oath, and was never heard to take God's name in vain. He hated Popery, though he was not unkind to the persons of Papists. He lived and died mightily, striving to do somewhat of everything, and to excel in the most excellent. He greatly delighted in all rare inventions and arts, and in all kinds of engines belonging to the wars, both by sea and land. In the bravery and number of great horses; in shooting and levelling of great pieces of ordnance; in the ordering and marshalling of arms; in building and gardening, and in all sorts of rare music, chiefly the trumpet and drum; in limning and painting, carving, and in all sorts of excellent and rare pictures which he had brought unto him from all countries." * A contemporary versifier† thus celebrates the loss of Prince Henry. Lo, where he shineth yonder A fixed star in Heaven, The Sun her love, and marry, They both could not engender So sweet a star as Harry. It has been argued, from the Prince's martial tastes and ardour for military fame, that to + Hugh Hollande, of Trinity College, Cambridge. The verses, such as they are, are preserved among the Lansdowne MSS. VOL. I. N whatever height he might have raised the glory of his country, it was unlikely he would have added to its happiness. Surely, however, there was an innate rectitude of purpose, by which, in after years, the irregularities of the head would have been made subservient to the qualities of the heart. ELIZABETH QUEEN OF BOHEMIA. - Character of this Princess.-Attachment between her and her Brother, Prince Henry.-Juvenile Letters to King James.Marriage of the Princess to Frederick, Count Palatine of the Rhine. Magnificent Presents from the Palatine. - Splendour and Costliness of the Marriage Ceremony.-Appearance of the Bride.-Departure from England of the Royal Couple. Letter to the Lord Mayor from Elizabeth — her Misfortunes, and Conduct under them.-Enthusiasm excited in England by her Distress.-Verses addressed to her by Sir Henry Wotton. Poetry by Elizabeth. Death of her Husband. The Earl of Craven's Affection for Elizabethher Return to her native Country soon after the Restoration. - Letter from Elizabeth to Lord Finch - her Death, and Legacy to Lord Craven.-Biographical Sketch of that Nobleman, the presumed Husband of Elizabeth. THE Queen of Bohemia appears to have merited all the encomium, the admiration, and the romantic interest, with which her contemporaries regarded her. Few women, indeed, have been gifted in a greater degree with all that is considered most lovely in the female character. Lively in her manners, affectionate in her disposition, and beautiful in her person; throwing a charm and a refinement over the social intercourse of life; she yet possessed, with all these qualities, a strength of mind which never became masculine; talents which were never obtrusive, and a warmth of heart which remained with her to the end. Forced from the lap of luxury and the splendours of a court, to become a wanderer, and almost a beggar, on the earth, though bowed down by the blasts of misfortune, she bent meekly and submissively to the storm. In prosperity modest and unassuming; in adversity surmounting difficulties and dignifying poverty, her character was regarded with enthusiasm in her own time, and has won for her the admiration of posterity. Elizabeth, the only surviving daughter of James the First and his Queen, was born at the Palace of Falkland, in Scotland, on the 19th of August 1596. Till her seventh year she had been successively under the care of Lord Livingston and the Countess of Kildare. In 1603 she was transferred to the charge of John the first Lord Harrington, and his lady, two of the most amiable and respectable characters at the court of James. With the incidents of her childhood we are little acquainted; there seems, however, to have existed the strongest attachment between her and her amiable brother Prince Henry; and, indeed, their tastes and characters were not very dissimilar. When removed from his society to be placed under Lord Harrington's roof, the little Princess sent to her brother the following brief but eloquent epistle . MY DEAR AND WORTHY BROther, I most kindly salute you, desiring to hear of your health; from whom, though I am now far away, none shall ever be nearer in affection than your most loving sister, ELIZABETH.* There is extant another charming letter, addressed by the young Princess to her brother, which it is impossible not to insert. WORTHY PRINCE and my Dearest Brother, I received your most welcome letter and kind token by Mr. Hopkins, highly esteeming them as delightful memorials of your brotherly love. In which, assuredly (whatsoever else may fail), I will ever endeavour to equal you, esteeming that time happiest when I enjoyed your company, and desiring nothing more than the fruition of it again ; that as nature hath made us nearest in our love together, so accident might not separate us from living together. Neither do I account it the least part of my present comfort, that though I am deprived of your happy presence, yet I can make these lines deliver this true message, that I will ever be during my life your most kind and loving sister, ELIZABETH.+ To my most dear brother the Prince. Among the original letters to King James from his family, preserved in the Advocate's Library in * Benger's Life of the Queen of Bohemia, vol. i. p. 67. + Ellis, Orig. Letters, vol. iii. p. 90. |