^{page 1 note *} John seventh Earl of Mar, and Mr. Edward Bruce, afterwards Lord Kinloss, sent by King James as ambassadors to Queen Elizabeth in February 1601.

^{page 2 note *} Second son of Surrey the poet. King James, shortly after his accession to the throne of England, advanced Lord Henry to the Earldom of Northampton, and subsequently conferred upon him the order of the garter, and other honours. Lord Henry inherited much of his father's ability, but degraded it by many vices. He won the heart of James by flattery almost unparalleled.

^† This passage is printed as it stands in the original.

^{page 6 note *} Of course the allusion in this very important passage is to the late Earl of Essex.

^{page 8 note †} This word has been altered and is a little doubtful.

^{page 8 note *} The words “to be to busy ” are an interlineation. The second “to ” seems superfluous.

^{page 8 note †} “worthye ” was struck out in revision.

^{page 13 note *} “the” stands in the draft after “and,” which has been obviously left standing by mistake in the course of some alterations. It was originally intended to write “and the confident trust.”

^{page 13 note †} “an egg”was first written, and in striking it out great part of the “egg” was left standing.

^{page 14 note *} The successive changes made by Cecil before he finally fixed upon this conclusion are worthy of note. Doubt arose in his mind after he had written the words “ever remaine.” His first intention was to proceed with the sentence in some contemplated form of which “my sover” was written, and then struck out. The second thought was to follow “remain” with “after Caesar, yours above all.” The third attempt was by insertion of the words “to command” between “yours” and “above all, R. C.” In the fourth, every thing after “remain” was struck out, and the termination made to stand “Yours affectionately and humbly, Ro. Cecyll.” The fifth change ended in the adoption of the words as they now stand, but these were not approved without some erasures, and the insertion of the word “in” twice before “humblest afections,” both at the end and the beginning of a line. So it still stands.

^* The person indicated by 40 has not been discovered.

^* This was originally written “so to cary them selfs;” in the process of alteration “them” was altered into “hym,” but the final letter of “selfs” was omitted to be struck out. I have made this obvious correction in the text.

^{page 21 note *} The original stood “you you carry.” In striking out the second “you” the corrector's pen ran on and erased also the succeeding word. I have inserted it, as necessary to the sense.

^{page 23 note *} In the original draft here were inserted the following words in a parenthesis: “for God forbidd they knew me, how much soever they have been bound to me.”

^{page 23 note †} Instead of the passage “they wold loose ………. try your patience,” there originally was written the following: “I doe protest to your Majesty insteed of their fonde and gyddie offeringe you themselfes (whose power and vertue beeinge tryed will spend in fume) they would loose you the Queen, whose mynde keapt secure and kynd you have found the trew Philosopher's stone ! ”

^{page 24 note *} Two words concealed here, by having been written over, apparently not by the writer.

^{page 25 note *} Nearly a line, consisting of fourteen or fifteen words, has here been concealed by having been scribbled over.

page 38 note * This explanation is indicated in the original by the contemporary interlineation of “Cob.” over the 7, and “Cobhā” written in the margin.

page 39 note * Robert fourth Lord Semple, a Roman Catholic peer of Scotland, through whom King James communicated with the Court of Spain.

page 41 note * The intercourse between King James and Sir Anthony Shirley will be found noticed in The Sherley Brothers, 4to. 1840. James addressed a letter to Shah Abbas, King of Persia, on Shirley's behalf: see it, ibid. p. 105.

page 42 note * wrench.

page 42 note † aim.

page 42 note ‡ “and” is repeated in the MS.

page 43 note * interpreter.

page 47 note * The document which sounded so sweetly in the ears of King James was evidently the draft of the proposed proclamation of his accession to the throne of England, prepared by Sir Robert Cecil and sent to Scotland for the King's approval.

page 48 note * Keepers of the Tower ?

page 48 note † James Hudson.

page 48 note ‡ lawful.

page 50 note * Not identified ; perhaps Raleigh.

^{page 62 note *} In a copy of this letter in the handwriting of Sir Robert Cecil, also preserved in the same volume of the Hatfield MSS. which contains the copy from which we print, we find, instead of “for the most of it,” “in case of the worst,” which is no doubt right.

^{page 62 note †} Here Sir Robert Cecil's copy, to which we have above referred, omits the twelve words which occur between “your aduyse” in the preceding line and the repetition of the same words in the above passage.

^{page 62 note ‡} Supplied from Sir Robert Cecil's copy.

^{page 62 note §} Sir Robert Cecil's copy reads “as the sonn of the present qween.”

^{page 63 note *} The initials of the king's signature are derived from the copy in the handwriting of Sir Robert Cecil, who adds a copy of the indorsement, “The K's lettre to me,” shewing that hit copy was made from the original, so indorsed by Northumberland. Brace's copy was sent to Lord Henry Howard. It was addressed “3,” and was fastened in two places with crimson silk, and sealed in two places with Brace's accustomed seal in red wax.

^{page 66 note *} A miscreant who charged James with a design upon the life of Elizabeth.

^{page 67 note *} “ar are” in MS.