It is rather a singular circumstance, that the Duchess of Parma should have been the wife of the hereditary heir to the throne of England, and the sister of the hereditary heir to the throne of France,--her husband, the Duke of Parma, having been the representative of the House of Stuart,--and her brother, the Count de Chambord, being the representative of the House of Bourbon. E. S. S. W. * * * * * ORIGINAL ENGLISH ROYAL LETTERS TO THE GRAND MASTERS OF MALTA. (_Continued from_ Vol. ix., p. 267.) Through the great kindness of my old friend at this island, Frederick Sedley, Esq., and the continued and constant assistance of Dr. Vella, I am now enabled to forward correct translations of the seven remaining letters bearing the autograph of Charles II. Mindful of the space which will be required for their insertion in "N. & Q.," I shall confine myself to a few preliminary remarks. The first letter in the following list is the earliest in date, as it is of the greatest interest. In it we have, for the first time, found a curious statement recorded by an English monarch, making known that he not only built his galleys for the protection of trade in this sea in different ports of the Mediterranean, _and purchased the slaves to man them of the Order of Malta_, but also complaining to the Grand Master for permitting the collector of customs to charge an export toll of "five pieces of gold per head," which he considered an unjust tax on this _kind of commerce_, and the more especially so, because it was not demanded from his neighbours and allies, the Kings of France and Spain. That the Knights of St. John made their prisoners slaves, disposing of some to the wealthy residents or natives of the island, and employing others in the erection of their dwellings, palaces, and fortifications, is well known.