help; for my desires are moderate, and my courses measured to a life orderly and reserved, hoping still to do your majesty honour in my way; only I most humbly beseech your majesty to give me leave to conclude with these words, which necessity speaketh: Help me, dear sovereign, lord and master, and pity so far, as that I, that have borne a bag, be not now, in my age, forced in effect to bear a wallet; nor that I, that desire to live to study, may not be driven to study to live. I most humbly crave pardon of a long letter after a long silence. God of heaven ever bless, preserve, and prosper your majesty. Your majesty's poor ancient servant and bedsman.

LETTER XXXII.

LORD BALTIMORE TO LORD WENTWORTH,
Afterwards Earl of Strafford.

MY LORD,

WERE not my occasions such as necessarily keep me here at this time, I would not send letters, but fly to you myself with all the speed I could, to express my own grief, and to take part of yours, which I know is exceedingly great, for the loss of so noble a lady, so virtuous and so loving a wife. There are few, perhaps, can judge of it better than I, who have been a long time myself a man of But all things, my lord, in this world pass away, statutum est, wife, children, honour, wealth, friends, and what else is dear to flesh and

sorrows.

blood; they are but lent us till God please to call for them back again, that we may not esteem any thing our own, or set our hearts upon any thing but him alone, who only remains for ever. I beseech his almighty goodness to grant, that your lordship may, for his sake, bear this great cross with meekness and patience, whose only son our dear Lord and Saviour bore a greater for you; and to consider that these humiliations, though they be very bitter, yet are they sovereign medicines ministered unto us by our heavenly Physician to cure the sicknesses of our souls, if the fault be not ours. Good my lord, bear with this excess of zeal in a friend whose great affection to you transports him to dwell longer upon this melancholy theme than is needful to your lordship, whose own wisdom, assisted with God's grace, I hope, suggests unto you these and better reso lutions than I can offer unto your remembrance. All I have to say more is but this, that I humbly and heartily pray for you to dispose of yourself and your affairs (the rites being done to the noble creature) as to be able to remove, as soon as conveniently you may, from those parts, where so many things represent themselves unto you, as to make your wound bleed afresh; and let us have you here, where the gracious welcome of your master, the conversation of your friends, and variety of businesses, may divert your thoughts the sooner from sad objects; the continuance whereof will but endanger your health, on which depends the welfare of your children, the comfort of your friends, and many other good things, for which I hope God will reserve you, to whose divine favour

I humbly recommend you, and remain ever your
lordship's most affectionate and faithful servant.
From my lodging in Lincoln-Inn-Fields,
October 11, 1631.

LETTER XXXIII.

LORD WENTWORTH TO SIR WILLIAM SAVILLE.

MY DEAR NEPHEW,

IT shall be much contentment unto me when the power or means I have may communicate any thing which may be of acceptation with you: and now that it hath pleased God to take from you your mother, I hold myself more bound to preserve a care for you, being sorry that my remoteness renders me of less use unto you now upon your entrance into the world, than perchance otherwise I might have been.

It is true, that it is not my custom to put myself into counsels uncalled, and having been a minister in the troublesome settlement of your estate, methought it might have stood well enough with civility and discretion to have let me been acquainted with the course of your new conveyances, when you and I were both at London last; being so made a stranger to that end, the effecting and accomplishing whereof I had so painfully endeavoured for so many years together. Surely neither I nor mine should have been a penny better by it; for I must tell you, for all the service I have doue you and your house, I never had the worth of a groat forth of your purse, or the purse of your

mother, and, which is more, never will; for I trust, by God's blessing, to leave my child an estate able to maintain him as a gentleman, without being burthensome to any.

And indeed, if I did not conceive this neglect was rather the good-will of Cookson than any formal direction of your own, I should resolve to perform my own duty towards the nearness of that blood which runs in our veins, without ever desiring to intermeddle at all in your counsels for the government of yourself and fortune; but indeed your years shew me, you were all discretion to be merely passive in that action, and no doubt having my lord keeper's advice therein, all is well and orderly disposed and executed.

Admit me then, in consideration and remembrance of your noble father, and that I may say to my own heart I have not betrayed the trust he was pleased to repose in me, to deliver you my opinion, how you are futurely to dispose yourself and fortune; which, as it shall come from me with all the candour in the world, so doth it also with all the indifferency possible; desiring God Almighty that you may not follow one word of advice of mine, where there is a better for you to govern yourself after.

Being then upon that period of life, that as you set forth now at first, you will in all likelihood continue so to the end, be it you take the paths of virtue or the contrary, you cannot consider yourself and advise and debate your actions with your friends too much; and till such time as experience hath ripened your judgment, it shall be great wisdom and advantage to distrust yourself, and to

fortify your youth by the counsel of your more aged friends, before you undertake any thing of consequence. It was the course that I governed myself by after my father's death, with great advantage to myself and affairs: and yet my breeding abroad hath shewn me more of the world than yours hath done, and I had natural reason like other men, only I confess I did in all things dis trust myself; wherein you shall do, as I said, extremely well if you do so too.

I conceive you should lay aside all thoughts of going to London these four or five years; live in your own house; order and understand your own estate; inform and employ yourself in the affairs of the country; carry yourself respectively and kindly towards your neighbours; desire the company of such as are well governed and discreet amongst them, and make them as much as you can your friends; in country business keeping yourself from all faction; and at the first be not too positive, or take too much upon you, till you fully understand the course of proceedings; for, have but a little patience, and the command and government of that part of the country will infallibly fall into your hands, with honour to yourself, and contentment to others; whereas if you catch at it too soon, it will be but a means to publish your want of understanding and modesty, and that you shall grow cheap and in contempt before them that shall see you undertake that, where you are not able to guide yourself in your own way.

Be sure to moderate your expense, so as it may be without foolish waste or mean savings; take your own accompts and betimes inure yourself to