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To the Lord Viscount St. Alban.

My most honoured Lord,

I met, even now, with a piece of news so unexpected, and yet so certainly true, as that, howsoever, I had much ado, at first, to desire the relater to speak probably; yet now I dare send it your lordship upon my credit. It is my Lord of Somerset's and his lady's coming out of the Tower, on Saturday last,* fetched forth by my Lord of Falkland, and without the usual degrees of confinement, at first to some one place, but absolute and free, to go where they please. I know not how peradventure this might occasion you to cast your thoughts, touching yourself, into some new mould, though not in the main, yet in something on the by.

I beg leave to kiss your lordship's hands.
Your Lordship's, in all humbleness,

for ever to honour and serve you,

T. MEAUTYS.

Lodowic Stuart, Duke of Lenox, to the Lord
Viscount St. Alban.

My Lord,

It is not unknown to your lordship, that, in respect I am now a married man, I have more reason than before to think of providing me some house in London, whereof I am yet destitute; and for that purpose I have resolved to entreat your lordship, that I may deal with you for York House; wherein I will not offer any conditions to your loss. And, in respect I have understood, that the consideration of your lady's wanting a house hath bred some difficulty in your lordship to part with it, I will for that make offer unto your lordship, and your lady, to use the house in Canon Row, late the Earl of Hertford's, being a very commodious and capable house, wherein I and my wife have absolute power; and whereof your lordship shall have as long time as you can challenge or desire of York House. In this I do freelier deal with your lordship, in respect I know you are well assured of my well wishes to you in general; and that in this particular, though I have not been without thoughts of this house before your lordship had it, yet I was willing to give way to your lordship's more pressing use thereof then. And as I do not doubt of

January 6, 1621-2. Camdeni Annales Regis Jacobi I. p. 77. + Camden, ubi supra, says, "that the earl was ordered to confine himself to the Lord Viscount Wallingford's house, or neighbourhood."

your lordship's endeavour to gratify me in this, so I shall esteem it as an extraordinary courtesy, which I will study to requite by all means.

So, with my best wishes to your lordship, I rest

Your Lordship's most loving Friend,

LENOX.

In respect my Lord of Buckingham was once desirous to have had this house, I would not deal for it till now, that he is otherwise provided.

Whitehall, the 29th of January, 1621.

To the Right Honourable my very good Lord,

my Lord Viscount St. Alban.

Answer of the Lord Viscount of St. Alban.
My very good Lord,

I am sorry to deny your grace any thing; but in this you will pardon me. York House is the house wherein my father died, and wherein I first breathed; and there will I yield my last breath, if so please God, and the king will give me leave; though I be now by fortune (as the old proverb is) like a bear in a monk's hood. At least no money, no value, shall make me part with it. Besides, as I never denied it to my lord marquis, so yet the difficulty I made was so like a denial, as I owe unto my great love and respect to his lordship a denial to all my other friends; among whom, in a very near place next his lordship, I ever accounted of your grace. So, not doubting that you will continue me in your former love and good affection, I rest Your Grace's, to do you humble service,

affectionate, &c.

To the Marquis of Buckingham.

My very good Lord,

As my hopes, since my misfortunes, have proceeded of your lordship's mere motion, without any petition of mine, so I leave the times and the ways to the same good mind of yours. True it is, a small matter for my debts would do me more good now than double a twelvemonth hence. I have lost six thousand pounds by year, besides caps and courtesies. But now a very moderate proportion would suffice; for I still bear a little of the mind of a commissioner of the treasury, not to be overchargable to his majesty; and two things I may assure your lordship of: the one, that I shall lead such a course of life, as whatsoever the king doth for me shall rather sort to his majesty's and

your lordship's honour, than to envy: the other, that whatsoever men talk, I can play the good husband, and the king's bounty shall not be lost. If your lordship think good the prince should come in to help, I know his highness wisheth me well; if you will let me know when, and how he may be used. But the king is the fountain, who,

I know, is good.
God prosper you.

Your Lordship's most bounden and faithful, Gorhambury, January 30, 1621.

FR. ST. ALBAN.

To the Marquis of Buckingham.

My very good Lord,

Your lordship dealeth honourably with me in giving me notice, that your lordship is provided of a house, whereby you discontinue the treaty your lordship had with me for York House, although I shall make no use of this notice, as to deal with any other. For I was ever resolved your lordship should have had it, or no man. But your lordship doth yet more nobly, in assuring me, you never meant it with any the least inconvenience to myself. May it please your lordship likewise to be assured from me, that I ever desired you should have it, and do still continue of the

same mind.

I humbly pray your lordship to move his majesty to take commiseration of my long imprisonment. When I was in the Tower, I was nearer help of physic; I could parley with my creditors; I could deal with friends about my business; I could have helps at hand for my writings and studies, wherein I spend my time; all which here fail me. Good my lord, deliver me out of this; me, who am his majesty's devout beadsman, and

Your Lordship's most obliged Friend
and faithful Servant,
FR. ST. ALBAN.

Gorhambury, this 3d of Feb. 1621.

John Selden, Esq. to the Lord Viscount St. Alban. My most honoured Lord,

At your last going to Gorhambury, you were pleased to have speech with me about some passages of parliament; touching which, I conceived, by your lordship, that I should

Mr. Chamberlain, in a MS. letter to Sir Dudley Carleton, dated at London, January 19, 1621-2, mentions, that the Marquis of Buckingham had contracted with the Lord and Lady Wallingford, for their house near Whitehall, for some

money.

have had farther direction by a gentleman, to whom you committed some care and consideration of your lordship's intentions therein. I can only give this account of it, that never was any man more willing or ready to do your lordship service than myself; and in that you then spake of, I had been most forward to have done whatsoever I had been, by farther direction, used in. But I understood that your lordship's pleasure that way was changed. Since, my lord, I was advised with, touching the judgments given in the late parliament. For them (if it please your lordship to hear my weak judgment expressed freely to you) I conceive thus: First, that admitting it were no session, but only a convention, as the proclamation calls it, yet the judgments given in the upper house (if no other reason be against them) are good; for they are given by the lords, or the upper house, by virtue of that ordinary authority, which they have as the supreme court of judicature; which is easily to be conceived, without any relation to the matter of session, which consists only in the passing of acts, or not passing them, with the royal assent. And though no session of the three states together be without such acts so passed, yet every part of the parliament severally did its own acts legally enough to continue, as the acts of other courts of justice are done. And why should any doubts be, but that a judgment out of the King's Bench, or Exchequer-chamber, reversed there, had been good, although no session? For there was truly a parliament, truly an upper house (which exercised by itself this power of judicature), although no session. Yet withal, my lord, I doubt, it will fall out, upon fuller consideration, to be thought a session also. Were it not for the proclamation, I should be clearly of that mind; neither doth the clause, in the act of subsidy, hinder it. For that only prevented the determination of the session at that instant; but did not prevent the being of a session, whensoever the parliament should be dissolved. But because that point was resolved in the proclamation, and also in the commission of dissolution on the 8th of February, I will rest satisfied.

But there are also examples of former times, that may direct us in that point of the judgment, in regard there is store of judgments of parliament, especially under Edward I. and Edward II. in such conventions as never had, for aught appears, any act passed in them.

Next, my lord, I conceive thus: that by reason there is no record of those judgments, it may be justly thought that

they are of no force. For thus it stands: The lower house exhibited the declarations in paper; and the lords, receiving them, proceeded to judgment verbally; and the notes of their judgments are taken by the clerk, in the journal only; which, as I think, is no record of itself; neither was it ever used as one. Now the record, that in former times was of the judgments and proceedings there, was in this form. The accusation was exhibited in parchment; and being so received, and indorsed, was the first record; and that remained filed among the bills of parliament, it being of itself as the bills in the King's Bench. Then out of this there was a formal judgment, with the accusation entered into that roll, or second record, which the clerk transcribes by ancient use, and sends into the Chancery.

But in this case there are none of these: neither doth any thing seem to help to make a record of it, than only this, that the clerk may enter it, now after the parliament; which, I doubt, he cannot. Because, although in other courts the clerks enter all, and make their records after the term, yet in this parliamentary proceeding it falls out, that the court being dissolved, the clerk cannot be said to have such a relation to the parliament, which is not then at all in being, as the prothonotaries of the courts in Westminster have to their courts, which stand only adjourned. Besides, there cannot be an example found, by which it may appear, that ever any record of the first kind (where the transcript is into the Chancery) was made in parliament; but only sitting the house, and in their view. But this Í I offer to your lordship's farther consideration, desiring your favourable censure of my fancy herein; which, with whatsoever ability I may pretend to, shall ever be desirous to serve you, to whom I shall perpetually own myself Your Lordship's most humble Servant,

From the Temple, February 14, 1621.

J. SELDEN.

My Lord, If your lordship have done with that Mascardus de Interpretatione Statutorum,* I shall be glad that you would give order that I might use it. And for that of 12 Hen. VII. touching the grand council, in the manuscript, I have since seen a privy seal of Henry VII. (without a year) directed to borrow for the king; and in it there is a recital of a grand council, which thought that such a sum was fit to be levied;

Alderani Mascardi communes conclusiones utriusque juris ad generalem statutorum interpretationem accommodata: printed at Ferrara, in 1608.

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