be one of the fatall events that followed the last fearfull Comet that rose in the tail of the Constellation of Virgo which som ignorant Astronomers that write of it would fix in the Heavens and that as far above the Orb of the Moon as the Moon is from the Earth but this is nothing in comparison of those hideous fires that are kindled in Germany blown first by the Bohemians which is like to be a war without end for the wâ—…ole House of Austria is interessed in the quarrell and it is not the custome of that House to sit by any asâ—…ront or forget it quickly Queen Anne left a world of brave Jewells behind but one Pâ—…ero an outlandish man who had the keeping of them embeazled many and is run away she left all she had to Prince Charles whom she eveâ—… loved best of all her Children nor do I hear of any Legacie she left at all to her daughter in Germany for that match some say lessened somthing of her affection towards her ever since so that she would often call her goody Palsgrave nor could she abide Secretary Winwood ever after who was one of the chiefest instruments to bring that match about as also for the rendition of the cautionary Towns in the Low-Countries Flushing and Bâ—…ill with the Rammakins I was lately with Sir Iohn Walter and others of your Counsell about your Law-busines and som of them told me that Master I. Lloyd your adversary it one of the shrewdest Sollicitoâ—…s in all the thirteen Shires of Wales being so habituated to Law-sutes and wrangling that he knows any the least starting hole in every Court I could wish you had made a fair end with him for besides the cumber and trouble specially to those that dwell at such a huge distance from Westminster Hall as you doe Law is a shrewd pickpuâ—…s and the Lawyer as I heard one say wittily not long since is like a Christmasse box which is sure to get whosoever loseth So with the continuance of my due and daily prayers for your health with my love to my brothers and sisters I rest Your dutifull Son J. H. March 20. 1621. VIII To Dan. Caldwall Esqr. from the Lord Savages House in Long-Melford My deare D. THough considering my former condition of life I may now be called a Countreyman yet you cannot call me a Rustiâ—… as you would imply in your Letter as long as I live in so civill and noble a Family as long as I lodg in so vertuous and regular a House as any I beleeve in the Land both for oeconomicall government and the choice company for I never saw yet such a dainty Race of Children in all my life together I never saw yet such an orderly and punctuall attendance of servants nor a great House so neatly kept here one shall see nor dog nor cat nor cage to cause any nastines within the body of the House The kitchin and gutters and other offices of noise and drudgery are at the â—…ag end ther 's a back gate for beggars and the meaner sort of swains to come in at The stables butt upon the Park which for a chearfull rising ground for groves and browsings for the Deer for rivulets of water may compare with any for its bignes in the whole land it is opposite to the front of the great House whence from the Gallery one may see much of the game when they are a hunting Now for the gardning and costly choice flowers for ponds for stately large walks green and gravelly for orchards and choice fruits of all sorts ther aâ—…e few the like in England here you have your â—…on Crâ—…en pear and 〈◊〉 â—…n perfection your Muscadell grapes in such plenty that ther are som bottles of wine sent every year to the King And one Mr. Daniel a worthy Gentleman hard by who hath â—…in long abroad makes good store in his vintage Truly this House of Long-Melford though it be not so great yet it is so well compacted and contrived with such dainty conveniences every way that if you saw the Landskip of it you would be mightily taken with it and it would serve for a choice pattern to buâ—…ld and contrive a house by If you come this Summer to your Mannor of Sheriff in Essex you will not be â—…ar off hence if your occasions will permit it will be worth your coming hither though it be only to see him who would think it a short journey to go from Saint Davids head to Dover cliffâ—… to see and serve you were ther occasion if you would know who the same is ' 〈◊〉 20 Mar. 1621. Your J. H. IX To Robert Brown Esqr. Sir THanks for one â—…rtesie is a good Vsher to bring on another Therfore it is my policie at this time to thank you most heartily for your late â—…opious Letter to draw on a second I say I thank you a thousand times over for yours of the third of this present which abounded with such variâ—…tie of news and ample well-couchâ—… relations that I made many friends by it yet I am sory for the qualitie of som of your news that Sir Robert Mansell being now in the Mediterranean with a considerable â—…avall strength of ours against the Moors to do the Spaniard a pleasure Marquis Spinola should in a hâ—…gling way change his Master for the time and taking Commission from the Emperour becom his servant for invading the Palatinat with the Forces of the King of Spain in the Netherlands I am sory also the Princes of the Union should â—…e so stupid as to suffer him to take Oppenheim by a Parthian kind of back stratagem in appearing before the Town and making semblance afterwards to go for Worms and then perceiving the Forces of the United Princes to go for succouring of that to turn back and take the Town he intended first wherby I fear he will be quickly master of the rest Surely I beleeve ther may be some treachery in 't and that the Marquis of Anâ—…back the Generall was orecom by pistolâ—… made of Indian ingots rather than of steel else an Army of 40000. which he had under his command might have made its parâ—…y good against Spinola's lesse than 10000. though never such choice Veterans But what will not gold do it will make a Pigmey too hard for a Gyant ther 's no fence or â—…ortres against an Asse laden with gold It was the saying you know of His Father whom partiall and ignorant Antiquity cries up to have conquerd the World and that â—…e sigh'd ther were no more worlds to conquer though he had never one of the three old parts of the then known World entirely to himself I desire to know what is become of that handfull of men his Majesty sent to Germany under Sir Horace Vere which he was bound to do as he is one of the Protestant Princes of the Union and what 's become of Sir Arthur Chichester who is gon Ambassador to those parts Dear Sir I
did rise betimes and went thither taking your brother with him they were let into the house and into the garden but the Infanta was in the orchard and there being a high partition wall between and the door doubly bolted the Prince got on the top of the wall and sprung down a great hight and so made towards her but she spying him first of all the rest gave a shâ—…eck and ran back the old Marquis that was then her gardien came towards the Prince and fell on his knees conjuring his Highnesse to retire in regard he hazarded his head if he admitted any to her company so the door was open'd and he came out under that wall over which he had got in I have seen him watch a long hour together in a close Coach in the open street to see her as she went abroad I cannot say that the Prince did ever talk with her privatly yet publickly often my Lord of Bristoll being Interpreter but the King always sat hard by to over-hear all Our cosen Archy hath more privilege than any for he often goes with his fools coat where the Infanta is with her Meninas and Ladies of honor and keeps a blowing and blustering amongst them and fluâ—…ts out what he list One day they were discoursing what a marvellous thing it was that the Duke of Bavaria with lesse then 15000 men after a long toylsom March should dare to encounter the Palsgraves army consisting of above 2500â—… and to give them an utter discomfiture and take Prague presently after Wherunto Archy answered that he would tell them a stranger thing than that was it not a strange thing quoth he that in the year 88 ther should com a Fleet of one hundred and forty sails from Spain to invade England and that ten of these could not go back to tell what became of the rest By the next opportunity I will send you the Cordovan pockets and gloves you writ for of Francisco Morenos persuming So may my dear Captain live long and love his Madrid Iuly 10. 1623. J. H. XIX To my Cosen Tho. Guin Esqr. at his house Trecastle Cosen I Received lately one of yours which I cannot compare more properly than to a posie of curious flowers ther was therin such variety of sweet strains and dainty expressions of love And though it bore an old date for it was forty days before it came to safe hand yet the flowers were still fresh and not a whit faded but did cast as strong and as fragrant a sent as when your hands bound them up first together only ther was one flower that did not savor so well which was the undeserved Character you please to give of my smal abilities which in regard you look upon me through the prospective of affection appear greater unto you than they are of themselvs yet as smal as they are I would be glad to employ them all to serve you upon any occasion Wheras you desire to know how matters pass here you shall understand that we are rather in assurance than hopes that the match will take effect when one dispatch more is brought from Rome which we greedily expect The Spaniards generally desire it they are much taken with our Prince with the bravery of his journey and his discreet comportment since and they confess ther was never Princess courted with more gallantry The wits of the Court here have made divers Encomiums of him of his affection to the L Infanta Amongst others I send you a Latin Poem of one Marnieriâ—…s a Valenciano to which I add this ensuing Hexastic which in regard of the difficulty of the Verse consisting of all Ternaries which is the hardest way of versifying and of the exactness of the translation I believe will give you content Fax grata est gratum est vulnus mihi grata catena est Me quibus astringit laedit urit Amor Sed flammam extingui sanari vulnera solvi Vincla etiam ut possem non ego posse velim Mirum equidem genus hoc morbi est incendia ictus Vinclaque vinctus adbuc laesus ustus amo Gratefull's to me the fire the wound the chain By which love burns love binds and giveth pain But for to quench this fire these bonds to loose These wounds to heal I would not could I choose Strange sickness where the wounds the bonds the fire That burns that bind that hurt I must desire In your next I pray send me your opinion of these verses for I know you are a Critic in Poetry Mr Vaugham of the Golden-grove and I were Camerades and bedfellows here many moneths together his father Sir Iohn Vaughan the Prince his Controuler is lately com to attend his Master My Lord of Carlile my Lord of Holland my Lord of Rochfort my Lord of Denbigh and divers others are here so that we have a very flourishing Court and I could wish you were here to make one of the number So my dear cosen I wish you all happiness and our noble Prince a safe and successfull return to England Madrid 13 Aug. 1623. Your most affectionate Cosen J. H. XX. To my noble friend Sir John North. SIR THe long look'd-for Dispensation is come from Rome but I hear it is clogg'd with new clauses and one is that the Pope who allegeth that the only aim of the Apostolicall See in granting this Dispensation was the advantage and case of the Catholics in the King of great Britaines Dominions therfore he desir'd a valuable caution for the performance of those Articles which were stipulated in their favor this hath much puzled the busines and Sir Francis Cotington comes now over about it Besides ther is som distast taken at the Duke of Buckingham here and I heard this King should say he will treat no more with him but with the Ambassadors who he saith have a more plenary Commission and understand the busines better As ther is som darknes hapned twixt the two Favorits so matters stand not â—…ight twixt he Duke and the Earl of Bristoll but God forbid that a busines of so high a consequence as this which is likely to tend so much to the universall good of Christendom to the restitution of the Palatinat and the composing those broils in Germany should be ranversd by differences twixt a few privat subjects though now public Ministers Mr Washington the Prince his Page is lately dead of a Calenture and I was at his buriall under a Figtree behind my Lord of Bristols house A little before his death one Ballard and English Priest went to tamper with him and Sir Edmund Varney meeting him coming down the stairs out of Washingtons chamber they fell from words to blows but they were parted The busines was like to gather very ill bloud and com to a great height had not Count Gondamar quasht it which I beleeve he could not have done unles the times had bin favorable for such is the reverence they bear to
she is that great Lady which rules the world Ther is a wise saying in that Countrey wher you sâ—… journ now that câ—…st nest pas la place mais la pensée qui sait la prison 'T is not the place but opinion that makes the prison the conceit is more than the condition you go on to prefer my Captivity in this Fleet to that of a Voyager at Sea in regard that he is subject to storms and springing of Leaks to pyrates and Picaâ—…oons with other casualties you write I have other advantages also to be free from plundering and other Barbarismes that reign now abroad 't is true I am secur'd from all these yet touching the first I could be content to expose my self to all those chances so that this wer a floating Fleet that I might breath free ayr for I have not been suffered to stir ore the threshold of this House this four yeers wheras you say I have a Book for my companion 't is true I convers somtimes with dead men and what fitter associats can ther be for one that is buried alive as I am than dead men and now will I adventure to send you a kind of Epitaph I made of my self this morning as I was lolling a bed Heer lies intomb'd a walking thing Whom Fortune with the States did fling Between these Walls Why ask not that That blind whore doth she knows not what T is a strange world you 'll say when men make their own Epitaphs in their graves but we that are thus buried alive have one advantage above others that we are like to have a double resurrection I am sure of one but if these times hold I cannot ascertain my self of the other for I may be suffered to rot heer for ought I know It being the hard destiny of som in these times when they are once clapp'd up to be so forgotten as if ther wer no such men in the world I humbly thank you for your avisos I cannot correspond with you in that kind as freely as I would only in the generall I must tell you that we are com to such a pass that the Posie which a young couple did put upon their wedding ring may fit us in the generall which was God knows what will becom of us But I trust these bad times will be recompenced with better for my part that which keeps me alive is your Motto ther of the house of Bourbon and t is but one word L'Sperance So I pray God preserve you and Fleet 2 Ian. 1646. Your most faithfull humble Servitor J. H. XLI To Master J. H. at Saint Johns College in Cambridge Master Hall YOurs of the thirteenth of this instant cam safely though slowly to hand for I had it not till the twentieth of the same and the next day your Essayes were brought me I enterrain'd both with much respect for I found therin many choice and ripe notions which I hope proceeds from a pregnancy rather than precocity of spirit in you I perceive you have entred the Suburbs of Sparta already and that you are in a fair way to get the Town it self I know you have wherwith to adorn her nay you may in time gain Athens her self with all the knowledg she was ever Mistris of if you go on in your Carreer with constancy I find you have a genius for the most solid and â—…everest sort of studies therfore when you have pass'd through the Briers of Logic I could wish you to go strongly on in the fair fields of Philosophy and the Mathematics which are true Academicall studies and they will afford rich matter of application for your inventive spirit to work upon by all means understand Aristotle in his owne Language for it is the Language of Learning Touching Poetry History and other humane studies they may serve you for recreation but let them not by any means allure your affections from the first I shall delight to hear somtimes of your proceedings for I profess a great deal of good will unto you which makes me rest Your respectfull frend to serve you J. H. Fleet 3 Decem. XLII To my B. the L. B. of B. in France My good Lord and Br. ALthough the sense of my own hard condition be enough to make me melancholy yet when I contemplat yours as I often do and compare your kind of banishment with my imprisonment I find the apprehension of the first wherin so many have a share ads a double weight unto my sufferings though but single Truly these thoughts to me are as so many corrosives to one already in a Consumption The World crys you up to be an excellent Divine and Philosopher now is the time for you to make advantage of both Of the first by calling to mind that afflictions are the portion of the best Theophiles Of the other by a well weigh'd consideration that crosses and troubles are entaild upon man-kind as much as any other inheritance In this respect I am no Cadet for you know I have had a double if not a treble share and may bee rather call'd the elder brother but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I hope I shall not sink under the burden but that we shall be both reserved for better days specially now that the King with the Sun and the Spring makes his approach more and more towards us from the North. God Almighty the God of our good old Father still guard you and guide you that after so long a separation we may meet again with comfort to confer notes and recount matters pass'd for advers fortune among other properties hath this for one that her present pressures are not so irksom as the remembrance of them being passed are delightsom So I remain Your most loving brother J. H. Fleet 1 Maii. 1645. XLIII To Sir L. Dives in the Tower SIR AMong divers other properties that attend a long captivity one is that it purgeth the humors specially it correcteth cholâ—…r and attempers it with phlegme which you know in Spanish is taken for patience It hath also a chymicall kind of quality to refiâ—…e the dross and feculency of a corrupt nature as fire useth to purifié metalls and to destroy that terram Adamicam in them as the chymist calls it for Demogorgon with his vegetables partak'd of Adams malediction as well as other creatures which makes som of them so foul and imperfect nature having design'd them all for gold and silver at first and 't is fiâ—…e can only rectifie and reducâ—… them towards such a perfection This Fleet hath bin such a furnace to me it hath bin a kind of Perillus Bull or rather to use the paracelsian phrase I have bin heer in ventre equino in the limbec and crusible of affliction And wheras the chymist commonly requires but 150 daies antequam corvus in columbaâ—… vertatur before the crow turnes to a dove I have bin heer five times so many daies and upward I have â—…een heer time enough in conscience