to King Henry VIII.

17

lawful trial, and let not my sworn enemies sit as my accusers and judges; yea, let me receive an open trial, for my truth shall fear no open shame; then shall you see either mine innocence cleared, your suspicion and conscience satisfied, the ignominy and slander of the world stopped, or my guilt openly declared. So that whatsoever God or you may determine of me, your Grace may be freed from an open censure, and mine offence being so lawfully proved, your Grace is at liberty, both before God and man, not only to execute worthy punishment on me as an unlawful wife, but to follow your affection, already settled on that party for whose sake I am now as I am, whose name I could some good while since have pointed unto, your Grace not being ignorant of my suspicion therein.

'But if you have already determined of me, and that not only my death, but an infamous slander must bring you the enjoying of your desired happiness; then I desire of God, that he will pardon your great sin therein, and likewise mine enemies, the instruments thereof, and that he will not call you to a strict account for your unprincely and cruel usage of me, at his general judgment-seat, where both you and myself must shortly appear, and in whose judgment I doubt not (whatsoever the world may think of me) mine innocence shall be openly known and sufficiently cleared.

'My last and only request shall be, that myself may only bear the burden of your Grace's displeasure, and that it may not touch the innocent souls of those poor gentlemen who (as I understand) are likewise in strait imprisonment for my sake. If ever I have found favour in your sight, if ever the name of Ann Boleyn hath been pleasing in your ears, then let me obtain this request, and I will so leave to trouble your Grace any further, with mine earnest prayers to the Trinity to have your

B

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Sixteenth Century Letters.

Grace in his good keeping, and to direct you in all your actions. From my doleful prison in the Tower, this sixth of May. Your most loyal and ever faithful wife, 'ANN BOLEYN.'

About twenty years ago, an interesting collection of Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies of Great Britain was published, at the suggestion of Sir Thomas Phillips, by Mary Ann Everett Wood. It contains no fewer than 442 epistles, of which nearly 400 belong to the sixteenth century. The earliest of the remainder is a letter addressed by Matilda of Scotland, Queen of Henry I., to Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, about the year 1103, and commences with these words :-' To her piously remembered father and worthily reverenced lord, Anselm the Archbishop, Matilda, by the grace of God Queen of England, the least of the handmaidens of his holiness, wishes perpetual health in Christ.'

་

Certain well-known letters of the Earl of Essex (temp. Elizabeth), Sir Walter Raleigh, Lord Strafford, and the Earl of Derby (of the time of the Commonwealth), are remarkable for their vigorous and independent tone; while, at a later period, the correspondence of Lady

Scottish Correspondence.

19

Russell and Archbishop Tillotson is characterized by its humility and unaffected piety.

Scottish Correspondence of Seventeenth
and Eighteenth Centuries.

According to Professor Innes, 'letters of correspondence are hardly met with in Scotch repositories till the sixteenth century, and even to the end of that century they are incredibly meagre and unsatisfactory.' For many admirable illustrations of Scottish correspondence during the two following centuries, I cannot do better than refer to the privately printed volumes relative to the Stirlings of Keir, the Maxwells of Pollok, the Steuarts of Grandtully, the Carnegies Earls of Southesk, and the Montgomeries Earls of Eglinton, which have appeared within the last few years, under the editorship of my learned friend Mr. William Fraser. Each of these sumptuous works embraces a large number of highly interesting letters, with facsimiles of the more important signatures, and occasionally of entire letters. In the Montgomerie Collection (to which I must confine my remarks), the

20

Correspondence of the

letters amount to no fewer than 332, and may be roughly classified under the two heads of historical and domestic; but not unfrequently the same effusion exhibits a curious combination of both characteristics. Some of the most interesting letters of the former class are addressed to Alexander, sixth Earl of Eglinton,-popularly called 'Greysteel "--who took a very prominent part in public affairs during the reigns of Charles I. and II.--and relate to such important subjects as the subscription of the Covenant, London politics, Montrose's march, the Convention of Estates, and the death of Cromwell. Among the occasional writers are the Marquis of Montrose, General Dalzell of Binns, General Monck, Zachary Boyd, Archbishop Sharpe, Samuel Rutherfurd, and Jeremy Taylor. Of the other class

1 This spirited nobleman was the first of the Earls of Eglinton of the Seton line. He was the third son of Robert, first Earl of Winton, by his Countess, Lady Margaret Montgomerie, the nephew of Alexander Seton, Earl of Dunfermline and Chancellor of Scotland, and the grandson of George, seventh Lord Seton, the faithful adherent of Mary Queen of Scots. He acquired the soubriquet of Greysteel,' partly from his skilful and ready use of the sword, and partly from his decided conduct towards the advisers of the Crown, when they endeavoured to interfere with one of his estates.

Earls of Eglinton.

21

of letters, which are of a very miscellaneous character, no fewer than fifty are from the pen of Susanna Kennedy, third and last Countess of the ninth Earl of Eglinton, being all addressed to Andrew Fletcher of Salton, Lord Milton, and Lord Justice-Clerk, who for many years acted as her children's guardian. This remarkable person, besides being celebrated for her genius and accomplishments, was considered to be the most beautiful woman of her day, and she prominently figures in the writings of Allan Ramsay, Hamilton of Bangour, and other poets of the eighteenth century.

The Countess of 'Greysteel' addresses her absent lord respecting 'home affairs,' while he affectionately assures his 'sueitteste herte' of his speedy return. A present of aqua vitæ, and children's colds and fevers, form the subjects of a letter to another Countess from her motherin-law; my Lord of Winton writes to his brother of Eglinton regarding an exchange of dogs, and the Queen's death; the Earl of Cassilis announces the demise of his 'deir bedfellow;' and Sir Robert Montgomerie of Skelmorlie entreats his uncle's forgiveness for the 'crime' of marrying without his knowledge.