The court and times of Charles the First; illustrated by authentic and confidential letters, from various public and private collections; including Memoirs of the mission in England of the Capuchin friars in the service of Queen Henrietta Maria
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KONINKLUKE BIBLIOTHEEK 0341 1656 S? OUDE en NIEUWE |boekhandel a VAN I liARTlHDS IIIJHOFF. | Fiu^un-il to H Kubbuku. K1XU CIIAUI.KS TJII-: P1UST. tut x; ir. nttttl Ttll i>l!lHN \l.nl' V.WKYKt I.N TH»' < ' D.I J'.i Tli iN . 'i-' TtIK UIIJHT tH«£«"«THK KAMI. «? I*KM1U»>KK THE COURT AND TIMES OF v. CHARLES THE FIRST; CONTAINING A 8BRIB8 OP HISTORICAL AND CONFIDENTIAL LETTERS, INCLUDING MEMOIRS OF THE MISSION IN ENGLAND OF THE CAPUCHIN FRIARS IN THE SERVICE OF HENRIETTA MARIA, AND A VARIETY OF OTHER PARTICULARS NOT MENTIONED BY OUR HISTORIANS. CransimbcU from tljc Original* IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM, STATE P APE B OFFICE, AND PBIVATE COLLECTIONS, » BY THOMAS BIRCH, D.D. ' AUTHOR OF ** MEMORIALS OF THE REIGN OF QUEEN ELIZABETH," EDITOR OF "THURLOE8 COLLECTION OF STATE PAPERS," ETC. NOW FIRST PUBLISHED PROM HIS MSS. BEQUEATHED TO THE BRITISH MUSEUM. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON : HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 1849. INTRODUCTION The present series of letters form a sequel to the Correspondence recently published under the title of " The Court and Times of James I. much the greater portion proceeding from the same influential and well- informed authorities, and consisting of intelligence respecting all transactions of importance at home and abroad; particularly detailing the movements of the great men of the Court and Parliament in England, and the aspect of affairs in those portions of Europe in which Englishmen then felt the most interest. And the reign of the first Charles comprised a time of singular importance in the history of this country and of the surrounding nations. Commencing with the young King's possession of the reins of government under the auspices of the associate of his Spanish frolic, the thoughtless, reckless, trifling Duke of Buck- ingliam, we are made acquainted with the circum- stances under which he united himself with Henrietta Maria, and the causes of their early differences. We next trace him, through the several stages of the war with France, under the military direction of the Favourite, till the national disgrace at the Isle of Rhe* was revenged by the knife of Felton, and the poor Huguenots of Rochelle, whom he had stimulated into iv INTRODUCTION. rebellion, were abandoned to the fury of their Catholic conquerors. From humiliations abroad we are led to niisgovernment at home. Charles inherited the spirit of favouritism which had filled the nation with discontent in his father's reign. He sought to place himself above the good opinion of his subjects in a manner the most offensive. The more completely Buckingham established his incompetence, both as a statesman and as a commander, the more publicly the King exhibited his confidence in him. While the country was smarting under an intolerable dishonour produced by his want of military capacity, and the people were drained of their resources, which he was allowed to squander in the most trifling and insensate way, the King set the public discontent at defiance, by showing him additional demonstrations of favour. The people expressed their dissatisfaction through their representatives in Parliament. At first, the only notice token of this was by acts of vengeance upon such members as ventured to speak the popular voice : but as this, far from silencing the voice, appeared to give it increased strength and loudness, the King intempe- rately dissolved Parliament, and punished the bold speakers with fine and imprisonment. Then came the illegal shifts and expedients to raise funds for carrying on the government without a Parliament, which foil- ing, and increasing the public discontent, the Legislature was at last called in the usual way : and, partly by cajolery, partly by menaces, an attempt was made to induce the members to submit to the King's direction: but there were men who now took pro- minent parts in the deliberations of the Parliament INTRODUCTION. V who could not be cajoled and would not be menaced. A patriotic party of able and determined men made their appearance, whose progress the reader is enabled to trace in the following pages with singular exactness. He may mark the rise to eminence of Selden, Cotton, Elliott, Denzil Holies, Valentine, Stroud, Hobart, Long, St. John, and the other leaders of the great movement, which the King's misgovernment was developing : but, though the signs of the times should have warned Charles to pause in his career, he so frequently replied to remonstrance with acts of despotism, that, when he did accede to the demands of his people, the concession failed to remove the unfavourable impression lie had previously created. He again threw off all restraint, and once more sought to rule according to his own plea- sure — through Star Chamber persecutions, forced loans, illegal impositions, and exactions that plundered the sub- ject without caring for any other limit than the necessi- ties of the crown. Then came John Hampden's moral force resistance to ship-money — the gradual alienation of the hearts of the people of England from their sove- reign, displayed, at first, in their detestation of the royal favourites, Strafford and Laud, for carrying out the arbitrary inclinations of their royal master, but, in course of time, assuming a determination which the increasing culpability of the greater criminal forced them to exer- cise. It is scarcely possible for any one who reads the accounts here given, written at the time from the best sources of information, to find an excuse for the King. By mismanagement of his revenues, he had placed him- self in a position analogous to that of a dishonest vi INTRODUCTION. trader, who is content to carry on an appearance of trade, by availing himself of those resources of fictitious credit by which the more honest and confiding are made to suffer, till the fraud becomes exposed and a bank- ruptcy inevitable. It is as necessary that Majesty should have honest dealings with the subject, as the humblest chapman with his customer. The Crown should conduct its transactions in the same honourable spirit that characterises every commercial establishment anxious to maintain a fair name and good repute. But it seemed the opinion of Charles the First, and appar- ently of all the Stuarts, that laws were not made far them, but by them — that honour and honesty could be dispensed with at any period their influence over royalty might be inconvenient — that the property, liberties, and lives of the people were at the disposal of the King at all times, when they could be rendered available for his profit or pleasure — and that the King was elevated so much above ordinary liabilities and ordinary principles, that no responsibility could reach, nor any discredit apply to him, either as a monarch or a man. Those impressions of the opinions of Charles will alone enable us to account for his conduct throughout his entire reign. There may be doubts about the pro- priety of the severe punishment with winch such con- duct was ultimately visited, though such a penalty no private man, acting with the same disregard of the law, could have escaped : but the advantage of the example thus produced it is impossible too highly to estimate ; and Englishmen ought to welcome, with peculiar grati- fication, any contribution to their knowledge of a period in which the rights they now enjoy were, after a struggle, Digitized by INTRODUCTION. begun by a few resolute spirits, against an absolute and irresponsible power, established on a basis that can never be disturbed. In illustration of the text, brief notes constitute all the inforniation that can be afforded in such a work as this, respecting these patriotic men : but more copious accounts of them are easily available. The student cannot do better than refer to Mr. Forster's admirable series of biographies of the Statesmen of the Commonwealth; and to Mr. Car- lyle's invaluable collection of the " Letters and Dis- patches of Oliver Cromwell." This Correspondence, whilst affording the most copious information on affairs of State, draws quite as liberally, as in the preceding volumes, on affairs, which, if less important, are certainly not less inter- esting. We allude to the details of the private lives of the many distinguished persons whose names figure in almost every page of the work. With many curious revelations of Court manners, will be found several quaint pictures of social morals in Court and City, that are likely to startle the proprieties of the present century. We allude to the cases of the Earl of Castlehaven, Sir Giles Allington, and Lady Purbeck. The reader will meet with numerous memoranda, scattered throughout the work, illustrative of many subjects of general interest, literary, domestic, com- mercial, political, religious, and fashionable: indeed, these being letters of news, possess a variety not to be found in any series of lnstorical letters hitherto pub- lished. Their value has been acknowledged by several able writers: the elder Disraeli having frequently availed himself of their revelations in his " Connnen- Vlll INTRODUCTION. taries on the Life and Reign of Charles I. ;" Dr. Lingard, in his " History of England," having also referred to them ; and other historians have had recourse to their statements whenever necessary. The frequent reference, in these communications, to what was passing abroad shows the great desire felt in this country for intelligence respecting the important events then occupying the attention of Europe. In France, Cardinal Richelieu was working out that policy which made his name so famous at the expense of his country. In Spain, Philip IV. was at one time strug- gling to rival France as a Catholic power ; at another, entertaining serious intentions, in combination with France, of entering into a Catholic war against Pro- testant England. In Rome, though Urban VIII. was organizing a religious re-action throughout the States of Europe against the influence of the Reformation, he was finally obliged to support the Protestant King of Sweden against the Catholic Court of Austria. But Germany was the grand theatre of the age, and worthy of the occasion were the actors who graced it. They embraced Gustavus Adolphus, Tilly, Wallenstein, and the Piccolomini, with innumerable "eminent tragedians" of less celebrity ; and they played out the great Drama entrusted to them with marvellous effect. England formed the most interested portion of the audience: inasmuch as one object of the German movement was the re-establislmient in power of their King's brother, the fugitive King of Bohemia ; and another, the struggle for existence of the Protestant principle against a Ca- tholic crusade for its extermination, of which the Em- peror was at the head. INTRODUCTION. ix The work concludes with an original memoir of the* times, by an observer of totally different sentiments to those who preceded him. He was one of those active missionaries that the Papal Power was sending, at this eventful period, in swarms, far and near, for the purpose of gaining back those strongholds which had been won by Luther and his associates of the reformed religion. There had been Jesuits in shoals, and Fran- ciscans in hordes, and various other societies, lay and clerical, whose bond of brotherhood was hatred of heresv. The Capuchins, a community of Friars vowed to poverty, had been instituted as a new Order, and sent to make a stand in France against the encroachments of the Hu- guenots. Their zeal in the service of the Romish Church was so strikingly manifested, and the advantage of such missions made so evident, that they were so rapidly multi- plied, few of the provinces of France were left without them. At court, they obtained such high repute, that a certain number were selected to attend the Princess Henrietta Maria, on her marriage with Charles I., for the service of her chapel in England. This was an admirable op- portunity for increasing the force of Catholic mission- aries in so heretic a country, of which the Pontiff gladly availed himself : and there can be little question that the real object of the Capuchins was an attack upon Protestantism, to which the good Fathers presently directed themselves with such animation, that it drew upon them more attention tlian they desired, and in- volved their royal mistress in disputes, which brought on the forcible expulsion of her Catholic domestics and the deprivation of nearly all her priests. After some time, the friars were allowed to return to their religious X INTRODUCTION. duties : but their zeal was unabated. Though harmless as doves, they were cunning as serpents; striving, in numberless circuitous ways, to attack the religion of the State which sheltered them, and daily increasing the ill feeling with which the more rigid Protestants had regarded their Catholic Queen. Father Cyprien de Gamache is the historian of his mission ; and, if the reader cannot always allow himself to be carried with him by the enthusiasm with which he describes its pro- ceedings, he can as little help entertaining a sentiment of respect for that devotion to its objects displayed by the men of whom it was composed. To Father Cyprien we are also indebted for many interesting particulars re- specting the royal family, both before and subsequently to the execution of Charles, and also respecting several distinguished persons who remained with them after their exile. His account of the escape from the cus- tody of the Parliament of the Duke of York in the disguise of a girl, and that of the infant princess as a beggar's brat, in the custody of the Countess of Morton, clothed in rags, and disfigured with a hump, will be found amongst the most curious passages in these curious Memoirs. Combined with the preceding Correspondence, they afford the historical student much additional knowledge of England in the first half of the seventeenth century; and, although the Editor can lay claim to no merit in placing such materials before him, he trusts his refraining from any assumption of learned scholarship, in the slight illustrations he has thought it his duty to add to the text, may not prejudice the work in the opinion of those who may be better qualified to do it justice. Digitized by AMONG THE ILLUSTRIOUS AND CELEBRATED PERSONAGES OF WHOM ANECDOTES AND PARTICULARS ARE GIVEN IN THIS WORK, ARE THE FOLLOWING : — Abbot, Sir Maurice. Alexander, Sir William. Allington, Sir Giles. Andover, Lord. Anglesea, Earl of. Angouleme, Duke of. Anhalt, Count of. ■ Anjou, Duke of. Anstruther, Sir Robert. Apsley, Lady. Apsley, Sir Allen. Apsley, Sir John. Argyle, Earl of. Arundel, Earl of. Ashburnhain, Lady. Ashley, Sir Anthony. Ashley, Sir Francis. Astley, Sir Jacob. Aston, Sir Walter. Austria, Emperor of. Aylesbury, Sir Thomas. Baden, Duke of. Bagg, Sir James. Balfour, Sir William. Baltimore, Lord. Banbury, Earl of. Bangor, Bishop of. Bankes, Sir John. Bannier, General. Barclay, Sir John. Barnham, Sir Francis. Barrett, Sir Edward. Barrington, Sir Francis. Barrow, Sir John. Bassompierre, Marshal. Batten, Sir Thomas. Bavaria, Duke of. Bayning, Sir Paul. Becher, Sir William. Bedford, Earl of. Bellegarde, Duke of. Bennet, Sir John. Berkeley, Lord George. Berkshire, Earl of. Bertie, Sir Peregrine. Berule, Cardinal. Beuse, Monsieur de. Bingley, Sir R. Blundell, Sir George. Bohemia, King of. Bohemia, Prince of. Bohemia, Queen of. (Sister of Charles I.) Bolingbroke, Earl of. Boswell, Sir David. Boteler, Sir John. Bouillon, Due de. Bourchier, Sir Henry. Boyd, Sir Andrew. Brandenburg, Elector of. Brett, Sir Alexander. Bridgewater, Earl of. Bristol, Bishop of. Bristol, Earl of. Brooke, Lord. Brooke, Sir Robert. Bruce, Lord. Bruce, Sir Francis. Brudenell, Sir Thomas. Buckingham, Duke of. Buckingham, Duchess of. Buckingham, Countess of. Burgh, Lord. Burghersh, Lord. Burton, Henry. CELEBRATED PEKSONAGES Button, Sir Thomas. Ca<re, Sir John. Calvert, Sir George. Canterbury, Archbishop of. Cape], Sir Arthur. Carew, Sir Francis. Carey, Sir Robert. Carleton, Sir Dudley. Carlisle, Countess of. Carlisle, Lord. Carnarvon, Earl of. Carr, Sir Robert. Cary, Lady. Cassill, Sir John. Castlehaven, Earl of. Catesbv, George, Esq. Cecil, Lord. Cecil, Sir Edward. Charles II., King. Clmteauneuf, M. de. Chauncy, Sir William. Chester, Bishop of. Chevreuse, Due dc. Chevreuse, Madame de. Claneboy, Lord. Clare, Earl of. Clare, Sir Ralph. Cleveland, Lord. Coke, Sir Edward. Coke, Sir John. Coke, Lord. Coleraine, Lord. Colonna, Don Carlos de. Conde, Prince of. Conway, Lord. Corbet, Sir John. Cordova, Don Gonzales de. Cork, Earl of. Cornwallis, Sir Frederick. Cottingham, Sir Francis. Cotton, Sir Francis. Cotton, Sir Robert. Cottington, Sir Francis. Courteen, Sir William. Courteney, Sir William. Coventry, Sir Thomas. Craven, Lord. Crequi, Marshal. Crew, Sir Randolph. Crofts, Sir William. Crook, Sir George. Crook, Judge. Crosby, Sir Piers. Crow, Sir Sackvillo. Cunningham, Sir William. Curtius, Sir William. Danby, Earl of. Darmstadt, Landgrave of. Darnell, Sir Thomas. Davenport, Sir Humphrey. Da vers, Lord. Davis, Sir John. Davis, Lady. Dee, Dr. De la Force, Marshal. Delawar, Lord. Denbigh, Countess of. Denbigh, Earl of. Denmark, King of. D'Epernon, the Duke. Derby, Earl of. Desmond, Earl of. D'Estrees, Marshal. Devon, Earl of. Devon, Countess of. D'Ewes, Sir Simonds. Digby, Lord. Digby, Sir Kenelm. Digges, Sir Dudley. Dishington, Sir Thomas. Doddridge, Judge. Donne, Dr. Dorrington, Sir William. Dorset, Earl of. Douglas, Sir Archibald. Dover, Countess of. Dryden, Sir Erasmus. Dryden, Sir John. Dudley, Sir Robert. Durham, Lord. NOTICED IN THIS WORK. Earle, Sir Walter. Edmondes, Sir Thomas. Elboeut; Duke of. Elliott, Sir John. Ely, Bishop of. Epsley, Sir John. Essex, Earl of. Exeter, Bishop of. Exeter, Countess of. Fairfax, Mr. Falkland. Lord. Falkland, Lady. Fane, Sir Henry. Fanshaw, Sir Thomas. Fanshawe, Lady. Fauconberg, Lord. Fielding, Lord. Fielding, Lady. Finch, Sir Heneage. Finch, Sir John. Fitzwalter, Lady. Fleetwood, Sir George. Foljambe, Sir Francis. Forster, Sir Humphrey. Foulis, Sir David. France, King of, (May, 1631). Franklin, Sir John. Fullerton, Sir James. Gage, Sir Thomas. Gerald, Sir Gilbert. Gerard, Sir Thomas. Glenham, Sir Thomas. Gloucester, Bishop of. Glover, Sir Thomas. Gore, Sir Michael. Gore, Sir Thomas. Gorges, Sir Ferdinando. Goring, Sir George. Grand Signor, the. Grandison, Lord. Gray, Sir Andrew. Grey, Lord. Grimstone, Sir Harbottle. Gronsfeld, Count. Guise, Duke of. Halley, Sir Edward. Hambleton, Sir Edward. Hamilton, Marquis of. Hampden, Sir Edmund. Hanover, Electress (Sophia of). Harris, Sir Arthur. Harvey, Sir Cranmer. Harvey, Sir Simon. Hayman, Sir Peter. Heath, Sir Robert. Henrietta Anne, Princess. Henrietta Maria, Queen. Hepburn, Colonel. Herbert, Lord. Hervey, Lord. Hesse, Landgrave of. Heveningham, Sir John. Hcyden, Sir William. Hicks, Sir Baptist. Hitcham, Sir Robert. Hobart, Lord. Hobart, Sir Miles. Holderness, Lord. Holland, Lord. Holies, Denzil. Honeywood, Sir Robert. Home, Count Gustavus. Howard, Sir Charles. Howard, Sir William. Howard, Sir Robert. Hudson, Sir Geoffrey. Hungary, Palatine of. Hungate, Sir Henry. Hunsdon, Lord. Huntingdon, Earl of. Huntley, Marquis of. Hyde, Sir Nicholas. Imbercourt, Lord. Jackson, Sir John. Jeukiuson, Sir Thomas. Jermyn, Sir Thomas. Jerret, Sir Gilbert. CELKBRATED PERSONAGES xiv Jones, Inigo. Jones, Sir William. Jonson, Ben. Juxon, Bishop. Kelly, Lord. Kent, Earl and Countess of. Kingston, Earl of. Knollys, Sir Francis. Lake, Sir Thomas. Laud, Archbishop. Lawrence, Lady. Leicester, Earl of. Leicester, Countess of. Leigh, Lord. Lennox, Duke of. Lenthall, Sir John. Lenthropp, Sir Thomas. Lerma, Duke of. Ley, Sir Henry. Ley, Sir James. Lincoln, Bishop of. Lincoln, Earl of. Lindsey, Earl of. Littleton, Mr. Loft us, Sir Adam. London, Bishop of. Long, Mr. Long, Sir Walter. Lorraine, Duke of. Louis XIII., King. Love, Sir Thomas. Lucy, Sir Thomas. Luke, Sir River. Lunenburg, Duke of. Lyttleton, Lord. Mackey, Lord. Mainwaring, Dr. Maltravers, Lord. Mansell, Sir Robert. Mansfield, Count. Mantua, Duke of. Mar, Earl of. Mareuil, M. de Fontenay. Marlborough, Earl of. Martin, 'Sir Henry. Mary, Princess, "(daughter ot Charles I.) Mary de Medicis, Queen. Masham, Sir William. Maxey, Sir William. Maxwell, Lord. May, Sir Humphrey. Mechlin, Archbishop of. Mecklenburgh, Duke of. Medina, Duke of. Mervin, Sir Henry. Middlesex, Earl of. Mildmay, Sir Humphrey. Modena, Duke of. Monmouth, Earl of. Montagu, Bishop. Montbazon, Madame de. Montecuculi, General. Monteith, Earl of. Montgomery, Earl of. Montmorency, Duke of. Montpellier, Bishop of. Morgan, Sir Charles. Morton, Earl of. Mountjoy, Lord. Mountmorris, Lord. Mulgrave, Lord. Murray, Earl of. Nassau, Prince William of. Nassau, Count John de. Naunton, Sir Robert. Nethereole, Sir Francis. Nevers, Duke de. Neville, Sir Christopher. Newport, Earl of. Newton, Sir Adam. Noel, Baptist, Baron Noel, and Viscount Campden. Northumberland, Earl of. Norwich, Earl of. Noy, Mr. Ochiltree, Lord. NOTICED IN THIS WORK Ogle, Sir John. Orange, the Prince of. Orleans, Gaston, Duke of (men- tioned as " Monsieur. 1 '') Orleans, Philip, Duke of. Osborne, Sir reter. Osborne, Sir Robert. Oxenstiera, Chancellor. Oxford, Countess of. Oxford, Earl of. Palatine, the Prince and Princess Palmer, Sir Henrv. Pappenheim, Count. Parham, Sir Edward. Pelham, Sir Thomas. Pembroke, Earl of. Pennington, Sir John. Percy, Lord. Percy, Sir Joscelyne. Petre, Lord. Phillips, Sir Robert. Piccofomini, General. Pickering, Sir John. Pierrepoint, Lord. Pinelli, Prince. Poolie, Sir John. Porter, Endymion. Portland, Earl of. Poulet, Lord. Prynne, William. Puckering, Sir John. Purbeck, Lady. Puylaurens, Monsieur. Pye, Sir Robert. Pye, Sir Walter. Pym, Mr. Radzivil, Prince. Ragotski, Prince. Ramsay, Sir James. Rea, Lord. Reubens, Sir Peter Paul. Rich, Sir Charles. Rich, Sir Nathaniel. Rich, Sir Robert. Richardson, Sir Thomas. Richelieu, Cardinal. Richmond, Duchess of. Rivers, Earl. Rochester, Bishop of. Roe, Sir Thomas. Rohan, Due de. Roxburgh, Earl of. Rudyard, Sir Benjamin. Russell, Lord. Russell, Sir William. Rutland, Earl of. Saint Albans, Viscount. Saint John, Sir Beauchamp. Saint Leger, Sir William. Salisbury, Earl of. Salter, Sir John. Saltonstone, Sir Richard. Sandys, Sir Edwin. Santa Cruz, Marquis of. Savage, Sir Arthur. SavilTe, Lord. Saville, Sir John. Savoy, Duke of. Savoy, Duchess of. Saxe Cobourg, Duke of. Saxony, Duke of. Saxony, Elector of. Say, Lord. Scaglia, the Abbate de. Schomberg, Marshal. Selden, Mr. Seymour, Sir Francis. Sheffield, Lord. Shirley, Sir Robert. Shrewsbury, Earl of. Slingsby, Sir Guildford. Somerset, Earl of. Soubise, M. de. Southampton, Earl of. Spain, King of. Spain, Queen of. Spelman, Sir Henry. Spencer, Lord. Spencer, Sir Edward. xvi CELEBRATED PERSONAGES. Spcnse, Sir James. Spiller, Sir Henry. Spinola, Marquis. Spry, Sir Henry. Stanfield, Sir Lawrence. Stanhope, Lord. Stanley, Sir Francis. Stanley, Sir Robert. Steward, Sir Francis. Steward, Sir Simeon. Strange, Lord. Strangways, Sir John. Stroud, Mr. Suffolk, Earl of. Sussox, Earl of. Sweden, King of (Gustavus Sweden, Queen of. Tanfield, Baron. Thorne, Count. Thoyras, M. de. Thurles, Lord. Thynne, Sir Thomas. Titfenbach, General. Tillieres, the Count. Tilly, General. Tonstall, Sir J ohn. Totnes, Earl of. Trevor, Sir Thomas. Trevor, Sir Sackville. Tufton, Lord. Uladislaus, Prince of Poland. Urban VIII., Pope. Usher, Bishop. Valentia, Lord. Valentine, Mr. Vandenberg, Count Henry. Vane, Sir Henry. Vaux, Lord. Vendome, Duke of. Verdun, Bishop of. Vere, Lord. Vere, Sir Horace. Villiers, Sir Edward. Vitry, Marshal. Wake, Sir Isaac. Walden, Lord. Wallenstein, General Count. Wallingford, Viscount. Wallop, Sir Henry. Walton, Sir John. Warwick, Earl of. Watts, Sir John. Weimar, Duke of. Wentworth, Lord. Weston, Lord. Weston, Sir Richard. .) Wharton, Lady. Wharwood, Sir Thomas. White, Bishop. Whitelock, Judge. Wickham, Archdeacon. Williams, Sir Abraham. Willoughbv, Lord. Willoughbv D'Eresby, Lord. Wilmore, &ir William. Wilmot, Lord. Wimbledon, Lord. Winchester, Bishop of. Winchester, Marchioness of. Windebank, Sir Francis. Wingfield, Sir James. Wirtemberg, Duke of. Wiseman, Sir Thomas. Withypole, Sir William. Worsman, Sir John. Wortley, Sir Francis. Wotton, Lady. Wotton, Lord. Wotton, Sir Anthony. Wotton, Sir Henry. Wurtzburg, Bishop of. Yaxeley, Sir Robert. Yelverton, Sir Henry. York, Archbishop of. Young, Sir Peter. LETTERS CONTAINED IN T II K FIRST V 0 LU M K Beaulieu, Mr. John, to Sir Thomas Puckering, Bart., 211, 215, 225, 231, 235, 239, 244, 245, 251, 253, 255, 258, 262, 263, 265, 267, 268, 270, 274, 277, 278, 282, 283, 287, 293, 297, 303, 306, 308, 309, 312, 315, 318, 322, 325, 326, 355, 375, 381, 383, 405, 407, 410, 414, 422, 424, 432, 441, 447, 451. Bedell, Rev. William (Biahop of Kilmore), to Sir Robert Cotton, 301. Boswell, Sir William, to the Rev. Joseph Mead, 25. ; Chamberlain, John, Esq., to Sir Dudley Carleton, 6, 13, 18,22, 24, 27, 34, 71. Conway, Sir Edward, to Sir Dudley Carleton, 1. D'Ewes, Sir Simonds, to Sir Martin Stuteville, 90, 100. Dorchester, Lord, to the Earl of Carlisle, 388, 403. Dorchester, Lord Viscount, to Sir Isaac Wake, 391. Gkll, Mr. Robert, to the Rev. Joseph Mead, 139. Mead, Rev. Joseph, to Sir Martin Stuteville, 5, 12, 17, 20, 21, 23, 32, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 45, 47, 50, 51, 52, 55, 56, 59, 60, 61, 63, 64, 66, 67, 69, 77, 79, 81, 82, 85, 91, 92, 93, 95, 96, 99, 102, 107, 109, 112, 114, 117, 126, 130, 133, 135, 149, 153, 155, 158, 160, 163, 168, 171, 172, 178, 181, 183, 191, 193, 199, 202, 204, 207, 210, 214, 225, 228, 235, 239, 242, 252, 261, 270, 272, 281, 286, 298, 304, 310, 313, 315, 316, 319, 320, 324, 326, 328, 833, 335, 336, 339, 342, 346, 348, 352, 357, 358, 359, 364, 367, 370, 373, 377, 379, 380, 394, 395, 398, 399, 406, 408, 411, 413, 415, 419, 421, 422, 429, 436, 437, 444, 449. Meddus, Dr., and others, to the Rev. Joseph Mead, 10, 16, 17, 29, 30, 32, XV111 LETTERS. 33, 38, 70, 73, 74, 83, 86, 97, 98, 101, 104, 105, 110, 11G, 123, 129, 132, 134, 136, 142, 145, 148, 150, 151, 154, 157, 159, 160, 164, 166, 170, 175, 179, 180, 182, 184, 186, 188, 194, 195, 202, 205, 209, 213, 217, 219, 221, 223, 226, 228, 233, 236, 240, 241, 243, 247, 249, 251, 260, 265, 275, 285, 291, 294, 329, 334, 340. Neve, Sir William, to Sir Thomas Hollonde, 3. Port, John, Esq., to the Rev. Joseph Mead, 26, 119, 137, 140, 143, 173, 200, 243, 280, 339, 425, 433, 437, 441, 448, 451. Selden, John, Esq., to Sir Robert Cotton, 152. THE COUKT AND TIMES OF CHARLES THE FIRST. [The writer of the first letter in this collection was son and heir of Sir John Conway, who was made Governor of Ostend by the Earl of Leicester, in the year 1586, and having been early des- tined for the military profession, he commanded a regiment at the sacking of Cadiz in 1596, where he so greatly distinguished him- self as to obtain the honour of knighthood from his commander, the Earl of Essex. He subsequently served in the Netherlands, where he held the appointment of Governor of the Brill. In the peaceful reign of James, he thought proper to embrace a civil career, and raised himself to the important post of one of the prin- cipal secretaries of state in the twentieth year of that monarch's reign, in which office he was confirmed by his successor, who further advanced him to the title of Viscount Killultagh, in the country of Antrim, in the Irish, and Viscount Conway, of Con- way Castle, in the English peerage. Some time after this, he was raised to the post of president of the council, and also received the appointment of ambassador extraordinary to the court of Vienna. He married the relict of Edward Bray, Esq., Dorothy, daughter of Sir John Tracey, Knight of Lodington, in the county of Gloucester, by whom he had three sons and four daughters. He died in 1630.] Sir Edward Conway to Sir Dudley Carleton. Whitehall, 31 March, 1625. Right honourable — Your lordship will largely perceive by this enclosed direction from his majesty, and by the vol. l b J 2 THE COURT AND TIMES OF letters of credence to the States-General and to his Excel- lency the Prince of Orange, how God hath been pleased to take unto his mercy our late king, of glorious memory, and how plentifully, in his goodness, he hath restored to us our most gracious sovereign, that now reigneth. T will only tell you, to your comfort, that our blessed master, of glorious memory, went out of this world like a Christian that had a strong heart and an humble mind. Two days before God's act of receiving him to his mercy, he took God to him, by receiving of the communion ; and at that did express a lively faith and the definition of a pure Christian, as (to give your lordship a touch) he concluded the verbal creed with these words — " There is no other belief, neither hope;" and when the lord keeper asked him whether he would have the absolution, he answered — " As it is practised in the English Church, I ever approved it ; but, in the dark way of the Church of Rome, I do defy it." And this I tell you not by report, for I had the honour and comfort to receive it with him. 1 1 Sir Dudley Carleton, to whom this letter is addressed, was one of the most eminent diplomatists and statesmen of the seventeenth century. He was the eldest surviving son of Anthony Carleton, of Baldwin Brightwell, in Oxfordshire, where he was born, on the iOth of March, 1573. He was a scholar of West- minster school, and a student of Christchurch, Oxford, where, in July, 1695, he took the degree of bachelor of arts, followed, five years later, by that of master of arts, having improved himself by a tour during the interval. In 1602 he was in France, as the secretary of Sir Thomas Parry, then ambassador at that court. Here, however, he did not remain long: for in the following year we 6nd him filling the same office in the household of Henry Earl of Northumberland, and gaining the good will of other powerful noblemen, by whose influence he obtained a seat in the first parliament of King James, for a Cornish borough. CUARLES THE FIRST 3 Sir William Neve to Sir Thomas Hollonde. April 5, 1625. The king's [James L] body was about the 2,0th of March disbowelled, and his heart was found to be great, but soft ; his liver fresh as a young man's ; one of his kidneys very good ; but the other shrunk so little, as they could hardly find it, wherein there was two stones; his lights and gall black, judged to proceed from melancholy ; the .... of his head so strong, as they could hardly break it open with a chisel and a saw, and so full of brains, as they could not, upon the opening, keep them from spilling — a great mark of his infinite judgment. His bowels were presently put into a leaden vessel, and burned ; his body embalmed, and remained there 1 until the 4th of April ; it came from thence close, in a black velvet coach, and by torchlight, thereto being allowed three hundred dozen. Yesternight, between nine and ten of the clock, it was conveyed through Smithfield, Holborn, Chancery Lane, so to Denmark House, in this manner : first, the guards ; secondly, the gentlemen esquires, knights, &c. ; then pen- sioners ; then trumpets ; then heralds ; then the body ; then the lords in coaches, the Prince first, most of them meeting the body at Wood's Cross; then of others in coaches about a hundred and twenty, which would have been more, had not the weather been extreme. The body was by the gentlemen of the bed-chamber carried into the withdrawing-chamber to the privy-cham- ber, wherein is an effigy to be laid on a bed of honour, and there exposed. The privy-chamber is also hanged with velvet, the presence-chamber with cloth, and the guard-chamber with baize. All state observed there by the servants, as if the king were living. The king 2 kept privately his bed, or chamber, at St. James's until Sunday last, and then dined abroad, in the privy-chamber, being in a plain black cloth cloak to the ancle; and so went after dinner into the chapel, Dr. Donne preaching, Lord Davers 3 carrying the sword before him, 1 Theobald*. 2 Charles I. 3 A member of a distinguished family, who obtained celebrity byways somewhat opposite : one brother, Charles., forfeited his life, near the close of the reign of B 2 4 THE COURT AND TIMES OF his majesty looking very pale, his visage being the true glass of his inward, as well as his accoutrements of external mourning. This day, about nine, he came privately through St. James's Park to Whitehall. He heard a sermon by Dr , and Lord Wentworth 1 carrying the sword be- fore him : and on his coming from thence, all through the presence he went talking to my Lord Marshal, and after dined in the privy-chamber. On Monday, the 28th of March, the Duke of Bucking- ham a lay in the king's bed-chamber, and three nights after in the next lodgings, and was the first sworn of his bed- chamber. But the duke growing ill, he was carried in his chair to his lodgings at Whitehall, on the 1st of April, where he is yet taking physic, and not well, but yet holds all his great places, as so do all others. Only God and the king knoweth the future changes. Sir Humphrey May was sworn a privy councillor the 29th of March, and we have yet only talk of others, as Earl of Clare, Lords Grey, 3 Russell, 4 and others. On Thursday, the last day of March, the lord keeper, 5 the two chief justices, attorney and solicitor, took their - oaths for their places. Queen Elizabeth, for being implicated in the treasonable designs of Robert Earl of Essex; another, Henry, was one of the judges who condemned Charles I. to the block. The most distinguished, Henry, became a military adventurer of great reputation, under Maurice Prince of Orange, subsequently serving in the French armies, and obtaining from Henry IV. the honour of knighthood. On his return home, he was appointed lieutenant-general of the horse, and Bergeant-major of the army in Ireland ; and James I. further distinguished him by making him Lord Pre- sident of Munster, Governor of Guernsey, and by raising him to the peerage by the title of Baron Dan vers of Dantsey, in the county of Wilts. By King Charles he was created, February 5, 1626, Earl of Danby, was made a Knight of the Garter, and appointed of the Privy Council. Lord Danby was the founder of the Physic Garden at Oxford, and was considered one of the most gallant noblemen of his age. He died at the age of seventy-one, according to his epitaph, " full of honour, wounds, and days," at his lordship's seat, Cornbury Park, Oxford, on the 20th of January, 1643. and never having married, his barony and earldom became extinct. 1 Thomas, fourth baron, afterwards Earl of Cleveland. 3 George Villiers, the celebrated favourite of James I. and Charles I. 3 William Baron Grey, of Werke (February 11, 1624). He was elected Speaker for the House of Lords, in 1643, when the Lord Keeper Lyttleton ran away with the great seal to the king at Oxford. He married Anne, daughter and co-heir of Sir John Wentworth, of Gosneld, in Essex, by whom he had one son and two daughters. He died in 1674. 4 This family proved their devotion to Charles T. in the worst times: John, the third son of Francis, second Lord Russell, serving him as colonel of the first regi- ment of Foot Guards, which Charles II rewarded by decapitating his nephew. * Archbishop Williams. CHARLES THE FIRST, 5 Rev. Joseph Mead 1 to Sir Martin Stuteville. 2 Christ College, April 9, 1625. Our doctor's 3 letter failed us on Saturday ; and since, we have no letters but such as tell us there is no news stirring. My last relation of his majesty's sickness and death, though I hear not for the general contradicted, yet by some, many of the particulars are for circumstances diminished. I am told for certain that after Friday, at night, till the hour of his death, his tongue was swollen so big in his mouth, that either he could not speak at all, or not be understood. He desired, when he first understood that death was near him, to have received the communion at the hands of the Bishop of Winchester ; but he was so sick when he was sent for that he could not come. He had three hours private talk with the prince [of Wales, Charles I.], all being commanded from him two or three rooms off, to be out of hearing. 4 * * * * The Countess of Buckingham, the Tuesday before he died, would needs make trial of some receipt she had ap- proved ; but being without the privity of the physicians, occasioned so much discontent in Dr. Craig, that he uttered some plain speeches, for which he was commanded out of the Court ; the duke himself, as some say, complaining to the sick king of the words he spoke. 5 King Charles was, on Tuesday, at the sermon in the chapel at Whitehall, having, till then, been retired. Our great fleet goes still forward amain, of above one hundred sail of ships, some say one hundred and twenty, 1 He was born at Berden, in Essex, in October, 1586; and waa related to Sir John Mead, of Loft's Hall, in the same county. He finished his education at Christ's College, of which he subsequently held a fellowship; in 1610 took the degree of roaster of arts; and in 1618 that of bachelor of divinity. Though offered high pre- ferment, by Archbishop Usher, in the Church of Ireland, he declined, and never held any higher appointment than that of chaplain to Archbishop Laud. He obtained great celebrity as a scholar, not only in this country, but abroad, and cor- responded with many of the most eminent men of letters of his time. He died at his college on the 1st of October, 1638. a He was a kinsman of his correspondent's, and resided at Dalham, in Suffolk. 8 Dr. James Meddus, Mr. Mead's London correspondent, rector of St. Gabriel, Fenehurch. He was born in Cheshire, and had studied much in the German Universities. He died in 1632. 4 As the writer repeats some of the details of the post mortem examination given in the preceding letter, the passage has been struck out. s There is the first intimation in this paragraph of a suspicion, which was after-, wards put forth with terrible distinctness. 6 THE COURT AND TIMES OF whereof thirteen the king's. The proclamation renewed since the king's death for taking up all the best mariners, as I am told by one that saw it ; and thereupon, all ships in the Thames are stayed. Whether, or what is meant, no man knows ; but say it is one of the greatest prepara- tions for sea that ever was made in England. I suppose they mean in ours, or our father's memory. The duke's [of Buckingham] journey to France is laid down ; and yet they say the business goeth on in a sort ; but some think the prince will stand upon evener con- ditions now he is king than his father did, or would. It is said the parliament shall be the 17th of May ; the fune- ral and coronation between that and May-day. It is thought by some that there will appear a great change in the carriage of affairs of state in respect of what was in the former king's time. I know not what grounds they have, or whether it be conjecture. Dr. Preston 1 says he heard the duke himself, more than once or twice, affirm for certain the taking of Great Lima, in Peru. The Dunkirkers lately took three of our merchants' ships, which the Spanish Leiger came presently to excuse to our new king, offering full satisfaction to a penny. The king answered, he desired none, but should find time to make himself amends. We are here very busy about our burgesses afore the writ be come. I doubt the heads and body will not agree : the heads would prick whom we should choose, saying, Rey made such an order ; but the body think themselves free, and will go nigh to choose, as I hear, some which they prick not, as Sir Simeon Steward. John Chamberlain, Esq., 2 to Sir Dudley Carleton. London, April 9, 1625. Your nephew came to you so full fraught with whatso- ever was here to be had, that it is needless to add to 1 John Preston, D.D., master of Emmanuel College, in Cambridge, and for some time favourite of the Duke of Buckingham. He was chaplain to Charles, when Prince of Wales, and must not be confounded with a contemporary of the same name, an active Catholic priest, known as Father Preston. Dr. Preston died July, 1628. 2 This gentleman appears to have been held in high estimation by many of his Digitized by CHARLES THE FIRST 7 your store ; especially Sir Henry Fane being ready to be despatched to the Queen of Bohemia, 1 who can supply what is wanting. The manner of King James's death, with all circum- stances, are better known to them than to me, so that I will not touch it ; because, I presume, we shall hear all at the funeral, where the lord keeper preaches, who was present for four or five days before his decease ; because the Bishop of Winchester, 2 (whom the king called much after,) by reason of a sore fit of the stone and gravel at the same time, could not attend. The corpse was brought from Theobalds on Monday night, and passed through Smithfield about nine o'clock, so through Holborn, Chancery Lane, and the Strand, to Denmark House, where it reposes till the tenth of the next month, appointed for the funeral. The convoy was well accompanied by all the nobility about the town, the pensioners, officers, and household servants, besides the lord mayor and aldermen. The show would have been solemn , but that it was marred by foul weather ; so that there was nothing to be seen but coaches and torches. The king came to Whitehall to the sermon on Tuesday, and there continues settling his household, and seeking to bring it to the antient form ; while all the late king's menial servants and officers are commanded to attend the late king's body at Denmark House : but, being appre- hensive that by their absence they might be dispossessed of their places and lodgings, they made a petition to be continued in both. The king answered he would do them all right, but it would be hard if the rising of the master should be the fall and ruin of his servants and followers. Yet, all continues in statu quo prius, with very little addi- tion or alteration : only Sir Humphrey May was sworn of the council with the rest that would swear ; for the Lord Baltimore, or Sir George Calvert, 3 asked time to deliberate contemporaries, though he never acquired a more distinguished post than that of commissioner for the repairing of St. Paul's, to which he was appointed in 1626, soon after which he died. He had accompanied Sir Dudley Carleton to Venice. 1 Elizabeth, sister of Charles I. ' Dr. Andrews. 