punishment; a place
of mere detention would not satisfy him.

Lanier, who, as Buckingham said in a letter quoted above, was much
trusted by his brother, seems to have been trusted by Purbeck without
reason, as he was evidently in the employment of Buckingham.

A letter[68] written by Buckingham to Coventry, the Attorney-General,
and to Heath, the Solicitor-General, contains the following:--

"I perceive by your paper I have read how much I am beholding, and do
also understand by Innocent Larnier and others of the persons
themselves and my Lo: Chiefe justice have taken in the business
concerning the Lady Purbeck for which I thanke you:... but I did hope
you would have more discovered before this.... I desire you to say
what you think fitt to be done in the matter of the divorce of my
brother and to notify me your opinion thereupon and (if you thinke it
fitt to be proceeded in that) what is the speedyest worke that may be
taken therein."

It was probably of this letter that Buckingham wrote[69] to Heath, the
Solicitor-General, on 16th February, 1625, from Newmarket:--

"I have written a letter to yourself and to Mr. Attorney regarding
the business of the Lady Purbeck showing that I desire you principally
only to aggravate her crimes that the Lady by my humble and your like
kind favour may yet be kept in prison, before the returne to towne,
for other my brother who hopes to be going soune will not be kept from
her and she will (if he should meet with her) so worke on him by her
subtilty and that shee will draw from him something to the advantage
of her dishonourable cause and to her end." Here again is evidence
that Purbeck "will not be kept from" his wife; and that, if they meet
"shee will draw something to the advantage of her" case in the divorce
suit. In what form could this something come? Is it possible that
Buckingham may have thought that she might induce Purbeck to appear as
a witness in her favour? Or that she might persuade him to stop the
suit if he should happen to be sane enough to do so when it came on?

The next letter has an interest, first, because it shows that Lady
Purbeck's child was really in the custody of Buckingham. Nominally it
was probably in that of Purbeck; but, if Purbeck as a lunatic was in
the custody of Buckingham, what was in Purbeck's custody would be in
Buckingham's custody. Presently, however, we shall hear of the child
being with its mother in her imprisonment at the house of an