to know that Richard III., while Duke of Gloucester, passed some critical days and nights there, and that for some years it was the home of Sir Thomas More. The Spencer heiress, however of whom

we began to make mention-brightened its interior at a later day; there were many suitors for her hand; among them a son of Lord Comptonnot looked upon with favor by the rich merchantand concealing his advances under the disguise of a baker's boy, through which he came to many stolen interviews, and at last (as tradition tells) was successful enough to trundle away the heiress, covertly, in his baker's barrow. Through the good offices of Queen Elizabeth, who stood god-mother to the first child, difficulties between father and son-in-law were healed; and when, later, by the death of Sir John Spencer, the bridegroom was assured of the enormous wealth inherited by his bride, he was poor man - nearly crazed.

Among the curative processes for his relief may be reckoned the letter from his wife to which I have

made allusion, and which runs thus:

"My sweet Life, I pray and beseech you to grant me the sum of £2,600 [equivalent to some $30,000 now] quarterly :

also, besides, £600 quarterly for charities, of which I will give no account. Also, I would have 3 horses for my own saddle, that none shall dare to lend or borrow. Also; 2 gentlewomen (lest one should be sick) — seeing it is an indecent thing for a gentlewoman to stand mumping alone, when God hath blessed the Lord and Lady with a great Estate: Also, when I ride, a hunting or a hawking, I would have them attend: so, for either of those said women there must be a horse.

"Also, I would have 6 or 8 gentlemen; I will have my two coaches-one lined with velvet to myself, with four very fair horses, and a coach for my women lined with cloth, and laced with gold; — otherwise with scarlet and laced with silver, with four good horses. Thereafter, my desire is that you defray all charges for me, and beside my allowance, I would have 20 gowns of apparel a year — six of them excellent good ones. Also, I would have to put in my purse £2,000 or so—you to pay my debts. And seeing I have been so reasonable, I pray you do find my children apparel, and their schooling, and all my servants, men and women, with wages. Also, I must have £6,000 to buy me jewels, and £4,000 to buy me a gold chain. Also, my desire is, that you would pay your debts — build up Ashley House, and lend no money as you love God! When you be an Earl [as he was afterward in Charles I.'s time] I pray you to allow £2,000 more than I now desire and double attendance.”

Happy husband!

Ben Jonson again.

We must not forget our literature; and what has become of our friend Ben Jonson in these times? He is hearty and thriving; he has written gratulatory and fulsome verses to the new sovereign. He is better placed with James than even with Elizabeth. If his tragedy of "Sejanus" has not found a great success, he has more than made up the failing by the brilliant masques he has written. The pedantic King loves their pretty show of classicism, which he can interpret better than his courtiers. He battens, too, upon the flattery that is strown with a lavish hand:

"Never came man more longed for, more desired,

And being come, more reverenced, lov'd, admired.” *

This is the strain; no wonder that the poet comes by pension; no wonder he has "commands," with goodly fees, to all the fêtes in the royal honor. Yet he is too strong and robust and learned to be called a mere sycophant. The more I read of the liter

* Speeches of Gratulation on King's Entertainment.

ary history of those days the more impressed I am by the predominance of Ben Jonson;- a great, careless, hard-living, hard-drinking, not ill-natured literary monarch. His strength is evidenced by the deference shown him-by his versatility; now some musical masque sparkling with little dainty bits which a sentimental miss might copy in her album or chant in her boudoir; and this, matched or followed by some labored drama full of classic knowledge, full of largest wordcraft, snapping with fire-crackers of wit, loaded with ponderous nuggets of strong sense, and the whole capped and booted with prologue and epilogue where poetic graces shine through proudest averments of indifference of scorn of applause of audacious self-sufficiency.

It was some fifteen years after James' coming to power that Ben Jonson made his memorable Scotch journey-perhaps out of respect for his forebears, who had gone, two generations before, out of Annandale-perhaps out of some lighter caprice. In any event it would have been only a commonplace foot-journey of a middle-aged man, well known over all Britain as poet and dramatist,

with no special record of its own, except for a visit of a fortnight which he made, in the north country, to Drummond of Hawthornden : this made it memorable. For this Drummond was a notetaker; he was a smooth but not strong poet; was something proud of his Scotch lairdship; lived in a beautiful home seated upon a crag that lifts above the beautiful valley of Eskdale; its picturesque irregularities of tower and turret are still very charming, and Eskdale is charming with its wooded walks, cliffs, pools, and bridges; Roslin Castle is near by, and Roslin Chapel, and so is Dalkeith.

The tourist of our time can pass no pleasanter summer's day than in loiterings there and thereabout. Echoes of Scott's border minstrelsy beat from bank to bank. Poet Drummond was proud to have poet Jonson as a guest, and hospitably plied him with "strong waters; " under the effusion Jonson dilated, and Drummond, eagerly attentive, made notes. These jottings down, which were not voluminous, and which were not published until after both parties were in their graves, have been subject of much and bitter discussion, and relate to topics lying widely apart. There is talk of Petrarch