old quarters. The Allies reduced to great scarcity. The French decamped. Design of Prince Lewis to attack them in their rear. Censures upon the Prince's conduct. The Electress of Saxony. M. Culpis returned from Mentz. The Landgrave of Hesse. Count de Lippe. Incloses Count Frizen to Stepney. The Prince of Baden and the Hessian Troops. Baron de Goertz should be written to. The enemy can do nothing so long as all the Troops are kept together. The Count of Hohenloe gone to see the Count de Lippe. The Elector Palatine, at the instance of the Imperial Court, withdraws one regiment after another. The French always in their Camp. Camp de Langebruck. 8/18 July. French.

Baron de Goertz to Stepney. Hopes the King is thoroughly satisfied with His Highness, the Baron's Master. Cassel. 28 June/8 July. French.

July 14/24. Francfurt. Stepney to Trumbull. The French have marched with so much diligence that there was no overtaking them. Prince Lewis after them, and will endeavour to force them to battle. Would be contented to serve the King in any station. Report that his Majesty has promised to help the circles of Suabia and Francony with 400,000 dollars. The Ministers of Hanover uneasy at this report; they think Prince Lewis already too powerful. The Electress still here; was invited to a merry meeting, and after supper drawing lots for wives, after the German fashion, fortune gave him the Electress for his partner. Incloses Count Frizen to Stepney. Movements of the troops under the Prince of Baden and Count de Lippe. Camp de Walsdorff. 11/21 July 1695. French.

July 16/26. Francfurt. Stepney to Trumbull. The chief generals have left the Camp for two or three days. The French safely across the Rhine at Manheim; the Confederates encamped at Rhorbach, within a league of Heidelberg. Arrival of the Margrave of Bareuth, he goes to Mentz to confer with the new Elector. Reports about this visit. Will send the order of battle projected by Prince Lewis. Their army really consists of 50,000 men, and is in better condition than any army we shall ever see again on the Rhine. Is perfectly run aground, and shall have much ado to get afloat again. Blathwayt says he must have patience about his employment.

July 21/31. Francfurt. Stepney to Blathwayt. The Margrave of Bareuth and the young Regent Margrave of Anspach gone to the army about to cross the Rhine. Their designs. No artillery to undertake any important siege. The King's orders to Prince Lewis on hearing the French were detaching a strong party, 12,000 men, towards Brabant. Report that the troops of Munster and Hesse may be sent towards him. A great many Princes and Generals in the late meeting at Mentz; their deliberations. Count Hamilton, Grand Chamberlain to the Elector Palatine, on his way to Vienna. Prince Lewis' army. Has received a second invitation from Prince Lewis to the army.

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Has

July 25/Aug. 4. Mentz. Stepney to Ellis. applied for credentials to the Elector. "It will be a good rousch in my way (so we Germans call a fuddle), " and perhaps may get me a ring or an horse, either of which is much better than lying still." Incloses Stepney to Trumbull. Movements of the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel. His propositions. He is animated by his Maj. enterprize against Namur, and impatient to signalize himself. Visit from Count Frizen. Message from Baron Goertz. Stepney goes to Mentz. Audience of the Landgrave, he had ordered his troops to be moving as his Majesty had desired, to whom he is "tenderly affectioned." Interview with the Elector, a jovial hearty prelate, and will behave handsomely when well settled in the Electorate; his respect for his Majesty. Wishes to have the style of Envoy in his credentials; reasons.

In the last years of the reign of William III. he assisted with Stepney, Prior, Sir Joseph Williamson, Alexr. Stanhope, the Earl of Marlborough, and others, in treating with the Ministers of Denmark, in concert with Holland, and with several of the German Electors, in concert with other Princes, for the general peace of Europe.

Cressett's Correspondence in the Public Record Office does not begin before April 1695, and is continued to October 1695; then there is a gap to Nov. 1697, from which date to the end of 1699 the Correspondence is very regular. There are no letters from Cressett later than 1699 in the Public Record Office.

The following is a List of the Cressett Correspondence in the Public Record Office, from and to, viz. :1695, April to October. From Cressett. (Germany, Vol. 156.)

1697, Nov., to 1699. Ditto. 1694 to 1698. To Cressett. 1696, May 12, one letter. Vol. 14.)

1699, Oct. 24, one letter. 1702, Jan. to April. Same. 1702, Oct., to Sept. 1703. Vol. 16.)

(Hamburgh, Vol. 10.) (Germany, Vol. 152.) Same. (Foreign, various,

Same. (France, Vol. 313.) (Foreign, various, Vol. 15.) Same. (Foreign, various,

So that, as will be seen, this Correspondence supplies several important gaps in the letters from Cressett in the Public Record Office, as for example, from,Nov. 1693 to 1695, April, 33 letters. Oct. 1695 to 1697, Nov., 123 letters. Jan. 1700 to 1703, Oct., 183 letters. Total, 339 letters,

or more than seven out of the ten years' Correspondence. In the Foreign Office List of the P.R.O. Correspondence with Hamburgh, it will be noticed that two years of Cressett's Correspondence is missing from that country alone.

Not in this Collection, but in Public Record Office, Germany, Vol. 152, p. 378.

There is one letter froin Cressett, dated 7/17 Dec. 1683, from Amsterdam.

PORT ELIOT, CORNWALL, THE SEAT OF THE EARL OF ST. GERMANS.

The Earl of St. Germans responded to the Commissioners' Circular by requesting me to make at his house an inspection of the Manuscripts in his possession.

The MSS. by and belonging to the celebrated Sir John Eliot have been already in a great measure made known to the public by means of Mr. John Forster's Life of Sir John Eliot; and, under the direction of Mr. Forster, they have been arranged and bound in several volumes. They are in very good preservation. Before briefly alluding to the contents of these volumes, it will be convenient to notice the other MSS. preserved at Port Eliot.

A 4to volume of the 17th century, containing about 160 or 170 leaves. The title is "A relation touching the fleete " and armie of the King's most excellent Majestie K. "Charles sett forth in the 1st yeare of His highnes raigne, "and touching the order, proceedings, and actions of the same fleete and armie."

Begins," His most excellent Majestie having with great "cost and care prepared and furnished a royal fleete of "four score and ten sayle."

p. 29. Council of Warre held on the Anne Royal, 18th Oct. 1625.

p. 38. Council of Warre, &c., 20th Oct. 1625, about Cape St. Vincent.

It extends from 15th Sept. to 21st Dec., gives accounts of the various Councils of War; ends with lists of chief commissioners, captains, lieutenants, ancients of armies employed in this voyage.

A 17th century copy of Sir John Doderidge's work, intituled "History of the Auncient and Modern Estate "of the Principality of Wales, Duchy of Cornwall, and "Earldom of Chester, &c." (Printed, 4to, 1630.)

An establishment of the yearly charge of our own diets, with the diet of our dear Consort the Queen, &c., to commence 1st July 1685. Twenty-one leaves, and two and a half of additions, and as to fuel, dishes, prices, names of servants and pensioners. (Folio, paper, end of 17th century.)

Transactions between England and France relating to Hudson's Bay, 1687.

Begins, "The most Christian King having empowered "Sieur Barillon, his Ambassador Extraordinary;" ends, on p. 80, with a "Letter appointed to be written to the " several Governors in pursuance of the said Treaties, as follow, dated 28 Jan 1687." (Folio, paper, end of 17th century.)

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The Vindication of His Majesty and the States in the partition of the Spanish Dominions, with sundry remarks on the Revolution, in a letter to a person of quality.

Begins,-" Sir, I am glad to understand by yours that, "though we differ in our speculations;" ends (p. 41)"'tis sufficient recompense for my pains, who have the " honour to be accompted your servant. March 12, 1701.” (4to, paper, 18th century.)

A folio volume of the 18th century, containing copies of petitions and orders, &c., relating to mines in the Duchy of Cornwall, 1664-1775. And proposition for making tin half-pence.

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A folio volume of the 18th century, containing "An essay shewing the antiquity of the tinning trade in "Cornwall and Devon, intended for an introduction to "the Stannary Memoirs, to which is added an account of what the Memoirs are to contain;" followed by rules and customs of miners.

There is a good collection of letters of the last century, but only one, I think, of the 17th century, viz., a Council letter, dated 20th July 1624, for payment of 6,000 men with 4 colonels.

Ten letters in 1719, from Secretary Craggs to Sir John Norris:

The 1st orders him four more ships.

One of Lord Carteret's letters says, "If the Czar refuses the King's mediation, as he probably will, a mark of which "will be continuing hostilities against Sweden, I hope you "will by force of arms bring him to reason and destroy "that fleet, which will disturb the world whilst it is stirred by ambition and revenge."

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About 20 letters from Edward Eliot (afterwards 1st Lord Eliot) to his father Richard Eliot, written during his tour through Holland, Prussia, Switzerland, in the years 17441747. In one, dated Lausanne, 19th Jan. N.S. 1747, he says, "I shall not break my heart at the death of the Bishop of Exeter. Should Trevor be made bishop, as "he should, a great many of our country ladies would like "him mightily, and put on their best gowns when they expected to see him, for he is the youngest and most "smooth-faced bishop on the bench." In another he sends a copy of a letter from Lord Chesterfield (1747), who says, that "the best German is spoken and the "best professors are at Leipzig." There are a few notices of politics.

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About 20 letters from Richard Eliot to his son, the above-named Edward Eliot, 1742-1748; they were written from England, and contain a few political notices, but are chiefly devoted to home and domestic affairs.

Ten letters from W. Harte (author of the Life of Gustavus Adolphus), who was tutor to Edward Eliot, written in 1746 and 1752 and intervening years from Lausanne and Leipzig.

Six letters from Lord Chesterfield to Edward Eliot in the years 1747 or 1748. (He sent Philip Stanhope as travelling companion with Edward Eliot under Mr. Harte.) One of the letters is of condolence with him on the occasion of his father's death; he advises him not to make hasty political alliances; domestic affairs are to be an excuse for delay.

Three letters from Philip Stanhope, at Leipzig, to Edward Eliot at Port Eliot, 1748.

There is another bundle of letters from Edward Eliot, while abroad, to his Father Richard Eliot, during the years 1747 and 1748. One of them, dated 25th April 1748, gives an account of one Mencke accusing (in a newspaper) Mr. Lyttelton of having denied the Christian religion. Edward Eliot and Mr. Harte defended Mr. Lyttelton, and made Mencke publish a retractation. Another, undated, gives the character of the King of Poland; of Count Bruhl and his extravagance in dress and furniture, his 150 china snuff boxes, 300 servants, 300 horses; his yearly expenses 65,000l. The writer says the country is in a very poor state, and the army scarce 25,000 men.

A letter from R. Nugent to Edward Eliot, dated London, 23rd Nov. 1753, giving an account of the Jew Bill in the House of Lords.

Four letters from Edward Gibbon of Benton (father of the author of the History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire), to Edward Eliot (who married his niece Catherine Elliston). Two are dated in 1753 and the others in 1767.

Seven letters from Edward Gibbon (the historian) to Edward Eliot (1st Lord Eliot).

1. London, 31st May 1775; about the American rebellion.

2. Bentinck St., 20th June 1779; defence of his Parliamentary conduct.

3. Bentinck St., 8th Sept. 1780; unless he gets a seat in Parliament (the then Parliament was about to be dissolved) he cannot hope to remain at the Board of Trade.

4. Bentinck St., 11th August 1780; defence of his Parliamentary conduct.

5. Bentinck St., 24th Feb. 1781; sends vols. 2 and 3 of his History.

6. Lausanne, 27th Oct. 1784; commends Lord Eliot; comments on his own retirement from London and his quiet at Lausanne.

7. Sheffield Place, 18th July 1788; a friendly letter on leaving London. Had not seen Lord Eliot during a year's residence in England.

24863.

F

Of these letters, Nos. 2 and 4 are particularly interesting, because Gibbon's Parliamentary career is barely touched in his autobiography.

Nine letters from E. J. Eliot to his father, Lord Eliot, dated in 1785, 1787, and 1789; and with these is,

A letter from Wm. Pitt to Lord Eliot, dated Walmer Castle, 10th Oct. 1797.

Letters from Wm. Eliot to his father, Lord Eliot; one dated Berlin, 1793, says he "is sorry if Lord Elgin is to be fixed at the Court of Berlin, as he is personally "disagreeable to the rulers of it."

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Another, dated Hanover, 1794, after stating a change of plans, says, the mystery of all this is Lord Malmesbury being appointed to sign a treaty of marriage with the "future Princess of Wales."

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There is another letter of the same date, in which he relates that the princess said in a plaintive little voice, “Le prince n'a donc rien écrit ?"

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Letters from John Whitaker (the antiquarian) to Lord Eliot one dated in 1793 and the other in 1795; both are about his History of the Church of St. Germans (which he published in 4to).

Original drafts of letters from the Honourable Wm. Eliot to Lord Grenville, dated Hague and Berlin, in 1793 and 1794. In January 1794 he gives details of a conspiracy to assassinate Pitt, and names a merchant in London as one of the agents.

Fourteen holograph letters from Lord Malmesbury to the Honourable William Eliot, dated Berlin, 1793 and 1794..

A letter from Lord Grenville, dated 2nd Oct. 1794, stating that the Duke of Brunswick is to take command of the forces then under the Duke of York, and to employ a troop of Brunswickers.

In a 4to volume are copies of 35 letters from the Honourable Wm. Eliot to Lord Grenville, dated Berlin, and ranging from Oct. 19 to July 13, 1793, all on public

matters.

The MSS. by and belonging to Sir John Eliot are bound in morocco, in ten volumes, not numbered.

Volume lettered "Miscellaneous papers of Sir John "Eliot, Letters, Treatises, &c." contains the following. 1. That Kings of England have been pleased usually to consult with their peeres (by Sir R. Cotton).

2. Short view of the life of Henry 3rd (by Sir R. Cotton). 3. Digby's letter about a passage in Spenser. (These three have been printed.)

4. Declaration of the Commons. (1 leaf, by Sir J. E.'s hand.)

5. A letter against assassination. (4 leaves.)

6. A view of Sir Robert Cotton upon the jurisdiction of Parliament; begins,-Sir, to give you as short an account.

7. Copy letter by Sir W. Raleigh to the King; begins,-Those that are oppressed and helpless (printed); and Dialogue between a Councillor of State and a Justice of the Peace.

8. Duplicates of Nos. 1 and 6.

9. A view of the privileges of Ambassadors, by Sir Robert Cotton.

10. A Treatise on the Commonwealth (by Sir Thomas Smith).

11. A letter from Lord Nourris and Sir T. Smith to the Queen, dated from Paris, May 1567 (7 leaves); begins,—Sir Thos. Smith arrived at N. (Copy).

12. The Chancellor and Chancery of England; begins,Because I prefer to speak of the Chancellor and his Court; ends on the third leaf. Then follows account of the Exchequer and King's Bench, ending on 151, De curiis Ecclesiasticis. (Latin).

13. Copy of the Treaty of Blois (19th April 1572) between Charles 9 and Elizabeth.

14. Copy of the Treaty of marriage between Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Anjou and Alençon.

General heads of two orations at the College of Rheims, regarding the proposed marriage (pro and con).

15. A note of the Consultation had at Greenwich, 1st January 1567, upon a request made to Her Majesty by the Spanish ambassador, that the Abbot of Martinenye, being nuntio for the Pope, and arriving at Brussels, might come into the realm with letters from the Pope and other persons to the Queen. (4 pp.)

A copy of the device for altering of religion at the first year of Queen Elizabeth. (Seven points with answers. 5 pp.)

Copy of a letter headed" 11 of this month," beginning -Pleaseth your Majesty to be advertised after a final resolution of Sir Nicholas Throgmorton. . . ends,-haif som quhat to say to these men, yf they call upon me. (9 leaves. It contains an account of a mission to Paris).

A collection of certain reasons to prove Her Majesty's right to have the restitution of Calais, 3rd April; begins,

The Queen's demaunde for restitution of Calais at this present time ends, whether evil or true judgment hath been given of the minde, intent, and purpose. (7 leaves).

Instructions for Sir Thomas Smith, Kt., sent into France by the Queen's Majesty to the French King, to be declared and treated upon with the said King by the said Sir Thomas Smith and Sir H. Norris. Given at Westminster, 22nd March 1566. (These are instructions by Cecil about the proposed restoration of Calais. 2 leaves).

Further instructions on the same subject, dated 3rd December. (5 leaves.)

Against Edward, Duke of Somerset, now falsely usurping the name of Protector;" begins,-If any doubt whether Edward, Duke of Somerset, be worthie to be deposed of that rule . . ends,-But Almighty God forbid it and send the traitour according to his demerits. (2 leaves).

Latin summary of the Answer of the Queen and Council to the proposition of the French King regarding the marriage. 24th August 1571.

Copy of Latin letter by the King of Spain, dated 16th December 1571.

Discourse of Sir Thomas Smythe on the marriage of the Queen of England, in the form of a dialogue; begins,—I was walking in my garden alone. F. W. came unto me ends, jesting one with another of their new names. (28 leaves, close writing.) Abstract of the above, in 4 pages.

The arraignment of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk and Earl Marshal of England, 11th January 1571. (5 leaves.)

A discourse of the Warres, by Mr. W.; begins,―The Pope being advertised at Rhe, 1574; ends, may give the utter overthrow to the sect of Rome. (5 leaves.)

A poem beginning,

Whilome, divided from the main land, stood
A forest in the centre of a flood,

That was the Caledonian wood yclept,

And long time there the Lyon his Court kept.

(Copies in MS. of this poem are at Helmingham and Kimbolton Castle; both like this, without the author's name. I have ascertained that the author was John Hepwith, and that it was printed in 4to at London in 1641, under the title of The Calidonian Forest; but a contemporary note in the Helmingham copy states that it was transcribed in 1628.)

A second bound volume contains:

Papers connected with the complaints against the Duke of Buckingham, written and collected by Sir Jno. Eliot. Some papers by Sir Jno. Eliot and some by Hampden. Notes of proceedings in House of Commons. Remonstrance to the King, 2 Car. 1.

The Declaration.

The Remonstrance, 4 Car. 1.

The Duke of Buckingham's relation at Whitehall touching the passage between Spain and England in the match of Prince Charles.

An explanation for the King, delivered by the Duke of Buckingham at a conference of both Houses in the Painted Chamber, 30th March 1626, and various speeches.

The Commons' Declaration and impeachment against the Duke of Buckingham.

Proceedings in the House, 8th May 1626.

Sir Dudley Digges' charge against the Duke.

Sir Jno. Eliot's closing speech against the Duke (in his own hand), and another speech.

A short sentence on Felton's murder of the Duke (approving it).

A third bound volume contains :-
:-

All that has been preserved of a History of the English Parliament;

It comprises a History of the sittings and deliberations of the House of Commons during the first Parliament of Charles 1, at Westminster and Oxford, 1625. (276 pages and 10 of preface.)

A fourth bound volume contains:

:

Notes by Sir John Eliot of proceedings during the first and second Parliaments of King Charles 1. Many transcribed from the Clerk's Journals, but many of Eliot's notes are unpublished.

A fifth bound volume contains:

De jure majestatis. (121 folios, by Sir John Eliot's own hand.)

A sixth bound volume contains:

Journals, letters, and papers relating to Spain; nearly all copied by Sir John Eliot, but some few things are original.

1604, May. A journal of the treaty of peace with Spain. (45 leaves.)

of Dorset

Begins, Day 1. Sunday the 28th then instant the Earl (29 days' doings are given.) Part of a letter to the Lords of the Council, 31st May 1605; begins,-If the peace had not been concluded.

A letter to His Majesty from Valladolid, 9th July 1625, signed C. C.

A letter to the Viscount Cranborne, principal Secretary to His Majesty, from Valladolid, 2nd June 1605, C. C. A discourse upon the citation by order from the Governor of by the Duke of Sessa, dated 1st July 1605. At the end of this is

Part of a letter to the Earl of Salisbury, 2nd Oct. 1605. Extract from another letter to him, 27th May 1608. Another letter to him, 28th July 1605.

Part of a letter from the Earl of Salisbury, 12th Sept. 1605.

Part of a letter from the Earl of Salisbury, 28th Oct. 1605.

Part of a letter from the Earl of Salisbury, 10th Nov. 1605.

A memorial, &c.

Two letters to the Earl of Salisbury from Valladolid, 23rd Nov. 1605, and another dated 26th Nov. 1605.

A letter from the Earl of Salisbury, 24th Oct. 1605. A letter from the Earl of Salisbury, 26th Nov. 1605. Reasons for the conclusion of these projects, profitable for Spaine and honourable.

The relation made by Hawkesworth to the King. The proposition of the Duke of Lerma to the Earl of Villa longa.

Private Instructions delivered (?) by Hawkesworth with the former relations and propositions.

Letter to the Earl of Salisbury, ult. Dec. 1605.

Letter from the Lords of the Council, 17th March 1608. Propositions returned from the Lords, of Mr. Hawkesworth.

Letter to the Earl of Salisbury, 3rd June 1606.

Part of a letter to the Earl of Northampton, 20th June 1606.

Letter to the Earl of Northampton, 28th June 1606. The reasons mentioned in the letter to the Earl of Salisbury, 3rd June 1606.

Part of a letter to the Earl of Salisbury, ult. June 1606. Part of a letter to the Earl of Northampton, 5th July 1606.

Letter to the Lords, 7th July 1606.
Letter to the Lords, Nov. 1606.

Certain reasons collected inducing the match of France.
Letter to the Lords sent with the aforesaid reasons.

Four letters and parts of three letters to the Earl of Salisbury, dated respectively 26th Jan., 16th Oct., 21st Oct., 11th Nov., 16th Nov., 24th Nov., and 16th Dec. 1607.

A discourse of the state of Spain, 1607; begins,—The King possesseth at this present Spayne entirely

Ends, of an excellent spirit and a great spiritt. Vox populi, or news from Spain, translated according to the Spanish copie :

Begins,-His Catholique Majesty had given commandment that presentlie upon

Ends, and without tarriance toke horse and posted to Court, from whence expect. [This is by Thomas Scott, and has been printed.]

Fama fraternitatis, or a discovery of the fraternity of the most laudable order of the Rosy Cross (169–193). Begins,-Seeing the only wise and mercifull God Ends,-come to the wished happiness of the Rosy Crosse. Copy of Treaty of Peace with Spain, 1604.

Fr. Philips, his letter of Digbie's entertainments and jornalls from S Adecoes to Lerma. (This is an account of the reception of Mr. Vice Chamberlain. The writer was not one of the suite. Digbie was his Lordship's Secretary, but was sent with letters to Mr. Cottington. 5 leaves.) Relation of what passed in the Duchy of Mantua and Marquisate of Montferrat from the beginning of the year 1628 to the end of the year 1629 (206–223).

Begins,-The year of our Lord 1627 closed with the death of Vincentio Gonzaga.

Ends, and to enfranchise the Grisons as his ancient allies.

A seventh bound volume contains:-
:-

Arguments for the liberty of the person in the third Parliament. Arguments and speeches by Littleton, Selden, Coke, and others.

An eighth bound volume contains :

Copies of speeches and drafts of Eliot's speeches in various Parliaments of Charles 1.

Extracts from Records, and Statutes, and Historians.
Fragments of intended speeches.

Apologie for Socrates. Whether he did ryght, when accused, not to answer.

Fragment of a Philosophical Treatise. Verses (32 lines).

Begins,-Dear Lord by whom in darke wombes shade,
I am so fear and wonder made.

At the end, Explt. K. J. Mr. Forster's note is that they are by King James.

A ninth bound volume contains:-
:-

Letters of the Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop of Winchester regarding the licensing of preachers.

Sir Thomas Crewe's speeches to the King, 21 Jas, 1. Sir Thomas Crewe's concluding speech, 21 Jas. 1. The King's first speech to both Houses at the first meeting of Parliament, Feb. 1623.

Speeches on the 21st day of Feb. 1623, by Sir Thomas Crewe, the Lord Keeper, and the Lord Keeper's reply.

The petition for religion, &c. from the Lords and Commons, 23rd April 1624, and the King's answer.

The King's speech to the Lords on behalf of the Lord Treasurer.

The advice which both Houses sent to the King by my Lord of Canterbury to break the marriage and treaties with Spain.

The King's speech at Theobalds.

Chief points of the Prince's declaration, delivered to us by his own mouth before our replies went to the King. His Majesty's speech, 16th March 1628, and others. Complaint of the Parliament to the King upon the decay of trade.

Copy of letter to John Pennington, Captain of the Vanguard, by Charles 1, to deliver his ship and seven merchant vessels to the Marquis d'Effiat for the French King, 28th July 1625.

Petition by the seven ships.

Letters from the King to the Speaker.

A declaration how the Dunkirkers may be suppressed, which do so many harmes upon this our coste of England. A paper signed by Arthur Duck and Richard Williamson, 25th Feb. 1625, regarding practice in the Court of Admiralty.

Speeches by the King and the Lord Keeper, 29th March 1626.

Copies of orders of the House of Commons.

Note of the goods, &c. reclaymed in the shippe St. Peter, of Newhaven, by the several parties hereafter named. (9 pages.) The bags referred to being marked with marks placed in the margin.

Petition to the House by reason of the stoppage of trade with France.

Reasons to maintaine the transportation of our ordnance, and the answer.

Copy of the King's letter to the University of Cambridge, 6th June, 2 Car. 1.

The King's letter to Sir H. Finch, the Speaker, on the 9th June, 2 Car. 1.

The King's letter to the Earl of Manchester, 24th Oct., 2 Car. 1.

The King's letter to the Earl of Salisbury, 7th Oct., 2 Car. 1.

Commissioners' instructions and remembrances for the loan (Denmark), 1626-27.

Commission and articles of inquiry in Admiralty suits,

Papers relating to Sir John Eliot's eldest son, and the sums voted to him in consideration of his father's sufferings. The vote of 5,000l. in 1646, and the son's petition.

Original documents regarding the appointment of John Eliot, the son, to be Vice-admiral of the county of Devon. A tenth bound volume contains:

Original letters and correspondence of Sir John Eliot from 1625. This interesting and valuable volume contains original letters by Selden, Joseph Hall, Bevill Grenvilli Michael Oldsworth, Dudley Digges, Richard James, Hampden, Oliver Luke, J. Moyle, Sir Walter Devereux, Holler, Hatcher, and others.

Separately is a treatise by Sir John Eliot, called "The "Monarchie of Man. A treaties philosophicall and "morall, wherein some questions of the politicks are

diversely discussed by Sir John Eliot, Kt., prisoner in "the Tower. . . . . Deus nobis hæc otia." (426 pages.) With Sir John's rough draft of a preface.

In the Muniment Room is a parchment roll 40 or 50 feet long, containing an inventory of the goods of Sir John Eliot, taken 6th April 1633, at Cuddenbeake and Port Eliot.

It only remains for me to express my obligations to the Earl of St. Germans, who most kindly made me his guest, and who made me, as soon as I entered Port Eliot, forget that I was a stranger there.

ALFRED J. HORWOOD.

THE EARL OF ZETLAND's.

26th June 1869.

By the direction of Her Majesty's Commissioners and by the permission of the Earl of Zetland I cursorily inspected the contents of more than a dozen large and small drawers filled with letters, neatly folded and indorsed and tied in packets; these letters are at his Lordship's mansion in Arlington Street.

The letters range from about 1750 to 1780, and are nearly all addressed to Laurence Dundas (in 1762 he was created a baronet), ancestor of the Earl and a contractor for the army; many relate to army_contracts, stores, advances of money; a few are in Dutch and French. The remainder are from agents, factors, and bailiffs of Sir Laurence in England and Scotland, and relate to the purchase of lands, the management of his estates, the repairs and improvements of different properties, cutting of timber, &c.

The letters are several hundreds in number, and of course I did not examine all. By reason of each letter being indorsed, and by reason of seeing the contents of a letter or two taken at random from many of the bundles, I could form a satisfactory conclusion as to the nature of the collection. For the purposes of the Commission they do not require further examination; for the Earl and the family of Dundas they of course offer many points of interest.

In one of the drawers there is a small packet of papers which are quite independent of the others. These few papers relate to the rebellion of 1745, and may be worth noting; they comprise (with others),

Three letters from Robert Gardiner, dated respectively the 27th, 31st, and 12th days of December 1745, the first directing Mr. Bell to send spies to Kilsyth, Stirling, and Glasgow, to observe the motions of the rebels; and the second thanking him for intelligence sent in consequence; and,

An order dated the 4th December 1745, from the Right Honourable Andrew Fletcher, Lord Justice Clerk, directing the houses of two persons in Linlithgow to be searched for arms, and the return at the foot of it, by Alexander Bell, of the seizure of some arms.

All the drawers of the several cabinets were opened, and their contents were most obligingly and unreservedly placed at my service for inspection. It was hoped that some papers relating to Moor Park might be discovered; but although some of the letters are addressed to Moor Park, nothing relating to the mansion and its former memorable occupant, Sir William Temple, appeared.

ALFRED J. HORWOOD.

MANUSCRIPTS OF VISCOUNT MIDLETON.

Lord Midleton has kindly brought a schedule of his papers to the Record Office to enable the Commissioners on Historical Manuscripts to ascertain what papers in his possession bear upon the subject mentioned in the Commission.

The papers extend from March 1627 to 1728, and are chronologically arranged in nine volumes.

Many of the documents relate to the landed possessions of his Lordship's ancestors.

There are several interesting papers connected with parliamentary and other matters during the Commonwealth; among them are Pym's Report of the Proceedings and Charges against the Earl of Strafford, and Sir Alan Brodrick's Note Book on the trial of the Earl of Strafford.

Several of these papers have been printed.

The correspondence between Sir Alan Brodrick and Sir Edward Hyde and his family is probably of historical importance, and would throw some light on the political history of the time.

The letters between various members of the Brodrick family might be illustrative of domestic history. Many of them are printed in Coxe's Life of Sir Robert Walpole.

There are also several papers connected with Irish affairs, both parliamentary and private; and many relating to the coinage of England and Ireland.

LORD MOSTYN'S COLLECTION OF NEWS LETTERS, &c.

July 28.

The very short time which Lord Mostyn could allow these papers to remain (for the present) at the Record Office prevents me from giving more than a brief notice of their nature and contents.

There are 10 bundles of News Letters and private letters (several hundreds in number), arranged according to the years in which they were written.

They range over 20 years, viz., 1673 to 1692, both included. With two or three exceptions, all are from London, and they are very interesting.

They are addressed to Thomas Mostyn, of Gloddaeth, in general. A few, however, are addressed to Mr. Rowland Thomas at Mr. Mostyn's.

The News Letters are unsigned. A newsman in London had correspondents in different parts of this kingdom and abroad who wrote letters of news to him. He attended coffee houses and other places of public resort, and there picked up the gossip and news of court and city; from these sources and the few newspapers of the time he compiled a news letter, copies of which he sent to various customers in the country. For parliamentary news he had the (covert) assistance of the Clerks of Parliament, who furnished copies of or extracts from the Minutes of Proceedings in the Houses of Parliament. It appears from one of the papers in the present collection that a number of coffee house keepers were had before the House of Commons, and the Clerk of the House was forbidden to furnish copies of the Minutes to be read at the coffee houses. A great number of copies of minutes of proceedings in both Houses are among these

papers.

The letters now under consideration give much court and city news, court gossip, accounts of duels, murders, fires, and accidents, proceedings in Parliament and in the Privy Council, trials in the courts, and in fact all the news of the time, foreign and domestic.

There are notices of Nell Gwynne, of the Popish plot, of Titus Oates standing in the pillory at Tyburn according to annual custom, of the execution in Pall Mall of the murderers of Edward Thynne, of the previous capture of Koningsmark, of the Tangier business, of the great fire in the Temple (1678) when Mr. Ashmole's collections of curiosities were consum ed, but the "Divell Tavern " and the houses next Fleet Street escaped. (The fire extended from Brick Court to the Temple Church, thus it would seem that the Devil Tavern must have been between the Middle Temple gate and the Inner Temple gate. I believe its exact site is not ascertained.)

There are several notices of revels in the Temples; a long account of the trial of College ("the Protestant joiner") in a letter from Roger Mostyn to his brother Thomas; and the writer says he had been 20 hours in the court without eating; of the popularity of the Duke of Monmouth in Staffordshire and Cheshire, and his arrest by the king's order; of his subsequent restoration to favour; of King Charles's visits to Newmarket, and the accidents to horses and men at the races there; of the marriage of Prince George to the Lady Anne and the king's doings on the occasion; of the custom of bonfires and burning the Pope on the anniversary in November of Queen Elizabeth's coronation; of proceedings in the Court of Chivalry; of the committal of the seven bishops and their acquittal; of the birth of the Prince of Wales (the son of James 2nd), and the fee of 500 guineas to Mrs. Wilkins, the midwife; of the infant's ailments and recovery; of James's abdication and William's advent.

It would seem that some of the matter of the News Letters was original, as on two occasions I noticed that the writer says he omitted Parliamentary matter because it was given in the "Protestant Intelligencer."