74 



et A Dismal Depression in 1622.' 



bequeathed all to the Prince, and the King thinks he himself ought 

 to be heir as nearest to her.'" By that time, however, the estimate 

 of the Queen's property had cooled down to £200,000. 



Sir Edward Harwood mentions in another letter that the King 

 took matters pretty calmly. The exact sentence runs like this :— 

 " The King took her death seamly we shall have no tilting this 

 year, her body comes this week to Denmark house." 1 



There are some " stanzas " the King wrote on the occasion, but 

 they could not be found when I searched for them. 



But he had more than poetry to think of, for some months after, 

 in January of the next year, there is a schedule of the state of 

 some of his pressing debts, in which one item is playfully put down 

 as " Anticipations on several titles of his Majesty's ordinary 

 revenue £69,535." 3 



Well, the poor Queen's body was brought to Denmark House on 

 the 6th March, and the chief topic of conversation seems still to 

 have been her will, and what she had to leave, So, on the 27th of 

 March we have these little bits of intelligence from John Chamber- 

 laine 



" The Queen's funeral is put off till the 29th of April and perhaps longer 

 unless they can find out money faster. For the master of the wardobe is loath to 

 wear his own credit threadbare, or to be so ill an husband as to use the Kings 

 credit, and so pay double the price, which is now become ordinary because they 



1 Letter from Sir Edward Harwood to Sir Dudley Carleton, dated 6th March, 

 1618. State Papers, Domestic Series, James I., vol. 107 — 7. 



2 " 18° Jan 1619 



" The state of some of his Ma ts pressing debts viz 



Anticipacons vppon seuerall titles of his Mats 



ordinarie Revenue 69535 



Loane by the Merchant Strangers 2000 



Interest for one yeare f due 12° die instantis 



Januarij 3500 



Loane by the Cittie of London 96466 



Interest thereof already due 14460 



203061 " 



Endorsed : — 



" 18° Januarii 1619 



Pressing Debtes." 

 State Papers, Domestic Series, James I., vol. 112—24. 



