f Sir Thomas Pope, who treated her with kindness not always shown even
to royal prisoners. The story of her reception of the news that she was
Queen, of her first Council, held here in the palace, and of her
subsequent journey to London, has been too often narrated to need
repetition. Immediately after her death James I. paid a visit to
Theobalds Park, and had an interview with Sir Robert Cecil, a younger
son of Lord Burleigh, whom he presently created first Earl of Salisbury.
The exchange by the King of his manor of Hatfield for that of Theobalds
has been mentioned in the Introduction (Section X). The King promised to
build for Sir Robert a new house at Hatfield; the work was carried out
on a magnificent scale, and was completed sometime in 1611. The new
house stood a little E. from the old palace. To this house James paid an
early visit; one of its most stately apartments is called "King James's
Room".

[Illustration: HATFIELD HOUSE]

_Hatfield House_ is still a fine example of early Jacobean architecture.
To be appreciated it must certainly be seen: any adequate account of its
architecture, its history and its treasures would fill such a volume as
this. In shape it is a parallelogram, about 280 feet long by 70 feet
wide, with two wings on the S. front. The centre between the two wings
is Italian Renaissance in style; the central tower, pierced by the great
gate, being of rich Elizabethan design. On the face of the third storey
of the tower are the armorial bearings of the Earl of Salisbury. This S.
front and the two wings enclose on three sides a quadrangle about 130
feet wide by 100 feet deep, beautifully laid out with flower beds and
lawns. The extremities of each wing take the shape of square, three
storeyed towers, surmounted by cupolas 20 feet high. Between the wings
runs a basement arcade, of eight arches on Doric pilasters, four on each
side of the gateway below the armorial bearings. The entire floor above
the arcade is occupied by the long gallery, 160 feet by 20 feet, and 16
feet high. At the W. end of this gallery is the library, at the E. end
is King James's Room. The aspect of the house from the N. is not so
imposing; but there is a noble view over the grounds from the N.
terrace, and the central clock tower is a conspicuous object from the
most distant spots in the park. The library, graced by Zucchero's
portrait of Robert, Earl of Salisbury, contains one of the most valuable
collections of MSS. in the