visit to Hever Castle. But Henry was greatly disappointed in his expectation of obtaining a glimpse of Anne, for, under the plea of indisposition, she was shut up in her chamber till after the King's departure. Whether her own indignation or her father's policy prevented her from offering her homage to the enamoured tyrant, has not been recorded ; and, indeed, so little is known as to the sentiments or the conduct of Anne towards tbe King, till their marriage appeared almost certain, that nothing like a connected circumstantial account of the rise and progress of their courtship can be given. The elevation of Sir Thomas Boleyn to the peerage, by the title of Yiscount Rochford, in Juno, 1525, the conferring on him the office of treasurer of the royal household, the advancement of most of his relations, the return of Anne to court, in 1527, and the valuable offerings of jewels which she accepted from the King, and wore without reserve, must certainly now have assured both her and her immediate relations of tbe King's real intentions towards her. Yet she still affected to be wholly free from suspicion; and when Henry, encouraged by this forbearance, ventured on an undisguised avowal of his passion, she answered: " I am too good to be your mistress—I cannot be your wife ; therefore, I beseech your Grace, never again to broach the subject." This answer only fanned the flame of tbe King's desires, as the following four letters, addressed by the royal wooer to his mistress, evince. The original copies are m French : they were stolen by some treacherous domestic from Anne's cabinet, and conveyed to the Vatican at Rome ; and although, as they are without date, their arrangement may be a matter of opinion, there is little doubt that they were written antecedent to the commencement of the divorce. " M Y MISTRESS AND FRIEND, " I and my heart put ourselves into your hands, begging you to recommend, us to your favour, and not to let absence lessen your affection to us, for it were great pity to increase our pain, I which absence alone does sufficiently, I and more than I could ever have thought, ! bringing to my mind apoint of astronomy, I which is, that the farther the sun is from us, the more scorching is its heat; so it is with our love. We are at a distance from one another, and yet it keeps its fervency, at least on my side ; I hope tbe like on your part, assuring you that the uneasiness of absence is already too severe for me. And when I think of the continuance of that which I must of necessity suffer, it would seem intolerable to me, were it not for tbe firm hope I have of your unchangeable affection for me ; and now to put you sometimes in mind of it, and seeing I cannot be present in person with you, I send you the nearest thing to that possible—that is, my picture set in bracelets, with the whole device, which you know already, wishing myself in their place, when it shall please you. This from the hand of "Your servant and friend, "H. REX." " To MY MISTRESS, " Because the time seems to me very long since I have beard from you or concerning your health, the great affection I have for you has obliged me to send the bearer of this to be better informed both of your health and pleasure, particularly because, since my last parting with you, I have been told that you have entirely changed the opinion in which I left you, and that you will neither come to court with your mother, nor any other way, which report, if true, I cannot enough wonder at, being persuaded in my own mind that I have never committed any offence against you ; and it seems a very small return for the great love I bear you, to be kept at a distance from the person and presence of the woman in the world that I value the most ; and if you love me with as much affection as I hope you do, I am sure the distance of our two persons would be a little uneasy to you. Though this does not belong so much to the mistress as the servant, consider well, my mistress, how greatly your absence grieves me. I hope it is not your will that it should be so ; but if 1 hear for certain