over-crowding, forbade more than one family to dwell in a house. This must have been as inconvenient a regulation for families seeking a temporary abode in London, as it was arbitrary and impolitic on the part of the Queen. At this juncture, Mr. ffarington contemplated a visit to the great city, and the methods he adopted to secure lodgings, and the sort of accommodation offered to him, are narrated in the following letter: "Ryght Worshippfull I commende me to you. I have travelled to gett and fynd convenyent lodging for yow and yoƐ bedfellowe wch I have found in this sorte bothe a house severall havinge no furniture nor implementes as also severall wth honeste householders hauinge ffurnyture as beddinge tables stoles &c brasse pewter kychen cum ptinen?, and others excepte Lynnen bothe shelves &c. Nowe I am to knowe of yoƐ mynde weh to conclude of as also the place scituate; for I can chose one in Holborne, one in Greate St Bartylemews by Smythfylde one in Aldersgate Streete wch is a voyde house and nothinge but bare walls, one in Watlyngestreete newe (wch I lyke beste of for comoditie of rowmes) as I assure you howses are very scarse and deare and yt ffrancis ffarrington can beare wytnes of for I have called to him e had his company herein. Some aske viiili some viili and the lesse vili to let 3 Rowmes wth a kitchen, a place for Woode, coles e beare, wth v chambers furnyshed or 3 bedds for halfe a yeare: and the voyde howse having nothinge in hitt is iiili & yett I am halfe promysed to have this in Watling Strete for iiili halfe a yeare or nere upon ffurnyshed and the rowmes moste convenyente. Thus I being desyrous of yo mynde and answere hereof that I may conclude to have a place convenyent for yow agayneste Myghelmas, ende trowbling yowe, praying yow to make my commendacōns to my good Parents & soc take the ୧ 1 Camden's Annals, p. 450. paynes to see theyme at yoƐ leysure or waye lyethe. Thus besechynge god to haue yow both with yours in his kepinge for ever. ffrom London this 5. of Auguste Anno 1573, On the death of Edward Earl of Derby in 1572 Mr. ffarington received a patent from his Lordship's successor as Steward of the Household, and entered upon the duties of his office.1 He had the correction of the faults of the ordinary servants and to examine and rectify all the evils of the household. He was required to censure delinquents, to check extravagance, to overlook the accounts of the purveyors and minor servants, and to pay the wages. His habits of business and vigorous mind would make ordinary difficulties disappear, and pointed him out as an individual well adapted to be placed at the head of a great household, where his talent would be required, and his tact have full 1 Worden Evid., and p. 21, Item 12. scope for exercise. The principles and ceremonials on which the household of Henry Earl of Derby was conducted, and of which Mr. ffarington has left us a brief account,' clearly prove that he had formed a just estimate of what was due to the rank and station of that great nobleman, and that he governed the household with a due regard to courtly munificence, decent splendour, and a prudent avoidance of prodigality and excess. Nor is it to be overlooked that the Earl sought to remove the ignorance and debasement of his servants and dependants by daily diffusing amongst them the blessings of true religion, and by so doing not only promoted, in the lowest view of the case, their social welfare, but also made them acquainted with those features of our constitutional monarchy which, although at that time imperfectly developed, had never before been so worthy of their allegiance. A man more extensively engaged in the business of the county, both as a Magistrate and Deputy Lieutenant, with the exception of Sir Richard Sherburne, could scarcely be found. His Common Place Book, his Book of Precedents, Cases, and Forms, his Shire Book, his Manuscripts of Opinions and Practice, all indicate him as an industrious, intelligent, and well-informed lawyer; and the number of letters addressed to him by aggrieved individuals leads to the conclusion that he, like Lord Bacon's good Judge, always remembered the end of the Roman twelve tablesSalus populi suprema lex —and well knew that laws, except they be in order to that end, are but things captious and |