village. [45] The earliest known letter of Erasmus to More (iii.¹, 55), a mere note, bears date Oxford, Oct. 28, 1499. It refers to former correspondence, and Mr. Seebohm, anxious to save the anecdote of the dinner, is inclined to imagine an even earlier date and, of course, a place other than Oxford. My impression is that the date is correct, that Erasmus heard of More first at Oxford, then began to correspond with him, and out of this correspondence saved only the little note in question. [46] In _Catalogus omnium Erasmi Rot. lucubrationum ipso autore. Basil_, 1524, i., _ad init._ "There all the royal children were being educated, with the exception of Arthur the eldest.... In the centre stood Henry, a boy of nine, but already with a certain regal bearing, that is a loftiness of mind joined with a singular courtesy of demeanour. At his right was Margaret, then about eleven, who afterward married James, king of Scotland. At his left Mary, a child of four, was playing, and Edmund, a babe, was carried in his nurse's arms. More and his friend Arnold, having paid their respects to the lad Henry, under whose reign Britain now rejoices, offered him some writing--I know not what. I, expecting nothing of this sort and having nothing to offer, promised that I would prove my devotion to him in some way and at some time or other. Meanwhile I was vexed with More, because he had given me no warning and especially because the youth sent me a note at dinner, challenging my pen. I went home, and though the muses, from whom I had long been divorced, were hostile to me, I produced an ode in three days. Thus I avenged the affront and patched up my chagrin. It was a task of only three days and yet a task, for it was several years since I had read or written any poetry." This rather silly tale is of interest only as giving the first hint of any connection of Erasmus with the English royal family, a connection not wholly without influence on his future. If More was playing a joke on his friend, as has been generally assumed, it was certainly a very poor one. Other indications of Erasmus' occupations in England are found in a famous letter to his former teacher in Paris, Faustus Andrelinus. It is a merry letter to a merry fellow and must not be taken too seriously.[47] [47] iii.¹, 56.