312 LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP SHARP. 



he did, with the Court, during the whole aclmmi- 

 stration of Lord GodolpJiin. 



But there is no doubt his interest at Court 

 was principally owing to her Majesty's parti- 

 cular esteem for him, which, as it was the chief 

 reason that engaged his attendance there, and 

 made him in some sense a courtier, such at least 

 as she approved of, will deserve a more parti- 

 cular consideration here ; especially as he seems 

 to have been the only one that in the various 

 changes of councils and ministers, she never dis- 

 missed, nor, as far as appears, made any excep- 

 tions against, from the beginning of her reign 

 to his death, near the close of it. 



It was immediately upon her accession to the 

 crown, that my Lord Nottingham, in a letter 

 wrote to him to persuade him to come up with- 

 out delay to pay his duty to the Queen (for he 

 was at that time in his diocese), uses these 

 words as his argument. " I ought to tell you I 

 have good reason to believe that your Grace is more 

 in her Majesty's favour and esteem^ than any of 

 your order. And judge whether something more 

 than the ordinary respect of a subject is not due to 

 her from you.'' But, before this, he had taken 

 care by my Lord of Canterbury to send his 

 congratulations upon her accession ; ivhich she 

 look very kindly, and likewise gave him leave, at 

 his request, and on account of his then indispo- 



