thereof wch by reason of the noise of the
assemblie and the lownes of his voice at the
entrance thereunto I could not well heare."

The Divine Right of Kings—a question
which was so thoroughly discussed during
the reign of the second James — was thus
modestly handled by the Scottish Monarch:

"As towchinge the dignitie of a kinge he sayd
that they sitt in the throne of God and therefore
are in scripture tearmed Godds and that good
kinges are to imitate God in justice and sinceritie
of hart but wthout private respect for the
advancmt of their owne endes or vaine glorie for
otherwise they are but unjust and unrighteous.
And that as good Judges they are to imitate Solamon
and Davide the one in wisdome the other in
holynes. Kinges are properlie Judges and all
Judgemts are theirs how be it they are pronounced
by their Judges as their ministers and substitues
by authoritie derived from them as from the
ymediate liveten'nt of God. And althoughe the
manner and formes of governmt doe varie accordinge
to the div'sitie of Kingdomes yet the
sentences pronounced by the mouthes of the Judges
(elected by the Kinge as interpreters of his lawes)
are his and he is to answer for them before God
soe as there is a neere league and affinitie
betweene the Kinge and God uppward so is there as
neere betweene the Kinge and the Judge downewarde
whose office and dutie is to declare and expound
lawes not to invent and make lawes.''

After explaining why he had not delivered
himself unto the Judges in the Star Chamber
before (because, " when he came into this
kingdome he was an olde Kinge yet was he
but a straunger to our lawes and govermt and
therefore like one of Pythagoras schollers he
thought good to professe silence duringe the
first seaven yeres and to passe a prentishippe
in learninge before he beganne to teache
thinkeinge himselfe oonapt to ascende the
seate of Judicature before he had learned
howe to judge)," he divided his discourse
into three heads:

"1. First the charge he was to give himselfe for
a K. cannot give a good charge to his subjects
except he doth first beginne wth himselfe for good
waters flowe not but from good springes.

"2. The second was a caveat to the Judges.

"3. The third an admonition to his subjects."

In his "caveat to the judges," James's
reference to the Court of Chancery is
interesting. In that year (1616) Sir Thomas
Egerton, founder ot the Ellesmere family,
resigned the seals in favour of the great
Francis Bacon. " Then he spake " continues
the reporter, "of the Court of Chauncery
wch he sayd was ordayned for the
mitigation of the rigor of the comon lawe and
that the Chauncellor was but the dispencer
of his conscience that it was a highe Court,
and that Teste meipse was most properly
written there. That from thence was no
appeale to any other Court, and that he
was speciallie bound to maintayne this Court.
But yett this Court must keepe it self wth in
his limitts and the Chauncellor was not to
exceede his authoritie as he sayd he had
often given him in charge, but to precede
accordinge as hath been used in the auncient
and best times, and if he transgressed his
limitts and bounds the Judges of other
courts maie not reform it but complaynt
thereof to be made to his matie . For the
p'sent Chauncellor he sayd at his comeing
into the kingdome he found him in that
place wherein he had ever sence contynewed
him and wished he might longe coutynewe
therein and he sayd that the attempt to
bringe the Chauncellor within the compasse
of Premunire was odious and absurde for to
indite him sittinge as it were in his owne
place were to indite himselfe and to tornne
himselfe uppon the point of his owne sword."

The royal picture of the Justice of the
Peace of that day, comes in full corroboration
of Shakespeare's portraits of the same
persons:— .

"As towchinge the office of a Justice of Peace
he sd that although yt seamed to some fantasticall
greene headed gentlemen to be an office of litle
reputacion, yet it was in his oppinion both
worshippfull and honrable and of as great necessitie
for the well orderinge of the affaires of the
countrey as the highest offices and places for
managinge of matters of state in the court.  But
because Justices of the Peace were of two kindes
the one good the other badde, his pleasure was
that the judges should from time to time advtise him
of such as did well execute theire offices. ... Of
these badde Justices he s'd there were fower sortes.
The first were such as were loyteringe Justices
and laye at home and did nothinge. The second
were busiebodyes, who did to much embraceinge
many businesses for the enlargemt of theire
private gaigne and profits. The Thirde sorte were
factious and contentious justices. The fowerth:
such as had a puritanicall itchinge to stirre the
people against governmt and discipline. All such
justices (as unprofitable members and ministers)
he would have casheered."

Papal aggression was dealt with much more
summarily than it is in our day. "Then," quoth
Mr. Wakeman, " the King declared his mind
towchinge priests which he would have by
all means possible extirpated " :—

"Yet would he proceed wth greater seycritie
against some then against other some for he
protested he was lothe to hang a priest for sayinge of
masse, or for the mere execution of theire office
or function. But for such as refused to take the
oathe of allegiance (wch he sd lette the Pope and
all the divells of hell say what they will was but
a meere temporall oathe) he would have despatched.
In the like manor would he have them deale wth
such as havinge binne formerly banished presume
to retorne hether againe. He allsoe signified to
the Judges that he would have those priests that
broke prison taste of the same cuppe for he sd
those men wch could not be kept wthin the walls
of a prison, deserved to be helde in the noose of a
halter: moreover that they were not like St
Peter who went not owt of prison before an angell
of heaven called him whereas these are called
forth by an angell of hell. Then he sd he had