side. And, after the running was done, he rode on a courser of Naples; and surely his Highness, in the order of his running, the managing of his horse, and the manner of his seat, governed himself exceedingly well, and so as, in my judgment, it was not to be amended. Since which time I have had divers conferences with the Emperor, and with his Highness apart, as well in times of appointed audience as in several huntings; wherein I have viewed, observed, and considered of his person and qualities, as much as by any means I might; and have also, by good diligence, enquired of his state; and so have thought fit to advertise your Majesty what I conceive of myself or understand by others, which I trust your Majesty shall find to be true in all respects.

His Highness is of person higher surely a good deal than my Lord Marquis; his hair of head and beard of a light auburn; his face well proportioned, amiable, and of a very good complexion, without shew of redness or over paleness; his countenance and speech cheerful, very courteous, and not without some state; his body well shaped, without deformity or blemish; his hands very good and fair; his legs clean, well proportioned, and of sufficient bigness for his stature; his foot as good as may be. So as, upon my duty to your Majesty, I find not one deformity, mis-shape, or any thing to be noted worthy of misliking in his whole person; but, contrariwise, I find his whole shape to be good, worthy of commendation and liking in all respects, and such as is rarely to be found in

such a Prince. His Highness, besides his natural language of Dutch, speaketh very well Spanish and Italian, and, as I hear, Latin. His dealings with me are very wise; his conversation such as much contents me; and, as I hear, none return discontented from his company. He is greatly beloved here of all men. The chiefest gallants of these parts are his men, and follow his Court; the most of them have travelled other countries, speak many languages, and behave themselves thereafter; and truly we cannot be so glad there to have him come to us, as they will be sad here to have him go from them. He is reported to be wise, liberal, valiant, and of great courage, which in the last wars he well shewed, in defending all his countries free from the Turk, with his own force only, and giving them divers overthrows when they attempted any thing against his rules; and he is universally (which I most weigh) noted to be of such virtue as he was never spotted or touched with any notable vice or crime, which is much in a Prince of his years, endued with such qualities. He delights much in hunting, riding, hawking, exercise of feats of arms, and hearing of mucic, whereof he hath very good. He hath, as I hear, some understanding in astronomy and cosmography, and takes pleasure in clocks that set forth the course of the planets. He hath for his portion the countries of Styria, Carinthia, Friola, Carniola, Trieste, and Istria, and has the government of that is left in Croatia, wherein, as I hear, he may ride, without entering any other man's territories,

near 300 miles; in which countries he has mines of gold, silver, quicksilver, latton, lead, copper, copperas, alum, and iron. He makes great store of the best wines and salt in these parts: and has great customs of cattle, grain, wines, and all other things that pass out of his countries, or through his countries, into Italy, or other parts of Germany on his side the river Danube; and surely he is a great Prince in subjects, territories, and revenues; and lives in great honour and state, with such a Court as he that sees it will say is fit for a great Prince.

And, to the end your Majesty might be the better informed in every particular, I have thought good to send the bearer hereof, Mr. Cobham, with these; who has, by my procurement, had divers speeches with his Highness, and thereby can the better satisfy your Majesty, of his own knowledge, in any thing that it may please you to command. And so I shall pray to God to send your Majesty your heart's desire in all things.

From Vienna, the 18th of October, 1567.

Your Majesty's most humble and faithful subject and servant,

T. SUSSEX.*

Thomas Ratcliffe, Earl of Sussex, eldest son of Henry, the second Earl, by Elizabeth, one of the daughters of Thomas Howard, second Duke of Norfolk. This great man's conduct united all the splendid qualities of those eminent persons who jointly rendered Elizabeth's Court an object of admiration to Europe, and seems to have been perfectly free from their faults. Wise and loyal as Burghley, without his blind attachment to the monarch; vigilant as Walsingham, but disdaining his low cunning; magnificent as Leicester,

VOL. I.

2 G

but incapable of hypocrisy; and brave as Raleigh, with the piety of a primitive christian; he seemed above the common objects of human ambition, and wanted, if the expression may be allowed, those dark shades of character which make men the heroes of history. Hence it is, probably, that our writers have bestowed so little attention on this admirable person, who is but slightly mentioned in most historical collections, unless with regard to his disputes with Leicester, whom he hated almost to a fault. His letters, which I esteem myself most fortunate in being the instrument of disclosing, form a very valuable part of this collection, and, except a very few, are the only ones to be met with in print. I trust they will acquit me of extravagance in the slight view I have here given of his character.

His first public service was in an honourable embassy to the Emperor Charles V. to treat of the projected marriage of Queen Mary to Philip, which he afterwards ratified with the latter in Spain. Upon his return he was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland, and Chief Justice of the Forests north of Trent. The order of the Garter, and the office of Captain of the Pensioners, were likewise conferred on him in that reign, a little before the conclusion of which he succeeded to his father's honours. Elizabeth continued him for awhile in the post of Lord Deputy, and recalled him to assume that of President of the North, a situation rendered infinitely difficult by the delicacy of her affairs with Scotland, and the rebellious spirit of the border counties. The latter, however, was subdued by his prudence aud bravery in 1569; and the assiduity and acuteness with which he studied the former will appear from his own pen. The unfortunate affair of the Duke of Norfolk, to whom he was most firmly attached, fell out in the course of that year, and would have ended happily and honourably had the Duke followed his advice. That nobleman's last request was that his best George, Chain, and Garter, might be given to my Lord of Sussex. He was the prime negotiator in those two famous treaties of marriage with the Archduke Charles, and the Duke of Alençon, Elizabeth's real intentions in which have been so frequently the subject of historical disquisition. Other letters on these occasions, written by him to that Princess with much freedom, will appear here, and may tend to throw some light on those political mysteries. In 1572 he retired from the severer labours of the public service, in which he had wasted his health, to the honourable office of Lord Chamberlain, and the duties of a Cabinet Minister; and died at his house in Bermondsey, June 9th, 1583, leaving little to his heirs but the bright example of a character truly noble. The Earl of Sussex was twice married: first, to Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, by whom he had two sons, Henry and Thomas, who died

No. XXIX.

(Cecil Papers.)

FRAGMENT.

THE EARL OF SUSSEX TO THE QUEEN.

-SINCE the writing of my other letters, upon the resolution of the Emperor and the Archduke, I took occasion to go to the Archduke, meaning to sound him to the bottom in all causes, and to feel whether such matter as he had uttered to me before (contained in my other letters) proceeded from him bona fide, or were but words of form. At my coming his Highness willed me to go with him into his bed-chamber, where, the doors shut and no person present, we had long talk, the effect whereof I will recite to your Majesty as near as I can.

After some ordinary speech, used to minister occasion, I began after this sort: Sir, I see it is a great matter to deal in the marriage of Princes; and therefore it is convenient for me, that, by the Queen my mistress' order, intermeddle in this negociation, to foresee that I neither deceive you, be deceived myself, nor, by my ignorance, be the cause that she be deceived; in respect whereof I beseech your Highness to give me leave to treat as frankly with you in all things now I am here, as it pleased her Majesty to give me leave to deal

young: secondly, to Francis, daughter to Sir William Sydney, afterwards the celebrated foundress of Sydney-Sussex College, in Cambridge; by whom having no children, he was succeeded by Henry, his next brother.