as is usuall for others in the like case, until his Mats furder pleasure be knowne. Of wch his Mats gracious favor we require you heereby to take notice, and to afford him the same accordingly. ffor wch this shalbe yo' warant. ffrom Yorke howse, this xii day of September, 1616. Yor very loving ffreinds, T. ELLESMERE, Canc. To o' loveinge ffreind Sr George ten't of the Tower of London. (172.) Chancellor Egerton, Viscount Ellesmere, to Sir George More. Written during the Chancellor's last illness. This eminent lawyer, the patron of Bacon and of Coke, the Chancellor of Elizabeth, and of her successor on the British throne, died at York House on the 15th March 1617. His prudence and integrity were his shields against those turns of fortune by the hand of Richard Tomsoun, one of his Ma'ties yeomen warders of the Tower, and kyper to the said Sr Thomas Mounsonne, the some of ffour score poundes of lawfull monye of England, and it is ffor ffive mounthes dyett, ending upon Monday the xxiith of April, 1616. I say received this xxth of Aprill aforesaid. Underneath the above is a receipt for three weeks dyett, ending Monday 27 May 1616, dated 28 May. Another receipt for 161. to about 28 June 1616, for" dyet;" paid to the Lieutenant's man Mr. Carwood. which so many public men have been overwhelmed. To adopt the words of an esteemed modern biographer,* the fullness of his faith and his hopes of immortality were frequently expressed in the apostolic language, "Cupio dissolvi et esse cum Christo." After my very hartie comendacons. Where I have troubled ye wh the custodye of some wrytings concerninge myself and my poor gyrles, I fynde now occason to make some alterac'on in the same; wherefore I praye y" sende the same saffe unto me, so soone as convenientlye yo' can, and when I mete wh yo' next I will acquaynt y" of my intencion herein, and howe farre I meane to trouble yo' wh some care for them when I am gonne. My Oxff' journey is disappoynted, by reason of some payne in my feete, and (wch is worse) in my raynes; the stone I feare, how so ev' those that feele it not psuade [me the contrary]. This tragedye, wh such actors, is not fytt for the cost, nor for Oxff. at this season, and therfore I kepe hoame, and, if I be hable, meane to attende his Matye at Windesore, yf I can, in pson, yf not, wh my prayer. And so I co'mett yo' to ye grace of God, and rest yor loving brother-in-lawe and most assured frende, T. ELLESMERE, Canc. To the R. wor my very lovinge frende Sr George More, Knight, at Loseley. * Chalmers. + Effaced in MS. Particulars of Sir George Chaworth's, afterwards Viscount Chaworth's, Embassy to the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia, Archduchess of Austria, the daughter of Philip the Second of Spain, and devoted partizan of the Romish faction, to condole with her, on the part of his sovereign, James the First, on the death of her husband, the Archduke Albert. Albert VI. Archduke of Austria, Governor and afterwards Sovereign of the Low Countries, born 13th November, 1559, was the sixth son of the Emperor Maximilian II. and Maria of Austria. He was intended for the church, and was at first Cardinal and Archbishop of Toledo. In 1583 the Government of Portugal was conferred on him; and his conduct so much pleased Philip II. King of Spain, that he made him Governor of the Netherlands. He arrived at Brussels in February 1596. Shortly after he took Calais, Ardres, and afterwards Hulst, which surrendered the 18th of August in the same year, 1596. Portocarero, Governor of Dourlens, surprised Amiens 11th March, 1597, but King Henry IV. retook it on the 3d of September in the same year. Albert renounced the Cardinalship, and married in 1598 Isabella or Elizabeth Clara Eugenia, daughter of Philip II. and Elizabeth of France. This Princess brought him as a dowry the Netherlands and Franche Comté. The year after they set out from Spain, and arrived in Brabant in the month of August. The peace between France and Spain, concluded at Vervins, made him renew the war against the Dutch. There was a battle on the 2d of July, 1600, near Nieuport. The Archduke at first killed 8 or 900 men left in charge of the bridge, and without suffering his soldiers, fatigued with a long march, to take breath, proceeded to attack the enemy; but he was vigorously received by Maurice Count of Nassau, and defeated. Albert some time after laid siege to Ostend, which was not taken till the 22d September, 1604. This memorable siege having lasted three years three months and three days, Albert had only for his victory a plot of earth, which had cost the lives of more than 100,000 men, immense sums, and two considerable towns; for Maurice, during the siege, had taken L'Ecluse, Grave, and some other places. The Archduke then turned his thoughts to peace, which began by a truce of eight months in 1608, and was continued by another of twelve years in 1609. He employed this truce in regulating the government of his provinces, where his goodness and gentle carriage had won him the hearts of his people. He died without issue 18th July, 1621, æt. 62. Chaworth's MS. contains various details of Court manners, costume, and etiquette. The reader will not be surprised to find some portion of the Ambassador's narrative occupied by that important part (in those days, at least) of the outfit of a complimentary mission, the labours of his tailor. He narrates various particulars of his journey, and reception at the court of the Infanta. On his return, he writes to the Duke of Buckingham concerning his Ma jesty's promise to create him a Viscount of England. The Duke's cupidity in disposing of honours conferred by his Majesty, at stipulated bribes to himself, is exposed. His unjust and overbearing influence with the House of Commons remarkably demonstrated. Sir George Chaworth is at length created, to his disappointment, a Viscount of Ireland only, by the title of Baron Chaworth, of Trim, in the county of Meath, Viscount of Armagh. We have not discovered by what connexion or circumstance Lord Chaworth's Diary has been preserved at Loseley. The Diary. The accompt and annotations of all things, chardges, and accidents wch befell me in my ymploiment to ye Infante in ye qualitie of his Maties Ambassador Extraordinarie. Anno Dom. 1621. The King's sum'ons to me.-This sum'er, ye K. being in pgress at Rugford, in Notting'shire, ye L. Admirall, Marqs Buckingham told me ye K. had ymploime't for me, and com'anded my attendance about 5 a clock that afternoone, being Sundaie, about ye 12th of August. I was called in to his Maties bedchambr, where his Ma. taking me by ye hand, sayde, "Come, George Chaworth, you must knowe I have taken notice of yor caryadge, and because it hath beene noble, I have made choice of you for my Ambass to Bruxells, yf ther be occasion, for yf other Princes send to condole (as I hear they doe), then must I needs doe ye lyke, and therfore make yo1selfe readie, and drawe in yor frends, for I must deale playnely wth you, you are not to looke to make a fortune of this ymploiment, for it ys not one that I wille stowe cost on to make a shew. And I have beene offered to have it executed for an 8 or 900li. ("Have I not?" sayeth he, turning to Marqs Buckingm."* "Yea, yea," said he)—but I make choyce of you as a gentleman that hath alwaye caryed *Here ys to be remembred howe ye Marq's intended to have put this ymploiment upon S'r H. Rich (who since ys El of Holand) but his Ma'ie wold have me, intending it as a foundation for honor to me, but ye Marq's was malevolent to me. |