II. The lord treasurer to the queen. In relation to his daugh 106 ter, and the earl of Oxford her husband, unkind to her. Written March the 3. 1576. MOST sovereign lady. As I was accustomed from the beginning of my service to your majesty, until of late, by the permission of your goodness, and by occasion of the place wherein I serve your majesty, to be frequently an intercessor for others to your majesty; and therein I did find your majesty always inclinable to give me gracious audience: so now do I find in the latter end of my years a necessary occasion to be an intercessor to your majesty, or rather an immediate petitioner for my self, and an intercessor for another next to my self, in a cause, godly, honest, and just. And therefore having had proof of your majesties former favours, and so important, I doubt not but to find the influence of your grace in a cause so neer touching my self, as your majesty will conceive it doth. And yet my intention is not to molest your majesty with the particularities of the same, neither as I now do, would I have attempted, but that I fear my silence, while others should be open mouthed, and either of ingratitude, or of purpose, might occasion some other conceit with your majesty, than I am sure the truth of the cause shall work in you. To enter to trouble your majesty with circumstances of my cause I mean not, for sundry respects, but chiefly for two. The one is, that I am very loth to be more cumbersome to your majesty than need shall compel me: the other is, for that I hope in God's goodness, and for reverence born to your majesty, the success thereof may have a better end than the beginning threatneth. But your majesty may think my suit will be very long, where I am so long ere I begin. And truly, most gracious sovereign lady, it is true, that the nature of my cause is such, as I have no plesure to enter into, but had rather seek means to shut it up than to lay it open: not for lack of the soundness thereof on my part, but from the brickleness of BOOK others from whom the ground-work procedeth. My suit therefore shall be presently to your majesty, but in general sort, that where I am, by God's visitation with many infirmities, (and yet noe great,) stayed from coming to do my duty to your majesty at this time; and my daughter the countess of Oxford also occasioned by her great grief to be absent from your majesties court; and that the occasion of her absence may be diversely reported to your majesty, as I said before, by some of ignorance, by some percase otherwise; it may please your majesty, because the ground and working thereupon toucheth me as neer as any worldly cause in my conceit can do, to continue your princely consideration of us both. Of me, as an old worn servant, that dare compare with the best, the greatest, the oldest, and the youngest, for loyalty and devotion: giving place to many others in other worldly qualities, as your majesty shall prefer any before me: and of my daughter, your majesties most humble young servant, as of one that is toward your majesty in dutiful love and fear, yea, in fervent admiration of your graces, to contend with any her equals. And in the cause betwixt my lord of Oxford and her, whether it be for respect of misliking in me, or misdemeaning of her, (whereof I cannot yet know the certainty,) I do avow, in the presence of God and of the angels, whom I do call as ministers of his ire, if in this I do utter any untruth, I have not in his absence on my part omitted any occasion to do him good, for himself and his causes. No, I have not in thought imagined any thing offensive to him. But contrariwise I have been as diligent for his causes to his benefit, as I have been for my own. And this I pronounce of knowledge for my self. And therefore, if contrary to my deserts 107 I should otherwise be judged, or suspected, I should receive great injury. For my daughter, though nature would make me to speak favourably, yet now I have taken God and his angels to be witnesses of my writing, I renounce nature, and II. II. BOOK pronounce simply to your majesty, I did never see in her behaviour, in word or deed, or ever could perceive by any other means, but that she hath always used her self honestly, chastly, and lovingly towards him. And now upon expectation of his coming, is filled with joy thereof: so desirous to see the time of his arrival approach, as in any judgment no young lover, rooted or sotted in love of any person, could more excessively shew the same in all comeliest tokens. Now when after his arrival, when some doubts were caused of his acceptance of her, her innocence seemed to make her so bold, as she never cast any care of things past, but wholly reposed her self with assurance to be well used by him. And with that confidence and importunity made to me, she went to him, and there missed of her expectation: and so attendeth, as her duty is, to gain some part of her hope. And now lest I should enter further into the matter, and not meaning to trouble your majesty, I do end with this humble request, that in any thing that may hereof follow, wherein I may have wrong with dishonesty offered to me, I may have your majesties princely favour, to seek my just defence for me and mine: not meaning for respect of mine old service, nor of the place whereunto your majesty hath placed me, (though unwillingly,) to chalenge any extraordinary favours. For my service hath been but a piece of my duty, and my vocation hath been too great a reward. And so I do remain constantly to serve your majesty in what place soever your majesty shall command, even in as base as I have done in great. Number VI.' The inscriptions upon the monument of sir Anthony Cook, knt. in the chapel of Rumford in Essex. Over his head. DNS. ANTHONIUS Cocus, ordinis equestris miles, ob sin II. gularem doctrinam, prudentiam et pietatem, regis EDOARDI BOOK sexti institutor constitutus. Uxorem habuit ANNAM, filiam GULIELMI FITZ WILLIAMS de Milton militis, vere piam et generosam. Cum Cum qua diu feliciter vixit, et supervixit. At tandem, quum suos tam natos, quam natas, bene collocasset, in Christo pie mortuus est, anno ætatis 70. Over the heads of his two sons, kneeling behind him. RICHARDUS COCUs hujus dni. Coci filius et hæres, ANNAM duxit generosi viri JOANNIS CAULTON filiam. Qui pietatis ergo hoc monumentum erigi curavit. GULIELMUS COCUs, ejusdem ANTHONII proximus filius, duxit FRANCISCAM filiam dni. JOANNIS GRAY, fratris ducis SUFFOLCIE. Under sir Anthony and his lady. In obitum clarissimi literatissimique dni. ANTHONII COCI ANNA tibi fuerat quamvis pulcherrima conjux, Hinc pulchros flores, fructus hinc promis amanos, Τὰ γνωσθέντα λέγων, καὶ μὲν τὰ δεόντα γινώσκων, Cur te, Roma, facit Cornelia docta superbam? Has tu nobilibus (res est bene nota) locasti : Dum revocat princeps te ELIZABETHA domum. 108 BOOK II. Sic regina potens, regali sede locata, Traduxit, cupiens cælica regna senex. Sic facili cælum morte solutus adis. Hocque simul tumulo duro cum marmore structo, Neer this monument in the chancel, on a flat stone, a brass Chara mihi multos conjunx dilecta per annos, Cura domus, multa non sine prole parens, Against the east wall of the chancel, in the similitude of a |