, there are alfo counter inftances of this kind : if 
 Queen Zenobia was fuch a precife pattern of continency, 
 that after the a<5t of conception, (he would know her huf- 
 band no more all the time of her pregnancy till me had 
 b-jen delivered : there is another example of a Roman 
 Jjjnpreis, that when me found the veflel fraughted, would 
 take in all pafTengers ; when the barn was full any one 
 might threm in the haggard, but not till then, for fear the 
 right father mould be difcovered by the countenance of 
 the child. Bat what need I go fo far off, to rake the 
 ames of the dead ? There are living examples enough 
 pro and con of both fexes ; yet woman being (as I faid 
 before) the weaker veflel, her failings are more venial 
 than thofe of man ; though man indeed being more con- 
 verfant with the world, and meeting more opportunities 
 abroad (and opportunity is the greateft bawd) of falling 
 into infirmities, as he follows his worldly negotiations, 
 may on the other fide be judged the more excufeable. 
 
 But you are fitter than I to difcourfe of this fubjccl, 
 being better vjerfed in the theory of women, having had 
 
 a
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 355 
 
 a moft virtuous Lady of your own before, and being now 
 linked to another. I wifti a thoufand benedictions may 
 
 fall upon this your fecond choice, and that tarn bona. 
 
 fit (juam bona prima fuit . This option (hall be my con- 
 clulion for the prefent, whereunto I add, that I am in 
 no vulgar degree of affection 
 
 Tour mqft humble and faithful fervitor, 
 Weftminfter, Aug. j. 1632. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LV. 
 
 To Mr. P. W. 
 
 S IK, 
 
 r ^ HERE are two things which'add moft to the merit 
 JL ofcourtefies, viz. chearfulnefszn&fpeed, and the 
 contraries of thefe lefien the value of them ; that which 
 hangs long betwixt the fingers, and is done with difficul- 
 ty and a fullen fupercilious look, makes the obligation of 
 the receivers nothing fo ftrong, or the memory of the 
 kindnefs half fo grateful. The beft thing the gods them- 
 felves liked of in the entertainments they received of 
 thefe poor wretches Baucis and Philemon* was open 
 hearty looks. 
 
 Super omnia vultus, 
 
 Acce/ere boni. 
 
 A clear unclouded countenance makes a cottage ap- 
 pear like a caftle in point of hofpitality ; but a beetle- 
 browed fallen face makes a palace as fmoaky as an IriJJj 
 hut. There is a mode in giving entertainment, and do- 
 ing any courtefy elfe, which trebly binds the receiver 
 to an acknowledgment, and makes the remembrance of 
 it more acceptable. I have known two lord high treafur- 
 ers of England of quite contrary humours, one fuccef- 
 fivelyj after the other ; the one, though he did the fuitors 
 bufrnefs, yet he went murmuring ; the other, though 
 
 he
 
 3 j 6 Familiar LETTERS. PA RT II. 
 
 he did it not, was ufed to difmifs the party with fome 
 fatisfaction. It is true, money is welcome though it be 
 in a dirty clout, but it is far more acceptable if it come 
 in a clean handkerchief. 
 
 Sir, you may fit in the chair, and read lectures of mo- 
 rality to all mankind in this point, you have fuch a dex- 
 terous difcreet way to handle fuitors in that troublefomc 
 office of yours ; wherein as you have already purchafed 
 much, I wifli you all increafe of honour and happinefs. 
 Your humble and obliged fervitor, 
 
 J. H. 
 
 LETTER LVI. 
 to Mr, F. COLL. at Naples.. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 IT is confefled I have offended by my over-long filence, 
 and abufed our maiden friendfhip : I appear before 
 you now in this white meet to do penance : I pray in 
 your next to me, fend an abfolution. Abfolutions, they 
 fay, are as cheap in that town as courtefans, whereof it 
 was faid there were 20,000 on the common lift, when 
 I was there ; at which time I remember one told me a 
 tale of a Calabrian who had buggered a goat ; and ha- 
 ving bought an abfolution of his confefTor, he was afked 
 by a friend what it coft him ; he anfwered, I procured 
 it for four pifloles, and for the other odd one, I think I 
 might have had a difpenfation to have married the bcaft. 
 I thank you for the exacl: relation you fent me of the 
 fearful earthquakes and fires which happened lately in 
 that country, and particularly about Vefuvhis. It feems 
 the huge giant, who the poets fay, was hurled under 
 the vaft mountain by the gods for thinking to fcak hea- 
 ven, had a mind to turn from one fide to the other, 
 which he ufeth to do at the revolution of every hundred 
 years j and Airring his body by that aclion, he was taken 
 
 with
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 357 
 
 with a fit of the cough, which made the hill make, and 
 belch out fire in this hideous manner. But to repay you 
 in the like coin, they fend us ftranger news from Lisbon ; 
 for they write of a fpick and fpan-new ifland, that hath 
 peeped up out of the Atalantick fea, near the Terceras y 
 which never appeared before fince the creation, and be- 
 gins to be peopled already : methinks the King of Spain 
 needs no more countries, he hath too many already, un- 
 lefs they were better united. All your friends here are 
 well, and mind you often in town and country, as doth 
 
 Tour true conftant fervilor, 
 Wejlminjler, April 7. 1629. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LVII. 
 To Mr. G. C. at Dublin. 
 
 S I R, 
 
 TH E news of this week have been like the waves 
 of that boiftcrous fea, through which this letter 
 is to pafs over to you. Divers reports for peace have 
 fwoln high for the time, but they fuddenly fell low and 
 flat again. Our relations here, are like a peal of bells in 
 windy bluftering weather ; fometimes the found is ftrong 
 on this fide, fometimes on that fide of the fteeple ; fo 
 our relations found diverfly, as the air of affeclion carries 
 them ; and fometimes in a whole volley of news, we fhall 
 not find one true report. 
 
 There was in a Dunkirk fhip, taken fome months ago, 
 hard by Arundel caftle, among other things, a large 
 picture feized upon, and carried to Wejlminjier-hall, aud 
 put in the Star-chamber to be publickly feen : it was the 
 legend of Conanus a Britijh Prince in the time of G ra- 
 tian the Emperor, who having married Urfu/a, the 
 King of Cornwall's daughter, was embarked with 11,000 
 virgins for Britany in France to colonize that part with 
 chriftians ; but being by diftrefs of weather beaten upon 
 
 the
 
 Familiar LETTERS. P ART IL 
 
 the' fnfidH b T fe u hCy W UId " Ot y icld to ** M of 
 C 
 
 e nH u 
 
 flam ti K A C CXample f Ur f** ll *y were all 
 
 ands ^ J CS W ? e Carried t0 K wh "e there 
 
 ds to this ; day a lately church built for them. This 
 
 tafc <7 f ?" ^ J yet ^common people her 
 -e Lonaauj for our King, and Urfula for the Queen 
 and the Bi/hop which ftaSds hard by to be thVt e' 
 " a r CC rdingly ' ^withstanding th'a 
 ted ' hath 
 
 after he nMn,-' a anas on fc 
 after the old fafluon, that the coronets on their heads 
 
 referable thofe of dukes and earls : as alfo, that there are 
 rays about then, which never ufe to be applied to vng 
 perfons, with divers other incongruities : yet it cannol 
 be beaten out of the belief of tlfouf and s here, buHEa 
 n was mtended to reprefent our King and 
 makes me conclude with this interjelion 
 
 >c ignorance of the common people ! 
 
 Your faithful friend at command, 
 
 Wejlnrinjie 
 
 LETTER LVIII. 
 
 To the Right honourable the Lord R. 
 
 Mj< LORD, 
 
 SURE there is fome angry planet hath lowred lon^ 
 upon the catholic King ; and though one of hit 
 tit es to Pagan princes be, that he wears the fun for his 
 helmet, becaufe it never fcts upon all his dominions, in 
 .1 lome part of them lies on the other fide of the he- 
 mnphere among the Antipodes, yet methinks that neither 
 that great ftar, or any of the reft are now propitious un- 
 to him : they caft, it feems, more benign influences up- 
 he flower-de-luce, which thrives wonderfully ; but 
 how long thefe favourable afpecls will lafr, I will not pre- 
 lume to judge. This, among divers others of lite, hath 
 been a fatal year to the faid King ; for Wtftwaid he 
 tath Joft Dunkirk. Dunkirk, which was the terror of 
 
 this
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 3^ 
 
 this part of the world, the fcourge of the occidental feas, 
 whofe name was grown to be a bugbear for fo many 
 years, hath now changed her mafter, and thrown awav 
 the ragged-Jtaff; doubtlefs a great exploit it was to take 
 this town : but whether this be advantageous to Holland 
 (as I am fure it is not to England*} time will mew. It 
 is more than probable that it may make him carelefs at fea 
 and in the building and arming of his mips, having now 
 no enemy near him; befides, I believe it cannot much 
 benefit Hans, to have the French fo contiguous to him: 
 the old faying was, Jyez le Francois pour ton amy, 
 nonpas pour tonvoifon : have the Frenchman for thy 
 Tnend, not for thy neighbour. 
 
 Touching England, I believe thefe diftratfions of 
 ours have been one of the greateft advantages that could 
 befall Ftan.ce ; and they happened in the mott favourable 
 conjuncture of time that might be, elfe I believe he would 
 never have as much as attempted Dunkirk : for Enoland 
 in true reafon of ftate, had reafon to prevent nothing 
 more, in regard no one place could have added more to 
 the naval power of France : this will make his fails fwcll 
 bigger, and I fear make him claim in time as much rega- 
 lity in thefe narrow feas as England herfelf. 
 
 In Italy the Spaniard hath alfo had ill fuccefTes at 
 Piomiino^Porto-longone: befides, they write that 
 
 .e hath loft dPrete, 6 il Medico, the Prieft and the 
 Phyhcian ; to wit, the Pope, and the Duke of Florence, 
 (the houfe of Medici} who appear rather for the French 
 tnan tor him. 
 
 Add to thefe differs, that he hath loft within the 
 revolution of the fame year the Prince of Spain his unic- 
 fon, m the very flower of his age, being but feventeen 
 years old Thefe with the falling off of Catalonia and 
 I ortugal, with the death of his Queen not above forty 
 are heavy lofTes to the catholic King, and muft needs 
 much infeeble the great bulk of his monarchy, falling 
 
 i fo fhort a compafs of time, one upon the neck of ano- 
 ther ; and we arc not to enter into the fecret counfeJs 
 of God almighty for a reafon. I have read it was the 
 
 fenfhality
 
 360 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 fenfuality of the flefh that drove the Kings out of Rome, 
 die French out of Sicily, and brought the Moors into 
 Spain, where they kept firm footing above 700 years. 
 I could tell you how not long before her death, the late 
 Queen of Spain took off one of her chapines and clowt- 
 cdO/ivares about the noddle with it, becaufe he had ac- 
 companied the King to a Lady of pleafure ; telling him, 
 that he mould know, me was fifter to a King of France, 
 as well as wife to a King of Spain. For my part, France 
 and Spain is all one to me in point of affection ; I am one 
 of thofe indifferent men that would have the fcale of power 
 in Europe kept even : I am alib a philerenus, a lover 
 of peace, and I could wifh the French were more inclin- 
 able to it, now that the common enemy hath invaded 
 the territories of St. Mark. Nor can I but admire, that 
 at the fame time the French mould a/Tail Italy at one fide, 
 when the Turk was doing it on the other. But had that 
 great naval power of chriftians, which were this fummer 
 upon the coafts ofTufcany, gone againft the Mahometan 
 fleet, which was the fame time fetting upon Candy, they 
 might in all likelihood have atchieved a glorious exploit, 
 and driven the Turk into the Hellefpont. Nor is poor 
 chriftendom torn thus in pieces by the German, Spaniard, 
 French, and Swedes, but our three kingdoms have alfb 
 moft pitifully fcratched her face, wafted her fpirits, and 
 let out fcrne of her illuftrious blood, by our late horrid 
 diftraftions ; whereby it may be inferred, that the Mufti 
 and the Pope feem to thrive in their devotion one way, 
 .1 chief part of the prayers of the one being, that dif- 
 cord ftiould (till continue betwixt chriftian princes ; of 
 the other, that divifion mould dill increafe among die 
 proteftants. Thj^s poor ifland is a woful example there- 
 of. 
 
 I hear the peace betwixt Spain and Holland is ab- 
 folutely concluded by the plenipotentiary minifters at 
 Munjh-r, who have beat their heads fo many years about 
 it : but they write that the French and Swede do mainly 
 endeavour, and fet all the wheels of policy a going to 
 puzzle and prevent it If it take effect, I do not fee 
 
 how
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 3$ I 
 
 how the Hollander in common honefty can ev-ade it. 
 J hope it will conduce much to an univerfal peace ; which 
 God grant, for war is * fire jlrutt in the devil's tinder- 
 box. No more now, but that I am, my Lord, 
 Tour mo ft bumble fervant t 
 Fleet, Dtc. i. 1643. J. H, 
 
 LETTER LVIII. 
 To Mr. S. B. Merchant, at his Houfe in the Old- Jewry. 
 
 5 I R, 
 
 I Return you thofe two famous fpeeches of the late Queen 
 Elizabeth, with the addition of another from Baudius 
 at an embafTy here from Holland. It is with languages 
 as it is with liquors, u. hich by transfufion ufe to take wind 
 from one vefTel to another ; fo, things translated into ano- 
 ther tongue, lole of their primitive vigour and ftrength, 
 unlefs a paraphraflica! vcrfion be permitted ; and then, 
 the traduft may exceed the original, not otherwife, 
 though the verfion be never fo punctual, efpecially in thefe 
 orations which are framed with fuch art, that like i- 
 truvitis's palace, there is no place left to add one ftone 
 more without defaceing, or to take any out without ha- 
 zard of deftroying the whole fabric. 
 
 Certainly me was a Princefs of rare endowments for 
 learning and languages : {he was blefied with a long life, 
 and triumphant reign, attended with various forts of ad- 
 mirable fuccefies, which will be taken for fbme romance 
 a thoufand winters hence, if the world laft fo long. She 
 freed the Scot from the French, and gave her fucceflbr 
 a royal penfion to maintain his court : (he helped to fettle 
 the crown on Henry the Greafs head : (he gave eflence 
 to the State of Holland: flie civil zed Ireland, and fup- 
 prcfTed divers infurredions there : (he preferved the do- 
 minion of the narrow feas in greater glory than ever : 
 {he maintained open war againft Spain, when Spain was 
 H h in
 
 3 62 . Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 in herhighefl flourifh, for divers years together ; yet, fhe 
 left a mighty treafure behind ; which (hews that fhe was a 
 notable good houfewife. Yet, I have read divers cenfures 
 of her abroad ; that fhe was ingrateful to her brother of 
 Spain, who had been the chiefeft inftrument under God 
 to preferve her from the block, and had left her all 
 Queen Mar/s Jewels without diminution ; accusing her, 
 that afterwards fhe fliould firft infringe the peace with 
 him, by intercepting his treafure in the narrow feas, by 
 fuffering her Drake to fwim to his Indies, and rob him 
 there ; by fomenting and fupporting his Belgic fubjecls 
 againit him then, when he had an AmbafTador rcfident at 
 her court. But this was the cenfure of a Spanijb author ; 
 and, Spain had little reafon to fpeak well of her. The 
 French handle her worfe, by terming her, among other 
 <;ontumlies, l^Haquenee de fes propres I'aJ/aux. 
 
 Sir, I mull much value the frequent refpects you have 
 fhewn me, and am very covetous of the improvement of 
 this acquaintance : for, I do not remember at home or a- 
 broad to have feen in the perfon of any, a gentleman and 
 a merchant fo equally met, as in you ; which makes me 
 ftylc myfelf 
 
 Your inoft affectionate friend to ferve you, 
 
 Fleet, May 3. 1645. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LIX. 
 To my honourable Friend, Sir S. C. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Was upon point of going abroad to (leal a folitary 
 .walk, when yours of the 1 2th current came to hand, 
 the high refearches and choice abftradted notions I found 
 therein, feemed to heighten my fpirits, and make my 
 fancy fitter for my intended retirement and meditation. 
 Add hereunto, that the countenance of the weather invit- 
 ed me : for it was a (till evening, it was alfo a clear open 
 
 fkv,
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 363 
 
 fky, not a fpeck or the lead wrinkle appeared in the 
 whole face of heaven, it was fuch a pure deep azure all 
 the hemifphere over, that I wondered what was become 
 of the three regions of the air with their meteors. So 
 having got into a clofe field, I caft my face upwards, and 
 fell to confider what a rare prerogative the optic virtue 
 of the eye hath, much more the intuitive virtue of the 
 thought, that the one in a moment can reach heaven, 
 and die other go beyond it: therefore, fure that Philo- 
 fopher was but a kind of frantic fool, that would have 
 plucked out both his eyes becaufe they were a hindrance 
 to his fpeculations. Moreover, I -began to contemplate, 
 as I was in this pofture, the vaft magnitude of the uni- 
 vcrfe, and what proportion this poor globe of earth might 
 bear with it: for, if thofe numberlefs bodies which (lick 
 in the vaft roof of heaven, though they appear tons but 
 as fpangles, be fome of them thoufands of times bigger 
 than the earth, take the fea with it to boot, for they 
 both make but one fphere, fnrely the aftronomers 1-ad 
 reafon to term this fphere an invifible point, and a thing 
 of no dimenfion at all, being compared to the whole 
 world. I fell then to think, that at the fecond general 
 deftru&ion, it is no more for God almighty to fire this 
 earth, than 'for us to blow up one fmall fquib, or rather 
 one fmall grain of gunpowder. As I was mufing thus, I 
 fpied a fwarm of gnats waving up and down the air 
 about me ; which I knew to be part of the univerfe as 
 well as I : and methought, it was a ftrange opinion of our 
 Ariftotle to hold, that the lead of thofe "fmall infected 
 ephemerans fhould be more noble than the fun, becaufe 
 it had a fenfitive foul in it. I fell to think, that the 
 fame proportion which thofe animalillios bore withnne ia 
 point of bignefs, the fame I held with thofe glorious fpi- 
 rits which are near the throne of the Almighty. What 
 then (hould we think of the magnitude of the Creator 
 himfelf ? Doubtlefs, it is beyond the reach of any human 
 imagination to conceive it. In my private devotions, I 
 prefume to compare him to a great mountain of light, 
 and my foul feems to difcern fome glorious form therein ; 
 H h 2 but
 
 ?64 Familiar LETTERS. PART IT. 
 
 but fuddenly as fhc would fix her eyes upon the object, 
 her fight is prcfently dazled and difgregated with the rc- 
 fulgcncy and corufcations thereof. 
 
 Walking a little further, I fpied a young boifterous 
 bull breaking over hedge and ditch to a herd of kine in 
 the next palture ; which made me think, that if that 
 fierce flrong animal, with others of that kind knew their 
 own Itrength, thty would never fufFer man to be their 
 mailer. Then looking upon them quietly grazing up and 
 down, I fell to confider that the flefh that is daily difhed 
 upon our tables is but conceded grafs, which is recarni- 
 fied in our ftomachs, and tranfmutcd to another flefh. I 
 fell alfo to think what advantage thofe innocent animals 
 lud of man, who, as foon as nature cart them into the 
 world, f;nd their meat drcfTed, the cloth laid, and the 
 table covered: they find their drink brewed, and the 
 buttery open, their beds made, and their clothes ready. 
 And though man hath the faculty of reafon to make him 
 a compenfation for the want of thofe advantages, yet 
 this reafon brings with it a thoufand perturbations of 
 mind, and perplexities of fpirit, gripping cares, and an- 
 gulfhes of thought, which thofe harmlefs filly creatures 
 were exempted from. Going on, I came to repofe my- 
 felf upon the trunk of a tree, and I fell to confider fur- 
 ther what advantage that dull vegetable had of thofe 
 feeding animals, as not to be fa troublefome and behold- 
 ing to nature, nor to be fubject to flawing, to difeafes, 
 to the inclemency of the weather, and to be far Jonger 
 lived. Then I fpied a great ftone, and fitting a while 
 upon it, I fell to weigh in my thoughts that that ftonc 
 was in a happier condition in fome refpects, than cither 
 thole fenfitive creatures or vegetables 1 faw before, in re- 
 gard that that {tone which propagates by affimilr.tion, as 
 the philofophers fay, needed neither grafs nor hay, or 
 any aliment for rdtoration of nature, nor water to re- 
 frefli its roots, or the heat of the fun to attract the moi- 
 fturc upwards, to increafe growth, as the other did. As 
 I direfted my path homeward, I fpied a kite foaring 
 high in the air, and gently gliding up and down the clear 
 
 region
 
 Familiar LETTERS, 365- 
 
 region fo far above my head, I fell to envy the bird ex- 
 tremely, and repine at his happinefs, that he fhould have 
 a privilege to mate a nearer approach to heaven than I. 
 
 Kxcufe me that I trouble you thus with thefe ram- 
 bling meditations, they are to correfpond with you in 
 fome part for thofe accurate fancies of yours you lately 
 fent me. So, I reft 
 
 Tour int'tre and true fervitor, 
 
 Holborn, March 17. 1639. J- H- 
 
 LETTER LX. 
 
 To the Right Honourable the Lord CLIFF. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 SINCE among other pafTages of entertainment we 
 had lately at the Italian ordinary, (where your 
 Lordfhip was pleafed to honour us with your prefence) 
 there happened a large difcourfe df wines, and of other 
 drinks that were ufed by feveral nations of the earth, 
 and that your Lordihip defired me to deliver what I ob- 
 Jerved therein abroad, I am bold now to confirm and 
 amplify in this letter what I then let drop extempore 
 from me, having made a recollection of myfelf for that 
 pur-pofe. 
 
 It is without controverfy, that in the .nonage of the 
 world, men and beads had but one buttery, which was 
 the fountain and river : nor do we read of any vines or 
 wines till 200 years after the flood. But now, I do not 
 know or hear of any nation that hath water only for their 
 drink, except the Japonois, and they drink it hot too ; 
 but we may fay, that what beverage foever we make, 
 either by brewing, by difUllation, decoftion, percollation 
 or prilling, it is but water at firft : nay, wine itfelf is 
 but water fublimed, being nothing elfe but that moifture 
 and fap which is caufed either by rain or other kind of 
 irrigations about the roots of the vine, and drawn up to 
 H h 3 the
 
 366 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 the branches and berries by the virtual attractive heat of 
 the fun, the bowels of the earth ferving as a limbec to 
 that end ; which made the Italian vineyard-man (after a 
 long drought, and an extreme hot fummer, which had 
 parched up all his grapes) to complain, that/w inanca* 
 tmnto d\icqua bow) del? acqua fe to havejfi acqua, beve- 
 rei el vino; for want of water, I am forced to drink wa- 
 ter ; if I had water, I would drink wine. It may be al- 
 fo applied to the miller when he had no water to drive 
 his mills. 
 
 The vine doth fb abhor cold, that it cannot grow 
 beyond the forty-ninth degree to any purpofe : therefore 
 God and nature hath furniflied the Northwefl nations 
 with other inventions of beverage. In this ifland the 
 old drink was ale, noble ale, than which, as I heard a - 
 great Doctor affirm, there Ts no liquor that more iacreafeth 
 the radical moiflure, and preferves the natural heat; 
 which are the two pillars that fupport the life of man: 
 hut fince beer hath hopped in amongft us, ale is thought 
 to be much adulterated, and nothing fo good as Sir John 
 Oldcajlle and Smug the fmith was ufed to drink. Be- 
 fides ale and beer, the natural drink of part of this ifle 
 may be faid to be metheglin, braggot, and mead, which 
 differ in ftrength according to the three degrees of compa- 
 rifon. The firir, of the three, which is ihrong in the fu- 
 perlative, if taken immoderately, doth ftupi-fy more than 
 any other liquor, and keeps a humming in the brain ; 
 which made one fay, that he loved not metheglin, be- 
 eaufe he was ufed to fpeak too much of the houfe he 
 came from, meaning the hive. Cyder and perry are alfo 
 the natural drinks of part of this ifle : but, I have read 
 hi fome old authors of a famous drink the anfient nation 
 tf the Picti, who lived betwixt Trent and Tweed, and 
 were utterly extinguiflied by the overpowering of the 
 Scot, were ufed to make of decoction of flowers, the re- 
 eeipt wlierof they keept as a fecret, and a thing facred to 
 themfelves, fo it perimed with them : tHefe are the com* 
 mon drinks of tins Ifle, and of Ireland alfo, where they 
 are more given to milk and flrong waters of all kinds : 
 
 the 

 
 familiar LETTERS. 367 
 
 the prime is ufquebagh which cannot be made any where 
 in that perfection ; and whereas we drink it here in aqua- 
 vita meafures, it goes down there by beer glafs-fulls be- 
 ing more natural to the nation. 
 
 In the feventeen provinces hard by, and all Low-Ger- 
 many, beer is the common natural drink, and nothing 
 elfe : fo is it in Wejlpkalia, and all the lower circuit of 
 Saxony, in Denmark, Sivetkland and Norway. The 
 Prnffe hath a beer as thick as honey. In the Duke of 
 Saxe's country, there is beer as yellow as gold, made of 
 wheat, and it inebriates as foon as fack. In fome parts 
 of Germany they ufed to fpice their beer, which will 
 keep many years, fo that at fome weddings there will be 
 a but of beer drunk out as old as the bride. Poland al- 
 fo is a beer country; but in Rujjia, Mofcovy and Tar- 
 tary, they ufe Mead, which is the naturalleft drink of 
 the country, being made of the deco<5Hon of water and 
 honey: this is that which the antients called hydromef. 
 Mare's milk is a great drink with the Tartar, which may 
 be a caafe why they are bigger than ordinary : for the 
 phyficians hold, that milk enlargeth the bones, beer 
 ftrengtheneth the nerves, and wine breeds blood fooner 
 than any other liquor. The Turk when he hath his 
 tripe full of pelaw, or of mutton and rice, will go to na- 
 ture's cellar; either to the next well or river to drink 
 water, which is his natural common drink : for Maho- 
 met taught them, that there was a devil in every berry 
 of the grape, and fo made a flrift inhibition to all his 
 feft from drinking of wine as a thing profane. He had 
 alfo a reach of policy therein, becaufe they mould not 
 be incumbered with luggage when they went to war, as 
 other nations do, who are fo troubled with the carriage 
 of their wine and beverages; yet hath the Turk peculiar 
 drinks to himfelf befides, zsfljerbet, made of the juice 
 oflimon, fugar, amber, and other ingredients : he hath 
 alfo a drink called- cauphe, which is made of a brown 
 berry ; and it may be called their clubing drink between 
 meals, which though it be not very gu/lful to the pa- 
 kte, yetit is very comfortable to the ftornach, and good 
 
 for
 
 3<58 Familiaa LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 for the fight : but nouvithftanding their Prophet's ana- 
 thema, thoufands of them will venture to drink wine, 
 and they will make a precedent prayer to their fouls to 
 depart from their bodies in the interim, for fear (lie par- 
 take of the fame pollution. Nay, the laft Turk died of 
 cxcefs pf wine, for he had at one time fwallowed thirty- 
 thrce okes ; which is a meafure near upon the bignefs of 
 our quart ; and that which brought him to this, was the 
 company of a Perjian Lord that had given him his daugh- 
 ter for a prefent, and came with him from Bagdat : bc- 
 fides, one accident that happened to him was, that he 
 had an eunuch who was ufed to be drunk, and whom he 
 had commanded twice upon pain of life to refrain, fwear- 
 ing by Mahomet that he would caufe him to be ftrangled 
 if he found him the third time fo, yet the eunuch itill 
 continued in his drunkennefs : hereupon the Turk concei- 
 ving with himfelf that there muft needs be fome extraor- 
 dinary delight in drunkennefs, becaufe this man preferred 
 it before bis life, fell to it himfelf, and fo drunk himfelf 
 to death. 
 
 In Afia there is no beer drunk at all, but water, wine, 
 and an incredible variety of other drinks made of dates, 
 drjed'raifons, rice, divers forts of nuts, fruits, and roots. 
 In the Oriental countries, as Gambia, Calicut, Narfingha, 
 there is ; a drink called banque, which is race and preci- 
 ous ; and it is the height of entertainment they give their 
 guefts before they go to fleep, like that nepenthe which 
 the poets fpeak fo much of, for it provokes pleafing 
 dreams, and delightful phantafies : it will accommodate 
 itfelf to the humour of the fleeper, as if he be a foldier, 
 he will dream of victories and taking of towns : if he be 
 in love, he will think to enjoy his miftrefs: if he be co- 
 vetous, he will dream of mountains of gold, <&c. In the 
 Moluccas and Philippines', there is a curious drink called 
 tampoy, made of a kind of gilliflowers; and .another drink 
 called otraqua, that comes from a nut, and is the more 
 general drink. In China, they have a holy kind of li- 
 quor made of fuch fort of flowers for ratifying^ and bind- 
 ing of bargains ; and having drunk thereof, they hold it 
 
 no
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 369 
 
 no lefs than perjury to break what they promife : as they 
 write of a river in Bithynia, \vhofe water hath a peculiar 
 virtue to difcover a perjurer, for if he drink thereof, it 
 will prefently boil in his ftomach, and put him to vifible 
 tortures. This makes me think of th river Stjx among 
 the poets, which the gods were ufed to fwear by ; and it 
 was the greateft oath for the performance of any thing. 
 
 Nubila promi/t Styx iniki teftis erit. 
 
 It put me in mind alfo of that which fome write of 
 the river of Rhine for trying the legitimation of a child 
 being thrown in, if he be a baftard he will fink, if other- 
 i wife he will not. 
 
 In China they fpeak of a tree called maguais, which 
 affords not only good drink being pierced, but all things 
 elfe that belong to die fubfiftence of man : they bore the 
 tree with an awger, and there iflueth out fweet potable 
 liquor; betwixt the rind and the tree there is a cotton 
 or hempy kind of mofs, which they wear for their cloath- 
 ing: it bears huge nuts, which have excellent food in 
 them : it moots out hard prickles above a fathom long ; 
 and thofe arm them, with the bark they make tents, and 
 the dotard trees, ferve for firing. 
 
 Africa alfo hath a great diverfity of drinks, as having 
 more need of them, being a hotter country far. In 
 Cuiney, or the lower Ethiopia, there is a kind of drink 
 called mingol; which iflueth out of a tree much like the 
 palm, being bored : but in the upper Ethiopia, or the 
 Habafflnes country, they drink mead, decoded in a dif- 
 ferent manner: there is alfo much wine there. The 
 common drink of Barbary after water, is that which is 
 made of dates ; but in Egypt in times part there was beer 
 drunk called zichus in Latin; which was no other than 
 a decoction of barley and water. They had alfo a famous 
 compofition (and they ufe it to this day) called chiffi, 
 made of divers cordials and provocative ingredients, 
 which they throw into water to make it guflful : they 
 ufe it alfo for fumigation. But now, the general drink 
 of Egypt is Nile water; which of all water may be faid 
 
 to
 
 370 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 to be the bed, infomuch that Pindar's words might be 
 more applicable to that than to any other, 'Ap<r&v ^ev Lfxp. 
 It doth not only fertilize, and extremely fatten the foil 
 which it covers, but it helps to impregnate barren wo- 
 men ; for there is no place on earth where people increafe 
 and multiply fader: it is yellowifli and thick, but if one 
 cad a few almonds into a potful of it, it will become as 
 clear as rock water : it is alfo in a degree of lukewarm- 
 nefs as Martial's boy : 
 
 Tolls puer calices tepidiqm toreumata Kill. 
 
 In the new world they have a world of drinks : for 
 there is no root, flower, fruit, or pulfe, but is reducible 
 to a potable liquor; as in \htBarbado ifland, the com- 
 mon drink among the Englifo, is mobbi, made of pota- 
 toe roots. In Mexico and Peru, which is the great con- 
 tinent of America, with other parts, it is prohibited to 
 make wines under great penalties, for fear of darving of 
 trade, fo that all the wines they have are fent from 
 Spain. 
 
 Now for the pure wine countries, Greece with all her 
 iflands, Italy, Spain, France, one part of four of Ger- 
 many, Hungary, with divers countries thereabouts, all 
 the iflands in the Mediterranean and Atlantic fea, are 
 wine countries. 
 
 The mod generous wines of Spain, grow in the mid- 
 land parts of the continent, and St. Martin bears the 
 bell, which is near the court. Now, as in Spain, fo in 
 all other wine countries, one cannot pals a day's journey 
 bat he will find a differing race of wine. Thofe kinds 
 that our merchants carry over are thofe only that grow 
 upon the fea-lide, as Malaga, Sherries, Tents, and Ali- 
 cants : of this lad there is little comes over right, there- 
 fore the vintners make tent, (which is a "name for all 
 the wines in Spain, except white) to fupply the place of 
 it. There is a gentle kind of white wine grows among 
 the mountains of Galicia, but not of body enough to 
 bear the fea, called Rabida-via. Portugal affords no 
 wines worth the tranfporting : they have an old ftone \vc 
 
 call
 
 familiar LETTERS. 371 
 
 call yef, which they ufe to throw into their wines, which 
 clarifieth it, and makes it more lading. There is alfo a 
 drink in Spain, called aJo/ha, which they drink between 
 meals in hot weather; and it is a hydromelmzfe of wa* 
 ter and honey, much of die tafte of our mead. In the 
 court of Spain there is a German or two that brew beer ; 
 but for that antient drink of Spain which Pliny fpeaks 
 of, compofed of flowers, the receipt thereof is utterly 
 loft. 
 
 In Greece there are no wines that have bodies enough 
 to bear the fea for long voyages : fome few mufcadels, 
 and malmfies are brought over in fraall calks. Nor is 
 .there in Italy any wine tranfported to England but in 
 bottles, as Verde and others ; for the length of the voy- 
 age makes them iubject to pricking, and fo lofe colour 
 by reafon of their delicacy. 
 
 France participating of the climes of all die countries 
 about her, affords wines of quality accordingly : as to- 
 wards the Alps and Italy, (he hath a lufcious rich wine 
 called florentine. In the country of Provence towards 
 the Pyrenees in Langtiedoc, there are vines concuftable 
 with thofe of Spain : one of die prime fort of white 
 wines is that of Beaume ; and of clarets, that of Orle- 
 ans, though it be interdicted to wine the King's cellar 
 with it, in refpect of the corrofivenefs it carries widi it. 
 As in Francs, fo in all other wine countries, the white 
 -is called the female, and the claret or red wine is called 
 the j/iale, becaufe commonly it hath more fulphur, body, 
 and heat in it. The wines that our merchants bring o- 
 ver grow upon the river of Gar on near Bordeaux in Gaf- 
 cony ; which is the greateft mart for wines in all France. 
 The Scot becaufe he hath always been an ufeful confe- 
 derate to France againft England, hath (among other 
 privileges) the right of pre-emption or firft choice of 
 wines in Bordeaux: he is alfo permitted to carry his ord- 
 nance to the very walls of the town, whereas the Eng- 
 lijlj are forced to leave them at Blay, a good way di- 
 ftant, down the river. There is a hard green wine that 
 grows about Rochel, and the ulands diereabouts, which 
 
 the
 
 572 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 the cunning Hollander fbmetime ufed to fetch ; and he 
 hath a trick to put a bag of herbs, or fome other infu- 
 fions into it^ (as he doth brimftone in rheniftj} to give it 
 a white tinfture and more fweetnefs : then they reimbark 
 it for England, where it pafTeth for Bachrag; and this 
 is called (looming of wines. In Normandy there is little 
 or no wine at all grows, therefore the common drink of 
 that country is cyder, efpecially in low Normandy. 
 There are alfo many beer-houfes in Paris, and elfe- 
 vvhere ; but though their barley and water be better than 
 ours, or that of Germany, and though they have Eng- 
 lijlj and Dutch brewers among them, yet they cannot 
 Wake beer in that perfection. 
 
 The prime wines of Germany grow about the Rhine, 
 efpecially in the Pfalts or Lower-Palatinate about Bach- 
 rag; which hath its etymology from Bachiara : for in 
 antient times there was an altar creeled there to the ho- 
 nour of Bacchus, in regard of the richnefs of the wines 
 here and all France over. It is held a great part of in- 
 civility for maidens to drink wine until they are married, 
 as it is in Spain for them to wear high fhoes, or to paint 
 till then. The German mothers, to make their fons 
 fall into hatred of wine, do ufe when they are little to 
 put fome owl's eggs into a cup of rbcnifli, and fome- 
 times a little living eel ; which twingling in the wine 
 while the child is drinking, fo fcares him, that many 
 come to abhor, and have an antipathy to wine all their 
 lives after. From Bachrag, the firft ftock of vines 
 which grow now in the grand Canary ifland were brought ; 
 which with the heat of the fun and the foil, is grown 
 now to that Ircight of perfection, that the wine which 
 they afford are accounted the richcft, the moil firm, the 
 beft bodied, and laflingeft wine, and the moft defecated 
 from all earthly grofsnefs of any other whatfoever: it 
 hath little or no fulphur at all in it, and leaves lefs 
 dregs behind, though one drink it to excefs. French 
 wines may be faid but to pickle meat in the flomachs, but 
 this is the wine that digefts, and doth not only breed 
 good blood, but it nutrifieth alfo, being a glutinous fub- 
 
 flantial
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 37} 
 
 llantlal liquor. Of this wine, if of any other, may be 
 verified that merry induction, that good wine makes good 
 blood, good blood caufeth good humours, good hu- 
 mours caufe good thoughts, good thoughts bring forth 
 good works, good works carry a man to heaven ; ergo, 
 good wine carrieth a man to heaven. If this be true, 
 furely more Englifh go to heaven this way than any 
 other ; for, I think there is more Canary brought into 
 England than to all the world befides. I think alfo there 
 is a hundred times more drunk under the name of Ca- 
 nary wine than there is brought in ; for Sherries and 
 i Malagas well mingled pafs for Canaries in moft taverns, 
 more often than Canary itfelf, elfe I do not fee how it 
 were poflible for the vintner to fave by it, or to live by 
 his calling, unlefs he were permitted fometimes to be a 
 brewer. When Sacks and Canaries were brought in 
 firft among us, they were ufed to be drunk in aquavit* 
 meafures ; and it was held fit only for thofe to drink 
 of them who were ufed to carry their legs in their hands, 
 their eyes upon their nofes, and an almanack in their 
 bones : but now, they go down every one's throat, both 
 young and old, like milk. 
 
 The countries that are freefl from excefs of drinking, 
 are Spain and Italy : if a woman can prove her hufband 
 to have been thrice drunk, by the antient laws of Spain 
 (he may plead a divorce from him. Nor indeed can the 
 Spaniard, being hot brained, bear much drink ; yet, I 
 have heard that GonJamer was once too hard for the 
 King of Denmark, when he was here in England. But 
 the Spanijh foldiers that have been in the wars of Flan- 
 ders, will take their cups freely, and the Italian alfo. 
 "When I lived on the other fide the Alps, a gentleman tcld 
 me a merry tale of a Ligurian foldier who had got drank 
 in Genoa ; and Prince Doria going a horfeback to take the. 
 round one night, the foldier took his horfe by the bridle, 
 - and afked what the price of him was, for he wanted a 
 horfe: the Prince feeing in what humour he was, caufed 
 him to be taken into a houfe and put to fleep : in the 
 I i morning
 
 374 Famttar LETTERS. PART II, 
 
 morning he fent for him, and afked him what he would 
 give for his horfe. Sir, faid the recovered foldier, the 
 merchant that would have bought him yefternight of your 
 Highnefs, went away betimes in the morning. The 
 booneft companions for drinking, are the Creeks and Ger- 
 mans ; but the Creek is the merrier of the two, for he 
 will fmg and dance and kifs his next companions ; but 
 the other will drink as deep as he. if the Creek will 
 drink as many glafles as there be letters in his miOrefs's 
 name, the other will drink the number of her years; and 
 though he be not apt to break out into finging, being not 
 of fo airy a confutation, yet he will drink often mufically 
 a health to every one of thefe fix notes, Ut, Re, Mi, 
 Fa, Sol, La ; which, for tliis reafon, are all compre- 
 hended in this hexameter : 
 
 Ut Relevet l\Uferum Tat urn Sditofqite Labor es. 
 
 The feweft draughts he drinks are three j the firft to 
 quench the diidt pail, the fecond to quench the prefent 
 third, the third to prevent the future. I heard of a 
 company of Lo<u}-Dutchien that had drunk fo deep, 
 that beginning to {tagger, and their heads turning round, 
 they thought verily they were at fea, and that the upper- 
 clumber where they were was a (hip j Jnlbrouch that it 
 being foul windy weather, they fell to throw the /tools, 
 and other things out of the window, to lighten the vef- 
 dcl for fear of fuffering mipwreck. 
 
 Thus have I fent your Lordfiiip :i dry <lifcourfe upon 
 a. fluent fubjecl, yet I hope your Lordfhip wiW pkafc to 
 take all in good part, becaufe it proceeds from 
 
 Tour moji humble and ready fervant, 
 
 , Gfi, 7. 1634. J, H, 
 
 LET-
 
 Famifiar LETTERS. $ft 
 
 LETTER LXI. 
 
 To the Right Honourable the Earl R: 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 YOUR defires have been always to me as commands, 
 and your commands as binding as afts of parlia- 
 ment : nor do I take pleafure to employ head or hand in 
 any thing more than in the exact performance of them. 
 Therefore if in this crabbed difficult tafk, you have been 
 pleafed to impofe upon me about languages, I come mort 
 of your Lordfhip's expectation, I hope my obedience 
 will apologize for my difability. But whereas your Lord- 
 fhip defrres to know what were the original mother- 
 tongues of the countries of Europe, and how thefe mo- 
 dern fpeeches that are now in ufe were firft introduced, I 
 may anfwer hereunto, that it is almoft as eafy a thing to 
 difcover the fource of Nile, as to find out the original 
 of fome languages ; yet, I will attempt it as we!l as I 
 can ; and I will take my firft rife in thefe iflands of Great 
 Sri tain and Ireland : for to be curious and eagle-eyed 
 abroad, and to be blind and ignorait at home, (as many 
 of our travellers are now a days) is a curiofity that car- 
 rieth with it more of affectation than any thing elfe. 
 
 Touching the ifle of Albion, or Great Britan, the 
 Cambrian or Cymraccan tongue, commonly called Welfh, 
 (and Italian alfo is fo called by the Dutch} is without 
 controverfy the prime maternal tongue of this Hhnd, and 
 connatural with it: nor could any of the four conquefts 
 that have been made of it by the Roman, Saxon, Dane t 
 or Norman, ever extinguifh her; but flie remains (till 
 pure and incorrupt : of which language, there is as exact 
 and methodical a grammar, with as regular precepts, 
 rules, and initiations both for profe and rerfe, compiled 
 by Dr. David Rice, as I have read in any tongue what- 
 foever. Some of the authentickeft annalrfts report that 
 the old Gauls, (now the French} and the Britons under- 
 ftood one another : for they came thence very frequently 
 I i 2 to-
 
 376 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 to be inftructed here by the BritiJJ) druids ; which were 
 the philolbphers and divines of thofe times : and this was 
 long before the Latin tongue came on this fide the Alps t 
 or books written ; Mid there is no meaner man than Cxfar 
 himfelf records this. 
 
 This is one of the fourteen vernacular and indepen- 
 dant tongues of Europe, and flie hath divers dialed? : the 
 firft is the Cortiifh, the fecoird the slrniGricans, or the 
 inhabitants of Britany in France, whither a colony was 
 fcnt over hence in the time of the Romans. There was 
 ulfo another dialed of the Britifl? language among the 
 Pitfs, who kept in the North parts, in Northumberland, 
 IVeJlmorland, Cumberland, and fome parts beyond Tweed, 
 until the whole nation of the Scots poured upon them 
 with fuch multitudes, that they utterly extinguifhed both 
 them and their language. There are fome which have 
 been curious in the comparifon of tongues, who believe 
 that the Jriflj is but a dialed of the antient Britifb; and 
 the learnedefl of that nation, in a private difcourfe I hap- 
 pened to have with him, feemed to incline to this opi- 
 nion : but this I can affure your Lordfliip of, that at my 
 being in that country, I obferved by a private collection 
 which I made, that a great multitude of their radical 
 words are the fame with the Welfly, both for fenfe and 
 found ; the tone alfo of both the nations is confonant : 
 for, when I firft walked up and down Dublin markets, 
 methought verily I was in Wales, when I liftened unto 
 their fpeech ; but, I found that the Iri/Jj tone is a little 
 more querulous and whining than the Britijb, which I 
 conjectured with myfelf proceeded from their often being 
 fubjugated by the Eaglijb. But, my Lord, you would 
 think it ftrange, that divers pure Wtljh words mould be 
 found in the new-found world in the Weft- indies ; yet it 
 is verified by fome navigators, as grando (hark), jtcf 
 (heaven), lluynog (a fox), pergwin (a bird with a white 
 head), with fundry others, which are pure Britiflj ; nay, 
 I have read a Weljl) epitaph which was found there upon 
 one Madoc a Britijb i'rince, who fome years before the 
 Norman con^udl, not agreeing with his brother, then 
 
 Prince
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 377 
 
 Prince of South-Wales, went to try his fortunes at fea, 
 emb.ifking himfeif at Milford-kaven, and ib tarried on 
 thofe coafrs. This if well proved, might well intitle 
 our crown to America, if firft discovery may claim a 
 right to any country. 
 
 The Romans, though they continued here conftantly 
 above 300 years, yet could they not do as they did in 
 France, Spain, and other provinces, plant their language 
 as a mark of conqueft ; but the Savons did, coming in 
 far greater numbers under Hengijl from Holfteinland in 
 the lower circuit of Saxony; which people referable the 
 Engli/J) more than any people upon earth, fo that it is 
 more than probable that they came from thence : befides,. 
 there is a town there called Lunden, and another place 
 named Angles, whence it may be prefumed that they 
 took their new denomination here. Now the EngHJIj, 
 though as Saxons, (by which name the IVeijb and 
 Irifh call them to this day) they and their language is 
 antient, yet in reference to this ifland they are the mo- 
 derneft nation in Europe, both for habitation, fpeech, 
 and denomination; which makes me fmile at Mr. Fu.v's 
 error in the very front of his epiftle before the book of 
 martyrs, where he calls Conftantine the firft chriftian Em- 
 peror, the fon of Helen an Engliftj woman ; whereas", 
 me was purely Britifo, and that there was no fnch nation 
 upon earth called Englifo at that time, nor above 100 
 years after, till Hengijl invaded this ifland, and fettling 
 himfeif in it, the Saxons who came with him, took the 
 appellation of Engiifomen, Now the Englijb fpeech, 
 though it be rich, copious, and fignificant, and that 
 there be divers dictionaries of it, yet under favour, I 
 cannot call it a regular language, in regard though often 
 attempted by fome choice wits, there could never any 
 grammar of exacT: fyntaxis be made of it ; yet hath /he 
 divers fubdialefts, as the Weftern and Northern Englijh, 
 but her chiefeft is the Scotick, which took footing be* 
 yond Tweed about the lad conqueft"; but the antient 
 language of Scotland is Irijh, which the mountaineers 
 and divers of the plain, retain to this day. Thus, my 
 I i 3 Lord,
 
 3? 3 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 Lord, according to my fmall model of obfemtion, have 
 I endeavoured to fatisfy you in part : I mall in my nc 
 go on, for in the purfuance of any command from your 
 Lordfhip, my mind is like a ftone thrown into a deep wa 
 ter, which never refts till it goes to the bottom: fo for 
 this time, and always, I reft, my Lord, 
 
 Tour moft humble and ready fervitor, 
 Weftminjler, Aug. 9. 1630. 
 
 LETTER LXII. 
 
 To the Right honourable the Earl R. 
 
 JWyLoRD, 
 
 IN my laft I fulfilled your Lordfhip's commands, as far 
 as my reading and knowledge could extend, to inform 
 you what were the radical primitive languages of thofe 
 dominions that belong to the crown of Great Britain* 
 and how the Englijh, which is now predominant, en- 
 teed in firft: I wiU now hoift fail for the Netherlands, 
 Spfe dialea is the fa^e with the Engli/h, and was fo 
 fZ the beginning, being both of them derived from b 
 ffi&Dutch. The Danijh alfo but a branch of the 
 Srhe tree, no more is the Sw4i/b, and I the fpeech of 
 *hem of Norway and Iceland. Now the High-Dutch, or 
 Teutonick tongue, is one of the prime and moft fpacious 
 maternal languages of Europe : for, beGdes the vaft ex- 
 tentofyitfelf, with the countries and kingdoms 
 Sfore mentioned, whereof England and Scot and are 
 * o, it was the language of the Goths and %*>.* 
 continueth yet of the greateft part ot Poland and h 
 vary, who have a dialed of hers for their vulgar tongue 
 vet though fo many dialers and fubdialeds be derived 
 from her, ihe remains a ftrong fme%vy language, pure and- 
 incorrupt in her firft centre, towards the heart or Ger- 
 many. Some of her writers would make the world be- 
 Ikve that (he was the language fpoken in
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 379 
 
 they produce many words and proper names in the five 
 books oSMofes, which fetch their etymology from her: 
 as alfo in Perfia to this day divers radical words are the 
 fame with her, fader, moeder, broder, J?ar; and a Cer- 
 tnan gentleman, fpeaking hereof one day to an Italian, 
 that me was the language of paradife, fure, faid the Ita- 
 lian, (alluding to her roughnefs) then it -was the tongue 
 that God almighty chid Adam ///. // may fa f 0) replied 
 the German, but the devil had tempted Evt in Italian be- 
 fore. A full-mouthed language me is, and pronounced 
 with that (trength as if one had bones in bis tongue in- 
 ftead of nerves. 
 
 Thofe countries that border upon Germany, as Bohe- 
 $nia, Silejia, Poland, and thofe vaft countries Is 7 orth- 
 Eaftward, as Ruffia and Mufcovy, fpeak the Sclavonic 
 language ; and it is incredible what I have heard feme 
 travellers report of the vaft extent of that language ; for 
 befide Sclavonia itfelf, which properly is Dahnatia and 
 Liburnia, it is the vulgar fpeeeh of the Macedonians, E- 
 firots, Bofnians, Servians, Bulgarians, Moldavians, 
 Rxfcians, and Podolians : nay, me fpreads herfelf over 
 all the Eaftern parts of Europe, (.Hungary and Wallachiet 
 excepted) as far as Conflantinople, and is frequently fpo- 
 ken in the feraglio among the Janizaries : nor doth me 
 reft there, but crofling the Hellefpont divers nations in 
 Afia have her for their popular tongue, as the Circaffians, 
 Mongolians, and Gazarites Southward : Neither in Eu- 
 rope nor in Afia doth me extend herfelf further North 
 than to the parallel of forty degrees. But thofe nations 
 which celebrate divine fervice after the Creek ceremony, 
 and profefs obedience to the Patriarch of Conftemtinople % 
 as the Rufs, the Mufcovite, the Moldavian, Rcefcian, 
 Bofnian, Servian, and Bulgarian, with divers others 
 Eaftern, and Nortb-Eaft people that fpeak Sclavonic, 
 have her m a different character from the Dalmatian, 
 Croatian, Iflrian, Polonian, Bohemian, Silefian, and 
 ther nations towards the Weft. Thefe laft have the //. 
 yrtgn charafter, and the invention of it is attributed to 
 St. Jeromi the other is of Cyril's devifmg, and is called 
 
 the
 
 380 Fataifor LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 the Sei*vTan charader. Now, although there be above 
 fixty fcveral nations that h;i\e this vaft extended language 
 for their vulgar fpeech, yet the pure primitive Sclavonic 
 dialect is fpoken only in Dahnatia, Croatia, Liburnia, 
 and the countries adjacent, where the antient Sclavoni- 
 ans yet dwell ; and they nmft needs be very antient, for 
 there is in a church in Prague an old charter yet ex- 
 tant given them by Alexander the Great, v\ hich I thought 
 not amifs to infert here. * We Alexander the Great y 
 ' ion of King Philip, founder of the Grecian empire, 
 
 * conqueror of the Perfians, Medes, &c. and of the v hole 
 ' world from Eaft to Weft, from North to South, fon of 
 ' great Jupiter by, tec. fo called : to you the noble (rock 
 ' of Scla-ooniaMt, and to your language, becaufe you have 
 ' been unto us a help, true in faith, and valiant in war, 
 
 * we confirm all that tract of earth from the North to the 
 ' South of Italy, from us and our fucceflbrs, to you, and 
 ' your pofterity for erer; and if any other nation be 
 ( found there, let them be your flaves. Dated at Alex^ 
 
 * andria the I2th of the goddefs Minerva, witnefs Eth- 
 
 * ra, and the eleven princes whom we appoint our fuc- 
 
 * ceflbrs.' With this rare, and one of the antienteft re- 
 cords in Europe, I will put a period to this fecond ac- 
 count I fend your Lordfhip touching languages. My 
 next (hall be of Greece, Italy, France, and Spain, and 
 fo I (hall make hands with Europe; till when, I humbly 
 kifs your hand, and reft, my Lord, 
 
 Tour viofl obliged fervlt or y 
 Weftminfter> Aug. 2. 1630. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXHI. 
 To the Right Honourable the Earl R. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 HAVING in my laft rambled through high and 1 
 low Germany, Bohemia, Denmark, Poland, Ruf- 
 J:a, and thofe vaft North-Eaft regions, and given your 
 
 Lord/hip
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 381 
 
 Lordlhip a touch of their languages, (for it was no trea- 
 tife I intended at firft, but a curfory (hort literal account) 
 I will now pafs to Greece, and fpeak fomething of that 
 large and learned language ; for it is (he indeed upon 
 whom the beams of all fcientifical knowledge did firft 
 mine in Europe, which (he afterwards diffufed through 
 all the Wertern world. 
 
 The Creek tongue was firft peculiar to Hellas alone, 
 but in tradt of time the kingdom of Macedon, and Epire 
 had her : then (he arrived on the ifles of the Egean fea, 
 which are interjacent and divide AJia and Europe that 
 way ; then (he got into the fifty-three ifles of the Cyc/a- 
 des that ly betwixt Negrcpont a^id Candy, and fo got up 
 to the Hellefpont to Coiiftantinople : (he then crofled fl- 
 yer to Anatolia* where, though (he prevailed by intro- 
 ducing multitudes of colonies, yet (he came not to be 
 the fole vulgar fpeech anywhere there, fo far as to ex- 
 tinguim the former languages. Now Anatolia is the 
 moft populous part in the whole earth ; for Strata fpeaks 
 of fixtecn feveral nations that flept in her bofoni, and it 
 is thought the twenty-two lasguages which Mithridates 
 the great Polyglot King of Pentus did fpeak, were all 
 within the circumference of Anatolia, in regard his do- 
 minions extended but a little farther. She glided then 
 along the maritime coafls of Thrace, and pafling Byzan- 
 ti'.ini, got into the out-lets of Danube, and beyond her 
 alfo to Z.aurica, yea, beyond that to the river Phajts ; 
 and thence comparing to Trebizonci, (he took footing on 
 all the circumference of the Euxine fea. This was her 
 courfe from Eaft to North ; whence we will return to 
 ""and}', Cyprus, and Sicily ; thence eroding the Phare of 
 Mejfina, (he got all along the maritime coafts of the 
 ''yrrhene fea to Calabria : (he reded herfelf alfo a great 
 /hile in Apuleia, There was a populous colony of 
 Wrecks alfo in Marfeilles in France, and along the fca- 
 oafls of Savoy, In Africa likewife, Cyrene, Alexand- 
 ia, and Egypt, with divers others were peopled with 
 7 reeks ; and three caufes may be alleged why the Creek 
 ongue did fo expand herfelf. Firft, it may be imputed 
 
 to
 
 S 8 2 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 to the conquefts of Alexander the Great, and the cap- 
 tains he left behind him for fucceffbrs : then the love the 
 people had to the fciences, fpeculative learning and civi- 
 lity, whereof the Greeks accounted themfelves to be 
 grand matters, accounting all other nations Barbarians 
 befides themfelves. Thirdly, the natural inclination and 
 dexterity the Greeks had to commerce, wherein they 
 employed themfelves more than any other natwns, & 
 cept the Phoenician and Armenian; which may be a rea 
 fonwhy in all places moft commonly they colonized the 
 maritime parts; for I do not find they did "**** 
 into the bowels of any country, but lived on the fea-lide 
 in obvious mercantile plages, and acceffible ports. 
 
 Now many ages fmce, the Greek tongue is not only 
 impaired, and pitifully degenerated in her purity and e- 
 loquence, bat extremely decayed in her amplitude and 
 vwlgarnefs. For firft, there is no trace at all left < 
 n Frances Italy, the Slavonic tongue hath aboliihed 
 her in Kpireand Macedon, ite Tnrkifi hath outed her 
 from moft parts of Anatolia, and the Arabian hath ex- 
 linguifhed her in Syria, Palejline, Egypt ^ and fundry 
 other places. Now touching her degeneration from her 
 primitive fuavity and elegance, it is not altogether k 
 much as the deviation and declenfion of the />*//* froai 
 the Latin ; yet it is fo far that I could fet foot on no 
 place, nor hear of any people, where either the Altick, 
 Doric, Je-slic, or B*otic, antient Greek is vulgarly 
 fpoken; only in fome places near Iferaclia in Anatolta, 
 and '^eloponnefus, (now called the Morca} they Ipeak of 
 fome towns called the Lacones, winch retain yet, and 
 vulgarly fpeak the old Greek, but incongruoufly : yet 
 though they cannot themfelves fpeak according to rules, 
 ' they V.derftand thofe that do. Nor is this corruptioa 
 happened to the Greek language, as it ufeth to happen 
 others, either by the law of the conqueror, or inunds 
 tion of ftrangers; but it is infenfibly crept in by 
 own fupme jgligence and fantaftickncfs, efpeaall] 
 that common fatality and changes which *fe 
 all other fublunary tilings. Nor is this antient Ic
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 383 
 
 cal language decayed only, but the nation of the Greeks 
 itfelf is as it were mouldered away, and brought in a 
 manner to the fame condition, and to as contemptible a 
 pafs as the Jew is : infomuch that there cannot be two 
 more pregnant inftances of the lubricity and inftablenefs 
 of mankind, than the decay of thefe two antient nations ; 
 the one the feiecl people of God, the other the moft 
 famous that e\er was for arts, arms, civility and govern- 
 ment : fo that inftatu quonnnc, they who termed all the 
 world Ra> barians in companion of themfelves in former 
 times, may be now termed (more than any other) Bar~ 
 barians themfelves, as having quite loft not only all in- 
 iclination and afpiriog to knowledge and virtue, but like- 
 \vife all courage and bravery of mind to recover their an- 
 tient freedom and honour. 
 
 Thus have you, my Lord, as much of the Greek tongue 
 as I could comprehend within the bounds of a letter ; a 
 tongue that both for knowledge, for commerce, and for 
 copioafnefs, was the principalleft that ever was. In my 
 next 1 will return near home, and give your Lordfhip ac- 
 count of the Latin tongue, and of her three daughters, 
 the French, Italian and Spanijb. In the interim you 
 find I am ftill, my Lord, 
 
 Tour mcft obedient feroit or t 
 
 Wejlminjler, July 25. 1630. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXIV. 
 
 To the Right Honourable the Earl R. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 MY laft was a purfuit of my endeavours to comply 
 ^^^ with your Lordfliip's defires touching languages ; 
 and I /pent more oil and labour than ordinary in difplay- 
 ing the Greek tongue, becaufe we are more beholden to 
 her for all philofophical and theoric knowledge, as alfo 
 foi rules of commerce and commutative juftice, than to 
 
 any
 
 384 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 any other. I will now proceed to the Lc,tin tongue, 
 which had her fource in Italy, in Latium, called now 
 Cowp'ij'iz di Rom.tj and received her growth with the 
 monftrous increafe of the city and empire. Touching 
 the one, (he came from poor mud-walls at mount Pala- 
 tine, which were fcarce a mile about at firft, to be after- 
 wards fifty miles compafs, (as flie was in the reign of 
 Aur ell anus) and her territories, which were hardly a 
 day's journey extent, came by favourable fuccefles and 
 fortune of war, to be above 3000 in length, from the 
 banks of the Rhine, or rather from the fhores of this 
 ifland to Euphrates, and fometimes to the river Tigris. 
 With this vaft expanfion of Roman territories, the tongue 
 alfo did fpread ; yet I do not find by thofe refearches I 
 have made into antiquity, that (he was vulgarly fpoken 
 by any nation, oranyintire country, but in Italy itfelf: 
 for notwithf landing that it was the practice of the Roman 
 with his lance to ufher in his laws and language as marks 
 of conqueft, yet I believe his tongue never took fuch 
 firm irapreffion any where, as to become the vulgar epi- 
 demic fpeech of any people elfe, or that flie was able to 
 null and extinguifh the native languages fhe found in thofe 
 places where fhe planted her ftandard : nor can there 
 be a more pregnant inftance hereof than this ifland, for 
 notwithflanding that fhe remained a Rowan province 400 
 years together, yet the Latin tongue could never have 
 the vogue here fo far as to abolifh the Britifh or Cam- 
 brian tongue. 
 
 It is true, that in France and Spain ffie made deep- 
 er impreflions, the reafon may be in regard there were 
 far more Roman colonies planted there ; for whereas 
 there were but four in this ifle, there were twenty-nine 
 in France, and fifty -fev en in hpain, and the greateft 
 entertainment the l^atin tongue found ont of It ay her- 
 felf, was in thefe two kingdoms ; yet I am of opinion 
 that the pure congruous grammatical Latin was never 
 fpoken in either of them as a vulgar vernacular language, 
 common amongfl women and children ; no, nor in all 
 Italy itfelf, except Latiunt : in Africa, though there
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 38 j 
 
 were forty Roman colonies difperfed upon that continent 
 yet the Latin tongue made not fuch deep iropreffions 
 there, nor m Afia neither ; nor is it to be thought, that 
 in thofe colonies themfelves did die common foldiers 
 ipeak in that congruity as the fiamens, the judges,- the 
 magiftrates and chief commanders did. \Yhen die Re- 
 mans fent legions and planted colonies abroad, it was 
 for divers political confiderations, partly to fecure their 
 new acquefts, partly to abate the fuperfluous numbers 
 and redundancy of Rome. Then by this way they found 
 means to employ and reward men of worth, and to 
 heighten their minds ; for the Roman fpirit did rife up 
 and take growth with his good fuccefTes, conquefts, com- 
 mands, and employments. 
 
 But the reafon that the Latin tongue found not fuch 
 entertainment in the Oriential parrs, was, that the Greek 
 had fore-felled her ; which was of more efteem among 
 them becaufe of the learning that was couched in her 
 and that me was more ufeful for negotiation and traffic ' 
 ^hereunto the Greeks were more addided than any 
 people: therefore, though the Romans had an ambition 
 to make thofe foreign nations that were under their yoke 
 to fpeak, as well as to do what pleafed them, and that all 
 orders, edicts, letters.and laws themfelves, civil as well 
 as martial were published and executed in Latin vet 
 I believe the Latin was fpoken no otherwife among thofe 
 nations, than the p an (lh or CaftUian tongue is now ia 
 the 'Netherlands, in Sicily, Sardinia, Naples, the two 
 Indtet and other provincial countries which are under 
 that King Nor did the pure Latin tongue continue 
 long at a fend of perfection in Rome and Latium itfelf 
 among all forts of people, but foe received changes and 
 corruption: neither do I believe that me was born a 
 perfecl language at firtt, but me received nutriment, and 
 
 T T-a ? rff^ 1 * " Wlth dmC) Which matures ' & 
 ^d finifheth all thmas. The verfes of the Salii com! 
 
 poled by fruma Pompiliu, were fcarce intelligible bv the 
 flamins, and judges, themfelvcs in the wane of the R oman 
 commonwealth, cor the laws of the. Dccwiri. Ind 
 Kk
 
 3 8<S Familiar L E T T E R S. PART II. 
 
 if that Latin wherein were couched the capitulations of 
 peace betwixt Rome and Carthage a little after the expul- 
 fion of the kings, which are yet extant upon a pillar in Rome, 
 were compared with that which was fpoken in Cafar's 
 reign, 140 years after, at which time the Latin tongue 
 was mounted to the meridian of her perfection, (he 
 would be found as differing as Spanijh now differeth from 
 the Latin. After Ccrfar and Cicero?, time, the Latin 
 tongue continued in Rome and Italy in her purity 400 
 years together, until the Goths ruflied into Italy firft 
 under Altric; then the Huns under Attilia ; then the 
 Vandiils under Genfericus ; and the Heruli under Odoacer, 
 who was proclaimed King of Italy ; but the Goths a little 
 after, under Theodoric thruil out the Heruli; which Theo- 
 doric was byZevy the Emperor formally inverted King of 
 Italy, who with his fnccefTors reigned there peaceably 
 fixty years and upwards ; Co that in all probability the 
 Goths cohabiting fo long among the Italians muft adul- 
 terate their language, as well as their women. 
 
 The lait barbarous people that invaded Italy about 
 the year 570 were the Lombards, who having taken 
 iirm rooting in the very bowels of the country above 200 
 years without interruption, during the reign of twenty 
 kings, muft of neceffity alter and deprave the general 
 fpeech of the natural inhabitants ; and among others, one 
 argument may be, that the befl and midland part of 
 Italy changed its name, and took its appellation from thefe 
 1 aft invaders, calling itfelf Lombardy, which name it re- 
 tains to this day : yet before the intrufions of thefe 
 wandering and warlike people into Italy, there may be a 
 precedent caufe of fome corruption that might creep in- 
 to the Latin tongue in point of vulgarity : firft, the in- 
 credible confluence of foreigners that came daily far and 
 near, from the colonized provinces to Rome ; then, the 
 infinite number of flaves which furpafled the number of 
 tree citizens, might much impair tty? purity of the Latin 
 tongue ; and laftly, thole inconftancies and humour of 
 novelty, which is naturally inherent in man, who accord- 
 ing to thofe frail elementary principles and ingredients 
 
 whereof
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 3 8 > 
 
 whereof he is compofed, is fubjeft to infenfible alterati- 
 ons, and apt to receive impreflions of any change. 
 
 Thus, ray Lord, as fuccindly as I could digeft it in- 
 to the narrow bounds of an epiftle, I have fent your 
 Lordfhip this fmall furvey of the Latin, or firft R'omati 
 tongue : in my next I {hall fall aboard of her three 
 daughters, viz. the Italian, the Spanijh, and the French, 
 with a diligent investigation what might be the original 
 native languages of thofe countries from the beginning, 
 before the Latin gave them the law. In the interim, I 
 crave a candid interpretation of what is paffed, and of 
 my ftudioufnefs in executing your Lcrdfhip's injunctions ; 
 I am, my Lord, 
 
 Your mofl humble and obedient fervant, 
 
 Weftminfter, July 16. 1630. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXV. 
 
 To the Right Honourable, the E. R. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 MY laft was a difcourfe on the Latin or primitive 
 Roman tongue, which may be faid to be expired 
 in the market, though living yet in the fchools ; I mean, 
 {he may be faid to be defundt in point of vulgarity, any 
 time thefe 1000 years pafled. Out of her ruin have 
 fprang up the Italian, the Spanijh, and the French, 
 whereof I am now to treat ; but I think it not improper 
 to make a refearch firft what the radical prime mother- 
 tongues of thefe countries were before the Roman eagle 
 planted her talons upon them. 
 
 Concerning Italy, doubtlefs there were" divers before 
 the Latin did fpread all over the country, the Calabrian 
 and Apulian fpoke Greek, whereof fome reliques are 
 to be found to this day, but it was an adventitious, no 
 mother-language to them. It is confeffed that Latium 
 itfelf, and all the territories about Ro?tie had ihe Latin 
 forits maternal and common firft vernacular tongue; bat 
 K. k 2 Tufcaiy
 
 388 familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 Tufcany and Liguria, had others quite difcrepant, viz. 
 the Hstrufcane and Mefapian, whereof though there 
 be fome records yet extant, yet there are none alive 
 can Hnderftand them : the Ofcan, the Sabin and Tufcu- 
 lan, are thought to be but dialefts of thefe. 
 
 Now the Latin tongue with the coincidence of the 
 Goths language, and other Northern people, who like 
 "waves tumbled ofFone another, did more in Italy than 
 anywhere elfe, for fhe utterly abolifhed (upon that part 
 of the continent) all other maternal tongues as antient 
 as herfdf, and thereby their elded: daughter the Italian 
 came to be the vulgar univerfal tongue to the whole 
 country ; yet the Latin tongue had not the fole hand in 
 doing this, but the Goths and other feptentrional nations 
 who rumed into the Roman (late, had a fhare in it as 
 I faid before, and pegged in fome words which have 
 been ever fince irremoveable, not only in the Italian, 
 but alfo in her two younger fitters, the SpaniJI) and 
 the French, who felt alfo the fury of thofe people. 
 Now the Italian is the frnootheft and fofteft running 
 language that is, for there is not a word except fome few 
 inonofyllaLies, conjunctions and propositions, that ends 
 with a conformant in the whole language : nor is there 
 any vulgar fpeech which hath more fubdialecls in fo fmall 
 a trad of ground, for Italy itfelf affords above eight. 
 There you have the Roman, the Tufcan, the Venetian, 
 the Milanez, the Neapolitan, the CalabreJ/e the Ge 
 noefe, the Picmontez ; you have the Corjican, Sicilian, 
 with divers other neighbouring iflands ; and as the caufc 
 why, from the beginning there were fo many different 
 dialects in the Greek tongue, was becaufe it was fliced 
 into fo many iflands ; fo, the reafon why there be fo 
 many fubdialedts in the Italian, is the diverfity of go- 
 vernments that the country is fquandered into ; their be- 
 ing in Italy at this day two kingdoms, viz. that of 
 Naples and Calabria ; three republicks, Venice, Ge- 
 tica and Lucca, and divers other abfolute princes. 
 
 ( Concerning the original language of Spain, it was 
 without any controverfy \btBafcuence or Cantabriam 
 
 which
 
 Familiar LETTERS, 389 
 
 which tongue and territory neither Roman, Goth, (whence 
 this King hath his pedigree, with divers of the nobles) 
 or Moor, could ever conquer, though they had over-run 
 and taken firm footing in all the red for many ages ; 
 therefore, as the remnant of the old Britons here, fo are 
 the Bifcayneers accounted the antrenteft and unqutftioir- 
 ablert gentry in Spain ; infomtich that when any of them 
 is to be dubbed Knight, there is no need of any fcrutiny 
 to be made whether he be of the blood of the Morifeoi, 
 who had mingled and incorporated with the reft of the 
 Spaniards about 700 years. And as the Arcadians, and 
 Attli'ies in Greece, for their immemorial antiquity are 
 faid to vaunt of themfelves, that the one are n f 9^woi, 
 before the moon ; the other aur^Bovtc, iflued of the earth 
 itfelf ; fo the Bifcayneer hath fuch like rodomonwdoes. 
 
 The Spani/f} or Cajlilian language hath few flibdia- 
 le<fls, the Portugueze is moft confiderable : touching the 
 Catalan, and Valencian, they are rather dialects of the 
 French, Gafion, or Aquitarian. The pureft dialect of 
 the Cajlilian tongue is held to be in the town of Toledo; 
 which above other cities of Spain hath this privilege, to 
 be arbitrefs in the decifion of any controverfy that may 
 arife touching the interpretation of any Caflilian word. 
 
 It is an infallible rule to find out the mother and arr- 
 tienteft tongue of any country, to go among thofe who 
 inhabit the barreneft and moft mountainous places, which, 
 are pofts of fecurity and faftnefs ; whereof divers inftan- 
 ces could be produced : but, let the Bifcayneer in Spai?r, 
 the IVelfh in '^reat Britain, and the mountaineers in Epire 
 ferve the turn, who yet retain their antientunmixt mother- 
 tongues, being extinguiftied in all the country befides. 
 
 Touching France, it is not only doubtful, but left yet 
 undecided, what the true Gallic tongue was.- fome 
 would have it to be the German, fome the Greek, fome 
 the old Britifo or IVelQr; and the laft opinion carrieth 
 away with it the moft judicious antiquaries. Now all 
 Gallia is not meant by it, but the country of the Celt* 
 that inhabit the middle part of France, who are the true 
 Cauls. C<tfar and Tacitus tells U9> that thefe Celt<e, 
 K k 3 and
 
 39<> Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 and the old Britons, (whereof I gave a touch in ray firft 
 letter) did mutually underftand one another; and fome 
 do hold that this ifland was tied to f ranee, as Sicily was 
 to Ca'c.bria, and Denmark to Germany, by an ifthmus 
 of land betwixt Dover and Bullen: for if one do well 
 obferve the rocks of the one, and the cliffs of the other, 
 he will judge them to be one homogeneous piece, and 
 that they were cut and fhivered afunder by fome aft of 
 violence. 
 
 The Fre?2ch or Gallic tongue hath divers dialecls ; 
 the Picard, that of Jerfey and Guernfey, (appendixes 
 once to the dutchy of Normandy} the Provenfal, the 
 Gafcon, or fpeech of Languedoc, which Scaliger would 
 etymologize from Languc do'uy, whereas it comes rather 
 from Langue de got; for the Saracens and Goths, 
 by their incurfions and long flay in dquitain, corrupted 
 the language of that part of Gallia. Touching the Bri+ 
 tan and they of Beam, the one is a dialed of the Welfh, 
 the other of Uie Bafcuence. The Walloon who is under 
 die King of Spain, and the Liegois, is alfo a dialed* of 
 the Fre nch , which in their own country they call Ro~ 
 ntiw. The Spaniard alfo terms his Caftillian, Roman; 
 whence it may be inferred that the firfl rife and deriva- 
 tion of the Spanijh and French were from the Roman 
 tongue, not from the Latin; which makes me think that 
 the language of Rome might be degenerated, and be- 
 come a dialed to her own mother-tongue (the Latin) 
 before me brought her language to France and Spain. 
 
 There is befides thefe fubdialcfts of the Italian, Spa' 
 nijl) and French, another fpeech that hath a great ftroke 
 in Greece and Turky, called Franco, which may be faid to 
 be compofcd of all the three, and is at this day thegreateft 
 language of commerce and negotiation in the Levant. 
 
 Thus have I given your Lordmip the beft account I 
 could of the fitter -dialefts of the Italian, Spanif!?, and 
 French, la my next I mail crofs the l\1editerranean 
 to Africa, and the Hellefpint to 4/ia, where I mail 
 obferve the generalleft languages of thofe vaft conti- 
 nents where fuch numberi& {'worms and differing forts 
 
 of
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 391 
 
 of nations do crawl up and down this earthly globe ; there 
 fore, it cannot be expecled that I mould be fo punctual 
 there as in Europe : fo, I am ftill, my Lord, 
 
 Tour obedient fervitor, 
 Wejlminjler, July 7. 1630. J- H. 
 
 LETTER LXVI. 
 To the Right Honourable the Earl R. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 HA V I N G in my former letters made a flying pro- 
 grefs through the European world, and taken a 
 view of the feveral languages, dialers and fubdialefts 
 whereby people converfe one with another, and being 
 now wind-bound for Africa, I held it not altogether 
 fupcrvacaneous to take a review of them, and inform 
 your Lordlhip what languages are original independant 
 mother-tongues of chriftendora, and what are dialedj, 
 derivations, or degenerations from their originals. 
 
 The mother-tongues of Europe are thirteen, though 
 Scaliger would have but eleven: there is i. the Greek y 
 2. the Latin, 3. the Dutch, 4. the Sclavonic, 5. the 
 Welfh or Cambrian, 6. the Bafcuence or Cantabrian, 
 7. the Irifi, 8. the Albanian in the mountains of Epire t 
 9. the 'Tartarian, 10. the old Illy r tan, remaining yet in 
 Liburnia, 1 1. the Jazygian, on the Morth of Hungary ', 
 12. the Chauchian in Eaft-rriezeland, 13. the Finnic; 
 which I put laft with good reafon, becaufe they are the 
 only heathens of Europe : all which were known to be 
 in Europe in the time of the Roman empire. There is a 
 learned antiquary that makes the Arabic to be one of 
 the mother-tongues in Europe, becaufe it was fpoken in 
 fome of the mountains of South Spain. It is true, it was 
 fpoken for divers hundred years all Spain over, after the 
 conqueft of the Moors ; but yet it could not be called a 
 mother-tongue, but an adventitious tongue in reference 
 to that part Q Europe. 
 
 And
 
 392 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 And now that I am to pafs to Africa, which is far 
 bigger than Europe ; and to Afia, which is far bigger than 
 Africa; and to America, which is thought to be as big 
 as all the three : if Europe herfclf hath fo many mother- 
 languages, quite difcrepant one from the other, befides 
 fecondary tongues and dialects, which exceed the num- 
 ber of their mothers, what {hall we think of the other 
 three huge continents in point of differing languages ? 
 Your Lordmip knows that there be divers meridians and 
 climes in the heavens, whence influxes of differing quali- 
 ties fall upon the inhabitants of the earth ; and as they 
 make men to differ in the ideas and conceptions of the 
 mind, fb in the motion of the tongue, in the tune and 
 tones of the voice, they come to differ one from the o- 
 ther. Now, all languages were at firft imperfect con- 
 fufed founds, then came they to be fyllables, then words, 
 then fpeeches and fentences ; which by practice, by tra- 
 dition, and a kind of natural inftinct from parents to chil- 
 dren, grew to be fixed. Now to attempt a furvey of all 
 the languages in the other three parts of the habitable 
 earth, were rather a madnefs than a preemption, it be- 
 ing a thing of impoflibiUty, and not only above the ca- 
 pacity, but beyond the fearch of the acliveft, and know- 
 higeft man upon earth: let it therefore fuffice, while I 
 behold thofe nations that read and write from right to 
 left, from the liver to the heart, I mean the Africans 
 and AJians, that I take a fliort view of the Arabic in the 
 one, and the Hebrew or 8yriac in the other: for touch- 
 ing the Turkifo language, it is but a dialect of the Tar- 
 tarian, though it have received a late mixture of the 
 Armenian, the Perjlan, and Greek tongues, but fpeci- 
 ally of the Arabic, which was the mother-tongue of 
 their Prophet, and is now the fote language of their a/" 
 cor an, it being flri&ly inhibited, and held to be a pro- 
 fancnefs to cranflare it to any other ; which, they fay, 
 preferves them from the encroachment of fchifms. 
 
 Now the Arabic is a tongue of vafl expanfion ; for 
 befidesthe three Arabics, it is- become the vulgar fpeech 
 of Sjria, Mefopota?nia, Palejline, and Egypt; front 
 
 whence 

 
 Familiar LETTERS. 393 
 
 whence (he ftretcheth herfelf to the flreight of Gibraltar, 
 through all that vaft tract of earth which lieth betwixt 
 the mountain Atlas and the Mediterranean fea, which 
 is now called Barbary, where chriftianity and the Latin 
 tongue, with divers famous hi/hops flourifhed. She is 
 fpoken likewife in all the Northern parts of the Titrkijh 
 empire, as alfo in petty Tartary ; and me, above all o- 
 ther, hath reafon to learn Arabic, for fhe is in hope one 
 day to have the Crefcent, and the whote Ottoman em- 
 pire ; it being entailed upon her, in cafe the prefent race 
 mould fail, which is now in more danger than ever. In 
 fine, wherefoever the Mahometan religion is profefled, 
 *he Arabic is either fpoken or taught. 
 
 My laft view (hall be of the firft language of the earth, 
 the antient language of paradife, the language wherein 
 God almighty himfelf pleafed to pronounce and publifh 
 the tables of the law, the language that had a benedicti- 
 on promifed her, becaufe fhe would not confent to the 
 building of the Babylonijh tower : yet this holy tongue 
 hath had alfo her eclipfes, and is now degenerated to 
 many dialects, nor is fhe fpoken purely by any nation 
 upon, earth; a fate alfo which is befallen the Greek and 
 Latin. The moft fpacious dialed of the Hebrew is the 
 Syriac, which had her beginning in the time of the cap- 
 tivity of the Je<ws at Babylon, while they cohabited and 
 were mingled with the Chaldeans ; in which trad of fe- 
 venty years time, the vulgar fort of Jeivs neglecting 
 their own maternal tongue, (the Hebrew} began to fpeak 
 the Chaldee ; but not having the right accent of it, and 
 fafhioning that new learned language to their own inno- 
 vation of points, affixes, and conjugations, out of that 
 intermixture of Hebrew and Chaldee, refiilted a third 
 language called the Syriac ; which alfo after the time of 
 our Saviour, began to be more adulterated by admiflion 
 of Greek, Roman, and Arabic. In this language is the 
 tahnud and targum couched ; and all their rabbins, as 
 Rabbi Jonathan, and Rabbi Onkelos, with others, have 
 written in it; infomuch that, as I faid before, the an- 
 tient Hebrew had the fame fortune that the Greek and 
 
 Latin
 
 394 Familiar LETTERS. PART IT. 
 
 Latin tongues had, to fall from their being naturally fpo- 
 ken anywhere, to lofe their general communicablenefs 
 and vulgarity, and to become only fchool and book- 
 languages. 
 
 Thus we fee, that as all other fublunary things are 
 fubjecl to corruption and decay, as the potenteft mo- 
 narchies, the proudeft republicks, the opulenteft cities 
 have their growth, declinings, and periods : as all other 
 elementary bodies likewife by reafon of the frailty of 
 their principles, come by infenfible degrees to alter and 
 perifh, and cannot continue long at a ftand of perfection; 
 fo the learnedeft and moft eloquent languages, are not 
 free from this common fatality, but they are liable to 
 thofe alterations and revolutions, to thofe tits of incon- 
 ftancy, and other deftructive contingencies which are un- 
 avoidably incident to all earthly things. 
 
 Thus, my noble Lord, have I evifcerated myfelf, and 
 ftretched all my finews : I have put all my fmall know- 
 ledge, obfervations, and reading, upon the tenter, to 
 fatisfy your Lordfhip's defires touching this fubject. If 
 it afford you any contentment. I have hit the white I 
 aimed at, and hold myfelf abundantly rewarded for my 
 oil and labour : fo, I am, my Lord, 
 
 Tour mofl humble and ever obedient fervitor, 
 
 Wejlminfter, July i. 1630. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXVII. 
 To the Honourable Mr. CAR. RA. 
 
 S I R, 
 
 YOURS of the 7th current was brought me, where- 
 by I find that you did put yourfelf to the penance 
 of perufing fome epittles that go imprinted lately in my 
 name. I am bound to you for your pains and patience, 
 (for you write you read them all thorough) much more 
 for your candid opinion of them, being right glad that 
 
 they
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 39 j 
 
 they fliould give entertainment to fuch a choice and judi- 
 cious gentleman as yourfelf. But whereas you feem to 
 except againft fomething in one letter that reflects upon 
 Sir Walter Rawleigh's voyage to Guinea, becaufe I terra 
 the gold mine he went to difcover, an airy and fuppoji- 
 tioui mine, and fo infer that it toucheth his honour: 
 truly, Sir, I will deal clearly with you in that point, that 
 I never harboured in ray brain the lead thought to expofe 
 to the world any thing that might prejudice, much Jefs 
 traduce in the leafl degree that could be, that rare and 
 renowned Knight, whofe fame fhall contend in longevity 
 with this ifland itfelf, yea, with that great world which 
 fee hiftorifeth fo gallantly. I was a youth about the town 
 when he undertook that expedition, and I remember 
 mod men fufpected that mine then, to be but an imagi- 
 nary politic thing ; but at his return, and miffing of the 
 entcrprize, thefe fufpicions turned in moft, to real beliefs 
 that it was no other. And King James in that declara- 
 tion which he commanded to be publifhed and printed 
 afterwards touching the circumftances of this action, (up- 
 on which my letter is grounded, and which I have ftill 
 by me) terms it no Icfs: and if we may not give faith to 
 fuch public regal inftruments, what fhall we credit ? Be- 
 fides, there goes another printed kind of remonftrance 
 annexed to that declaration which intimates as much ; 
 and there is a worthy Captain in this town, who was a 
 co-adventurer in that expedition, who, upon ihe florm- 
 ing of St. Thomas heard young Mr. Ranuleigb encourag- 
 ing his men in thefe words, ' Come on my noble hearts, 
 ' this is the mine we come for, and they who think there 
 * is any other are fools.' Add hereunto, that Sir Rich- 
 ard Baker in his laft hiftorical collections intimates fo 
 much: therefore, it was far from being any opinion 
 broached by myfelf, or bottomed upon weak grounds; 
 for I was careful of nothing more, than that thofe letters, 
 being to breathe open air, mould relate nothing but what 
 fliould be derived from good fountains. And truly, Sir, 
 touching that apology of Sir Walter Raivleiglfs you write 
 of, I never faw it ; and I am very forry I did not, for it 
 
 had
 
 396 Familiar LETTERS.- PART II. 
 
 had let in more light upon me of the carriage of that 
 great action, and then you might have been allured that 
 I would have done that coble Knight all the right that 
 could be. 
 
 But Sir, the feveral arguments that you urge in your 
 letters are of that ftrength, I confefs, that they are able 
 to rectify any indifferent man in this point, and induce 
 him to believe that it was no chimera, but a real mine : 
 for you write of divers pieces of gold brought thence by 
 Sir Walter himfelf, and Captain Kemys, and of fome 
 ingots that were found in the Governor's clofet at 6V. 
 Thomas, with divers crucibles, and other refining inftru- 
 ments ; yet, under favour, that might be, and the bene- 
 fit not countervail the charge, for the richeft mines that 
 the King of Spain hath upon the whole continent of A- 
 merica, which are the mines of Potofi, yield him but fix 
 in the hundred, all expences defrayed. You write how 
 King James fent privately to Sir Walter, being yet in the 
 Tower, to intreat and command him, that he would im- 
 jart his whole defign unto him under his hand, promifing 
 upon the word of a King to keep it fecret; which be- 
 ing done accordingly by Sir Walter Raivleigh, that very 
 original paper was found in the faid ^panijb Governor's 
 clofet at St. Thomas : whereat, as you have juft caufe 
 to wonder and admire the ac~tivenefs of the ^panijh agents 
 about our court at that time, fo I wonder no lefs at the 
 mifcarriage of fome of his late Majefty's minifters, who, 
 notwithllanding that he had paflcd his royal word to the 
 contrary, yet they did help Count Gondomar to that pa- 
 per; fo that the reproach lieth more upon the Knglijh 
 than the Spanijb miniiters in this particular. Whereas 
 you allege, that the dangerous ficknefs of Sir Walter, be- 
 ing arrived near the place, and the death of (that rare 
 fpark of courage) your brother upon the firft landing, 
 with other circumftances difcouraged Captain Kemys from 
 difcovering the mine, but to referve it for another time. 
 I am content to give as much credit to this as any man 
 can ; as ai> that Sir Walter, if the reft of the fleet ac- 
 cording to his earactt motion had gone with him to <e 
 
 victual
 
 LETTERS. 397 
 
 virtual in Virginia, (a country where he had reafon to 
 JG welcome unto, being of his own difcovery) he had a 
 purpoie to return ^'Guyana the fpring following to 
 purfue his firft defign. I am alfo very willing to belieVe 
 that it coft Sir Walter Ra^gb much more to put him- 
 =lr in equipage for that long intended voyage, than 
 would have paid for his liberty, if he had gone'abW to 
 purcnafe it for reward of money at home; though I am 
 not ignorant that many of the coadventurers made large 
 contributions, and the fortunes of fome of them fuffer for 
 it at this very day. But although Gondomar, as my let- 
 ter mentions calls Sir Walter pirate, I for my part am 
 far from thinking fo, becaufe, as you give an unanfwer- 
 able reafon, the plundering of St. Thomas, was an afr 
 beyond the equator, where the articles of peace betwixt 
 the two kings do not extend. Yet, under favour, 
 ugh he broke not the peace, he was faid to break his 
 patent by exceeding the bounds of his commiffion, as the 
 forelaid declaration relates: for King James had made 
 trong promifes to Count Gondemar, that this fleet mould 
 ommit no outrages upon the King of Spain'* fubiefts by 
 land, unlefs they began firft; and I believe that was the 
 mam caufe of his death though I think, if they had pro- 
 ceeded that way agamft him in a legal courfe of trial, he 
 might have defended himfelf well enough 
 
 Whereas you allege, that if that action had fucceed- 
 
 ed and afterwards been well profecuted, it might have 
 
 ought Gondomar's great catholic Mafter to have been 
 
 L S ,f It r'i!^^ ^ f *f. - he was once 
 
 days : I 
 
 believe it had much damnified him, and interrupted him 
 in the nofleffion of his Weft-Indies, but not brought hirT 
 under favour, to fo low an ebb. I have obfervf d d 
 it is an ordinary thing in your popifli countries for princes 
 to borrow from the altar, when they are reduced to any 
 Itraits; for they fay, < the riches of the church are to 
 ierve as anchors in time of a Itorm.' Divers of our 
 kings have done worfe, by pawning their plate and 
 jewels. Whereas, my lettermakes mention that Sir Wat-
 
 
 3>8 Familiar LETTERS, PART II. 
 
 ter Rawleigk mainly laboured for his pardon before he 
 went, but could notcompafs it: this is alfo a paffage in 
 the forefaid printed relation ; but I could have \\ifhed 
 with all my heart he had obtained it, for I believe, that 
 neither the tranfgreffion of his coinmiffion, nor any thing 
 that he did beyond the Line, could have fliortened the 
 line of his life otherwife; "but in all probability we might 
 have been happy in him to this very day, having fuch an 
 heroic heart as he had, and other rare helps, by his 
 knowledge, for the great prefervation of health. I be- 
 lieve without any fcruple what you write, that Sir Wil- 
 liam St. Geon made an overture unto him of procuring 
 his pardon. for i$oo/. but whether he could have ef- 
 fe&ed it I doubt a little, when he had come to negotiate 
 it really. But I extremely wonder how that old fen- 
 tence which had lain dormant above fixteen years againft 
 Sir Walter Rawleigh, could have been made ufe of to 
 take off his head afterwards, considering that the Lord 
 Chancellor Verulatn, as you write, told him positively 
 (as Sir Walter was acquainting him with that proffer of 
 J-ir William St* Geon for a pecuniary pardon) in thefe 
 words, ' Sir, the knee-timber of your voyage is money, 
 fpare your purfe in this particular, for upon my life you 
 have a fufficient pardon for all that is parted already, 
 the King having under his broad-feal made you Admi- 
 ral of your fleet, and given you power of the martial- 
 lav/ over your officers andfoldiers.' One would think 
 by this royal patent, which gave him power of life and 
 death over the King's liege people, Sir Walter Raiukigb 
 fiiould become refills in curia, and free from all old 
 conviifKons ; but, Sir, to tell you the plain truth, Count 
 Gondimar at that tinae had a great Sroke in our court, 
 becaufc there was more than a mere overture of a match 
 \vith Spain; which makes me apt to believe that that 
 great wife Knight being fuch an Anti-Spaniard, was 
 nade a facriiicc to advance the matrimonial treaty. But 
 1 muff needs wonder, as you juftly do, that one and the 
 fame man fhould be condemned for being a friend to the 
 , (which was the ground of his firft condem- 
 nation) \
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 399 
 
 nation) and afterwards lofe his head for being their 
 enemy by the fame fentence. Touching his return, I 
 muPt confcfs I was utterly ignorant that thofe two noble 
 earls, Thomas of Antndcl, and William of Pembroke* 
 were engaged for him in this particular ; nor doth tine 
 printed relation make any mention of them at all, there- 
 fore I mult fay, that envy herfelf muft pronounce that re- 
 turn of his, for the acquitting of his fiduciary pledges, to 
 be a moft noble ad ; and waving that of King Alphsnfo* 
 moor, I may more property compare it to the aft of that 
 famous Roman commander, (-Regulttt', as I take it) who 
 to keep his promife and faith, returned to his enemies 
 * where he had been priibner, though he knew he went to 
 an inevitable death. But well did that faithlefs cunning 
 Knight who betrayed Sir Walter Rifwleigk in his intend- 
 ed efcape, being come afhore, fall to that contemptible 
 end, as to die a poor detracted beggar in the ille of 
 Luncfe}', having for a bag of money falfified his faith, 
 confirmed by the tie of the holy facrament, cs you write ; 
 as alfo before the year came about, to be found clipping 
 the fame coin in the King's own houfe at Whitehall * 
 which he had received as a reward for his perfidiouf- 
 nefs ; for which being condemned to be hanged, he was 
 driven to fell himfelf to his fhirt, to purchafe his pardon, 
 of two knights. 
 
 And now, Sir, let that glorious and gallant cavalier 
 Sir Walter Ra<wleigh, (who livzd long enough for bit 
 o-jjn honour, though not for his country, as it was faid cf 
 a Roman Conful) reft quiedy in his grave, and his vir- 
 tues live in his pofterity, as I find they do ftrongly, and 
 very eminently in you. I have heard his enemies con- 
 fcfs, that he was one of the ueightitft and wife/I men 
 that this ifland ever bred. Mr. Nath. Carpenter, a. 
 karned and judicious author, was not in the wrong 
 when he gave this difcreet character of him : ' Who 
 hath not known or read of this prodidgy of wit and 
 
 * fortune, Sir Walter Raivleigh, a man unfortunate in 
 
 * nothing elfe but in the greatnefs of his wit and advance- 
 ' ment ; whofe eminent worth was fuch both in domer- 
 
 L 1 2 'flic
 
 400 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 ' ftic policy, foreign expeditions, and difcoverics in arts 
 ' and literature, both pra*ftic and contemplative, that it 
 
 * might feem at once to conquer example and imitation.' 
 
 Now, Sir, hoping to be rectified in your judgment 
 touching my opinion of that illuftrious Knight your fa- 
 ther, give me leave to kifs your hands very affectionately 
 for the refpeclful mention you pleafe to make of my bro- 
 ther, once your neighbour: he fuffers good foul, as well 
 as I, though in a differing manner. I alfo much value 
 that favourable ccnfure you give of thole rambling letters 
 of mine, which indeed are nought elfe than a legend of 
 the cumberfome life and various fortunes of a cadet. 
 ,But whereas you pleafe to lay, ' That the world of 
 ' learned men is much beholden to me for them, and 
 
 * that fome of them are freighted with many excellent 
 
 * and quaint pafTages, delivered in a mafculine and folid 
 ' ftyle, adorned with much eloquence, and ftuck with 
 ' choiceft flowers picked from the mufes, garden.' Where- 
 as you alfo pleafe to write, ' That you admire my great 
 
 * travels, my itrenuous endeavours, at all times and in 
 ' all places, to accumulate knowledge, my adive laying 
 
 * hold upon all occafions, and on every handle that might 
 ' (with reputation) advantage either my wit or fortune.' 
 Thefe high gallant (trains of expreffions, I confefs, tran- 
 fcend my merit, and are a garment too gaudy for me to 
 .put on ; yet I will lay it up among my beft rtliques, 
 whereof I have divers fent me of this kind. And where- 
 as in publifhing thefe epiftles at this time you pleafe to 
 fay, ' That I have done like Hezekiah when he fhewed 
 ' his treafures to the Babylonians, that I have difcovered 
 
 * my riches to thieves, who will bind me fail and mare 
 
 * my goods.' To this I anfwer, that if thofe innocent 
 letters (for I know none of them but is fuch) fall among 
 fuch thieves, they will have no great prize to carry a- 
 way, it will be but petty larceny. I am already, God 
 wot, bound faft enough, having been a long time cooped 
 up between thele walls, bereft of all jny means of fub- 
 filtence and employment : nor do I know wherefore I am 
 here, unlefs it be for my fins : for, I bear as upright a 
 
 heart
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 401 
 
 heart to my King and country, I am as conformable and 
 well affected to the government of this land, efpecially 
 to the high court of parliament, as any one whatfoever 
 that breathes under this meridian, I "will except none ; 
 and for my religion, I defy any creature betwixt heavea 
 and earth, that will fay that I am not a true Engllfh pro- 
 teftant. I have from time to time employed divers of 
 my beft friends to get my liberty, at leaftwife leave to 
 go abroad upon bail, (for I do not expect, as you pleafe 
 alfo to believe in your letter, to^ be delivered hence, as 
 St. Peter was, by miracle) but nothing will yet prevail. 
 
 To conclude, I do acknowledge in the higheft way of 
 recognition, the free and noble proffer you pleafe to make 
 me of your endeavours to pull me out of this doleful fe- 
 pulchre, wherein you lay I am entombed alive. I am 
 no lefs obliged to you for the opinion I find you have of 
 my weak abilities, which you pleafed to wifh heartily 
 may be no longer eclipfed. I am not in defpair, but a 
 day will fhine, that may afford me opportunity to im 
 prove tins good opinion of yours, (which I value at a 
 high rate) and let the world know how much I am, Sir, 
 Tour real and ready fcrvitor, 
 
 fleet, May 5. 164.5. J. H, 
 
 LETTER LXVIII. 
 To Mr. T. V. 
 
 My dear TOM, 
 
 WHO would have thought ^oQrEngland had been. 
 brought to this pafs ? Could it ever have entered 
 into the imagination of man, that the fcheme and whole 
 frame of fo aatient and well-moulded a government fhould 
 be fo fuddenly ftruck off the hinges, quite out of joint,. 
 and tumbled into fuch a horrid confufion ? Who would 
 have held it poffible, thatto fly from Babyioti, we fhould 
 &U into fuch a Babel? That to avoid fhperftitiou, fome 
 L 1 3 people
 
 
 402 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 people mould be brought to belch out fuch a horrid pro- 
 fanenefs, as to call the temples of God, the tabernacles 
 of fatan ; the Lord's fupper, a two-penny ordinary ; to 
 make the communion-table a manger, and the font a 
 trough to water their horfes in ; to term the white de- 
 cent robe of the Prefbyter, the whore's {mock; the pipes 
 through which nothing came but anthems and holy 
 hymns, the devil's bagpipes ; the liturgy of the church, 
 though extracted moft of it out of the facred text, called 
 by fome another kind of alcoran, by others raw por- 
 ridge, by fome a piece forged in hell ? Who would have 
 thought to have fcen in England, the churches fhut and 
 the mops open upon Chriftmas day ? Could any foul have 
 imagined that this ifle would have produced fuch mon- 
 iters, as to rejoice at the Turks good fuccefTes againft 
 chriftians, and wifh. he were in the midft of Rome ? 
 "Who would have dreamed ten years fince, when Arch- 
 bimop Laud did ride in (late through London ftrests, ac- 
 companying my Lord of London to be fworn Lord High- 
 Treafurer of England, that the mitre mould have now 
 come to fuch a fcorn, to fuch a national kind of hatred, 
 as to put the whole ifland in a combuftion ; which makes 
 me call to memory \ faying of the Earl of Kildare in 
 Ireland in the reign of Henry VIII. which Earl, having 
 deadly feud with the Bifliop of CaJ/iles, burnt a church 
 belonging to that diocefe ; and being afked upon his ex- 
 amination before the Lord-Deputy at the caftle of Dub- 
 lin, why he had committed fuch a horrid facrilege as to 
 burn God's church ? He anfwered, ' I had never burnt 
 4 the church unlefs I had thought the Bifhop had been in 
 ' it.' Laftly, who would have imagined that the exciie 
 would have taken footing here ? A word I remember in 
 the laft parliament fave one, fo odious, that when Sir D. 
 Carletcn, then Secretary of State, did but name it in the 
 houfe of commons, he was like to be fent to the Tower; 
 although he named it to no ill fenfe, but to mew what 
 advantage of happinefs the people of England had over 
 otheY nations, having neither the gabels of Italy, the tal- 
 lies of France, or the excife of Holland laid upon them; 
 
 yet
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 403 
 
 yet upon this he was fuddenly interrupted, and called to 
 the bar. Such a ftrange metamorphofis poor England is 
 now come unto, and I am afraid our miferies are not come 
 to their height, but the longeft fhadows flay till the 
 evening. 
 
 The freiheft news that I can write unto you is, that 
 the Kentifh Knight of your acquaintance, whom I wrote 
 in my laft had an apoftacy in his brain, died fuddenly this 
 week of an impojlhume in his breaft, as he was reading a 
 pamphlet of his own that came from the prefs, wherein 
 he mewed a great mind to be nibling with my trees ; but 
 he only (hewed his teeth, for he could not bite them to 
 v any purpofe. 
 
 William Roe is returned from the wars, but he is 
 grown lame in one of his arms, fo he hath no mind to 
 bear arms any more : he confefieth himfelf to be an egre- 
 gious fool to leave his mercerfhip, and go to be a muf- 
 queteer. It made me think upon the tale of the Gallego 
 in Spain, who in the civil wars againfl Arragon, being in 
 the field he was fhot in the forehead, and being carried 
 away to a tent, the Surgeon fearched his wound and 
 found it mortal : fo he advifed him to fend for his con- 
 feflbr, for he was no man for this world, in regard the 
 brain was touched. The foldier wifhed him to fearch it 
 again, which he did, and told him, that he found he was 
 hurt in the brain, and could not poffibly fcape : where- 
 upon the Gallego fell into a chafe, and faid he lied ; for 
 he had no brain at all, par que fe tuviera fejjo, nunca 
 huniera venido efta guerra; for if I had had any brain, I 
 would never have come to this war. All your friends 
 here are well, except the maimed foldier, and remember 
 you often, efpecially Sir J. Brown a good gallant gentle- 
 man, who never forgets any who deferred to have a place 
 in his memory. Faitwel my dearTc/w, and God fend 
 you better days than we have here ; for I wifh you as 
 much happinefs as poffibly man can have : I wifli your 
 mornings may be good, your noons better, your evenings 
 and nights beft of all : I wifh your forrows may be fhort, 
 your joys lading, and all your defires end in fuccefs. Let
 
 404 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 me hear once more from you before you remove thence, 
 and tell me how the fquares go in Flanders : fo, I reft 
 
 Tour entirely affeftionate Jervitor, 
 Fleet, Augitfl 3. 1644. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXIX. 
 To his Majejly at Oxon,, 
 
 5 I R, 
 
 IProftrate this paper at your Majefly's feet, hoping 
 it may find way thence to your eyes, and fo defccnd 
 to your royal heart. 
 
 The foreign Minifter of Sate, by \vhofe conveyance 
 this comes, did lately intimate unto me, that among 
 divers things which go abroad under my name reflecting 
 upon the times, there are fome which are not fo well 
 taken, your Majefty being informed that they difcover 
 a fpirit of indifferency, and lukewarmnefs in the author. 
 This added much to the weight of my prefent fufferancesj 
 and exceedingly imbittered the fenfe of them unto me, 
 being no other than a corrofive to one already in a heclic 
 condition. I muft confete that fome of them were more 
 moderate than others ; yet (mofl: humbly under favour) 
 there were none of them but difplayed the heart of a 
 conftant true loyal fubjecl ; and as divers of thofe who 
 are mofl zealous to your Majefty's fervice told me, 
 they had the good fuccefs to reclify multitudes of people 
 in their opinion of fome things : infomuch that I am not 
 only confcious, but mofl: confident that none of them 
 could tend to your Majefty's diflervice any way imagin- 
 able : therefore I humbly befeech, that your Majefty 
 would vouchfafe to conceive of me accordingly, and of 
 one who by this reclufe paffive condition hath his mare of 
 this hideous florm : yet he is in affurance, rather than 
 hopes, that though divers crofs winds have blown, thefe. 
 times will bring in better at laft. There have beea 
 
 divers
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 405 
 
 divers of your royal progenitors who have had as fhrewd 
 fliocks ; and it is well known, how the next tranfmarine 
 kings have been brought to lower ebbs : at this very 
 day he of Spain is in a far worfe condition, being in the 
 rnidft of two forts of people, (the Catalan and Portu- 
 Qi'-efe) which were lately his vafTals, but now have torn 
 his feals, renounced all bonds of allegiance, and arc 
 in actual hoftility againft him. This great city, I may 
 fay, is like a chefsboard chequered, inlaid with white and 
 black fpots, though I believe the white are more in num- 
 ber ; ard your Majefty's countenance, by returning to your 
 great council and your court at Whitehall would quickly 
 tarn them all white. That almighty Majetty who ufeth 
 to draw light out of darknefs, and fbength out of weak- 
 nefs, making man's extremity his opportunity, preferve 
 and profper your Majefty according to the prayers early 
 and late of your Majefty's mod loyal Aibjefr, fervant, 
 and martyr, 
 Fleet, Sept. 3. 1644. HOW ELL. 
 
 LETTER LXX. 
 7*!? Sir R. GR. Knight and Baronet. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Had yours upon Maiinday-Thurfday late ; and the 
 reafon that fufpended my anfv/er till now, was, that 
 the feafon engaged me to fequefter my thoughts from my 
 wonted negotiations, to contemplate the great work of 
 man's redemption, fo great, that were it caft in counter- 
 balance with his creation, it would outpoize it far. I 
 fummoned all my intellectuals to meditate upon thole 
 paflions, upon thofe pangs, upon that defpicable and moft 
 dolorous death, upon that crofs whereon my Saviour fuf- 
 fered, which was the firft chrifHan altar that ever was; 
 and I doubt that he will never have benefit of the facri- 
 fice, who hates the harmlefs refemblance of the altar 
 
 whereon
 
 406 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 whereon it was offered. I applied my memory to faften 
 upon it, my understanding to comprehend it, my will to 
 embrace it. From thefe three faculties, methought I 
 found by the mediation of the fancy, fome beams of love 
 gently gliding down from the head to the heart, and ih- 
 iJaming all my affections. If the human foul had far 
 more powers than the philofophers afford her, if fhe had 
 as many faculties within the head as there be hairs with- 
 out, tiie fpeculation of this myftery would find work e- 
 nough for them all. Truly the more I fcrew up my fpi- 
 rits to reach it, the more I am fwallowed in a gulph of 
 admiration, and of a thoufand imperfect notions ; which 
 makes me ever and anon to quarrel my foul that me can- 
 not lay hold on her Saviour, much more my heart, that 
 my pureft affections cannot hug him as much as I would. 
 
 They have a cuftom beyond the feas, (and I could with 
 it were the word cuftom they had) that during the Paf- 
 Jlon week divers of their greateft princes and ladies will 
 betake themfelves to fome convent or reclufcd houfe, to 
 wean themfelves from all worldly incumbrances, and con- 
 vcrfe only with heaven, with performance of iome kind 
 of penances all the week long. A worthy gentleman 
 that came lately from Italy, told me that the Count of 
 Byron, now Marfhal of France, having been long perfe- 
 cuted by Cardinal Ricblieu, put himfelf into a monastery, 
 and the next day news was brought him of the Cardinal's 
 death ; which I believe made him fpend the reft of the 
 week with the more devotion in that way. France brags 
 that our Saviour had his face turned towards her when 
 he was upon the crofs : there is more caufe to think that 
 it was towards this ifland, in regard the rays of chrifti- 
 anity ilrft reverberated upon her, her King being chriftian 
 400 years before him of France, (as all hiftorians concur) 
 notwithstanding that he arrogates to himlelf the title of 
 the firft fon of the church. 
 
 Let this ferve for part of my apology. The Day fol- 
 lowing, my Saviour being in the grave, I had no lift to 
 look much abroad, but continued my retirednefs : there 
 was another reafon alfo why, becauie I intended to take 
 
 the
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 407 
 
 the holy facrament the Sunday enfuing ; which is an ad 
 of the greateft confolation, and confequence, that poflibly 
 a chriftian can be capable of: it imports him fo much, 
 that he is made or marred by it 4 it tends to his damna- 
 tion or falvation, to help him up to heaven, or tumble 
 him headlong to hell. Therefore, it behoves a man to 
 prepare and recollect hirafelf, to winnow his thoughts 
 from the chaff and tares of the world beforehand. This 
 then took up a good part of that day to provide rayfelf a 
 wedding-garment, that I might be a fit gueft at fo preci- 
 ous a banquet, fo precious, that manna and angels food 
 are but coarfe viands in companion of it. 
 I hope that this excufe will be of fuch validity, that it 
 may procure my pardon for not correfponding with you 
 laft week. I am now as freely as formerly, 
 
 Your moft ready and kianble fervitor, 
 Fleet, April 30. 1647. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXI. 
 
 To my honourable Friend Mr. E. P. at Paris. 
 
 S I R, 
 
 T ET me never fally hence from among thefe difcon- 
 ^ folate walls, if the literal correspondence you pleafe 
 to hold fo punctually with me, be not one of the greateft 
 folaces I have had in this fad condition : for I find fo 
 much fait, fuch endearments and flourifhes, fuch a gal- 
 lantry and neatnefs in your lines, that you may give the 
 law of lettering to all the world. I had this week a twin 
 of yours, of the loth and i$th current: I am forry to 
 hear of your achaques, and fo often indifpofition there ; 
 it may be very well (as you fay) that the air of that 
 dirty town doth not agree with you, becaufe you fpeak 
 Spanijlj ; which language you know is ufed to be breath- 
 ed out under a clearei clime, I am fure it agrees not with 
 the fweet breezes of peace, for it is you there that would 
 
 keep
 
 4P& Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 keep poor chriftendom in perpetual whirlwinds of wars ; 
 but I fear, that while France fets all wheels a-going, 
 and ftirs all the cacodsemons of hell to pull down the 
 houfe of Aujlria, me may chance at laft to pull it down 
 upon her own head. I am forry to underftand what they 
 write from Venice this week, that there is a difcovery 
 made in Italy, how France had a hand to invade the ter- 
 ritories of St. Mark, and puzzle the peace of Italy. I 
 want faith to believe it yet, nor can I entertain in my 
 breaft any fuch conceit of the moft Chrtftian King, and 
 frft fon of the church, as he terms himfelf : yet I pray 
 in your next to pull this thorn out of my thoughts, and 
 tell me whether one may give any credit to this report." 
 We are now Scot free as touching the Northern army, 
 for our dear brethren have trufTed up their baggage, and 
 put the Tweed betwixt us and them once again : dear 
 indeed, for they have coft us firft and laft above 
 1, 900,000 /. Sterling, which amounts to near 8,00000 
 of crowns with you there. Yet if reports be true, they 
 left behind them more than they loft, if you go to num- 
 ber of men; which will be a brave race of M, eftizot here- 
 after, who may chance meet their fathers in the field, 
 and kill them unwittingly : he will be a wife child that 
 knows his right father. Here we are like to have 
 twenty-four feas emptied fiiortly, and fome do hope to 
 find abundance of treafure in the bottom of them, as no 
 doubt they will, but many doubt that it will prove but 
 aiirum tolofanum to the finders. God grant that from 
 Aereans we turn not to be Arians : the Earl of Straf- 
 ford was accounted by his very enemies to have an extra- 
 ordinary talent of judgment and parts, (though they fay 
 he wanted moderation) and one of the prime precepts he 
 left upon the fcaffold to his fon was, that he mould not 
 meddle with church-lands, for they 'would prove a can- 
 ker to his ejlate. Here are ftarted up fome great know- 
 ing men lately, that can (hew the very track by which 
 our Saviour went to hell : they will tell you precifely 
 whofe names are written in the book of life, whofe not. 
 God deliver us from fpiritual pride, which of all forts is 
 
 the
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 4 c 5 
 
 the moft dangerous. Here are alfo notable flar-eazers 
 
 who obtrude to the world fuch confident bold prediction/ 
 
 and are fo fam.har with heavenly bodies, that />/*/,;,', 
 
 and Tycho Bracbe were but ninnies to them, vi'e have 
 
 Itefe a multitude of witches among us, for in|^ 
 
 and Suffolk there were above 200 indifted within thefe 
 
 two years, and above the one half of them executed- 
 
 more, I may well fay, than ever this ifland bred fince 
 
 the creation I fpeak it with horror. God guard us from 
 
 the devil for I think he was never fo bufy upon any 
 
 part of the earth that was enlightened with the beams tf 
 
 cnnftiamty ; nor do I wonder at it, for there is never a 
 
 crofs left to fright him away. Edinburgh I hear is fallen 
 
 into a relapfe of the plague: the laft they had raged fo 
 
 violently, that the fortieth manor woman lives not of 
 
 thofe that dwelt there four years fi nce , but it is ali 
 
 peopled with new faces. Don and Hans, I hear arc 
 
 abfolutely accorded; nor do I believe thai all the'an^ 
 
 fices of policy that you ufe there can hinder the peace 
 
 though they may puzzle it for a while : if it be f6 tte 
 
 people which button their doublets upward, will be be't 
 
 ter able to deal with you there. 
 
 Much notice is taken that you go on there too fart in 
 TOW acquefts; and now that the eagle's wings are pretty 
 well clipped, it u tune to look that your fto^er- LhZ 
 grow n&t too rank> j fpread ^ ^ ^^ ^ 
 
 c te know how ,t fares with your matter, I muft tell 
 you, that Wee the glorious fun, he is ftill in his o 01 f 
 though clouded for a time that he cannot /hoot the 
 beams of majc. y with that luftre he was wont to do ~ 
 -never d,d cavalier woo fair Lady as he wooes the 
 
 ; n is rauch the 
 
 your- 
 
 Farewcl my noble friend, chear up, and referve 
 :lf for better days ; take your royal matter for vour 
 tern who for his longanimity, padence, coun" 
 conOancy, is admired of all theLrld, 'and K 
 
 h/,^ K"? " ? Utg0ne 3J1 the nfne * I 
 the cedar be fo weather-beaten, we poor fl lru bs fflnft g! 
 
 * M ra murmur
 
 410 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 murmur to bear part of the ftorm. I have had my fhare, 
 and I know you want not yours: the ftars may change 
 their afpefts, and we may live to fee the fun again in his 
 full meridian. In the interim come what will, I am 
 
 . Entirely yours, 
 fleet, Feb. 3. 1646. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXII. 
 
 To the Rt. Hon. EDWARD Earl c/"Dorfet, (Lord Cham- 
 berlain of his Majejifs Hottjhold, &c.) at Knowlcs. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 HAVING fo advantageous a hand as Dr. ?. Tur- 
 ner, I am bold to fend your Lordmip a new tracl: 
 of French philofophy, called Uufagc de paj/ions, which 
 is cried up to be a choice piece. It is a moral difcourfe 
 of the right ufc of paflions, the conduft whereof as it is 
 the principal employment of virtue, fo the conqueft 
 of them is the difficuiteft part of valour: to know 
 cue's felf is much, but to conquer one's felf is 
 more. We need not pick quarrels and fcek enemies 
 without doors, we have too many inmates at home to 
 exercife our prowefsupon; And there is no man, let 
 him have his humours never fo well balanced, and in fub- 
 je&ion unto him, but like Mufiovia wives, they will 
 oftentimes inf'ult, unlefs they be checked ; yet we fhould 
 make them our fervants, not our {laves. Touching the 
 occurrences of the times, fince the King was fnatched a- 
 \v;iy from the parliament, the army they fiiy, ufe him 
 vvith more civility and freedom ; but for the main w r ork 
 of reftoring him, he is yet, as one may fay, but tanta- 
 lized, being brought often within the fight of London, 
 and fo oft again. There are hopes that fomething will 
 be done to his advantage Ipeedily, becaufe the Gregorian 
 foldiers and grofs of the army is well affefled to him, 
 though fome of the chicfeft commanders be ftill averfe. 
 
 For
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 4*1 
 
 For foreign news, they fay St. Mark bears up ftoutly 
 againft Mahomet both by land and fea : in Dalmatia he 
 hath of late fhaken him by the turban ill-favouredly. I 
 could heartily wifh that our army were there to help 
 the republick, and combate the common enemy, for then 
 one might be fure to die in the bed of honour. The 
 commotions in Sicily are quafhed, but thofe of Naples 
 increafe ; and it is like to be a more raging and voracious 
 fire than Vefuvius, or any of the fulphureous mountains 
 about her did ever belch out. The Catalan and Portu- 
 guefe bait the Spaniard on both fides, but the firft hath 
 mrcwder teeth than the other; and the French and Hol- 
 lander find him work in Flanders. And now, niy Lord, 
 to take all nations in a lump, I think God almighty hath 
 a quarrel lately with all mankind, and given the reins to 
 the ill fpirit to compafs the whole earth ; for within thefc 
 twelve years there have the ftrangeft revolutions, and 
 horrideft things happened not only in Europe, but all the 
 world over, that have befallen mankind, I dare boldly 
 fay, fince Adam fell, in fo fhort a revolution of time. 
 There is a kind of popular planet reigns everywhere : I 
 will begin with the hotteft parts, with Africa, where the 
 Emperor of Ethiopia (with two of his fons) was encoun- 
 tered and killed hi open field by the groom of his ca- 
 mels and dromedaries, who had levied an army out of 
 the dregs of the people againft him, and is like to hold 
 that antient empire in AJia. The Tartar broke over 
 the 400 miled wall, *nd rumed into the heart of China, 
 as far as Qiinzay, and belaguered the very palace of the 
 Emperor, who rather than become captive to the bafe 
 Tartar burnt his caftle, and did make away himfelf, his 
 thirty wives and children. The great Turk hath been 
 lately ftrangled in the feraglio, his own houfe. The Em- 
 peror of Mufcovia going in a folemn proceffion upon the 
 Sabbath fay, the rabble broke in, knocked down and 
 cut in pieces divers of his chiefeft counfellors, favourites, 
 and officers before his face ; and dragging their bodies 
 to the mercat-place, their heads were chopped off, 
 into veflels of hot water, and fo fet upon poles to burn 
 M m 2 more
 
 412 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 more bright before the court-gate. In Naples a com- 
 mon fruiterer hath railed fuch an infurreftion, that they 
 fay above fixty men have been fkin already upon the 
 ib-eets of that city alone. Catalonia and Portugal have 
 cuite revolted from Spain. Your Lord/hip knows what 
 knocks have been betwixt the Pope and Parma : the 
 Pole and the Cofacks are hard at it, Venice wreftleth 
 with the Turk, and is like to lofe her maidenhead unto 
 him, unlefs other chriirian princes look to it in time. 
 And touching thefe three kingdoms, there is none more 
 capable than your Lordlhip to judge what moniirous 
 Things have happened; fo that it feems the whole earth 
 is off the hinges; and (which is the mere wonderful) 
 .i'.l thefe prodigious paflfages have fallen out in lefs than 
 the compafs of twelve years. But now that all the 
 v/orld is together by the ears, the States of Hollar d 
 'vould be quiet, for advice is come that the peace is 
 concluded, and interchangeably ratified betwixt them 
 . .:-! Spain; but they defer the publifliing of it yet, till 
 they have collected all the contribution-money for the 
 .irray. The Spaniard hopes that one day this peace 
 may tend to his advantage more than all his wars have 
 done thefe fourfcorc years, relying upon the old pro- 
 phecy : Mane triumphabis, Batavia, Pace perioit. 
 
 The King of Denmark hath buried lately his elded 
 fon Chriftian t fo that he hath now but one living, viz. 
 Frederick, who is Archbifhop of Brcme y and is mortly 
 o be King cleft. 
 
 My Lord, this letter runs upon univerfals, becaufe I 
 know your Lordfhip hath a public great foul, and a fpa- 
 cious underftanding, which comprehends the whole 
 world : fo in a due pofture of humility I kifs your hands, 
 being my Lord, 
 
 Tour mojl obedient and moft faithful firvitor t 
 Fleet , Jan. 20. 1646. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 413 
 
 LETTER LXXIII. 
 To Alafter W. B. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Had yours of the laft week, and by reafon of fome 
 fudden incumbrances I could not correfpond vith 
 you by that carrier. As for your defire to know the 
 pedigree and firft rife of .thofe we call prefbyterians, I 
 find that your motion hath as much of piety as euriofity 
 in it; but I muft tell you it is a fubjecl fitter for a trea- 
 tife thap a letter, yet I will endeavour to fatisfy you in 
 fome part. 
 
 Touching the word nptffcrtpix, it is as antient as chri- 
 ftianity itfelf ; and every churchman compJeated in hcly 
 orders was called Prefbyter, as being the chiefefl name 
 of the function ; and fo it is ufed in all churches both 
 Eaitern and Occidental to this day. We by contraction 
 call him Prieft, fo that all bifhops and archbifhops arc 
 priefts though not vice verfa. Thefe holy titles of Bi- 
 (hop and Prieft are now grown odious among fuch poor 
 fciolifts, who fcarce know the hoties of things, becaufe 
 they favour of antiquity : though their Minifter that of- 
 ficiates in their church be the fame thing as Prieft, and 
 their Superintendent the fame thing as Bifhop ; but be- 
 caufe they are lovers of novelties, they change old Creek 
 words for new Latin ones. The firft broacher of the 
 prefbyterian religion, and who made it differ from that 
 of Rome, and Luther* was Calvin; who being once ba- 
 nifhed G'e/:eva, was revoked, at which time, he no lefs 
 petulantly than profanely applied to himfelf that text of 
 the holy Prophet which was raeaned of Chrift, The ft one 
 which the builders refufed, is made the head-ftov.e of the 
 corner, &c. Thus Geneva lake fwallowed up the epif- 
 copal fea, and church-lands were made fecular ; which 
 was ths white they levelled at. This Geneva bird flew 
 thence to France, and hatched the Hugonots, which 
 make about the teath part of that people. It took wing 
 M m 3 alfo
 
 414 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 alfo to Bohemia and Germany high and low, as the Pa- 
 latinate, the land of Hejjj'e, and the confederate provin- 
 ces of the States of Holland, whence it took flight to 
 Scotland and England. It took firfr. footing in Scotland, 
 vvhen King James was a child in his cradle ; but when 
 he came to understand himfelf, and was manumitted from 
 Buchanan, he grew cold in it ; and being come to Eng- 
 '.ir,.i, he utterly difclaimed it, terming it, in a public 
 fpeech of his to the parliament, a fed, rather than a re- 
 ligion. To this feft may be imputed all the fciffures 
 that have happened in chrUHanity, with moft of the wars 
 that have lacerated poor Europe ever fmce ; and it may 
 be called the fource of the civil diftradions that now af- 
 Hict this poor ifiand. 
 
 Thus have I endeavoured to fulfil your defires in part : 
 I fhall enlarge myfelf further when I Jhall be made hap- 
 py with your conver&tkm here, tall when, and always, 
 I reft 
 
 Tour moft affettionate to lavs and feme jcit, 
 
 Fie :t y Nov. 20. 1647. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXIV. 
 To HENRY HOPKINS, Efa; 
 
 S I R y 
 
 TO ufher in again old Janus, I fend you a parcel of 
 Indian perfume, which the Spaniard calls the 
 holy herb, in regard of the various virtues it hath, but 
 we call it tobacco : I will not fay it grew under the King 
 of Spain's window, but I am told it was gathered near 
 his gold mines of Potoji, (where they report, that in 
 fome places there is more of that ore than earth) there- 
 fore it muft needs be precious ftuff: if moderately and 
 feafonably taken, (as I find you always do) it is good 
 for many things : it helps digeftion taken a while after 
 meat, it makes one void rheum, break wind, and keeps 
 
 the
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 415 
 
 the body open : a leaf or two being fteeped over night in 
 a little white wine is a vomit that never fails in its opera- 
 tion : it is a good companion to one that converfeth with 
 dead men, for if one hath been poring long upon a book, 
 or is toiled with the pen, and fhipified with ftudy, io 
 quickeneth him, and difpels thofe clouds that ufuaJly 
 overfet the brain. The fmoke of it is one of the whole- 
 fomeft fcents that is, again/I all contagious airs, for it 
 over-matters all other fmells, as King James they fay found 
 true, when being once a hunting, a ftiower of rain drove 
 him into a pig-fty for ihelter, where he caufed a pipeful! 
 to be taken of purpofe : it cannot endure a fpider, or a 
 flea, with fuch like vermin ; and if your hawk be troubled 
 *\vith any fuch, being blown into his feathers it frees 
 him : it is good to fortify and preferve the fight, the 
 fmoke being let in round about the balls of the eyes once 
 a week, and frees them from all rheums, driving them 
 back by way of repercuffion ; being taken backward, it 
 is excellent good againft the cholic, and taken into the 
 ftomach, it will heat and cleanfc it; for I could in/hnce 
 in a great Lord (my Lord of Sunder land, Prefident of 
 York} who told me, that he taking it downward into his 
 ftomach, it made him caft up an impofthume, bag and 
 all, which had been a long time engendering oat of 3 
 bruifc he had received at foot-ball, and fo preferred his 
 life for many years. Now to defcend from the fabftance 
 of the fmoke, to/ the afhes, it is well known that the 
 medicinal virtues thereof are very many ; but they are fo 
 common, that I will fpare the inferting of them here : 
 but if one would try a pretty conclufion, how much fmoke 
 there is in a pound of tobacco, the aflies will teil him ; 
 for let a pound be exactly weighed, and the aflies kept 
 charily and weighed afterwards, what wants in a pound 
 weight in the afhes cannot be denied to have been fmoke, 
 which evaporated in the air. I have been told that Sir 
 Walter Raiuleigh won a wager of Queen Elizabeth upon 
 this nicety. 
 
 The Spaniards and Irijh take it mo ft in powder or 
 fnutchin, and it mightily refrefhes the brain ; and I be- 
 lieve
 
 4i 6 familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 lieve there is as much taken this way in Ireland, as there 
 is in pipes in England: one fhall commonly fee the fer- 
 ving-maid upon the wafhing-block, and the fwain upon 
 the plough-lhare, when they are tired with labour, take 
 out their boxes of fnutchin and draw it into their noftrils 
 with a quill, and it will beget new fpirits in them with a 
 frefh vigour to fall to their work again. In Barbary and 
 other parts of Africa, it is wonderful what a fmall pill 
 of tobacco will do ; for thofe who ufe to ride poft 
 through the fandy deferts, where they meet not with 
 any thing that is potable or edible, fometimes three days 
 together, they ufe to carry fmall balls or pills of tobacco, 
 whi h being put under the tongue, it affords them a per- 
 petual moifture, and takes off the edge of the appetite 
 for fome days. 
 
 If you defire to read with pleafure all the virtues of 
 this modern herb, you muft read Dr. Thoritts's Paetolo- 
 gis, an accurate piece couched in a ftrenuous heroic verfe, 
 full of matter, and continuing its flrength from firft to 
 laft ; infomuch that for the bignefs it may be compared 
 to any piece of antiquity, and in my opinion is beyond 
 
 ftarfMfrivo/uM^la, Or yaMi>/uva,tta vice. 
 
 So I conclude thefe rambling notions, prefuming you 
 will accept this fmall argument of my great refpefts unto 
 you. If you want paper to light your pipe, this letter 
 may ferve the turn ; and if it be true what the poets 
 frequently (ing, that affettion is fire t you (hall need no 
 other than the clear flames of the donor's love to make 
 ignition, which is comprehended in this diilich : 
 Ignis amor Jt fit, tobaccum accendere noftrum> 
 Nulla petenda. trbi fax niji dantit amor. 
 
 Jf love be fre, to light this Indian nutett, 
 T"be donor's love of fire may Jland in/lead. 
 So I wilh you, as to myfelf, a moft happy new year: 
 may the beginning be good, the middk better, and the 
 end beft of all. 
 
 Tour viift faithful and truly ajfcftlonate fervitor, 
 fleet, Jan. i. 1646. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTER S, 
 
 LETTER LXXV. 
 To the Right Honourable ny Lord, of D. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 TH E fubjecl of this letter may peradventure feem.. 
 a paradox to fome, but not, I kno\v, to your 
 Lordlhip, when you have pleafed to weigh well the 
 reafons. Learning is a thing that hath been much cried 
 up, and coveted in all ages, efpecialiy in this laft century, 
 of years, by people of all forts, though never fo mean. 
 aod mechanical ; every man ftrains his fortunes to keep 
 his children at fchool ; the cobler will clout it till mid- 
 night, the porter will carry burdens till his bones crack 
 again, the ploughman will pinch both back and. belly to 
 give bis fon learning ; and I find that tliis ambition reigns 
 nowhere fo much as in this ifknd. But under favour, 
 this word, learning, is taken in a narrower fenfe among 
 us than among other nations, we feem to reftrain it only 
 to the book, whereas indeed, any artifan whatfoever 
 (if he know the fecret and myftery of his trade) may be 
 called a learned man-. A good mafbn, a good fhocmaker 
 that can manage St. Crifpin's lance handfomely. afkillfui 
 yeoman, a good fhipw right, fac. may be called learned 
 men, and indeed the ufefulleft fort of learned men, for 
 without the two firft, we might go barefooted, and ly, 
 abroad as beads, having no other canopy than the wildL 
 air, and without the two laft we might frarve for bread, 
 have no commerce with other nations, or ever be able 
 to trade upon a continent :* thefe, with fudi like dex- 
 terous artifans, may be termed learned men, and the 
 more behoveful for the fubfiftence of a country than thofe 
 polymathifts, that ftands poring all day in a corner upon 
 a moth-eaten author, and converfe only \vithdead men. 
 The Chine fe (who are the next neighbours to the rifing 
 fun on this part of the hemifpherc, and confequendy acu- 
 teft)have a wholefome piece of policy, that.the f r .n r 's al-. 
 ways of the father' stradei andit is all the leaguing he aims 
 
 at;
 
 418 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 at ; which makes them admirable artifans, for, befides 
 the dexteroufnefs and propensity of the child, being def- 
 cended lineally from fo many of the fame trade, the 
 father is more careful to inftruft him, and to difcover to 
 him all the myftery thereof. This general cuftom or 
 law, keeps their heads from running at random after 
 book-learning and other vocations. I have read a tale 
 of Robert Grqfthead Bifhop of Lincoln, that being come 
 to his greatnefs he had a brother who was a hufbandman, 
 and expected great matters from him in point of prefer- 
 ment, but the Bifhop told him, that if he wanted money 
 to mend his plow or his cart, or to buy tacklings for 
 horfes with other things belonging to his husbandry, he 
 fhould not want what was fitting ; but he ivifhed him to 
 aim no higher, for a husbandman he found him t and a 
 buibandman he would leave him. 
 
 The extravagant humor of our country is not to be 
 altogether commended, that all men fhould afpire to 
 book-learning : there is not a fimpler animal, and a more 
 fuperfluous member of a ftate, than a mere fcholar, than 
 
 only a felf-pleafing fludent, he is, Telluris inutile 
 
 pondut. 
 
 The Gotht forbore to deftroy the libraries of the 
 Creeks and Italians, becaufe books fhould keep them 
 flill foft, fimple or too cautious in warlike affairs. Ar- 
 chimedes though an excellent engineer when Syracufe 
 was loft, was found at his book in his ftudy, intoxicated 
 with fpeuclations. Who would not have thought another 
 great learned Philofopher to be a fool or frantic, when 
 being in a bath he leaped out naked among the people 
 and cried, I have found it , I have found it, having hit 
 then upon an extraordinary conclufion in geometry ? 
 There is a famous tale of Thomas Aquinas, the ange- 
 lical Doclor, and of Bor.aventure the feraphical Doftor, 
 of whom Alexander Hales (our countryman and his 
 mafter) reports, whether it appeared not in him that 
 Adam had finned. Both thefe great clerks being invited 
 to dinner by the French King, of purpofe to obferve 
 their humours, and being brought to the room where the 
 
 table
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 419 
 
 table was laid, the firft fell a eating of bread as hard as 
 he could drive, at laft breaking out of a brown ftudy, he 
 cried out, Conclufum eft contra manichxos, the other 
 fell a gazing upon the Queen, and the King afked him 
 how he liked her, Ob, S/>, if an earthly Queen be fo 
 teautifuly 'what /hall iue think of the ^ueen of keaven ? 
 The latter was the better courtier of the two. Hence 
 we may infer, that your mere book-men, your deep 
 clerks, whom we call the only learned men, are not 
 always the civilleft or bed moral men : nor is too great a 
 number of them convenient for any (late, leading a foft 
 fedentary life, efpecially thofe who feed their own fan- 
 cies upon the public {lock. Therefore k were to be 
 * wimed that there reigned not among the people of this 
 land fuch a general itching after book- learning ; and I be- 
 lieve fo many free-fchools do rather hurt than good : nor 
 did the art of printing much avail the chriftian common- 
 wealth, but may be faid to be well near as fatal as gun- 
 powder, which came up in the fame age : for, under 
 Correction, to this may be partly afcribed that -fpiritual 
 pride, that variety of dogmatifts which fwarm among us. 
 Add hereunto, that the exceffive number of thofe which 
 converfe only with books, and whofe profeffion confifls 
 in them, is fuch, that one cannot live for another, ac- 
 cording to the dignity of the calling : a phyfician cannot 
 live for the phyficians, a lawyer (civil and common) 
 cannot live for lawyers, nor a divine for divines. More- 
 over, the multitudes that profefs thefe three beft vocati- 
 ons, efpecially the laft, make them of far lefs efteem. 
 There is an odd opinion among us, that he who is a con- 
 templative man, a man who weds himfelf to ftudy, and 
 fwallows many books, muft needs be a profound fcbol- 
 lar, and a great learned man, though in reality he be 
 fuch a dolt, that he hath neither a retentive faculty, to 
 keep what he hath read, nor wit to make any ufeful ap- 
 plication of it in common difcourfe ; what he draws in 
 lieth upon dead lees, and never grows fit to be broached. 
 Befides, he may want judgment in the choice of his au- 
 thors, and knows not how to turn his hand either in 
 
 weighing
 
 423 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 weighing or winnowing the foundcft opinions. There 
 are clivers who ^are cried up for great clerks, who want 
 difcretion. Others though they wade deep into the 
 caufes and knowledge of things, yet they are fubjecl to 
 fcrew up their wits, and foar fo high, that they lofe 
 themfelves in their own fpeculations ; for thinking to 
 tranfcend the ordinary pitch of reafon, they come to in- 
 volve the common principles of philofophy in a mitt : in- 
 ftead of illuftrating things, they render them more db- 
 rfcure : inftead of a plainer and fliorter way to the palace 
 of knowledge, they lead us through briery odd uncouth 
 paths, and fo fail into the fallacy called nit um per ignt- 
 tiuf Some have the hap to be termed learned men, 
 though they have gathered up but the fcraps of know- 
 ledge here and there, though they be but fmatterers and 
 mere fciolifts, fcarce knowing the holies of things; yet 
 like empty cdks, .if they can make a found, and have .a 
 .gift to vent with confidence what they have fucked in, 
 they are accounted great fcholars. Amongft all book- 
 learned men, except the divine, to whom all learned 
 men mould be lacqueys, the Philofopher who hath wad- 
 ed through all the mathematicks, who hath dived into 
 the fecrets of the elementary world, and converfcth al- 
 fo with celeftial bodies, may be termed a learned man : 
 the critical hiftorian and antiquary, may be called al- 
 fb a learned man, who hath convcrfed with our fore- 
 fathers, and observed the carriage and contingencies of 
 matters patted, whence he draws inftanccs and cautions 
 for the benefit of the times he lives in : the civilian may 
 be called likcwife a learned man, if the revolving of huge 
 volumes may intitle onefo; but touching the authors of 
 the common law, -which -is peculiar only to this meridi- 
 an, they way be all carried in a <w6f(r/-6arrovi, as my 
 countryman Dr. (/wn told Judge Finch : the phyfician 
 murt needs be a learned man, for he knows himfoif in- 
 ward and outward, being well vcrfed in autology, in that 
 leflbn nofce teipfnni; and as Adrian VI. faid, lie is very 
 necefTary for a populous country, for ' were it not for 
 * the phyfician, men would live fo long and grow fo 
 
 * thick,
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 421 
 
 * thick, that one could not live for the other ; and he 
 
 * makes the earth cover all his faults.' 
 
 But what Dr. Giyyn faid of the common law-books, 
 and Pope Adrian of the phyfician, was fpoken, I con- 
 ceive, in merriment : for my part, I honour thofe two 
 worthy profeffions in a high degree. Laflly, a polyg- 
 lot, or good linguift, may be alfo termed an ufeful learn- 
 ed man, cfpecially if verfed in fchool-languages. 
 
 My Lord, I know none of this age more capable to 
 fit in the chair, and cenfure what is true learning and 
 what is not, than yourfelf : therefore in fpeaking of this 
 fubjecT: to your Lordfhip, I fear to have committed the 
 ifame error as Phcnnio did in difcourfing of war before 
 Hannibal. No more now, but that I am, my Lord, 
 Tour moft humble and obedient fervant t 
 
 J.H. 
 
 LETTER LXXVI. 
 To Defter J. D. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Have many forts of civilities to thank you for, but a- 
 mong the reft, I thank you a thoufand times (twice 
 told) for that delightful fit of fociety, and conference of 
 notes we had lately in this Fleet cabin of mine upon di- 
 vers problems, and upon fome which are exploded, (and 
 that by thofe who feem to fway moft in the common- 
 wealth of learning) for paradoxes, merely by an implicit 
 faith, without diving at all into the reafon of the aflert- 
 ors. And whereas you promifed a further expreffion of 
 yourfelf by way of a difcourfive letter, what you thought 
 of Copernicus^ opinion touching the movement of the 
 earth, which hath ftirred all our modern wits ; and 
 whereof Sir J. Brown pleafed to oblige himfelf to do 
 the like touching the philofopher's ftone, the powder of 
 projection, and potable gold, provided that I \vculd do 
 N n the
 
 422 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 the fume concerning a peopled country, and a /pecies of 
 moving creatures in the concave of the moon ; which I 
 willingly undertook upon thofe conditions. To acquit 
 myfelf of this obligation, and to draw on your perform- 
 ances the fooner, I have adventured to fend you this 
 following difcourfe (fuch as it is) touching the luoary 
 world. 
 
 I believe it is a principle which not many will of- 
 fer .to controvert, that as antiquity cannot privilege an 
 error, fo novelty cannot prejudice truth. Now, truth 
 hath. her "degrees of growing and expanding herfelf, as 
 ;ill other things have ; and as time begets her, fo he doth 
 ihe obiktricious office of .of a midwife to bring her forth. 
 . Many truths arc but cmbrios or problems: nay, fome 
 >f them fccm to be mere paradoxes at firfh The opini- 
 on that there were Antipodes, was exploded when it was 
 firfl broached : it was held abfurd and ridiculous, and the 
 Thing itfelf to be as impo.flible as it was for men to go 
 upon their heads, with their heels upwards: nay, it was 
 adjudged to be fo dangerous a tenet, that you know well 
 The liiihop's name, who in the prLmitive church was by 
 icntcnce of condemnation fcnt out of this world without 
 a head, to go and dwell amongft his Antipodes, becaufe 
 he lirft hatched and held that opinion. But now our 
 late navigators, and Eafl-India mariners, who ufe to 
 rrofs the equator .-Kid tropicks fo often, will tell you, 
 that it is as grofs a paradox to hold there are no Anti- 
 podes, and that the negative is now as abfurd as the aiTirm- 
 ative fecmed at firit. For men to walk upon the ocean 
 when the forges were at the highcR, r.r,u to n, :e a 
 heavy dull piece of wood to fwim, nay, fly upon the 
 water, was held as impoflible a thing at flrft, as it is now' 
 thought impoflible for men to fly in the air : fails were 
 held then as uncouth, as if one mould attempt to make 
 himfclf wings to mount lip to heaven a la voile. Two 
 hu idrcd and odd years ago, he would have been taken 
 for fome frantic fool that would undertake to batter and 
 blow up a caftlc with a few barrels of a fmall contemptible 
 black powder. 
 
 .
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 425 
 
 The great Architect of the world hath been obferved 
 not to throw down all gifts and knowledge to mankind 
 confufedly at once ; but in a regular padimonions me- 
 thod, to difperfe them by certain degrees, periods, and 
 progrefs of time, leaving man to make induftrious re- 
 fearchcs and investigations after truth : He left the; ^-:or!.i 
 /<? the difputations of men, as the wilelt of men faithj 
 who in the acquilkion of natural truths went from the 
 hyflbp to the cedar. One day ccrtipeth another, ani 
 one age rectified! another : the morrow hath more ex- 
 perience than the precedent day, and is oft-times able to 
 be his fcoolmailer : the grandchild laughs at fbme things 
 that were done in his grandfire's days ; infomuch, that 
 hence it may well be inferred, that natural human know- 
 ledge is not yet mounted to its meridian, and higheft 
 point of elevation. I confefs it cannot be denied with* 
 out grofs ingratitude, but w<2 arc infinitely obliged to our 
 forefathers for the fundamentals of fciences ; and as the 
 herald hath a rule, Mai Inn cum patribus quam cu:.t 
 fratribus err are-; I had rather err *witA my fathers 
 than brothers : fo it holds in other kinds of knowledge. 
 But thofe times which we term vulgarly the old world, 
 was indeed the youth or adolefcencc of it; and though 
 if refpect be had to the particular and perfonal ads of ge- 
 neration, and to the relation of father and fon, they wh 
 forelived and preceded us, may be called our ancestors, 
 yet if you go to the age of the world in general, and to 
 the true length and longevity of things,, we are more pro- 
 perly the older cofmopolites : in this refpect the cadet 
 may be termed more antient than his elder brother, be- 
 caufe the world was older when he entered into ir. 
 Moreover, befidcs truth, time hath alfo another daughter, 
 which is experience, who holds in her hands the great 
 looking-glafs of wifdom and knowledge. 
 
 But now to the intended talk, touching an habitable 
 .world, and a fpecies of living creatures in the orb of the 
 moon, which may bear fome analogy with thofe of this 
 elementary world: although it.be not my purpofe to 
 maintain and abfolutely aflert.this problem, yet I will fay 
 N n 2 this,
 
 424 Familiar LETTERS. PART ft. 
 
 this, that whofoever crieth it down for a new ncoterical 
 opinion, as divers do, commit a grofTer error than the 
 opinion may be in its own nature : for it is almoft as an- 
 ticnt as philosophy herfelf; I am fure, it is as old as 
 Orpheus, who fmgs of divers fair cities and caftles within 
 the circle of the moon. Moreover, the profoundeft 
 clerks and moft renowned philofophers in all ages have 
 affirmed it. Towards the firft age of learning, among 
 others, Pythagoras and Plato avouched it; the firft of 
 \vhom was pronounced the wifeft of men by the Pagan 
 oracle, as cur Solomon is by holy write. In the middle 
 -; ]e of learning Plutarch fpeaks of it ; and in thefe mo- 
 dern times, the molt Speculative and fcientin'calleft men, 
 t-oth in Germany and Italy feem ro adhere to it, fubinu- 
 aing that not only the Sphere of the moon is peopled 
 with Sdenites or lunary men, but that likewife every 
 ihir in heaven is a peculiar world of itfelf, which is co- 
 ionized and replenished with Aftrcan inhabitants, as the 
 earth, fea, and air, are with elementary ; the body of 
 the fun not excepted, who hath alfo his Solar creatures, 
 and they are accounted the moft fublimc, the moft pure, 
 and perfedeft of all. The elementary creatures are held 
 the grofleft of all, having more matter than form in 
 them : the Solar have more form than matter ; the Sc- 
 lenites with other Aftrean inhabitants, are of a mixed 
 nature, and the nearer they approach the body of the 
 fun, the more pure and fpiritual they are : were it fo, 
 there were forae ground for his fpeculation, who thought 
 that human fouls, be they never fo pious and pure, a- 
 fcend not immediately after the diflblution from the cor- 
 rupt mafs of the flefh before the glorious prefence of 
 God, prefently to behold the beatifical vifion, but firft into 
 the body of the moon, or fome other ftar, according to 
 their degrees of goodnefs, and actuate fome bodies there 
 of a purer competition: when they are refined there, 
 they afcend to fome higher ftar, and fo to fome higher 
 than that, till at laft by thefe degrees they be made ca- 
 pable to behold the luftre of that glorious Majefty, in 
 whofe fight no impurity can (land. This is illuftrated 
 
 by
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 425- 
 
 by a comparifon, that if one after he hath been kept 
 clofe in a dark dungeon a long time, fliould be taken 
 out, and brought fuddenly to look upon -the fjn in the 
 meridian, it would endanger him to be {truck frark blind ; 
 fo no human foul fuddenly {allying out of a dirty prifon, 
 as the body is, would be pofiibly able to appear before 
 the incomprehenfible Majefty of God, or be fufceptible 
 of the brightnefs of his all-glorious countenance, unlefs 
 he be fitted thereunto beforehand by certain degrees, 
 which might be done by paffing from one ftar to another, 
 who, we are taught differ one from the other in glory 
 and fplendor. 
 
 Among our modern authors that would furbifh this 
 old opinion of lunary creatures, and plant colonies in the 
 orb of the moon with the reft of the celeftial bodies, 
 Gafper Galileo Galilei is one, who by artificial profpe- 
 ftives hath brought us to a nearer commerce \vith hea- 
 ven, by drawing it fixteer* times nearer earth than it 
 was before in ocular appearance, by the advantage of the 
 laid optic inftrument. 
 
 Among other arguments which the afTertors of Aftrean 
 inhabitants do produce for proof of this high point, one 
 is, that it is neither repugnant to reafon or religion to 
 think, that the almighty Fabricator of the univerfe, who 
 doth nothing in vain, nor fuffers his handmaid nature to 
 do fo, when he created the eratic and fixed ftars, he did 
 not make thofe huge immenfe bodies, whereof moft are 
 bigger than the earth and fea, though conglobated, to 
 twinkle only, and to be an ornament to the roof of hea- 
 ven ; but he placed in -the convex- of every one of thofe 
 vaft capacious' fpheres fome living creatures to glorify his 
 name, among whom, there is in -every one of them one 
 fupereminent, like man upon earth, to be Lord para- 
 mount of all the reft. To this haply may allude the old 
 opinion, that there is a peculiar intelligence which guides 
 and governs every orb in heaven. 
 
 They that would thus colonize the ftars \vith inhabi- 
 tants, do place in the body of the fun, as was faid be- 
 fore, the pared, the moft immaterial and refinedeft in- 
 K n 3 u-l!e:c'.il
 
 4^6 Familiar LETTERS. PART II, 
 
 tcllectual creatures, whence the Almighty calls thofe he 
 will have to be immediately about his perfon, and to be 
 admitted to the hierarchy of angels. This is far diflb- 
 nant from the opinion of the Turk, who holds that the 
 iun is a great burning globe designed for the damned. 
 
 They who are tranfported with this high fpeculation 
 that there are manfions and habitable conveniencies for 
 creatures to live within the bodies of the celeftial orbs, 
 leem to tax man of a high prefumption, that he fhould 
 think all things were principally created for him; that 
 the fun and (tars are ferviceabk: to him in chief, viz. to 
 nieafure his days, to diftinguifh his fealbns, to direct him 
 in his navigations, and pour whokfome influences upon 
 him. 
 
 No doubt they were created to be partly ufeful and 
 comfortable to him ; but to imagine that they are folely 
 and chiefly for him, is a thought that may be faid to be 
 ybove the pride of Lucifer : they may be beneficial unto 
 him in the generation and increafe of all elementary crea- 
 tures, and yet have peculiar inhabitants of their own be- 
 lides, to concur with the reft of the world in the fervice 
 of the Creator. It is a fair prerogative for man to be 
 Lord of all terreftrial, aquatic, and airy creatures ; that 
 with his harping-iron he can draw afhore the great levia- 
 than ; that he can make the camel and huge dromedary, 
 to kneel unto him, and take up his burden; that he can 
 make the fierce bull though ten times ftronger than him- 
 felf, to endure his yoke ; that he can fetch down the 
 eagle from his neft, with fuch privileges. But let him 
 not prefume too far in comparing himfelf with heavenly 
 bodies, while he is no other thing than a worm crawling 
 upon the furface of this earth. Now the earth is the 
 bafelt creature which Cod hath made, therefore it is 
 called his footftool ; and though fome take it to be the 
 centre, yet it is the very fediment of the elementary 
 world, as they fay the moon is of the celeftial: it is the 
 very fink of all corruption and frailty; which made Trif- 
 mcgiftus fay that terra non mundus, cjl nequititf locus; 
 the earth, not the world is the feat of wickednefs: and 
 
 though,
 
 Familitr L E T T E R S; 457 
 
 though, it is true, flic be fufceptible of light, yet the 
 light terminates only in her fuperfices, being not able to 
 enlighten any thing elfe, as the ftars can do. 
 
 Thus have I proportioned my fhort difcourfe upon- 
 this fpacious problem to the fize of an epiftle : I refervc 
 the fulnefs of my opinion in this point, till I receive 
 yours touching Copernicus. 
 
 It hath been always my practice in the* fearch and e- 
 ventilation of natural verities, to keep to myfelf a philo 
 fophical freedom, as not to make any one's opiniorr fo 
 magisterial and binding, but that I might be at liberty to 
 recede from it upon more pregnant and powerful reafons, 
 For as in theological tenets it is a rule, S>uicquid non 
 ^dtfcsndit a monte fcripturx, eadem autboritate contew 
 ttiiur, qua cipprobatur; whatfoever defcends not from the 
 mount of holy fcripture, may be by the fame authority 
 rejected as wdl as received: fo in the difquifitions and 
 winnowing of phyfical truths, Quicquid non defcendit a 
 vionte rationis, &c. whatfoevcr defends not from the 
 mount of reafon, may be as well rejected as approved of. 
 
 So longing after an opportunity to purfue this point by 
 mixture of oral difcourfe, which hath more elbow room 
 than a letter. I reft with all candour and cordial af~ 
 
 Your faitbfid ftruatit, 
 Fleet, Nov. 2. i6tf. J. H. 
 
 L E T T E Px LXXVII. 
 
 Ta Mr. EN. P. at Paris, 
 
 S I R, 
 
 THAT which the plots of the jefuits in their dark 
 cells, and the policy of the greateft roman catho- 
 lic princes have driven at thefe many years, is now done 
 to their hands, which was to divide and break the 
 (Irength of thcfe three kingdoms, becaufe they held it 
 
 to
 
 428 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 to be too great a glory and power to be in one heretical 
 Prince's hands, (as they efteemed the King of Great 
 Britain} becaufe he was in a capacity to be umpire, if 
 not arbiter of this part of the world, as many of our 
 kings have been. 
 
 You write thence, that in regard of the fad condition 
 of our Queen, their countrywoman, they are fenfible of 
 our calamities ; but I believe, it is the populace only, 
 who fee no further than the rind of things : your cabi- 
 net-council rather rejoiceth at it, who, or I am much 
 deceived, contributed much in the time of the late fan- 
 guine Cardinal, to fet a-foot thefe diftraclions, beginning 
 firft with Scotland, who, you know, hath always ferved 
 that nation for a brand to fet England a-fire for the ad- 
 vancement of their own ends. I am afraid we have feen 
 our bed days ; we knew not when we were well, fo that 
 the Italian faying may be well applied to poor England, 
 I was well, I would be better, I took phyfic and died. 
 No more now, but that I reft flill 
 
 Tows entirely to ferve you, 
 
 Fleet, Jan. 20. 1647. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXVIII. 
 To Mr. W. B. 
 
 HOW glad was I, my choice 'and precious nephew, 
 to receive yours of the 24th current; wherein I 
 was forry, though fatisfied in point of belief, to find the 
 ill fortune of interception which befel my latt unto you. 
 Touching the condition of things here, you mall un- 
 dcrftand, that our miferies lengthen with our days; for 
 though the fun and the fpring advance nearer us, yet 1 
 our times are not grown a whit the more comfortable. I 
 am afraid this city hath fooled herfelf into flavery: 
 the army, though forbidden to come within ten miles of 
 her by order of parliament, quarters now in the bowels 
 
 of
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 429 
 
 of her: they threaten to break her percullies, pofts, and 
 chains, to make her pervious upon all occasions : they 
 have fecured alfo the Twer, with addition of ftrength 
 for themfelves : befides, a famine doth infenfibly creep 
 upon us, and the mint is ftarved for want of bullion. 
 Trade, which was ever the finew of this ifland, doth vi- 
 fibly decay, and the infurance of {hips is rifen from two 
 to ten in the hundred : our gold is ingrofled in private 
 hands, or gone beyond fea to travel without licence ; 
 and much I believe of it is returned to the earth (whence 
 it firft came) to be buried where our late nephews may 
 chance to find it a thoufand years hence, if the world 
 ilafts fo long ; fo that the exchanging of white earth into 
 red, (I mean filver iota gold) is now above fix in the 
 hundred ; and all thefe, with many more, are the dif- 
 mal effects and concomitants of a civil war. It is true, 
 we have had many fuch black days in England in former 
 ages ; but thofe paralelkd to the prefent, are as the ma- 
 dow of a mountain compared to the eclipfe of the moon. 
 My prayers early and late are, that God almighty would 
 pleafe not to turn away his face quite, but chear us again 
 with the light of his countenance. And I am well af- 
 fured you will join with me in the fame orifon to hea* 
 yen's gate : in which confidence I reft 
 
 Yours moft affectionately to ferw you, 
 Fleet, Dec. 10. 1647. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXIX. 
 To Dr. W. TURNER. 
 
 S I R, 
 
 I Return you my mofl: thankful acknowledgments, for 
 that collection, or farrago of prophecies, as you 
 call them, (and that very properly, in regard there is a 
 mixture of good and bad) you pleafed to fend me lately, 
 especially that of Noftredamus> which I lhall be very 
 
 chary
 
 430 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 chary to preferve for you. I could requite you with di- 
 vers predictions more, and of fome of the Britifh bards, 
 which were they tranflated to Englijb would transform 
 the world to wonder. 
 
 They fing of a red parliament and white King, of a 
 race of people which mould be called Pengruns> of the 
 fall of the church, and divers other things which glance 
 upon thefe times. But I am none of thofe that afford 
 much faith to rambling prophecies, which (as we faid 
 elfewhere) are like fo many odd grains fown in the vaft 
 Held of time, whereof not one in a thoufand comes to 
 grow up again and appear above ground. But that I 
 may correfpond with you in fome part for the like 
 courtcfy, I fend you thefe following prophetic verfes of 
 Whitebait^ which were made above twenty years ago, to 
 my knowledge, upon a book called Balaam's afs that con- 
 fifted of fome invectives againft King James and the court 
 in Jlatu quo tune : it was compofed by one Mr. Wil- 
 liams a Counlellor of the Temple ', but a roman catholic, 
 who was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Charing" 
 Crofs for it ; and I believe there be hundreds that have 
 copies of thefe verfes ever fince that time about town yet 
 living. They were thefe : 
 
 Some feven years fince Chrifl: rid to court, 
 
 And there he left his afs, 
 The courtiers kicked him out of doors, 
 
 Becaufe they had no * grafs. * grace, 
 
 The afs went mourning up and down, 
 
 And thus I heard him bray, 
 If that they could not give me grafs, 
 
 They might have given me hay : 
 But fixteen hundred forty three, 
 
 Whofoe'er mail fee that day, 
 Will nothing find within that court, 
 
 But only grafs and hay, 6v. 
 
 which was found to happen true in Whitehall, till the fol- 
 diers coming to quarter there trampled it down, 
 
 Trulv,
 
 Familiar L E T T E R S. 45 1 
 
 Truly Sir, I find all things confpire to make ftrange 
 mutations in this miferable ifland: I fear we fhall fall 
 from tinder the fceptre to be under the fword ; and fince 
 we 'fpeak of prophecies, I am afraid among others that 
 which was made fince the reformation will be verified-, 
 The churchman was, the lawyer is, the foldier Jhall be. 
 Welcome be the will of God, who tranfvolves kingdoms, 
 and tumbles down monarchies as mole-hills at his plea- 
 furc. So I reft, my dear Doclor, 
 
 Tour moft faithful fervant, 
 
 Fleet, Aug. 9. 1648. J, H. 
 
 LETTER LXXX. 
 
 To the Honourable Sir EDWARD SPENCER Knight, at 
 his Ho life near Branceford. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 WE are not fo bare of intelligence between thefe 
 walls, but we can hear of your doings in Brancs* 
 ford: that fo general applaufe whereby you were cried up 
 Knight of the mire for Middlefex, founded round about 
 us upon London ftreets, and ecchoed in every corner of 
 the town ; nor do I mingle fpeech with any, though half 
 affected to you, but highly approves of and congratulates 
 the election, being glad that a gentleman of fuch extraor- 
 dinary parts and probity, as alfo of fuch a mature judg- 
 ment, mould be chofen to ferve the public. 
 
 I return you the manuscript you lent me of D<emono- 
 logy, but the author thereof and I are two in point of 
 opinion that way; for he feems to be on the negative 
 part, and truly, fee writes as much as can be produced 
 for his purpofe. But there are fome men that are of a 
 mere negative genius, like Johannes ad oppojitum, who 
 will deny, or at leaft crofs and puzzle any thing though 
 never fo clear in itfelf, with their but, yet, ij, &c. they 
 will flap the lie in truth's teeth though me vifibly ftand 
 
 before
 
 432 Familiar LETTERS. PART H. 
 
 before their face without any vizard : fuch perverfe crofs- 
 grained fpirits are not to be dealt withal by arguments, 
 but palpable proofs; as if onefhould deny that the fire 
 burns, or that he hath a nofe on his face : there is no 
 way to deal with him, but to pull him by the tip of the 
 one, and put his finger into the other. I will not fay 
 that this gentleman is fo perverfe ; but to deny there are 
 any witches, to deny that there are ill fpirits which 
 feduce, tamper and converfe in divers ihapes with human 
 creatures, and impel them to actions of malice : I fay, 
 that he who denies there are fuch bufy fpirits, and fuch 
 poor pa/Eve creatures upon whom they work, which com- 
 monly are called witches : I fay again, that he who de- 
 nies there are fuch fpirits, (hews that he himfelf hath a 
 fpirit of contradiction in him, oppofing the current and 
 confentient opinion of all antiquity. We read that both 
 Jews and Romans, with all other nations of chriftendom, 
 and our anceftors here in England, enacted laws again/I 
 witches : fure they were not fo filly as to wafte their 
 brains about chimeras, again/I non entia, or fuch as 
 Plato's Kterifmata's were. The judicial law is apparent 
 in the holy codex, Thoitjhalt not fuffer a witch fa live : 
 the Roman law which the Decemviri made, is yet extant 
 in the twelve tables, ^ui fruges incantaJJ'ent pxnis dan- 
 to; They who mail inchant the fruit of the earth let 
 them be punimcd. The imperial law is known by every 
 civilian ; Hi cum hoftes nature Jint, fupplicio affician- 
 tur; Thefe, meaning witches, becaufe they are enemies 
 to nature, let them be puniflied. And the ads of par- 
 liament in/tf;/.Vare againftthofe * that invoke ill fpi- 
 ' rits, that take up any dead man, woman, or child, or 
 take the (kin or bone of any dead body, to employ it 
 to forcery or charm, whereby any one is lamed or made 
 to pine away, &c. fuch (hall be guilty of flat felony, 
 and not capable of clergy x>r fancluary, &c.* 
 What a multitude of examples are there in good au- 
 thentic authors of divers kinds of fafcinations, incantati- 
 ons, preftigiations, of philtres, fpells, charms, forceries, 
 characters, and fuch like ; as aifo of magic, necromancy, 
 
 and
 
 familiar LETTERS. 433 
 
 and divinations ? Surely the witch of Enfar is no fable ; 
 the burning Joan d' 'Jrcthe maid of Orleans in Rouen, 
 and of the Marchionefs d' Ancre of late years in Pa~ 
 ris, are no fables : the execution of Noftredamia for a 
 kind of witch, fome fourfcore years fince, is but a mo- 
 dern ftory, who among other things foretold, Le fenat 
 de Londres tuera fin Roy, The fenate of Lo?idon mall 
 kill their King. The bed hiftorians have it upon record, 
 how Charlemairfs miftrefs inchanted him with a ring, 
 which as long as fhe had about her, he would not fuffer 
 her dead carcafe to be carried out of his chamber to be 
 buried ; and a Bifhop taking it out of her mouth, the 
 v Emperor grew to be as much bewitched with the Bifhop ; 
 but he being cloyed with his excefs of favour, threw it 
 into a pond, where the Emperor's chiefeft pleafure was 
 to walk till his dying day. The ftory tells us, how the 
 Waldenfes in Franc; were by folemn arreft of parliament 
 accufed and condemned of witchcraft. The Maltefet 
 took St. Paul for a witch. St. Angiiflin {peaks of wo- 
 men who could turn men to horfes, and make them carry 
 their burdens. Danaus writes of an inchanted ftaff, 
 which the devil, fummoner like, was ufed to deliver 
 fome mercat-women to ride upon. In fome of the 
 Northern countries, it is as ordinary to buy and fell 
 winds, as it is to do wines in other parts ; and hereof, I 
 could inftance in fome examples of my own knowledge. 
 Every one knows what Olaus Magnus writes of Erich 
 (King of Sioethland's') cornered cap, who could make 
 the wind fhift to any point of the compafs, according as 
 he turned it about. 
 
 Touching diviners of things to come, which is held a 
 fpecies of witchcraft, we may read they were frequent 
 among the Romans ; yea, they had colleges for their au- 
 gurs and arufpices, who ufed to make their predictions 
 fometimes by fire, foraetimes by flying of fowls, fome- 
 times by infpeftion into entrails of beafts, or invoking the 
 dead, but molt frequently by confulting with the oracles. 
 to whom all nations had recourfe except the Jews. But 
 you will fay, that fince chriftianity difplayed her banners, 
 O o the
 
 434 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 the crofs hath feared away the devil, and ftruck the o- 
 racles dumb : as Plutarch reports a notable paflage of 
 Thamus an Italian pilot, who, a little after the birth of 
 Chrift, failing along the coafts of Calabria in a frill filent 
 right, all his paflengers being afleep, an airy cold voice 
 came to his ears, faying, Thamus, Thamus, Thamut t 
 The great god Pan is dead, who was the chiefeft oracle 
 of that country. Yet though the light of the gofpel 
 chafed away thofe great owls, there be fome bats and 
 little night-birds that fly ftill abroad, I mean petty fpirits, 
 that by fecret.pa&ions, which are made always without 
 ivitnefs, enable men and women to do evil. In fuch 
 compacts beyond the fcas, the party muft firft renounce 
 Chrift, and the extended 'woman, meaning the ble/ed 
 Virgin ; be muft contemn the facrament, tread on the 
 crofs, fpit at the hoft, &c. There is a famous flory of 
 Xuch a padlion, which Frier Louis made fome half a 
 hundred years ago with the devil in JMarfcillcs , who ap- 
 peared to him in (hape of a goat, apd promifed him the 
 enjoyment of any woman whom lie fancied,, with other 
 pleafurcs, for 41 years; but the devil being too cun- 
 ning for him put the figure of I before, and made it 14 
 years in the contract, (which is to be fecn to this day, 
 with the devil's claw to it) at which time the Frier was 
 detected for witchcraft, and burnt ; and all thofe chil- 
 dren whom he had chriftencd during that term of four- 
 teen years, were rebaptized : the gentlewomen whom 
 he had abufed, put theinfelves into a nunnery by them- 
 felves. Hereunto may be added the great rich widow 
 that was burned in Lions, bccaufe it was proved the de- 
 vil had kin with her ; as alfo the hiftory of Lieutenant 
 Jaquctte, which (lands upon record with the former; 
 hut, if I mould infert them here at large, it would make 
 this letter fwell too much. 
 
 But we need not crofs the fea for examples of this 
 .kind, we have too many (God wot) at home. King 
 James a great while was loth to believe there were 
 witches ; but that which happened to my Lord Francis 
 of Rutland's children, convinced him, who were be- 
 
 v/itclied
 
 
 Familiar L E T T E R S. 43? 
 
 witched by an old woman that was fervant at Belvoif 
 cattle; but being difpleafed, me contratfed with the de* 
 vil, (who converfed with her in form of a cat, whom 
 ihe called ruttsrkhi) to make away thofe children out cf 
 mere malignity and third of revenge. 
 
 But fince the beginning of thefe unnatural wars, there 
 may be a cloud of witnefies produced for the proof of this 
 black tenet: for within the compafs of two years near 
 upon 300 witches were arraigned, and the major part 
 executed in Ej/'ex and Suffolk only. Scotland fwarms 
 with them now more than ever, and perfons of good 
 quality are executed daily. 
 
 i Thus Sir, hive I huddled together a few arguments 
 touching this fubjedr, becaufe in my laft communication 
 with you, methought I found you fomewhat unfatisfied, 
 and ihaggering in your opinion touching the affirmative 
 part of this thefis, the difcuffing whereof is far fitter for 
 an elaborate large treatife than a loofe letter. 
 
 Touching the new commonwealth you intend to eftab- 
 lifli now, that you have affigned me my part among fo 
 nrany choice legifb.tors : fomething I fhall do to comply 
 with your defires, which fhall be always to me as corri- 
 imnds, and your commands as laws, becaufe I love and 
 honour you in a very high degree for thofe gallant free- 
 born thoughts, and fundry parts of virtue which I have 
 difcerned in you ; which makes me intitle myfclf 
 
 Tour mojl humble and affeftionate faithful fervant, 
 Fleet, Fab. 20. 1647.- J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXXI. 
 
 To R. K. Eft; at St. Giles. 
 
 S I R t 
 
 DlFFERENCE-in opinion* no more than a differ- 
 ing complexion, can be caufe enough for me to 
 hate any. A differing fancy is no more to me than a 
 O o 2 differing
 
 436* Familiar LETTERS. PA RT II. 
 
 differing face. If another hath a fair countenance, 
 though mine be black ; or if I have a fair opinion, 
 though another have a hard-favoured one, yet it mall 
 not break that common league of humanity, which mould 
 be betwixt rational creatures, provided he correfponds 
 with me in the general offices of morality and civil up- 
 rightnefs : this "may admit him to my acquaintance and 
 convention, though I never concur wiih him in opinion : 
 he bears the image of Adam, and the image of the Al- 
 mighty as well as I : he had Cod for his father, though 
 he hath not the fame church for his mother. The om- 
 nifcient Creator, as he is only kardiognoftic, fo he is the 
 fole Lord of the whole inward man : it is he who reigns 
 over the faculties of the foul, and the affections of the 
 heart : it is he who regulates the will, and rectifies all 
 obliquities in the underflanding by fpccial illuminations, 
 and oftentimes reconciles men as oppofitc in opinions, as 
 meridians and parallels are in point of extenfion, where- 
 of the one draws from Eafl to Weft, the other from 
 North to South. 
 
 Some of the Pagan philofophers, efpccially Tbemi- 
 flitu who was Prztor of Byzantium, maintained an opi- 
 nion, that as the pulchritude and prefervation of the 
 world confifted in varieties and diirimilitudes, (as allb in 
 eccentric and contrary motions) that as it \vas repleniihed 
 with fuch numberlefs forts of feveral fpccics, and that 
 the individuals of thofe fpccico differed fo much one 
 from the other, efpccially mankind, amongfl whom one 
 mall hardly find two in ten thoufand that hath exactly 
 (though twins) the fame tone of voice, fimilitude of 
 face, or ideas of mind; therefore, the Go d of Nature 
 ordained from the beginning, that he mould be worfhip- 
 ped in various and fundry forms of adorations, which 
 neverthelefs like fo many lines mould tend all to jhc 
 fame centre. But chriftian religion prefcribes another 
 rule, viz. that there is but una via, tina veritas, there 
 is but one true way to heaven, and that but a narrow 
 one, j whereas there be huge roads that lead to hell. 
 
 God
 
 Pi 
 
 familiar L E T TE R S. 437 
 
 God almighty guide us in the firft, and guard us from 
 the fecond, as alfo ' from all crofs and uncouth by-paths, 
 which ufe jo lead fuch giddy brains that follow them to 
 a confufed labyrinth of errors ; where being intangled, 
 the devil, as they Hand gaping for new lights to lead 
 them out, takes his advantage to feize on them for their 
 fpiritual pride, and infobriety in the fearch of more 
 knowledge. 
 
 Your moft faithful fervant> 
 
 July 28. 1648. J. H 
 
 L E T T E R LXXXII. 
 To Mr. T. MORGAN. 
 
 S 1 R, 
 
 I Received two of yours upon Tuefday laft, one to 
 your brother, the other to me ; but the fuperfcrip- 
 tions were milhken, which makes me think upon that 
 famous civilian Dr. Dale, who being employed to Flatf 
 ders by Queen Elizabeth, fent in a pacquet to the Secre- 
 tary of State two letters, one to the Queen, the other 
 to his wife ; but that which was meant for the Queen 
 was fuperfcribedj To his dear wife ; and that for his 
 wife, To her mofl excellent Majejly : fb that the Queen 
 having 'opened his letters, (he found it beginning with 
 Jweet heart, and afterwards with my dear, and dear, 
 love, with fuch expreflions, acquainting her with the ftate 
 of his body, and that he began to want money. You 
 may eafily guefs what motions of mirth this miftake 
 raifed, but the Doctor by this overfight (or cunningncii 
 rather) got a fupply of money. This perchance ffia-y be 
 your policy, to indorfe me your brother, thereby to en- 
 dear me the more unto you ; but you needed not to have 
 done that, for the name friend goes fometimcs further 
 than brother; and there be more examples of friends 
 that did facrifice their Jives for one another, than of bro^ 
 003 tbersj
 
 438 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 thers ; which the writer doth think he fliould do for you, 
 if the cafe required. But fincc I am fallen upon Dr. 
 Dale, who was a witty kind of drolc, I will tell you in- 
 ftead of news, (for there is little good ftirring now) of 
 two other facetious tales of his ; and familiar tales may 
 become familiar letters well enougli : when Queen E- 
 llzabeth did firft propofe to him that foreign employ- 
 ment to Flanders, among other encouragements, me 
 told him, that he mould have 20 s. per diem for his ex- 
 pences; then Madam, faid he, I will fpend I9/. a day. 
 What will you do with the odd (hilling, the Queen re- 
 plied ? I will referve that for my Kate, and for Tom 
 and Dick, meaning his wife and children : this induced 
 the Queen to enlarge his allowance. But this that comes 
 laft is the bed of all, and may be called the fuperlativc 
 of the three ; which was, when at the overture of the 
 treaty, the other ambafTadors came to propofe in what 
 language they mould treat, the Spanifo Ambaflador an- 
 fwered, that the French was the molt proper, becaufe 
 his miftrefs intitled hcrklf Qieen (/"France: nay then, 
 faid Dr. Dale, let us treat in Hebrew, for your matter 
 calls himfelf King of Jerufalem. 
 
 I performed the civilities you enjoined me to your 
 "friends here, who return you the like centuplicated, and 
 fo doth. 
 
 Tour intirc friend, 
 
 May 12. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXXIII. 
 To the Lord Marquis of Hartford. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 I Received your Lord/hip's of the nth current, with 
 the commands it carried, whereof I mail give an ac- 
 count in my next. . Foreign parts afford not much mat- 
 ter of intelligence, it being now the dead of winter, and 
 
 the
 
 - Familiar LETTERS. 439 
 
 the feafon unfit for action ; but we need not go abroad 
 for news, there is ftore enough at home. We fee daily 
 mighty things, and they are marvellous in our eyes ; 
 but the greateft marvel is, that nothing fhould now be 
 marvelled at, for we are fo habituated to wonders, that 
 they are grown familiar unto us. 
 
 PoorV//Wmay be faid to be like a mip toffed up 
 and down die furges of a turbulent fea, having loft her 
 old pilot ; and God knows when (he can get into fafe 
 harbour again : yet doubtlefs this tempeft, according to 
 the ufual operations of nature, and the fucceflion of 
 mundane effects by contrary agents, will turn at laft into 
 a calm, though many who are yet in their nonage may 
 not live to fee it. Your Lordftiip knows that this xoo-^of, 
 this fair frame of the univerfe came out of a chaos, an 
 indigefted lump ; and that this elementary world was 
 made of millions of ingredients repugnant to themfelves 
 in nature ; and the whole is ftill preferved by the relu- 
 ctancy and reftlefs combatings of thefe principles. We 
 fee how the fhipwright doth make ufe of knee-timber, 
 and other crofs-grained pieces as well as of ftraight and 
 even, for framing a goodly veflel to ride on heptunis 
 back. The printer ufeth many contrary characters in 
 his art, to put forth a fair volume ; as d is a p reverfed, 
 and n is an u turned upward, with other differing letters, 
 which yet concur all to the perfection of the whole work. 
 There go many and various diffonant tones to make an 
 harmonious confort : this puts me in mind of an excel- 
 lent paflage which a noble fpeculative Knight (Sir P. 
 Herbert') hath in his late conceptions to his fon : how a 
 boly anchoret being in a wildernefs, among other con- 
 templations he fell to admire the method of providence, 
 how out of caufes which feeni bad to us he often pro- 
 duceth good effects: how he fuffers virtuous, loyal and 
 religious men to be opprefled, and others to profper. 
 As he was tranfported with thefe ideas, a goodly young 
 man appeared to him, and told him, ' Father, I know 
 ' your thoughts are diftracted, and I am fent to quiet 
 * them ; therefore if you will accompany me a few days, 
 
 * you
 
 440 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 you /hall return very well fatisfied of thofe doubts 
 ' that now incumber your mind.' So going along with 
 him, they were to pafs over a deep river, whereon there 
 was a narrow bridge ; and meeting there with another 
 paflenger, the young man juftled him into the water, and 
 fo drowned him. The old anchoret being much afto- 
 nimed hereat, would have left him, but his guide faid, 
 
 Father, be not amazed, becaufe I mall give you good 
 
 reafons for what I do, and you mall fee ftranger things 
 1 than this before you and I part, but at laft I fhall fettle 
 
 your judgment, and put your mind in full repofe.' So 
 going that night to lodge in an inn where there was a 
 crew of banditti, and debauched ruffians, the young man 
 ftruck into their company, and revelled with them till the 
 morning, while the anchoret fpent moft of the night in 
 numbering his beads ; but as foon as they were departed 
 thence, they met with fome officers who went to appre- 
 hend that crew of banditti they had left behind them. 
 The next day they came to a gentleman's houfe, which 
 was a fair palace, where they received all the courteous 
 hofpitality which could be ; but in the morning as they 
 parted, there was a child in a cradle, which was the only 
 fon of the gentleman ; and the young man fpying his 
 opportunity, ftrangled the child, and fo got away. The 
 third day they came to another inn, where the man of 
 the houfe treated them with all the civility that could be, 
 vaA gratis; yet the young man embezzled a iilver gob- 
 let, and carried it away in his pocket, which frill in- 
 creafed the amazement of the anchoret. The fourth 
 day in the evening they came to lodge at -another inn, 
 where the hofl was very fullen, and uncivil to them, ex- 
 ading much more than the value of what they had fpent ; 
 yet at parting, the young man beftowed upon him the 
 filver goblet he had ftoln from that hoft who had ufed 
 them fo kindly. The fifth day they made towards a 
 great rich town ; but fome miles before they came at it, 
 they met with a merchant at the clofe of the day, who 
 had a great charge of money about him ; and afking the 
 next paffage to the town, the young man put him in a
 
 Familiar LETTERS, 441 
 
 clean contrary way. The anchoret and his guide being 
 come to the town, at the gate they fpied a devil, which 
 lay as it were centinel, but he was afleep : they found al- 
 fo both men and women at fundry kinds of fports, fome 
 dancing, others finging, with divers forts of revellings. 
 They went afterwards to a convent of capuchins, where, 
 about the gate they found legions of devils, laying fiege 
 to that monaftery, yet they got in and lodged there that 
 night. Being awaked the next morning, the young man 
 came to that cell where the anchoret was lodged, and 
 told him, ' I know your heart is full of horror, and your 
 
 * head full of confufion, aftonifhments, and doubts for 
 
 * what you have feen fince the firft time of our afTociati- 
 
 * on. But know, that I am an angel fent from heaven 
 
 * to rectify your judgment ; as alfo to correft a little 
 ' your curiofity in the refearches of the ways and acls of 
 providence too far: for though feparately, they feem 
 4 ftrange to the mallow apprehenfion of man, yet con- 
 ' junftly they all tend to produce good effects. 
 
 * That man which I tumbled into the river, was an 
 aft of providence, for he was going upon a moft mif- 
 ' chievous defign, that would have damnified not cnly 
 1 his own foul, but deftroyed the party againfr. whom it 
 ' was intended ; therefore I prevented it. 
 
 * The caufe why I converged all night with that crew 
 of rogues, was alfo an ad of providence, for they in- 
 ' tended to go a robbing all that night, but I kept them 
 ' there purpofely till the next morning, that the hand of 
 juftice might feize upon them. 
 
 * Touching the kind hoft from whom I took the filvcr 
 ' goblet, and the clownifli or knavifh hoft to whom I gave 
 ' it, let this demonftrate unto you, that good men are 
 ' liable to crofies and lofles, whereof bad men often- 
 
 * times reap the benefit; but it commonly produceth pa- 
 
 * tience in the one, and pride in the other. 
 
 ' Concerning that noble gentleman whofe child I 
 
 * ftrangled after fo courteous entertainment, know, that 
 
 * that alfo was an aft of providence j for the gentleman 
 
 ' was
 
 442 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 was fo indulgent and doting on that child, that It 
 'jkffcned his love to heaven, fo I took away the 
 ' caufe. 
 
 ' Touching the merchant whom I mifguided in his 
 ' way, if was likewife an aft of providence ; for had he 
 
 gone the direft way to this town, he had been robbed, 
 ' and his throat cut, therefore I preferved him by that 
 
 deviation. 
 
 4 Now concerning this great luxurious city, whereas 
 
 we fpied but one devil which lay afleep without the 
 4 gate, there being fo many about this poor convent, you 
 
 muft confider, that Lucifer being already aflured of 
 ' that riotous town by corrupting their manners every 
 4 day more and more, he needs but one tingle centinel 
 4 to fecure it : but for this holy place of retirement, this 
 4 monastery inhabited by fo many devout fouls, who fpend 
 4 their whole lives in acls of mortification, as exercifes 
 ' of piety and penance, he hath brought fo many legions 
 ' to bclaguer them, yet he can do no good upon therrr, 
 4 for they bear up againfl him moft undauntedly, maugre 
 4 all his infernal power and ftratagems.' So the young 
 man or divine meflenger, fuddenly difappeared and vu<- 
 nimed; yet leaving his fellow-traveller in good hands. 
 
 My Lord, I crave your pardon for this extravagancy, 
 and the tedioufnefs thereof; but I hope the fublimjty of 
 the matter will make fome compenfation, which if I am 
 not deceived, will well fute with your genius ; for I 
 know your contemplations to be as high as your condi- 
 tion, and as much above the vulgar. This figurative 
 ftory mews that the ways of providence are infcrutable, 
 his intention and method of operation not conformable 
 oftentimes to human judgment, the plummets and line 
 whereof is infinitely too mort to fathom the depth of his 
 defigns ; therefore let us acquiefce in an humble admira- 
 tion, and with this confidence that all thihgs co-operate 
 to the beft at laft, as they relate to his glory, and the 
 general good of his creatures, though fomctimes they 
 appear to us, by uncouth circumitances, and crofs me* 
 diums. 
 
 So
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 443 
 
 So In a due diftance and pofture of humility, I kifs 
 your Lordftrip's hands, as being, my mod highly ho- 
 noured Lord, 
 
 Tour -thrice obedient, and obliged fervitor y J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXXIV. 
 
 To Sir EDWARD SPENCER Knigtt. 
 
 S I R t 
 
 I Find by your laft of the firft current, that your 
 thoughts are much bufied in forming your new com- 
 monwealth : and whereas the province that is allotted to 
 me is to treat of a right way to govern the female fex, 
 I hold my lot to be fallen upon a fair ground, and I will 
 endeavour to hufband it accordingly. I find alfo, that 
 for the eftablifliment of this new republic, you have cul- 
 kd out the choiceft wits in all faculties, therefore I ac- 
 count it an honour that you have put me in the lift, 
 though the leaft of them. 
 
 In every fpecies of government, and indeed among 
 all focieties of mankind, (reclufed orders, and other re- 
 gulars excepted) there muft be a' fpecial care had of the 
 female kind ; for nothing can conduce more to the pro- 
 pagation, and perpetuity of a republic, than the well 
 managing of that gentle and ufeful fex ; for though they 
 be accounted the weaker veflels, yet are they thofe in 
 whom the whole mafs of mankind is moulded, therefore 
 they muft not be ufed like faffron bags, or verde bottles 
 which are thrown into fome by-corner when the wine 
 and fpice are taken out of them. 
 
 It was an opinion truly befitting a Jwv to hold, that 
 woman is of an inferior creation to man, being made only 
 for multiplication and pleafure ; therefore hath me no ad- 
 mittance into the body of the fynagogue. Such another 
 opinion was that of the Pagan poet who fluttered out 
 
 this
 
 444 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 this verfe, that there are but two good hours of any 
 woman. 
 
 Tw /t'av It 6<t\/w, rw /u!x\> i\> 9<xv7 : Unaffi in thalamo t 
 alterant in lumulo ; one hour in bed, the other in the 
 grave. Moreover, I hold alfo that of the orator to be 
 a wild extravagant fpeech, when he faid, that if women 
 were not conterranean and -mingled with men, angels 
 would defcend and dnuell amongji us. But a far wilder 
 Ipeech was that of the Dog philofopher, who termed 
 women, necej/ary evils. Of this cynical feel, it feems 
 was he, . ho would needs make or cits to be the anagram 
 of uxor, by contracting c s into an .v, uxor & orcus 
 idem. 
 
 Yet I confefs, that among this fex, as among men, 
 there are fome good, fome bad, fome virtuous, fome 
 vicious, and fome of an indifferent nature in whom virtue 
 makes a compenfation for vice. If there was an Emprefs 
 in Rome fo cunning in her lufl, that me would take in no 
 paffenger until the veflcl was freighted, (for fear the re- 
 femblance of the child might difcover the true father) 
 there was a Zenobia in AJla who would not fuffer her 
 hufband to know her carnally no longer when once fhe 
 found herfelf quick. If there was a Queen of France 
 that poifoned her King, there was a Queen in England, 
 who when her hufband had been fhot with an envenom- 
 ed arrow in the Holy-Land, fucked out the poifbn with 
 her own mouth, when none elfe would do it. If the 
 Lady Barbara wife to Sigifniond the Emperor, being 
 advifed by her ghoftly father after his death to live like 
 a turtle, having loft fuch a mate that the world had not 
 the like, made this wanton anfwer, Father, fince you 
 would have me to lead the life of a bird, why not of a 
 fparr&w, as luell as a turtle ? which fhc did afterwards, 
 I &y,*if there were fuch a Lady Barbara, there was the 
 Lady, Beatrix, who after Henry her Emperor's death 
 lived after like a dove, and immurred herfelf in a monadic 
 cell. But what (hall I fay of Queen Artemifia who had 
 an in nful of her hufband Maufolus^ afh.es in her clofet, 
 whereof fhe would take down a dram every morning
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 445 
 
 next her heart, faying, that her body was the fitted place 
 to be a fepulchre to her dear hufband, notwithftanding 
 that fiie had erected fuch a tomb for the reftof his body, 
 that to this day is one of the wonders of the world ? 
 
 Moreover, it cannot be denied, but fome females are 
 of a high aad harfti nature ; witnefs thofe two that of our 
 greateft clerks for law and learning (Lord B. and 6\) 
 did meet withal, one of whom was faid to have brought 
 back her hufband to his horn-book again : as alfo Mofes 
 and Socrates's wives, who were Zipporah and Xantippe : 
 you may guefs at the humour of one in the holy code. 
 The hiftory of the other is alfo well known. 
 k But a thoufand fuch inftances are not able to make me 
 a mifogenes, a female foe ; therefore towards the polim- 
 ing and perpetuating of this your new republic, there 
 muft be fome fpecial rules for regulating of marriage, 
 for a wife is the belt or worft fortune that can betide a 
 man throughout the whole train of his life. P/ato's prc- 
 mifcuus conciibitus or copulation is more proper for beads 
 than rational creatures. That inceftuous cuftom they 
 have in China, that one mould marry his own fi/ter, and 
 in default of one, the next a kin, 1 utterly diflike : nor 
 do I approve of that goatifli latitude of luft which the 
 alchoran allows, for one man to have eight wives, and 
 as many concubines as he can well maintain ; nor of ano- 
 ther branch of their law, that a man mould marry after 
 fuch an age under pain of mortal fin, (for then what 
 would become of me ?) No, I would have every man 
 left nt liberty in this point, for there are men enough be- 
 fides to people the earth. 
 
 But that opinion of a poor mallow-brained puppy, who 
 upon any caufc of difaffedtion, would have men to have 
 a privilege to change their wives, or repudiate them, de- 
 ferves to be biffed at rather then confuted ; for nothing 
 can tend more to uflier in all confufion and beggary 
 throughout the world : therefore that wife acre deferves 
 of all others to wear a toting horn. In this republic one 
 man ihould be contented with one wife, and he may 
 have work enough to do with her ; but whereas in other 
 P p common-
 
 44 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 commonwealths men ufe to wear invifible horns, it would 
 Jaeawholefome conftitution, that they who upon too much 
 jealoufy and reflraint, or ill ufage of their wives, or, in- 
 deed not knowing how to ufe and man them aright, (which 
 is one of the prime points of mafculine difcretion,) as alfo 
 they who according to that barbarous cuftom in Rt/Jfiada 
 cfe to beat their wives duly once a week ; but efpecially 
 they who in their abfence coop them up and fecure their bo- 
 dies with locks : I fay, it would be a very fitting ordinance 
 in this new moulded commonwealth, that all fuch who im- 
 pel their v/ives by thefe means to do bad things, mould 
 \vearplainvifiblehorns, that all pafiengers may beware 
 of them as they go along, and give warning to others, 
 
 Cornu ferit tile, caveto. For indeed nothing doth 
 
 incite the mafs of blood, and mufter up libidinous thoughts 
 jnore than diffidence, and restraint. 
 
 Moreover, in coupling women by way of matrimony 
 at would be a good law, and ccnfentaneous to reafon, if 
 out of all dowries exceeding 100 /. there mould be two 
 out of every cent, deduced and put into a common trea- 
 iury for putting off hard-favoured and poor maids. 
 
 Touching virginity and the veftal fire I could vvifh it 
 were the word cuftom the Roman church had, when 
 gentle -fouls to endear themfelves the more unto their 
 creator, do immure their bodies within perpetual bounds 
 of chaftity, dieting themfelres and ufing aufterities ac- 
 cordingly ; whereby, bidding a farewel, and dying un- 
 to the world, they bury themfelves alive, as it were, 
 und fo pafs their time in conflant cxercifes of piety, and 
 penance night and day, or in fome other employments of 
 virtue, holding idlenefs to be a mortal fin. Were this 
 cloiftered courfe of life.merely fpontaneous and unforced, 
 3 could well be contented that it were praclifed in your 
 iiev* republic. 
 
 But there are other kinds <of cloyiers in fome com- 
 monwealths, and among thofe who are accounted the 
 wifcftand beft policied, which cloifters are of a clean con- 
 trary nature to the former : thefe they call the courtefan 
 cloifter. And as in others, forae females ihut up them- 
 felves
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 44? 
 
 felves to keep the facred fire of pudicity and continence- 
 fo in thefe latter there are fome of the handfomeii: forts ot 
 females who are connived at to quench the flames of irre- 
 gular luft, left they fhould break into the lawful married 
 bed. It is true, nature hath poured more active, and hot- 
 ter blood into the veins of fome men wherein, there are 
 ftronger appetites and motions, which motions were net gi- 
 ven by nature to be a torment to man, but to be turned in- 
 to delight, health and propagation. Therefore they to 
 whom the gift of continence is denied, and have not the- 
 conveniencyto have debitavafa,3n& lawful coolers of theiv 
 own by way of wedlock, ufe to extinguiih their fires in 
 4 fhefe venerean cloifters, rather then abide their neigh- 
 bours wives, and break into other mens inclofures. But 
 whether fuch a cuftom may be connived at in this your 
 republick, and that fuch a common may be allowed to 
 them who have no inclofures of their own, I leave to 
 wifer legislators than myfelf to determine, efpccially in 
 South-Kail countries where venerean titillation (w'hich 
 Scaliger held to be a fixed outward fenfc, but ridicul- 
 oufly) is in a ftronger degree, I fay, I leave others to 
 judge whether fuch a rendezvous to be connived at in 
 hotter climes, where both air, and food, and the blood 
 of the grape do all concur to make one more libidinous, 
 But it is a vulgar error to think that the heat of the 
 elime is the caufe of luft : it proceeds rather from aclnfi: 
 cholef and melancholy that predominate, which humouia 
 carry with them a fait and fharp itching quality. 
 
 The fall- Hollander (with other North- Weft nations; 
 whofe blood may be faid to be as butter-milk in their 
 veins) i& not fo frequently fubjecl to fuch fits of lufr* 
 therefore he hath no fuch cloiftcrs or houfes for ladies 
 of pleafure : witnefs the tule of Hans Bodikifi, a rich 
 boor's fon, whom his father had fcnt abroad afryartng t 
 that is, fhroving in our language, and fo put him in an 
 equipage accordingly, having a new fword and fcarf, 
 with a gold hatband, and money in his purfe to vifit 
 handfome ladies; but Hans not knowing where to go 
 elfe* went to his grandmothei's houfe, where he fell /a 
 P p 2 courting
 
 448 Familiar LETTERS. - PART II. 
 
 courting and feafting of her; but his father queftioning 
 him at his return where he had been a fryaring, and he 
 anfwering that he had been at his grandmother's : the 
 boor replied, God's facrament, I hope thou haft not lain 
 with my mother ! yes, faid Boobikin, why fhould not I 
 ly \vith your mother, as you have lain with mine ? 
 
 Thus in conformity to your defires, and the tafk im- 
 pofed upon me, have I fcribled out this piece of drollery, 
 which is the way as I take it, that your defign drives 
 at : I referve fome things till I fee what others have done 
 in the feveral provinces they have undertaken towards 
 the fettlement of your new republic. So with a thou- 
 fand thanks for your laft hofpitable favours, I red as I 
 have reafon, and as you know me to be 
 
 Teur own true firvant, 
 
 London, Jan. 24, J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXXV. 
 
 To J. SUTTON, Eft; 
 SIR, 
 
 WHEREAS you defire my opinion of the late hi- 
 (lory tranflated by Mr. Wad. of the civil wars of 
 Spain, in the beginning of Charles the Emperor's reign, 
 I cannot chufe but tell you, that it is a faithful and pure 
 maiden ftory, never blown upon before in any language 
 but in Spanijl), therefore very worthy your perufal : for 
 among thofe various kinds of fludies that your contemp- 
 lative foul delights in, I hold hiftory to be moft fitting to 
 your quality. 
 
 Now among thofe fundry advantages which accrue to a 
 reader of hiftory, one is, that no modern accident can 
 fecm ftrange unto him, much lefs aftonifii him : he will 
 leave off wondering at any thing, in regard he may re- 
 member to have read of the fame, or much like the 
 fame that happened in former times ; therefore he doth 
 
 not 

 
 Familiar LETTERS. 449 
 
 not ftand flaring like a child at every unufual fpetfacle, 
 like that fimple American, .who the -iirft time he faw a 
 Spaniard on horfeback, thought the- man and the beaft 
 to be but one creature, and that the horfe did chew the 
 rings of his bit, and eat them. 
 
 Now, indeed, not to be an hiftorian, that is, not to 
 know what foreign nations, and our forefathers did, Hoc 
 eft femper ejje fuer, as Cicero hath it, this is frill to be 
 a child who gazeth at every thing. Whence may be in- 
 ferred, there is no knowledge that ripeneth the judg- 
 ment, and puts one out of his nonage fooner than hi- 
 ftory. 
 
 4 If I had not formerly read the barons wars in Eng~ 
 land, I had more admired that of the ligners in France : 
 he who had read the near upon fourfcore years wars, in 
 Low-Germany, I believe he never wondered at the late 
 wars in High-Germany, I had wondered more that 
 Richard of Bordeaux was knocked down with halbards,- 
 had I not read formerly that Edward of Carnarvon was 
 made away by a hot iron thruft up his fundament. It 
 Was flrange that Murat the great Ottoman Emperor 
 ihould be lately ftrangled in his own court at Conjianti- 
 nople; yet confidering that Ofnian his predecefTor had 
 been knocked down by one of his ordinary flares not 
 many years before, it was not ilracge at all. The 
 blazing ftar in Virgo thirty-four years fince did not feem 
 ftrange to him who had read of that which appeared in 
 Caffiopeia and other conilellations fome years before. 
 Hence may be inferred, that hiftory is the great Icoking- 
 glafs through which we may behold with anceftral eyes, 
 not only the various actions of ages patted, and the odd 
 accidents that attend time, but alfo difcern the different 
 humours of men, and feel the pulfe of former times," 
 
 This hiftory will difplay the very intrinficals of the Ca- 
 Jlilian, who goes for the prime Spaniard; and make 
 the opinion a paradox, which cries him up to be fo con- 
 ftant to his principles, fo loyal to his prince, and fo con- 
 formable to government, for it will difcover as much le* 
 vity, and tumultuary paffions in him as in other .natibns. 
 P p 3 Among
 
 450 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 Among divers other examples which could be pro- 
 duced out of this ftory, I will inftance in one : when 
 Juan de Padillia an infamous fellow, and of bafe ex- 
 tra&ion, was made General of the people, among others 
 there was a Prieft, that being a great zealot for him, ufed 
 to pray for him publickly in the church, ' Let us pray 
 ' for the holy commonalty, and his majefty Don Juan 
 ' de Padillia, and for the Lady Donna Maria Pachscho 
 1 his wife, 6r.' But a little after fome of Juan de Pa- 
 dsllia^ foldiers having quartered in his houfe, and piti- 
 fully plundered him, the next Sunday the fame Prieft 
 faid in the church, ' Beloved chriftians, you know how 
 Juan de Padillia paffing this way, fome of his brigade 
 were billotted in my houfe : truly they have not left 
 me one chicken, they have drunk up a whole barrel of 
 wine, devoured my bacon, and taken away my Cata- 
 llna, my maid Kate; I charge you therefore pray no 
 raore for him.' Divers fuch traverfes as thefe may be 
 read in that ftory, which may be the reafon why it was 
 fuppreffed in Spain, that it fhould not crofs the feas, or 
 clamber over the Pyreneans to acquaint other nations 
 with their foolery and bafenefs : yet Mr. Simon Digby, 
 a gentleman of much worth, got a copy, which he brought 
 over with him, out of which this tranflation is derived, 
 though I muft tell you by the by, that fome paflages 
 were commanded to be omitted, becaufe they had too 
 near an analogy with our times. 
 
 So in a ferious way of true friendfhip, I profefs my- 
 felf, 
 
 Tour moft affettiwate fervant t 
 London Jan. 15. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 451 
 
 LETTER LXXXVT. 
 
 To the Lord Marquis of Dorchefter. 
 
 My LORD, 
 
 ' | ^ HERE is a fentence that carrieth a high fenfe 
 J_ with it, viz. Ingettia principiwn fata tern forum ; 
 The fancy of the Prince is the fate of the times : fo in 
 point of peace or war, oppreflion or juftice, virtue or 
 vice, profanenefs or devotion : for Regis ad exenipliuu. 
 But there is another faying which is as true, viz. Geniut 
 fflebis eft Jatum Priticipii ; The happinefs of the Prince 
 depends upon the humour of the people. There cannot 
 be a more pregnant example hereof, than in that fuccefs- 
 ful and long- lived Queen, Queen Elizabeth, who having 
 come as it were from the fcaffold to the throne, enjoyed 
 a wonderful calm, (excepting fome fhort gufts of infur- 
 reclion that happened in the beginning) for near upon 
 forty-five years together. But this, my Lord, may be 
 imputed to the temper of the people, \vho had had a 
 boifterous King not long before, with fo many revoluti- 
 ons in religion, and a minor King afterward, which made 
 them to be governed by their fellow-fubjecls. And the 
 fire and faggot being frequent among them in Queen 
 Mary's days, the humours of the common people were 
 pretty well fpent, and fo were willing to conform to any 
 government that might preferve them and their eftates in 
 quietnefs. Yet in the reign of that fo popular and well- 
 beloved Queen, there were many traverfes which trench- 
 ed as much if not more upon the privileges of parlia- 
 ment, and the liberties of the people, than any that hap- 
 pened in the reign of the two laft kings, yet it was not 
 their fate to be fo popular. Touching the firft, viz. par- 
 liament: in one of hers, there was a motion made in the 
 houfe of commons, that there mould be a lecture in the 
 morning fome days of the week before they fat, where- 
 unto the houfe was very inclinable : the Queen hearing 
 of it lent them, a mefiage, that foe much wondered at 
 
 their
 
 452 Familiar LETTERS. FART II. 
 
 their rafhnefs, that they mould offer to introduce fuch an 
 innovation. 
 
 Another parliament would have propofed ways for the 
 regulation of her court, but fhe fent them another fuch 
 meflage, That fhe wondered, they being called by her 
 ' thither to confult of public affairs, they fhould inter- 
 meddle with the government of her ordinary family, 
 ' and to think her to be fo ill an houfewife as not to be 
 ' able to look to her own houfe herfelf.' 
 
 In another parliament there was a motion made, that 
 the Queen mould entail the fucceffion of the crown, and 
 declare her next heir; but Wentworth who propofed it, 
 was committed to the Tower, where he breathed his 
 laft ; and Sremefy upon a lefs occafion was clapped in the 
 
 ^ Another time the houfe petitioning that fome lords 
 might join in private committees with the commoners, 
 fhe utterly rejeded it. You know how Stubbs and 
 Page had their hands cut off with a butcher's knife and 
 a mallet, becaufe they wrote againft the match with the 
 Duke of Anjou; and Penry was hanged at Tyburn* 
 though Allured who wrote a bitter invedive againft the " 
 late Spanijh match, was but confined for a fhort time : 
 Jiow Sir John Heywood was fhut up in the Tower, for 
 an epiftle dedicatory to the Earl of E/ex, &c. 
 
 Touching her favourites, what a monfter of a man 
 was Leicefter, who firrt brought the art of poifoning into 
 England? How many of her maids of honour did receive 
 claps at court ? Add hereunto that privy-feals were com- 
 mon in her days, and prefling of men more frequent, e- 
 fpecially for Ireland, where they were fent in handfuls, 
 rather to continue, a war, (by the cunning of the officers) 
 than to conclude it. The three fleets me fent againft. 
 the Spaniards did hardly make the benefit of the voy- 
 ages to countervail the charge. How poorly did the- 
 Engliflj quit Havre-dc-Gracc ? And how were we 
 baffled for the arrears that were due unto England (by 
 article) for the forces fent into France? For buildings, 
 with all kind of braveries elfe that ufe to make a nation 
 
 happy,
 
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 453 
 
 happy, as riches and commerce inward and outward, it 
 was not the twentieth part fo much in the beft of her 
 days, (as appears by the cuftom houfe book) as it was 
 in the reign of her fucceflbrs. 
 
 Touching the religion of the court, (he feldom came 
 to fermon, but in Lent time, nor did there ufe to be 
 any fermon upon Sundays, unlefs they were feftivals: 
 whereas, the fucceeding kings had two duly every morn- 
 ing, one for the houfliold, the other for themfelves, 
 where they were always prefent, as alfo at private pray- 
 ers in the clofet ; yet it was not their fortune to gain fo 
 much upon the affe&ions of city or country. There- 
 fore, my Lord, the felicity of Queen Elizabeth may be 
 much imputed to the rare temper and moderation of 
 mens minds in thofe days ; for the pulfe of the common 
 people and Londoners, did beat nothing fo high as it did 
 afterwards when they grew pampered with fo long peace 
 and plenty. Add hereunto, that neither Hans, Jocky, 
 or John Calvin, had taken fuch footing here as they did 
 get afterwards, whofe humour is to pry and peep with a 
 kind of malice into the carriage of the court, and-myfte- 
 ries of Hate, as alfo to malign nobility* with the. wealth 
 and folemnities of the church. 
 
 My Lord, it is far from my meaning hereby to let 
 drop the lead afperfion upon the tomb of that rare re- 
 nowned Queen; but it is only to obferve the differing 
 temper both of time and people. The fame of fome 
 princes is like the rofe, which, as we find by experience, 
 fmells fweeter after it is plucked : the memory of others 
 is like the tulip and poppy, which make a gay (hew, and 
 fair flourifh upon the (talk, but being cut down, they 
 give an ill-favoured fcent. It was the happinefs of that 
 great long-lived Queen to caft a pleafing odour among 
 her people both while fhe flood, and after me was cut off 
 by the common ftroke of mortality ; and die older the 
 world grows, the fremer her fame will be. Yet fhe is 
 little beholden to any foreign writers, unlefs it be the 
 Hollanders ; and good reafon they had to fpeak well of 
 her, for flie was the chiefeft inftrument, who, though 
 
 with
 
 4*4 Familiar LETTERS. PART ir. 
 
 with the expence of much Englifl, blood and bullion, 
 railed them to a republic, by cafting that fatal bone for 
 the Spaniard to gnaw upon, which (hook his teeth fo 
 ill-favouredly for fourfcore years together. Other wri- 
 ters fpeak bitterly of her for her carriage to 'her fitter 
 the Queen of Scots, for her ingratitude to her brother 
 Philip of Spain; for giving advice by her Ambaflador 
 with the Great Turk, to expel the jefuits, who had got 
 a college in Pera ; as alfo that her Secretary Walfing- 
 bam fhould projecl the poifbning of the waters of Do- 
 uay; and Mly, how /he fuffered the fdtival of the na- 
 tivity of the Virgin Mary in September to be turned to 
 her own birth-day, & c . But thefe (tains are caft upon 
 her by her enemies ; and the afperfions of an enemy ufe 
 to be like the dirt of oifters, which doth rather cleanfe 
 than contaminate. 
 
 Thus my Lord, have I pointed at fome remarks, to 
 Ihew how various and difcrepant the humours of a nation 
 may be, and the genius of the times, from what it was ; 
 vhich doubdefs muft proceed from a high all-difpofing 
 power: a fpeculation that may become the greateft, and 
 k-nowingeft fpirits, among whom your Lordfhip doth 
 ihine as a (tar of the firft magnitude ; for your houfe may 
 be called a true academy, and your head the capitol of 
 knowledge, or rather an exchequer, wherein there is 
 treafure enough to give penfions to all the wits of the 
 times. With thefe thoughts, I reft, my molt highly 
 honoured Lord, 
 
 Your ever obedient, and ever obliged fervarrt, 
 Lond. slug. 15. j. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXXVII. 
 
 To the Right Honourable the Earl of Clare, 
 fl/y LORD, 
 
 AMONG thofe high parts that go to make up a 
 grandee, which I find concentred in your Lord- 
 &ip, one is, the exact knowledge you have of many lan- 
 guages.
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 4$$ 
 
 guages, not in a fuperficial vapouring way, as fomc of 
 our gallants have now a-days, but in a mod exaft man- 
 ner both in point of practice and theory. This induced 
 -me to give your Lordfliip an account of a taflc that was 
 impofed lately upon me by an emergent occafion, touch- 
 ing the original, the growth, the changes, and prefent 
 confiftence of the French language, which I hope may 
 -afford your Lordfhip fome entertainment. 
 
 There is nothing fo incident to all fublunary things as 
 corruptions and changes : nor is it to be wondered at, 
 considering that the elements themfelves, which are the 
 principles or primitive ingredients whereof they be com- 
 pounded, are naturally fo qualified. It were as eafy a 
 thing for the fpectator's eye to faften a firm mape upon a 
 running cloud, or to cut out a garment that but for a 
 few days together might n't the moon, (who by privi- 
 lege of her fituation and neighbourhood, predominates 
 more over us than any other celeftial body) as to find 
 {lability in any thing here below. 
 
 Nor is this common frailty, or fatality rather, inci- 
 dent only to the groffer fort of elementary creatures, but 
 mankind, upon whom it pleafed the Almighty to imprint 
 his own image, and make him as it were Lord paramount 
 of this lower world, is fubjedl to the fame lubricity of 
 mutation : neither is his body and blood only liable there- 
 unto, but the ideas of his mind, and interior operation 
 of his foul, religion herfelf, with the notion of holinefs, 
 and the formality of laving faith not excepted; nay, the 
 very faculty of reafon (as we find it too true by late ex- 
 perience) is fubjecl: to the fame inftablenefs. 
 
 But to come to our prefent purpofe, among other pri- 
 vileges which are peculiar to mankind, as emanations 
 flowing from the intellect, language is none of the lead. 
 And languages are fubjecl to the fame fits of inconftancy 
 and alteration, as much as any thing elfe, efpecially the 
 French language: nor can it feem ftrange to thofe who 
 know the airy volatile humour of that nation, that their 
 fpeech mould partake fomewhat of the difpofition of their 
 Jpirit, but will rather wonder it hath received no oftner 
 
 change,
 
 4$4 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 change, efpecially confidering what outward caufes did 
 alfo concur thereunto ; as, that their kings mould make 
 fix fevcral voyages to conquer or preferve what was got 
 in the Holy-Land; confidering alfo how the Englijh be- 
 ing a people of another fpeech, kept firm .footing in the 
 heart of France. Add hereunto the wars and weddings 
 they had with their neighbours, which, by the long'fo- 
 journ of their armies in other countries caufed by the firft, 
 and the foreign courtiers that came in with the fecond, 
 might introduce a frequent alteration : for languages are 
 like laws or coins, which commonly receive fome change 
 at every fhift of princes ; or as flow rivers, by infenfible 
 alluvions take in and let out the waters that feed them, 
 yet are they faid to have the fame beds ; fo languages, 
 by a regardlefs adoption of fome new words, and manu- 
 miffion of old, do often vary, yet the whole bulk of the 
 Ipeech keeps intire. 
 
 Touching the true anticnt and genuine language of the 
 Gauls, fome would have it to be a dialeft of the Dutch, 
 others of the Greek, and fome of the Britijh or Welflj. 
 Concerning this laft opinion, there be many reafons to 
 fortify it, which are not altogether to be flighted. 
 
 The firft is, that the antient Gauls ufed to come fre- 
 quently to be inftructcd here by the Briti/b druids who 
 were the divines and philofophers of thofe times, which 
 they would not probably have done, unlefs by mutual 
 communication they had undcrftood one another in fome 
 vulgar language, for this was before the Greek or Latin 
 came this fide the Alps, or that any books were written, 
 and there are no meaner men then Tacitus and Cirfar 
 himfelf who record this. 
 
 The fecond reafon is, that there want not good geo- 
 graphers who hold, that this ifland was tied to Guliia at 
 firft (as fome fay Sicily was to Calabria, and Denmark 
 to Germany) by an ijlhmus or neck of land from Calais to 
 Dover ; for if one do well obferve the quality of the 
 cliffs on both fhores, his eye will judge that they were 
 but one homogeneal piece of earth at firft, and that they
 
 Familiar LETTERS, 457 
 
 were dented and {hivered afunder by fome acl: of violence, 
 as the impetuous waves of the fca. 
 
 The third reafon is, that before the Romans conquer- 
 ed the Gauls, the country was called Wallia, which the 
 Romans called Gallia, turning JV into G, as they did 
 elfewhere : yet the Walloon keeps his radical letter to 
 this day. 
 
 The fourth reafon is, that there be divers old Gait- 
 lick words yet remaining in the French, which are pure 
 BritijTy, both for fcnfe and pronounciation, as kavre a 
 haven, which is the fame in Welfo, derechef again, />- 
 taine a whore, arraln brafs-money, pron an interjection 
 yof flopping, or driving of a bead; but efpecially, when 
 one fpeaks any old word in French that cannot be under- 
 ftood, they fay il parle baragouin, which is to this day 
 in Weljli, white bread. 
 
 Laftly, Paufania: faith, that Mark in the celtick old 
 French tongue fignifieth a horfe, and it fignifieth the feme 
 in Wel/b. 
 
 But though it be difputable whether the Britifh, Greek, 
 or Dutch was the original language of the Gauls, certain 
 it is that it was the Walloon; but I confine myfelf to Gal- 
 lia Celtica, which when the Roman eagle had fattened 
 his talons there, and planted twenty-three legions up and 
 down the country, he did in tracl of time utterly extin- 
 ,guim : it being the ordinary ambition of Rome, where- 
 foever me prevailed, to bring in her language and laws 
 with the lance ; which yet me could not do in Spain, or 
 this ifland, becaufe they had ports and places of faftnefs 
 to retire unto, as Bifiay and Wales, where nature hath 
 caftup thofe mountains as propugnacles of defence, there- 
 fore the very aboriginal languages of both countries re- 
 main there to this day. Now Francs being a pa/Table 
 and plain pervious continent, the Ramans quickly diffufed 
 and rooted themfelves in every part thereof, and fo co- 
 planted their language, which in a mort revolution of 
 time came to be called Roman; but when the Franco- 
 . a people of Germany, came afterwards to invade 
 Q and
 
 458 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 and pofiefs 6w///'</, both fpecch and people was called 
 Trench ever after, which is near 1300 years fince. 
 
 Now as all other things have their degrees of growing, 
 fo languages have before they attain a perfection. \Ye 
 find that the Latin herfelf in the times of the Sabines 
 \vas but rude ; afterwards under Enn'uu and Cato the 
 Cenfor it was refined in twelve tables ; but in Co-far, Ci- 
 cero, and S.7//;//?'s time it came to the higheft pitch of pu- 
 rity ; and fo dainty were the Romans of their language 
 then, that they would not fufFer any exotic or Grange 
 word to be enfranchifed among them, or enter into any 
 of their diplomata, and public inftruments of command, 
 or jullicc. The word eiullenia having got into one, it 
 vas thruft out by an exprefs cditf of the icnate; but mc- 
 nopsliitm had with much ado leave to Hay in, yet not 
 without a large preface and apology. A little after, the 
 Latin tongue in the vulgarity thereof began to degene- 
 rate, and decline very much ; out of which degeneration 
 fprang up the Italian, SpaniJJ) and FretuJL 
 
 Now, the French language being fet thus upon a La- 
 tin (lock, hath received fince fundry habitudes, yet re- 
 taining to this day fome Latin words intire, as animal, 
 cadaver, tribunal, non, plus, qui, cs, with a number of 
 others. 
 
 Chllderic, one of the firft race of Trench kings com- 
 manded by public edi<5l, that the four Greek letters 
 e x <t> "V Ihould be added to the French alphabet to make 
 the language more mafculine and ftrenuous j but after- 
 wards it was not long obferved. 
 
 Nor is it a worthlefs pbfervation, that languages ufe 
 to comply with the humour, and to difplay much the in- 
 clination of a people. The French nation is quick and 
 fpritefal, fo is his pronounciation : the Spaniard is flow 
 ,,nd grave, fo is his pronounciation : for the Spanifo and 
 French languages being but branches of the Latin tree, 
 the one may be called Latin fliortened, and the other 
 Latin drawn out at length ; as corpus, caput, tempiu, &c. 
 arc monofyllables in French, as corps, temps, caps, or 
 chef; whereas the Spaniard doth add to them, as cuer-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 459 
 
 po, tiempCy cabeca. And indeed of any other the Spa- 
 niard affedls long words, for he makes fome thrice as 
 long as they are in French, as of levewent, arifing, he 
 makes levantamiento ; of compliment he makes coiripli- 
 inento : befides, the Spaniard doth ufe to paufe in his 
 pronounciation, that his tongue feldom fore-runs his wit, 
 and his brain may very well raife a fecond thought before 
 the firft be uttered. Yet is not the French fo hafty in 
 his utterance as he feems to be, for his quicknefs or vo- 
 lubility proceeds partly from that concatenation he ufeth 
 among his fyllables, by linking the fyllable of the prece- 
 dent word with the lait of the following, fo that fome- 
 times a whole fentence is made in a manner but one 
 word ; and he who will fpeak the French roundly and 
 well, muft obferve this rule. 
 
 The French language began 5rfl to be polifhed, and 
 arrive to that delicacy ihe is now come unto, in the rridfi 
 of the reign of Philip de Valois. Marot did fomcthing 
 under Francis I. (which King was a reftorer of learning 
 in general, as well as of language) but Ronfard did more 
 under Henry II. Since thefe kings there is little diffe- 
 rence in the context of fpeech, but only in the choice of 
 words, and foftnefs of pronounciation, proceeding from 
 fuch wanton fpirits that did miniardize and make the lan- 
 guage more dainty and feminine. 
 
 But to mew what changes the Fnnch hath received 
 from what it was, I will produce thefe few inflacces in 
 verfe and profe, which I found in fome antient authors : 
 the firft mall bs of u gentlewoman that translated /c/'s 
 fables many hundred years fince out of Engl':fu into 
 French, where (he concludes: 
 
 Au finement dc ceft' efcrit 
 Q^'en Rowans ay tourne et dit j 
 Me nommcr ay par remembrance, 
 Marie ay nom je fuis de France; 
 Per 1'amour de conte Guillaume 
 Le plus vaillant de ce royaume, 
 M' entremis de ce livre faire 
 
 CLq 2 - Et
 
 4^0 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 * Et de r Anglois en Roman traire, 
 ' Efepe appelle Ton cil livre, 
 
 ' Qu'on tranflato et fit efcrire ; 
 ' De Griec en Latin le tourna, 
 ' Et le Roy divert qui 1'ama, 
 ' Le tranflata puis en Angloiz, 
 1 Et je 1'ay tourne en Francois. 
 
 Oat of the Roman de la Rofe I will produce this ex- 
 a.iiple : 
 
 * Quand ta bouche toucha la moye, 
 ' Ce fut dont au cceur jeus joyc; 
 
 ' Sire juge, donnes fentence 
 
 ' Par raoy, car, la pucellc eft moyc.' 
 
 Two of the mod antient and approvedeit authors in 
 French are Jeffrey de Villardovin Marfhal of Canipagne, 
 and Hugtiffs de Berfy t a Monk tfClogny, in the reign of 
 Philippe Augujis, above 500 years fince : from them I 
 will borrow thefe two enfuing examples, the firft from 
 the Marftial upon a croifada into the Holy-Land. 
 
 * Schachiez quc 1' an 1188 ans apres 1'incarnation al 
 
 * temps Innocent III. apoftoille de Rome, et Philippe 
 ' Roy de France, et Richard Roy d'Er.gleterre cut un 
 
 Saint homme en France, qui et nom folque de nuilly, ct 
 ' il ere prefire, et tenoit le paroichre de la ville et ce 
 ' folque commenca a parler de biex, et noftre fire fit ma- 
 ' nits miracles par luy, &c.' 
 
 Hugues de Bcrfy who made the Guiot bible fo much 
 Ipoken in France, begins thus in verfe : 
 
 D'oun fiecle puant et horrible 
 M'e ftuet commencer une bible, 
 Per poindre, et per ai guillonner 
 Et per bons exemples donner, 
 Ce n'crt une bible bifongere 
 Ma' fine, et voire et droit uricre 
 Mironer ert a tontis gens.' 
 
 If
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 461 
 
 If one would compare the Englifo that was fpoken in 
 thofe times, which is about 560 years fince, with the 
 prefent, he. mould find a greater alteration. 
 
 But to know how much the modern French differs from 
 the ancient, let him read our common Jaw, which was 
 held good French in William the Conqueror's time. 
 
 Furthermore, among other obiervations, I find that 
 there are fome Tingle words antiquated in the French, 
 which feem to be more fignificant than thofe that are 
 come in their places ; as maratre, paratre, flatre, fe- 
 rourge, a ftep-mother, a ftep-father, a fon or daughter- 
 in-law, a fifler-in-law, which now they expreis in two 
 words, belle mere, b?au fere, belle few. Moreover, 
 I find there are fome words now in French which are 
 turned to a counterfenfe ; as we ufe the Dutch word 
 crank in EngliJJ) to be well-difpofed, which in the origi- 
 nal fignifieth to be fick. So in French, cccti is taken for 
 one whofe wife is light, and hath made him a paiEvc 
 cuckold; whereas clean contrary, cocu, which is the 
 cuckow, doth ufe to lay her eggs in another bird's nefr. 
 This word pleiger is alfo to drink after one is drunk un- 
 to ; whereas the true fenfe of the word was, that if ihe 
 party drunk unto was not difpofed to drink htmfelf, he 
 would put another for a pledge to do it for him, elfe the 
 party who began would take it ill. Bef-des, this word 
 abry derived from the Latin aprictis is taken in French 
 for a clofe place or fhelter, whereas in the. original it fig- 
 nifieth an open free fun-mine. They now term in 
 French a free boon companion, roger l>on temps, where- 
 as the original is, rouge bon temps, reddifh and fair wea- 
 ther: they ufe alfo in France, when one hath a good 
 bargain, to fay, // a joue a ioulc veue, whereas the 
 original is a bonne veue. A beacon or watch-tower is 
 called beffroy, whereas the true word is feffroy : a tra- 
 velling warrant is called px/leport, whereas the original' 
 is pa (ft par tout. When one is grown hoarfe, they ufe 
 to fay, Ilaveu leloup, he hath feen the wolf ; whereas 
 that effect of hoarfenefs is wrought in whom the wolf 
 hath feen firft, according to Pliny, and the poet, Lupt 
 Q_q 3' ilium
 
 462 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 ilium vijfre priorss. There is another faying or pro- 
 verb which is obfervable, whereby France doth confefs 
 herfelf to be ftill indebted to England, which is, when 
 one hath paid all his creditors, he ufeth to fay, y' ay paye 
 tous mes anglois ; fo that in this, and other phrafes 
 anglais is taken for craencler or creditor ; and I prefume 
 it had its foundation from this, that when the French 
 were bound by treaty in Bretigny, to pay England fo 
 much for the ranfom of King John then prifoner, the 
 contribution lay fo heavy upon the people that for many 
 years they could not make np the fum. The occafion 
 might be feconded in Henry Vlll's time at the furrend- 
 ery of Bullen, and upon other treaties; as alfo ia Queen 
 Elizabeth's reign, befides the monies which (he had dif- 
 burfed herfelf to put the crown on Henry IV's head; 
 which makes me think on a pafTage that is recorded ia 
 Pafquier, that happened when the Duke of Anjou un- 
 der pretence of wooing the Queen, came over into Eng- 
 land, who being brought to her prefence, me told him, 
 He was come in good time to remain a pledge for the 
 monies that France owed her father; and other of her 
 progenitors;' whereunto the Duke anfwered, c That he 
 was come not only to be a pledge, but her clofe pti- 
 foner.' 
 
 There be two other fayings in French, which though 
 they be obfolete, yet are they worthy the knowledge: 
 the firft is, II a perdue fes ckeveux, he hath loft his hair, 
 meaning his honour : for in the finl race of kings there 
 was a law called, La loy de la ckeveleitre, whereby it 
 was lawful for the noblejje only to wear long hair, and if 
 any of them had committed fome foul and ignoble acl, 
 they ufed to be condemned to have their long hair to be 
 cut off as a mark of ignominy ; and it was as much as if 
 he had been flouerdelized, viz. burnt on the back or 
 iand, or branded in the face. 
 
 The other proverb is, // a r f uitte fa denture, he hath 
 given up his girdle, which intimated as much as if he had 
 become bankrupt, or had all his eftate forfeited : it being 
 the antientlaw of France, that whca any wpon fome of- 
 fence
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 463 
 
 fence had that penalty of confifcation inflicted upon him , 
 he ufed before the tribunal of juftice to give up his girdle, 
 implying thereby, that the girdle held every thing that 
 belonged to a man's eftate, as his budget of money and 
 writings, the key of his houfe, with his fword, dagger, 
 and gloves, fcc. 
 
 I will add hereunto another proverb which had been 
 quite loft, had not our order of the garter preferved it ; 
 which is, Hony foit q>ii mat y penfe ; this we Englijh, 
 III to him iuho think: ill, though the true fenle be, Let 
 him be bewraytd ivho thinks any ill : being a metaphor 
 taken from a child that hath bewrayed his clouts ; and I 
 dare fay, there is not one of a hundred in France who 
 Underftands this- word now a-days. 
 
 Furthermore, I hud in the French language, thr.t the 
 lame fate hath attended fome French words, as ufually 
 attend men, among whom fome rife to preferment, o- 
 thers fall to decay and an undervalue. 1 will inftance in 
 a few : this word -niaijire was a word of high efteem in 
 former times among the French, and appliable to noble- 
 men, and others in high office only ; but now it is fallen 
 from the Baron to the boor, from the Count to the cob- 
 ler, or any other artifan ; as Maiftre Jean le fauvetier y 
 Mr. John the cobler; Maijlre Jaquet le cabaretier t 
 Mr. Jammy the tapfter. 
 
 Sire was alfo appropriate only to the King : but now, 
 adding a name after it, it is appliable to any mean man 
 upon the indorfement of a letter or otherwife; but this 
 word fouverain hath raifed itfelf to that pitch of great- 
 ncfs, that it is applied now only to the King, whereas 
 in times pafled, the prefident of any court, any bailiffor 
 feneflial, was ufed to be called fouverain. 
 
 Mare/hal likewife was at firft the name of a frnith, 
 farrier, or one that dre/Ted horfes ; but it is climbed by 
 degrees to that height, that the chiefeft commanders of 
 the gendarmery and militia of France are come to be 
 called tjiarfoals, which about 100 years fince were but 
 two in all, whereas now they are twelve. 
 
 The
 
 464 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 The title majefty hath no great antiquity in France, 
 for it began in Henry II 's time. And indeed the ftyle of 
 France at firft as well as of other countries, was to tu- 
 tojer, that is, to thou any perfon that one fpake unto, 
 though never fo high : but when the commonwealth of 
 Rome turned to an empire, End fo much power came in- 
 to one man's hand, then, in regard he was able to con- 
 fer honour, and offices, the courtiers began to magnify 
 him, and treat him in the plural number by ton, and by 
 degrees to deify him by tranfcending titles ; as we read in 
 Symmachus, in his epiftles to the Emperor Theodoftus, 
 and to Valentinian, where his ftyle to them is, Ve/ira 
 at emit as, v eft rum numen, veftra perenitai, vejira de- 
 mentia; fo that you in the plural number, with other 
 compliments and titles, feem to have their firft rife with 
 the Weftern monarchy, which afterwards by degrees 
 defcended upon particular perfons. 
 
 The Trench tongue hath divers dialects, viz. the Pi- 
 cardy, that of Jerfey and Guernfey, appendixes once of 
 Normandy ; the Proven/a/, the Gafcon, or the fpeech 
 of Languedoc, which Scal-ger would etymologize from 
 Langne d'ouy, whereas it comes truly from Langue de 
 grt, in regard the Goths and Saracens, who by their in- 
 curfions and long ftay in Aqtiitain, firft corrupted the 
 fpeech of Gallia: the Walloon is another dialect, which 
 is under the King of Spain : they alfo of Liege have a 
 dialect of the French, which among themfelves they call 
 Roman to this day. 
 
 Touching the modern French that is fpoken now in 
 the King's court, the court of parliament, and in the uni- 
 verfities of France, there hath been lately a great compe- 
 tition which was the beft ; but by the learnedeft, and moft 
 indifferent perfons, it was adjudged that the ftyle of the 
 King's court was the pureft and moft elegant, becaufe the 
 other two did fmell, the one of pedantry, the other of 
 chicanery. And the late Prince of Conde, with the 
 Puke of Orleans that now is, were ufed to have a cen- 
 for in their houfes, that if any of their family fpoke any 
 
 word
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 465 
 
 word that favoured of the palace or the fchools, he fhould 
 incur the penalty of an amercement. 
 
 The late Cardinal Ricblieu made it part of his glory to 
 advance learning, and the French language. Among o- 
 ther monuments he erected an univerfity v here the fcien- 
 ces mould be read and difputed in French for the eafe of 
 his countrymen, whereby they might prefently fall to 
 the matter, and not fpend time to itudy words only. 
 
 Thus have I prefumed to fend your Lordfhip a ram- 
 bling difcourfe of the French language palled and pre- 
 fent, humbly expecting to be corrected when you mall 
 pleafe to have perufed it. So, I fubfcribe myfelf 
 ft Tour Lordfoip's thrice obedient fervant, 
 
 London, Oft. i. J. H. 
 
 LETTER LXXXVIII. 
 To Sir J. THO. Knight. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 THERE is no requeft of yours but is equivalent to 
 a command with me; and whereas you crave 
 my thoughts touching a late hiftory published by one 
 Mr. Wilfon, which relates the life of King Jawes, 
 though I know for many years your own judgment to be 
 ftrong and clear enough of itfelf, yet to comply with 
 your defircs, and for to oblige you that way anodier 
 time to me, I will deliver you my opinion. 
 
 I cannot deny but the thing is a painful piece, and pro- 
 ceeds after a handfome method, in drawing on the feries 
 and head oftheftory; but it is eafily difcernable, that a 
 partial prefbyterian vein goes conftantly throughout the 
 whole work, and you know it is the genius of that people 
 to pry more than they fliould into the courts and com- 
 portments of princes, and take any occafion to traduce 
 and beipatter them : fo doth this writer, who endeavours 
 all along (among other things) to make the world believe 
 
 that
 
 466 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 that King James and his fon after him were inclined to 
 popery, and to bring it into England; whereas I dare a- 
 vouch, that neither of them entertained the leatt thought 
 that way, they had as much defign to bring in Prefttr- 
 Jokn as the Pope, or Mahomet as foon as the mais. 
 This conceit made the writer to be fubjeft to many grofs 
 miitakes and mifreprefentations, which fo fhort a circuit 
 as a letter cannot comprehend. 
 
 Yet I will infbnce in one grofs miftake he hath in re- 
 lating a paflage which concerns Sir Elias Hicks, a worthy 
 Knight, and a fellow-fervant of yours and mine. And 
 he doth not only mifreprefent the buiinefs, but he foully 
 afperfeth him with .the terms of unworthinefs and infa- 
 my. The truth of that paflage is as followeth, and I 
 had it from very good hands. 
 
 In the year, 1621. the French King making a general 
 war againft them of the religion, beleaugered Montau- 
 ban in perfon, while the Duke of Efpernon blocked up 
 RocbeL The King having lain a good while before the 
 town, a cunning report was raifed that Rochel was fur- 
 rendered : this report being blown into Montauban, muft 
 needs di&earten them of Rochsl, being the prime and 
 ter.ableft propugnacle they had : Mr. Hicks happened ta 
 be then in Rocksl, being commended by Sir George Goring 
 to die Marquis de la Force, who was one of them that 
 commanded in chief, and treated Mr. Hicks with much 
 civility, fo far that' he took him to be one of his do- 
 mcftic attendants. The Rocbcflcrs had font two or 
 three fpecial envoys to Montauban to acquaint them 
 \vich their good condition, but it feems they all mifcar- 
 ried ; and the Marquis being troubled in his thoughts one 
 day, Mr. Hicks told him, that by God's favour he would 
 undertake and perform the fervice to Montauban : here- 
 upon he was put accordingly in equipage ; fo after ten 
 days journey, he came to a place called Mcyfak, where 
 my Lord of Doncafter, afterwards Earl ofCarlifle, was in 
 quality of Ambaflador from England, to obferve the 
 French King's proceedings, and to mediate a peace betwixt 
 him and the proteftants. At his iir(t arrival thither, it
 
 Familiar LETTERSv 467 
 
 \vas his good hap to meet cafually with Mr. Peregrin 
 Fairfax, one of the Lord AmbafTador's retinue, who had 
 been a former comrade of his : among other civilities he 
 brought Mr. Hicks to wait upon die AmbafTador, to whom 
 he had credential letters from the aflembly of Rochel, ac- 
 quainting his Lordfliip with the good ftate they were in : 
 Mr. Hicks told him befides that he was engaged to go to 
 Alontauban as an envoy from Rochel, to give them true 
 information how matters ftood. The AmbafTador replied, 
 that it was too great a truft to put upon fo young ihoulders : 
 fo Mr. Hicks being upon going to the French army \\hich 
 lay before MotitauBtut, Mr. Fairfax would needs ac- 
 company him thither to fee the trenches and works; be- 
 tog come thither, they met with one Mr. Thomas Webb 
 that belonged to the Marfhal St. Gerand, who lodged 
 them both in his own hut that night ; and having mewed 
 them the batteries and trenches the day after, Mr. Hicks 
 took notice of one place which lay moll open for his de- 
 fign, rcfolving with himfelf to pafs that way to the town. 
 He had told Fairfax of his purpofe before, who difco- 
 vering it to Webb, Webb aiked him whether he came 
 thither to be hanged ; for divers were ufed fo a little be- 
 fore. The next day Hicks taking his leave of Webb, 
 defired Fairfax to ftay behind, which lie refufing, did 
 ride along with him to the place which Hicks had point- 
 ed out the day before for his defign, and there Fairfax 
 left him. So having got betwixt the Corps de gard and 
 the town, he put fpurs to his horfe, and waving his 
 piftol about his head, got in, being purfued almoit to 
 the walls of the town by the King's party : being enter- 
 ed, old Marflial de la Force who was then in Montauban 
 having heard his relations of Rochel, fell on his neck and 
 wept, faying, that he would give 1000 crowns he were 
 as lafely got back to Rochel as he came thither ; and 
 having {raid there three weeks, he, in a fally that the 
 town made one evening, got clear through the leaguer 
 before Montauban, as he had formerly done before that 
 of the Duke of Efpcrnvn, and fo recovered Rochel again. 
 But to return to Mr. Fairfax, after he had parted with 
 
 Mr.
 
 468 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 Mr. Hicks he was taken prifoner, and threatened the 
 rack, but whether out of the apprehenfion thereof, or 
 otherwife, he died a little after of a fever at Moyfac ; 
 though it is true that the gazettes in Paris did publifh 
 that ho died of the torture, with the French mercury fince. 
 
 Mr. Hicks being returned to London, was queftioned 
 by Sir Ferdinando Fairfax for his brother's death : there- 
 upon Mr. Webb being alfo ccme back to London, who 
 was upon the very place where thefe things happened in 
 France, Mr. Hicks brought him along with him to Sir 
 Ferdinand's lodgings, who did pofitively affirm, that 
 Mr. Hicks had communicated his defjgn to Mr. Peregrin 
 Fairfax., and that he revealed it firit to him ; fb he did 
 fairly vindicate Mr. Hicks, wherewith Sir Ferdinand re- 
 mained fully f.uisfied, and all his kindred. 
 
 YVhofoever will obferve the carriage and circumftance 
 of this action, will needs confefs that Mr. Hicks (now 
 Sir Eli as Hicks} did comport himfelf like a worthy 
 gentleman from the beginning to the end thereof: the 
 defign was generous, the conduct of it difcreet, and the 
 conclufion very profperous, in regard it preferved both 
 Montauban and Rachel for that time from the fury of 
 the enemy; for the King raifed his fiege^a little after 
 from before the one, and Efpernon from the other. 
 Therefore it cannot be denied but that the faid writer 
 (who fo largely intitles his book the Hiftory of Great 
 Britain, though it be but the particular reign of King 
 James only) was very much to blame for branding fo 
 well a deferring gentleman with infamy and unworthi- 
 nefs, which are the words he plcafeth to beftow upon 
 him ; and I think he would willingly recant and retract 
 his ram cenfurc were he now living, but death prefTed 
 him av/.ty before the prefs had done with his book, 
 whereof he may be faid to have died in child-bed. 
 
 So prefcnting herewith unto you my hearty refpect-s 
 and love, endeared and ftrengthened by fo long a tract 
 of time, I reft, 
 
 Tour faithful true firant, 
 
 London, Nov. 9. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 469 
 
 LETTER LXXXIX. 
 
 To J. ANDERSON, Efqs 
 
 SIR, 
 
 YOU have been often at me (though I know you to 
 be a proteftant fo in grain, that all the water of the 
 Tyber is not able to make you change colour) that I 
 ihould impart to you in writing \vhat I obferved com- 
 mendable and difcommendable in the Roman church, be- 
 caufe I had eaten my bread often in thofe countries where 
 ihat religion is profefled and pra'ctifed in the greateft 
 height. Touching the fecond part of your requeft, I 
 need not (ay any thing to it, for there be authors enough 
 of our church to inform you about the pofitions and te- 
 nets wherein we differ, and for which we blame them. 
 Concerning the firft part, I will give you a fhort intima- 
 tion what I noted to be praife worthy and imitable in 
 point of practice. 
 
 The government of the Roman church is admirable, 
 being moulded with as much policy as the wit of man can 
 reach unto ; and there muft be civil policy as well as ec- 
 clefiaftical ufed to keep fuch a world of people of feveral 
 nations and humours in one religion : though at firft when 
 the church extended but to one chamber, then to one houfe, 
 after to one parifh, then to one province, fuch policy was 
 not fo requifite. For the church of Chrift may be com- 
 pared to his perfon in point of degrees of growing ; and 
 as that coat which ferved him in his childhood could not 
 fit him in his youth, nor that of his youth when he was 
 come to his manhood, no more would the fame govern- 
 ment (which compared to the fundamentals of faith, 
 i that are (till the fame, are but as outward garments) fit 
 all ages of the church, in regard thofe millions of acci- 
 dents that ufe to attend time, and the mutable humours 
 ' of men: infomuch that it was a wholefome caution of an 
 antient father, Dijlinguas inter te?npora> <b concordabh 
 R r tun
 
 470 Familiar LETTERS. PART II, 
 
 cum fcrtptura. This government is like a great fabric 
 reared up with fuch exact rules of art and architcdure, 
 that the foundation, the roof, fides, and angles, with 
 all the other parts, have fuch a depcndance of mutual 
 fupport by a rare contignation, concinnity, and indent- 
 ings one in the other, that if you take but out one ftone, 
 it hazards the downfall of the whole edifice. This 
 makes me think that -the church of Rome would be con- 
 tent to part with, and rectify fome things, if it might 
 not endanger the ruin of the whole ; which puts the 
 world in defpair of an oecumenical council again. 
 
 The uniformity of this fabric is alfo to be admired, 
 which is fuch as if it were but one intire continued ho- ! 
 mogeneous piece : for put cafe a Spaniard mould go to ; 
 Poland^ and a Pole fliould travel to the furtheft part of; 
 Spain, whereas all other objects may feem ftrange toj 
 them in point of lodging, language and diet, though the j 
 complexion and faces, the behaviour, garb, and gar- 
 ments of men, women and children, be differing, toge-j 
 ther with the very air and clime of the place ; though all \ 
 things feem ftrarge unto them, and fo fomewhat un-j 
 comfortlefs, yet when they go to God's houfe in either'; 
 country, they may fay they are there at home : for no- * 
 thing differs there -either in language, worfhip, fervice,! 
 or ceremony; which muft needs be an unfpcakable com-! 
 fort to either of them. 
 
 Thirdly, it mud needs be a commendable thing that 
 they keep their churches fo cleanly and amiable, for the*' 
 dwellings of the Lord of hofrs mould be fo : to which 
 end your grcateft ladies will rife before day fometimes 
 in their night-cloaths to fall a fweeping Ibme part of the 
 church, and decking it with flowers, as I heard Count 
 Gondomar'* wife uled to do here at Ely-houfe chapel ; 
 befides, they keep them in conftant repair, fo that if but 
 a quarry of glafs chance to be broken, or the leaft ftone 
 be out of fquare, it is prefently mended. Moreover, 
 their churches (land wide open early and late, inviting as 
 it were all comers, fo that a poor troubled foul may 
 have accefs thither at all hours to breath out the pan tings 
 
 of
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 471 
 
 of his heart, and the ejaculations of his foul either in 
 prayer or praife : nor is there any exception of perfons 
 in their churches, for the cobler will kneel with the Count, 
 and the laundrefs gig by geoul with her Lady, there be- 
 ing no pews there to caufe pride and envy, contention 
 and quarrels which are fo rife in our churches. 
 
 The comely probations of the body, with genuflefti- 
 on, and other acls of humility in time of divine fervice 
 is very exemplary. Add hereunto, that the reverence 
 they mew to the holy funftion of the church is wonder* 
 ful ; princes and queens will not difdain to kifs a capu- 
 chin's llee.e, or the furplice of a Prieft : befides, I have 
 een the greateft and beautifulleft young ladies go to hof- 
 pitals, where they not only drefs, but lick the fores of 
 the fick. 
 
 Furthermore, the conformity of feculars, and reHgn- 
 ment of their judgments to the governors of the church 
 is remarkable. There are not fuch fcepticks and cavil- 
 lers there as in other places ; they humbly believe that 
 Lazarus was three days in the grave, without quefHoa- 
 ing where his foul was ail the while ; nor will they ex- 
 po lulate how a man that was born blind from his nativity 
 fojuld prefehtly know the fhapes of trees, whereunto he 
 thought the firit men he ever faw were like, after he re- 
 ceived fight. Add hereunto, that they efteem for church* 
 preferments mofi commonly a man of a pious good difpo- 
 fition, of a meek fpirit,. and godly life, more than a learn- 
 ed mm, that is either a great linguift, antiquary, or phi- 
 lofopher ; and the ftrft is advanced fooner than the latter, 
 
 La(tly, they think nothing too good or too much for 
 God's houfe or for his minifters, no place too fweet, no- 
 building too (ktely.for them, being of the bed profeflion. 
 The moif curious artifts will employ the belt of their 
 {kill to compofe hymns, and anthems for God's houfe, &c, 
 
 But, methinks I hear you fay, that you acknowledge 
 all this to be commendable, were it not that it is ac- 
 companied with an odd opinion that they think to merit 
 thereby, accounting them works of foftrfrtigatam. 
 
 R r 2 Truly
 
 4?2 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 Truly Sir, I have difcourfed with the greateft mag- 
 nifiers of meritorious works ; and the chiefeft of them,, 
 made me this companion, that the blood of Chrift is like 
 a great ve/TeJ of wine, and all the merits of men whether 
 active or paffive, were it poflible, muft be put into that, 
 great vefTel, and fo mud needs be made wine ; not that, 
 the water hath any inherent virtue of itfelf to make itftif 
 fo, but as it receives it from the wine. 
 
 It is reported ofCoftao de Medici ; , that having built a 
 goodly church with a monaftery thereunto annexed, and 
 tv/o hofpitals, with other monuments of piety, and en- 
 dowed them with large revenues ; as one did much mag- 
 nify him. for thefe extraordinary works, for which doubt- 
 lefe he merited a high reward in heaven, he anfvvered, 
 ' It is true, I employed much treafure that way, yet when 
 ' I look over my leger-book of accompts, I do not find 
 ' that God almighty is indebted to me one penny, but I' 
 4 ftill in the arrear to him.' 
 
 Add hereunto, the fundry ways of mortification they 
 have by frequent long failings, and macerations of the 
 fle/h, by their retirednefs, their abandoning the world, 
 and fequefrrations from all mundane affairs ; their notable' 
 humility in the di/tribution of their alms, which they do 
 not ufe to hurl away in a kind of fcorn as others do, but 
 by putting it gently into the beggar's hand. 
 
 Some ihallow-pated puritan in reading this, will fhoor 
 his bolt, and prefently cry me up to have a Pope in myi 
 belly ; but you know me otherwife, and there is none 
 knows my intrinfecals better then you. We are come to- 
 fuch times, that if any would maintain thofe decencies, 
 and humble poftures, thofe folemnities and rites which 
 ftiould be praftifed in the holy houfe of God, (and holi- 
 nefs becomes his houfe for ever) nay, if one pafTmg 
 through a church mould put off his hat, there is, a giddy 
 and malignant race of people (for indeed they are the true, 
 malignants) who will give out that he is running poft ttf 
 Rome ; notwithstanding that the religion eftablimed by 
 the laws of England did ever allow of them ever fin 08 
 the reformation began, yet you know how few have run 
 
 thither.
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 473 
 
 thither. Kay, the Lutherans who ufe far more cere- 
 monies fymjoiizing with thofe of Rome, then the Eng* 
 ijh proteitants ever did, keep ftill their dittance, and are 
 as far from her now as they were at firfh 
 
 England had lately (though to me it feems a great 
 while lince) the face and form, the government and 'gra- 
 vity, the conftitutions and comelinefs of a church : for 
 (he h.Ki fo nethtiig to keep hcrfelf handfome ; (lie had 
 wherewith to be holpitable, and do deeds of charity, to 
 build alms-koufes, free-fch f ,ols, and colleges, which had 
 been very few in this iflmd, had there been no church- 
 benefactors : me had brave degrees of promotion to in- 
 dullry, and certainly the conceit -of honour is a great en- 
 couragement to virtue. Noxv, if all profefnons have itep s 
 of rifing, why fh'ould divinity the beft of all profefficns, 
 be without them ? The apprentice doth not think it much 
 to wipe his mafler's fhocs, and fv/eep the gutters, be 
 caufe he hopes to be an Alderman : the common foldicr 
 carricth hopes in his knapfack to be one day a Captain, 
 or Colonel : the ftudent in the inns of courts turns over 
 Phyden with more alacrity, and tugs with that crabbed 
 ftudy of the law, becaufe he hopes one day to be a Judge ; 
 fo the fcholar thought his labour fweet, becaufe he was 
 buoyed up with hopes that he might be one day a Bimop, 
 Dean, or Canon. This comely fubordination of degrees 
 we once had, and we had a vilible confpicuous church, 
 to whom all other reformists gave the upper-hand ; but 
 now (he may be faid to have crept into corners, and fal- 
 len to fuch a contempt that (he dares fcarce (how her 
 face. Add hereunto, in what various kinds of confufi- 
 ons (he is involved ; fo that it may be not improperly 
 faid, while (he thought to run away fo eagerly from Ba- 
 by tin, (lie is fallen into a babel of all opinions : iufomuch 
 that they who came lately from Italy fay, how Rome 
 gives out, that when religion is lofr. in '^nr'sind, /he will 
 be glad to come to tons again to find one out, and that 
 fhe danceth all this while in a circle. 
 
 Thus have I endeavoured to fatisfy your importunity 
 
 as far as a fheet of paper could reach, to give you a 
 
 R r 3 touch
 
 474 Familiar LETTERS. PART II. 
 
 touch what may be not only allowable but laudable, and 
 confequently imitable in the Roman church: for 
 
 Fas eft et ab hofte doceri. 
 
 But I defire you would expound all with the fane fenfe, 
 wherewith 1 know you abound; otherwife I would not 
 be fo free with you upon this ticklifh fubjecl : yet I have 
 caufe to queftion your judgment in one thing, becaulc 
 you magnify fo much my talent in your laft. Alas, Sir, 
 a fmall handkerchief is enough to hold mine, whereas a 
 large table-cloth can hardly contain that rich talent 
 which I find God and nature hath intruded you withal : 
 in which opinion I reft always 
 
 Tour ready and real fervant 
 London, July 3. J. H. 
 
 LETTER XC. 
 
 To the truly Honourable the Lady SYBILLA BROWN at 
 her Houfe near Sherburn. 
 
 WHEN! had the happinefs to wait upon you at 
 your being in London, there was a difpute raifed 
 about the ten Sibyls by one, who, your Ladyfhip knows, 
 is no great friend to antiquity ; and I was glad to appre- 
 hend this opportunity to perform the promife you drew 
 from me then, to vent fomething upon this fubjedl fof 
 your Ladyfhip's fatisfaclion. 
 
 Madam, in thefe peevim times, which may be called 
 the ruft of the iron age, there is a race of crofs-grained 
 people, who are malevolent to all antiquity. If they 
 read an old author, it is to quarrel with him, and find 
 feme hole in his coat: they flight the fathers of the pri- 
 mitive times, and prefer John Calvin, or a Canfaban 
 before them all. Among other tenets of the firft times, 
 
 they
 
 Familiar LETTERS. 475 
 
 they hold the ten Sibyls to be fictitious and fabulous, and 
 jjo better than Urganda, or the Lady of the lake, or 
 luch doting beldams. They (Hck not to term their pre- 
 dictions of Chrilr, to be mere mock oracles, and odd ar- 
 rephitious frantic extravagancies. They cry out, that 
 they were forged and obtruded to the world by feme 
 officious chriitians to procure credit and countenance tp 
 their religion among the Pagans. 
 
 For my part Madam, I am none of this incredulous 
 perverfe race of men; but what the current and concur- 
 rent tefti nonies of the primitive times do hold forth, I 
 give cred.t thereunto without any fcruple. 
 
 Now, touching the works of the ,V%//, they were ha 
 high requeft among the fathers of the firft four centuries, 
 infomuch that they ufed to urge their prophtcies for con- 
 verfion of Pagans, who therefore called the chrHHans 
 Sibjlianiftsi nor did they hold it a word of reproach. 
 They were all virgins, and for reward of their chairity, 
 it was thought they had the gift of prophecy; not by 
 any endowment of nature, or inherent human quality, 
 or ordinary ideas in the foul, but by pure divine infpira- 
 tions, not depending on fecond caafes in fight. They 
 fpake not like the ambiguous Pagan oracJes in riddles, 
 but fo clearly, that they fometimes go beyond the Jewijh 
 prophets: they were called ^iobulx, that is, of the 
 counfels of God, Sios in the Eollc dialect being Deus. 
 They were preferred before all the Chaldean wizards, 
 before the Bacidft, Branchydif, and others ; as alfo be- 
 fore Tyrcjiati Manto, Math, or Cajjandra, &c. 
 
 Nor did the chriftians only value them at that height, 
 but the mofr. learned among the Rthnicks did fo, as l^ar- 
 ro, Livv, and Cicero; the firft being the greatest anti- 
 quary, the fecond the greateft hif^orian, and the third 
 the greateft orator, that ever Rome had ; who fpeaks fo 
 much of that famous acroiHc that one of them made of 
 the name of our Saviour, which fure could not be the 
 work of a chriflian, as fome would maJicioufly obtrude, 
 k being fo long before the incarnation. 
 
 Bat
 
 Fatmliar LETTERS. PART IJ. 
 But for the better difcharge of my engagement to your 
 Lady/hip, I ^,11 rank all the ten before^ with 3 
 f t 
 
 of the.r mofhignal predictions 
 n in nu 
 
 o wk, , 
 
 *'"*< the reft were born i. 
 
 . 
 
 The Y,y/ were ten in number, whereof there were 
 born ,n /:, to wk ^b Delpkica, 
 
 , 
 many hundred years before in thcfe words, 
 
 ' 
 
 The kcond was Sibylla Lylica. who among other 
 prophecies, bath thw, The da mall come t 
 
 > born in G*/w b 
 
 7, um * a > orn n */w b 
 
 //^, who hath thefe words, That God ftall be born 
 of a Virgin, and converfe with fmners.' 
 The fifth was the famous Eryttr**, born at Bafybn. 
 Who compofed that famous acroftic which St. Ju/ufi/m 
 took fo much pains to tranHate intoJ^/.. wh.ch be- 
 
 ?h 3 ' ' i 6 ,,"" 11 ^ fweatfi g" s of judgment, from 
 heaven Aall come a King who (hall reign for ever, . 
 in human flefh, to the end that by his prefence he judge 
 the world. A riv er o f fi re and J^^ A J ^ 
 from heaven, the fun and ftars fhall lofe their light, the 
 firmament (hall be diflblved, and the moon fhall be 
 ' 
 
 j a L , trum P ct ftalj fou nd from heaven in wo- 
 :trr Weill ^2 erj and the P enin g of ^e earth 
 ""I 1 d ^ confufed and dark hell; and before the 
 Judge fhall come every King, &,.' 
 
 -Ir/ 1 ?^ T 3S 5 ^ v// * lS '" w ' who faith ' He being 
 nch W be ban of a poor maid : the creatures of the 
 earth fhall adore him, and praife him for ever ' 
 T he fcventh was CIMMM, who faith, That he mould 
 come from heaven, and reign here in poverty : he mould 
 ruie in filencc, and be born of a Virgin.'
 
 Familiar LETTERS, 477 
 
 The eighth was Sibylla Helleff)ontica> who foretells 
 plainly, that ' A womah (hall defcend of the Jeivs, cal- 
 ' led Mary, and of her (hall be born the Son of God, 
 1 and that without carnal copulation, &c. J 
 
 The ninth was Phrygia, who faith, The higheft 
 
 * fhall come from heaven, and fhall confirm the counfel 
 ' in heaven, and a Virgin (hall be mewed in the valleys 
 ' of the defarts, &c.' 
 
 The tenth was Tybtirtina, born near Tyber, who 
 faith, * The invifiblc world (hall be born of a Virgin, he 
 4 fhall converfc with finners, and fhall of them be de- 
 
 fpifed, be.' 
 
 Moreover, St. AuguJIln reciteth thefe prophecies fol- 
 towing of the Sibyls : ' Then fhall he be taken by the 
 4 wicked hands of infidels, and they fhall give him buf 
 ' fets on his face, they fhall fpit upon him with their 
 4 foul and accurfed mouths, he fhall turn unto them his 
 moulders, furfering them to be whipped : he alfo fhall 
 4 be crowned with thorns ; they fhall give him gall to 
 ' eat, and vinegar to drink : then the veil of the temple 
 
 * fhall rend, and at mid-day it mail be dark night, &c.' 
 
 Lanfiantius relateth thefe prophecies of theirs, ' Ha 
 *' fhall raife the dead, the impotent and lame fhall go, the 
 
 deaf (hall hear, the blind /hall fee, acd the dumb 
 
 * fpeak, <<;.' 
 
 In fine, out of the works of the Sibyls may be de- 
 duced a good part of the miracles and fufferings of Chrift ; 
 therefore for my part 1 will not cavil with antiquity, or 
 traduce the primitive church, but I think I may believe 
 without danger, that thofe Sibyls might be iele& inftru- 
 ments to announce the difpenfations of heaven to mankind. 
 Nor do I fee they do the church of God any good fer- 
 vice or advantage at all, who quefiion the truth of the^r 
 \vritings, (as alfo Trijinsglftiu. his Pytnandra and dri- 
 ft/fiis, &c.) who have been handed over to pofterity as 
 incontroulable truths for fo many ages. 
 
 Thus, vladam, have I done fomething of that tafk 
 you impofed upon me touching the ten Sibyls; wher^e- 
 unto 1 may well add your Ladyfhip for the eleventh : for 
 
 among
 
 478 Familiar LETTERS. PART JJ. 
 
 among other things, I remember you foretold confident- 
 ly that the Scotijh kirk would deftroy the Engli/h 
 church ; and that if the hierarchy went down, monarchy 
 would not be of long continuance. 
 
 Your Ladyfhip I remember foretold alfo, how thofe 
 unhappy feparatids the puritans would bring all things at 
 lad into confufion, who fince are called prefbyterians, 
 or Jews of the New Tedament; and they not impro- 
 perly may be called fo, for they fympathize much with 
 that nition in a revengeful fanguinary humour, and third- 
 ing after blood. I could produce a cloud of examples, 
 but let two fuffice. 
 
 There lived a few years before the long parliament 
 near Clun-Caftle in iValet, a good old widow that had 
 two fons grown tJ mens edate, who having taken the 
 holy facra-ne it on a fird ^undtiy in the month, at their 
 return h ime they entered into a difpute touching the 
 manner of receiving it 1 he elded brother who was an 
 orthodox protedant (with the mother) held it was -very 
 fitting, it being the highed aft of devotion, that it 
 flVould be taken in the humbled pofture that could be 
 pon the knees: the other, being a puritan, oppofed it, 
 and the difpute grew high, but it ended without much 
 heat. The next day being both come home to dinner 
 fro:n their bufinefs abroad, the elded brother, as it was 
 kis cudom, took a nap upon a cufhion at the end of the 
 table, that he might be the more frcfh for labour. The 
 puritan brother, called Enoch Evans, fpying his oppor- 
 tunity fetched an ax, which he had provided it feems on 
 purpofe, and dealing foftly to the tible, he chopped off 
 his brother's head ; the old mother hearing a noife, came 
 fuddenly from the next room, and there found the body 
 a^J head of her elicit fon both afundcr, and reaking in 
 hot blood : O villain, cried (he, Haft tbou murdered 
 thy brother? Tes> quoth he, and you fliM after him; 
 and fo driking her down, he dragged her body to the 
 th.ieih.jld of the door, and there chopped off her head 
 alfj, and put them both in a bag: but thinking to fly he 
 was apprehended and brought before the next Juftice of 
 
 Fcacc,
 
 'Familiar LETTERS. 47 p 
 
 Peace, xvho chanced to be Sir Robert Howard; fo the 
 murderer the next affizes after was condemned, and the 
 law could but only hang him, though he had committed 
 matricide and fraticide. 
 
 I will fetch another example of their cruelty from 
 Scotland. The late Marquis of Montrofe being betray- 
 ed by a Lord in whole houfe he lay, was brought pri- 
 foner of war to Edinburgh ; there the common hangman 
 met him at the town's end, and firft pulled off his hat, 
 then he forced him up to a cart, and hurried him like a 
 condemned perfon, though he had not yet been arraign- 
 ed, much lefs convifted, thro' the great ftreet, and 
 * brought him before the parliament, where being pre- 
 fently condemned, he was ported away to the gallows, 
 which was above thirty foot high : there his hand was 
 cut off firft, then he was lifted up by pullies to the top, 
 and then hanged in the moft ignominious manner that 
 could be. Being taken down, his head was chopped 
 off and nailed to the high crofs ; his arras, thighs, and 
 legs were fent to be fet up in feveral places, and the refl 
 of his body was thrown away, and deprived of chriftian 
 turial. Thus was this nobleman ufed, though one of 
 the antienteft peers of Scotland, and efteemed the great- 
 eft honour of that country both at home and abroad. 
 Add hereunto the mortal cruelty they ufed to their young 
 King, with whom they would not treat unlefs he ac- 
 knowleged his father to be a tyrant, and his mother an 
 idolatrefs, fcc. 
 
 So I moft humbly kifs your hands, and reft always, 
 Madam, 
 
 Tour Ladyjhipi's inoft 
 
 faithfully devoted fervant* 
 London, Aug. $&. J. H. 
 
 LET-
 
 480 Familiar LETTERS. PART IL 
 
 LETTER XCI. 
 To the incomparable Lady y the Lady M. CARV. 
 
 Madam, 
 
 I Have difcovcred fb much of divinity in you, that he 
 who would find your equal, muft feek one in the 
 other world. I might play the oracle, and more truly 
 pronounce you the wifeft of women, than he did Pytha- 
 goras the wifeft of men : for queftionlefs, that he or me 
 are the wifeft of all human creatures, who are careful of 
 preferving the nobleft part of them, I mean the foul. 
 They who prink and pamper the body, and negled the 
 foul, are like one, who having a nightingale in his houfe, 
 is more fond cf the wicker cage than of the bird ; or 
 rather, like one who hath a pearl of an invaluable price, 
 and efteems the poor box that holds it more than the 
 jewel. The rational foul is the breath of God almighty, 
 me is his very image: therefore who taints his foul may 
 be faid to throw dirt in God's face, and make his breath 
 ftink. The foul is a fpark of immortality, fhe is a di- 
 vine light, and the body is but a focket of clay that holds 
 it. In fome this light goes out with an ill-favoured 
 ftench ; but others have a fave-all to preferve it from 
 making any fnuff at all. Of this number, Madam, you 
 are one that flune clearefl in this horizon, which makes 
 me fo much 
 
 Tour Ladyjbip's truly devoted fervant, 
 Lond. Nov. 3. J. H, 
 
 The END.
 
 INDEX 
 
 OF THE 
 
 PRINCIPAL MATTERS contained 
 in thefe LETTERS. 
 
 A MSTERDdMtefafad, page 11 
 
 JT\ Antwerp defcribcd, 19 
 Ancre (Marquis of) his rife, and an account of his 
 
 murder, 31 
 
 Anne, Qiieen to King James VI. dies, 75 
 Algier, a Dutch, and an Englifoman faid to be the 
 
 the chief raifers of that State, 80 
 
 Abbot, Archbifhop of Cante rbury kills a man, 122 
 
 -- Provides for che widow and children, ifr. 
 
 Archy, (the King's fool) a witty reply of his, 139 
 
 Afflictions, an evidence of God's love, 317 
 Archimedes, how employed when Syracufs was 
 
 taken, 418 
 
 Aquinas, a ftory of him and another Doftor, ib. 
 
 Adrian (Pope) his opinion of phyficians. 420 
 
 B 
 
 Barcelona defcribed, 39 
 Barilia, a vegetable ufed in the compofition of cry- 
 
 fta!, and Caftile foap defcribed, 40 
 
 Bacon (Lord) a witty reply of his to King James VI. 7 1 
 
 --- His death and character, 185 
 Ballard, an EngliJJj Prieft, a difference betwixt 
 
 him and Sir Edward Varny, 142 
 Brift'jl (Earl of) in great favour at the court of 
 
 Spain, 1 60 
 S f Breda
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Breda taken by Spinola, page 193 
 
 Buckingham, (Duke of) a monitory letter to him 
 
 from the author, 197 
 
 An account of his murder, 216 
 
 Bath, of its medicinal waters, 292 
 
 Biihops much hated in Scotland, 297 
 
 Braganza (Duke of) made King of Portugal. 300 
 
 Confiftory, an account of it, 54 ] 
 
 Cardinals, how made, ib* \ 
 
 Charles Prince of Wales arrives at the court of 
 
 Spain, 132 
 
 Leaves Spain, 152 ] 
 
 . Match propofed betwixt him and a daugh- 
 ter of France, 182 1 
 .... Proclaimed King, 184 I 
 Chriltian religion, of its extent, 330 I 
 Calabrian, an odd exprefiion of one, 356'! 
 Conanui, a picture of his feized. in a French mip, 357 I 
 Carlcton (Sir />.) called to the bar of the houfe of 
 
 commons, for mentioning the word Ex- 
 
 ci s E, in a fpeech to the houfe, 402 
 
 Chriftians beyond fea, their great devotion during 
 
 the Pajfion week, 405 | 
 
 Chinefe, their wife policy, 417 : 
 
 Curiofity in religious opinions, the danger of it. 437 
 
 D 
 
 Denmark, (King of) 6000 men lent to his affifl- 
 
 ance, 208 
 
 Dutch, a fea fight betwixt them and the Spaniards, 298 
 Drinks, of the various kinds ufed by mankind, 365 
 
 Dale, (Dr.) fome (lories told of bam. 457 
 
 E 
 
 Elwais (Sir Gervais} hanged, 4 
 
 His caveat againft rafh vows, J 
 
 Efcurial, an account of it, 176 
 
 Elizabeth
 
 I N 6 E X. 
 
 Elizabeth, (Queen) her great influence, page 361 
 
 Abufed by foreigners, 362 
 
 A criticifm on her reign, 451 
 
 England ftrangely altered in a few years with regard 
 
 to religious opinions, 401 
 
 Edinburgh, the plague rages there, 409 
 
 Europe, of its unhappy fituation in the year 1646. 411 
 
 F 
 
 Flujhing and Brill, how given up to the Dutch, 18 
 
 Florence, account of it, 6 1 
 
 Frederick (Prince) drowned, 189 
 
 French, arreft an 100 Snglt/h merchant fhips, 212 
 
 French King erects a pillar on the Alps, 234 
 
 That nation charged with promoting the 
 
 diffractions in England, 428 
 
 French, account of that language. 455 
 
 .G 
 
 Genoa defer ibed, 63 
 
 Geneva defcribed, 69 
 
 Gwidamer the Spanijh Ambaflador, folicites a match 
 
 betwixt the Infanta and Prince Charles of 
 
 England, 113 
 
 Croft bead, (Bilhop) his advice to his brother, a 
 
 farmer, 418 
 
 Goths, their reafon for not deftroying the libraries 
 
 of the Greeks and Italians , 418 
 
 H 
 
 Howel, (the author) of his firft going abroad, 5 
 
 : His bufmefs at the court of Spain, 1 20 
 
 i ,'... Arrives in England, \ 80 
 
 . .. .. The method he obferved in his devotions, 285 
 
 Arrives at Edinburgh, 296 
 
 _ His merry converfation with a flioe-maker 
 
 and his landlord, 307 
 
 i Jmprifoned in the Fleet t 305 
 
 Sf2 Henry
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Henry the Great, an account of his murder, page 28 
 Halverjladt (Biftiop of) how he ufed fome friers 
 
 and nuns, 160 
 
 Henrietta, Mary, (the Princefs) arrives in England, 202 
 
 Her French fervants difmifTed, 207 
 
 Hanfe towns, an account of them, 250 
 
 Hermit, an angel fent to one to juftify the ways 
 
 of providence, 439 
 
 Hans Boobikin, a merry ftory told of him, 447 
 
 Hiftory, the advantage of reading it, 448 
 
 Hicks (Sir Ellas') his bravery. 466 
 
 Italian^ a character of them, 66 
 James VI. applies to the court of Spain in favour 
 
 of the King of Bohemia, 128 
 
 Dies, 183 
 
 Jews expelled from Spain, and for what, 169 
 
 An account of them, 267 
 
 Their odd opinion of women, 355 
 
 Jc'wijh religion, account of it, 328 
 
 Jnquifition, an account of it, 245 
 
 Italian, witty reply of one to a German, 256 
 
 Johnfon (Beit) accufed of vanity, 346 
 
 ifland, a new one difcovercd. 357 
 
 K 
 
 King Charles I. a letter to him from the author, 404 
 
 L 
 
 Letters, a criticifm on them, I 
 
 Ley den, account of its univerfity, 1 4 
 
 Lucca, account of it, 64 
 
 Lions, account of it, 68 
 
 Luynes, (Duke of) his fudden rife, 107 
 
 Lervia (Duke of) account of him, 127 
 
 Letter to a gentleman on his travels, 114 
 
 To a collegian, 219 
 
 Letter
 
 INDEX, 
 
 Letter to a Captain given to much fwearing, page 221 
 A humourous one recommending a foot- 
 man, 226 
 
 To Ben Johnfon concerning his plays, 228 
 
 Leicejler (Earl of) fent Ambaflador to Denmark , 243 
 
 Arrives at *hat court, 257 
 
 Obtains fome privileges to the Englijh 
 
 merchants, 258" 
 
 Liege* a bloody banquet there, .284 
 
 Languages, of them, 375 
 
 Ditto to page 394 
 Learned, the word mould not be confined to men 
 
 of book learning, 417 
 
 A concife character of a mere fcholar, 416 
 
 Learned men, the different kinds of them, 424 
 
 London becomes a garrifon town. 429 
 
 M 
 
 Milan, an account of it, 6$ 
 Match with Spain. See p. 124, and to 164 in- 
 
 clufive* 
 
 Match with France ; the articles, 19 1 
 
 Montmorency, account of him, 276 
 
 Mahometan religion, its extent, 33 J 
 
 Moon, whether that planet be habitable, 421 
 
 . That opinion neither contrary to reafon nor 
 
 religion, 425 
 Preemption in man to think the heavenly 
 
 bodies were made folely for his ufe, 426 
 
 Montrofe (Marquis of) is cruelly murdered. 479 
 
 N 
 
 Naples, account of it, 57 
 
 JVcy (Attorney -General) his ftrange will. 274 
 
 O 
 
 Orange, (Prince of) his fingular chara&cr, 1 6 
 
 Orleans, (maid of) account of her, 109 
 
 Ofman
 
 I N D EX, 
 
 Ofman, the Grand Turk, murdered by one of fits 
 
 flaves, page 146 
 
 0/una (Duke of) account of him, 177 
 
 A curious decifion of his, ib, 
 
 Outrages committed by the Englijh, 303 
 
 Opinions, different in religion, 327 
 
 No reafon for people to hate one another, 435 
 
 Officer, advice to one on his going abroad. 348 
 
 P 
 
 Paris, account of it, 22 
 
 Pope, his extenfive dominion, 5:4 
 
 Palfgrave, elected King of Bohemia, 1 2 
 
 Driven from his kingdom, 73 
 
 Arrives in Holland, 8 1 
 
 Provinces, (the 17) a furvey of them, 85 
 
 Parliament, differences betwixt K. James and them, 116 
 P a g et > (Lord) his concife fpeech in the houfe of 
 
 peers, If 9 
 
 Plague breaks out in Londvn, 184 
 Pviues (Lord) an expreffion of his on Sir Thomas 
 
 Went'vjortb's advancement, 337 
 
 Prince Palatine, fome account of his affairs, 282 
 
 Paganifm, where it prevails, 33^ 
 
 Pre<byteri ms, of their firft rife, &r. 413 
 
 Prieft, a merry ftory of one, 450 
 
 Pmkan, the great barbarity of one in IValet. 479 
 
 R 
 
 Ravtleigh (Sir Walter) returns from the coaft of 
 
 Guinea, $ 
 
 Made an unfuccefsful voyage, 
 
 Gondamer complains of him to the King, 6 
 
 A facetious ftory applied to his return, 7 
 
 A letter from the author to his fbn 
 
 Mr. Charles Rawleigh, 394 
 
 Rente, account of it, 2O 
 
 - Its government, <t~c. 53 
 
 Reformed by the reformation, 324 
 
 RocbeL
 
 INDEX. 
 
 account of it, page 34 
 
 Bad fuccefs of the EngHJh there, 213 
 
 Reply, a fenfible one of an Englijhman to a French' 
 
 man, 311 
 
 Reflexions on the various appearances of nature, 363 
 
 Republick, a letter concerning an imaginary one, 443 
 Roman catholkks, what commendable among them, 469 
 
 S 
 
 Story, a merry one of a French Secretary, 25 
 
 Of a galley flave, 36 
 
 , Of a fatire againft the court, 6l 
 
 Of a Lieutenant at Lions, 70 
 
 Of a Lady who had 365 children at a birth, 85 
 
 Of a play aded by the jefuits at Brujfclf, 99 
 
 Merry one of the Duke of Efpernoti, Hi 
 
 A merry one of a Captain, 174 
 
 Of a frier, 175 
 
 Of a foldier and wolves, 1 80 
 
 Of a drunken cook, 187 
 
 Of a pafquil at Rome, 2OI 
 
 Of a Captain and Provoft-marflial, 209 
 
 Of an apparition, 264 
 
 A tragical one, 277 
 
 Of a young man executed in Spain, 281 
 
 Of Theodofius a Jew, 295 
 
 A merry one of the Duke<fe/ Valet 'e, 304 
 
 Of a pied piper, 307 
 
 Spanifo woman, her character of her hufband, 139 
 Spaniflj Ambailadors privately accufe fome of the 
 
 Englijb minittry, 1 60 
 
 Refufe to name them, ib. 
 
 Are complained of, ib. 
 
 Spanijh monarchy, afurveyofit, 165 
 
 Straford, (Earl of ) his fudden rife, 237 
 
 His caution to his fon, 408 
 
 Sweden (King of) his progrefs in Germany, 240 
 
 Is killed at Lutr.en, 260 
 
 Ship-money complained of, 273 
 
 Serpent
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Serpent found in a man's heart, 302 
 
 Silver above fix per cent, paid for changing it for 
 
 gold, 429 
 
 Satire, a prophetical one againft the court, 430 
 
 Sibyls (die 10) an account of them. 479 
 
 T 
 
 Turks, great predeflinarians, 4; 
 
 Trade, its importance to England, 312 
 
 Tobacco, of its great virtues, 414 
 
 Cures Lord Su nderland of an impofthume, 41] 
 
 How taken in different nations. 
 
 U 
 Urban VI. dies. 311 
 
 V 
 
 Valentia, account of it, 
 Venice, account of it, 
 Extent of its territories. 
 
 W 
 
 Wimbeldorfs fleet return from Spain, ipj 
 
 Walfingkatn (Secretary) a faying of his, 349 
 
 Witches, above 100 condemned in E/ex and Suffolk, 4? 
 
 Whether any fuch exift, 43] 
 
 Wilforfs hiftory of King James fome remarks on it. 465 
 
 FINIS. 
 

 
 This book is DUE on the last 
 date stamped he1^ 
 
 1997 
 
 QL APR 10
 
 000 000 777 3