By the Rev. Canon J. E. Jackson, F.S.A. 161 



examination, when my eye caught some writing hidden under the 

 fly-leaf. The fly-leaf itself had been pasted down along the edges, 

 to the inside of the parchment cover, but I thought I saw some 

 writing through the fly-leaf. So, taking out my penknife, I care- 

 fully released the page, and to my no small surprise found, written 

 in a large bold hand, this memorandum : — 



" The 22 of January, 1610, about 4 in the morning, My Lady was married 

 at Greenwich to Mr. William Seymour." 



Then followed the names of the witnesses present, and of the offici- 

 ating minister. Underneath, two more memoranda : — 



" The 8 of July, Mr. Seymour was committed to the Tower." 

 " The 9th of the same month My Lady to Sir Thomas Parry's." 



It was, in a word, an account book of the Lady Arabella's kept by 

 her secretary, Mr. Crompton; with an entry by him, on the last 

 leaf, of the particulars of his Lady's secret marriage. [Appendix , 

 No. xx.) 



All that had been hitherto discovered upon this subject, is thus 

 given by the latest biographer of the Lady Arabella : — 



" Seymour and his friend Rodney, set off for Greenwich, where 

 they arrived at midnight. They waited till morning, when the 

 marriage was celebrated in the apartment of Arabella, Rodney and 

 two servants being the witnesses. No record of the marriage has 

 been discovered, nor the name of the priest who officiated. The 

 secresy requisite to the safety of the parties probably is the cause of 

 this. Perhaps at some future time, among dusty records, they may 

 be found." 1 



The book itself turned out to be rather curious, being a Register 

 of a kind of Royal Progress she had made from London to Chats- 

 worth, and the return journey to London. This is a part of the 

 poor Princess's life quite unknown to her biographers, so that we 



1 Miss E. Cooper's Life of Lady Arabella Seymour, ii., 110. Since the pub- 

 lication of her book, in 1866, she has found among the Tanner MSS. at Oxford, 

 the original "Confession," signed by William Seymour : a copy of which she 

 has kindly sent me. With this confession Mr. Crompton's Memoranda in the 

 old account book at Longleat exactly correspond. (See Appendix, iVo. xxi.) 



