-44 THE HISTORY OF NEWMARKET. [Book IV. 



members of the Council repaired to Newmarket, threw 

 themselves upon their knees before the king, and 

 implored him to tell them what it all meant. He told 

 them the prince had gone to seek the hand of the 

 Infanta Donna Maria, eldest daughter of the King 

 of Spain, and reminded them how he, his father, 

 and his grandfather had gone from Scotland to w^in 

 their wives. This denouement increased the excite- 

 ment. The captains of the guard, with their forces, 

 were summoned to Newmarket, in case their assist- 

 ance should be required to suppress any insubordina- 

 tion which threatened momentarily to break out.* 

 The difficulty was tided over in peace, and in March 

 elaborate preparations were concluded for sending a 

 proper suite to attend the prince at Madrid, accom- 

 panied with a large collection of Crown jewels which 

 the king ordered Secretary Conway, Lord Brooke,''^ 

 the Treasurer of the Household, the Chancellor of 

 the Exchequer, Auditor Grafton, and Herriot the 

 jeweller, to select from the regalia in the Tower. 

 This novel expedition soon after sailed for Madrid. 

 The jewels, which were valued at ^600,000, arrived 

 in safety, and were duly presented to the Infanta by 

 the prince. They are enumerated by the king in his 

 letter to the prince, which bears the following super- 

 scription :— " From Newmarket, on St. Patrick's Day, 



* Secretary Conway, in a letter to the Duke of Buckingham, says : 

 " Those that gave the council to have bands of soldiers to guard his 

 Majesty at Newmarket, have now discovered that this sufferance of so 

 many to follow into Spain, will exhaust the money of the kingdom wholly. 

 By this your Excellency may find how infinite the wisdoms are here." — • 

 Harl. MS., 1580, p. 293. 



