any
of the principal collections, both in England and on the Continent.
Among these may be mentioned the British Museum and the State-Paper
Office, in London; the Library of the Dukes of Burgundy, in Brussels;
that of the University of Leyden; the Royal Library, at the Hague; the
Royal Library of Paris, and the Archives of the Kingdom, in the Hotel
Soubise; the Library of the Academy of History, the National Library at
Madrid, and, more important than either, the ancient Archives of
Simancas, within whose hallowed precincts Senor Gayangos was one of the
first scholars permitted to enter.

Besides these public repositories, there are several private collections
to the owners of which I am largely indebted for the liberal manner in
which they have opened them for my benefit. I may mention, in
particular, the late Lady Holland, who kindly permitted copies to be
made by Senor Gayangos from the manuscripts preserved in Holland House;
Sir Thomas Phillips, Bart., who freely extended the same courtesy in
respect to the present work which he had shown to me on a former
occasion; and Patrick Fraser Tytler, Esq., the late excellent historian
of Scotland, who generously placed at my disposal sundry documents
copied by him in the public offices with his own hand, for the
illustration of the reign of Mary Tudor.

In Spain the collection made by Senor Gayangos was enriched by materials
drawn from the family archives of the marquis of Santa Cruz, whose
illustrious ancestor first had charge of the Spanish armada; from the
archives of Medina Sidonia, containing papers of the duke who succeeded
to the command of that ill-starred expedition; and from the archives of
the house of Alva,--a name associated with the most memorable acts of
the government of Philip.

The manuscripts, thus drawn from various quarters, were fortified by
such printed works as, having made their appearance in the time of
Philip the Second, could throw any light on his government. Where such
works were not to be purchased, Senor Gayangos caused copies to be made
of them, or of those portions which were important to my purpose. The
result of his kind, untiring labors has been to put me in possession of
such a collection of authentic materials for the illustration of the
reign of Philip as no one before had probably attempted to make. Nor
until now had the time come for making the attempt with success.

There still remained, however, some places to be examined wher