1621.] LETTER TO THE PRINCE. 299 little end of my thread which remaineth, as your Majesty in doing me good may do good to many, both that live now, and that shall be born hereafter. I have been the keeper of your seal, and now am your beadsman. Let your own royal heart and my noble friend speak the rest. God preserve and prosper your Majesty, 5 September, 1621. poor servant and beadsman, TO THE PRINCE.2 May it please your Highness, I cannot too oft acknowledge your Highness's favour in my troubles, but acknowledgement now is but begging of new favour; yet even that is not inconvenient; for thanksgiving and petition go well together, even to God himself; my humble suit to your Highness is that I may be thought on for means to subsist; and to that purpose, that your Highness will join with my noble friend to the King. That done, I shall ever be ready, either at God's call or his Majesty's, and as happy, to my thinking, as a man can be, that must leave to serve such a King. God preserve and prosper your Highness. Here the fair copy ends. The draught has the following P.S., which was printed by Birch, but made unintelligible by the misreading of God' for 'men' in the last sentence. "Cardinal Wolsey said, that if he had pleased God as he pleased the King, he had not been ruined. My conscience saith no such thing; for I know not but in serving you I have served God in one. But it may be, if I had pleased men as I have pleased you, it would have been better with me." 2 Gibson Papers, vol. viii. f. 237. Copy, corrected by Meautys and docketed, "1621. A copy of 3 lres., one to his Ma: one to the Prince, and one to my Lo. Marqs Buck." Underneath, in another hand, "Letters to the King." On the back, in Meautys's hand, the following notes, written no doubt to dictation, and meant for his own direction. 66 Bpp. Winchester, Durham, London, Lo. Duke, Lo. Hunsden. "Lo. Chamberlain, to thank him for his kind remembrance, by you; and though in this private fortune I shall have use of few friends, yet I cannot but acknowledge the moderation and affection his Lordship shewed in my business, and desire that of those few his Lordship will still be one for my comfort, in whatsoever may cross his way, for the furtherance of my private life and fortune. "Mr. John Murray. If there be any thing that may concern me that is fit for him to speak and me to know, that I may receive it by you. "Mr. Maxwell. That I am sorry, that so soon as I came to know him, and to be beholding to him, I wanted power to be of use to him. "Lord of Kelly, and to acquaint him with that part touching the confinement." 3 So written originally in the MS. and so it was meant ultimately to stand, but in the course of a correction and recorrection the word 'is' has been accidentally struck out. 5. Of the notes on the back of the last letter, which I suppose to be memoranda of messages which Meautys was to deliver to the persons named, it will be seen that the last reminds him to acquaint the Lord of Kelly-that is Sir Thomas Erskine "with that part touching the confinement." The confinement was the prohibition to come within the verge of the Court; which included among other things a prohibition to come within Sir Robert Cotton's library, where materials for the history of Henry the Seventh most abounded; not to mention the other collections of original records, which all lay within the forbidden circle. This alone would have been a sufficient ground for desiring a suspension of the prohibition at this time; but it would hardly perhaps have been appreciated by Parliaments and politicians: and the more ordinary requirements of health and business were alleged in preference. The following warrants, copies in the hand of John Locker without any note of the originals, but probably part of Robert Stephens's collections,— will show with what success. I suppose they were drawn up by Bacon himself. A LICENCE UNDER HIS MAJESTY'S SIGNATURE FOR YOUR LORDSHIP'S STAY AT LONDON FOR SIX WEEKS.1 Right trusty and right well-beloved, We greet you well. Understanding that the necessity of your own private affairs requireth your repair to our city of London for some convenient time we are well pleased to give you our licence to come to our said city and to abide there for the space of one month or six weeks, for the settling of your estate and taking order for your debts. Given at our Court at Wanstead, the 13th Sept. 1621. A WARRANT UNDER HIS MAJESTY'S SIGNATURE FOR MY LORD ST. ALBAN'S STAY AT SIR JOHN VAUGHAN'S.2 Right trusty and well-beloved, We greet you well. Whereas by sentence of our Court of Parliament you stand confined not to come within the verge: Forasmuch as we know well your abode hath been during your whole life in or near about Lon 1621.] ASSIGNMENT OF BACON'S FINE TO TRUSTEES. 301 don, and that we understand from you that at this time your broken estate of health requireth that you be near help of physicians, and also that the settling the estate of your debts now in this time of your troubles doth also require your stay in or near London: We of our grace and compassion, desiring to preserve both your person and state from ruin, do grant and licence you to be and remain at Sir John Vaughan's house at Parson's Green, the said clause of confinement notwithstanding. For which this shall be your sufficient warrant and discharge. Given at our Court at Theobalds, 13th Sept. 1621. These warrants were followed in a few days by another of more importance: important enough, as it proved, to alarm the new Lord Keeper and produce a remonstrance and delay. A fine to the Crown gave the Crown a first claim upon a man's goods. Until all was paid, the Crown could forbid any other claimant to interfere with them. The King consented to make an assignment to persons nominated by Bacon himself, of the fine imposed by Parliament ;— thus not only forbearing to exact it, but making it serve as a protection to him against his other creditors. He consented at the same time to grant him such a general pardon as was usually granted at coronations or such times-a discharge in effect from all liabilities for offences past; subject to particular exceptions; the exception in this case being the important one of the Parliamentary sentence. A WARRANT TO MR. ATTORNEY FOR AN ASSIGNMENT OF YOUR LORDSHIP'S FINE.1 Trusty and well-beloved, We greet you well. Our will and pleasure is that you draw up a book in due form containing an assignment from us of the Viscount of St. Alban's fine unto such persons as he himself shall nominate. And also another book containing a Coronation pardon unto him, with an exception nevertheless of the sentence given in our high Court of Parliament, and prepare them both for our signature. Given at our Court at Theobalds the 20th day of Sept. 1621. 6. So far, Bacon's prospects seemed to be improving; and inasmuch 1 Add. MSS. 4259. as they depended on himself-upon the worthy and diligent execution of the task which he had undertaken-more could not have been desired of him. I had occasion in the last volume to compare Chamberlain's report of what was 'the general opinion' of Bacon's qualifications for the Chancellorship when he first became Lord Keeper-namely, that he had "so tender a constitution both of body and mind that he would hardly be able to undergo the burden of so much business as his place required"—with the result of his first half-year's administration; which was the clearing off for the first time within living memory of all arrears. We now have an opportunity of comparing his report of the state of mind in which Bacon retired to Gorhambury at Midsummer, with the result of his work there during the next three months. On the 23rd of June he is reported (and I do not doubt that it was a correct report of the 'general opinion') to have left Parson's Green for Gorhambury, "having (as should seem) no manner of feeling of his fall, but continuing as vain and idle in all his humours as when he was at highest." On the 8th of October, he was ready to send a fair manuscript of his 'History of Henry the Seventh' to the King:-a work which, done under every advantage, would have been a rare specimen of skill, diligence, and spirit in the workman; but for which, begun as it was immediately after so tremendous an overthrow, and carried on in the middle of so many difficulties in the present and anxieties for the future-it would be hard to find a parallel. Though not one of his works which stand highest either in reputation or popularity with later times, being neither generally read (an accident which it shares with most of the others) nor generally supposed to be of great value (in which it is more singular),-it has done its work more effectually perhaps than any of them. None of the histories which had been written before conveyed any idea either of the distinctive character of the man or the real business of his reign. Every history which has been written since has derived all its light from this, and followed its guidance in every question of importance; and the additional materials which come to light from time to time, and enable us to make many corrections in the history of the events, only serve to confirm and illustrate the truth of its interpretation of them. I can speak on this point with some confidence, for in editing it (now fifteen years ago) I took great pains both to examine the authorities and point out the errors; and always found that the correction of the story brought it into better accordance with Henry's character as Bacon drew it and his policy as he interpreted 1 Vol. VI. pp. 200, 208. 1621.] COMPLETION OF THE HISTORY OF HENRY VII. 303 it. And if M. Bergenroth's calendar of Spanish state papers had been then published, I should have had a good deal more to do in the same way, and with the same result. Situated as he was, and excluded from access to all the original records, it could not be a work of research. He had to take the facts from Polydore Vergil and the old chroniclers who followed him with unsuspecting faith,correcting nothing and adding very little,-almost as he found them; and to discover their meaning by his own inner light. But as a study of character in action and a specimen of the art of historical narrative, it comes nearer to the merit of Thucydides than any English history that I know. It was not published till the following year, but the next letter shows that the manuscript was finished before the 8th of October. TO THE KING.2 It may please your most excellent Majesty, I do very humbly thank your Majesty for your gracious remission of my fine. I can now (I thank God and you) die, and make a will. I desire to do, for the little time God shall send me life, like the merchants of London, which when they give over trade, lay out their money upon land. So being freed from civil business, I lay forth my poor talent upon those things which may be perpetual, still having relation to do you honour with those powers I have left. I have therefore chosen to write the Reign of King Henry the 7th, who was in a sort your forerunner, and whose spirit, as well as his blood, is doubled upon your Majesty. I durst not have presumed to intreat your Majesty to look over the book and correct it, or at least to signify what you would have amended. But since you are pleased to send for the book, I will hope for it. [3 God knoweth, whether ever I shall see you again; but I will pray for you to the last gasp, resting] 8 October, 1621. The same, your true beadsman, FR. ST. ALBAN. 1 See a paper in 'Fraser's Magazine' for May, 1863 : in which I have attempted to give a full history of the negotiation between England and Spain for the mar riage of Prince Arthur and the Infanta Katherine: a history full of new illustrations of the character of both the Kings. 2 Gibson Papers, vol. viii. f. 150. Draught or copy in Bacon's fair hand; intended probably to go, but cancelled on resolving to strike out the last paragraph. No fly-leaf. Indorsed "To the K. of thanks for the remission of his fine." 3 This paragraph has a line drawn over it. |