F v Ecurl of Pembroke of the Present Creation. 127 



And by a codicil it is mentioned that he declared to the Earl of 

 Leicester, and to his son, Edward Herbert, March, 16th, 1569, late 

 at night (which was just before his death), that the Lord Keeper of 

 the Great Seal, Sir James Crofts, and Mr. Secretary Cecil, be joined 

 to his overseers and have the same gifts. He also bequeathed to the 

 Queen's majesty his best jewel, named the Great Ballace, and his 

 fairest and richest bed ; and to the Lord Marquis of Northampton 

 his second-best gold sword, and to the Earl of Leicester his best gold 

 sword. 



A few da} r s after his death the following letter from the Queen 

 was sent to Lady Pembroke ; the rough draft is in the bold hand- 

 writing of Cecil, by whom it had been carefully amended and 

 corrected : — 1 



" To y e Countess of Penbrook. 

 " We grete you well. Althovgh it be grevoos to Vs and most of all vncom- 

 fortable to you, to enter into y e niemorye of y e loss of so deare and loving a 

 Counsellor to Vs, so honorable a husband to you "as our late Coosyn y e Erie of 

 Penbrook was, yet can We not omytt to call to memory his wordyness many 

 wayes whylest he lj'ved, and his constancy at y e tyme of his deth towardes 

 Almighty God, wherat, as we ar comforted consideryng by Godes ordinance he 

 hath bene called at this tyme and many yeres long passed, so also We require 

 you to moderat your gret sorrow w ch We vndoutedly here you do conceave for 

 his deth, w 1 the lyke consideration of his wordyness whylest he lyved, and of his 

 christian and godly behaviour whan he dyed, being the only thynges that he cold 

 leave behynd hym of most and trewest vallew to comfort them that loved hym. 

 And if you had not now sent on hyther to Vs, We wer determined to have sent 

 one of Our servantes to you w* Our letters to this intent ; meaning specially also 

 to have gyven you knolledg how honorably and lovyngly Our Cosyn y e Erie your 

 sonne in law doth offer hyniself in all thynges towardes you, expressly sayeng to 

 Vs y* there shall no worldly thyng left to hym by his father move hym to neglect 

 your good will, but y* he will by all manner of meanes labor to kepe you his good 

 mothar as if you wer so to hym by natvre : aand surely We ar fully so perswaded 

 Of .hym, not only by his owne speche, but y e assurance We conceave of his good 

 natvre, so as We trust ther shall never be any occasion gyven for any other to 

 deale in ye matters betwixt you. But if there shuld be any nede thereof, We 

 wold have you Madame make your assured accompt y* you shall fynd Vs not 

 only, as by Godes callyng We ar, y e protectrix of wydows, but besyde that you 

 shall fynd Vs a deare and lovyng Lady and sister to you in all your resonable 

 casees." 



Endorsed : " M. xxij Martij 1569 

 from the Q. Ma tie to 

 the Countesse of Penbroke " 



State Papers, Domestic, Elizabeth, vol. 67, No. 28. 



