stood along the north part of the terrace; and on the south side, the duke's wife, a countess of the house of Devereux, built a chapel, which showed the influence of the taste acquired by the duke during his residence in Italy. It cannot be denied that he was impelled by that impure taste, which, at a somewhat later period, extended its confusion of the Greek with the Gothic architecture over the half of Europe. But not the less magnificent was this chapel, with its beautiful portals, its majestic staircase, and its splendid windows, richly carved with flowers, all serving to render the whole glorious. Well-made roads, for the use of the inhabitants of the cultivated valleys, led up to the chapel.

Between the chapel and the castle stood the south tower, under which was the family vault, which was used for service before the erection of the new building. The space between the Italian wing and the chapel was bounded by the princely halls, which, in three divisions, separated the entrance from the castle court. The middle division, with its beautiful lattices and pillared roof, contained the wide staircase which led to the upper rooms; though this was scarcely used except on solemn occasions, and, on account of its huge size, served principally as a place of exercise for the higher servants of the castle.

The rooms adjoining, were, on the contrary, adorned with the most brilliant furniture; bearing witness to the pride of their princely inhabitants, and to the luxury which England at that time knew well how to procure from the treasures of Italy, and the industry of the Netherlands. Instead of windows upon the terrace, were golden lattices, which, while pleasantly admiting the air and light, prevented the approach of the four-footed inhabitants of the forest; and here, in unfavourable weather, the ladies of the castle took their accustomed exercise. These rooms were dedicated principally to the common intercourse of the inhabitants. Here nobles gave audience to their dependants or neighbours; princely guests were here entertained; the noble youths pursued their pastimes; family repasts— the common banquet and morning meal-all were held here in fine weather ; even to the pompous funerals of the family, which, with their rigid ceremonials, filled the hall on the ground floor.

The north tower, opposite, contained, on the ground floor, the library, through which a flight of beautiful marble steps approached the Italian wing, which, since the death of its builder, had been the abode of the duke. The rooms of the duchess also, although retaining their ancient style, had from time to time undergone alterations, agreeing with the original character of their beauty; and if we include the distant hall of armour, and the gallery of ancestral pictures, these rooms offered an imposing and beautiful spectacle.

The sleeping apartment of the duchess was in the south tower, and, by a covered way, adjoined that part of the choir in the chapel where the duchess generally sat. Besides these, there was a suite of rooms which had been prepared by the last duke for the Prince of Wales, who was nearly related to him; and which, alike worthy of so exalted a visitor, and so hospitable a host, were seldom opened, and usually set apart for the reception of distinguished guests.

The remaining portions of the castle, although of so great an extent, were likewise inhabited; it being a part of the luxury of former times to entertain, besides the upper servants of each sex, an unbounded crowd of inferior menials. The suspicious policy of Elizabeth had by degrees succeeded in removing the fully armed servants of her great nobles, who had made every strong castle a little fort; but she had attained little more than that the arms reposed in the armoury, and that those who formerly exercised themselves with them, now rambled about useless, and having no occupation. Peace, at home and abroad, had rendered the power of these followers useless; but the countless servants were not dismissed; both master and vassal regarding this crowd of unoccupied menials as a necessary tribute due to their rank.

This custom, which in many noble houses produced disorder and licentiousness, was, in the present case, confined within bounds by the high moral authority of their chief. Persons superior to the rest of the household in rank and education, were charged with enforcing the stern rules which kept these idle retainers in order, and sufficient power was given to them to insure obedience to their commands. Thus the castle resembled a small and well-regulated state, where fidelity and ability were rewarded; and to obtain service in

the rooms of the ducal family was the object of ambition to the household of the castle; reverence for their generous and exalted master, through whose favour they hoped to be raised above their original class, being in them an unbounded feeling.

The race of the Dukes of Nottingham had through centuries held a high place, as well in the history of the country, as in public opinion, which had decided upon their virtues and abilities; and these were so much the more to be venerated in the troubled times which the inconsistency of the ruler had brought upon this land, so frightfully sacrificed to a long schism. During the reign of Henry VIII., the house of Nottingham had maintained neutrality upon. religious subjects, keeping their own faith in freedom of spirit, and forbearing persecution towards those from whom they differed. Thus had they never been involved in the unhappy contentions, which, mocking nature and her holy laws, often armed persecution for a faith which not one in a thousand rightly understood. They had, in succession, opposed themselves to foreign enemies, thus frustrating calumny by their patriotic sacrifices for their country; while, as ambassadors to foreign courts, they had at all times met with the reception due to their house.

At the time of the Reformation, Otmar, Earl of Derbery, obtained the Princess of Cleves as bride for Henry VIII. He returned from Germany, lighted by the holy spirit of Luther. From him the enlightenment spread to his family, by firm conviction, turning them from their old faith, and thence it went forth to those who, commencing under Edward VI., formed a firmly-grounded Anglican church under Elizabeth. Banished from court in the reign of the catholic Mary, but too exalted to be exposed to worse consequences, the family of Nottingham came forth with redoubled brilliancy from their virtuous retirement; and the father of the recently deceased duke, and his house, enjoyed all the distinctions with which the exalted Elizabeth knew so well how to reward the true attachment of her servants. Willingly would she have secured the immediate assistance of the duke in the affairs of government, but his increasing years inclined him to withdraw to the circle of his family; and she consented to this without depriving him of her favour.

What, however, was denied to her by the father, she thought herself certain of obtaining from his only son; and therefore the young and handsome man was bidden to her court. As the first of her servants in the grave and learned circle which surrounded her, and by his intercourse with the most distinguished persons of that time, he laid the foundation of that high cultivation which proved itself so rich in blessings to his family. Subsequently, Elizabeth sent him with commissions of the greatest importance to William, Prince of Orange; and on his return she married him to the Countess of Burleigh, who was esteemed the first lady at her court, and who, in that relation, merited this preference. Regarding the education of her former page, as she called him, as her own work, the queen was proud of having so well completed it; and when, shortly after each other, two sons were born to the earl, she expressed her lively joy at the blossoming of the race, and bestowed upon him the rare honour of being godmother to his eldest son. The second, she created Earl of Glandford, reinvesting him with an estate, which, in former times, had been the dowry of the Countess Devereux, but which had been confiscated by Mary: this, with the family name and rank, was always to be the portion of the second son. Elizabeth rejoiced at being able to renew and sanction this grant, so pleasing to the head of the family, and thus to repair an injustice committed by her hated predecessor.

A few years later, she sent him to Catherine de Medici, at whose court Throgmorton, her distinguished ambassador, was detained. She delayed his recal for a twelvemonth, veiling, under a thousand trifling excuses, her true views towards him and the crafty court of Versailles, which desired a marriage between the Duke of Anjou and herself.

On his return home, the Earl of Derbery found that his father was no more, and that the castle was inhabited only by his sorrowing wife. Hastening therefore to London, with his two sons, he tendered his homage at the feet of the queen, and at the same time presented to her the promising youths who, even in the cradle, had been the objects of her favonr, and who she now desired should reside at court.

The last, and certainly not welcome commission, given by Eliza

beth to the earl, was to carry to James VI. the intelligence of the death of his mother, the unhappy Mary of Scotland. In this choice of the person who should deliver her letter of grief to James, and confirm her expressions of remarkable, though somewhat doubtful anger, against the author of this deed, she was apparently guided by a wish of befriending the new duke with James, whom she secretly regarded as her successor. She was certain of attaining this by the uncommon respect which the duke knew how to gain everywhere, as much as by her own recommendations to James. She also desired that his two sons should accompany the duke, and, in the meanwhile, she sent for the duchess to court.

Robert, Earl of Derbery, the eldest son, and Archibald, Earl of Glandford, profited by this opportunity of entering npon public life, with distinguished zeal. In the last years of Elizabeth, Archibald, as if born to diplomacy, accompanied the embassy which negotiated with Henry of Navarre respecting the sending of auxiliaries against the claim of Philip II. to the succession of France. In this mission his behavour had no influence; but it was so elegant and becoming, that Elizabeth prophesied great things of him for the future, and advised his placing himself under the direction of his uncle Cecil on his return, and wholly devoting himself to diplomacy. The chief feature of his character was self-possession. His figure was of the middle size, slight, yet giving evidence of great strength in the perfect adroitness of his movements. By this, persons were easily led to forget that neither the expression of his face, nor the style of his person, announced the loftiness of soul which he possessed; and this, in later years, when he was well known abroad and in his own land, had often been regretted with surprise.

He was a perfect master of his mother tongue; and understood nearly all foreign languages, and also the manners of the courts which he had visited. The power he possessed, of availng himself of the smallest circumstance, without appearing to observe it, was peculiar to him; as well as that of appeasing and satisfying every one by his speech and answers. In dispute, and in all political negotiations, he assumed with success the modest obedience of a pupil, though he possessed superiority over all in knowledge, in reasoning, and in