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James I. to the Bishop of Durham.1

Right reverend father-in-God, &c. Whereas our cousin the Lady Arabella hath highly offended us in seeking to match herself without our knowledge (to whom she had the honour to be so near in blood), and in proceeding afterwards to a full conclusion of a marriage with the self-same person, whom, for many just causes, we had expressly forbidden to marry, after he had in our presence and before our council foresworn all interest as concerning her either past or present; with solemn protestations, upon his allegiance, in her own hearing, ne'er to renew any such motion again.

Forasmuch as it is more necessary for us to make some such demonstration now of the just sense and feeling we have of so great an indignity offered unto us as may make others know, by her example, that no respect of personal affection can make us neglect those considerations, wherein both the honour and order of our government is interested; we have, therefore, thought good, out of our trust in your fidelity and discretion, to commit to your care and custody the person of our said cousin; requiring and authorizing you hereby to some merchants was the occasion thereof; others, that all the squabble was about a book of the king's himself, who therefore ought not to have been put out by reason of it."-Mead's Letters, Harleian MSS.

1 Harleian MSS. 7003. Owing to the nearness of Lady Arabella Stuart to the English throne, it was necessary for her by law to obtain the consent of the king; and the jealousy of James endeavoured to prevent her marrying at all. She was, however, shortly afterwards united to William Seymour, a son of Lord Beauchamp, and hence the present letter. Her husband was committed to the Tower.

carry her down in your company to such houses of yours as unto you shall seem best and most convenient, there to remain in such sort as shall be set down to you by directions from our council or any six of them, to whom we have both declared our pleasure for the manner of her restraint, and have also given in charge (upon conference with you) to take order for all things necessary either for health or otherwise: this being the difference (as you see) between us and her-that whereas she hath abounded toward us in disobedience and ingratitude, we are, on the contrary, still apt to temper the severity of our justice with grace and favour towards her, as may well appear by the course we have taken, to commit her only to your custody, in whose house she may be so well assured to receive all good usage, and see more fruit and exercise of religion and virtue, than in many other places. For all which this shall be your sufficient

warrant.

From Royston, the 13th of March, 1610.

Charles Duke of York to the King.

Sweet, sweet Father,

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Juvenile Letter of Charles Duke of York to his Mother

Queen Anne.1

Most worthy mistress,

Seeing I cannot have the happiness to see your majesty, give me leave to declare by these lines the duty and love I owe to you, which makes me long to see you. I wish from my heart that I might help to find a remedy to your disease; the which I must bear the more patiently, because it is the sign of a long life. But I must for many causes be sorry; and specially because it is troublesome to you, and has deprived me of your most comfortable sight, and of many good dinners; the which I hope, by God's grace, shortly to enjoy. And when it shall please you to give me leave to see you, it may be I shall give you some good recipe, which either shall heal you or make you laugh; the which wishing I may obtain by your majesty's most gracious favour, kissing in all humility your most sacred hands, and praying for your health and long prosperity, I end, most worthy mistress,

Your majesty's most humble and obedient servant,

CHARLES.

James I. to the Dean of Peterborough, for translating the body of the Queen of Scots to Westminster.3

To our trusty and well-beloved the dean and chapter of our cathedral church of Peterborough, and in their

1 Maitland Collection of Letters.

2 Alluding to the gout, a complaint to which the Queen was very subject.

3 The respect shown by James to the remains of his royal mother does credit to his feelings. She had been interred with great pomp twenty

absence to the right reverend father-in-God, the Bishop of Peterborough, and to such of the prebends or other officers of that church as shall be found being there. James R.,

Trusty and well-beloved, we greet you well; for that we think it appertains to the duty we owe to our dearest mother, that like honour should be done to her body and like monument be extant of her, as to others, hers, and our progenitors, have been used to be done; and ourselves have already performed to our dear sister, the late Queen Elizabeth, we have commanded a memorial of her to be made in our church of Westminster, the place where the kings and queens of this realm are usually interred. And for that we think it inconvenient that the monument and her body should be in several places; we have ordered that her said body remaining now interred in that our cathedral church of Peterborough shall be removed to Westminster to her said monument, and have committed the care and charge of the said translation of her body from Peterborough to Westminster to the reverend father-in-God, our right trusty and well-beloved servant, the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, bearer hereof, to whom we require you (or such as he shall assign) to deliver the corpse of our said dearest mother; the same being taken up in as decent and respectful a manner as it is fitting; and for that there is a pall now upon the hearse over her grave

years previously at Peterborough, opposite to the tomb of Queen Catherine. The document now printed is taken from the Ashmolean MSS. No. 857, p. 320.

which will be requisite to be used to cover the said body in the removing thereof, which may perhaps be deemed as a fee that should belong to the church, we have appointed the said reverend father to pay you a reasonable redemption for the same, which, being done by him, we require you that he may have the pall, to be used for the purpose aforesaid. Given under our signet at our honour of Hampton Court, the eight-and-twentieth day of September, in the tenth year of our reign of England, France, and Ireland, and of Scotland the six-andfortieth.1

James I. to the Earl of Northampton. 2

My faithful, and if I had had any particular occasion worthy the troubling of you with, to have recommended unto you all this time of my absence, your letters should not have been answerless, but if for fault of other matter I had desired you to have been diligent and careful in my affairs there, it had been but [to] bid a running man to go faster, which is both unnecessary and injurious; for I may easily judge of your diligence by your account; for

1 The following memorandum is appended to the original document: "These letters were delivered to the right reverend father-in-God the bishop of Peterborough, and to Mr. Henry Williamson, one of the prebends of the said cathedral church, in the absence of the dean and the rest of the prebends, and the contents thereof executed the fourth day of October in the year aforesaid." The body reached Westminster on October 11th, 1612.

2 MS. Cotton. Titus, C. vi. fol. 156. There is no date to this singular letter, and it does not appear clearly from internal evidence on what occasion it was written. Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton, died in June, 1614. This copy has been compared with another in MS. Harl. 4761, in the British Museum.

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