and againe bicause I se as yet not the time agreing theruto, I shal lerne to folow this sainge of Orace, Feras non culpes quod vitari non potest. And thus I wil (troblinge your Maiestie I fere) ende with my most humble thankes, besechinge God longe to preserue you to his honour to your cōfort, to the realmes profit, and to my joy. From Hatfilde this 1 day of May. Your Maiesties most humbly Sistar and Seruante. ELIZABETH. ANNE BULLEN. EVERY particular relating to eminent persons in our own history, interests the reflecting mind. One can hardly be too minute, though an unskilful writer may frequently become prolix. That minute detail of circumstances frequently found in writers of the History of their own times is far more interesting than the elegant and general narratives of later, and probably of more philosophical Historians. It is in the artless recitals of memoir-writers, that the imagination is struck with a lively impression, and fastens on petty circumstances which must be passed over by the classical Historian. The writings of Brantome, Comines, Froissart, and others, are dictated by their natural feelings; while the passions of modern writers cannot but be artificial; too temperate with dispassionate philosophy, or inflamed with the virulence of faction. In a word, History instructs, but Memoirs delight. These prefatory observations may serve as an apology for the following Anecdotes, which are gathered from obscure corners, on which the dignity of the Historian must not dwell. In Houssaie's Memoires, Vol. 1. p. 435, a little circumstance is recorded concerning the decapitation of the unfortunate Anne Bullen, which illustrates an observation of Hume. Our Historian notices that her executioner was a Frenchman of Calais, who was supposed to have uncommon skill; it is probable that the following incident might have been preserved by tradition in France, from the account of the executioner himself.-Anne Bullen being on the scaffold, would not consent to have her eyes covered with a bandage, saying, that she had no fear of death. All that the Divine, who assisted at her execution, could obtain from her, was, that she would shut her eyes. But as she was opening them at every moment, the executioner could not bear their tender and mild glances; fearful of missing his aim, he was obliged to invent an expedient to behead the Queen. He drew off his shoes, and approached her silently; while he was at her left hand, another person advanced at her right, who made a great noise in walking, so that this circumstance drawing the attention of Anne, she turned her face from the executioner, who was enabled by this artifice to strike the fatal blow, without being disarmed by that spirit of affecting resignation which shone in the eyes of the lovely Anne Bullen. "The Common Executioner, Whose heart th' accustomed sight of death makes hard, But first begs pardon." SHAKSPEARE. JAMES I. It was usual in the reign of James the First, when they compared it with the preceding glorious one, to distinguish him by the title of Queen James, and his illustrious predecessor by that of King Elizabeth! Sir Anthony Weldon informs us, that when James I. sent Sir Roger Aston as his messenger to Elizabeth, Sir Roger was always placed in the lobby; the hangings being turned so that he might see the Queen dancing to a little fiddle, which was to no other end than that he should tell his master, by her youthful disposition, how likely he was to come to the crown he so much thirsted after;"-and indeed, when at her death this same knight, whose origin was low, and whose language was suitable to that origin, appeared before the English council, he could not conceal his Scottish rapture, for asked how the King did? he replied, " even my lords, like a poore man wandering about forty years in a wildernesse and barren soyle, and now arrived at the Land of Promise." A curious anecdote, respecting the economy of the court in these reigns, is noticed in some manuscript memoirs written in James's reign, preserved in a family of distinction. The lady, who wrote these memoirs, tells us that a great change had taken place in cleanliness, since the last reign; for having rose from her chair, she found on her departure that she had the honour of carrying upon her some companions who must have been inhabitants of the palace. The court of Elizabeth was celebrated occasionally for its magnificence, and always for its nicety. James was singularly effeminate; he could not behold a drawn sword without shuddering; was much too partial to handsome men; and appears to merit the bitter satire of Churchill. If wanting other proofs, we should only read the second volume of "Royal Letters," 6987, in the Harleian collections, which contains Stenie's correspondence with James. The gross familiarity of Buckingham's address is couched in such terms as these:-he calls his Majesty "Dere dad and Gossope!" and concludes his letters with your humble slaue and dogge, Stenie." He was a most weak, but not quite a vicious 66 man; yet his expertness in the art of dissimulation was very great indeed. He called this KingCraft. Sir Anthony Weldon gives a lively anecdote of this dissimulation in the King's behaviour to the Earl of Somerset at the very moment he had prepared to disgrace him. The Earl accompanied the King to Royston, and to his apprehension never parted from him with more seeming affection, though the king well knew he should never see him more. "The Earl when he kissed his hand, the king hung about his neck, slabboring his cheeks, saying, -for God's sake, when shall I see thee again? On my soul I shall neither eat nor sleep until you come again. The Earl told him on Monday, (this being on the Friday). For God's sake let me, said the King:-Shall I, shall I?-then lolled about his neck;-then for God's sake give thy Lady this kisse for me, in the same manner at the stayre's head, at the middle of the stayres, and at the stayre's foot. The Earl was not in his coach when the king used these very words, (in the hearing of four servants, one of whom reported it instantly to the author of this history) "I shall never see his face more." He displayed great imbecility in his amusements, which are characterised by the following one, related by Arthur Wilson.-When James became melancholy in consequence of various |