JAMES THE FIRST.

It was usual, in the reign of James the First, when they compared it
with the preceding glorious one, to distinguish him by the title of
_Queen James_, and his illustrious predecessor by that of _King
Elizabeth_! Sir Anthony Weldon informs us, "That when James the First
sent Sir Roger Aston as his messenger to Elizabeth, Sir Roger was always
placed in the lobby: the hangings being turned so that he might see the
Queen dancing to a little fiddle, which was to no other end than that he
should tell his master, by her youthful disposition, how likely he was
to come to the crown he so much thirsted after;"--and, indeed, when at
her death this same knight, whose origin was low, and whose language was
suitable to that origin, appeared before the English council, he could
not conceal his Scottish rapture, for, asked how the king did? he
replied, "Even, my lords, like a poore man wandering about forty years
in a wildernesse and barren soyle, and now arrived at the _Land of
Promise_." A curious anecdote, respecting the economy of the court in
these reigns, is noticed in some manuscript memoirs written in James's
reign, preserved in a family of distinction. The lady, who wrote these
memoirs, tells us that a great change had taken place in _cleanliness_,
since the last reign; for, having rose from her chair, she found, on her
departure, that she had the honour of carrying _upon_ her some
companions who must have been inhabitants of the palace. The court of
Elizabeth was celebrated occasionally for its magnificence, and always
for its nicety. James was singularly effeminate; he could not behold a
drawn sword without shuddering; was much too partial to handsome men;
and appears to merit the bitter satire of Churchill. If wanting other
proofs, we should only read the second volume of "Royal Letters," 6987,
in the Harleian collections, which contains Stenie's correspondence with
James. The gross familiarity of Buckingham's address is couched in such
terms as these:--he calls his majesty "Dere dad and Gossope!" and
concludes his letters with "your humble slaue and dogge, Stenie."[121]
He was a most weak, but not quite a vicious man; yet his expertness in
the art of dissimulation was very great indeed. He called this
_King-Craft_. Sir Anthony Weldon gives a lively anecdote of this
dissimulation in the king's behaviour to the Earl of Somerset at the
very moment he had prepared to disgrace him. The earl accompani