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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +* + +Note: Footnotes have been inserted into this etext in square + brackets ("[]") close to the place where they were + indicated by a suffix in the original text. + + The pound sterling symbol has been written as 'L'. + + Text in italics has been written in capital letters. + + + + + +ROYALTY RESTORED + +OR + +LONDON UNDER CHARLES II. + +by + +J. FITZGERALD MOLLOY + + +* + + +TO THOMAS HARDY, ESQ. + +DEAR MR. HARDY, + +In common with all readers of the English language, I owe you a +debt of gratitude, the which I rejoice to acknowledge, even in so +poor a manner as by dedicating this work to you. + +Believe me, + +Faithfully yours always, J. FITZGERALD MOLLOY. + + +* + + +PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. + +No social history of the court of Charles II. has heretofore been +written. The Grammont Memoirs, devoid of date and detail, and +addressed "to those who read only for amusement," present but +brief imperfect sketches of the wits and beauties who thronged +the court of the merry monarch whilst the brilliant Frenchman +sojourned in England. Pepys, during the first nine years of the +Restoration, narrates such gossip as reached him regarding +Whitehall and the practices that obtained there. Evelyn records +some trifling actions of the king and his courtiers, with a view +of pointing a moral, rather than from a desire of adorning a +tale. + +To supply this want in our literature, I have endeavoured to +present a picture of the domestic life of a king, whose name +recalls pages of the brightest romance and strangest gallantry in +our chronicles. To this I have added a study of London during +his reign, taken as far as possible from rare, and invariably +from authentic sources. It will readily be seen this work, +embracing such subjects, could alone have resulted from careful +study and untiring consultation of diaries, records, memoirs, +letters, pamphlets, tracts, and papers left by contemporaries +familiar with the court and capital. The accomplishment of such +a task necessitated an expenditure of time, and devotion to +labour, such as in these fretful and impatient days is seldom +bestowed on work. + +As in previous volumes I have writ no fact is set down without +authority, so likewise the same rule is pursued in these; and for +such as desire to test the accuracy thereof, or follow at further +length statements necessarily abbreviated, a list is appended of +the principal literature consulted. And inasmuch as I have found +pleasure in this work, so may my gentle readers derive profit +therefrom; and as I have laboured, so may they enjoy. Expressing +which fair wishes, and moreover commending myself unto their love +and service, I humbly take my leave. + +J. FITZGERALD MOLLOY. + + +* + + +LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, TRACTS, AND NEWSPAPERS, +CONSULTED IN WRITING THIS VOLUME. + +"Elenchus Motuum Nuperorum." Heath's "Flagellum; or, the Life +and Death of Oliver Cromwell." Banks' "Life of Cromwell." +"Review of the Political Life of Cromwell." "A Modest +Vindication of Oliver Cromwell." "The Machivilian Cromwellist." +Kimber's "Life of Cromwell." "The World Mistaken in Oliver +Cromwell"(1668). "A Letter of Comfort to Richard Cromwell." +"Letters from Fairfax to Cromwell." "Cromwell's Letters and +Speeches." "A Collection of Several Passages concerning Cromwell +in his Sickness." "The Protector's Declaration against the Royal +Family of the Stuarts." "Memoirs of Cromwell and his Children, +supposed to be written by himself." "Narrative of the +Proceedings of the English Army in Scotland." "An Account of the +Last Houres of the late renowned Oliver, Lord Protector" (1659). +"Sedition Scourged." Heath's "Chronicles of the late Intestine +War." Welwood's "Memoirs of Transactions in England." "Memoirs +of Edmund Ludlow, M.P., in the year 1640." Forster's "Statesmen +of the Commonwealth." "Killing No Murther." Thurloe's "State +Papers." Lord Clarendon's "State Papers." Tatham's "Aqua +Triumphalis." "The Public Intelligencer." "Mercurius +Politicus." "The Parliamentary Intelligencer. Lyon's "Personal +History of Charles II." "The Boscobel Tracts, relating to the +Escape of Charles II." "An Exact Narrative of his Majesty's +Escape from Worcester. "Several Passages relating to the +Declared King of Scots both by Sea and Land." "Charles II.'s +Declaration to his Loving Subjects in the Kingdom of England." +"England's Joy; or, a Relation of the most Remarkable Passages +from his Majesty's Arrival at Dover to his Entrance at +Whitehall." "Copies of Two Papers written by the King." "His +Majesty's Gracious Message to General Monk." "King Charles, His +Starre." "A Speech spoken by a Blew-Coat of Christ's Hospital to +his Sacred Majesty." "Monarchy Revived." "The History of Charles +II., by a Person of Quality." Lady Fanshawe's "Memoirs." "The +Character of Charles II., written by an Impartial Hand and +exposed to Public View." "Sports and Pastimes of the English +People." "A History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in +England." Wright's "Homes of Other Days." Idalcomb's "Anecdotes +of Manners and Customs of London." Pepys' "Diary." Evelyn's +"Diary." Grammont's "Memoirs." Lord Romney's "Diary of the Times +of Charles II." "The Life and Adventures of Colonel Blood." +"Diary of Dr. Edward Lake, Court Chaplain." Bishop Burnet's +"History of His Own Times." Oldmixon's "Court Tales." Madame +Dunois' "Memoirs of the English Court." Heath's "Glories and +Triumphs of Charles II." "Continuation of the Life of Edward, +Earl of Clarendon." "Original Correspondence of Lord Clarendon." +"The Memoirs of Sir John Reresby." Lister's "Life of Clarendon. +Brain Fairfax's "Memoirs of the Duke of Buckingham." "Letters of +Philip, Second Earl of Chesterfield." Aubrey's "Memoirs." "The +Life of Mr. Anthony a Wood, written by Himself." Elias Ashmole's +"Memoirs of his Life." Luttrell's "Diary." "The Althorp Memoirs" +(privately printed). Lord Broghill's "Memoirs." "Memoir of +Barbara, Duchess of Cleveland" (privately printed). Aubrey's +"Lives of Eminent Men." Count Magalotti's "Travels in England." +"The Secret History of Whitehall: consisting of Secret Memoirs +which have hitherto lain conceal'd as not being discoverable by +any other hand." "Athenae Oxonienses." Lord Rochester's Works. +Brown's "Miscellanea Aulica." The Works of Andrew Marvell. +"State Tracts, relating to the Government from the year 1660 to +1689." "Antiquities of the Crown and State of Old England." +"Narrative of the Families exposed to the Great Plague of London." +"Loimologia; or, an Historical Account of the Plague in 1665." +"A Collection of very Valuable and Scarce Pieces relating to the +Last Plague in 1665." "London's Dreadful Visitation." "Letter +of Dr, Hedges to a Person of Quality." "God's Terrible Voice in +the City: a Narrative of the late Dreadful Judgments by Plague +and Fire." "Pestis; a Collection of Scarce Papers relating to +the Plague." "An Account of the Fire of London, published by +authority." Lord Clarendon's "Account of the Great Fire." "A +Voyage into England, containing many things relating to the State +of Learning, Religion, and other Curiosities of that Kingdom," by +Mons. Sorbiere. Carte's "Life of James, Duke of Ormond." +Carte's "History of England." Lord Somers' "Collection of Scarce +and Valuable Tracts." "Memoirs of the Duchess of Mazarine." +"Secret History of the Duchess of Portsmouth." St. Evremond's +"Memoirs." "Curialia; or, an Historical Account of some Branches +of the Royal Household." "Parliamentary History." Oldmixon's +"History of the Stuarts." Ellis's "Original Letters." Charles +James Fox's "History of James II." Sir George L'Estrange's +"Brief History of the Times." Lord Romney's "Diary of the Times +of Charles II." Clarke's "Life of James II." "Vindication of +the English Catholics." "The Tryals, Conviction and Sentence of +Titus Oates." "A Modest Vindication of Oates." "Tracts on the +Popish Plot." Macpherson's "Original Papers." A. Marvell's +"Account of Popery." "An Exact Discovery of the Mystery of +Iniquity as Practised among the Jesuits." Smith's "Streets of +London." "London Cries." Seymour's "Survey of the Cities of +London and Westminster." Stow's "Survey of London and +Westminster." "Angliae Metropolis." Dr. Laune's "Present State +of London, 1681." Sir Roger North's "Examn." "The Character of +a Coffee House." Stow's "Chronicles of Fashion." Fairholt's +"Costume in England." "A Just and Seasonable Reprehension of +Naked Breasts and Shoulders." Sir William Petty's "Observations +of the City of London." John Ogilvy's "London Surveyed." R. +Burton's "Historical Remarks." Dr. Birch's "History of the Royal +Society of London." "A Century of Inventions." Wild's "History +of the Royal Society." "The Philosophical Transactions of the +Royal Society." Richardson's "Life of Milton." Philip's "Life +of Milton." Johnson's "Lives of the Poets." Aubrey's +"Collections for the Life of Milton." Langbaine's "Lives and +Characters of the English Dramatic Poets." "Some Remarkable +Passages in the Life of Mr. Wycherley." "Some Account of what +Occurred at the King's Death," by Richard Huddlestone, O.S.B. "A +True Narrative of the late King's Death." + + +* + + +CONTENTS. + +CHAPTER I. + +Cromwell is sick unto death.--Fears and suspicions.--Killing no +Murder.--A memorable storm.--The end of all.--Richard Cromwell +made Protector,--He refuses to shed blood. Disturbance and +dissatisfaction.--Downfall of Richard.--Charles Stuart proclaimed +king.--Rejoicement of the nation.--The king comes into his own.-- +Entry into London.--Public joy and festivity. + +CHAPTER II. + +The story of the king's escape.--He accepts the Covenant, and +lands in Scotland.--Crowned at Scone.--Proclaimed king at +Carlisle.--The battle of Worcester,--Bravery of Charles.-- +Disloyalty of the Scottish cavalry.--The Royalists defeated.-- +The king's flight.--Seeks refuge in Boscobel Wood. The faithful +Pendrells.--Striving to cross the Severn.--Hiding in an oak +tree.--Sheltered by Master Lane. Sets out with Mistress Lane.-- +Perilous escapes.--On the road.--The king is recognised.-- +Strange adventures.--His last night in England. + +CHAPTER III. + +Celebration of the king's return. Those who flocked to +Whitehall.--My Lord Cleveland's gentlemen.--Sir Thomas Allen's +supper.--Touching for king's evil.--That none might lose their +labour--The man with the fungus nose.--The memory of the +regicides.--Cromwell's effigy.--Ghastly scene at Tyburn.--The +king's clemency.--The Coronation procession.--Sights and scenes +by the way.--His majesty is crowned + +CHAPTER IV. + +The king's character.--His proverbial grace.--He tells a story +well.--"A warmth and sweetness of the blood."--Beautiful Barbara +Palmer.--Her intrigue with my Lord Chesterfield.--James, Duke of +York. His early days.--Escape from St. James's.--Fights in the +service of France.--Marriage with Anne Hyde.--Sensation at +Court.--The Duke of Gloucester's death.--The Princess of Orange. +--Schemes against the Duke of York's peace.--The "lewd informer." +--Anne Hyde is acknowledged Duchess of York. + +CHAPTER V. + +Morality of the restoration.--Puritan piety.--Cromwell's +intrigues.--Conduct of women under the Republic.--Some notable +courtiers.--The Duke of Ormond and his family.--Lord St. Albans +and Henry Jermyn.--His Grace of Buckingham and Mistress Fairfax. +--Lord Rochester.--Delights all hearts.--The king's projected +marriage.--Catherine of Braganza.--His majesty's speech.--A royal +love-letter.--The new queen sets sail. + +CHAPTER VI. + +The king's intrigue with Barbara Palmer.--The queen arrives at +Portsmouth.--Visited by the Duke of York.--The king leaves town. +--First interview with his bride.--His letter to the lord +chancellor.--Royal marriage and festivities.--Arrival at Hampton +Court Palace.--Prospects of a happy union.--Lady Castlemaine +gives birth to a second child.--The king's infatuation.--Mistress +and wife.--The queen's misery.--The king's cruelty.--Lord +Clarendon's messages.--His majesty resolves to break the queen's +spirit.--End of the domestic quarrel. + +CHAPTER VII. + +Their majesties arrive at Whitehall.--My Lady Castlemaine a +spectator.--Young Mr. Crofts.--New arrivals at court.--The +Hamilton family.--The Chevalier de Grammont.--Mrs. Middleton and +Miss Kirke.--At the queen's ball.--La belle Hamilton.--The queen +mother at Somerset House.--The Duke of Monmouth's marriage.--Fair +Frances Stuart.--Those who court her favour.--The king's passion. + +CHAPTER VIII. + +The Duke of York's intrigues.--My Lady Chesterfield and his royal +highness.--The story of Lady Southesk's love,--Lord Arran plays +the guitar.--Lord Chesterfield is jealous.--The countess is taken +from court.--Mistress Margaret Brooks and the king.--Lady Denham +and the duke.--Sir John goes mad.--My lady is poisoned. + +CHAPTER IX. + +Court life under the merry monarch.--Riding in Hyde Park.-- +Sailing on the Thames.--Ball at Whitehall.--Petit soupers.--What +happened at Lady Gerrard's.--Lady Castlemaine quarrels with the +king.--Flight to Richmond.--The queen falls ill.--The king's +grief and remorse.--Her majesty speaks.--Her secret sorrow finds +voice in delirium.--Frances Stuart has hopes.--The queen +recovers. + +CHAPTER X. + +Notorious courtiers.--My Lord Rochester's satires.--Places a +watch on certain ladies of quality.--His majesty becomes +indignant.--Rochester retires to the country.--Dons a disguise +and returns to town.--Practises astrology.--Two maids of honour +seek adventure.--Mishaps which befell them.--Rochester forgiven. +--The Duke of Buckingham.--Lady Shrewsbury and her victims.-- +Captain Howard's duel.--Lord Shrewsbury avenges his honour.--A +strange story.--Colonel Blood attempts an abduction.--Endeavours +to steal the regalia.--The king converses with him. + +CHAPTER XI. + +Terror falls upon the people.--Rumours of a plague.--A sign in +the heavens.--Flight from the capital.--Preparations against the +dreaded enemy.--Dr. Boghurst's testimony.--God's terrible voice +in the city.--Rules made by the lord mayor.--Massacre of +animals.--O, dire death!--Spread of the distemper.--Horrible +sights.--State of the deserted capital.--"Bring out your dead." +--Ashes to ashes.--Fires are lighted.--Relief of the poor.--The +mortality bills. + +CHAPTER XII + +A cry of fire by night.--Fright and confusion.--The lord mayor is +unmanned.--Spread of the flames.--Condition of the streets.-- +Distressful scenes.--Destruction of the Royal Exchange.--Efforts +of the king and the Duke of York.--Strange rumours and alarms, +St. Paul's is doomed.--The flames checked.--A ruined city as seen +by day and night.--Wretched state of the people.--Investigation +into the origin of the fire.--A new city arises. + +CHAPTER XIII. + +The court repairs to Oxford--Lady Castlemaine's son.--Their +majesties return to Whitehall.--The king quarrels with his +mistress.--Miss Stuart contemplates marriage.--Lady Castlemaine +attempts revenge.--Charles makes an unpleasant discovery.--The +maid of honour elopes.--His majesty rows down the Thames.--Lady +Castlemaine's intrigues.--Fresh quarrels at court.--The king on +his knees. + +CHAPTER XIV. + +The kingdom in peril.--The chancellor falls under his majesty's +displeasure.--The Duke of Buckingham's mimicry.--Lady +Castlemaine's malice.--Lord Clarendon's fall.--The Duke of Ormond +offends the king's mistress.--She covers him with abuse.--Plots +against the Duke of York.--Schemes for a royal divorce.--Moll +Davis and Nell Gwynn.--The king and the comedian.--Lady +Castlemaine abandons herself to great disorders.--Young Jack +Spencer.--The countess intrigues with an acrobat.--Talk of the +town.--The mistress created a duchess. + +CHAPTER XV. + +Louise de Querouaille.--The Triple Alliance.--Louise is created +Duchess of Portsmouth,--Her grace and the impudent comedian.-- +Madam Ellen moves in society. The young Duke of St. Albans.-- +Strange story of the Duchess of Mazarine.--Entertaining the wits +at Chelsea.--Luxurious suppers.--profligacy and wit. + +CHAPTER XVI. + +A storm threatens the kingdom--The Duke of York is touched in his +conscience.--His interview with Father Simons.--The king declares +his mind.--The Duchess of York becomes a catholic.--The +circumstances of her death.--The Test Act introduced.--Agitation +of the nation.--The Duke of York marries again.--Lord +Shaftesbury's schemes.--The Duke of Monmouth.--William of Orange +and the Princess Mary.--Their marriage and departure from +England. + +CHAPTER XVII. + +The threatened storm bursts.--History of Titus Oates and Dr. +Tonge.--A dark scheme concocted.--The king is warned of danger. +--The narrative of a horrid plot laid before the treasurer.-- +Forged letters.--Titus Oates before the council.--His blunders. +--A mysterious murder.--Terror of the citizens.--Lord +Shaftesbury's schemes.--Papists are banished from the capital.-- +Catholic peers committed to the Tower.--Oates is encouraged. + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +Reward for the discovery of murderers.--Bedlow's character and +evidence.--His strange story.--Development of the "horrid plot." +--William Staley is made a victim.--Three Jesuits hung.--Titus +Oates pronounced the saviour of his country.--Striving to ruin +the queen.--Monstrous story of Bedlow and Oates.--The king +protects her majesty.--Five Jesuits executed.--Fresh rumours +concerning the papists.--Bill to exclude the Duke of York.--Lord +Stafford is tried.--Scene at Tower Hill.--Fate of the +conspirators. + +CHAPTER XIX. + +London under Charles II.--Condition and appearance of the +thoroughfares.--Coffee is first drunk in the capital.--Taverns +and their frequenters.--The city by night.--Wicked people do +creep about.--Companies of young gentlemen.--The Duke of Monmouth +kills a beadle.--Sir Charles Sedley's frolic.--Stately houses of +the nobility.--St. James's Park.--Amusement of the town.--At +Bartholomew Fair.--Bull, bear, and dog fights.--Some quaint +sports. + +CHAPTER XX. + +Court customs in the days of the merry monarch.--Dining in +public.--The Duke of Tuscany's supper to the king.-- +Entertainment of guests by mountebanks.--Gaming at court.--Lady +Castlemaine's losses.--A fatal duel.--Dress of the period.-- +Riding-habits first seen.--His majesty invents a national +costume.--Introduction of the penny post.--Divorce suits are +known.--Society of Antiquaries.--Lord Worcester's inventions.-- +The Duchess of Newcastle. + +CHAPTER XXI. + +A period rich in literature.--John Milton's early life.--Writing +"Paradise Lost."--Its publication and success.--His later works +and death.--John Dryden gossips with wits and players.--Lord +Rochester's revenge.--Elkanah Settle.--John Crowne.--Thomas Otway +rich in miseries.--Dryden assailed by villains.--The ingenious +Abraham Cowley.--The author of "Hudibras."--Young Will Wycherley +and Lady Castlemaine. The story of his marriage.--Andrew +Marvell, poet and politician.--John Bunyan. + +CHAPTER XXII. + +Time's flight leaves the king unchanged.--The Rye House +conspiracy.--Profligacy of the court.--The three duchesses.--The +king is taken ill.--The capital in consternation.--Dr. Ken +questions his majesty.--A Benedictine monk is sent for.--Charles +professes catholicity and receives the Sacraments.--Farewell to +all.--His last night on earth.--Daybreak and death.--He rests in +peace. + + +* + + +ROYALTY RESTORED + +OR, + +LONDON UNDER CHARLES II. + + +CHAPTER I. + +Cromwell is sick unto death.--Fears and suspicions.--Killing no +Murder.--A memorable storm.--The end of all.--Richard Cromwell +made Protector.--He refuses to shed blood.--Disturbance and +dissatisfaction.--Downfall of Richard.--Charles Stuart proclaimed +king.--Rejoicement of the nation.--The king comes into his own. +--Entry into London.--Public joy and satisfaction. + +On the 30th of January, 1649, Charles I. was beheaded. In the +last days of August in the year of grace 1658, Oliver Cromwell +lay sick unto death at the Palace of Whitehall. On the 27th day +of June in the previous year, he had, in the Presence of the +Judges of the land, the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the City, and +Members of Parliament assembled at Westminster Hall, seated +himself on the coronation chair of the Stuarts, assumed the title +of Lord Protector, donned a robe of violet velvet, girt his loins +with a sword of state, and grasped the sceptre, symbolic of +kingly power. From that hour distrust beset his days, his nights +were fraught with fear. All his keen and subtle foresight, his +strong and restless energies, had since then been exerted in +suppressing plots against his power, and detecting schemes +against his life, concocted by the Republicans whose liberty he +had betrayed, and by the Royalists whose king he had beheaded. + +Soon after he had assumed the title of Lord High Protector, a +most daring pamphlet, openly advocating his assassination, was +circulated in vast numbers throughout the kingdom. It was +entitled "Killing no Murder," and was dedicated in language +outrageously bold to His Highness Oliver Cromwell. "To your +Highness justly belongs the honour of dying for the people," it +stated, "and it cannot but be an unspeakable consolation to you, +in the last moments of your life, to consider with how much +benefit to the world you are likely to leave it. It is then +only, my lord, the titles you now usurp will be truly yours; you +will then be, indeed, the deliverer of your country, and free it +from a bondage little inferior to that from which Moses delivered +his, you will then be that true reformer which you would now be +thought; religion shall then be restored, liberty asserted, and +Parliaments have those privileges they have sought for. All this +we hope from your Highness's happy expiration. To hasten this +great good is the chief end of my writing this paper; and if it +have the effects I hope it will, your Highness will quickly be +out of the reach of men's malice, and your enemies will only be +able to wound you in your memory, which strokes you will not +feel." + +The possession of life becomes dearest when its forfeiture is +threatened, and therefore Cromwell took all possible means to +guard against treachery--the only foe he feared, and feared +exceedingly. "His sleeps were disturbed with the apprehensions +of those dangers the day presented unto him in the approaches of +any strange face, whose motion he would most fixedly attend," +writes James Heath, gentleman, in his "Chronicles," published in +1675. "Above all, he very carefully observed such whose mind or +aspect were featured with any chearful and debonair lineaments; +for such he boded were they that would despatch him; to that +purpose he always went secretly armed, both offensive and +defensive; and never stirred without a great guard. In his usual +journey between Whitehall and Hampton Court, by several roads, he +drove full speed in the summer time, making such a dust with his +life-guard, part before and part behinde, at a convenient +distance, for fear of choaking him with it, that one could hardly +see for a quarter of an hour together, and always came in some +private way or other." The same authority, in his "Life of +Cromwell," states of him, "It was his constant custom to shift +and change his lodging, to which he passed through twenty several +locks, and out of which he had four or five ways to avoid +pursuit." Welwood, in his "Memoirs," adds the Protector wore a +coat of mail beneath his dress, and carried a poniard under his +cloak. + +Nor was this all. According to the "Chronicle of the late +Intestine War," Cromwell "would sometimes pretend to be merry, +and invite persons, of whom he had some suspicion, to his cups, +and then drill out of their open hearts such secrets as he wisht +for. He had freaks also to divert the vexations of his misgiving +thoughts, calling on by the beat of drum his footguards, like a +kennel of hounds to snatch away the scraps and reliques of his +table. He said every man's hand was against him, and that he ran +daily into further perplexities, out of which it was impossible +to extricate, or secure himself therein, without running into +further danger; so that he began to alter much in the tenour of +his former converse, and to run and transform into the manners of +the ancient tyrants, thinking to please and mitigate his own +tortures with the sufferings of others." + +But now the fate his vigilance had hitherto combated at last +overtook him in a manner impossible to evade. He was attacked by +divers infirmities, but for some time made no outward sign of his +suffering, until one day five physicians came and waited on him, +as Dr. George Bate states in his ELENCHUS MOTUUM NUPERORUM. And +one of them, feeling his pulse, declared his Highness suffered +from an intermittent fever; hearing which "he looked pale, fell +into a cold sweat, almost fainted away, and orders himself to be +carried to bed." His fright, however, was but momentary. He was +resolved to live. He had succeeded in raising himself to a +position of vast power, but had failed in attaining the great +object of his ambition--the crowned sovereignty of the nation he +had stirred to its centre, and conquered to its furthest limits. +Brought face to face with death, his indomitable will, which had +shaped untoward circumstances to his accord with a force like +unto fate itself, now determined to conquer his shadowy enemy +which alone intercepted his path to the throne. Therefore as he +lay in bed he said to those around him with that sanctity of +speech which had cloaked his cruellest deeds and dissembled his +most ambitious designs, "I would be willing to live to be further +serviceable to God and his people." + +As desires of waking hours are answered in sleep, so in response +to his nervous craving for life he had delusive assurances of +health through the special bounty of Providence. He was +therefore presently able to announce he "had very great +discoveries of the Lord to him in his sickness, and hath some +certainty of being restored;" as Fleetwood, his son-in-law, wrote +on the 24th of August in this same year. + +Accordingly, when one of the physicians came to him next morning, +the High Protector said, "Why do you look sad?" To which the man +of lore replied evasively, "So it becomes anyone who had the +weighty care of his life and health upon him." Then Cromwell to +this purpose spoke: "You think I shall die; I tell you I shall +not die this bout; I am sure on't. Don't think I am mad. I +speak the words of truth upon surer grounds than Galen or your +Hippocrates furnish you with. God Almighty himself hath given +that answer, not to my prayers alone, but also to the prayers of +those who entertain a stricter commerce and greater intimacy with +him. Ye may have skill in the nature of things, yet nature can +do more than all physicians put together, and God is far above +nature." The doctor besought him to rest, and left the room. +Outside he met one of his colleagues, to whom he gave it as his +opinion their patient had grown light-headed, and he repeated the +words which Cromwell had spoken. "Then," said his brother- +physician, "you are certainly a stranger in this house; don't you +know what was done last night? The chaplain and all their +friends being dispersed into several parts of the palace have +prayed to God for his health, and they all heard the voice of God +saying, 'He will recover,' and so they are all certain of it." + +"Never, indeed, was there a greater stock of prayers going on for +any man," as Thurlow, his secretary, writes. So sure were those +around him that Providence must hearken to and grant the +fulfilment of such desires as they thought well to express, that, +as Thomas Goodwin, one of Cromwell's chaplains, said, "We asked +not for the Protector's life, for we were assured He had too +great things for this man to do, to remove him yet; but we prayed +for his speedy recovery, because his life and presence were so +necessary to divers things then of great moment to be +despatched." When this Puritanical fanatic was presently +disappointed, Bishop Burnet narrates "he had the impudence to say +to God, 'Thou hast deceived us.'" + +Meanwhile the Protector lay writhing in pain and terror. His +mind was sorely troubled at remembrance of the last words spoken +by his daughter Elizabeth, who had threatened judgments upon him +because of his refusal to save the King; whilst his body was +grievously racked with a tertian fever, and a foul humour which, +beginning in his foot, worked its way steadily to his heart. +Moreover, some insight regarding his future seemed given to him +in his last days, for he appeared, as Ludlow, his contemporary, +states, "above all concerned for the reproaches he saw men would +cast upon his name, in tramping upon his ashes when dead." + +On the 30th of August his danger became evident even to himself, +and all hope of life left him. For hours after the certain +approach of death became undeniably certain, he remained quiet +and speechless, seemingly heedless of the exhortation and prayers +of his chaplains, till suddenly turning to one of them, he +whispered, "Tell me, is it possible to fall from grace?" The +preacher had a soothing reply ready: "It is not," he answered. +"Then," exclaimed this unhappy man, whose soul was red with the +blood of thousands of his countrymen, "I am safe, for I know I +was once in grace." Anon he cries out, whilst tossing wildly on +his bed, "Lord, although I am a miserable and a wretched +creature, I am in covenant with Thee through grace, and I may and +will come to Thee for Thy people. Pardon such as desire to +trample upon the dust of a poor worm. And give us a good night +if it be Thy pleasure. Amen." + +It was now the 2nd of September. As the evening of that day +approached he fell into a stupor, and those who watched him +thought the end had come. + +Within the darkened chamber in Whitehall all was silence and +gloom; without all was tumult and fear. Before the gates of the +palace a turbulent crowd of soldiers and citizens had gathered in +impatient anxiety. Those he had raised to power, those whose +fortunes depended on his life, were steeped in gloom; those whose +principles he had outraged by his usurpation, those whose +position he had crushed by his sway, rejoiced at heart. Not only +the capital, but the whole nation, was divided into factions +which one strong hand alone had been able to control; and terror, +begotten by dire remembrances of civil war and bloodshed, abode +with all lovers of peace. + +As evening closed in, the elements appeared in unison with the +distracted condition of the kingdom. Dark clouds, seeming of +ominous import to men's minds, gathered in the heavens, to be +presently torn asunder and hurried in wild flight by tempestuous +winds across the troubled sky. As night deepened, the gale +steadily increased, until it raged in boundless fury above the +whole island and the seas that rolled around its shores. In town +houses rocked on their foundations, turrets and steeples were +flung from their places; in the country great trees were +uprooted, corn-stacks levelled to the ground, and winter fruits +destroyed; whilst at sea ships sank to rise no more. This +memorable storm lasted all night, and continued until three +o'clock next afternoon, when Cromwell expired. + +His body was immediately embalmed, but was of necessity interred +in great haste. Westminster Abbey, the last home of kings and +princes, was selected as the fittest resting-place for the +regicide. Though it was impossible to honour his remains by +stately ceremonials, his followers were not content to let the +occasion of his death pass with-out commemoration. They +therefore had a waxen image of him made, which they resolved to +surround with all the pomp and circumstances of royalty. For +this purpose they carried it to Somerset House--one of the late +King's palaces--and placed it on a couch of crimson velvet +beneath a canopy of state. Upon its shoulders they hung a purple +mantle, in its right hand they placed a golden sceptre, and by +its side they laid an imperial crown, probably the same which, +according to Welwood, the Protector had secretly caused to be +made and conveyed to Whitehall with a view to his coronation. +The walls and ceiling of the room in which the effigy lay were +covered by sable velvet; the passages leading to it crowded with +soldiery. After a few weeks the town grew tired of this sight, +when the waxen image was taken to another apartment, hung with +rich velvets and golden tissue, and otherwise adorned to +symbolize heaven, when it was placed upon a throne, clad "in a +shirt of fine Holland lace, doublet and breeches of Spanish +fashion with great skirts, silk stockings, shoe-strings and +gaiters suitable, and black Spanish leather shoes." Over this +attire was flung a cloak of purple velvet, and on his head was +placed a crown with many precious stones. The room was then lit, +as Ludlow narrates, "by four or five hundred candles set in flat +shining candlesticks, so placed round near the roof that the +light they gave seemed like the rays of the sun, by all which he +was represented to be now in a state of glory." Lest, indeed, +there should be any doubt as to the place where his soul abode, +Sterry, the Puritan preacher, imparted the information to all, +that the Protector "now sat with Christ at the right hand of the +Father." + +But this pomp and state in no may overawed the people, who, by +pelting with mire Cromwell's escutcheon placed above the great +gate of Somerset House gave evidence of the contempt in which +they held his memory. After a lapse of over two months from the +day of his death, the effigy was carried to Westminster Abbey +with more than regal ceremony, the expenses of his lying-in-state +and of his funeral procession amounting, as stated by Walker and +Noble, to upwards of L29,000. "It was the joyfullest funeral I +ever saw," writes Evelyn, "for there were none that cried but +dogs, which the soldiers hooted away with a barbarous noise, +drinking and taking tobacco as they went." + +A little while before his death Cromwell had named his eldest +surviving son, Richard, as his successor, and he was accordingly +declared Protector, with the apparent consent of the council, +soldiers, and citizens. Nor did the declaration cause any +excitement, "There is not a dog who wags his tongue, so profound +is the calm which we are in," writes Thurlow to Oliver's second +son, Henry, then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. But if the nation +in its dejection made no signs of resistance, neither did it give +any indications of satisfaction, and Richard was proclaimed "with +as few expressions of joy as had ever been observed on a like +occasion." For a brief while a stupor seemed to lull the +factious party spirit which was shortly to plunge the country +into fresh difficulties. The Cromwellians and Republicans +foresaw resistless strife, and the Royalists quietly and +hopefully abided results. + +Nor had they long to wait. In the new Parliament assembled in +January, 1659, the Republicans showed themselves numerous and +bold beyond measure, and hesitated to recognise Richard Cromwell +as successor to the Protectorate. However, on the 14th of the +following month the Cromwellians gained the upper hand, when +Richard was confirmed in his title of "Lord Protector, and First +Magistrate of England, Scotland, and Ireland, with all the +territories depending thereon." Further discussion quickly +followed. "One party thinks the Protectorate cannot last; the +other that the Republican cannot raise itself again; the +indifferent hope that both will be right. It is easy to foretell +the upshot," writes Hyde. The disunion spread rapidly and +widely; not only was the Parliament divided against itself, but +so likewise was the army; and the new Protector had neither the +courage nor the ability to put down strife with a strong hand. +Richard Cromwell was a man of peaceful disposition, gentle +manners and unambitious mind, whom fate had forced into a +position for which he was in no way fitted. By one of those +strange contradictions which nature sometimes produces, he +differed in all things from his father; for not only was he +pleasure-loving, joyous, and humane, but he was, moreover, a +Royalist at heart, and continued in friendship with the Cavaliers +up to the period of his proclamation as Protector. It has been +stated that, falling on his knees, he entreated his father to +spare the life of Charles I.; it is certain he remained inactive +whilst the civil wars devastated the land; and there is evidence +to show that, during the seven months and twenty-eight days of +his Protectorship, he shrank from the perpetration of cruelty and +crime. Accordingly, when those who had at first supported his +authority eventually conspired against him, he refrained from +using his power to crush them. At this his friends were wrath. +"It is time to look about you," said Lord Howard, speaking with +the bluntness of a friend. "Empire and command are not now the +question. Your person, your life are in peril. You are the son +of Cromwell; show yourself worthy to be his son. This business +requires a bold stroke, and must be supported by a good head. Do +not suffer yourself to be daunted. I will rid you of your +enemies: do you stand by me, and only back my zeal for your +honour with your name; my head shall answer for the +consequences." + +Colonel Ingoldsby seconded the advice Lord Howard gave, but +Richard Cromwell hearkened to neither. "I have never done +anybody any harm, and never will," said he. "will not have a +drop of blood spilt for the preservation of my greatness, which +is a burden to me." At this Lord Howard was indignant. "Do you +think," he asked, "this moderation of yours will repair the wrong +your family has committed by its elevation? Everybody knows that +by violence your father procured the death of the late king, and +kept his sons in banishment: mercy in the present state of +affairs is unreasonable. Lay aside this pussillanimity; every +moment is precious; your enemies spend the time in acting which +we waste in consulting." "Talk no more of it," answered the +Protector. "I am thankful for your friendship, but violent +counsels suit not with me." + +The climax was at hand; his fall was but a question of time. "A +wonderfull and suddaine change in ye face of ye publiq," writes +Evelyn, on the 25th of April, 1659. "Ye new Protector Richard +slighted; several pretenders and parties strove for the +Government; all anarchy and confusion. Lord have mercy on us!" + +Before the month of May had expired, the House of Commons +commissioned two of its members to bid Richard Cromwell leave the +palace of Whitehall, and obtain his signature to a deed wherein +he acknowledged complete submission to Parliament. His brief +inglorious reign was therefore at an end. "As with other men," +he wrote to the House of Commons, "I expect protection from the +present Government: I do hold myself obliged to demean myself +with all the peaceableness under it, and to procure, to the +utmost of my power, that all in whom I have any interest to do +the same." He retired into Hampshire, where he dwelt as a +private gentleman. His brother Henry resigned his position as +Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and settled in Cambridgeshire. From +this time the name of Cromwell was no longer a power in the land. + +During two years subsequent to the death of Oliver the government +of England underwent various changes, and the kingdom suffered +many disorders; until, being heartily sick of anarchy, the people +desired a king might once more reign over them. accordingly, +they turned their eyes towards the son of him whom "the boldest +villany that ever any nation saw" had sent to the block. And the +time being ripe, Charles Stuart, then an exile in Breda, +despatched Sir John Grenville with royal letters to both Houses +of Parliament, likewise to the Lord Mayor of London and members +of the Common Council, to Monk, commander of the forces, and +Montagu, admiral of the fleet. These letters were received with +so universal a joy and applause, that Parliament forthwith +ordained Charles Stuart should be proclaimed "the most potent, +mighty, and undoubted King of England, Scotland and Ireland." +Moreover, both Houses agreed that an honourable body of +Commissioners, all men of great quality and birth, should be sent +to the king with letters, humbly begging his majesty would be +pleased to hasten his long-desired return into England. And +because they knew full well the royal exchequer was empty, +Parliament ordered these noble gentlemen to carry with them a +present of fifty thousand pieces of gold to the king, together +with ten thousand to his brother of York, and five thousand to +his brother of Gloucester. Nor was the City of London backwards +in sending expressions of loyalty and tokens of homage and +devotion; to evince which twenty valiant men and worthy citizens +were despatched with messages of goodwill towards him, and +presents in gold to the amount of twelve thousand pounds. + +And presently Admiral Montagu arriving with his fleet upon the +coast of Holland, awaited his majesty near Scheveling; and all +things being in readiness the king with his royal brothers and a +most noble train set sail for England. + +It came to pass that on the 25th day of May, 1660, a vast +concourse of nobility, gentry, and citizens had assembled at +Dover to meet and greet their sovereign king, Charles II., on his +landing. On the fair morning of that day a sound of cannon +thundering from the castle announced that the fleet, consisting +of "near forty sail of great men-of-war," which conveyed his +majesty to his own, was in sight; whereon an innumerable crowd +betook its joyful way to the shore. The sun was most gloriously +bright, the sky cloudless, the sea calm. Far out upon the blue +horizon white-winged ships could be clearly discerned. By three +o'clock in the afternoon they had reached the harbour, when the +king, embarking in a galley most richly adorned, was rowed to +shore. Then cannon roared once more from the castle, and were +answered from the beach; bells rang from church towers, and a +mighty shout went up from the hearts of the people. + +In the midst of these rejoicings Charles II. landed, and the +gallant General Monk, who had been mainly instrumental in +bringing his royal master to the throne without loss of blood, +now fell upon his knees to greet his majesty. The king raised +the general from the ground, embraced and kissed him. Then the +nobility hastened to pay their duty likewise, and the Mayor and +Aldermen of Dover presented him with a most loyal address. And +presently, with the roar of cannon, the clangour of bells, the +sound of music, and the shouts of a great multitude ringing in +his ears, the king advanced on his way towards Canterbury. At +the gates of this ancient city he was met by the mayor and +aldermen, and was presented by them with a golden tankard, Here +he spent the following day, which being Sunday, he went with a +great train to the cathedral, where service according to the +Church of England, long disused by the Puritans, was restored, to +the satisfaction of many. + +Setting out from Canterbury on Monday, the 29th of May--which +was, moreover, the anniversary of his birth--he journeyed to +Blackheath, where he reviewed the forces drawn up with great pomp +and military splendour to greet him, and bestowed many gracious +expressions on them. Then, having received assurances of their +loyal homage through their commander, Colonel Knight, he turned +towards London town. And the nearer he approached, the more +dense became crowds thronging to meet him; the fields on either +side the long white road being filled with persons of all +conditions, who cheered him lustily. As he passed they flung +leaves of trees and sweet May flowers beneath his horse's feet, +and waved green boughs on high, And when he came to St. George's +Fields, there was my lord mayor in his robes of new velvet, +wearing his collar of wrought gold, and attended by his aldermen +in brave apparel likewise. Going down on his knees my lord mayor +presented the king with the city sword, which his majesty with +some happy expressions of confidence gave back into his good +keeping, having first struck him with it upon the shoulder and +bade him rise up Sir Thomas Allen. Whereon that worthy man rose +to his feet and conducted the king to a large and richly adorned +pavilion, and entertained him at a splendid collation, it being +then one of the clock. And being refreshed his majesty set forth +again, and entered the city, which had never before shown so +brave and goodly an appearance as on this May day, when all the +world seemed mad with joy. + +From London Bridge even to Whitehall Palace the way was lined on +one side by the train-bands of the city, and on the other by the +city companies in their rich livery gowns; to which were added a +number of gentlemen volunteers, all in white doublets, commanded +by Sir John Stanel. Across the streets hung garlands of spring +flowers that made the air most sweet, and at the corners thereof +were arches of white hawthorn in full bloom, bedecked with +streamers of gay colours. From wooden railed balconies, jutting +windows, and quaint gables hung fair tapestries, rich silks, and +stuffs of brilliant hues; and from the high red chimneys, grey +turrets, and lofty spires, floated flags bearing the royal arms +of England, and banners inscribed with such mottoes as loyalty +and affection could suggest. The windows and galleries were +filled with ladies of quality in bright dresses; the roofs and +scaffolding, with citizens of all classes, who awaited with eager +and joyous faces to salute their lord and king. + +And presently, far down the line of streets, a sound was heard of +innumerable voices cheering most lustily, which every minute +became nearer and louder, till at last a blare of trumpets was +distinguished, followed by martial music, and the tramp and +confusion of a rushing crowd which suddenly parted on all sides. +Then there burst on view the first sight of that brave and +glorious cavalcade to the number of twenty thousand, which +ushered the king back unto his own. First came a troop of young +and comely gentlemen, three hundred in all, representing the +pride and valour of the kingdom, wearing cloth of silver doublets +and brandishing naked swords which flashed in the sunlight. Then +another company, less by a hundred in number, habited in rich +velvet coats, their footmen clad in purple liveries; and next a +goodly troop under the command of Sir John Robinson, all dressed +in buff coats with cloth of silver sleeves, and green scarves +most handsome to behold. These were followed by a brave troop in +blue doublets adorned with silver lace, carrying banners of red +silk fringed with gold. Then came trumpets, and seven footmen in +sea-green and silver liveries, bearing banners of blue silk, +followed by a troop in grey and blue to the number of two hundred +and twenty, and led by the most noble the Earl of Northampton. +After various other companies, all brave in apparel, came two +trumpets bearing his majesty's arms, followed by the sheriffs' +men in red cloaks and silver lace, and by a great body of +gentlemen in black velvet coats with gold chains. Next rode six +hundred brave citizens, twelve ministers, the king's life guards, +led by Sir Gilbert Gerrard, the city marshals with eight footmen, +the city waits and officers, the sheriffs and aldermen in scarlet +gowns, the maces and heralds in great splendour, the lord mayor +carrying a naked sword in his strong right hand, the Duke of +Buckingham, and General Monk, soon to be created Duke of +Albermarle. + +Now other heralds sound their trumpets with blasts that make all +hearts beat quicker; church bells ring far louder than before; +voices are raised to their highest pitch, excitement reaches its +zenith, for here, mounted on a stately horse caparisoned in royal +purple and adorned with gold, rides King Charles himself; on his +right hand his brother of York, on his left his brother of +Gloucester. Handkerchiefs are waved, flowers are flung before +his way, words of welcome fall upon his ear, in answer to which +he bows with stately grace, smiles most pleasantly, and gives +such signs of delight as "cheared the hearts of all loyal +subjects even to extasie and transportation." Last of all came +five regiments of cavalry, with back, breast, and head piece, +which "diversified the show with delight and terrour." John +Evelyn stood in the Strand and watched the procession pass, when +that worthy man thanked God the king had been restored without +bloodshed, and by the very army that had rebelled against him. +"For such a restauration was never mention'd in any history +ancient or modern, since the returne of the Jews from the +Babylonish captivity; nor so joyfull a day and so bright ever +seene in this nation, this hapning when to expect or effect it +was past all human policy." + +For full seven hours this "most pompous show that ever was" wound +its way through the city, until at nine of the clock in the +evening it brought his majesty to the palace of Whitehall, where +the late king had "laid down his sacred head to be struck off +upon a block," almost twelve years before. Then the lord mayor +and his aldermen took their goodly leave, and the king entered +into the banquet hall, where the lords and commons awaited him, +and where an address was made to him by the Earl of Manchester, +Speaker to the House of Peers, congratulating him on his +miraculous preservation and happy restoration to his crown and +dignity after so long and so severe a suppression of his just +right and title. Likewise his lordship besought his majesty to +be the upright assertor of the laws and maintainer of the +liberties of his subjects. "So," said the noble earl, "shall +judgment run down like a river, and justice like a mighty stream, +and God, the God of your mercy, who hath so miraculously +preserved you, will establish your throne in righteousness and +peace." Then the king made a just and brief reply, and retired +to supper and to rest. + +The worthy citizens, however, were not satisfied that their +rejoicements should end here, and "as soon as night came," says +Dr. Bate, "an artificial day was begun again, the whole city +seeming to be one great light, as, indeed, properly it was a +luminary of loyalty, the bonfires continuing till daybreak, fed +by a constant supply of wood, and maintained with an equal excess +of gladness and fewel." Wine flowed from public fountains, +volleys of shot were discharged from houses of the nobility, +drums and other musical instruments played in the streets, +citizens danced most joyfully in open places, and the effigy of +Cromwell was burned, together with the arms of the Commonwealth +with expressions of great delight. + + + +CHAPTER II. + +The story of the king's escape.--He accepts the Covenant and +lands in Scotland.--Crowned at Scone.--Proclaimed king at +Carlisle.--The battle of Worcester.--Bravery of Charles.-- +Disloyalty of the Scottish cavalry.--The Royalists defeated. +--The King's flight.--Seeks refuge in Boscobel Wood.--The +faithful Pendrells.--Striving to cross the Severn.--Hiding in an +oak tree.--Sheltered by Master Lane.--Sets out with Mistress +Lane.--Perilous escapes.--On the road.--The king is recognised. +--Strange adventures.--His last night in England. + +That King Charles had been miraculously preserved, as my Lord +Manchester set forth, there can be no doubt. His courageous +efforts to regain the Crown at the battle of Worcester and his +subsequent escapes from the vigilant pursuits of the Cromwellian +soldiers, would, if set down in justice and with detail, present +a story more entertaining than any romance ever written. Here +they must of necessity be mentioned with brevity. + +In the year 1645, Charles I., having suffered the loss of many +great battles, became fearful of the danger which threatened his +family and himself. He therefore ordered his son Charles, who +had already retired into the west, to seek refuge in the Scilly +Isles. The prince complied with his desires, and went from +thence to Paris, where his mother, Henrietta Maria, had already +taken shelter, and, after a short stay with her, travelled to the +Hague. Soon after the king was beheaded, the Scots, who regarded +that foul act with great abhorrence, invited Charles to come into +their kingdom, provided he accepted certain hard conditions, +which left the government of all civil business in the hands of +Parliament, and the regulation of all religious matters in charge +of the Presbyterians. No other prospect of regaining his rights, +and of enabling him to fight for his throne presenting itself, he +accepted what was known as the Covenant, and landed in Scotland +in 1650. He was received with the respect due to a monarch, but +placed under the surveillance forced on a prisoner. The +fanatical Presbyterians, jealous of that potent influence which +his blithe ways exercised over all with whom he associated, +neither permitted him to attend the council nor command the army; +they, however, preached to him incessantly, admonished him of his +sins and those of his parents, guarded him as a captive, and +treated him as a puppet. Meanwhile Cromwell, being made aware of +his presence in the kingdom, advanced at the head of a powerful +body into Scotland, fought and won the battle of Dunbar, stormed +and captured Leith, and took his triumphal way towards Edinburgh +town. Charles was at this time in Perth, and being impatient at +his enforced inaction whilst battles were fought in his name, and +lives lost in his cause, made his escape from the Covenanters, +with the determination of arousing the Royalists who lay in the +north. But the Scots soon overtook and recaptured him. However, +this decisive action awoke them to a better understanding of the +deference due to his position, and therefore they crowned him at +Scone on the first day of the year 1651, with much solemnity, and +subsequently made him commander of the army. + +After spending some months in reorganizing the troops, he boldly +declared his intention of marching into England, and fighting the +rebel force. Accordingly, on the 31st of July, 1651, he set out +from Sterling with an army of between eleven and twelve thousand +men. At Carlisle he was proclaimed king, and a declaration was +published in his name, granting free grace and pardon to all his +subjects in England, of whatever nature or cause their offences, +saving Cromwell, Bradshaw and Cooke. He then marched to +Lancashire, and on the 23rd of August unfurled the Royal standard +at Worcester, amidst the enthusiastic acclamations of his troops +and the loyal demonstrations of the citizens. Weary of civil +strife, depressed with fear of Cromwell's severities, and +distrustful of the Presbyterians, who chiefly composed the young +king's army, the Royalists had not gathered to his standard in +such numbers as he had anticipated. His troops, since leaving +Scotland, had been reinforced merely by two thousand men; but +Charles had hopes that fresh recruits would join him when news of +the rising got noised abroad. + +The Republicans were filled with dismay at the king's determined +action, but were prompt to make a counter-move, Accordingly, +additional troops were levied, London was left to be defended by +volunteers, and Cromwell, heading an army of thirty-four thousand +men, marched against the Royalists. On the 28th of August, they +drew near Worcester, and on the 3rd of September the battle was +fought which will remain for ever famous in the annals of civil +war. On the morning of that day, the king, ascending the +cathedral tower, saw the enemy's forces advancing towards +Worcester: before reaching the city, it was necessary they +should cross the Severn, and, in order to prevent this if +possible, Charles hurried down and directed that some of his +troops, under the command of Montgomery, should defend Powick +Bridge; whilst he stationed others under Colonel Pitscottie lower +down, at a point of the river towards which the Republicans were +marching with pontoons, by means of which they intended to cross. +The young king, hopeful of victory and full of enthusiasm, rode +speedily out at the head of his troops and placed them at their +various stations. Scarcely had he done so, when he became aware +that the main body of the enemy had opened an artillery fire on +Fort Royal, which guarded the city on the south-east side. He +therefore galloped back in hot haste to headquarters, and +reconnoitred the advanced posts eastward of the city, in full +front of the enemy's fire. Meanwhile Montgomery, having +exhausted his ammunition, was obliged to retreat in disorder from +Powick Bridge, followed by the Cromwellians. The king now +courageously resolved to attack the enemy's camp at Perry Wood, +which lay south-east of Worcester. Accordingly he marched out +with the flower of his Highland infantry and the English +cavaliers, led by the Dukes of Hamilton and Buckingham. +Cromwell, seeing this, hastened to intercept the king's march, +whereon a fierce battle was bravely fought on either side. +Nothing could be more valiant than the conduct of the young king, +who showed himself wholly regardless of his life in the fierce +struggle for his rights. Twice was his horse shot under him; but +increasing danger seemed but to animate him to greater daring. +So bravely did his army fight likewise, that the Republicans at +first gave way before them. For upwards of four hours the +engagement raged with great fierceness. Cromwell subsequently +declared it was "as stiff a contest as he had ever seen," and +his experience was great. Success seemed now to crown the +Royalists, anon to favour the Roundheads. The great crisis of +the day at length arrived: the Cromwellians began to waver and +give way just as the Royalist cavalry had expended their +ammunition; the king had still three thousand Scotch cavalry in +the rear under the command of Leslie, who had not yet been called +into action. He therefore ordered them to advance; but, to his +horror, not one of these men, who had looked on as passive +spectators, made a movement. In this hour, when victory or +defeat hung upon a thread the Scots ignominiously failed their +king. Charles instantly saw he was undone. The English cavalry +continued to fight bravely, in their desperation using the butt +ends of their muskets; but they were gradually compelled to give +way before the enemy, who, seeing their condition, had renewed +the attack. The Royalists therefore fell back into the city. +When the king re-entered Worcester he saw before him a scene of +the most disastrous confusion. Royalists and Republicans +encountered and fought each other in every thoroughfare; the air +was filled with the report of muskets, the imprecations of +soldiers, the groans of wounded men, and the shrieks of women. +The streets ran red with blood. At such a sight his heart sank +within him, but, manning himself for fresh efforts, he called his +troops together and sought to incite them with courage to make a +final charge. "I would rather," he cried out, "you would shoot +me than keep me alive to see the sad consequences of this fatal +day." Those who heard him were disheartened: it was too late to +retrieve their heavy losses: most of them refused to heed him; +many sought safety in flight. Then the young king's friends, +gathering round, besought him to make good his escape; and +accordingly, with a sad heart, he rode out of St. Martin's Gate +humbled and defeated. In order to cover his retreat from the +enemy now advancing, my Lord Cleveland, Sir James Hamilton, +Colonel Careless, and some other worthy gentlemen defended +Sudbury Gate, towards which the main body of the Republicans +approached. They held this position a sufficient time to gain +the end for which it was undertaken. But at length the +Republicans, forcing open the gate, marched upon the fort, +defended by fifteen hundred soldiers under Colonel Drummond. +This loyal man refusing to surrender, the fort was speedily +stormed; and he and those of his men who survived the attack were +mercilessly put to the sword. + +Dr. George Bate gives a quaint and striking picture of what +followed. "Deplorable and sad was the countenance of the town +after that," writes he; "the victorious soldiers on the one hand +killing, breaking into houses, plundering, sacking, roaring, and +threatening; on the other hand, the subdued flying, turning their +backs to be cut and slashed, and with outstretched hands begging +quarter; some, in vain resisting, sold their lives as dear as +they could, whilst the citizens to no purpose prayed, lamented, +and bewailed. All the streets are strewed with dead and mangled +bodies. Here were to be seen some that begged relief, and then +again others weltering in their own gore, who desired that at +once an end might be put to their lives and miseries. The dead +bodies lay unburied for the space of three days or more, which +was a loathsome spectacle that increased the horror of the +action." + +Concerning his subsequent dangers and narrow escapes, the king, +in his days of peace and prosperity, was wont to discourse at +length, for they had left impressions on his mind which lasted +through life. Edward Hyde, Lord Clarendon, his Lord High +Chancellor, Dr. George Bate, his learned physician, and Samuel +Pepys, Esquire, sometime Surveyor-General to the Victualling +Office, have preserved the records of that time of peril, as told +by his majesty. True, their various stories differ in minor +details, but they agree in principal facts. The king had not +ridden many miles from Worcester when he found himself surrounded +by about four thousand of his army, including the Scots under the +command of Leslie. Though they would not fight for him, they +were ready enough to fly with him. At first he thought of +betaking himself to Scotland; but having had sad proof of the +untrustworthy character of those with whom he travelled, he +feared they would further betray him if pursued by the enemy. He +therefore resolved to reach London before the news of his defeat +arrived thither, and make his escape from thence; but this scheme +presented many difficulties. Amongst the persons of quality who +accompanied him were my Lord Duke of Buckingham, the Earls of +Derby and Lauderdale, and the Lords Wilmot and Talbot. During +their journey it fell from my Lord Derby's lips, that when he had +been defeated at Wigan, one Pendrell, an honest labourer and a +Papist, had sheltered him in Boscobel House, not far distant from +where they then rode. Hearing this, the king resolved to trust +this same faithful fellow, and for the present seek such refuge +as Pendrell could afford. It was not easy, however, for his +majesty to escape the Scots; but when night came, he and his +gentlemen slipped away from the high road, which the others +continued to pursue, and made for Boscobel Wood, led by Charles +Giffard, a loyal gentleman and true. The house they sought was +situated between Tong Castle and Brewood, in a woody place most +fitting for retreat; it was, moreover, six and twenty miles from +Worcester, and stood in Shropshire, on the borders of +Staffordshire. + +In order to gain this haven of rest, it was necessary for them to +pass through Stourbridge, where a troop of the Republican army +lay quartered. Midnight had fallen ere they reached the town, +which was now wrapt in darkness, and was, moreover, perfectly +still. The king and his friends, dismounting, led their horses +through the echoing streets as softly as possible, being filled +the while with dire apprehensions. Safely leaving it, they rode +into the wood until they came to the old convent of Whiteladies, +once the home of Cistercian nuns, who had long since been driven +from their peaceful retreat. The house was now the habitation of +the Giffard family, with whom George Pendrell lived as servant. +On being aroused, he came forth with a lantern, and admitted +them, when Charles Giffard made known to him in whose presence he +stood, and acquainted him with their situation. Thereupon the +honest fellow promised to serve the king faithfully, and sent +immediately for his brothers four: William, who took charge of +Boscobel House, not far removed; Humphrey, who was miller at +Whiteladies; Richard, who lived at Hobbal Grange; and John, who +was a woodman, and dwelt hard by. When they had all arrived, +Lord Derby showed them the king's majesty, and besought them for +God's sake, for their loyalty's sake, and as they valued all that +was high and sacred, to keep him safe, and forthwith seek some +place of decent shelter where he might securely lurk. This they +readily swore to compass, though they risked their lives in the +attempt. + +It being considered that greater safety lay in the king being +unattended, his loyal friends departed from him with many prayers +and hopes for a joyful reunion: all of them save my Lords Wilmot +and Buckingham set out to join Leslie's company, that they might +proceed together towards Scotland; but they had not marched six +miles in company with the Scots when these three thousand men and +more were overtaken and were routed by a single troop of the +enemy's horse, and my Lord Derby, being taken, was condemned and +executed. Lords Wilmot and Buckingham set out for London, to +which place it was agreed the king should follow them. + +When his majesty's friends had departed, the Pendrells undertook +to disguise him; towards which end one of them cut the long locks +reaching his shoulders, another rubbed his hands and face with +dust, and a third brought him a suit of clothes. "The habit of +the king," says Pepys, "was a very greasy old grey steeple- +crowned hat, with the brims turned up, without lining or hatband, +the sweat appearing two inches deep through it round the band +place; a green cloth jump-coat, threadbare, even to the threads +being worn white, and breeches of the same, with long knees down +to the garter; with an old sweaty leathern doublet, a pair of +white flannel stockings next to his legs, and upon them a pair of +old green yarn stockings, all worn and darned at the knees, with +their feet cut off: his shoes were old, all slashed for the ease +of his feet, with little rolls of paper between his toes to keep +them from galling; and an old coarse shirt, patched both at the +neck and hands, of that very coarse sort which go by the name of +nogging shirts." + +When Charles was attired in this fashion, Richard Pendrell opened +a back door and led him out into the wood; not a moment too soon, +for within half an hour Colonel Ashenhurst, with a company of +Cromwell's soldiers, rode up to Whiteladies, rushed into the +house, searched every chamber and secret place, pulled down the +wainscoting, and otherwise devastated the mansion in the search +for the king. A damp cold September morning now lengthened to a +day of gloom and depression. Rain fell in heavy torrents, +dripped from the leafless branches of trees, and saturated the +thick undergrowth and shrubs where his majesty lay hidden. Owing +to the condition of the weather, the soldiers neglected to search +Boscobel Wood; and, after uttering many threats and imprecations, +withdrew from Whiteladies. When he considered himself quite +alone, Richard Pendrell ventured forth, taking with him a +billhook, that if observed he might seem engaged in trimming +hedges; and drawing near the spot where his majesty lay, assured +him of his safety. Later on he besought an old woman, his +neighbour, to take victuals into the wood to a labourer she would +find there. Without hesitation the good woman carried some eggs, +bread, butter, and milk towards the spot indicated to her. On +seeing her the king was much alarmed fearing recognition and +dreading her garrulity; wherefore he said to her: "Can you be +true to anyone who hath served the king?" Upon which she readily +made answer: "Yes, sir; I'd die sooner than betray you." Being +reassured at this, he ate heartily. + +When night fell, Richard brought him into the house again, and +the king, now abandoning his intention of proceeding to London, +expressed his anxiety to reach Wales where he had many friends, +and which afforded him ready opportunities of escaping from the +kingdom. Pendrell expressed himself willing to conduct him +thither. Accordingly, about nine of the clock, they set out with +the determination of crossing the Severn, intending to pass over +a ferry between Bridgenorth and Shrewsbury. When they had walked +some hours they drew near a water-mill. "We could see the +miller," said the king in relating the story, "as I believe, +sitting at the mill-door, he being in white clothes, it being a +very dark night. He called out sturdily, 'Who goes there?' Upon +which Richard Pendrell answered, 'Neighbours going home,' or +suchlike words. Whereupon the miller cried out: 'If you be +neighbours, stand, or I will knock you down.' Upon which, we +believing there was company in the house, Richard bade me follow +him close, and he ran to a gate that went up a dirty lane up a +hill. The miller cried out: 'Rogues--rogues!' And thereupon +some men came out of the mill after us, which I believe were +soldiers; so we fell a-running, both of us up the lane as long as +we could run, it being very deep and very dirty, till at last I +bade him leap over a hedge, and lie still to hear if anybody +followed us--which we did, and continued lying down upon the +ground about half an hour, when, hearing nobody come, we +continued our way." + +This led to the house of an honest gentleman named Woolfe, living +at Madeley, who was a Catholic, and loyal to his king, and as +such was known to the Pendrells. When they drew near to his +house, Richard, leaving his majesty in a field, went forward and +asked this worthy man if he would shelter one who had taken part +in the battle of Worcester; whereon he made answer he would not +venture his neck for any man unless it were the king himself, +upon which Pendrell made known to him it was his majesty who +sought refuge from him. Mr. Woolfe came out immediately and +carried the king by a back way into a barn, where he hid him for +the day, it being considered unsafe for him to stay a longer +period there, as two companies of militia were at that time +stationed in the town, and were very likely to search the house +at any minute. Moreover he advised his majesty by no means to +adventure crossing the Severn, as the strictest guard was then +kept at the ferries to prevent any Royalist fugitives from +escaping into Wales. The king was therefore obliged to retrace +his steps, and now sought Boscobel House, not far distant from +his first resting-place of Whiteladies. Arriving there, he +remained secreted in the wood, whilst Richard went to see if +soldiers were in occupation of the dwelling. There was no one +there, however, but Colonel Careless, the same good man and true +who had helped to keep Sudbury Gate whilst Charles made his +escape. + +The Colonel had been hiding in the forest, and, being sore +pressed by hunger, had come to beg a little bread. Being +informed where the king was, he came forth with great joy, and, +the house not being considered a safe refuge, they both climbed +into the branches of a leafy oak, situated in an open part of the +wood, from whence they could see all round them. They carried +with them some bread and cheese and small beer, and stayed there +that day. "While we were in the tree," says the king, "we saw +soldiers going up and down in the thicket of the wood, searching +for persons escaped, we seeing them now and then peeping out of +the wood." When this danger had passed away, the king, worn out +by his sore fatigues, laid his head on his friend's breast and +slept in his arms. At night they descended, and going to +Boscobel House, were shown a secret hiding-place, such as were +then to be found in the mansions of all Catholic families, called +the priests' hole a little confined closet built between two +walls, in the principal stack of chimneys, and having a couple of +exits for the better escape of those compelled to seek its +shelter. Here the king rested in peace for a day and a night. + +Meanwhile Humphrey Pendrell went into Shifnal to pay his taxes; +and it being known he had come from Whiteladies, he was +questioned closely as to whether he knew aught of Charles Stuart. +On stoutly denying all knowledge of him, he was told that any man +who discovered him would gain a thousand pounds, but he that +sheltered him would suffer death without mercy; these being the +terms of a proclamation just issued. This the honest miller on +his return narrated to the king, swearing roundly he would run +all risks for his sake. It chanced at this time one of the +Pendrells heard that my Lord Wilmot who had not been able to make +his way to London, was hiding in a very secure place, at the +house of a gentleman named Whitegrave, above seven miles distant. +This coming to the king's knowledge, he became anxious to see his +faithful friend and hold communication with him. Accordingly one +of the Pendrells was despatched to request Lord Wilmot to meet +his majesty that night, in a field close by Mr. Whitegrave's +house. And the time of night being come, the king was impatient +of delay; but his feet were sore from the rough shoes he had worn +on his journey, so that he was scarce able to walk; therefore he +was mounted on Humphrey's mill-horse, and, the four loyal +brothers forming a guard, they directed their way towards +Moseley. The king's eagerness to see Wilmot being great, he +complained of the horse's slow pace. "Can you blame him, my +liege," said Humphrey, who loved a jest, "that he goes heavily, +having the weight of three kingdoms on his back?" + +When they had travelled with him a great part of the journey it +was thought safer three of them should withdraw themselves. They +therefore turned away; but scarcely had they gone when the king, +who, being lost in thought, had remained unconscious of their +departure, suddenly stopped, and caused John, who remained, to +speedily summon them back. When they returned he gave them his +hand to kiss, and, with that charm of manner which never failed +in winning friends, said to them sadly, "My sorrows make me +forget myself. I earnestly thank you all." + +They kissed his hand heartily, and prayed God to save him. In +the days of his prosperity he remembered their kindness and +rewarded their loyalty. + +Arriving at the trysting place the king found Mr. Whitegrave, a +Benedictine monk named Father Huddlestone, Sir John Preston, and +his brother awaiting him. It may be mentioned here this monk was +destined, many years later, to play an important part in the +closing scene of his majesty's life. Mr. Whitegrave conducted +Charles with great show of respect to his house, where the king +spoke with my Lord Wilmot, feasted well, and rested safe that +night. Next morning the worthy host had private notice given +that a company of soldiers were on their way to arrest him as one +who had served in the king's army. He, being innocent of this +charge, did not avoid them, but received them boldly at his door, +spoke confidently in his own defence, and referred them to the +testimony of his neighbours, whereon they departed quietly. + +It was feared, however, the house was no longer safe, and that +another refuge had best be sought for his majesty. Therefore, +Father Huddlestone informed the king of an honest gentleman, the +owner of a fair estate some six miles removed, who was generous +and exceedingly beloved, and the eldest justice of peace in the +county of Stafford. This gentleman was named Lane, "a very +zealous Protestant, yet he lived with so much civility and +candour towards the Catholics, that they would all trust him as +much as they would any of their own profession." The king, +however, not being willing to surprise this worthy man, +immediately despatched the Benedictine to make certain of his +welcome; receiving due assurances of which he and Lord Willmot +set out by night for Master Lane's mansion, where they were +heartily received, and where Charles rested some days in blessed +security. Knowing, however, in what risk he placed those who +sheltered him, and how vigilant the pursuit after him, he became +most anxious for his safe delivery out of the kingdom. To this +end it was desirable he should draw near the west coast, and +await an opportunity of sailing from thence for France. + +The members of Master Lane's family then living with him +consisted of a son and a daughter: the former a man of fearless +courage and integrity, the latter a gentlewoman of good wit and +discretion, as will be seen hereafter. Consulting, amongst +themselves as to the best means of compassing the king's escape, +it was resolved Mistress Lane should visit a kinswoman of hers +with whom she had been bred, that had married one Norton, and was +now residing within five miles of Bristol. It was likewise +decided she should ride on her journey thence behind the king, he +being habited in her father's livery, and acting as her servant; +and for greater safety her sister and her sister's husband were +to accompany them on the road. Mistress Jane Lane then procured +from a colonel of the rebel army a passport for herself and her +servant, her sister and her brother-in-law, to travel without +molestation to her cousin Mistress Norton, who was ready to lie +in. With this security Jane set out, her brother bearing them +company part of the way, with a hawk upon his fist and two or +three spaniels at his heels, which warranted him keeping the king +and his friends in sight without seeming to be of their company. + +The first day's journey was not accomplished without an exciting +incident. The horse ridden by Mistress Lane and the king--now +bearing the name of William Jackson--lost a shoe; and being come +to Bromsgrove, he must dismount and lead the animal to the +village blacksmith. + +"As I was holding my horse's foot," said his majesty, when +narrating the story to Mr. Pepys, "I asked the smith what news. +He told me that there was no news that he knew of, since the good +news of the beating the rogues of the Scots. I asked him whether +there was none of the English taken that joined with the Scots, +He answered he did not hear if that rogue, Charles Stuart, were +taken; but some of the others, he said, were taken. I told him +that if that rogue were taken, he deserved to be hanged more than +all the rest, for bringing in the Scots. Upon which he said I +spoke like an honest man; and so we parted." + +At the end of the first day's journey they were met by Lord +Wilmot at the inn; and he continued to join them wherever they +rested at night, without appearing to travel with them by day. +Mistress Lane took all possible care to guard the king against +recognition, stating at every house of accommodation where they +tarried he was "a neighbour's son whom her father had lent her to +ride before her in hope that he would the sooner recover from a +quartan ague with which he had been miserably afflicted, and was +not yet free. "Which story served as sufficient excuse for his +going to bed betimes, and so avoiding the company of servants. +At the end of three days they arrived at their destination. Jane +Lane was warmly received by her cousin, and the whole party made +heartily welcome. Jane, however, did not entrust her secret to +Mistress Norton's keeping, but repeated her tale of the good +youth being newly recovered from ague, and desired a chamber +might be provided for him, and a good fire made that he might +retire early to bed. Her desires being obeyed, the king +withdrew, and was served with an excellent good supper by the +butler, a worthy fellow named Pope, who had been a trooper in the +army of Charles I., of blessed memory. + +"The next morning" said the king continuing his strange story, "I +arose pretty early, having a very good stomach, and went to the +buttery-hatch to get my breakfast, where I found Pope and two or +three other men in the room, and we all fell to eating bread and +butter, to which he gave us very good ale and sack. And as I was +sitting there, there was one that looked like a country fellow +sat just by me, who, talking, gave so particular an account of +the battle of Worcester to the rest of the company that I +concluded he must be one of Cromwell's soldiers. But I, asking +how he came to give so good an account of that battle, he told me +he was in the King's regiment, by which I thought he meant one +Colonel King's regiment. But questioning him further, I +perceived he had been in my regiment of Guards, in Major +Broughton's company--that was my Major in the battle. I asked +him what kind of man I was; to which he answered by describing +exactly both my clothes and my horse, and then, looking upon me, +he told me that the king was at least three fingers taller than +I. Upon which I made what haste I could out of the buttery, for +fear he should indeed know me, as being more afraid when I knew +he was one of our own soldiers than when I took him for one of +the enemy's. So Pope and I went into the hall, and just as we +came into it Mistress Norton was coming by through it; upon which +I, plucking off my hat and standing with it in my hand as she +passed by, Pope looked very earnestly in my face. But I took no +notice of it, but put on my hat again and went away, walking out +of the house into the field." + +When he returned, however, the butler followed him into a private +room, and going down on his stiff knees, said, with tears in his +old eyes, he was rejoiced to see his majesty in safety. The king +affected to laugh at him, and asked him what he meant; but Pope +told him he knew him well, for before he was a trooper in his +father's service he had been falconer to Sir Thomas Jermyn, groom +of the bedchamber to the king when he was a boy. Charles saw it +was useless longer to deny himself, and therefore said he +believed him to be a very honest man, and besought he would not +reveal what he knew to anyone. This the old man readily +promised, and faithfully kept his word. Having spent a couple of +days at Norton's, the king, by advice of Lord Wilmot, went to the +house of a true friend and loyal man, one Colonel Windham, who +lived at Trent. This town was notable as a very hotbed of +republicanism; a proof of which was afforded his majesty on the +very day of his entrance. As he rode into the principal street, +still disguised as a waiting man to Mistress Lane, he heard a +great ringing of bells, and the tumult of many voices, and saw a +vast concourse of people gathered in the churchyard close by. On +asking the cause he was informed one of Cromwell's troopers was +telling the people he had killed Charles Stuart, whose buff coat +he then wore; whereon the rebels rang the church bells, and were +about to make a great bonfire for joy. + +Having brought him to Trent, Mistress Lane returned home, +carrying with her the king's friendship and gratitude, of which +he gave her ample proof when he came unto the throne. Charles +stayed at Colonel Windham's over a week, whilst that gallant man +was secretly striving to hire a ship for his majesty's safe +transportation into France. Presently succeeding in this object, +the king, yet wearing his livery, and now riding before Mistress +Judith Coningsby, cousin of Colonel Windham, started with high +hopes for Lyme; but at the last moment the captain of the vessel +failed him, and he was again left in a state of painful +uncertainty and danger. Lord Wilmot was sent to ascertain the +cause of this disappointment, and for greater safety the king +rode on to Burport with his friends. Being come to the outskirts +of the town, they were alarmed at finding the streets in a state +of confusion, and full of Cromwell's soldiers, fifteen hundred of +whom were about to embark for Jersey. His majesty's coolness and +presence of mind did not fail him; he resolved to ride boldly +into the town, and hire a chamber at the best inn. The yard of +the hostelry was likewise crowded with troopers; but this did not +dismay his majesty. + +"I alighted," said he, "and taking the horses, thought it the +best way to go blundering in among them, and lead them through +the middle of the soldiers into the stable; which I did, and they +were very angry with me for my rudeness. As soon as I came into +the stable I took the bridle off the horses, and called the +ostler to me to help me, and to give the horses some oats. And +as the hostler was helping me to feed the horses, 'Sure, sir,' +says he, 'I know your face?' which was no very pleasant question +to me. But I thought the best way was to ask him where he had +lived, or whether he had always lived there or no. He told me +that he was but newly come thither; that he was born in Exeter, +and had been ostler in an inn there, hard by one Mr. Potter's, a +merchant in whose house I had lain in the time of the war. So I +thought it best to give the fellow no further occasion of +thinking where he had seen me, for fear he should guess right at +last; therefore I told him, 'Friend, certainly you have seen me +then at Mr. Potter's, for I served him a good while above a +year.' 'Oh,' says he, 'then I remember you a boy there;' and with +that was put off from thinking any more on it, but desired that +we might drink a pot of beer together, which I excused by saying +that I must go wait on my master, and get his dinner ready for +him; but told him that my master was going to London, and would +return about three weeks hence, when he would be there, and I +would not fail to drink a pot with him." + +The king and his friends, having dined at the inn, got word that +the master of the ship, suspecting that it was some dangerous +employment he had been hired for, absolutely refused to fulfil +his contract. Therefore they, being sad at heart and fearful, +retraced their steps to Trent, and presently his majesty went +further into Sussex, and abode with a staunch Royalist, one +Colonel Gunter, who resided within four miles of Salisbury. This +excellent man at last succeeded in hiring a ship to carry away +the king, and so Charles made another journey to Brighthelmstone, +where he met the captain of the vessel and the merchant that had +hired her on behalf of Colonel Gunter, both of whom had been kept +in ignorance of their future passenger's identity. Arriving at +Brighthelmstone, they entered an inn and ordered supper, during +which the captain more than once looked hard at the king. And +the meal being ended, the captain called the merchant aside and +said he was not dealt with fairly, inasmuch as he had not been +told the king was the person to be conveyed from thence. The +merchant, not being so wise as the master, denied such was the +case; but the honest fellow told him not to be troubled. "For I +think," said he, "I do God and my country good service in +preserving the king: and by the grace of God I will venture my +life and all for him, and set him safely on shore, if I can, in +France." + +Nor was this the last of his majesty's numerous risks, for being +presently left alone, he stood thoughtful and somewhat melancholy +by the fire, resting one hand on a chair; and the landlord, +coming in and seeing him engaged in this manner, softly advanced, +suddenly kissed the king's hand, and said, "God bless you, +wherever you go." Charles started, and would have denied +himself; but the landlord cried out, "'Fore God, your majesty may +trust me; and," he added, "I have no doubt, before I die, to be a +lord, and my wife a lady." + +That night, the last his majesty was to spend in England for many +years, he was sad and depressed. The scenes of bloodshed he had +witnessed, the imminent dangers he had escaped, were vividly +present to his mind. The past was fraught with horror; the +future held no hope. Though a king, he was about to become an +outcast from his realm. Surmising his thoughts, his companions +sought to cheer him. Now the long-desired moment of escape was +at hand, no one thought of repose. The little vessel in which he +intended sailing lay dry upon the shore, the tide being at low +water. The king and his friends, the merchant, the captain, and +the landlord, sat in the well-lighted cosy parlour of the seaport +inn, smoking, playing cards, telling stories and drinking good +ale. + +With all such diversions the hours wore heavily away. Their +noisy joviality had an undercurrent of sadness; jokes failed to +amuse; laughter seemed forced; words, mirthful in leaving the +lips, sounded ominous on reaching the ear. At four o'clock the +captain rose to survey his ship, and presently returned saying +the tide had risen. Thereon the king and his friends prepared to +depart. A damp, chilly November fog hung over the sea, hiding +its wide expanse without deadening its monotonous moan. A +procession of black figures leaving the inn sped noiselessly +through darkness. Arriving at the shore, those who were not to +accompany his majesty, knelt and kissed his hand. Then he, with +Lord Wilmot and the captain, climbed on board the vessel and +entered the cabin. The fog had turned to rain. Four hours +later, the tide being favourable, the ship sailed out of port, +and in due time the king was safely landed in France. + + + +CHAPTER III. + +Celebration of the Kings return.--Those who flocked to Whitehall +My Lord Cleveland's gentlemen.--Sir Thomas Allen's supper.-- +Touching for King's evil.--That none might lose their labour.-- +The man with the fungus nose.--The memory of the regicides.-- +Cromwell's effigy.--Ghastly scene at Tyburn.--The King's +clemency.--The Coronation procession.--Sights and scenes by the +way.--His Majesty is crowned. + +The return of the king and his court was a signal for universal +joy throughout the nation in general and the capital in +particular. For weeks and months subsequent to his majesty's +triumphal entry, the town did not subside from its condition of +excitement and revelry to its customary quietude and sobriety. +Feasts by day were succeeded by entertainments at night; "and +under colour of drinking the king's health," says Bishop Burnet, +"there were great disorder and much riot." + +It seemed as if the people could not sufficiently express their +delight at the presence of the young king amongst them, or +satisfy their desire of seeing him. When clad in rich velvets +and costly lace, adorned with many jewels and waving feathers, he +walked in Hyde Park attended by an "abundance of gallantry," or +went to Whitehall Chapel, where "the organs and singing-men in +surplices" were first heard by Mr. Pepys, a vast crowd of loyal +subjects attended him on his way. Likewise, when, preceded by +heralds, he journeyed by water in his barge to open Parliament, +the river was crowded with innumerable boats, and the banks lined +with a great concourse anxious for sight of him. Nor were his +subjects satisfied by the glimpses obtained of him on such +occasions; they must needs behold their king surrounded by the +insignia of royalty in the palace of his ancestors, and flocked +thither in numbers. "The eagerness of men, women, and children +to see his majesty, and kisse his hands was so greate," says +Evelyn, "that he had scarce leisure to eate for some dayes, +coming as they did from all parts of the nation: and the king +being as willing to give them that satisfaction, would have none +kept out, but gave free access to all sorts of people." Indeed +his loyal subjects were no less pleased with him than he with +them; and in faith he was sorry, he declared, in that delicate +strain of irony that ran like a bright thread throughout the +whole pattern of his speech, he had not come over before, for +every man he encountered was glad to see him. + +Day after day, week after week, the Palace of Whitehall presented +a scene of ceaseless bustle. Courtiers, ambassadors, +politicians, soldiers, and citizens crowded the antechambers, +flocked through the galleries, and tarried in the courtyards. +Deputations from all the shires and chief towns in the three +kingdoms, bearing messages of congratulation and loyalty, were +presented to the king. First of all came the worshipful lord +mayor, aldermen and council of the city of London, in great pomp +and state; when the common-sergeant made a speech to his majesty +respecting the affection of the city towards him, and the lord +mayor, on hospitable thoughts intent, besought the honour of his +company to dinner, the which Charles promised him most readily. +And the same day the commissioners from Ireland presented +themselves, headed by Sir James Barry, who delivered himself of a +fine address regarding the love his majesty's Irish subjects bore +him; as proof of which he presented the monarch with a bill for +twenty thousand pounds, that had been duly accepted by Alderman +Thomas Viner, a right wealthy man and true. Likewise came the +deputy steward and burgesses of the city of Westminster, arrayed +in the glory of new scarlet gowns; and the French, Italian, and +Dutch ministers, when Monsieur Stoope pronounced an harangue with +great eloquence. Also the vice-chancellor of the University of +Oxford, with divers doctors, bachelors of divinity, proctors, and +masters of arts of the same learned university, who, having first +met at the Temple Church, went by two and two, according to their +seniority, to Essex House, that they might wait on the most noble +the Marquis of Hertford, then chancellor. Accompanied by him, +and preceded by eight esquires and yeomen beadles, having their +staves, and three of them wearing gold chains, they presented +themselves before the king, and spoke him words of loyalty and +greeting. The heads of the colleges and halls of Cambridge, with +some masters of arts, in like manner journeyed to Whitehall, when +Dr. Love delivered a learned Latin oration, expressive of their +devotion to royalty in the person of their most illustrious +monarch. + +Amongst others came, one day, my Lord Cleveland at the head of a +hundred gentlemen, many of them being officers who had formerly +served under him, and other gentlemen who had ridden to meet the +king when coming unto his own; and having arrived at Whitehall, +they knelt down in the matted gallery, when his majesty "was +pleased to walk along," says MERCURIUS PUBLICUS, "and give +everyone of them the honour to kiss his hand, which favour was so +highly received by them, that they could no longer stifle their +joy, but as his majesty was walking out (a thing thought unusual +at court) they brake out into a loud shouting." + +Then the nobility entertained the king and his royal brothers +with much magnificence, his Excellency Lord General Monk first +giving at his residence in the Cockpit, a great supper, after +which "he entertained his majesty with several sorts of musick;" +Next Earl Pembroke gave a rare banquet; also the Duke of +Buckingham, my Lord Lumley, and many others. Nor was my lord +mayor, Sir Thomas Allen, behindhand in extending hospitality to +the king, whom he invited to sup with him. This feast, having no +connection with the civic entertainments, was held at good Sir +Thomas's house. The royal brothers of York and Gloucester were +likewise bidden, together with several of the nobility and gentry +of high degree. Previous to supper being served, the lord mayor +brought his majesty a napkin dipped in rose-water, and offered it +kneeling; when his majesty had wiped his hands, he sat down at a +table raised by an ascent, the Duke of York on his right hand, +and the Duke of Gloucester on his left. They were served with +three several courses, at each of which the tablecloth was +shifted, and at every dish which his majesty or the dukes tasted, +the napkins were moreover changed. At another table in the same +room sat his Excellency the Lord General, the Duke of Buckingham, +the Marquis of Ormond, the Earl of Oxford, Earl of Norwich, Earl +of St. Albans, Lords De la Ware, Sands, Berkeley, and several +other of the nobility, with knights and gentlemen of great +quality. Sir John Robinson, alderman of London, proposed his +majesty's health, which was pledged standing by all present. His +majesty was the while entertained with a variety of rare music. +This supper was given on the 16th of June; and a couple of weeks +later, on the 5th of July, the king went "with as much pompe and +splendour as any earthly prince could do to the greate Citty +feast, the first they had invited him to since his returne." + +But whilst entertainments were given, and diversions occupied the +town, Charles was called upon to touch for the evil, an +affliction then most prevalent throughout the kingdom. According +to a time-honoured belief which obtained until the coming of +George I., when faith in the divinity of kings was no longer +possible to the most ignorant, the monarch's touch was credited +with healing this most grievous disease. Majesty in those days +was sacred, and superstition rife. Accordingly we read in +MERCURIUS PUBLICUS that, "The kingdom having for a long time, by +reason of his majesty's absence, been troubled with the evil, +great numbers flocked for cure. Saturday being appointed by his +majesty to touch such as were so troubled, a great company of +poor afflicted creatures were met together, many brought in +chairs and baskets; and being appointed by his majesty to repair +to the banqueting house, the king sat in a chair of state, where +he stroked all that were brought to him, and then put about each +of their necks a white ribbon with an angel of gold on it. In +this manner his majesty stroked above six hundred; and such was +his princely patience and tenderness to the poor afflicted +creatures, that though it took up a long time, the king, being +never weary of well doing, was pleased to make inquiry whether +there were any more that had not been touched. After prayers +were ended the Duke of Buckingham brought a towel, and the Earl +of Pembroke a basin and ewer, who, after they had made their +obeysance to his majesty, kneeled down till his majesty had +washed." + +This was on the 23rd of June, a few days earlier than the date +fixed by Evelyn as that on which the king first began "touch for +ye evil." A week later we find he stroked as many as two hundred +and fifty persons. Friday was then appointed as the day for +those suffering from this disease to come before the king; it was +moreover decided that only two hundred persons should be +presented each week and these were first to repair to Mr. Knight, +his majesty's surgeon, living at the Cross Guns, in Russell +Street, Covent Garden, over against the Rose tavern, for tickets +of admission. "That none might lose their labour." the same Mr. +Knight made it known to the public he would be at home on +Wednesdays and Thursdays, from two till six of the clock; and if +any person of quality should send for him he would wait upon them +at their lodgings. The disease must indeed have been rife: week +after week those afflicted continued to present themselves, and +we read that, towards the end of July, "notwithstanding all +discouragements by the hot weather and the multitude of sick and +infirm people, his majesty abated not one of his accustomed +number, but touched full two hundred: an high conviction of all +such physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries that pretend self- +preservation when the languishing patient requires their +assistance." Indeed, there were some who placed boundless faith +in the king's power of healing by touch; amongst whom was one +Avis Evans, whom Aubrey, in his "Miscellanies," records "had a +fungus nose, and said it was revealed to him that the king's hand +would cure him. And at the first coming of King Charles II. into +St. James's Park, he kissed the king's hand, and rubbed his nose +with it, which disturbed the king, but cured him." + +The universal joy which filled the nation at the restoration of +his majesty was accompanied, as might be expected, by bitter +hatred towards the leaders of Republicanism, especially towards +such as had condemned the late king to death. The chief objects +of popular horror now, however, lay in their graves; but the +sanctity of death was neither permitted to save their memories +from vituperation nor their remains from moltestation. +Accordingly, through many days in June the effigy of Cromwell, +which had been crowned with a royal diadem, draped with a purple +mantle, in Somerset House, and afterwards borne with all +imaginable pomp to Westminster Abbey, was now exposed at one of +the windows at Whitehall with a rope fixed round its neck, by way +of hinting at the death which the original deserved. But this +mark of execration was not sufficient to satisfy the public mind, +and seven months later, on the 30th of January, 1661, the +anniversary of the murder of Charles I., the bodies of Oliver +Cromwell, Henry Ireton, and John Bradshaw were taken from their +resting places in Westminster Abbey, and drawn on hurdles to +Tyburn, the well-known site of public executions. "All the way +the universal outcry and curses of the people went along with +them," says MERCURIUS PUBLICUS. "When these three carcasses +arrived at Tyburn, they were pulled out of their coffins, and +hanged at the several angles of that triple tree, where they hung +till the sun was set; after which they were taken down, their +heads cut off; and their loathsome trunks thrown into a deep hole +under the gallows. The heads of those three notorious regicides, +Oliver Cromwell, John Bradshaw, and Ireton are set upon poles on +the top of Westminster Hall by the common hangman. Bradshaw +placed in the middle (over that part where the monstrous high +court of justice sat), Cromwell and his son-in-law Ireton on +either side of Bradshaw." + +Before this ghastly execution took place, Parliament had brought +to justice such offenders against the late king's government and +life as were in its power. According to the declaration made by +the king at Breda, a full and general pardon was extended to all +rebellious subjects, excepting such persons as should be +hereafter excepted by Parliament. By reason of this clause, some +who had been most violent in their persecution of royalty were +committed to the Tower before the arrival of his majesty, others +fled from the country, but had, on another proclamation summoning +them to surrender themselves, returned in hope of obtaining +pardon. Thirty in all were tried at the Old Bailey before the +Commissioners of Oyer and Terminer and a special jury of knights +and gentlemen of quality in the county of Middlesex. Twenty-nine +of these were condemned to death. The king was singularly free +from desires of revenge; but many of his council were strangers +to clemency, and, under the guise of loyalty to the crown, sought +satisfaction for private wrongs by urging severest measures. The +monarch, however, shrank from staining the commencement of his +reign with bloodshed and advocated mercy. In a speech delivered +to the House of Lords he insisted that, as a point of honour, he +was bound to make good the assurances given in his proclamation +of Breda, "which if I had not made," he continued, "I am +persuaded that neither I nor you had now been here. I pray, +therefore, let us not deceive those who brought or permitted us +to come together; and I earnestly desire you to depart from all +particular animosities and revenge or memory of past +provocations." Accordingly, but ten of those on whom sentence of +death had been passed were executed, the remainder being +committed to the Tower. That they were not also hung was, +according to the mild and merciful Dr. Reeves, Dean of +Westminster, "a main cause of God's punishing the land" in the +future time. For those destined to suffer, a gibbet was erected +at Charing Cross, that the traitors might in their last moments +see the spot where the late king had been executed. Having been +half hung, they were taken down, when their heads were severed +from their trunks and set up on poles at the south-east end of +Westminster Hall, whilst their bodies were quartered and exposed +upon the city gates. + +Burnet tells us that "the regicides being odious beyond all +expression, the trials and executions of the first who suffered +were run to by crowds, and all the people seemed pleased with the +sight;" yet by degrees these cruel and ghastly spectacles became +distasteful and disgusting. "I saw not their executions," says +Evelyn, speaking of four of the traitors who had suffered death +on the 17th of October, "but met their quarters mangled and cutt +and reeking as they were brought from the gallows in baskets on +the hurdle. Oh the miraculous providence of God!" + +Seven months later, the people were diverted by the more cheerful +pageant of the king's coronation, which was conducted with great +magnificence. "Two days," as Heath narrates, "were allotted to +the consummation of this great and most celebrated action, the +wonder, admiration and delight of all persons, both foreign and +domestick." Early on the morning of the 22nd of May, the day +being Monday, the king left Whitehall, by water, for the Tower, +in order that he might, according to ancient custom, proceed +through the city to Westminster Abbey. It was noticed that it +had previously rained for a month together, but on this and the +next day "it pleased God that not one drop fell on the king's +triumph." At ten o'clock the roaring of cannon announced the +procession had left the Tower on its way to Whitehall, where his +majesty was to rest the night. The splendour of the pageant was +such as had never before been witnessed. The procession was +headed by the king's council at law, the masters of chancery and +judges, who were followed by the lords according to their rank, +so numerous in all, that those who rode first reached Fleet +Street, whilst the king was yet in the Tower. + +No expense was spared by those who formed part of that wonderful +cavalcade, towards rendering their appearance magnificent. Heath +tells us it was incredible to think "what costly cloathes were +worn that day. The cloaks could hardly be seen what silk or +satin they were made of, for the gold and silver laces and +embroidery that was laid upon them; the like also was seen on +their foot-cloathes. Besides the inestimable value and treasures +of diamonds, pearls, and other jewels worn upon their backs and +in their hats, not to mention the sumptuous and rich liveries of +their pages and footmen, some suits of liveries amounting to +fifteen hundred pounds." Nor had the city hesitated in lavishing +vast sums towards decorating the streets through which the king +was to pass. Four triumphal arches were erected, that were left +standing for a year in memory of this joyful day. These were +"composed" by John Ogilby, Esquire; and were respectively +erected in Leadenhall Street, the Exchange on Cornhill, Wood +Street, and Fleet Street. + +The thoroughfares were newly gravelled, railed all the way on +both sides, and lined with the city companies and trained bands. +The "relation of his majesty's entertainment passing through the +City of London," as narrated by John Ogilby, and by the papers of +the day, is extremely quaint and interesting, but too long for +detailed description. During the monarch's progress through +"Crouched Friers," he was diverted with music discoursed by a +band of eight waits, placed upon a stage. At Aldgate, and at +several other stages of his journey, he was received in like +manner. Arriving at the great arch in Leadenhall Street, his +ears were greeted by sounds of trumpets and drums playing +marches; when they had finishes, a short scene was enacted on a +balcony of the arch, by figures representing Monarchy, Rebellion, +and Loyalty. Then the great procession wended its way to the +East India House, situate in the same street, when the East India +Company took occasion to express their dutiful affections, in a +manner "wholly designed by person of quality." As the king +advanced, a youth in an Indian habit, attended by two +blackamoors, knelt down before his majesty's horse, and delivered +himself of some execrable verse, which he had no sooner ended +than another youth in an Indian vest, mounted on a camel, was led +forwards and delivered some lines praying his majesty's subjects +might never see the sun set on his crown or dignity. The camel, +it my be noticed, bore panniers filled with pearls, spices, and +silks, destined to be scattered among the spectators. At +Cornhill was a conduit, surmounted by eight wenches representing +nymphs--a sight which must have rejoiced the king's heart; and on +the tower of this same fountain sounded "a noise of seven +trumpets." Another fountain flowed with wine and water; and on +his way the king heard several speeches delivered by various +symbolic figures. One of these, who made a particularly fine +harangue, represented the River Thames, as a gentleman whose +"garment loose and flowing, coloured blue and white, waved like +water, flags and ozier-like long hair falling o'er his shoulders; +his beard long, sea-green, and white." And so by slow degrees +the king came to Temple Bar, where he was entertained by "a view +of a delightful boscage, full of several beasts, both tame and +savage, as also several living figures and music of eight waits." +And having passed through Temple Bar into his ancient and native +city of Westminster, the head bailiff in a scarlet robe and the +high constable, likewise in scarlet, on behalf of the dean, +chapter, city, and liberty, received his majesty with great +expressions of joy. + +Never had there been so goodly a show so grand a procession; the +citizens, still delighted with their young king, had certainly +excelled in doing him honour, and some foreigners, Heaton says, +"acknowledged themselves never to have seen among all the great +magnificences of the world any to come near or equal this: even +the vaunting French confessed their pomps of the late marriage +with the Infanta of Spain, at their majesties' entrance into +Paris, to be inferior in its state, gallantry, and riches unto +this most illustrious cavalcade." Amongst those who witnessed +the procession was Mr. Pepys, who has left us a realistic +description, without which this picture would be incomplete. He +tells us he arose early on this day; and the vain fellow says he +made himself as fine as could be, putting on his velvet coat for +the first time, though he had it made half a year before. "And +being ready," he continues, "Sir W. Batten, my lady, and his two +daughters, and his son and wife, and Sir W. Pen and his son and +I, went to Mr. Young's, the flag-maker, in Corne-hill; and there +we had a good room to ourselves, with wine and good cake, and saw +the show very well. In which it is impossible to relate the +glory of this day, expressed in the clothes of them that rid, and +their horses and horses' clothes; among others, my Lord +Sandwich's embroidery and diamonds were ordinary among them. The +Knights of the Bath was a brave sight of itself. Remarquable +were the two men that represent the two Dukes of Normandy and +Aquitane. My Lord Monk rode bare after the king, and led in his +hand a spare horse, as being Master of the Horse. The king, in a +most rich embroidered suit and cloak, looked most noble. Wadlow, +the vintner, at the Devil, in Fleet Street, did lead a fine +company of soldiers, all young comely men in white doublets. +There followed the Vice-Chamberlain, Sir G. Carteret, and a +company of men all like Turkes. The streets all gravelled, and +the houses hung with carpets before them, made brave show; and +the ladies out of the windows, one of which over against us, I +took much notice of, and spoke of her, which made good sport +among us. So glorious was the show with gold and silver, that we +were not able to look at it, our eyes at last being so much +overcome with it. Both the king and the Duke of York took notice +of us as they saw us at the window. The show being ended, Mr. +Young did give us a dinner, at which we were very merry and +pleased above imagination at what we have seen." + +The next day, being the feast of St. George, patron of England, +the king went in procession from Whitehall to Westminster Abbey, +where he was solemnly crowned in the presence of a vast number of +peers and bishops. After which, surrounded by the same brilliant +company, he passed from the Abbey to Westminster Hall, the way +being covered with blue cloth, and lined with spectators to the +number of ten thousand. Here his majesty and the lords, +spiritual and temporal, dined sumptuously, whilst many fine +ceremonies were observed, music of all sorts was played, and a +great crowd of pretty ladies looked down from the galleries. And +when the banquet was over, and a general pardon had been read by +the lord chancellor, and the champion had drank out of the king's +gold cup, Charles betook himself to Whitehall. Then, after two +days of fair weather, it suddenly "fell a-raining, and thundering +and lightning," says Pepys, "as I have not seen it do for some +years; which people did take great notice of." + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +The King's character.--His proverbial grace.--He tells a story +well.--"A warmth and sweetness of the blood."--Beautiful Barbara +Palmer.--Her intrigue with my Lord Chesterfield.--James, Duke of +York.--His early days.--Escape from St. James's.--Fights in the +service of France.--Marriage with Anne Hyde.--Sensation at +Court.--The Duke of Gloucester's death.--The Princess of Orange. +--Schemes against the Duke of York's peace.--The "lewd +informer."--Anne Hyde is acknowledged Duchess of York. + +Whilst the kingdom was absorbed by movements consequent on its +change of government, the court was no less engrossed by +incidents relative to the career it had begun. In the annals of +court life there are no pages more interesting than those dealing +with Charles II, and his friends; in the history of kings there +is no more remarkable figure than that of the merry monarch +himself. + +Returning to rule over a nation which, during his absence, had +been distracted by civil strife, King Charles, young in years, +brave in deeds, and surrounded by that halo of romance which +misfortune lends its victims, entirely. gained the hearts of his +subjects. Nature had endowed him with gifts adapted to display +qualities that fascinated, and fitted to hide blemishes which +repelled. On the one hand his expressive features and shapely +figure went far towards creating a charm which his personal grace +and courtesy of manner completed; on the other, his delicate tact +screened the heartlessness of his sensualism, whilst his surface +sympathies hid the barrenness of his cynicism. + +With the coolness and courage he had shown in danger, the +shrewdness and wit he continually evinced, and the varied +capacities he certainly possessed, Charles II. might have made +his reign illustrious, had not his love of ease and detestation +of business rendered him indifferent to all things so long as he +was free to follow his desires. But these faults, which became +grievous in the eyes of his subjects, commended him to the hearts +of his courtiers, the common purpose of whose lives was pursuit +of pleasure. Never was sovereign more gracious to those who came +in contact with him, or less ceremonious with his friends; whilst +abroad he had lived with his little band of courtiers more as a +companion than a king. The bond of exile had drawn them close +together; an equal fortune had gone far towards obliterating +distinctions of royalty; and custom had so fitted the monarch and +his friends to familiarity, that on his return to England neither +he nor they laid aside a mutual freedom of treatment which by +degrees extended itself throughout the court. For all that, "he +was master," as Welwood says, "of something in his person and +aspect that commanded both love and admiration at once." + +Among his many gifts was that of telling a story well--a rare one +'tis true in all ages. Never was he better pleased than when, +surrounded by a group of gossips, he narrated some anecdote of +which he was the hero; and, though his tales were more than twice +told, they were far from tedious; inasmuch as, being set forth +with brighter flashes of wit and keener touches of irony, they +were ever pleasant to hear. His conversation was of a like +complexion to his tales, pointed, shrewd, and humorous; +frequently--as became the manner of the times--straying far +afield of propriety, and taking liberties of expression of which +nice judgments could not approve. But indeed his majesty's +speech was not more free than his conduct was licentious. He +could not think, he gravely told Bishop Burnet, "God would make a +man miserable for taking a little pleasure out of the way." +Accordingly he followed the free bent of his desires, and his +whole life was soon devoted to voluptuousness; a vice which an +ingenious courtier obligingly describes as a "warmth and +sweetness of the blood that would not be confined in the +communicating itself--an overflowing of good nature, of which he +had such a stream that it would not be restrained within the +banks of a crabbed and unsociable virtue." + +The ease and freedom of his continental life had no doubt +fostered this lamentable depravity; for his misfortunes as an +exiled king by no means prevented him following his inclinations +as an ardent lover. Accordingly, his intrigues at that time were +numerous, as may be judged from the fact of Lady Byron being +described as "his seventeenth mistress abroad." The offspring of +one of his continental mistresses was destined to plunge the +English nation into civil warfare, and to suffer a traitor's +death on Tower Hill in the succeeding reign. + +"The profligacy which Charles practised abroad not being +discontinued at home, he resumed in England an intrigue commenced +at Brussels a short time before the restoration. The object of +this amour was the beautiful Barbara Palmer, afterwards, by +reason of her lack of virtue, raised to the peerage under the +titles of Countess of Castlemaine, and Duchess of Cleveland. +This lady, who became a most prominent figure in the court of the +merry monarch, was daughter of William, second Viscount +Grandison, a brave gentleman and a loyal, who had early in life +fallen in the civil war whilst fighting for his king. He is +described as having, among other gifts, "a faultless person," a +boon, which descended to his only child, the bewitching Barbara. +In the earliest dawn of her womanhood she encountered her first +lover in the person of Philip Stanhope, second Earl of +Chesterfield. My lord was at this time a youthful widower, and +is described as having "a very agreeable face, a fine head of +hair, an indifferent shape, and a pleasant wit. He was, +moreover, an elegant beau and a dissolute man--testimony of which +latter fact may be gathered from a letter written to him in 1658, +by his sister-in-law, Lady Essex, to prevent the "ruin of his +soule." Writes her ladyship: "You treate all the mad drinking +lords, you sweare, you game, and commit all the extravagances +that are insident to untamed youths, to such a degree that you +make yourselfe the talke of all places, and the wonder of those +who thought otherwise of you, and of all sober people." + +When Barbara was sixteen, my lord, then in his twenty-third year, +inherited the title and estates of his grandfather: he therefore +became master of his own fortune and could bestow his hand where +he pleased. That he was in love with Barbara is, indeed, most +true; but that his passion was dishonourable is likewise certain: +for though he wrote her letters full of tenderness, and kept +assignations with her at Butler's shop, on Ludgate Hill, he was +the while negotiating a marriage with one Mrs. Fairfax, to whom +he was not, however, united. His intrigue with Barbara continued +for upwards of three years, when it was temporarily suspended by +her marriage to one Roger Palmer, a student of the Inner Temple, +the son of a Middlesex knight, and, moreover, a man of the most +obliging temper, as will hereafter be seen. Barbara's loyalty to +her husband was but of short duration. Before she had been nine +months a wife, we find her writing to her old lover she is "ready +and willing to goe all over the world" with him--a sacrifice he +declined to accept! though eager to take advantage of the +affection which prompted it. A little while later he was obliged +to quit England; for it happened in the first month of the year +1660 he quarrelled with and killed one Francis Woolley, a student +at law, to avoid the consequences of which act he speedily fled +the country. + +Arriving at Calais, he wrote to King Charles, who was then +preparing to return, throwing himself on his mercy, and +beseeching his pardon; which the king granting, Lord Chesterfield +sought his majesty at Brussels. Soon afterwards Barbara Palmer +and her complaisant husband, a right loyal man, joined the king's +court abroad, when the intrigue begun which was continued on the +night of the monarch's arrival in London. True the loyal +PARLIAMENTARY INTELLIGENCER stated "his majesty was diverted from +his pious intention of going to Westminster to offer up his +devotions of prayer and praise in publick according to the +appointment of his Majesty, and made his oblations unto God in +the presence-chamber;" but it is, alas, equally certain, +according to Oldmixon, Lord Dartmouth, and other reliable +authorities, he spent the first night of his return in the +company of Barbara Palmer. From that time this abandoned woman +exercised an influence over the king which wholly disgraced his +court, and almost ruined his kingdom. + +Another prominent figure, whose history is inseparable from the +king's, was that of his majesty's brother, James, Duke of York--a +man of greater ambition and lesser talents than the merry +monarch, but one whose amorous disposition equalled the monarch's +withal. At an early period of his life the Duke of York was +witness of the strife which divided his unhappy father's kingdom. +When only eight years old he was sent for by Charles I. to York, +but was forbidden by the Parliament to leave St. James's Palace. +Despite its commands he was, however, carried to the king by the +gallant Marquis of Hereford. That same year the boy witnessed +the refusal of Sir John Hotham, Governor of Hull, to admit his +majesty within the gates; and James was subsequently present at +the siege of Bristol, and the famous battle of Edgehill, when his +life at one period of the engagement was in imminent peril. + +Until 1646 he continued under the guardianship of his father, +when, on the entrance of Fairfax into Oxford, the young duke was +found among the prisoners, and by Cromwell's orders committed to +the charge of Sir George Ratcliffe. A few months later he was +removed to St. James's Palace, when in company with his brother, +the Duke of Gloucester, and his sister, the Princess Elizabeth, +he was placed under the care of Lord Northumberland, who had +joined the Republican cause. + +Though by no means treated with unkindness, the young duke, +unhappy at the surveillance placed upon his actions and fearful +of the troubles quickly gathering over the kingdom, twice sought +escape. This was a serious offence in the eyes of Cromwell's +Parliament; a committee was accordingly sent to examine him, and +he was threatened with imprisonment in the Tower. Though only in +his fourteenth year he already possessed both determination and +courage, by reason of which he resolved to risk all danger, and +make a third effort for freedom. Accordingly he laid his plans +with much ingenuity, selecting two men from those around him to +aid his undertaking. These were George Howard and Colonel +Bamfield. The latter had once served in the king's army, but +when the fortunes of war had gone against his royal master, had +professed himself friendly to the Republicans. No doubt the +young duke saw the gallant colonel was still true at heart to the +Royalist cause, and therefore trusted him at this critical +juncture. + +Now for a fortnight previous to the night on which he designed to +escape, James made it his habit to play at hide-and-seek every +evening after supper with his brother and sister, and the +children of the officers then located in the palace; and in such +secure places did he secrete himself that his companions +frequently searched for over half an hour without discovering +him. This of course accustomed the household to miss him, and +was cunningly practised for the purpose of gaining time on his +pursuers when he came to be sought for in good earnest. + +At last the eventful night fixed for his escape arrived; and +after supper a pleasant group of merry children prepared to +divert themselves in the long dark halls and narrow winding +passages of the grim old palace. James, as usual, proposed +concealing himself, and leaving his companions for the purpose, +disappeared behind some arras; but, instead of hiding, he +hastened to his sister's chamber, where he locked up a favourite +dog that was in the habit of following his footsteps wherever he +went, and then noiselessly slipped down a back stairs which led +to an inner garden. Having taken care to provide himself with a +key fitting the garden door, he quickly slipped into the park. +Here he found Colonel Bamfield waiting, who, giving him a cloak +and a wig for his better disguise, hurried him into a hackney +coach, which drove them as far as Salisbury House in the Strand. +From thence they went through Spring Garden, and down Ivy Lane, +when, taking boat, they landed close by London Bridge. Here +entering the house of a surgeon friendly to their adventure, they +found a woman named Murray awaiting them, who immediately +provided a suit of woman's wearing apparel for the young duke, in +which she helped to attire him. Dressed in this costume he, +attended by the faithful Bamfield, hastened to Lion Quay, where +they entered a barge hired for their conveyance to a Dutch +frigate stationed beyond Gravesend. + +Meanwhile, the children not being able to discover their +playfellow in the palace, their elders became suspicious of the +duke's escape, and began to aid the search. Before an hour +elapsed they were convinced he had fled, and St. James's was +thrown into a state of the utmost excitement and confusion. +Notice of his flight was at once despatched to General Fairfax at +Whitehall, who immediately gave orders have all the roads from +London guarded, especially those leading to the north; for it was +surmised he would in the first instance seek to escape into +Wales. The duke, however, had taken a safer course, but one +which was not unattended by danger. He had not sailed far in the +barge when its master became suspicious that he was aiding the +escape of some persons of consequence, and became frightened lest +he should get into trouble by rendering them his services. And +presently his surmise was converted into certainty; for looking +through a cranny of the barge-room door, he saw the young woman +fling her leg on the table and pull up her stocking in a most +unmaidenly manner. He therefore at once peremptorily declared to +Colonel Bamfield they must land at Gravesend, and procure another +boat to carry them to the ship; for it would be impossible for +the barge to pass the block-house lower down without being +observed, and consequently inspected, as was the custom at this +troubled time. On hearing which Colonel Bamfield was filled with +dismay; but, knowing that at heart the people were loyal towards +the Stuarts, he confided the identity of his passenger, and +begged him not to betray them in this hour of peril. To give his +appeal further weight, he promised the fellow a considerable sum +if they safely reached the frigate; for human nature is weak, and +greed of gold is strong. On this, the bargee, who was a loyal +man, promised he would help them to the best of his powers; the +lights were therefore extinguished, the oars drawn in, and, the +tide fortunately answering, the barge glided noiselessly down +under cover of night, and passed the block-house unobserved. In +good time they reached the frigate, which, the duke and Colonel +Bamfield boarding, at once set sail, and in a few days landed +them at Middleburgh. James proceeded to the court of his sister, +the Princess of Orange, and later on joined his mother in France. + +At the age of twenty he served in the French army, under Turenne, +against the Spanish forces in Flanders, and subsequently in +several campaigns, where he invariably showed himself so brave +and valiant that the Prince de Conde declared that if ever there +was a man without fear, it was James, Duke of York. Now it +happened that in 1658 the Princess of Orange went to Paris in +order to visit the queen mother, as the widow of Charles I. was +called. The Duke of York was in the gay capital at this time, +and it soon became noticed that he fixed his attention overmuch +on one of his sister's maids of honour, Anne Hyde. This +gentlewoman, then in her twenty-first year, was the possessor of +a comely countenance, excellent shape, and much wit. Anne was +daughter of Edward Hyde, a worthy man, who had been bred to the +law, and proved himself so faithful a servant to Charles I., that +his majesty had made him Privy Councillor and Chancellor of the +Exchequer. After the king's execution, in 1649, the chancellor +thought it wise for himself and his family to seek refuge in +exile, and accordingly joined Charles II., with whom he lived in +the closest friendship, and for whose return he subsequently +negotiated with General Monk. + +Now James, after his fashion, made love to Mistress Hyde, who +encouraged his advances until they reached a certain stage, +beyond which the judicious maiden forbade them to proceed unless +blessed by the sanction of holy church. The Duke, impatient to +secure his happiness, was therefore secretly united to Mistress +Hyde in the bonds of matrimony on the 24th of November, in the +year of grace 1659, at Breda, to which place the Princess of +Orange had returned. In a little while, the restoration being +effected, the duke returned to England with the king, leaving his +bride behind. And Chancellor Hyde being presently re-established +in his offices, and settled in his residence at Worcester House +in the Strand, sent for his wife and children; the more speedily +as he had received an overture from a noble family, on behalf of +"a hopeful, well-bred young gentleman," who expressed himself +anxious to wed with Mistress Anne. + +The same young lady had not long returned, when she informed her +husband she was about to become a mother; whereon the duke, +seeking the king, fell upon his knees before him, laid bare his +secret, and besought him to sanction his union, "that he might +publicly marry in such a manner as his majesty thought necessary +for the consequence thereof;" adding that, if consent were +refused, he would "immediately take leave of the kingdom and +spend his life in foreign parts." King Charles was astonished +and perplexed by this confession. James was heir, and as such it +behoved him to wed with one suited, by reason of her lineage, to +support the dignity of the crown, and calculated by her relation +towards foreign powers to strengthen the influence of the throne. +The duke was fully aware of this, and, moreover, knew he could +without much difficulty have his marriage annulled; but that he +did not adopt this course was an honourable trait in his +character; and, indeed, his conduct and that of the king was most +creditable throughout the transactions which followed; an account +of which is set forth with great minuteness in the "Continuation +of Edward Hyde, Lord Clarendon's Life." + +Without the advice of his council, the king could give no +satisfactory reply to his brother. He therefore summoned two of +his trusty friends, the Marquis of Ormond and the Earl of +Southampton, whom he informed of the duke's marriage, requesting +them to communicate the same to the chancellor, and return with +him for private consultation. The good man's surprise at this +news concerning his daughter was, according to his own account, +exceeding great, and was only equalled by his vast indignation. +His loyalty towards the royal family was so fervent that it +overlooked his affection to his child. He therefore fell into a +violent passion, protested against her wicked presumption, and +advised that the king "should immediately cause the woman to be +sent to the Tower, and to be cast into a dungeon, under so strict +a guard that no person should be admitted to come to her; and +then that an act of parliament should be immediately passed for +the cutting off her head, to which he would not only give his +consent, but would very willingly be the first man that should +propose it." All this he presently repeated to the king, and +moreover, assured him an example of the highest severity, in a +case so nearly concerning himself, would serve as a warning that +others might take heed of offences committed against his regal +dignity. + +News of this marriage spread throughout the court with rapidity, +and caused the utmost excitement; which in a little while was +somewhat abated by the announcement that the king's youngest +brother, Henry, Duke of Gloucester, was taken ill of small-pox. +This young prince, who is described as "a pretty boy," possessed +parts which bade fair to surpass his brothers. He was indeed +associated by his family with their tenderest memories, inasmuch +as he had been with his father on the sad day previous to his +execution. On that melancholy occasion, Charles I. had taken him +upon his knee, and said to him very tenderly, "Sweetheart, they +will cut off thy father's head," at which the boy shuddered and +turned pale. "Mark, child, what I say," continued the unhappy +king, "they will cut off my head, and, perhaps, make thee a king; +but mark what I say, you must not be made king as long as your +brothers Charles and James are alive, for they will cut off thy +brothers' heads when they catch them, and cut off thy head at +last; and therefore I charge you not to be made a king by them." +To which the lad replied very earnestly) "I will be torn in +pieces first." Sometime after the death of his father he was +allowed to join his family in France, and, like his brother +James, entered the army of that country. On the restoration, he +had returned with the king, and, three months later, this "prince +of very extraordinary hopes" died, grievously lamented by the +court, and especially by his majesty, who declared he felt this +loss more than any other which had previously fallen upon him. + +Scarcely had he been laid to rest in the vault containing the +dust of Mary Queen of Scots and Lady Arabella Stuart, when the +Princess of Orange arrived in England to pay the king a visit of +ceremony. No sooner was she settled at court, than rumour of her +brother's marriage reached her; on which she became outrageous; +but her wrath was far exceeded by that of the queen mother, who, +on hearing the news, wrote to the duke expressing her indignation +"that he should have such low thoughts as to marry such a woman." +The epistle containing this sentence was at once shown by James +to his wife, whom he continually saw and spent much time with, +unknown to her father, who had given orders she should keep her +chamber. Parliament now sat, but no mention was made of the +duke's marriage by either House; and, inasmuch as the union so +nearly concerned the nation, this silence caused considerable +surprise. It was surmised the delay was made in deference to the +feelings of the queen mother, who at this juncture set out for +England, to prevent what she was pleased to term "so great a +stain and dishonour to the crown." The king regarded his +brother's alliance in a lenient spirit, and not only spoke of it +frequently before the court, but expressed his desire of bringing +the indiscretion to a, happy conclusion by a public +acknowledgment. + +The queen mother, being an ambitious woman, had cherished certain +schemes for extending the power of her family by the respective +marriages of her sons, which the duke's union was, of course, +calculated to curtail. She therefore regarded his wife with the +bitterest disdain. Whenever that woman should be brought into +Whitehall by one door, her majesty declared she would leave it by +another and never enter it again. The marriage was rendered all +the more disagreeable to the queen, because the object of her +son's choice was daughter of the lord chancellor, whose influence +over Charles II. had frequently opposed her plans in the past, +and threatened to prevent their realization in the future. The +monarch, however, paid little attention to his mother's +indignation. He was resolved no disgrace which he could hinder +should fall upon the family of one who had served him with +disinterested loyalty; and, by way of proving his friendship +towards the chancellor on the present occasion, he, before +setting out to meet his mother on her arrival at Dover, presented +him with twenty thousand pounds, and left a signed warrant for +creating him a baron, which he desired the attorney-general to +have ready to pass the seals at his return. + +In the meantime a wicked plot, for the purpose of lessening +James's affection for his wife, and ultimately preventing the +acknowledgment of his marriage, was promoted by the chancellor's +enemies and the duke's friends, principal amongst whom were the +Princess of Orange and Sir Charles Berkley, "a fellow of great +wickedness," Sir Charles was his royal highness's most trusted +friend, and was, moreover, devoted to the service of the princess +and her mother. He therefore determined to hinder the duke from +taking a step which he was of opinion would injure him +irretrievably. Accordingly, when James spoke in confidence +concerning his marriage, Sir Charles told him it was wholly +invalid, inasmuch as it had taken place without the king's +consent; and that a union with the daughter of an insignificant +lawyer was not to be thought of by the heir to the crown. +Moreover, he hinted he could a tale unfold regarding her +behaviour. At this the duke became impatient to hear what his +good friend had to say; whereon that valiant gentleman boasted, +with an air of bravery and truth, of certain gallantries which +had passed between him and the lady. On hearing this, James, +being credulous was sorely depressed. He ceased to visit his +wife, withdrew from general company; and so well did Sir +Charles's scheme succeed, that before the queen's arrival, the +duke had decided on denying his marriage with one who had brought +him dishonour. The king, however, put no faith in these +aspersions; he felt sure "there was a wicked conspiracy set on +foot by villains." + +It therefore happened the queen was spared the trouble she had +anticipated with her son; indeed, he humbly begged her pardon for +"having placed his affections so unequally, of which he was sure +there was now an end"--a confession most gratifying to her +majesty. The duke's bitter depression continued, and was soon +increased by the death of his sister, the Princess of Orange, +which was occasioned by smallpox on the 23rd of December, 1660. +In her last agonies Lord Clarendon says "she expressed a dislike +of the proceedings in that affair, to which she had contributed +too much." This fact, together with his royal highness's +unhappiness, had due weight on Sir Charles Berkley, who began to +repent of the calumnies he had spoken. Accordingly, the "lewd +informer" went to the duke, and sought to repair the evil he had +wrought. Believing, he said, such a marriage would be the +absolute ruin of his royal highness, he had made the accusation +which he now confessed to be false, and without the least ground; +for he was very confident of the lady's honour and virtue. He +then begged pardon on his knees for a fault committed out of pure +devotion, and trusted the duke would "not suffer him to be ruined +by the power of those whom he had so unworthily provoked, and of +which he had so much shame that he had not confidence to look +upon them." + +James was so much relieved by what he heard that he not only +forgave Sir Charles, but embraced him, and promised him +protection. Nor did his royal highness longer withhold the +reparation due to his wife, who, with the approval of the king +and the reluctant consent of the queen, was received at court as +Duchess of York. Such was the romance connected with the +marriage of her who became mother of two English queens--Mary, +wife of William of Orange, and Anne, of pious memory. + + + +CHAPTER V. + +Morality of the Restoration.--Puritan piety.--Conduct of women +under the Republic.--Some notable courtiers.--The Duke of Ormond +and his family.--Lord St. Albans and Henry Jermyn.--His Grace of +Buckingham and Mistress Fairfax.--Lord Rochester.--Beautiful +Barbara Palmer.--The King's Projected marriage.--Catherine of +Braganza.--His Majesty's speech.--A Royal love-letter.--The new +Queen sets sail. + +A general idea obtains that the libertine example set forth by +Charles II. and his courtiers is wholly to blame for the spirit +of depravity which marked his reign. That it was in part +answerable for the spread of immorality is true, inasmuch as the +royalists, considering sufficient aversion could not be shown to +the loathsome hypocrisy of the puritans, therefore fell into an +opposite extreme of ostentatious profligacy. But that the court +was entirely responsible for the vice tainting all classes of +society whilst the merry monarch occupied the throne, is false. + +Other causes had long been tending to produce this unhappy +effect. The reign of the Commonwealth had not been, remarkable +for its virtue, though it had been notable for its pharisaism. +With the puritan, words of piety took place of deeds of grace; +the basest passions were often hidden under sanctimonious +exteriors. Even Cromwell, "a man of long and dark discourses, +sermons, and prayers," was not above reproach. Bishop Burnet, +who has no harsh words for him, and few gentle ones for Charles, +states the Protector's intrigue with Lady Dysart was "not a +little taken notice of;" on which, the godly man "broke it off." +He therefore, Heath records, began an amour with a lady of lesser +note--Mrs. Lambert, the wife of a puritan, herself a lady devoted +to psalm singing and audible prayer when, not otherwise +pleasantly engaged. + +The general character of many news-sheets of the day proves that +morality under the Republic was at a low ebb. Anarchy in a +kingdom invariably favours dissoluteness in a people, inasmuch as +the disturbance of civil order tends to unsettle moral law. +Homes being divided amongst themselves by political strife, +paternal care was suspended, and filial respect ignored. In the +general confusion which obtained, the distinction of social codes +was overlooked. Lord Clarendon states that; during this unhappy +period, young people of either sex were "educated in all the +liberty of vice, without reprehension or restraint." He adds, +"The young women conversed without any circumspection or modesty, +and frequently met at taverns and common eating-houses." An +additional description of the ways and manners of young maidens +under the Republic is given in a rare and curious pamphlet +entitled "A Character of England as it was lately presented in a +Letter to a Nobleman of France"; printed in the year 1659, for +Jo. Crooke, and sold at the Ship in St. Paul's Yard. Having +spoken of taverns where "fury and intemperance" reign, and where, +"that nothing may be wanting to the height of luxury and impiety, +organs have been translated out of the churches for the purpose +of chanting their dithyrambics and bestiall bacchanalias to the +tune of those instruments which were wont to assist them in the +celebration of God's praises," the writer continues: "Your +lordship will scarce believe me that the ladies of greatest +quality suffer themselves to be treated in one of those taverns, +where a curtezan in other cities would scarcely vouchsafe to be +entertained; but you will be more astonish't when I shall assure +you that they drink their crowned cups roundly, strain healths +through their smocks, daunce after the fiddle, kiss freely, and +tearm it an honourable treat." He furthermore says they were to +be found until midnight in company with their lovers at Spring +Garden, which seemed to be "contrived to all the advantages of +gallantry." From which evidences it may be gathered, that London +under the Commonwealth was little less vicious than under the +merry monarch. + +The court Charles speedily gathered round him on his restoration +was the most brilliant the nation had ever witnessed. Those of +birth and distinction who had sought refuge abroad during the +late troubles, now joyfully returned: whilst the juvenile +branches of noble families living in retirement in England, to +whom royalty had been a stranger, no less eagerly flocked to the +presence of the gay young king. The wit and politeness of the +men, the grace and beauty of the women, who surrounded Charles +II. have become proverbial; whilst the gallantries of the one, +and the frailties of the other, savour more of romance than +reality. + +That the condition of the court on its establishment may be +realized, it is necessary, at this stage of its history, to +introduce briefly some of the chief personages who surrounded his +majesty, and occupied prominent attention in the annals of his +reign. Notably amongst them were the gallant Duke of Ormond and +his family. His grace, now in his fiftieth year, was +distinguished for his commanding appearance, gracious manner, and +excellent wit. During the troubles of the civil war, he had +proved himself a most loyal subject, inasmuch as he had vested +his fortune and ventured his person in service of the late king. +Subsequently refusing liberal offers made him by Cromwell, on +condition of living in peaceful retirement, he, after the +execution of Charles I., betook himself to France, and shared +exile with the young king until the restoration. In consequence +of his proven fealty, honours were then deservingly showered upon +him: he was made grand steward of the household, first lord of +the bedchamber, and subsequently lord lieutenant of Ireland. The +duchess, who had participated in her husband's misfortunes with a +courage equal to his own, was a high-minded and most virtuous +lady, who had brought up her family with great care. Scarcely +less distinguished in mien and manner than the duke, were his two +sons, Thomas, Earl of Ossory, and Lord Richard Butler, afterwards +Earl of Arran. My lord of Ossory was no less remarkable for his +beauty than famous for his accomplishments: he rode and played +tennis to perfection, performed upon the lute to entrancement, +and danced to the admiration of the court; he was moreover a good +historian, and well versed in chronicles of romance. No less was +the Earl of Arran proficient in qualifications befitting his +birth, and gifted with attributes aiding his gallantry. + +A third member of this noble family played a more remarkable part +in the history of the court during her brief career than either +of her brothers. This was the Lady Elizabeth Butler, eldest +daughter of the duke, who, unfortunately for her own happiness, +married my Lord Chesterfield at the Hague, when, a few months +before the restoration, that nobleman fled to the continent to +escape the consequences of Francis Woolley's murder. In Lely's +picture of the young Countess of Chesterfield, her piquancy +attracts at a glance, whilst her beauty charms on examination. +Her cousin, Anthony Hamilton, describes her as having large blue +eyes, very tempting and alluring, a complexion extremely fair, +and a heart "ever open to tender sentiments," by reason of which +her troubles arose, as shall be set down in proper sequence. + +Henry Jermyn, Earl of St. Albans, and his nephew, "the little +Jermyn," were also notable as figuring in court intrigues. The +earl was member of the privy council to his majesty, and moreover +held a still closer connection to the queen mother; for, +according to Sir John Reresby, Madame Buviere, and others, her +majesty had privately married his lordship abroad--an act of +condescension he repaid with inhumanity. Madame Buviere says he +never gave the queen a good word; and when she spoke to him he +used to say, "Que me veut cette femme?" The same authority adds, +he treated her majesty in an extremely ill manner, "so that +whilst she had not a faggot to warm herself, he had in his +apartments a good fire and a sumptuous table." [This testimony +concerning the queen's poverty is borne out by Cardinal de Retz. +In his interesting Memoirs he tells of a visit he paid the queen +mother, then an exile in Paris. He found her with her youngest +daughter, Henrietta, in the chamber of the latter. "At my coming +in," says the Cardinal, "she (the queen) said, 'You see, I am come +to keep Henrietta company; the poor child could not rise to-day +for want of a fire.' The truth is, that the Cardinal (Mazarin) +for six months together had not ordered her any money towards her +pension; that no tradespeople would trust her for anything and +there was not at her lodgings a single billet. You will do me +the justice to think that the princess of England did not keep +her bed the next day for want of a faggot. . . Posterity will +hardly believe that a princess of England, grand-daughter to +Henry the Great, hath wanted a faggot in the month of January, in +the Louvre, and in the eyes of the French court."] Pepys records +that the marriage of her majesty to the earl was commonly talked +of at the restoration; and he likewise mentions it was rumoured +"that they had a daughter between them in France. How true," says +this gossip, "God knows." + +The earl's nephew, Henry Jermyn, is described as having a big +head and little legs, an affected carriage, and a wit consisting +"in expressions learned by rote, which he occasionally employed +either in raillery or love." For all that, he being a man of +amorous disposition, the number of his intrigues was no less +remarkable than the rank of those who shared them. Most notable +amongst his conquests was the king's eldest sister, widow of the +Prince of Orange--a lady possessing in no small degree natural +affections for which her illustrious family were notorious. +During the exile of Charles II., Henry Jermyn had made a +considerable figure at her court in Holland by reason of the +splendour of his equipage, entirely supported by his uncle's +wealth; he had likewise made a forcible impression on her heart +by virtue of the ardour of his addresses, wholly sustained by his +own effrontery. The effect of his presence on the princess soon +became visible to the court. Rumour whispered that as Lord St. +Albans had already made an alliance with royalty, his nephew had +likewise followed his example; but scandal declared that young +Jermyn and the princess had omitted the ceremony which should +have sanctioned their happiness. The reputation of such an amour +gained him the immediate attention of many women, whose interest +in his character increased with the knowledge of his abilities, +and helped to associate him in their memories with tenderest +emotions. + +Another figure prominent in this gay and goodly assembly was +George Villiers, second Duke of Buckingham. The faultless beauty +of his face, and graceful symmetry of his figure, would have +rendered him distinguished in a court less sensuously +impressionable to physical perfection, even if his talents had +not dazzled, and his wit amused. On the death of the first Duke +of Buckingham, "styled the handsomest bodied man in England," the +late king of pious memory undertook the charge of the young duke, +and had him educated with his own sons. Subsequently he was sent +to Cambridge, and then travelled into France, the better to +acquire that polish of manner and grace of bearing for which he +became distinguished. But, whilst abroad, word was brought him +of the distress of his master, the king; on which the young duke +hastened back into England, became a cavalier, and fought his +majesty's battles with great gallantry. Soon after Charles I. +had been beheaded, his faithful servitor went abroad; but being +loyal to the Stuart cause, he journeyed with Charles II. to +Scotland, and afterwards fought beside him in the bloody battle +of Worcester. Whilst the monarch was hiding in Boscobel Wood, +the duke betook himself to London, where, donning a wizard's +mask, a jack-pudding coat, a hat adorned with a fox's tail and +cock's feathers, he masqueraded as a mountebank, and discoursed +diverting nonsense from a stage erected at Charing Cross. After +running several risks, he escaped to France. But alas for the +duke, who was born as Madame Dunois avows, doubtless from +experience--"for gallantry and magnificence," he was now +penniless, his great estates being confiscated by Cromwell. +However, conceiving a scheme that might secure him part of his +fortune, he hastened to put it into execution. + +It happened that my Lord Fairfax, one of Cromwell's great +generals, had allotted to him by the Protector a portion of the +Buckingham estates that returned five thousand pounds a year. +The general was, moreover, placed in possession of York House, +which had likewise belonged to his grace. + +Now it happened Lord Fairfax, a generous-tempered man and brave +soldier, had an only child, a daughter destined to become his +heiress; aware of which the duke resolved to marry her, that he +might in this manner recover portion of his estate. The fact of +the lady never having seen him did not interfere with his plans; +that she would reject his suit seemed an impossibility; that she +would succumb to the fascination he invariably exercised over +woman was a certainty. Nor did it matter that Mistress Fairfax +was no beauty; for the duke, being grateful for past favours +liberally bestowed by the opposite sex, had no intention of +becoming under any circumstances churlish enough to limit his +devotion to one lady, though she were his wife. + +Carefully disguising himself, he journeyed to London, where he +was met by a faithful friend, who promised he would aid him in +winning Mistress Fairfax, towards which end he promptly +introduced the duke to that estimable gentlewoman. Having once +obtained speech of her, the remainder of his scheme was +comparatively easy of accomplishment. She loved the gay and +graceful gallant at first sight, and through years of bitter +wrong and cruel neglect continued his faithful and devoted slave. + +Though she had become clandestinely acquainted with him, she was +too good a daughter to wed without her father's consent. But +this she had not much difficulty in obtaining. Though Lord +Fairfax had fought against his king, he was not sufficiently +republican to scorn alliance with nobility, nor so thoroughly +puritan as to disdain connection with the ungodly. Accordingly +he gave his sanction to the union, which was celebrated at his +mansion at Nun Appleton, within six miles of York. Now, my Lord +Fairfax had not consulted Cromwell's goodwill concerning this +alliance, the news of which reaching the Protector in due time, +made him exceedingly wroth. For he had daughters to marry, and, +that he might strengthen his power, was desirous of wedding them +to scions of nobility; Buckingham being one of those whom he had +mentally selected to become a member of his family. His anger +was therefore at once directed against Fairfax and his grace. +The former he could not molest, but the latter he committed to +the Tower; and if the great Protector had not been soon after +seized by fatal illness, the duke would have made his last +journey from thence to Tower Hill. As it fell out he remained a +prisoner until within a year of the coming of Charles, whom he +welcomed with exceeding joy. Being bred with the merry monarch, +he had from boyhood been a favourite of his majesty, with whom he +shared a common love for diversion. He was, therefore, from the +first a prominent figure at Whitehall; his handsome person and +extravagant dress adorned the court; his brilliant wit and +poignant satire amused the royal circle. + +His grace, however, had a rival, the vivacity of whose temper and +piquancy of whose humour went far to eclipse Buckingham's talent +in these directions. This was the young Earl of Rochester, son +of my Lord Wilmot, who had so successfully aided the king's +escape after the battle of Worcester, for which service he had +been created Earl of Rochester by Charles in Paris. That worthy +man dying just a year previous to the restoration, his son +succeeded to his titles, and likewise to an estate which had been +preserved for him by the prudence of his mother. Even in his +young days Lord Rochester gave evidence of possessing a lively +wit and remarkable genius, which were cultivated by his studies +at Oxford and his travels abroad. So that at the age of +eighteen, when he returned to England and presented himself at +Whitehall, his sprightly parts won him the admiration of +courtiers and secured him the favour of royalty. Nor was the +young earl less distinguished by his wit and learning than by his +face and figure; the delicate beauty of his features and natural +grace of his person won him the love of many women, whom the +tenderness of his heart and generosity of his youth did not +permit him to leave unrequited. + +Soon surfeited by his conquests in the drawing-room, he was +anxious to extend his triumphs in another direction; and, +selecting the sea as a scene of action, he volunteered to sail +under my Lord Sandwich in quest of the Dutch East Indian fleet. +At the engagements to which this led he exhibited a dauntless +courage that earned him renown abroad, and covered him with +honour on his return to court. From that time he, for many +years, surrendered himself to a career of dissipation, often +abandoning the paths of decency and decorum, pursuing vice in its +most daring and eccentric fashion, employing his genius in the +composition of lampoons which spared not even the king, and in +the writing of ribald verses, the very names of which are not +proper to indite. Lord Orford speaks of him as a man "whom the +muses were fond to inspire, and ashamed to avow; and who +practised, without the least reserve, that secret which can make +verses more read for their defects than for their merits." More +of my Lord Rochester and his poems anon. + +Thomas Killigrew, another courtier, was a poet, dramatist, and +man of excellent wit. He had been page in the service of his +late majesty, and had shared exile with the present monarch, to +whose pleasures abroad and at home he was ever ready to pander. +At the restoration he was appointed a groom of the bedchamber, +and, moreover, was made master of the revels--an office eminently +suited to his tastes, and well fitted to exercise his capacities. +His ready wit amused the king so much, that he was occasionally +led to freedoms of speech which taxed his majesty's good-nature. +His escapades diverted the court to such an extent, that he +frequently took the liberty of affording it entertainment at the +expense of its reputation. The "beau Sidney," a man "of sweet +and caressing temper," handsome appearance, and amorous +disposition; Sir George Etherege, a wit and a playwright; and +Charles Sackville, Earl of Dorset, a poet and man of sprightly +speech, were likewise courtiers of note. + +Among such congenial companions the merry monarch abandoned +himself wholly to the pursuit of pleasure, and openly carried on +his intrigue with Barbara Palmer. According to the testimony of +her contemporaries, she was a woman of surpassing loveliness and +violent passions. Gilbert Burnet, whilst admitting her beauty, +proclaims her defects. She was, he relates, "most enormously +vicious and ravenous, foolish but imperious, very uneasy to the +king, and always carrying on intrigues with other men, while she +yet pretended she was jealous of him." Pepys testifies likewise +to her physical attractions so long as she reigned paramount in +the king's affections; but when another woman, no less fair, came +betwixt my lady and his majesty's favour, Mr. Pepys, being a +loyal man and a frail, found greater beauty in the new love, +whose charms he avowed surpassed the old. To his most +interesting diary posterity is indebted for glimpses of the +manner in which the merry monarch and his mistress behaved +themselves during the first months of the restoration. Now he +tells of "great doings of musique," which were going on at Madame +Palmer's house, situated in the Strand, next Earl Sandwich's, and +of the king and the duke being with that lady: again, in the +Chapel Royal, Whitehall, he observed, whilst Dr. Herbert Croft +prayed and preached,"how the Duke of York and Mrs. Palmer did +talk to one another very wantonly through the hangings that part +the king's closet and the closet where the ladies sit." And +later on, when he witnessed "The Humorous Lieutenant" performed +before the court, he noted the royal favourite was likewise +present, "with whom the king do discover a great deal of +familiarity." + +Presently, in February, 1661, exactly nine months after his +majesty's return, Mrs. Palmer gave birth to a daughter. To the +vast amusement of the court, no less than three men claimed the +privilege of being considered father of this infant. One of +these was my Lord Chesterfield, whom the child grew to resemble +in face and person; the second was Roger Palmer, who left her his +estate; the third was King Charles, who had her baptized Anne +Palmer Fitzroy, adopted her as his daughter, and eventually +married her to the Earl of Sussex. + +Soon after the restoration the subject of his majesty's marriage +was mooted by his councillors, who trusted a happy union would +redeem him from vice, and, by bringing him heirs, help to +establish him more firmly in the affections of his people. The +king lending a willing ear to this advice, the sole difficulty in +carrying it into execution rested in the selection of a bride +congenial to his taste and equal to his sovereignty. King Louis +of France had no sisters, and his nieces had not commended +themselves to the merry monarch's favour during his stay abroad. +Spain had two infantas, but one was wedded to the King of France, +and the other betrothed to the heir of the royal house of +Austria. Germany, of course, had princesses in vast numbers, who +awaited disposal; but when they were proposed to King Charles, +"he put off the discourse with raillery," as Lord Halifax +narrates. "Odd's fish," he would say, shrugging his shoulders +and making a grimace, "I could not marry one of them: they are +all dull and foggy!" + +Catherine of Braganza, daughter of Don Juan IV. of Portugal, was +unwedded, and to her Charles ultimately addressed himself. +Alliance with her commended itself to the nation from the fact +that the late king, before the troubled times began, had entered +into a negotiation with Portugal concerning the marriage of this +same infanta and his present majesty; and such was the esteem in +which the memory of Charles I. was now held, that compliance with +his desires was regarded as a sacred obligation. The Portuguese +ambassador assured the merry monarch that the princess, by reason +of her beauty, person, and age, was most suited to him. To +convince him of this, he showed his majesty a portrait of the +lady, which the king examining, declared "that person could not +be unhandsome." The ambassador, who was of a certainty most +anxious for this union, then said it was true the princess was a +catholic, and would never change her faith; but she was free from +"meddling activity;" that she had been reared by a wise mother, +and would only look to the freedom of practising her own religion +without interfering with that of others. Finally, he added that +the princess would have a dowry befitting her high station, of no +less a sum than five hundred thousand pounds sterling in ready +money. + +Moreover, by way of addition to this already handsome portion, +the Queen of Portugal was ready to assign over and annex to the +English crown, the Island of Bombay, in the East Indies, and +Tangier on the African coast--a place of strength and importance, +which would be of great benefit and security to British commerce. +Nor was this all. Portugal was likewise willing to grant England +free trade in Brazil and the East Indies, a privilege heretofore +denied all other countries. This was indeed a dower which none +of the "dull and foggy" German princesses could bring the crown. +The prospect of obtaining so much ready money especially +commended the alliance to the extravagant taste of his majesty, +who had this year complained to Parliament of his poverty, by +reason of which he "was so much grieved to see many of his +friends come to him at Whitehall, and to think they were obliged +to go somewhere else for a dinner." + +The merry monarch was therefore well pleased at the prospect of +his union, as were likewise the chancellor and four or five +"competent considerers of such an affair" whom he consulted. +These worthy counsellors and men of sage repute, who included in +their number the Duke of Ormond and Sir Edward Nicholas, +Secretary of State, the Earl of Manchester, and the Earl of +Southampton, after regretting it was not agreeable to his majesty +to select a queen who professed the protestant religion, gave it +as their opinion there was no catholic princess in Europe whom +he, with so much reason and advantage, could marry as the infanta +of Portugal. They, moreover, added that the sum promised as part +of her portion, setting aside the places, "was much greater-- +almost double to what any king had ever received in money by any +marriage." The council, therefore, without a dissenting voice, +advised him to the marriage. + +On the 8th of May, 1661, his majesty, being clad in robes of +state, and wearing the crown, rode in great pomp to open +Parliament, which he addressed from the throne. In the course of +his speech, he announced his approaching marriage in a singularly +characteristic address. "I will not conclude without telling you +some news," he said, "news that I think will be very acceptable +to you, and therefore I should think myself unkind, and ill- +natured if I did not impart it to you. I have been put in mind +by my friends that it was now time to marry, and I have thought +so myself ever since I came into England. But there appeared +difficulties enough in the choice, though many overtures have +been made to me; and if I should never marry until I could make +such a choice against which there could be no foresight of any +inconvenience that may ensue, you would live to see me an old +bachelor, which I think you do not desire to do. I can now tell +you, not only that I am resolved to marry, but with whom I am +resolved to marry. If God please, it is with the daughter of +Portugal. And I will make all the haste I can to fetch you a +queen hither, who, I doubt not, will bring great blessings with +her to me and you." + +Next day addresses of congratulation were presented to his +majesty by both Houses. This gratifying news was made known to +the Portuguese ambassador, Count da Ponte, by the lord high +chancellor, who visited his excellency for the purpose, attended +by state befitting such a great and joyful occasion; two +gentlemen preceded him, bearing respectively a gilded mace and a +crimson velvet purse embroidered with the arms of Great Britain, +and many others following him to the ambassador's residence. A +month later, the marriage articles were signed; the new queen +being guaranteed the free exercise of her faith, and the sum of +thirty thousand a year during life; whilst the king was assured +possession of her great dowry, together with the territories +already mentioned, one of which, Bombay, ultimately became of +such vast importance to the crown. + +Charles then despatched the Portuguese ambassador to Catherine-- +from this time styled queen--in order to make arrangements for +her journey into England. Likewise he wrote a letter, remarkable +for the fervour of its sentiments and elegance of its diction, +which da Ponte was commissioned to convey her. This courtly +epistle, addressed by Charles to "The Queen of Great Britain, my +wife and lady, whom God preserve," is dated July 2nd, 1661, and +runs as follows: + +"MY LADY AND WIFE, + "Already, at my request, the good Count da Ponte has set off +for Lisbon; for me the signing of the marriage act has been great +happiness; and there is about to be despatched at this time after +him one of my servants, charged with what would appear necessary, +whereby may be declared, on my part, the inexpressible joy of +this felicitous conclusion, which, when received, will hasten the +coming of your majesty. + +"I am going to make a short progress into some of my provinces; +in the meantime, whilst I go from my most sovereign good, yet I +do not complain as to whither I go, seeking in vain tranquillity +in my restlessness; hoping to see the beloved person of your +majesty in these kingdoms already your own, and that with the +same anxiety with which, after my long banishment, I desired to +see myself within them, and my subjects, desiring also to behold +me amongst them, having manifested their most ardent wishes for +my return, well known to the world. The presence of your +serenity is only wanting to unite us, under the protection of +God, in the health and content I desire. I have recommended to +the queen, our lady and mother, the business of the Count da +Ponte, who, I must here avow, has served me in what I regard as +the greatest good in this world, which cannot be mine less than +it is that of your majesty; likewise not forgetting the good +Richard Russell, who laboured on his part to the same end. +[Richard Russell was Bishop of Portalegre, in Portugal, and +Almoner to Catherine of Braganza.] + +"The very faithful husband of your majesty, whose hand he kisses, + "CHARLES REX." +London, 2nd of July, 1661. + +During many succeeding months preparations were made in England +to receive the young Queen. The "Royal Charles," a stately ship +capable of carrying eighty cannon and six hundred men, was +suitably fitted to convey her to England. + +The state room and apartments destined for use of the future +bride were furnished and ornamented in most luxuriant manner, +being upholstered in crimson velvet, handsomely carpeted, and +hung with embroideries and taffeties. Lord Sandwich was made +commander of the gallant fleet which in due time accompanied the +"Royal Charles." He was likewise appointed ambassador +extraordinary, and charged with safely conducting the bride unto +her bridegroom. + +In due time, my lord, in high spirits, set sail with his gallant +fleet, and on arriving at Portugal was received with every remark +of profound respect, and every sign of extravagant joy. Stately +ceremonies at court and brilliant rejoicings in public made time +speed with breathless rapidity. But at length there came a day +when my Lord Sandwich encountered a difficulty he had not +foreseen. According to instructions, he had taken possession of +Tangier before proceeding for the queen; and he had likewise been +directed to see her dowry put on board one of his ships, before +receiving her on the "Royal Charles." + +Now the Queen of Portugal, who acted as regent since the death of +her husband, being strongly desirous of seeing her daughter the +consort of a great sovereign, and of protecting her country from +the tyranny of Spain by an alliance with England, had gathered +the infanta's marriage portion with infinite trouble; which had +necessitated the selling of her majesty's jewels and much of her +plate, and the borrowing of both plate and jewels from churches +and monasteries all over the land. The sums accumulated in this +manner she had carefully stowed away in great sacks; but, alas, +between the date on which the marriage treaty had been signed, +and arrival of the English ambassador to claim the bride, Spain +had made war upon Portugal, and the dowry had to be expended in +arming the country for defence. Therefore, when my Lord Sandwich +mentioned the dowry, her majesty, with keen regrets and infinite +apologies, informed him so great were the straits of poverty to +which her kingdom was reduced, that she could pay only half the +stipulated sum at present, but promised the remaining portion +should be made up the following year. Moreover, the part which +she then asked him to accept was made up of jewels, sugars, +spices and other commodities which she promised to have converted +by arrangement into solid gold in London. + +The ambassador was therefore sorely perplexed, and knew not +whether he should return to England without the bride, or take +her and the merchandise which represented half her dowry on board +his ship. He decided on the latter course, and the queen, with +her court and retinue, set sail for merry England on the 23rd of +April, 1662. + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +The king's intrigue with Barbara Palmer.--The queen arrives at +Portsmouth.--Visited by the Duke of York.--The king leaves town, +--First interview with his bride.--His letter to the lord +chancellor.--Royal marriage and festivities.--Arrival at Hampton +Court Palace.--Prospects of a happy union.--Lady Castlemaine +gives birth to a second child.--The king's infatuation.--Mistress +and wife.--The queen's misery.--The king's cruelty.--Lord +Clarendon's messages.--His majesty resolves to break the queen's +spirit.--End of the domestic quarrel. + +Whilst the king conducted the negotiations of his marriage with +Catherine of Braganza, he likewise continued the pursuit of his +intrigue with Barbara Palmer. The unhappy fascination which this +vile woman exercised over his majesty increased with time; and +though his ministers declared a suitable marriage would reform +his ways, his courtiers concluded he had no intention of +abandoning his mistress in favour of his wife. For Barbara +Palmer, dreading the loss of her royal lover and the forfeiture +of wealth accruing from this connection, had firmly bound him in +her toils. Moreover, in order that he might continually abide +under her influence, she conceived a scheme which would of +necessity bring her into constant intercourse with him and the +young queen. She therefore demanded he would appoint her one of +the ladies of the bedchamber to her majesty, to which he, +heedless of the insult this would fix upon his wife, readily +consented. + +In order to qualify Barbara Palmer for such a position, it was +necessary she should be raised to the peerage. This could only +be accomplished by ennobling her husband, unless public decency +were wholly ignored, and she was created a peeress in her own +right, whilst he remained a commoner. After some faint show of +hesitation, Roger Palmer accepted the honours thrust upon him by +reason of his wife's infamy. On the 11th of December, 1661, he +was created Earl of Castlemaine, and Baron Limerick in the +peerage of Ireland, when the royal favourite became a countess. + +And now the merry month of May being arrived, the queen was +speedily expected; and on the night of the 13th joyful tidings +reached London that the "Royal Charles," accompanied by the +fleet, was in sight of Portsmouth. At which news there was great +rejoicing throughout the town, church bells ringing merrily, and +bonfires blazing brightly; but before the Countess of +Castlemaine's house, where the king, according to his custom was +at supper, there was no fire, though such signs of joy burned "at +all the rest of the doors almost in the streets, which was much +observed." + +Next day the fleet arrived in the harbour of Portsmouth, about +four in the afternoon. Heath says the people gathered to receive +the bride with all possible demonstrations of honour, "the +nobility and gentry and multitudes of Londoners, in most rich +apparel and in great numbers, waiting on the shore for her +landing; and the mayor and aldermen and principal persons of that +corporation being in their gowns, and with a present and a speech +ready to entertain her; the cannon and small shot, both from +round that town and the whole fleet echoing to one another the +loud proclamations of their joy." These good people were, +however, destined to disappointment; for though the bride was +impatient to land, because suffering from prostration consequent +on a rough voyage and severe illness, she was not, in observance +of court etiquette, permitted to leave the ship until the king +arrived. This did not take place until six days later, Charles +being detained in town by reason of some important bills then +passing in Parliament, which it was necessary for him to sign. +He had, however, despatched his royal brother of York, then Lord +High Admiral of England, to meet her at sea, and give her +greeting in his name. Accordingly the duke had encountered the +fleet at the Isle of Wight, and gone on board the queen's ship, +when she received him in her cabin seated under a canopy on a +chair of state. His royal highness expressed his joy at her +arrival, presented "his majesty's high respects and his exceeding +affection for her," and paid her many compliments. Lord +Chesterfield, who had been appointed chamberlain to the queen, +tells us: "Although James, in consequence of his near connection +with the sovereign, might have saluted the royal bride, he did +not avail himself of this privilege, out of a delicate regard to +his majesty's feelings, that he might be the first man to offer +that compliment to his queen; she coming out of a country where +it was not the fashion." The Duke of York presented some +noblemen who had accompanied him; after which she introduced the +members of her suite. The queen and her brother-in-law then held +a conversation in the Spanish language, when James assured her of +his affection, and besought her to accept his services. To these +compliments she replied in like manner, when he arose to depart. +The queen advanced three paces with him, not withstanding that he +protested against such courtesy, bidding her remember her rank. +At this she smiled, and answered with much sweetness, "She wished +to do that out of affection, which she was not obliged to do"--a +reply which made a favourable impression on his mind. Whilst she +continued on board, the duke and his suite visited her daily, +entering freely into conversation with her, and finding her "a +most agreeable lady." Probably at the desire of the king, she +left the ship before his arrival, and was conveyed to his +majesty's house at Portsmouth, where she was received by the +Countess of Suffolk, first lady of the bedchamber, and four other +ladies who had been appointed members of her household. One of +her first requests to these was--as may be learned from a letter +of Lord Sandwich, preserved in the Bodleian library--"that they +would put her in that habit they thought would be most pleasing +to the king." Before leaving the "Royal Charles" she spoke to +all the officers of the ship, thanked them for their services, +and permitted them to kiss her hand. She then presented a collar +of gold to the captain, and gave money to be distributed among +the crew. + +When at length the parliamentary business was concluded, the king +found himself in readiness to depart. The last words he +addressed to his faithful commons before starting are worth +recording: "The mention of my wife's arrival," said he, in the +pleasant familiar tone it was his wont to use, "puts me in mind +to desire you to put that compliment upon her, that her entrance +into this town may be made with more decency than the ways will +now suffer it to be; and to that purpose I pray you would quickly +pass such laws as are before you, in order to the mending those +ways, that she may not find Whitehall surrounded with water." + +At nine o'clock on the night of the 19th of May, his majesty left +London in Lord Northumberland's carriage, on his way to +Portsmouth. Arriving at Kingston an hour later, he entered Lord +Chesterfield's coach, which awaited him there by appointment, and +drove to Guildford, at which town he slept the night. In the +morning he was up betimes, and posted to Portsmouth, where he +arrived at noon. The queen, being ill of a slight fever, was yet +in bed: but the king, all impatient to see the bride which +heaven had sent him, sought admittance to her chamber. The poor +princess evidently did not look to advantage; for his majesty +told Colonel Legg he thought at first glance "they had brought +him a bat instead of a woman." On further acquaintance, however, +she seemed to have afforded more pleasure to the king's sight, +for the next day he expressed the satisfaction he felt concerning +her, in a letter addressed to the lord chancellor, which is +preserved in the library of the British Museum, and runs as +follows: + +"PORTSMOUTH, 21st May +(Eight in the Morning). + +"I arrived here yesterday about two in the afternoon, and, as +soon as I had shifted myself, I went into, my wife's chamber, +whom I found in bed, by reason of a little cough and some +inclination to a fever: but I believe she will find herself very +well in the morning when she wakes. I can now only give you an +account of what I have seen abed, which, in short, is, her face +is not so exact as to be called a beauty, though her eyes are +excellent good, and not anything in her face that in the least +degree can shock one: on the contrary, she hath as much +agreeableness in her looks altogether as ever I saw; and if I +have any skill in physiognomy, which I think I have, she must be +as good a woman as ever was born. Her conversation, as much as I +can perceive, is very good, for she has wit enough, and a most +agreeable voice. You would wonder to see how well acquainted we +are already. In a word, I think myself very happy; for I am +confident our two humours will agree very well together. I have +no more to say: my Lord Lieutenant will give you an account of +the rest." + +The king was attended by Lord Sandwich during this interview, and +his lordship, in a letter addressed to the lord chancellor, +informed him the meeting between his majesty and the infanta. +"hath been with much contentment on both sides, and that we are +like to be very happy in their conjunction." Next morning the +Countess of Suffolk, and other ladies appointed to wait upon the +bride, dressed her according to the English fashion, in "a habit +they thought would be most pleasing to the king," in which she +was married. The ceremony was first performed according to the +rites of the Catholic Church, by the Rev. Lord Aubigny, brother +to the Duke of Richmond, in the queen's bedchamber; that +apartment being selected for the purpose, as affording a privacy +necessary to be maintained, by reason of the prejudice then +existing towards Catholicism. There were present the Duke of +York, Philip, afterwards Cardinal Howard, and five Portuguese, +all of whom were bound over to keep the strictest secrecy +concerning what they witnessed. Later in the day, Dr. Sheldon, +Bishop of London, married their majesties according to the form +prescribed by the Church of England. The latter ceremony took +place in the presence chamber. A rail divided the apartment, at +the upper part of which the king and queen, the bishops, the +Spanish Ambassador, and Sir Richard Fanshaw stood; the lower +portion being crowded by the court. When Dr. Sheldon had +declared their majesties married, the Countess of Suffolk, +according to a custom of the time, detached the ribbons from the +bride's dress, and, cutting them in pieces, distributed them +amongst those present. + +Feasting, balls, and diversions of all kinds followed the +celebration of the royal nuptials, and for a time the king was +delighted with his bride. Four days after the marriage he writes +again to the lord chancellor in most cheerful tone: + +"My brother will tell you of all that passes here, which I hope +will be to your satisfaction. I am sure 'tis so much to mine +that I cannot easily tell you how happy I think myself, and must +be the worst man living (which I hope I am not) if I be not a +good husband. I am confident never two humours were better +fitted together than ours are. We cannot stir from hence till +Tuesday, by reason that there is not carts to be had to-morrow to +transport all our GUARDE INFANTAS, without which there is no +stirring: so you are not to expect me till Thursday night at +Hampton Court." + +They did not reach the palace until the 29th of May, that being +the king's birthday, and, moreover, the anniversary of his +entrance into London; a date which the Queen's arrival now caused +to be celebrated with triple magnificence and joy. When the +coach that conveyed their majesties drew near, the whole palace +seemed astir with happy excitement. Double lines of soldiers, +both horse and foot, lined the way from the gates to the +entrance. In the great hall the lord chancellor, foreign +ambassadors, judges, and councillors of state awaited to pay +homage to their majesties; whilst in various apartments were the +nobility and men of quality, with their ladies, ranged according +to their rank, being all eager to kiss the new queen's hand. +Sure never was such show of gladness. Bells rang people cheered, +bonfires blazed. + +In the evening news was brought that the Duchess of York was +being rowed to Hampton from town; hearing which, the king, with a +blithe heart, betook his way to meet her through the garden, now +bright with spring flowers and fragrant with sweet scents, till +he arrived at the gate by which the silver streak of the pleasant +Thames flowed past. And presently on this calm May eve the sound +of oars splashing in the tide was heard, and anon a barge came in +sight, hung with silken curtains and emblazoned with the arms of +royalty. From this the Duchess of York disembarked, aided by the +king. When she had offered her congratulations to him, he, +taking her hand, led her to his bride, that such fair speeches +might be repeated to her majesty. And coming into the queen's +presence the duchess would have gone upon her knees and kissed +her majesty's hand; but Catherine raised her in her arms, and +kissed her on the cheek. Then amidst much joy the happy evening +waned to night. + +The royal palace of Hampton Court, in which Charles had decided +on spending his honeymoon, had been raised by the magnificent +Wolsey in the plenitude of his power as a place of recreation. +Since his downfall it had been used by royalty as a summer +residence, it being in truth a stately pleasure house. The great +pile contained upwards of four hundred rooms. The principal +apartments had cedar or gilded and frescoed ceilings, and walls +hung with rare tapestries and curtains heavy with gold. +Moreover, these rooms contained furniture of most skilful design +and costly manufacture, and were adorned by the choice works of +such masters of their art as Holbein, Bellini, Vansomer, Rubens, +and Raphael; and withal enriched with Indian cabinets, such as +never were seen in England before, which the queen had brought +with her from Portugal. + +The great hall had been the scene of many sumptuous banquets. +The chapel was rich in carved designs. Her majesty's bedroom, +with its curtains of crimson silk, its vast mirror and toilet of +beaten and massive gold, was a splendid apartment--the more so +from its state bed, which Evelyn says was "an embroidery of +silver on crimson velvet, and cost L8,000, being a present made +by the States of Holland, when his majesty returned, and had +formerly been given by them to our king's sister, ye Princess of +Orange, and being bought of her againe, was now presented to ye +king." Around this noble residence, where the court was wont to +tarry in summer months, stretched broad and flowerful gardens, +with wide parterres, noble statues, sparkling fountains, and +marble vases; and beyond lay the park, planted "with swete rows +of lime-trees." + +And here all day long, in the fair summer time of this year, +pleasure held boundless sway. Sauntering in balmy gardens, or +seeking shelter from sun-rays in green glades and leafy groves, +their majesties, surrounded by their brilliant court, chased +bright hours away in frolic and pleasantry from noon till night. +Then revelry, gaining new life, began once more, when courtly +figures danced graceful measures to sounds of mirthful strains, +under the lustre of innumerable lights. + +For a while it seemed as if a brave prospect of happiness was in +store for the young queen. Her love for her husband, her delight +in his affection, her pride in his accomplishments, together with +her simplicity, innocence, and naivete, completely won his heart. +These claims to his affection were, moreover, strengthened by the +charms of her person. Lord Chesterfield, a man whom experience +of the sex had made critical, writes that she "was exactly +shaped, has lovely hands, excellent eyes, a good countenance, a +pleasing voice, fine hair, and, in a word, what an understanding +man would wish for in a wife." Notwithstanding the attractions +of her majesty's person which he enumerates, he adds his fears +that "all these will hardly make things run in the right channel; +but, if it should, our court will require a new modelling." In +this note of alarm he forebodes danger to come. A man of his +majesty's character, witty and careless, weak and voluptuous, was +not likely to reconstruct his court, or reclaim it from ways he +loved. Nor was his union calculated to exercise a lasting +impression on him. The affection he bore his wife in the first +weeks of their married life was due to the novelty he found in +her society, together with the absence of temptation in the shape +of his mistress. Constancy to the marriage vow was scarcely to +be expected from a man whose morals had never been shackled by +restraint; yet faithlessness to a bride was scarcely to be +anticipated ere the honeymoon had waned. This was, however, the +unhappy fate which awaited Catherine of Braganza. + +It happened early in the month of June, whilst the court was at +Hampton, my Lady Castlemaine, who had remained in town through +illness, gave birth to a second child. The infant was baptized +Charles Palmer, adopted by the king as his own, and as such +subsequently created Duke of Southampton. This event seemed to +renew all his majesty's tenderness towards her. Wearied by the +charm of innocence in the person of his wife, his weak nature +yielded to the attraction of vice in that of his mistress. He, +therefore, frequently left Hampton Court that he might ride to +London, visit the countess, and fritter away some hours in her +presence; being heedless alike of the insult he dealt the queen, +and the scandal he gave the nation. + +The while my Lord Castlemaine lived with the lady who shared his +title, and whom he called his wife; but their continuance to +abide in harmony and goodwill was, soon after the birth of this +child, interrupted for ever. My lord was certainly a loyal +subject, but he was likewise a religious man, as may be judged, +not by that which has been recorded, but from the narration which +follows. Having been bred a Catholic, he was anxious his wife's +son should be enrolled a member of the same community. To this +end he had him baptized by a priest, a proceeding of which the +king wholly disapproved; not because his majesty was attached to +any religion in particular, but rather that he resented +interference with the infant whom he rested satisfied was his own +child. Accordingly, by the king's command, Lady Castlemaine's +son was rebaptized by the rector of St. Margaret's, Westminster, +in the presence of his majesty, the Earl of Oxford, and the +Countess of Suffolk, first lady of the bedchamber to the queen +and aunt to the king's mistress. + +This exasperated my Lord Castlemaine to such a degree that high +words passed between him and his lady: on which he resolved to +part from her for ever. However, she was more prompt to act in +the matter than he; for, taking advantage of his absence one day, +she packed up her jewels, plate, and household treasures, and +departed to the residence of her uncle, Colonel Edward Villiers, +at Richmond. This step was probably taken, if not by his +majesty's suggestion, at least with his full approval; for the +house she selected brought her within an easy distance of Hampton +Court, into which the king designed promptly to introduce her. + +Now rumour of the king's liason had spread beyond the English +nation, and had been whispered even at the secluded court of +Portugal, into the ears of the bride elect. And the queen +regent, dreading the trouble this might draw upon her daughter, +had counselled her never to admit his majesty's mistress into her +presence. This advice the young queen determined to act upon; +and accordingly when Charles, a couple of days after their +marriage, presented her with a list of those appointed to her +household--amongst whom was my Lady Castlemaine--her majesty drew +a pen across the name of the dreaded favourite. The king, if +surprised or indignant, made no remark at the time, but none the +less held to the resolution he had taken of appointing the +countess a lady of the bedchamber. No further attempt of +intruding his mistress's presence upon his wife was made until +Lady Castlemaine came to Richmond. + +It happened on the afternoon of the day on which the favourite +arrived her majesty sat in the great drawing-room, surrounded by +a brilliant throng of noble and beautiful women and gay and +gallant men. The windows of the apartment stood open; outside +fountains splashed in the sun; music played in a distant glade: +and all the world seemed glad. And as the queen listened to +pleasant sounds of wit and gossip, murmuring around her, the +courtiers, at sound of a well-known footstep, suddenly ceasing +their discourse, fell back on either side adown the room. At +that moment the king entered, leading a lady apparelled in +magnificent attire, the contour of whose face and outline of +whose figure distinguished her as a woman of supreme and sensuous +loveliness. + +His majesty, suceedingly rich in waving feathers, glittering +satins, and fluttering ribbons, returned the gracious bows of his +courtiers to right and left; and, unconscious of the curious and +perplexed looks they interchanged, advanced to where his wife +sat, and introduced my Lady Castlemaine. Her majesty bowed and +extended her hand, which the countess, having first courtesyed +profoundly, raised to her lips. The queen either had not caught +the name, or had disassociated it from that of her husband's +mistress; but in an instant the character of the woman presented, +and the insult the king had inflicted, flashed upon her mind. +Coming so suddenly, it was more than she could bear; all colour +fled from her face, tears rushed to her eyes, blood gushed from +her nostrils, and she fell senseless to the floor. + +Such strong evidence of the degree in which his young wife felt +the indignity forced upon her, by no means softened his majesty's +heart towards her, but rather roused his indignation at what he +considered public defiance of his authority. But as his nature +was remote from roughness, and his disposition inclined to ease, +he at first tried to gain his desire by persuasion, and therefore +besought the queen she would suffer his mistress to become a lady +of the bedchamber. But whenever the subject was mentioned to her +majesty, she burst into tears, and would not give heed to his +words. Charles therefore, incensed on his side, deserted her +company, and sought the society of those ever ready to entertain +him. And as the greater number of his courtiers were fully as +licentious as himself, they had no desire he should become +subject to his wife, or alter the evil tenor of his ways. + +Therefore in their conversation they cited to him the example of +his grandfather, King James I., of glorious memory, who had not +dissembled his passions, nor suffered the same to become a +reproach to those who returned his love; but had obliged his +queen to bear with their company, and treat them with grace and +favour; and had, moreover, raised his natural children to the +degree of princes of the blood. They told Charles he had +inherited the disposition of his grandsire, and they were sure he +would treat the objects of his affection in like manner as that +king had done. Lady Castlemaine, her friends moreover argued, +had, by reason of her love for his majesty, parted from her +husband; and now that she had been so publicly made an object of +the queen's indignation, she would, if abandoned by him, meet +with rude contempt from the world. To such discourses as these +the king lent a willing ear, the more as they encouraged him to +act according to his desires. He was therefore fully determined +to support his mistress; and firmly resolved to subdue his wife. + +Meanwhile, all joyousness vanished from the court; the queen +seemed thoroughly dejected, the king bitterly disappointed, and +the courtiers grievously disturbed. Moreover, rumours of the +trouble which had risen between their majesties became noised +abroad, and gave the people occasion of speaking indifferently of +their lord the king. Now Charles in his unhappiness betook +himself to the chancellor, who was not only his sage adviser and +trusted friend, but who had already gained the esteem and +confidence of the queen. My lord, by reason of his services to +the late king, and his friendship towards his present majesty, +took to himself the privilege of speaking with freedom and +boldness whenever his advice was asked by the monarch. As Burnet +tells us, the worthy chancellor would never make any application +to the king's mistress, nor allow anything to pass the seal in +which she was named; nor would he ever consent to visit her, +which the bishop considered "was maintaining the decencies of +virtue in a very solemn manner." The king knowing my lord was +the only one of all the strangers surrounding the queen whom she +believed devoted to her service, and to whose advice she would +hearken with trust, therefore bade him represent to her the +advisability of obedience. + +Whereon the chancellor boldly pointed out to him "the hard- +heartedness and cruelty of laying such a command upon the queen, +which flesh and blood could not comply with." He also begged to +remind the monarch of what he had heard him say upon the occasion +of a like indignity being offered by a neighbouring king to his +queen, inasmuch as he had compelled her to endure the presence of +his mistress at court. On hearing which King Charles avowed it +was "a piece of ill-nature that he could never be guilty of; and +if ever he should be guilty of having a mistress after he had a +wife, which he hoped he should never be, she should never come +where his wife was; he would never add that to the vexation, of +which she would have enough without it." Finally my lord added +that pursuit of the course his majesty had resolved on, was a +most certain way to lose the respect and affections of his +people; that the excesses he had already fallen into had in some +degree lost him ground in their good esteem, but that his +continuance of them would "break the hearts of all his friends, +and be grateful only to those who desired the destruction of +monarchy." + +Charles heard him with some impatience, but in his reply betrayed +that graciousness of manner which, never forsaking him, went far +in securing the favour of those with whom he conversed. He +commenced by telling the chancellor he felt assured his words +were prompted by the affection in which he held him; and then +having by a pathway of courteous speeches found his way to the +old man's heart, his majesty broached the subject uppermost in +his mind. His conscience and his honour, he said, for he laid +claim to both, led him to repair the ruin he had caused Lady +Castlemaine's reputation by promoting her to the position of a +lady of the bedchamber; and his gratitude prompted him to avow a +friendship for her, "which he owed as well to the memory of her +father as to her own person," and therefore he would not be +restrained from her company and her conversation. + +Moreover, he had proceeded so far in the business, that if not +successful Lady Castlemaine would be subjected to all imaginable +contempt, and be exposed to universal ridicule. If, he added, +the queen conformed to his wishes in this regard, it would be the +only hard thing he should ever require of her; and, indeed, she +might make it very easy, for my lady must behave with all +possible respect in her presence, otherwise she should never see +his face again. Then he begged the chancellor to wait upon her +majesty, lay bare his arguments, and urge her to receive the +countess with some show of favour. The chancellor, though not +pleased with his mission, yet in hope of healing private discord +and averting public scandal, undertook to counsel the queen to +obedience, and accordingly waited on her in her private +apartments. + +Now her majesty's education had been such as kept her in complete +ignorance of the world's ways. The greater part of her life had +been spent in the peaceful retirement of a convent, which she +left for her mother's country palace, a home scarcely less +secluded. Maynard, in a letter preserved in the State Paper +Office, written from Lisbon when the royal marriage was proposed, +says the infanta, "as sweete a disposition princess as everr was +borne," was "bred hugely retired. She hath," he continues, +"hardly been tenn tymes out of the palace in her life. In five +years tyme she was not out of doores, untill she hurde of his +majestie's intentions to make her queen of Ingland, since which +she hath been to visit two saintes in the city; and very shortly +shee intends to pay her devotion to some saintes in the country." + +From a life of innocence she was brought for the first time face +to face with vice, by one who should have been foremost in +shielding her from its contact. All her training taught her to +avoid the contamination sought to be forced upon her; all her +new-born love for her husband prompted her to loathe the mistress +who shared his affections. A stranger in a strange land, a +slighted queen, a neglected wife, an outraged woman, her +sufferings were bitter, Her wrongs were hard to bear. Therefore +when my lord chancellor came and made known the object of his +visit, she broke into a passion of tears, and could not speak +from force of sobs that seemed to rend her heart, and wholly +choked her utterance. + +The chancellor then retired with some dismay, but waited on her +again next day, when he found her more calm. She begged he would +excuse the outburst of feeling he had witnessed, but added very +pitifully that when she thought of her misfortunes "she sometimes +gave vent to that passion which was ready to break her heart." +The advice, or, as he terms it, "the evidence of his devotion," +which the chancellor gave was worthy of a courtier and a +philosopher. He told the young queen he doubted "she was little +beholden to her education, that had given her no better +information of the follies and iniquities of mankind; of which he +presumed the climate from whence she came could have given more +instances than this cold region would afford." Had she been +properly instructed, he furthermore hinted, she would never have +thought herself so miserable, or her condition so insupportable; +and indeed he could not comprehend the reason of her loud +complaint. + +At this she could no longer suppress the tears which came into +her dark eyes, and cried out she did not expect to find her +husband in love with another woman. Then my lord besought her +submission to the king; but she remained unshaken in the +resolution she had formed. She was ready to ask his majesty's +pardon for tiny passion or peevishness she had been guilty of, +but added, "the fire appearing in her eyes where the water was," +she would never endure the presence of his mistress; and rather +than submit to such insult she would "put herself on board any +little vessel" and return to Lisbon. + +Back went the chancellor, with a heavy heart and a troubled face, +to the king. He softened the queen's words as much as possible, +and assured his majesty her resistance to his will proceeded +"from the great passion of love she had for him, which +transported her beyond the limits of reason." But this excuse, +which should have rejoiced a husband's heart, only irritated his +majesty's temper. That night a violent quarrel took place +between the husband and wife, yet scarce more than bride and +bridegroom. When they had retired, the king--being inflamed with +the words of his courtiers, who assured him the dispute had now +resolved itself into a question of who should govern--reproached +the queen with stubbornness and want of duty; upon which she +answered by charging him with tyranny and lack of affection. One +word borrowed another, till, in his anger, he used threats when +she declared she would leave the kingdom. "The passion and noise +of the night reached too many ears to be a secret the next day," +says the chancellor, "and the whole court was full of that which +ought to have been known to nobody." + +When the royal pair met next morning, they neither looked at nor +spoke to each other. Days passed full of depression and gloom +for the young wife, who spent most of her time in seclusion, +whilst the king sought distraction in the society of his +courtiers. The chancellor, after his second interview with the +queen, absented himself from court, not wishing to be furthermore +drawn into a quarrel which he saw himself powerless to heal. +During his absence the king wrote him a letter which evinced +determination to carry out his design. This epistle, preserved +in the library of the British Museum, runs as follows: + +"HAMPTON COURT, THURSDAY MORNING. + +"I forgot when you were here last to desire you to give Broderich +good council not to meddle any more with what concerns my Lady +Castlemaine, and to let him have a care how he is the author of +any scandalous reports; for if I find him guilty of any such +thing, I will make him repent it to the last moment of his life. + +"And now I am entered on this matter, I think it very necessary +to give you a little good council in it, lest you may think that +by making a farther stir in the business you may divert me from +my resolution, which all the world shall never do; and I wish I +may be unhappy in this world and in the world to come, if I fail +in the least degree of what I have resolved, which is of making +my Lady Castlemaine of my wife's bedchamber. And whosoever I +find in any endeavours to hinder this resolution of mine (except +it be only to myself), I will be his enemy to the last moment of +my life. You know how true a friend I have been to you; if you +will oblige me eternally, make this business as easy to me as you +can, of what opinion soever you are of; for I am resolved to go +through with this matter, let what will come on it, which again I +solemnly swear before Almighty God. + +"Therefore, if you desire to have the continuance of my +friendship, meddle no more with this business except it be to +bear down all false and scandalous reports, and to facilitate +what I am sure my honour is so much concerned in. And whosoever +I find is to be my Lady Castlemaine's enemy in this matter, I do +promise, upon my word, to be his enemy as long as I live. You +may show this letter to my lord lieutenant, and if you have both +a mind to oblige me, carry yourselves like friends to me in this +matter." + +The chancellor was, soon after the receipt of this letter, +summoned to Hampton Court, when his majesty, with some passion, +declared the quarrel was spoken of everywhere, and wholly to his +disadvantage. He was therefore anxious to end it at once, and +commanded my lord to wait again upon the queen, and persuade her +to his wishes. The chancellor informed the king he "had much +rather spend his pains in endeavouring to convert his majesty +from pursuing his resolution, which he did in his conscience +believe to be unjust, than in persuading her majesty to comply +with it, which yet he would very heartily do." Saying which, he +departed on his errand; to which the queen answered, her +conscience would not allow her to consent that the king's +mistress should be one of her attendants. Then the chancellor +besought his royal master, saying he hoped he might be no more +consulted with, nor employed concerning an affair, in which he +had been so unsuccessful. + +By reason of this opposition the king was now more resolved than +ever to honour his mistress and humble his wife; and, with a +cruelty unusual to his nature, determined to break her majesty's +spirit, and force her into obedience. + +On coming to England the young bride had brought in her train +some Portuguese gentlewomen and nobles, whom she was anxious to +employ in various offices about her person, that she might not +feel quite in the midst of strangers. These his majesty believed +were in some measure answerable for the queen's resistance to his +desires, and therefore decided on sending them back to their own +country; knowing moreover, this was an act which would sorely +grieve her majesty. Therefore, without first deigning to inform, +the Queen of Portugal, he named a day for them to embark. This +was a sad blow to the hopes of the Portuguese, who had +entertained high expectations of being placed in advantageous +circumstances about the court; nor did the king by any show of +liberality help to lessen their disappointment. The queen was +indeed afflicted at the prospect of their loss; and her +mortification was the greater because, having received no money +since she came into the kingdom, it was out of her power to make +them compensation for their services. + +The thought of being deprived of her people in her present +unhappy condition rendered her so miserable, that she besought +the king to allow some of them to remain; and, likewise, she +employed others to make the same petition on her behalf. +Therefore one of her ladies, the Countess of Penalva, who had +been her attendant since childhood, and who now, because of +weakness of sight and other infirmities, scarce ever left her +apartments, was allowed to stay, as were likewise "those +necessary to her religion," and some servants employed in her +kitchen. + +But these were not the only means the king took to thwart her +majesty and all connected with her. He upbraided the Portuguese +ambassador for not having instructed the queen "enough to make +her unconcerned in what had been before her time, and in which +she could not reasonably be concerned." Moreover he reproached +him with the fact of the queen regent having sent only half the +marriage portion; and so harassed was the ambassador by royal +wrath, that he took to his bed, "and sustained such a fever as +brought him to the brink of the grave." Regarding that part of +the dowry which had arrived, Charles behaved in an equally +ungracious and undignified manner. He instructed the officers of +the revenue to use all strictness in its valuation, and not make +any allowances. And because Diego de Silva--whom the queen had +designed for her treasurer, and who on that account had +undertaken to see the money paid in London--did not make +sufficient haste in the settlement of his accounts, he was by the +king's command cast into prison. + +These various affronts grievously afflicted her majesty, but the +insults she had to endure before the whole court wounded her far +more. For meanwhile the king lodged his mistress in the royal +household, and every day she was present in the drawing-room, +when his majesty entered into pleasant conversation with her, +while his wife sat patiently by, as wholly unheeded as if unseen. +When the queen occasionally rose and indignantly left the +apartment to relieve her anguish by a storm of tears, it may be +one or two of the courtiers followed her, but the vast number of +the brilliant throng remained; and Lord Clarendon adds, "they, +too, often said those things aloud which nobody ought to have +whispered." + +Charles no longer appeared with the grave and troubled expression +his face had worn at the commencement of the quarrel, but seemed +full of pleasantry and eager for enjoyment. Those surrounding +him took their tone from the monarch, and followed his example +the more because he "did shew no countenance to any that belong +to the queen." Her majesty, on the contrary, took her misery to +heart, and showed dejection by the sadness of her face and +listlessness of her gait. There was universal diversion in all +company but hers; sounds of laughter rang all day and far into +the night in every apartment of the palace but those appropriated +to her use. Charles steadily avoided her, and the attendants who +replaced her countrywomen showed more deference to the king's +mistress than to his queen. The solitary condition to which the +helpless foreigner and forsaken wife was reduced increased day by +day, her gloom deepened hour by hour, until, worn out by the +unequal conflict, her spirit broke. "At last," says Lord +Clarendon, "when it was least expected or suspected, the queen on +a sudden let herself fall, first to conversation, and then to +familiarity, and even, in the same instant, to a confidence with +the lady; was merry with her in public, talked kindly of her, and +in private used no lady more friendly." + +From that hour her majesty never interfered with the king's +amours, and never again did a quarrel rise between them even to +the day of his death. + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +Their majesties arrive at Whitehall.--My Lady Castlemaine a +spectator.--Young Mr. Crofts.--New arrivals at court.--The +Hamilton family.--The Chevalier de Grammont.--Mrs. Middleton and +Miss Kirke.--At the queen's ball--La belle Hamilton.--The queen +mother at Somerset House.--The Duke of Monmouth's marriage.--Fair +Frances Stuart.--Those who court her favour.--The king's passion. + +On the 23rd of August, 1662, their majesties journeyed from +Hampton Court to the palace of Whitehall by water. The gay and +goodly procession formed on that occasion has been described as +"the most magnificent triumph that ever floated on, the Thames." +First came barges belonging to city companies, beginning with the +mercers and grocers, most of them being attended with a pageant, +and all of them richly adorned as became their affection and +loyalty. Then followed barges of statesmen, nobility, and +courtiers, with their retinues, brave in numbers, gay in colours, +and attended by bands of music. And finally came the king and +queen, seated side by side in a galley of antique shape, all +draped with crimson damask, bearing a canopy of cloth of gold, +supported by Corinthian pillars, wreathed with ribbons, and +festooned with garlands of fragrant flowers. + +The whole city was abroad, watchful of their approach; the Thames +was covered with boats to the number of ten thousand; and the +banks were crowded with spectators beyond reckoning. On this +fair August day the sky had not a single cloud to mar its +universal blue; the sun shone gloriously bright, turning the +river to sheets of gleaming gold: whilst the air was filled with +roaring of cannon, strains of music, and hearty shouts of a loyal +multitude. + +Mr. Samuel Pepys, though he offered as much as eight shillings +for a boat to attend him that day, could not obtain one, and was +therefore obliged to view this gallant procession from the roof +of the royal banqueting hall, which commanded a glorious view of +the Thames. But what pleased his erratic fancy best on this +occasion was, not the great spectacle he had taken such trouble +to survey, but a sight of my Lady Castlemaine, who stood over +against him "upon a piece of Whitehall." The worthy clerk of the +Admiralty "glutted" himself with looking on her; "but methought +it was strange," says he, "to see her lord and her upon the same +place walking up and down without taking notice of one another, +only at first entry he put off his hat, and she made him a very +civil salute, but afterwards took no notice of one another; but +both of them now and then would take their child, which the nurse +held in her arms, and dandle it. One thing more: there happened +a scaffold below to fall, and we feared some hurt, but there was +none; but she of all the great ladies only ran down among the +common rabble to see what hurt was done, and did take care of a +child that received some little hurt, which methought was so +noble. Anon there came one there booted and spurred,that she +talked long with. And by-and-by, she being in her haire, she put +on her hat, which was but an ordinary one, to keep the wind off. +But methinks it became her mightily, as everything else do." + +It was notable the countess did not accompany her majesty in the +procession to Whitehall, as one of her attendants; but in fact +she had not obtained the position sought for, though she enjoyed +all the privileges pertaining to such an appointment. "Everybody +takes her to be of the bedchamber," the lord chancellor writes to +the Duke of Ormond, "for she is always there, and goes abrode in +the coach. But the queen tells me that the king promised her, on +condition she would use her as she doth others, that she should +never live in court; yet lodgings I hear she hath." Lodgings the +countess certainly had provided for her in that block of the +palace of Whitehall, separated from the main buildings by the old +roadway running between Westminster and the city. + +A few days after their majesties' arrival at Whitehall, the queen +mother returned to town, and established her court at Somerset +House, which had been prepared for her future abode. She had +arrived in England before the king and queen left Hampton Court, +and had taken up her residence at Greenwich Palace. The avowed +object of her visit was to congratulate them upon their marriage. +Charles and his bride therefore took barge to Greenwich, one +bright July day, followed by a brilliant and illustrious train, +that they might wait upon her majesty. And she, being made aware +of their approach, met them at the portal of the palace. There +Catherine would have gone down upon her knees to this gracious +lady--the survivor of great sorrows--but she took the young queen +in her arms, and calling her beloved daughter, kissed her many +times. Then she greeted her sons Charles and James, likewise the +Duchess of York, and led them to the presence-chamber, followed +by the whole court. And presently when Catherine would, through +her interpreter, have expressed her gratitude and affection, the +elder queen besought her to lay aside all ceremony, for she +"should never have come to England again except for the pleasure +of seeing her, to love her as her daughter, and serve her as her +queen." At these sweet words the young wife, now in the first +days of her grief, was almost overcome by a sense of +thankfulness, and could scarce restrain her tears; but she +answered bravely, "Believe me, madam, that in love and obedience +neither the king nor any of your children shall exceed me." + +The court of the merry monarch and that of the queen mother being +now settled in town, a period of vast brilliancy ensued, during +which great festivity and much scandal obtained, by reason of +intrigues in which the king and his friends indulged. Whitehall, +the scene of so much gaiety and gallantry, was a palace by no +means befitting the luxurious Charles. It consisted of a series +of irregular houses built for different purposes at various +periods; these contained upwards of two thousand rooms, most of +which were small, and many of which were without doors. The +buildings were intersected by grassy squares, where fountains +played, statues were grouped, and dials shadowed the passing +hour. At hand stood St. James's Park, with its fair meadows and +leafy trees; close by flowed the placid Thames, bearing heavily +laden lighters and innumerable barges. Attached to these +dwellings, and forming part of the palace, stood the great +banquet hall, erected from designs by Inigo Jones for James I. +Here audiences to ambassadors, state balls, and great banquets +were held. The ceiling was painted by Rubens, and was, moreover, +handsomely moulded and richly gilt. Above the entrance-door +stood a statue of Charles I.,"whose majestic mien delighted the +spectator;" Whilst close by one of the windows were the +ineradicable stains of blood, marking the spot near which he had +been beheaded. + +Now in the train of the queen mother there had travelled from +France "a most pretty sparke of about fourteen years," whom Mr. +Pepys plainly terms "the king's bastard," but who was known to +the court as young Mr. Crofts. This little gentleman was son of +Lucy Walters, "a brown, beautiful, bold creature," who had the +distinction of being first mistress to the merry monarch. That +he was his offspring the king entertained no doubt, though others +did; inasmuch as young Mr. Crofts grew to resemble, "even to the +wart on his face," Colonel Robert Sidney, whose paramour Lucy +Walters had been a brief while before his majesty began an +intrigue with her. Soon after the boy's birth that beautiful +woman abandoned herself to pleasures, in which the king had no +participation. He therefore parted from her; had her son placed +under the guardianship of Lord Crofts, whose name he bore, and +educated by the Peres de l'Oratoire at Paris. The while he was +continually at the court of the queen mother, who regarded him as +her grandson, and who, by the king's command, now brought him +into England. The beauty of his face and grace of his figure +could not be exceeded, whilst his manner was as winning as his +air was noble. Moreover, his accomplishments were numerous; he +danced to perfection, sang with sweetness, rode with skill; and +so gallant was his nature that he became at this early age, as +Hamilton affirms, "the universal terror of husbands and lovers." + +The king betrayed the greatest affection for him, and took +exceeding pride in being father of such a brave and comely youth, +at which my Lady Castlemaine was both wrathful and jealous, +fearing he would avert the royal favour from her own offspring; +but these feelings she afterwards overcame, as will be duly +shown. His majesty speedily showered honours upon him, allotted +him a suite of apartments in the royal palace of Whitehall, +appointed him a retinue befitting the heir apparent, created him +Duke of Orkney and of Monmouth, and installed him a knight of the +garter. + +But, before this had been accomplished, there arrived in town +some personages whose names it will be necessary to mention here, +the figure they made at court being considerable. These were Sir +George Hamilton and his family, and Philibert, Chevalier de +Grammont. Sir George was fourth son of James, Earl of Abercorn, +and of Mary, sister to James, first Duke of Ormond. Sir George +had proved himself a loyal man and a brave during the late civil +war, and had on the murder of his royal master sought safety in +France, from which country he, in the second year of the +restoration, returned, accompanied by a large family; the women +of which were fair, the men fearless. The Hamiltons being close +kin to the Ormond great intimacy existed between them; to +facilitate which they lived not far apart--the duke residing in +Ormond Yard, St. James's Square, and the Hamiltons occupying a +spacious residence in King Street. James Hamilton, Sir George's +eldest son, was remarkable for the symmetry of his figure, +elegance of his manner, and costliness of his dress. Moreover, +he possessed a taste shaped to pleasure, and a disposition +inclined to gallantry, which commended him so strongly to the +king's favour, that he was made groom of the bedchamber and +colonel of a regiment. + +His brother George was scarcely less handsome in appearance or +less agreeable in manner. Another brother, Anthony, best +remembered as the writer of Grammont's memoirs, was likewise +liberally endowed by nature. Elizabeth, commonly called "la +belle Hamilton," shared in the largest degree the hereditary +gifts of grace and beauty pertaining to this distinguished +family. At her introduction to the court of Charles II. she was +in the bloom of youth and zenith of loveliness. The portrait of +her which her brother Anthony has set before the world for its +admiration is delicate in its colours, and finished in its +details. "Her forehead," he writes, "was open, white, and +smooth; her hair was well set, and fell with ease into that +natural order which it is so difficult to imitate. Her +complexion was possessed of a certain freshness, not to be +equalled by borrowed colours; her eyes were not large, but they +were lovely, and capable of expressing whatever she pleased; her +mouth was full of graces, and her contour uncommonly perfect; nor +was her nose, which was small, delicate, and turned up, the least +ornament of so lovely a face. She had the finest shape, the +loveliest neck, and most beautiful arms in the world; she was +majestic and graceful in all her movements; and she was the +original after which all the ladies copied in their taste and air +of dress." + +Now, about the same time the Hamiltons arrived at court, there +likewise appeared at Whitehall one whose fame as a wit, and whose +reputation as a gallant, had preceded him. This was the +celebrated Chevalier de Grammont, whose father was supposed to be +son of Henry the Great of France. The chevalier had been +destined by his mother for the church, the good soul being +anxious he should lead the life of a saint; but the youth was +desirous of joining the army, and following the career of a +soldier. Being remarkable for ingenuity, he conceived a plan by +which he might gratify his mother's wishes and satisfy his own +desires at the same time. He therefore accepted the abbacy his +brother procured for him; but on appearing at court to return +thanks for his preferment, comported himself with a military air. +Furthermore, his dress was combined of the habit and bands +pertaining to an ecclesiastic, and the buskins and spurs +belonging to a soldier. Such an amalgamation had never before +been witnessed, and caused general attention; the court was +amazed at his daring, but Richelieu was amused by his boldness. +His brother regarded his appearance in the dual character of +priest and soldier as a freak, and on his return home asked him +gravely to which profession he meant to attach himself. The +youth answered he was resolved "to renounce the church for the +salvation of his soul," upon condition that he retained his +beneficed abbacy. It may be added, he kept this resolution. + +A soldier he therefore became, and subsequently a courtier. His +valour in war and luck in gambling won him the admiration of the +camp; whilst his ardour in love and genius for intrigue gained +him the esteem of the court, but finally lost him the favour of +his king. For attaching himself to one of the maids of honour, +Mademoiselle La Motte Houdancourt, whom his most Christian +Majesty Louis XIV. had already honoured with his regard, +Grammont was banished from the French court. + +Accordingly, in the second year of the merry monarch's reign he +presented himself at Whitehall, and was received by Charles with +a graciousness that served to obliterate the memory of his late +misfortune. Nor were the courtiers less warm in their greetings +than his majesty. The men hailed him as an agreeable companion; +the ladies intimated he need not wholly abandon those tender +diversions for which he had shown such natural talent and +received such high reputation at the court of Louis XIV. He +therefore promptly attached himself to the king, whose parties he +invariably attended, and whose pleasures he continually devised; +made friends with the most distinguished nobles, whom he charmed +by the grace of his manner and extravagance of his +entertainments; and took early opportunities of proving to the +satisfaction of many of the fairer sex that his character as a +gallant had by no means been exaggerated by report. + +Amongst those to whom he paid especial attention were Mrs. +Middleton, a woman of fashion, and Miss Kirk, a maid of honour, +to whom Hamilton, in his memoirs of Grammont, gives the +fictitious name of Warmestre. The former was at this time in her +seventeenth summer, and had been two years a wife. Her +exquisitely fair complexion, light auburn hair, and dark hazel +eyes constituted her a remarkably beautiful woman. Miss Kirk was +of a different type of loveliness, inasmuch as her skin was +brown, her eyes dark, and her complexion brilliant. As Mrs. +Middleton was at this time but little known at court, Grammont +found some difficulty in obtaining an introduction to her as +promptly as he desired; but feeling anxious to make her +acquaintance, and being no laggard in love, he without hesitation +applied to her porter for admittance, and took one of her lovers +into his confidence. This latter gallant rejoiced in the name of +Jones, and subsequently became Earl of Ranelagh. In the fulness +of his heart towards one who experienced a fellow feeling, he +resolved to aid Grammont in gaining the lady's favours. This +generosity being prompted by the fact that the chevalier would +rid him of a rival whom he feared, and at the same time relieve +him of an expense he could ill afford, the lady having certain +notions of magnificence which her husband's income was unable to +sustain. + +Mrs. Middleton received the chevalier with good grace; but he +found her more ready to receive the presents he offered, than to +grant the privileges he required. Miss Kirk, on the other hand, +was not only flattered by his attentions, but was willing to use +every means in her power to preserve a continuance of his +friendship; Therefore out of gratitude for graces received from +one of the ladies, and in expectation of favours desired from the +other, Grammont made them the handsomest presents. Perfumed +gloves, pocket looking-glasses, apricot paste, came every week +from Paris for their benefit; whilst more substantial offerings +in the shape of jewellery, diamonds, and guineas were procured +for them in London, all of which they made no hesitation to +accept. + +It happened one night, whilst Grammont was yet in pursuit of Mrs. +Middleton, that the queen gave a ball. In hope of winning her +husband's affection, by studying his pleasures and suiting +herself to his ways, her majesty had become a changed woman. She +now professed a passion for dancing, wore decollete costumes, and +strove to surpass those surrounding her in her desire for gaiety. +Accordingly her balls were the most brilliant spectacles the +court had yet witnessed; she taking care to assemble the fairest +women of the day, and the most distinguished men. Now amongst +the latter was the Chevalier de Grammont; and amidst the former, +Mrs. Middleton and Miss Hamilton. + +Of all the court beauties, "la belle Hamilton" was one of whom +Grammont had seen least and heard most; but that which had been +told him of her charms seemed, now that he beheld her, wholly +inadequate to express her loveliness. Therefore, his eyes +followed her alone, as her graceful figure glided in the dance +adown the ball-room, lighted with a thousand tapers, and +brilliant with every type of beauty. And when presently she +rested, it was with an unusual flutter at his heart that this +gallant, heretofore so daring in love, sought her company, +addressed her, and listened with strange pleasure to the music of +her voice. From that night he courted Mrs. Middleton no more, +but devoted himself to "la belle Hamilton," who subsequently +became his wife. + +Meanwhile, the merry monarch behaved as if he had no higher +purpose in life than that of following his pleasures. "The king +is as decomposed [dissipated] as ever," the lord chancellor +writes to the Duke of Ormond, in a letter preserved in the +Bodleian library, "and looks as little after his business; which +breaks my heart, and makes me and other of your friends weary of +our lives. He seeks for his satisfaction and delight in other +company, which do not love him so well as you and I do." His days +were spent in pursuing love, feasting sumptuously, interchanging +wit, and enjoying all that seemed good to the senses. Pepys, who +never fails to make mention of the court when actual experience +or friendly gossip enables him, throws many pleasant lights upon +the ways of the monarch and his courtiers. + +For instance, he tells us that one Lord's day--the same on which +this excellent man had been to Whitehall chapel, and heard a +sermon by the Dean of Ely on returning to the old ways, and, +moreover, a most tuneful anthem sung by Captain Cooke, with +symphonies between--whom should he meet but the great chirurgeon, +Mr. Pierce, who carried him to Somerset House, and into the queen +mother's presence-chamber. And there, on the left hand of +Henrietta Maria, sat the young queen, whom Mr. Pepys had never +seen before, and now thought that "though she be not very +charming, yet she hath a good, modest, and innocent look, which +is pleasing." Here, likewise, he saw the king's mistress, and the +young Duke of Monmouth, "who, I perceive," Pepys continues, "do +hang much upon my Lady Castlemaine, and is always with her; and I +hear the queenes, both of them, are mighty kind to him. By-and- +by in comes the king, and anon the duke and his duchesse; so +that, they being all together, was such a sight as I never could +almost have happened to see with so much ease and leisure. They +staid till it was dark, and then went away; the king and his +queene, and my Lady Castlemaine and young Crofts, in one coach, +and the rest in other coaches. Here were great stores of great +ladies. The king and queen were very merry; and he would have +made the queene mother believe that the queene was with child, +and said that she said so. And the young queene answered, 'You +lye,' which was the first English word that I ever heard her say, +which made the king good sport." + +Others besides Mr. Pepys had begun to notice that the young Duke +of Monmouth hung much upon the Countess of Castlemaine, and that +her ladyship lavished caresses upon him. Whether this was to +provoke the uneasiness of his majesty, who she hoped might find +employment for the lad elsewhere, or to express her genuine +affection for him, it is impossible to say. However, the duke +being come to an age when the endearments of such a woman might +have undesired effects upon him, the king resolved to remove him +from her influence, and at the same time secure his fortune by +marriage. + +He therefore selected a bride for him, in the person of Lady Anne +Scott, a young gentlewoman of virtue and excellence, who was only +child of Francis, Earl of Buccleugh, and the greatest heiress in +Great Britain. Their nuptials were celebrated on the 20th of +April, 1663, the bridegroom at this time not having reached his +fifteenth birthday, whilst the bride was younger by a year. The +duke on his marriage assumed his wife's family name, Scott; and +some years later--in 1673--both were created Duke and Duchess of +Buccleugh. From this union the family now bearing that title has +descended. A great supper was given at Whitehall on the +marriage-night, and for many days there were stately festivities +held to celebrate the event with becoming magnificence. + +Now at one of the court balls held at this time, the woman of all +others who attracted most attention and gained universal +admiration was Frances Stuart, maid of honour to Queen Catherine. +She was only daughter of a gallant gentleman, one Walter Stuart, +and grand-daughter of Lord Blantyre. Her family had suffered +sore loss in the cause of Charles I., by reason of which, like +many others, it sought refuge in France. This young gentlewoman +was therefore bred in that country, and was, moreover, attached +to the court of the queen mother, in whose suite she travelled +into England. Her beauty was sufficient to attract the attention +of Louis XIV., who, loath to lose so fair an ornament from his +court, requested her mother would permit her to remain, saying, +he "loved her not as a mistress, but as one that would marry as +well as any lady in France." + +No doubt Mrs. Stuart understood the motives of his majesty's +interested kindness, of which, however, she declined availing +herself, and therefore departed with her daughter for England. +At the time of her appearance at Whitehall, Frances Stuart was in +her fifteenth year. Even in a court distinguished by the beauty +of women, her loveliness was declared unsurpassed. Her features +were regular and refined, her complexion fair as alabaster, her +hair bright and luxuriant, her eyes of violet hue; moreover, her +figure being tall, straight, and shapely, her movements possessed +an air of exquisite grace. An exact idea of her lineaments may +be gained unto this day, from the fact that Philip Rotier, the +medallist, who loved her true, represented her likeness in the +face of Britannia on the reverse of coins; and so faithful was +the likeness, we are assured, that no one who had ever seen her +could mistake who had sat as model of the figure. + +Soon after her arrival in England, she was appointed one of the +maids of honour to Queen Catherine, and as such was present at +all festivities of the court. Now, at one of the great balls +given in honour of the Duke of Monmouth's nuptials, the fair +Frances Stuart appeared in the full lustre of her charms. Her +beauty, her grace, and her youth completely eclipsed the more +showy gifts of my Lady Castlemaine, who on this occasion looked +pale and thin, she being in the commencement of another +pregnancy, "which the king was pleased to place to his own +account." The merry monarch had before this time been attracted +by the fair maid of honour, but now it was evident his heart had +found a new object of admiration in her surpassing beauty. +Henceforth he boldly made love to her. The countess was not much +disturbed by this, for she possessed great faith in her own +charms and implicit belief in her power over the king. Besides, +she had sufficient knowledge of mankind to comprehend that to +offer opposition in pursuit of love is the most certain method to +foster its growth. She therefore resolved to seek Miss Stuart's +society, cultivate her friendship, and constantly bring her into +contact with his majesty. This would not only prove to the +satisfaction of the court she had no fear of losing her +sovereignty over the monarch, but, by keeping him engaged with +the maid of honour, would likewise divert his attention from an +intrigue the countess was then carrying on with Henry Jermyn. +Accordingly, she made overtures of friendship to Miss Stuart, +invited her to private parties, and appeared continually with her +in public. + +Concerning these ladies and the merry monarch, Pepys narrates a +strange story which Captain Ferrers told him as they "walked +finely" in the park. This was, that at an entertainment given by +my Lady Castlemaine, towards the end of which his majesty played +at being married with fair Frances Stuart, "with ring and all +other ceremonies of Church service, and ribbands, and a sack +posset [A drink composed of milk, wine, and spices.] in bed, and +flinging the stocking. My Lady Castlemaine looked on the while, +evincing neither anger nor jealousy, but entering into the +diversion with great spirit." Nor was this the only indiscretion +of which she was culpable, for, in the full confidence of her +charms, she frequently kept Miss Stuart to stay with her. "The +king," says Hamilton, "who seldom neglected to visit the countess +before she rose, seldom failed likewise to find Miss Stuart with +her. The most indifferent objects have charms in a new +attachment; however, the imprudent countess was not jealous of +this rival's appearing with her, in such a situation, being +confident that, whenever she thought fit, she could triumph over +all the advantages which these opportunities could afford Miss +Stuart." + +No doubt Lady Castlemaine's imprudences arose from knowledge that +Miss Stuart was devoid of tact, and incapable of turning +opportunities to her own advantage in the king's regard. For +though the maid of honour was richly endowed with beauty, she was +wholly devoid of wit. She was not only a child in years, but +likewise in behaviour. She laughed at every remark made her, +delighted in playing blind man's buff, and was never more happy +than when building castles of cards. At this latter amusement +she continually employed herself whilst the deepest play was +taking place in her apartments; being always attended by groups +of courtiers, who were either attracted by the charm of her +beauty, or were eager to make court through her favour. As she +sat upon the floor, intent on her favourite occupation, they on +their knees handed her cards, traced out designs for her, or +built elaborate structures rivalling her own. + +Amongst those who attended her in this manner was the gay, +graceful, and profligate Duke of Buckingham, who became enamoured +of her loveliness. Not only did he raise the most wonderful of +card mansions for her delight, but having a good voice, and she +possessing a passion for music, he invented songs and sung them +to pleasure her. Moreover, he told her the wittiest stories, +turned the courtiers into the greatest ridicule for her +entertainment, and made her acquainted with the most diverting +scandals. Finally, he professed his ardent love for her; but at +this the fair Stuart either felt, or feigned, intense +astonishment, and so repulsed him that he abandoned the pursuit +of an amour over which he had wasted so much time, and +thenceforth deprived himself of her company. + +His attentions were, however, soon replaced by those of the Earl +of Arlington, a lord of the bedchamber, and a man of grave +address and great ambition. Owing to this latter trait his +lordship was desirous of winning the good graces of Miss Stuart +in the present, in hopes of governing his majesty in the future, +when she became the king's mistress. But these sage and +provident intentions of his were speedily overturned, for early +in the course of their acquaintance, when he had commenced to +tell her a story, his manner so forcibly reminded her of +Buckingham's mimicry of him, that she burst out laughing in the +earl's face. This being utterly uncalled for by the +circumstances of his tale, and still less by the manner of its +narration, Lord Arlington, who was serious, punctilious, and +proud, became enraged, abruptly left her presence, and abandoned +his schemes of governing the king through so frivolous a medium. + +A man who had better chances of success in winning this beautiful +girl was George Hamilton, whose name has been already mentioned. +It was not, however, his graceful person, or elegant manner, but +his performance of a trick which gained her attention. It +happened one night that an Irish peer, old Lord Carlingford, was +diverting her by showing how she might hold a burning candle in +her mouth a considerable time without its being extinguished. +This was a source of uncommon delight to her; seeing which, +George Hamilton thought he would give her still further +entertainment. For being furnished by nature with a wide mouth, +he placed within it two lighted candles, and walked three times +round the room without extinguishing them, whilst the fair Stuart +clapped her pretty hands in delight, and shouted aloud with +laughter. + +A man who could accomplish such a feat was worthy of becoming a +favourite. She at once admitted him to terms of familiarity; and +he had a hundred chances of paying her the attentions he greatly +desired, and which she freely accepted. Grammont, foreseeing +that Hamilton would incur the royal displeasure if his love for +Miss Stuart became known to the king, besought him to abandon his +addresses; but this advice did not at first sound pleasant to the +lover's ears. "Since the court has been in the country," said +he, "I have had a hundred opportunities of seeing her, which I +had not before. You know that the dishabille of the bath is a +great convenience for those ladies, who, strictly adhering to all +the rules of decorum, are yet desirous to display all their +charms and attractions. Miss Stuart is so fully acquainted with +the advantages she possesses over all other women, that it is +hardly possible to praise any lady at court for a well-turned +arm, and a fine leg but she is ever ready to dispute the point by +demonstration; and I really believe that, with a little address, +it would not be difficult to induce her to strip naked, without +ever reflecting upon what she was doing. After all, a man must +be very insensible to remain unconcerned and unmoved on such +happy occasions." + +Hamilton was therefore not willing to renounce Miss Stuart, but +upon Grammont showing that attentions paid the lady would +certainly provoke the king's anger, he resolved on sacrificing +love to interest, and abandoning the company of the fair maid of +honour for evermore. The truth was, his majesty loved her +exceedingly, as was indeed evident, for he constantly sought her +presence, talked to her at the drawing-rooms as if no one else +were by, and kissed her "to the observation of all the world." +But though she allowed Charles such liberties, she refused to +become his mistress, notwithstanding the splendid settlements and +high titles with which the monarch engaged to reward the +sacrifice of her virtue. And so, though a king, it was not given +him to be obeyed in all. And though generally loved for his easy +ways and gracious manners, he was continually harassed by his +mistresses, reproved by his chancellor, and ridiculed by his +courtiers. Indeed, they now spoke of him in his absence as "Old +Rowley;" the reason of which is given by Richardson. "There was +an old goat," writes he, "in the privy garden, that they had +given this name to; a rank lecherous devil, that everybody knew +and used to stroke, because he was good-humoured and familiar; +and so they applied this name to the king." + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +The Duke of York's intrigues.--My Lady Chesterfield and his royal +highness--The story of Lady Southesk's love.--Lord Arran plays +the guitar.--Lord Chesterfield is jealous.--The countess is taken +from court.--Mistress Margaret Brooke and the king.--Lady Denham +and the duke.--Sir John goes mad.--My lady is poisoned. + +The while his majesty devoted himself to pleasure and intrigue, +neglectful of affairs of state, and heedless of public scandal, +his brother of York, whose disposition was not less amorous, +likewise followed the bent of his inclinations. Soon after her +appearance at court he professed himself in love with the +beautiful Elizabeth Hamilton, whom to behold was to admire. But +the duke being a married man, and she a virtuous woman, he dared +not address her on the subject of his affection, and was +therefore obliged to confine the expression of his feelings to +glances. These she refused to interpret; and he, becoming weary +of a pursuit which promised no happy results, turned his +attentions to the Countess of Chesterfield, who seemed in no way +loath to receive them. + +This charming woman had married my Lord Chesterfield in +compliance with a family arrangement; and discovered too soon she +had no place in the heart of him whose life she shared. His +coldness to her was only equalled by his ardour for Lady +Castlemaine, whose lover he continued to remain after his +marriage. The affection his wife had offered and he had +repulsed, in the dawn of their wedded life, changed by degrees to +disdain and hatred. + +Now as chamberlain to the queen my Lord Chesterfield had, +apartments in the palace, by reason of which the countess became +an habituee of the court. The moral atmosphere of Whitehall was +not calculated to strengthen her conjugal virtue, but its +perpetual gaiety was destined to dissipate her sense of neglect. +It was not possible for a woman endowed with so much beauty, and +possessed of such engaging manners, to be disregarded, in a court +entirely devoted to love and gallantry; and accordingly she soon +became an object of general admiration. This was by no means +pleasing to my Lord Chesterfield, who, though he had wilfully +repulsed her affections, was selfishly opposed to their bestowal +upon others. Accordingly he became watchful of her conduct, and +jealous of her admirers. + +Prominent amongst these were James Hamilton and the Duke of York. +The former was her cousin, and her husband's confidant, in +consequence of which my lord failed to associate him with the +suspicion he entertained towards all other men who approached +her: the latter he regarded with the uttermost distrust. His +royal highness had before now disturbed the happy confidence +which husbands had placed in their wives, as my Lord Carnegy +could testify. + +The story which hangs thereby had, a little while before the duke +fell in love with Lady Chesterfield, afforded vast amusement to +the court, and was yet fresh in the recollection of many. It +happened that his royal highness became enamoured of my Lady +Carnegy, daughter of the gallant Duke of Hamilton, and friend of +the gay Lady Castlemaine. Lady Carnegy loved pleasure mightily, +painted her face "devilishly," and drove in the park flauntingly. +She was endowed with considerable beauty of form and great +tenderness of heart, as many gallants acknowledged with +gratitude. Now when the Duke of York made advances to her, she +received them with all the satisfaction he could desire; an +intimacy therefore followed, which she was the better able to +entertain on account of her husband's absence in Scotland. +Whilst my Lord Carnegy was in that country, his father, the Earl +of Southesk, died, and he succeeded to the title and estates. In +due time the new earl returned to London and his wife, and was +greeted by rumours of the friendship which in his absence had +sprung up between my lady and the duke. These, as became a good +husband, he refused to believe, until such time as he was enabled +to prove their veracity. Now, though his royal highness did not +cease to honour my lady with his visits on her husband's return, +yet out of respect to decorum, and in order to silence scandalous +tongues, he from that time invariably called on her accompanied +by a friend. + +It therefore came to pass that one day he requested an honest, +foolish Irishman, Dick Talbot, afterwards Duke of Tyrconnel, to +attend him in his visit to the lady. He could scarcely have +selected a man more unfitted to the occasion, inasmuch as Talbot +was wholly devoid of tact, and possessed a mind apt to wander at +large at critical moments. He had but recently returned from +Portugal, and was not aware my Lord Carnegy had in the meantime +become Earl of Southesk, nor had he ever met the lady who shared +that title until introduced to her by the duke. When that +ceremony had been duly performed and a few sentences interchanged +between them, Talbot, acting on instructions previously received, +retired into an ante-room and took his post at a window that he +might divert himself by viewing the street, and observing those +who approached the house. + +Here he remained for some time, but the study of mankind which +the view admitted did not afford sufficient interest to prevent +him becoming absorbed in his own thoughts, and indifferent to all +objects surrounding him. From this mental condition he was +presently aroused by seeing a carriage draw up to the door, and +its occupant descend and quickly enter the house. Talbot was so +forgetful of his duty that he omitted apprising the duke of this +fact or making any movement until the door of the ante-room +opened, when he turned round to face the intruder. Then he +started forward and cried out, "Welcome, Carnegy!" for it was +no other than he. "Welcome my good fellow! Where the devil have +you been, that I have never been able to set eyes on you since we +were at Brussels! What business brought you here?" he continued +in the same breath; and then added in a tone of banter, "Do you +likewise wish to see Lady Southesk; if this is your intention, my +poor friend, you may go away again; for I must inform you the +Duke of York is in love with her, and I will tell you in +confidence that at this very time he is in her chamber." + +My Lord Southesk was overwhelmed with shame and confusion, and +not knowing how to act, immediately returned to his coach, Talbot +attending him to the door as his friend, and advising him to seek +a mistress elsewhere. He then went back to his post, and with +some impatience awaited the Duke's return, that he might tell him +what had happened. And in due time, when he had narrated the +story, he was much surprised that neither his royal highness nor +the countess saw any humour in the fact of Lord Carnegy's +discomfiture. It served, however, to make the duke break off his +connection with the lady, and likewise to amuse the town. + +Remembering this incident, my Lord Chesterfield kept a watchful +eye upon the duke, who he observed made advances towards the +countess, which she, in her generosity, had not the heart to +repulse. But, as his royal highness could see her only in +presence of the court, my lord derived some satisfaction from +knowing he was witness to such civilities as had yet passed +between them. The duke was, however, anxious to have a more +particular occasion of conversing with my lady, and in +accomplishing this desire her brother Lord Arran was willing to +aid him. + +It happened about this time an Italian, named Francisco Corbeta, +who played with great perfection on the guitar, arrived at court. +His performances excited the wonder and delight of all who heard +him, and the instrument which produced such melody speedily +became fashionable at court, to such an extent, that a universal +strumming was heard by day and by night: throughout the palace +of Whitehall. The Duke of York, being devoted to music, was +amongst those who strove to rival Signor Francisco's performance; +whilst my Lord Arran, by the delicacy of his execution, almost +equalled the great musician. The while Francisco's popularity +increased, his fame reaching its zenith when he composed a +saraband, to learn which became the ambition of all delighting in +the guitar. + +Now one day the duke, not thinking himself perfect in this piece, +requested Lord Arran to play it over for him. My lord being a +courteous man, was anxious to oblige his royal highness, and in +order that the saraband might be heard to greatest advantage, was +desirous of performing it upon the best instrument at court, +which it was unhesitatingly acknowledged belonged to my Lady +Chesterfield. Accordingly, Lord Arran led the duke to his +sister's apartments. Here they found not only the guitar and my +lady, but likewise my lord, who was no less astonished than +disturbed by their visit. Then my Lord Arran commenced the +famous saraband, whilst the duke commenced to ogle my lady, and +she to return his glances in kind, as if both were unconscious of +her husband's presence. So delightful did they find the +saraband, that Lord Arran was obliged to repeat it at least +twenty times, to the great mortification of the earl, who could +scarcely contain his violent rage and jealousy. His torture was +presently increased to an immeasurable degree, by a summons he +received from the queen to attend her in his capacity of lord +chamberlain, during an audience she was about, to give the +Muscovite ambassador. + +He had from the first suspected the visit, with which he was +honoured, to have been preconcerted by his wife and the duke; and +he now began to think her majesty was likewise connected with a +plot destined to rob him of his peace and blight his honour. +However, he was obliged to obey the queen's summons and depart. +Nor had he been many minutes absent when Lord Arran entered the +presence-chamber where the audience was being held, unaccompanied +by the duke, at which Lord Chesterfield's jealous fears were +strengthened a thousandfold. Before night came he was satisfied +he held sufficient proof of his wife's infidelity. + +This conviction caused him intense anxiety and pain; he walked +about his apartments abstracted and brooding on the wrongs from +which he suffered; avoided all who came in his way; and +maintained strict silence as to that which disturbed his peace, +until next day, when he met James Hamilton. To him he confided +an account of the troubles which beset him. After speaking of +the visit paid by his royal highness, and the part enacted by my +Lord Arran, whom he described as "one of the silliest creatures +in England, with his guitar, and his other whims and follies," he +went on to say that when Hamilton had heard him out, he would be +enabled to judge whether the visit ended in perfect innocence or +not. "Lady Chesterfield is amiable, it must be acknowledged," +said he, "but she is far from being such a miracle of beauty as +she supposes herself: you know she has ugly feet; but perhaps +you are not acquainted that she has still worse legs. They are +short and thick, and to remedy these defects as much as possible, +she seldom wears any other than green stockings. I went +yesterday to Miss Stuart's after the audience of those damned +Muscovites: the king arrived there just before me; and as if the +duke had sworn to pursue me wherever I went that day, he came in +just after me. The conversation turned upon the extraordinary +appearance of the ambassadors. I know not where that fool Crofts +had heard that all these Muscovites had handsome wives; and that +all their wives had handsome legs. Upon this the king +maintained, that no woman ever had such handsome legs as Miss +Stuart; and she to prove the truth of his majesty's assertion, +with the greatest imaginable ease, immediately showed her leg +above the knee. Some were ready to prostrate themselves in order +to adore its beauty, for indeed none can be handsomer; but the +duke alone began to criticize upon it. He contended that it was +too slender, and that as for himself he would give nothing for a +leg that was not thicker and shorter, and concluded by saying +that no leg was worth anything without green stockings; now this +in my opinion was a sufficient demonstration that he had just +seen green stockings, and had them fresh in his remembrance." + +At hearing this story, Hamilton, being deeply in love with Lady +Chesterfield, was scarcely less agitated or less jealous than her +lord; but he was obliged to conceal his feelings. Therefore, +assuming the tone of an impartial hearer, he shrugged his +shoulders, declared appearances were often deceitful, and +maintained that even if she had given herself airs to encourage +the duke, there were no grounds to show she had been culpable of +improprieties. My lord expressed himself much obliged to his +friend for the interest he had shown in his troubles, and after +exchanging a few compliments they parted. Hamilton, full of +wrath, returned home, and wrote a letter replete with violent +expostulations and tender reproaches to the woman he loved. This +he delivered to her secretly at the next opportunity. She +received it from him with a smile, which scared all doubts of her +frailty from his mind, and with a pressure of his hand which +awoke the tenderest feelings in his heart. + +He was now convinced her husband had allowed jealousy to blind +him, and had magnified his unworthy suspicions to assurances of +guilt. Is this view Hamilton was fully confirmed by a letter he +received from her the following day in answer to his own. "Are +you not," said she, "ashamed to give any credit to the visions of +a jealous fellow, who brought nothing else with him from Italy? +Is it possible that the story of the green stockings, upon which +he has founded his suspicions, should have imposed upon you, +accompanied as it is with such pitiful circumstances? Since he +has made you his confidant, why did not he boast of breaking in +pieces my poor harmless guitar? This exploit, perhaps, might +have convinced you more than all the rest; recollect yourself, +and if you are really in love with me, thank fortune for a +groundless jealousy, which diverts to another quarter the +attention he might pay to my attachment for the most amiable and +the most dangerous man at court." + +Anointed by this flattering unction, such wounds as Hamilton had +experienced were quickly healed; alas, only to bleed afresh at +the certain knowledge that this charming woman had been making +him her dupe! For soon after, in a moment of indiscretion, and +whilst the whole court, including her majesty, was assembled in +the card-room, my lady there permitted the duke a liberty which +confirmed her husband in his suspicions of their intimacy. +Hamilton at hearing this was wild with fury, and advised Lord +Chesterfield to carry her away from the allurements of the court, +and seclude her in one of his country mansions. This was an +advice to which the earl listened with complaisance, and carried +out with despatch, to her intense mortification. + +The whole court was amused by the story, but dismayed at the +punishment my lord inflicted upon his lady. Anthony Hamilton +declares that in England "they looked with astonishment upon a +man who could be so uncivil as to be jealous of his wife; and in +the city of London it was a prodigy, till that time unknown, to +see a husband have recourse to violent means to prevent what +jealousy fears, and what it always deserves." He adds, they +endeavoured to excuse my lord by laying all the blame on his bad +education, which made "all the mothers vow to God that none of +their sons should ever set a foot in Italy, lest they should +bring back with them that infamous custom of laying restraint +upon their wives." + +By the departure of Lady Chesterfield the court lost one of its +most brilliant ornaments forever, for the unhappy countess never +again returned to the gay scene of her adventures. For three +long years she endured banishment at Bretby in Derbyshire, and +then died, it was believed, from the effects of poison. For my +lord, never having his suspicions of her intrigue cleared, +insisted on her taking the sacrament by way of pledging her +innocence; on which occasion he, in league with his chaplain, +mixed poison in the sacred wine, as result of which she died. +This shocking story gained credence not only with the public, but +with members of his own family; inasmuch as his daughter-in-law, +Lady Gertrude Stanhope, after she had quarrelled with him, would, +when she sat at his table, drink only of such wine and water as a +trusty servant of hers procured. + +This intrigue of the duke had given much uneasiness to his +duchess, who had complained to the king and to her father, and +had, moreover, set a watch upon the movements of his royal +highness. But such measures did not avail to make him a faithful +husband, and no sooner was Lady Chesterfield removed from his +sight, than Lady Denham took her place in his affections. This +latter mentioned gentlewoman was daughter of a valiant baronet, +Sir William Brooke, and niece to a worthless peer, the Earl of +Bristol. The earl had, on the king's restoration, cherished +ambitious schemes to obtain the merry monarch's favour; for which +purpose he sought to commend himself by ministering to the royal +pleasures. + +Accordingly he entertained the king as became a loyal gentleman, +giving him luxurious banquets and agreeable suppers, to which, by +way of adding to his majesty's greater satisfaction, the noble +host invited his nieces, Mistress Brooke and her sister. The +wily earl had, indeed, conceived a plan the better to forward his +interests with the king, and was desirous one of these +gentlewomen should subdue his majesty's heart, and become his +mistress. Margaret Brooke, the elder of the maidens, was at this +time in her eighteenth year, and was in the full flower of such +loveliness as was presented by a fair complexion, light brown +hair, and dark grey eyes. The merry monarch's susceptible heart +was soon won by her beauty; the charming lady's amorous +disposition was speedily conquered by his gallantry, and nothing +prevented her becoming his mistress save Lady Castlemaine's +jealousy. + +This, however, proved an insurmountable obstacle; for the +countess, hearing rumours of the pleasures which were enjoyed at +my Lord Bristol's table, insisted on attending the king thither, +and soon gave his gracious majesty an intimation he dared not +disregard--that she would not suffer Miss Brooke as a rival. +Margaret Brooke was grievously disappointed; but the Duke of York +beginning his attentions at the point where his majesty +discontinued them, she was soon consoled for loss of the +monarch's affection by the ardour of his brother's love. But a +short time after, probably foreseeing the ambiguous position in +which she stood, she forsook her lover, and accepted a husband in +the person of Sir John Denham. + +This worthy knight was a man of parts; inasmuch as he was a +soldier, a poet, and a gamester. At the time of his marriage he +had passed his fiftieth year; moreover, he limped painfully and +carried a crutch. His appearance, indeed, was far from imposing. +According to Aubrey, he was tall, had long legs, and was +"incurvelting at his shoulders; his hair was but thin and flaxen, +with a moist curl; his gait slow and rather astalking; his eye +was a kind of light goose-grey, not big, but it had a strange +piercingness, not as to shining and glory, but when he conversed +he looked into your very thoughts." His personal defects, +however, were to a great degree compensated for by his great +wealth. Moreover he was surveyor-general of his majesty's works, +had a town house in Scotland Yard, and a country residence at +Waltham Cross in Essex. But there are some deficiencies for +which wealth does not atone, as no doubt Lady Denham promptly +discovered; for, before a year of her married life had passed, +she renewed her intrigue with the Duke of York. His love for her +seemed to have increased a thousandfold since fate had given her +to the possession of another. At royal drawing-rooms he took +her aside and talked to her "in the sight of all the world," and +whenever she moved away from him he followed her like a dog. + +Indeed, he made no effort to screen his passion, for not only did +he make love to her in presence of the court, but he visited her +at noonday, attended by his gentlemen, before all the town. Nor +did Lady Denham desire to conceal the honour with which, she +considered, this amour covered her, but openly declared she would +"not be his mistress, as Mrs. Price, to go up and down the privy +stairs, but will be owned publicly;" and in this respect she +obtained her desire. Meanwhile Sir John was rendered miserable; +and, indeed, his desperation soon overthrew his reason, and +rendered him a lunatic. This affection first appeared during a +journey he made to the famous free-stone quarries near Portland +in Dorset. When he came within a mile of his destination, he +suddenly turned back, and proceeded to Hounslow, where he +demanded rents for lands he had disposed of years before; and +then hastening to town sought out the king and informed him he +was the Holy Ghost. + +This madness lasted but a short time; and the first use he made +of his recovered senses was to plot vengeance on his wife. Now +there was one honour which she coveted above all others, that of +being appointed a lady of the bedchamber to the Duchess of York. +This her royal lover, following the example of his majesty, +sought to obtain for her; but the duchess, who had already +suffered many indignities by reason of her husband's +improprieties, refused him this request, which would render her +liable to continual insult in her own court. The duke, however, +had a strong will, and the duchess was on the point of yielding +to his demand, when rumour announced that Lady Denham had been +taken suddenly ill, and scandal declared she had been poisoned. +The wildest sensation followed. His royal highness, stricken +with remorse and terror, hastened to Scotland Yard and sought his +beloved mistress, who told him she believed herself poisoned, and +felt she was now dying. The most eminent physicians were +speedily summoned, but their skill proved of no avail, for she +gradually became worse, and finally died, leaving instructions +that her body should be opened after death, in order that search +might be made for the fatal drug. + +The surgeons followed these directions, as we learn from the +Orrery state papers, but no trace of poison was discovered. For +all that the public had no doubt her husband had destroyed her +life, and Hamilton tells us the populace "had a design of tearing +Sir John in pieces as soon as he should come abroad; but he shut +himself up to bewail her death, until their fury was appeased by +a magnificent funeral, at which he distributed four times more +burnt wine than had ever been drunk at any burial in England." + +As for the duke, he was sorely troubled for her loss, and +declared he should never have a public mistress again. + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +Court life under the merry monarch.--Riding in Hyde Park. +--Sailing on the Thames.--Ball at Whitehall.--Petit soupers. +--What happened at Lady Gerrard's.--Lady Castlemaine quarrels +with the king.--Flight to Richmond.--The queen falls ill.--The +king's grief and remorse.--Her majesty speaks.--Her secret sorrow +finds voice in delirium.--Frances Stuart has hopes.--The queen +recovers. + +Views of court life during the first years of the merry monarch's +reign, obtainable from works of his contemporaries, present a +series of brilliant, changeful, and interesting pictures. Scarce +a day passed that their majesties, attended by a goodly throng of +courtiers, went not abroad, to the vast delight of the town: and +rarely a night sped by unmarked by some magnificent +entertainment, to the great satisfaction of the court. At noon +it was a custom of the king and queen, surrounded by maids of +honour and gentlemen in waiting, the whole forming a gladsome and +gallant crowd, to ride in coaches or on horseback in Hyde Park: +which place has been described as "a field near the town, used by +the king and nobility for the freshness of the air, and goodly +prospect." + +Here in a railed-off circle, known as the ring, and situated in +the northern half of the park, the whole world of fashion and +beauty diverted itself. Noble gallants wearing broad-brimmed +hats and waving plumes, doublets of velvet, and ruffles of rich +lace; and fair women with flowing locks and dainty patches, +attired in satin gowns, and cloaks wrought with embroidery, drove +round and round, exchanging salutations and smiles as they +passed. Here it was good Mr. Pepys saw the Countess of +Castlemaine, among many fine ladies, lying "impudently upon her +back in her coach asleep, with her mouth wide open." And on +another occasion the same ingenious gentleman observed the king +and my lady pass and repass in their respective coaches, they +greeting one another at every turn. + +But Mr. Pepys gives us another picture, in which he shows us the +king riding right gallantly beside his queen, and therefore +presents him to better advantage. This excellent gossip, +sauntering down Pall Mall one bright summer day, it being the +middle of July, in the year 1663, met the queen mother walking +there, led by her supposed husband, the Earl of St. Albans. And, +hearing the king and queen rode abroad with the ladies of honour +to the park, and seeing a great crowd of gallants awaiting their +return, he also stayed, walking up and down the while. "By-and- +by," says he, "the king and queene, who looked in this dress (a +white laced waistcoate and a crimson short pettycoate, and her +hair dressed A LA NEGLIGENCE) mighty pretty; and the king rode +hand in hand with her. Here was also my Lady Castlemaine riding +amongst the rest of the ladies; but the king took, methought, no +notice of her; nor when they light did anybody press (as she +seemed to expect, and staid for it) to take her down, but was +taken down by her own gentlemen. She looked mighty out of +humour, and had a yellow plume in her hat (which all took notice +of), and yet is very handsome. I followed them up into +Whitehall, and into the queene's presence, where all the ladies +walked, talking and fiddling with their hats and feathers, and +changing and trying one another's by one another's heads, and +laughing. But it was the finest sight to me, considering their +great beautys and dress, that ever I did see in my life. But, +above all, Mrs. Stuart in this dresse with her hat cocked and a +red plume, with her sweet eye, little Roman nose, and excellent +taille, is now the greatest beauty I ever saw, I think, in my +life; and, if ever woman can, do exceed my Lady Castlemaine, at +least in this dresse: nor do I wonder if the king changes, which +I verily believe is the reason of his coldness to my Lady +Castlemaine." + +Having returned from the park, dined at noon, walked in the +palace gardens, or played cards till evening came, their +majesties, surrounded by a brilliant and joyous court, would in +summer time descend the broad steps leading from Whitehall to the +Thames, and embark upon the water for greater diversion. Never +was there so goodly a sight, seldom so merry a company. The +barges in which they sailed were draped to the water's edge with +bright fabrics, hung with curtains of rich silk, and further +adorned with gay pennants. And, as the long procession of boats, +filled with fair women and gallant men, followed their majesties +adown the placid Thames towards pleasant Richmond, my Lord Arran +would delight the ears of all by his performance on the guitar; +the fair Stuart would sing French songs in her sweet childlike +voice; or a concert of music would suddenly resound from the +banks, being placed there to surprise by some ingenious courtier. + +And presently landing on grassy meads, delightful to sight by +freshness of their colour, and sweet to scent from odour of their +herbs, the court would sup right heartily; laugh, drink, and make +love most merrily, until early shadows stole across the summer +sky, and night-dews fell upon the thirsty earth. Then king, +queen, and courtiers once more embarking, would sail slowly back, +whilst the moon rose betimes in the heavens, and the barges +streaked the waters with silver lines. + +At other times magnificent entertainments filled the nights with +light and revelry. Pepys tells us of a great ball he witnessed +in the last month of the year 1662 at the palace of Whitehall. +He was carried thither by Mr. Povy, a member of the Tangier +Commission, and taken at first to the Duke of York's chambers, +where his royal highness and the duchess were at supper; and from +thence "into a room where the ball was to be, crammed with fine +ladies, the greatest of the court. By-and-by comes the king and +queene, the duke and duchess, and all the great ones; and, after +seating themselves, the king takes out the Duchess of York; and +the duke the Duchess of Buckingham; the Duke of Monmouth my Lady +Castlemaine; and so other lords other ladies; and they danced the +bransle. After that, the king led a lady a single coranto; and +then the rest of the lords, one after another, other ladies: +very noble it was, and great pleasure to see. Then to country +dances: the king leading the first. Of the ladies that danced, +the Duke of Monmouth's lady, and my Lady Castlemaine, and a +daughter of Sir Harry de Vicke's were the best. The manner was, +when the king dances, all the ladies in the room, and his queene +herself, stand up: and indeed he dances rarely, and much better +than the Duke of York." + +PETIT SOUPERS were another form of entertainments, greatly +enjoyed by Charles, and accordingly much in vogue with his +courtiers. The Chevalier de Grammont had principally helped to +make them fashionable, his suppers being served With the greatest +elegance, attended by the choicest wits, and occasionally +favoured with the presence of majesty itself. Nor were Lady +Gerrard's PETIT SOUPERS less brilliant, or her company less +distinguished. Her ladyship boasted of French parentage and +understood the art of pleasing to perfection; and accordingly at +her board wine flowed, wit sparkled, and love obtained in the +happiest manner. Now it happened one of her delightful +entertainments was destined to gain a notoriety she by no means +coveted, and concerning which the French ambassador, Count de +Comminges, wrote pleasantly enough to the Marquis de Lionne. + +It came to pass that Lady Gerrard, who loved the queen, requested +the honour of their majesties to sup with her. She, moreover, +invited some of the courtiers, amongst whom she did not include +my Lady Castlemaine. On the appointed night the king and queen +duly arrived; the other guests had already assembled; and the +hour gave fair promise of entertainment. But presently, when +supper was announced, his majesty was missing, and on inquiry it +was discovered he had left the house for Lady Castlemaine's +lodgings, where he spent the evening. Such an insult as this so +openly dealt the queen, and such an indignity put upon the +hostess, caused the greatest agitation to all present; and +subsequently afforded subject for scandalous gossip to the town. +It moreover showed that the monarch was yet an abject slave of +his mistress, whose charms entangled him irresistibly. At least +four times a week he supped with her, returning at early morning +from her lodgings, in a stealthy way, through the privy gardens, +a proceeding of which the sentries took much notice, joked +unbecomingly, and gossiped freely. + +Now in order to avoid further observation at such times, and +silence rumours which consequently obtained, his majesty removed +the countess from her lodgings in that part of the palace divided +by the road leading to Westminster from the chief block, and +furnished her with apartments next his own chamber. The poor +queen, who had sought by every means in her power to win his +affection, was sorely grieved at this action, and moreover +depressed by the neglect to which she was continually subjected. +Sometimes four months were allowed to pass without his deigning +to sup with her, though the whole court was aware he constantly +paid that honour to her infamous rival. But knowing how +unavailing reproach would be, she held her peace; and feeling +how obtrusive her sorrow would seem, she hid her tears. Now and +again, however, a look would flash in her eyes, and an answer +rise to her lips, which showed how deeply she felt her bitter +wrongs. "I wonder your majesty has the patience to sit so long +adressing," said my Lady Castlemaine to her one morning when she +found her yet in the dresser's hands. "I have so much reason to +use patience," answered the neglected wife, "that I can very well +bear with it." + +And so the countess continued to reign paramount in his majesty's +favour until the middle of July, 1663, when a rumour spread +through the town that she had quarrelled with the king, and had +consequently fallen from her high estate. The cause of +disagreement between the monarch and his mistress is narrated by +the French ambassador in a letter to Louis XIV. + +By this time the fair Stuart had so increased in his majesty's +favour, that my Lady Castlemaine began to see the indiscretion of +which she had been guilty in bringing her so constantly into his +presence, and moreover to fear her influence over his fickle +heart. Accordingly she refused to invite the maid of honour to +her apartments, or entertain her at her assemblies. At this the +king became exceedingly wrathful, and told my lady he would not +enter her rooms again unless Miss Stuart was there. Thereon the +charming countess flew into a violent passion, roundly abused his +majesty, called her carriage, and protesting she would never +again enter the palace of Whitehall, drove off in a rage to the +residence of her uncle at Richmond. The monarch had not expected +his words would cause such fury, nor did he desire her departure; +and no sooner had she gone than he began to regret her absence +and long for her return. + +Therefore next morning he made pretence of hunting, and turning +his horse's head in the direction of Richmond, called on his +mistress, when he apologized to and made friends with her. She +therefore returned and exercised her old ascendancy over him once +more. It is probable his majesty was the more anxious to pacify +her, from the fact that she was now far advanced in her third +pregnancy; for two months later she gave birth to her second son, +who was baptized Henry Fitzroy, and subsequently created Duke of +Grafton. + +And it happened about this time, that the queen, falling ill, +drew near unto death. On Friday, the 14th October, 1663, a fever +took possession of her, when the doctors were summoned, her head +shaven, and pigeons put to her feet. Her illness, however, +rapidly increased, and believing she was about to leave a world +in which her young life had known so much sorrow, she made her +will, put her affairs in order, and received extreme unction. +Upon this the king, mindful of grievous injuries he had done +her, was sorely troubled in his heart, and going to her chamber, +flung himself at the foot of her bed and burst into tears; as the +French ambassador narrates. + +It is said women love best men who treat them worst. If this be +so, God, alone who made them knows wherefore; for it is given no +man to understand them in all. Now her majesty proved no +exception to this rule regarding the unreasonableness of her sex +in placing their affections most on those who regard them least; +for she was devoted to the king. Therefore the evidence of his +grief at prospect of her loss touched her deeper than all words +can say, and with much sweetness she sought to soothe and console +him. + +She told him she had no desire to live, and no sorrow to die, +save, indeed, that caused by parting from him. She hoped he +would soon wed a consort more worthy of his love than she had +been; one who would contribute more to his happiness and the +satisfaction of the nation than she had. And now they were about +to part, she had two requests to make: that he would never +separate his interests from those of the king her brother, or +cease to protect her distressed nation; and that her body might +be sent back to Portugal and laid in the tomb of her ancestors. +At this the king, yet on his knees beside her, interrupted her +only by his sobs, hearing which she wept likewise; and so +overcome was he by grief that he was obliged to be led from her +room, + +The court was saddened by her majesty's illness, for she had won +the goodwill of all by the kindness of her disposition and +gentleness of her manner; the city was likewise afflicted, for +the people thought so good a queen could not fail in time to +reclaim even so erratic a husband; and trade became suddenly +depressed. Crowds gathered by night and by day outside the +palace to learn the most recent change in her majesty's condition +many thinking her death inevitable, because the doctors had +pronounced her recovery impossible. And for days her soul +hovered betwixt two worlds. + +On the night of the 19th, a fierce storm raged over England; and +Mr. Pepys, being waked by the roaring of mighty winds, turned to +his wife and said: "I pray God I hear not of the death of any +great person, this wind is so high." And fearing the queen might +have departed, he rose betimes, and took coach to the palace that +he might make inquiries concerning her, but found her majesty was +still living. She was now, however, unconscious; and gave free +voice to the secret sorrow which underlay her life, because she +had not borne children to the king. Had she given him heirs, she +felt assured he would certainly love her as well as he loved his +mistresses; and would feel as proud of her offspring as of those +borne him by other women. But though she had proved capable of +becoming a mother on more than one occasion, it pleased heaven to +leave her childless, to her great grief. Therefore in her +delirium, desires shaped themselves to realities, and she +believed she had given birth to three children, two boys and a +girl. The latter she fancied much resembled the king, but she +was troubled that one of the boys was plain featured. And seeing +her grief at this, his majesty, who stood by, sought in pity to +console her, saying the boy was indeed pretty; at which she +brightened visibly, and answering him said: "Nay, if it be like +you, it is a fine boy indeed, and I would be very well pleased +with it." This delusion continued through her illness, and so +strongly did it force itself upon her mind, that one morning when +she was on her way to recovery, on waking suddenly and seeing the +doctor bending over her, she exclaimed, "How do the children?" + +Now all this time, whilst the shadow of death lay upon the +palace, and laughter and music were no longer heard within its +walls, there was one of its inmates who pondered much upon the +great fortune which the future might have in keeping for her. +This was fair Frances Stuart, who, not having yielded to the +king's request by becoming his mistress, now entertained high +hopes of being made his wife. In this dream she was, moreover, +flattered by an unusual deference and high respect paid her by +the court since the beginning of her majesty's illness. The king +continued his attentions to her; for though he had proved himself +"fondly disconsolate" and wept sorely for her majesty, he never +during her sickness omitted an opportunity of conversing with +Miss Stuart, or neglected supping with Lady Castlemaine. But the +hopes entertained by the maid of honour were speedily overthrown, +for contrary to all expectation the queen recovered, and was so +well on the 10th November as to "bespeak herself a new gowne" + +And so the court remained unchanged, and life went on as before; +the queen growing gradually stronger, the king making love to +Miss Stuart by day, and visiting Lady Castlemaine by night. And +it happened one evening when he went to sup with the latter there +was a chine of beef to roast, and no fire to cook it because the +Thames had flooded the kitchen. Hearing which, the countess +called out to the cook, "Zounds, you must set the house on fire +but it shall he roasted!" And roasted it was. + + + +CHAPTER X. + +Notorious courtiers.--My Lord Rochester's satires.--Places a +watch on certain ladies of quality.--His majesty becomes +indignant.--Rochester retires to the country.--Dons a disguise +and returns to town.--Practises astrology.--Two maids of honour +seek adventure.--Mishaps which befell them.--Rochester forgiven. +--The Duke of Buckingham.--Lady Shrewsbury and her victims.-- +Captain Howard's duel.--Lord Shrewsbury avenges his honour.--A +strange story.--Colonel Blood attempts an abduction.--Endeavours +to steal the regalia.--The king converses with him. + +Prominent among the courtiers, and foremost amid the friends of +his majesty, were two noblemen distinguished alike for their +physical grace, exceeding wit, and notable eccentricity. These +were the Earl of Rochester, and his Grace of Buckingham; gallants +both, whose respective careers were so intimately connected with +the court as to make further chronicle of them necessary in these +pages. + +My Lord Rochester, though younger in years than the duke, was +superior to him in wit, comeliness, and attraction. Nor was +there a more conspicuous figure observable in the palace of +Whitehall than this same earl, who was ever foremost in pursuit +of such pleasures as wine begets and love appeases. His mirth +was the most buoyant, his conversation the most agreeable, his +manner the most engaging in the world; whence he became "the +delight and wonder of men, the love and dotage of women." A +courtier possessed of so happy a disposition, and endowed with +such brilliant talents, could not fail in pleasing the king; who +vastly enjoyed his society, but was occasionally obliged to +banish his person from court, when his eccentric conduct rendered +him intolerable, or his bitter satire aimed at royalty. For it +was given no other man in his age to blend merry wit and caustic +ridicule so happily together; therefore those who read his lines +were forced to laugh at his fancy, even whilst hurt by his irony. + +Now in order to keep this talent in constant practice, he was +wont to celebrate in inimitable verse such events, be they +private or public, as happened at court, or befell the courtiers; +and inasmuch as his subjects were frequently of a licentious +nature, his lines were generally of a scandalous character. He +therefore became the public censor of court folly; and so +unerringly did his barbed shafts hit the weaknesses at which they +aimed, that his productions were equally the terror of those he +victimized, and the delight of those he spared. + +This liberal use of satire he was wont to excuse on the plea +there were some who could not be kept in order, or admonished, by +other means. Therefore, having the virtue of his friends keenly +at heart, an ingenious plan occurred to him by which he might +secretly discover their vices, and publicly reprove them. In +order that he might fulfil this purpose to his greater +satisfaction, he promptly sought and found a footman, who, by +virtue of his employment, was well acquainted with the courtiers. +This man the "noble and beautiful earl" furnished with a red coat +and a musket, that he might pass as a sentinel, and then placed +him every night throughout one winter at the doors of certain +ladies of quality whom he suspected of carrying on intrigues. + +In this disguise the footman readily passed as a soldier +stationed at his post by command of his officer, and was thus +enabled to note what gentlemen called on the suspected ladies at +unreasonable but not unfashionable hours. Accordingly, my lord +made many surprising discoveries, and when he had gained +sufficient information on such delicate points, he quietly +retired into the country, that he might with greater ease devote +himself to the composition of those lively verses which he +subsequently circulated through the court, to the wonder and +dismay of many, and the delight and profit of few. + +To these lampoons no name was attached, and my lord took +precautions that their authorship should not be satisfactorily +proved, no matter how sagely suspected. Moreover, in his +conversation he was judicious enough to keep the weapon of his +satire in reserve; sheathing its fatal keenness in a bewitching +softness of civility until occasion required its use; when forth +it flashed all the brighter for its covering, all the sharper for +its rest. And satire being absent from his speech, humour ever +waited on his words; and never was he more extravagantly gay than +when assisting at the pleasant suppers given by the merry monarch +to his choicest friends. + +Here, whilst drinking deep of ruddy wine from goblets of old +gold, he narrated his strange experiences, and illustrated them +with flashes of his wit. for it was the habit of this eccentric +earl, when refinements of the court began to pall upon him, or +his absence from Whitehall became a necessity, to seek fresh +adventure and intrigue disguised as a porter, a beggar, or a +ballad-monger. And so carefully did he hide his identity in the +character he assumed, that his most intimate friends failed to +recognise his personality. + +No doubt the follies in which he indulged were in some measure +due to the eccentricity ever attendant upon genius; but they were +probably likewise occasioned by craving for excitement begotten +of drink. For my lord loved wine exceedingly; and when he drew +near unto death in the dawn of his manhood, confessed to Bishop +Burnet that for five years he was continually drunk: "Not that +he was all the while under the visible effects of it, but his +blood was so inflamed, that he was not in all that time cool +enough to be perfectly master of himself." Charles delighted in +the society of this gay courtier, because of his erratic +adventures, and his love of wine. Moreover, the licentious +verses which it was the earl's good pleasure to compose, the +names of some of which no decent lips would whisper in this age +of happy innocence, afforded the monarch extravagant enjoyment. +Withal his majesty's satisfaction in Lord Rochester's wit was not +always to be counted upon, as it proved. For it came to pass one +night at the close of a royal supper, during which the earl had +drunk deep, that with great goodwill to afford the king +diversion, he handed his majesty what he believed was a satire on +a courtier, more remarkable for its humour than its decency. +Whereon Charles, with anticipation of much delight, opened the +folded page, when he was surprised to see, not a copy of verses, +but an unflattering description of himself, which ran as follows: + +"Here lies our mutton-eating king, + Whose word no man relies on; + Who never said a foolish thing, + And never did a wise one." + +Now the king, though the best tempered of men and most lenient of +masters, was naturally wrathful at this verbal character: the +more so because recognising its faithfulness at a glance. He +therefore upbraided Rochester with ingratitude, and banished him +from the court. + +Nothing dismayed, my lord retired into the country; but in a +short time, growing weary of pastoral solitude which gave him an +appetite for adventure it could not wholly supply, he returned +privately to town, and assuming a disguise, took up his residence +in the city. Here exercising his characteristic tact, and great +capacity for pleasing, he speedily made friends with wealthy +merchants and worthy aldermen, who subsequently invited him to +their hospitable tables, and introduced him to their gracious +ladies. + +And as his conversation had not failed to delight the husbands, +neither were his charms unsuccessful in affording satisfaction to +their wives. To the one he railed against the impotence of the +king's ministers, to the other he declaimed upon the wickedness +of his majesty's mistresses; and to both his denunciations were +equally sincere and acceptable. But his bitterest words were +reserved for such courtiers as Rochester, Buckingham, and +Killigrew, whose dissipated lives were the scandal of all honest +men, the terror of all virtuous women: insolent fellows, +moreover, who had the impudence to boast that city ladies were +not so faithful to their husbands as was generally supposed, and, +moreover, the boldness to assert that they painted. Indeed, he +marvelled much, that since such men were frequenters of +Whitehall, sacred fire from heaven had not long since descended +and consumed the royal palace to ashes. Such virtuous sentiments +as these, expressed by so gallant a man, made him acceptable in +many homes: and the result was he speedily became surfeited by +banquets, suppers, and other hospitalities, to which the +excellent but credulous citizens bade him heartily welcome. + +He therefore disappeared from their midst one day as suddenly and +unaccountably as he had come amongst them. He did not, however, +take himself afar, but donning a new disguise, retreated to a +more distant part of the city: for an idea had occurred to him +which he determined speedily to put in practice. This was to +assume the character and bearing of a sage astrologer and learned +physician, at once capable of reading the past, and laying bare +the future of all who consulted him; also of healing diseases of +and preventing mishaps to such as visited him. Accordingly, +having taken lodgings in Tower Street, at a goldsmith's house, +situated next the Black Swan, he prepared himself for practice, +adopted the title of doctor, the name of Alexander Bendo, and +issued bills headed by the royal arms, containing the most +remarkable and impudent manifesto perhaps ever set forth by any +impostor. + +Copies of this may yet be seen in early editions of his works. +It was addressed to all gentlemen, ladies, and others, whether of +the city, town, or country, to whom Alexander Bendo wished health +and prosperity. He had come amongst them because the great +metropolis of England had ever been infested by numerous quacks, +whose arrogant confidence, backed by their ignorance, had enabled +them to impose on the public; either by premeditated cheats in +physic, chymical and galenic, in astrology, physiognomy, +palmistry, mathematics, alchymy, and even government itself. Of +which latter he did not propose to discourse, or meddle with, +since it in no way belonged to his trade or vocation, which he +thanked God he found much more safe, equally honest, and more +profitable. But he, Alexander Bendo, had with unswerving +faithfulness and untiring assiduity for years courted the arts +and sciences, and had learned dark secrets and received signal +favours from them. He was therefore prepared to take part +against unlearned wretches, and arrant quacks, whose impudent +addresses and saucy pretences had brought scandal upon sage and +learned men. + +However, in a wicked world like this, where virtue was so exactly +counterfeited, and hypocrisy was generally successful, it would +be hard for him, a stranger, to escape censure. But indeed he +would submit to be considered a mountebank if he were discovered +to be one. Having made which statement, he proceeded to draw an +ingenious comparison between a mountebank and a politician, +suitable to all ages and dimes, but especially to this century +and country. Both, he intimated, are fain to supply the lack of +higher abilities to which they pretend, with craft; and attract +attention by undertaking strange things which can never be +performed. By both the people are pleased and deluded; the +expectation of good in the future drawing their eyes from the +certainty of evil in the present. + +The sage Alexander Bendo then discoursed of miraculous cures +which he could effect, but he would set down no word in his bill +which bore an unclean sound. It was enough that he made himself +understood, but indeed he had seen physicians' bills containing +things of which no man who walked warily before God could +approve. Concerning astrological predictions, physiognomy, +divination by dreams, and otherwise, he would say, if it did not +look like ostentation, he had seldom failed, but had often been +of service; and to those who came to him he would guarantee +satisfaction. Nor would he be ashamed to avow his willingness to +practise rare secrets, for the help, conservation, and +augmentation of beauty and comeliness; an endowment granted for +the better establishment of mutual love between man and woman, +and as such highly valuable to both. The knowledge of secrets +like this he had gathered during journeys through France and +Italy, in which countries he had spent his life since he was +fifteen years old. Those who had travelled in the latter country +knew what a miracle art there performs in behalf of beauty; how +women of forty bear the same countenance as those of fifteen, +ages being in no way distinguished by appearances; whereas in +England, by looking at a horse in the mouth and a woman in the +face, it was possible to tell the number of their years. He +could, therefore, give such remedies as would render those who +came to him perfectly fair; clearing and preserving them from all +spots, freckles, pimples, marks of small-pox, or traces of +accidents. He would, moreover, cure the teeth, clear the breath, +take away fatness, and add flesh. + +A man who vouched to perform such wonders was not long without +patients. At first these were drawn from his immediate +neighbourhood, but soon his fame reached the heart of the city. +Accordingly, many ladies of whose hospitality he had partaken, +and of whose secrets he had become possessed, hurried to consult +him; and the marvellous insight he betrayed regarding their past, +and strange predictions he pronounced concerning their future, +filled them with amazement, and occasionally with alarm. And +they, proclaiming the marvels of his wisdom, widened the circle +of his reputation, until his name was spoken within the precincts +of Whitehall. + +Curiosity concerning so remarkable a man at once beset the minds +of certain ladies at court, who either feared or expected much +from the future, and were anxious to peer into such secrets as it +held concerning themselves. But dreading the notoriety their +presence would naturally cause in the vicinity of Tower Street, a +spot to them unknown, they, acting with a prudence not invariably +characteristic of their conduct, sent their maids to ascertain +from personal experience if the astrologer's wisdom was in truth +as marvellous as reported. Now, when these appeared in fear and +trembling before the great Alexander Bendo, the knowledge he +revealed concerning themselves, and their mistresses likewise, +was so wonderful that it exceeded all expectation. Accordingly, +the maids returned to court with such testimonies concerning the +lore of this star-reader, as fired afresh their mistresses' +desires to see and converse with him in their proper persons. + +It therefore came to pass that Miss Price and Miss Jennings, +maids of honour both--the one to the queen, the other to the +Duchess of York--boldly resolved to visit Doctor Bendo, and learn +what the future held for them. Miss Price was a lady who +delighted in adventure; Miss Jennings was a gentlewoman of +spirit; both looked forward to their visit with excitement and +interest. It happened one night, when the court had gone to the +playhouse, these ladies, who had excused themselves from +attending the queen and the duchess, dressed as orange girls, and +taking baskets of fruit under their arms, quickly crossed the +park, and entered a hackney-coach at Whitehall Gate. Bidding the +driver convey them to Tower Street, they rattled merrily enough +over the uneven streets until they came close to the theatre, +when, being in high spirits and feeling anxious to test the value +of their disguise, they resolved to alight from their conveyance, +enter the playhouse, and offer their wares for sale in presence +of the court. + +Accordingly, paying the driver, they descended from the coach, +and running between the lines of chairs gathered round the +theatre, gained the door. Now, who should arrive at that moment +but the beau Sidney, attired in the bravery of waving feathers, +fluttering ribbons, and rich-hued velvets. And as he paused to +adjust his curls to his greater satisfaction before entering the +playhouse, Miss Price went boldly forward and asked him to buy +her fine oranges; but so engaged was he in his occupation, that +he did not deign to make reply, but passed into the theatre +without turning his glance upon her. Miss Jennings, however, +fared somewhat differently; and with less satisfaction to +herself; for, perceiving another courtier, none other than Tom +Killigrew, a rare wit and lover of pleasure, she went up to him +and offered her fruit for sale. These he declined to buy; but +chucking her under the chin, and glancing at her with an air of +familiarity, invited her to bring her oranges to his lodgings +next morning. On this Miss Jennings, who was as virtuous as +lovely, pushed him away with violence, and forgetting the +character she assumed, commenced rebuking his insolence, much to +the amusement and surprise of the bystanders. Fearing detection +of their identity, Miss Price pulled her forcibly away from the +crowd. + +Miss Jennings was after this incident anxious to forego her visit +to the astrologer, and return to Whitehall, but her companion +declaring this would be a shameful want of spirit, they once more +entered a hackney-coach, and requested they might be driven to +the lodgings of the learned Doctor Bendo. Their adventures for +the evening were unfortunately not yet at an end; for just as +they entered Tower Street they saw Henry Brinker, one of the +gentlemen of the bedchamber to the Duke of York. Now it happened +this courtier had been dining with a citizen of worth and wealth, +whose house he was about to leave the moment the maids of honour +drove by. They, knowing him to be a man remarkable for his +gallantries, were anxious to avoid his observation, and therefore +directed the driver to proceed a few doors beyond their +destination; but he, having caught sight of two pretty orange +wenches, followed the coach and promptly stepping up as they +alighted, made some bold observations to them. On this both +turned away their heads that they might avoid his gaze, a +proceeding which caused him to observe them with closer scrutiny, +when he immediately recognised them, without however intimating +his knowledge. He therefore fell to teasing them, and finally +left them with no very pleasant remarks ringing in their ears, +concerning the virtue which obtained among maids of honour, for +he did not doubt their disguise was assumed for purposes of +intrigue. + +Overwhelmed with confusion, they walked towards the goldsmith's +shop, over which the oracle delivered wisdom; but being no longer +in a humour to heed his words, they presently resolved on driving +back to Whitehall with all possible speed. But alas! on turning +round they beheld their driver waging war with a crowd which had +gathered about his vehicle; for having left their oranges in the +coach, some boys had essayed to help themselves, whereon the man +fell foul of them. But he, being one against many, was like to +fare badly at their hands; seeing which, the maids of honour +persuaded him to let the crowd take the fruit and drive them back +at once. This conduct had not the effect of appeasing those who +profited by its generosity; for the gentlewomen were greeted with +most foul abuse, and many unworthy charges were laid to their +account in language more vigorous than polished. And having at +last arrived in safety at Whitehall, they resolved never to sally +forth in search of adventure again. + +After various strange experiences in his character as doctor of +medicine and teller of fortunes, of the weakness of human nature +and strength of common credulity, the learned Alexander Bendo +vanished from the city; and about the same time the gallant Earl +of Rochester appeared at court, where he sought for and obtained +the merry monarch's pardon. The wonderful stories he was enabled +to relate, piquant in detail, and sparkling with wit, rendered it +delightful to the king, in whose favour he soon regained his +former supremacy. Nay, Charles even determined to enrich and +reward him, not indeed from the resources of his privy purse, his +majesty's income being all too little for his mistresses' +rapacity, but by uniting him to a charming woman and an heiress. + +The lady whom his majesty selected for this purpose was Elizabeth +Mallett, daughter of Lord Hawley of Donamore. Now this +gentlewoman had a fortune of two thousand five hundred a year, a +considerable sum in those days, and one which gained her many +suitors; amongst whom Lord Hinchingbrook was commended by her +family, and Lord Rochester by the king. Now the latter nobleman, +having but a poor estate, was anxious to obtain her wealth, and +fearful of losing his suit: and being uncertain as to whether he +could gain her consent to marry him by fair means, he resolved to +obtain it by execution of a daring scheme. + +This was to carry her off by force, an action which highly +commended itself to his adventurous spirit. Accordingly he +selected a night on which the heiress supped at Whitehall with +her friend Miss Stuart, for conducting his enterprise. It +therefore happened that as Elizabeth Mallett was returning home +from the palace in company with her grandfather, their coach was +suddenly stopped at Charing Cross. Apprehending some danger, +Lord Hawley looked out, and by the red light of a score of +torches flashing through darkness, saw he was surrounded by a +band of armed men, both afoot and on horse. Their action was +prompt and decisive, for before either my lord or his +granddaughter was aware of their intention, the latter was +seized, forcibly lifted from the coach, and transferred to +another which awaited close at hand. This was driven by six +horses, and occupied by two women, who received the heiress with +all possible respect. No sooner had she been placed in the coach +than the horses were set to a gallop, and away she sped, +surrounded by a company of horsemen. + +Lord Hawley was cast into the uttermost grief and passion by this +outrage; but his condition did not prevent him speedily gathering +a number of friends and retainers, in company with whom he gave +chase to those who had abducted his granddaughter; and so fast +did they ride that Mistress Mallett was overtaken at Uxbridge, +and carried back in safety to town. For this outrageous attempt, +my Lord Rochester was by the king's command committed to the +Tower, there to await his majesty's good pleasure. It seemed now +as if the earl's chance of gaining the heiress had passed away +for ever; inasmuch as Charles regarded the attempted abduction +with vast displeasure, and my Lord Hawley with terrible +indignation. + +But the ways of women being inexplicable, it happened in a brief +while Mistress Mallett was inclined to regret my Lord Rochester's +imprisonment, and therefore moved to have him released; and, +moreover, she was subsequently pleased to regard his suit and +accept him as her wedded lord. It speaks favourably for his +character that with all his faults she loved him well: nor did +Rochester, though occasionally unfaithful, ever treat her with +unkindness. At times the old spirit of restlessness and passion +for adventure would master him, when he would withdraw himself +from her society for weeks and months. But she, though sadly +afflicted by such conduct, did not resent it. "If I could have +been troubled at anything, when I had the happiness of receiving +a letter from you," she writes to him on one occasion when he had +absented himself from her for long, "I should be so because you +did not name a time when I might hope to see you, the uncertainty +of which very much afflicts me." And again the poor patient wife +tells him, "Lay your commands upon me, what I am to do, and +though it be to forget my children, and the long hope I have +lived in of seeing you, yet I will endeavour to obey you; or in +memory only torment myself, without giving you the trouble of +putting you in mind that there lives such a creature as your +faithful humble servant." At length dissipation undermined his +naturally strong constitution; and for months this once most gay +and gallant man, this "noble and beautiful earl," lay dying of +that cruel disease consumption. The while such thoughts as come +to those who reason of life's vanities beset him; and as he +descended into the valley of shadows, the folly of this world's +ways was made clear to him. And repenting of his sins, he died +in peace with God and man at the age of three-and-thirty. + +George Villiers second Duke of Buckingham, was not less notable +than my Lord Rochester. By turns he played such diverse parts in +life's strange comedy as that of a spendthrift and a miser, a +profligate and a philosopher, a statesman who sought the ruin of +his country, and a courtier who pandered to the pleasures of his +king. But inasmuch as this history is concerned with the social +rather than the political life of those mentioned in its pages, +place must be given to such adventures as were connected with the +court and courtiers. Buckingham's were chiefly concerned with +his intrigues, which, alas! were many and strange; for though +his wife was loving and virtuous, she was likewise lean and +brown, and wholly incapable of controlling his erring fancies. +Perhaps it was knowledge of her lack of comeliness which helped +her to bear the burden of his follies; for according to Madame +Dunois, though the duchess knew he was continually engaged in +amours, she, by virtue of a patience uncommon to her sex, forbore +mentioning the subject to him, and "had complaisance enough to +entertain his mistresses, and even lodge them in her house, all +which she suffered because she loved him." + +The most remarkable of his intrigues was that which connected his +name with the Countess of Shrewsbury. Her ladyship, was daughter +of the second Earl of Cardigan, and wife of the eleventh Earl of +Shrewsbury. She was married a year previous to the restoration, +and upon the establishment of the court at Whitehall had become +one of its most distinguished beauties. Nor was she less famed +for the loveliness of her person than for the generosity of her +disposition; inasmuch as none who professed themselves desirous +of her affection were ever allowed to languish in despair. She +therefore had many admirers, some of whom were destined to suffer +for the distinction her friendship conferred. + +Now one of the first to gain her attachment was the young Earl of +Arran, the grace of whose bearing and ardour of whose character +were alike notable to the court. The verses he sung her to an +accompaniment of his guitar, and the glances he gave her +indicative of his passion, might have melted a heart less cold +than hers. Accordingly they gained him a friendship which, by +reason of her vast benevolence, many were subsequently destined +to share. Now it chanced that the little Jermyn, who had already +succeeded in winning the affections of such notable women as the +poor Princess of Orange and my Lady Castlemaine, and had besides +conducted a series of minor intrigues with various ladies +connected with the court, was somewhat piqued that Lady +Shrewsbury had accepted my Lord Arran's attentions without +encouraging his. For Henry Jermyn, by virtue of the fascinations +he exercised and the consequent reputation he enjoyed, expected +to be wooed by such women as desired his love. + +But when, later on, Lord Arran's devotion to the lady was +succeeded by that of Thomas Howard, brother to the Earl of +Carlisle, and captain of the guards, Jermyn was thoroughly +incensed, and resolved to make an exception in favour of the +countess by beginning those civilities which act as preludes to +intrigue. My lady, who was not judicious enough to be off with +the old love before she was on with the new, accepted Jermyn's +advances with an eagerness that gave promise of further favours. +This was highly displeasing to Howard, a brave and generous man, +who under an exterior of passive calmness concealed a spirit of +fearless courage. Though not desirous of picking a quarrel with +his rival, he was unwilling to suffer his impertinent +interference. Jermyn, on the other hand, not being aware of +Howard's real character, sought an early opportunity of insulting +him. Such being their dispositions, a quarrel speedily ensued, +which happened in this manner. + +One fair summer day Captain Howard gave an entertainment at +Spring Gardens, in honour of the countess. These gardens were +situated close by Charing Cross, and opened into the spacious +walks of St. James's Park. Bounded on one side by a grove, and +containing leafy arbours and numerous thickets, the gardens were +"contrived to all the advantages of gallantry." The scene of +many an intrigue, they were constantly frequented by denizens of +the court and dwellers in the city, to whom they afforded +recreation and pleasure. In the centre of these fair gardens +stood a cabaret, or house of entertainment, where repasts were +served at exceeding high prices, and much good wine was drunk. +Here it was Captain Howard received my Lady Shrewsbury and a +goodly company, spread a delicate banquet for them, and for their +better diversion provided some excellent music played upon the +bagpipes, by a soldier noted for his execution on that +instrument. + +Jermyn hearing of the great preparations Captain Howard made, +resolved to be present on the occasion; and accordingly, before +the hour appointed for dinner, betook himself to the garden, and +as if he had arrived there by accident, strolled leisurely down +the broad pleasant paths, bordered by pinks and fragrant roses +clustering in the hedgerows. And presently drawing nigh the +cabaret, he tarried there until the countess, rich in physical +graces, with sunny smiles upon her lips, and amorous light in her +eyes, stepped forth upon the balcony and greeted him. Whereon +his heart took fire: and entering the house, he joined her where +she stood, and held pleasant converse with her. Inflated by his +success, he resolved on making himself disagreeable to the host, +and therefore ventured to criticize the entertainment, and +ridicule the music, which he voted barbarous to civilized ears. +And to such an extent did he outrage Thomas Howard, that the +gallant captain, being more of a soldier than a courtier, and +therefore preferring passages at arms to those of wit, could +scarce refrain from drawing his sword and demanding the +satisfaction due to him. + +However, he subdued his wrath till the day was spent, and early +next morning sent a challenge to his rival. Accordingly they met +with fierce intent, and the duel which followed ended almost +fatally for Jermyn, who was carried from the scene of encounter +bleeding from three wounds caused by his antagonist's sword. + +The unfortunate issue of this fight deprived Lady Shrewsbury of +two lovers; for Howard, having rendered Jermyn unable to perform +the part of a gallant, was obliged to fly from the country and +remain abroad some time. + +In their stead the countess sought consolation in the +companionship of Thomas Killigrew, a handsome man and a notable +courtier. She therefore had no regrets for the past: and he was +entirely happy in the present, so that he boasted of his +felicities to all acquaintance, in general, and to his friend the +Duke of Buckingham in particular. It was Killigrew's constant +habit to sup with his grace, on which occasions his conversation +invariably turned on her ladyship, when, his imagination being +heated by wine, he freely endowed her with the perfections of a +goddess. To such descriptions the duke could not listen unmoved; +and therefore resolved to judge for himself if indeed the +countess was such a model of loveliness as Killigrew represented. +Accordingly, at the first opportunity which presented itself, the +duke made love to her, and she, nothing averse to his attentions, +encouraged his affections. Killigrew was much aggrieved at this +unexpected turn of affairs, and bitterly reproached the countess; +but she, being mistress of the situation, boldly denied all +knowledge of him. + +This was more than he expected or could endure, and he +consequently abused her roundly in all companies, characterizing +the charms of which he once boasted as faults he could not +endure; ridiculing her airs, and denouncing her conduct. Reports +of his comments and discourses speedily reached Lady Shrewsbury's +ears; and he was privately warned that if he did not desist means +would be taken to silence him effectually. Not being wise enough +to accept this hint he continued to vilify her. The result was, +one night when returning from the Duke of York's apartments he +was suddenly waylaid in St. James's Park, and three passes of a +sword made at him through his chair, one of which pierced his +arm. Not doubting they had despatched him to a better world, His +assailants made their escape; and my Lady Shrewsbury, who +singularly enough happened to be passing at the time in her +coach, and had stopped to witness the proceedings, drove off as +speedily as six horses could carry her. + +Knowing it would be impossible to trace the villainy which had +prompted this deed to its source, Killigrew said not a word +concerning the murderous attempt, and henceforth held his peace +regarding his late mistress's imperfections. For some time she +continued her intrigue with the Duke of Buckingham without +interference. But in an evil hour it happened the Earl of +Shrewsbury, who had long entertained a philosophical indifference +towards her previous amours, now undertook to defend his honour, +which it was clear his Grace of Buckingham had sadly injured. + +Accordingly he challenged the duke to combat, and in due time +they met face to face in a field by Barnes Elms. His grace had +as seconds Sir Robert Holmes and Captain William Jenkins; the +earl being supported by Sir John Talbot and Bernard Howard, son +of my Lord Arundel. The fight was brief and bloody; Lord +Shrewsbury, being run through the body, was carried from the +field in an insensible condition. The duke received but a slight +wound, but his friend Captain Jenkins was killed upon the spot. +The while swords clashed, blood flowed, and lives hung in a +balance, the woman who wrought this evil stood close by, +disguised as a page, holding the bridle of her lover's horse, as +Lord Orford mentions. + +In consequence of this duel the Duke of Buckingham absented +himself from the capital; but two months after its occurrence +King Charles was pleased, "in contemplation of the services +heretofore done to his majesty by most of the persons engaged in +the late duel or rencontre, to graciously pardon the said +offence." Three months after the day on which he fought, Lord +Shrewsbury died from effects of his wounds, when the duke boldly +carried the widow to his home. The poor duchess, who had +patiently borne many wrongs, could not stand this grievous and +public insult, and declared she would not live under the same +roof with so shameless a woman. "So I thought, madam," rejoined +her profligate lord, "and have therefore ordered your coach to +convey you to your father." + +The countess continued to live with her paramour; nor was the +court scandalized. The queen, it is true, openly espoused the +cause of the outraged duchess, and sought to enlist sympathy on +her behalf; but so low was the tone of public morality that her +words were unheeded, and no voice was raised in protest against +this glaring infamy. Nay, the duke went further still in his +efforts towards injuring the wife to whom he owed so much, and +who loved him over-well; as he caused his chaplain, the Rev. +Thomas Sprat, to marry him to my Lady Shrewsbury; and +subsequently conferred on the son to which she gave birth, and +for whom the king stood godfather, his second title of Earl of +Coventry. His wife was henceforth styled by the courtiers +Dowager Duchess of Buckingham. It is worthy of mention that the +Rev. Thomas Sprat in good time became Bishop of Rochester, and, +it is written, "an ornament to the church among those of the +highest order." + +One of the most extraordinary characters which figured in this +reign was Thomas Blood, sometimes styled colonel. He was +remarkable for his great strength, high courage, and love of +adventure. The son of an Irish blacksmith, he had, on the +outbreak of civil warfare in his native country, joined +Cromwell's army; and for the bravery he evinced was raised to the +rank of lieutenant, rewarded by a substantial grant of land, and +finally made a justice of the peace. At the restoration he was +deprived of this honour, as he was likewise of the property he +called his, which was returned to its rightful owner, an honest +royalist. Wholly dissatisfied with a government which dealt him +such hardships, he organised a plot to raise an insurrection in +Ireland, storm Dublin Castle, and seize the Duke of Ormond, then +lord lieutenant. This dark scheme was discovered by his grace; +the chief conspirators were accordingly seized, with the +exception of Blood, who succeeded in making his escape to +Holland. His fellow traitors were tried and duly executed. + +From Holland, Blood journeyed into England, where, becoming +acquainted with some republicans, he entered into projects with +them calculated to disturb the nation's peace; which fact +becoming known, he was obliged to seek refuge in Scotland. Here +he found fresh employment for his restless energies, and in the +year 1666 succeeded in stirring up some malcontents to rebellion. +The revolt being quelled, he escaped to Ireland; and after a +short stay in that country returned once more to England, where +he sought security in disguise. + +He lived here in peace until 1670, when he made an attempt no +less remarkable for its ingenuity than notable for its villainy. +Towards the end of that year the Prince of Orange, being in +London, was invited by the lord mayor to a civic banquet. +Thither the Duke of Ormond attended him, and subsequently +accompanied him to St. James's, where the prince then stayed. A +short distance from the palace gates stood Clarendon House, where +the duke then resided, and towards which he immediately drove, on +taking leave of his royal highness. Scarce had he proceeded a +dozen yards up St. James's Street, when his coach was suddenly +stopped by a band of armed and mounted men, who, hurriedly +surrounding his grace, dragged him from the carriage and mounted +him on a horse behind a stalwart rider. Word of command being +then given, the gang started at a brisk pace down Piccadilly. +Prompted by enemies of the duke, as well as urged by his own +desires to avenge his loss of property and the death of his +fellow-conspirators, Blood resolved to hang him upon the gallows +at Tyburn. That he might accomplish this end with greater speed +and security, he, leaving his victim securely buckled and tied to +the fellow behind whom he had been mounted, galloped forward in +advance to adjust the rope to the gallows, and make other +necessary preparations. + +No sooner did the echo of his horse's hoofs die away, than the +duke, recovering the stupor this sudden attack had caused, became +aware that now was his opportunity to effect escape, if, indeed, +such were possible. He to whom his grace was secured was a burly +man possessed of great strength; the which Lord Ormond, being now +past his sixtieth year, had not. However, life was dear to him, +and therefore he began struggling with the fellow; and finally +getting his foot under the villain's, he unhorsed him, when both +fell heavily to the ground. Meanwhile his grace's coach having +driven to Clarendon House, the footmen had given an account of +the daring manner in which his abduction had been effected. On +this an alarm was immediately raised, and the porter, servants, +and others hastened down Piccadilly in search of their master, +fast as good horses could carry them. + +They had proceeded as far as the village of Knightsbridge, when +reports of muskets, cries for help, and sounds of a scuffle they +could not see for darkness, fell upon their ears, and filled them +with alarm. The whole neighbourhood seemed startled, lights +flashed, dogs barked, and many persons rushed towards the scene +of encounter. Aware of this, the miscreants who had carried off +the duke discharged their pistols at him, and leaving him, as +they supposed, for dead, fled to avoid capture, and were seen or +heard of no more. His grace was carried in an insensible +condition to a neighbouring house, but not having received +serious hurt, recovered in a few days. The court and town were +strangely alarmed by this outrage; nor as time passed was there +any clue obtained to its perpetrators, though the king offered a +thousand pounds reward for their discovery. + +The duke and his family, however, had little doubt his grace of +Buckingham was instigator of the deed; and Lord Ossory was +resolved the latter should be made aware of their conviction. +Therefore, entering the royal drawing-room one day, he saw the +duke standing beside his majesty, and going forward addressed +him. "My lord," said he in a bold tone, whilst he looked him +full in the face, "I know well that you are at the bottom of this +late attempt upon my father; and I give you fair warning, if my +father comes to a violent end by sword or pistol, or if he dies +by the hand of a ruffian, or by the more secret way of poison, I +shall not be at a loss to know the first author of it: I shall +consider you as the assassin; I shall treat you as such; and +wherever I meet you I shall pistol you, though you stood behind +the king's chair; and I tell you it in his majesty's presence, +that you may be sure I shall keep my word." No further attempt +was made upon the Duke of Ormond's life. + +Scarce six months elapsed from date of the essayed abduction, +before Blood endeavoured to steal the regalia and royal jewels +preserved in the Tower. The courage which prompted the design is +not more remarkable than the skill which sought to effect it; +both were worthy a man of genius. In the month of April, 1671, +Blood, attired in the cassock, cloak, and canonical girdle of a +clergyman, together with a lady, whom he represented as his wife, +visited the Tower on purpose to see the crown. With their desire +Mr. Edwards, the keeper, an elderly man and a worthy, readily +complied. It chanced they were no sooner in the room where the +regalia was kept, than the lady found herself taken suddenly and +unaccountably ill, and indeed feared she must die; before bidding +adieu to life, she begged for a little whisky. This was promptly +brought her, and Mrs. Edwards, who now appeared upon the scene, +invited the poor gentlewoman to rest upon her bed. Whilst she +complied with this kind request, the clergyman and Edwards had +time to improve their acquaintance, which indeed bade fair +towards speedily ripening into friendship. + +And presently the lady recovering, she and her spouse took their +leave with many expressions of gratitude and respect. Four days +later, the good parson called on Mrs. Edwards, in order to +present her with four pairs of fine new gloves, which she was +pleased to receive. This gracious act paved the way to further +friendship, which at last found its climax in a proposal of +marriage made by the parson on behalf of his nephew, for the hand +of young Mistress Edwards. "You have a pretty gentlewoman for +your daughter," said the clergyman, "and I have a young nephew, +who has two or three hundred pounds a year in land, and is at my +disposal; if your daughter be free, and you approve of it, I will +bring him hither to see her, and we will endeavour to make a +match of it." + +To this project Edwards readily consented, and invited the +clergyman and the young man to spend a day with him when they +could discourse on the subject with greater leisure and more +satisfaction. This was cordially agreed to by the parson, who, +with the bridegroom elect and two of his friends, presented +themselves on the appointed date, as early as seven of the clock +in the morning. Edwards was up betimes; but the good clergyman, +apologizing for the untimely hour of their arrival, which he +attributed to his nephew's eagerness for sight of his mistress, +declared he would not enter the keeper's apartments until Mrs. +Edwards was ready to receive them. However, in order to pass the +time, he begged his host might show the jewels to their young +friends. + +With this petition Edwards complied readily enough. One of the +men, protesting he did not care to see the treasures, waited at +the door; the other three entered with the keeper, who was no +sooner inside the room than a cloak was thrown over his head, a +gag, constructed of wood with a hole in it by which he might +breathe, clapped into his mouth, and the more effectually to +prevent him making a noise, an iron ring was fastened to his +nose. He was told if he attempted an alarm he would be instantly +killed, but if he remained quiet his life should be spared. +Blood and his two accomplices then seized upon the crown, orb, +and sceptre, seeing which, Edwards made as much noise as he +possibly could by stamping on the floor, whereon the robbers +struck him with a mallet on the head, stabbed him with a short +sword in the side, and left him, as they thought, for dead. +Blood then secured the regalia under his cloak, one of his +companions put the orb into his breeches pocket, whilst the other +proceeded to file the sceptre that it might be more conveniently +carried. + +Now, at this moment it happened the keeper's son, who had been +absent in Flanders, returned to his father's home. He who stood +sentinel asked him with whom he would speak, whereon young +Edwards said he belonged to the house, and so passed to the +apartments where his family resided. The other giving notice of +his arrival, the robbers hastened to depart, leaving the sceptre +behind them. No sooner had they gone, than the old man struggled +to his feet, dragged the gag from his mouth, and cried out in +fright: "Treason--murder--murder--treason!" On this his +daughter rushed down, and seeing the condition of her father, and +noting the absence of the regalia, continued his cry, adding, +"The crown is stolen--thieves--thieves!" + +Young Edwards and another who heard her, Captain Beekman, now +gave pursuit to the robbers, who had already got beyond the main +guard. Word was instantly shouted to the warder of the +drawbridge to stop the villains, but Blood was equal to this +emergency; coolly advancing, he discharged his pistol at the man, +who instantly fell. The thieves then crossed the bridge, passed +through the outward gate, and made for the street close by, where +their horses awaited them, crying the while, "Stop thief! stop +thief!" Before they advanced far, Captain Beekman came up with +Blood, who, turning quickly round, fired his second pistol at the +head of his pursuer; but Beekman, suddenly stooping, escaped +injury, and sprang at the throat of his intended assassin. A +struggle then ensued. Blood was a man of powerful physique, but +Beekman was lithe and vigorous, and succeeded in holding the +rogue until help arrived. In the contest, the regalia fell to +the ground, when a fair diamond and a priceless pearl were lost; +they were, however, eventually recovered. The other thieves were +likewise captured, and all of them secured in the Tower. + +Certain death now faced Blood; but the wonderful luck which had +befriended him during life did not desert him now. At this time +the Duke of Buckingham was high in favour with the king, and +desirous of saving one who had secretly served him; or fearing +exposure if Blood made a full confession, his grace impressed +Charles with a desire to see the man who had perpetrated so +daring a deed, saying he must be one possessed of extraordinary +spirit. Giving ready ear to his words, the monarch consented to +have an interview with the robber, for which purpose he gave +orders Blood should be brought to Whitehall. + +Those who heard of the king's resolution felt satisfied Blood +need not despair of life; "for surely," said Sir Robert +Southwell, on becoming aware of his majesty's design, "no king +should wish to see a malefactor but with intentions to pardon +him." Now Blood, being a man of genius, resolved to play his +part during the audience in a manner which would favourably +impress the king. Therefore when Charles asked him how he had +dared attempt so bold a robbery, Blood made answer he had lost a +fine property by the crown, and was resolved to recover it with +the crown. Diverted by his audacity his majesty questioned him +further, when Blood confessed to his attempted abduction of the +Duke of Ormond, but refused to name his accomplices. Nay, he +narrated various other adventures, showing them in a romantic +light; and finally concluded by telling the king he had once +entered into a design to take his sacred life by rushing upon him +with a carbine from out of the reeds by the Thames side, above +Battersea, when he went to swim there; but he was so awed by +majesty his heart misgave him, and he not only relented, but +persuaded the remainder of his associates from such an intention. + +This strange interview resulted in Charles pardoning Blood his +many crimes. The Duke of Ormond, at his majesty's request, +likewise forgave him. Nor did the king's interest in the villain +end here; for he gave him a pension of five hundred pounds a +year, and admitted him to his private friendship. Blood was +therefore constantly at court, and made one of that strange +assembly of wits and profligates which surrounded the throne. +"No man," says Carte the historian, "was more assiduous than he. +If anyone had a business at court that stuck, he made his +application to Blood as the most industrious and successful +solicitor; and many gentlemen courted his acquaintance, as the +Indians pray to the devil, that he may not hurt them. He was +perpetually in the royal apartments, and affected particularly to +be in the same room where the Duke of Ormond was, to the +indignation of all others, though neglected and overlooked by his +grace." + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +Terror falls upon the people.--Rumours of a plague.--A sign in +the heavens.--Flight from the capital.--Preparations against the +dreaded enemy.--Dr. Boghurst's testimony.--God's terrible voice +in the city.--Rules made by the lord mayor.--Massacre of +animals.--O, dire death!--Spread of the distemper.--Horrible +sights.--State of the deserted capital.--"Bring out your dead." +--ashes to ashes.--Fires are lighted.--Relief of the poor.--The +mortality bills. + +It came to pass during the fifth month of the year 1665, that a +great terror fell upon the city of London; even as a sombre cloud +darkens the midday sky. For it was whispered abroad a plague had +come amongst the people, fears of which had been entertained, and +signs of which had been obvious for some time. During the +previous November a few persons had fallen victims to this +dreaded pestilence, but the weather being cold and the atmosphere +clear, it had made no progress till April. In that month two men +had died of this most foul disease; and in the first week of May +its victims numbered nine; and yet another fortnight and it had +hurried seventeen citizens to the grave. + +Now the memory of their wickedness rising before them, dread took +up its abode in all men's hearts; for none knew but his day of +reckoning was at hand. And their consternation was greater when +it was remembered that in the third year of this century thirty- +six thousand citizens of London had died of the plague, while +twenty-five years later it had swept away thirty-five thousand; +and eleven years after full ten thousand persons perished of this +same pestilence. Moreover, but two years previous, a like +scourge had been rife in Holland; and in Amsterdam alone twenty- +four thousand citizens had died from its effects. + +And the terror of the citizens of London was yet more forcibly +increased by the appearance in April of a blazing star or comet, +bearing a tail apparently six yards in length, which rose betimes +in a lurid sky, and passed with ominous movement from west to +east. [It is worthy of notice that Lilly in his "Astrological +Predictions," published in 1648, declared the year 1656 would be +"ominous to London, unto her merchants at sea, to her traffique +at land, to her poor, to her rich, to all sorts of people +inhabiting in her or her Liberties, by reason of sundry fires and +a consuming plague."] The king with his queen and court, +prompted by curiosity, stayed up one night to watch this blazing +star pass above the silent city; the Royal Society in behalf of +science embodied many learned comments regarding it in their +"Philosophical Transactions;" but the great body of the people +regarded it as a visible signal of God's certain wrath. They +were more confirmed in this opinion, as some amongst them, whose +judgments were distorted by fears, declared the comet had at +times before their eyes assumed the appearance of a fiery sword +threatening the sinful city. It was also noted in the spring of +this year that birds and wild fowls had left their accustomed +places, and few swallows were seen. But in the previous summer +there had been "such a multitude of flies that they lined the +insides of houses; and if any threads of strings did hang down in +any place, they were presently thick-set with flies like ropes of +onions; and swarms of ants covered the highways that you might +have taken up a handful at a time, both winged and creeping ants; +and such a multitude of croaking frogs in ditches that you might +have heard them before you saw them," as is set down by one +William Boghurst, apothecary at the White Hart in St. Giles-in- +the-Fields, who wrote a learned "Treatis on the Plague" in 1666, +he being the only man who up to that time had done so from +experience and observation. [This quaint and curious production, +which has never been printed, and which furnishes the following +pages with some strange details, is preserved in the Sloane +Collection of Manuscripts in the British Museum.] And from such +signs, as likewise from knowledge that the pestilence daily +increased, all felt a season of bitter tribulation was at hand. + +According to "Some Observations of the Plague," written by Dr. +Hedges for use of a peer of the realm, the dread malady was +communicated to London from the Netherlands "by way of +contagion." It first made its appearance in the parishes of St. +Giles and St. Martin's, Westminster, from which directions it +gradually spread to Holborn, Fleet Street, the Strand, and the +city, finally reaching to the east, bringing death invariably in +its train. + +The distemper was not only fatal in its termination, but +loathsome in its progress; for the blood of those affected being +poisoned by atmospheric contagion, bred venom in the body, which +burst forth into nauseous sores and uncleanness; or otherwise +preyed with more rapid fatality internally, in some cases causing +death before its victims were assured of disease. Nor did it +spare the young and robust any more than those weak of frame or +ripe with years, but attacking stealthily, killed speedily. It +was indeed the "pestilence that walketh in darkness, and the +destruction that wasteth in the noonday." In the month of May, +when it was yet uncertain if the city would be spared even in +part, persons of position and wealth, and indeed those endowed +with sufficient means to support themselves elsewhere, resolved +to fly from the capital; whilst such as had neither home, +friends, nor expectation of employment in other places, remained +behind. Accordingly great preparations were made by those who +determined on flight; and all day long vast crowds gathered round +my lord mayor's house in St. Helen's, Bishopsgate, seeking +certificates of health, so that for some weeks it was difficult +to reach his door for the throng that gathered there, as is +stated by John Noorthouck. Such official testimonies to the good +health of those leaving London had now become necessary; for the +inhabitants of provincial towns, catching the general alarm, +refused to shelter in their houses, or even let pass through +their streets, the residents of the plague-stricken city, unless +officially assured they were free from the dreaded distemper. +Nay, even with such certificates in their possession, many were +refused admittance to inns, or houses of entertainment, and were +therefore obliged to sleep in fields by night, and beg food by +day, and not a few deaths were caused by want and exposure. + +And now were the thoroughfares of the capital crowded all day +long with coaches conveying those who sought safety in flight, +and with waggons and carts containing their household goods and +belongings, until it seemed as if the city mould be left without +a soul. Many merchants and shipowners together with their +families betook themselves to vessels, which they caused to be +towed down the river towards Greenwich, and in which they resided +for months; whilst others sought refuge in smacks and fishing- +boats, using them as shelters by day, and lodging on the banks by +night. Some few families remaining in the capital laid in stores +of provisions, and shutting themselves up securely in their +houses, permitted none to enter or leave, by which means some of +them escaped contagion and death. The court tarried until the +29th of June, and then left for Hampton, none too soon, for the +pestilence had reached almost to the palace gates. The queen +mother likewise departed, retiring into France; from which +country she never returned. + +All through the latter part of May, and the whole of the +following month, this flight from the dread enemy of mankind +continued; presenting a melancholy spectacle to those who +remained, until at last the capital seemed veritably a city of +the dead. But for the credit of humanity be it stated, that not +all possessed of health and wealth abandoned the town. Prominent +amongst those who remained were the Duke of Albemarle, Lord +Craven, the lord mayor, Sir John Laurence, some of his aldermen, +and a goodly number of physicians, chirurgeons, and apothecaries, +all of whom by their skill or exertions sought to check the +hungry ravages of death. The offices which medical men +voluntarily performed during this period of dire affliction were +loathsome to a terrible degree. "I commonly dressed forty sores +in a day," says Dr. Boghurst, whose simple words convey a +forcible idea of his nobility; "held the pulse of patients +sweating in their beds half a quarter of an hour together; let +blood; administered clysters to the sick; held them up in their +beds to keep them from strangling and choking, half an hour +together commonly, and suffered their breathing in my face +several times when they were dying; eat and drank with them, +especially those that had sores; sat down by their bedsides and +upon their beds, discoursing with them an hour together. If I +had time I stayed by them to see them die. Then if people had +nobody to help them (for help was scarce at such time and place) +I helped to lay them forth out of the bed, and afterwards into +the coffin; and last of all, accompanied them to the ground." + +Of the physicians remaining in the city, nine fell a sacrifice to +duty. Amongst those who survived was the learned Dr. Nathaniel +Hodges, who was spared to meet a philanthropist's fate in penury +and neglect. [Dr. Hodges subsequently wrote a work entitled +"Loimologia; or, an Historical Account of the Plague of London," +first published in 1672; of which, together with a collection of +the bills of mortality for 1665, entitled "London's Dreadful +Visitation," and a pamphlet by the Rev. Thomas Vincent, "God's +Terrible Voice in the City," printed in 1667, De Foe largely +availed himself in writing his vivid but unreliable "Journal of +the Plague Year," which first saw the light in 1722.] The king +had, on outbreak of the distemper, shown solicitude for his +citizens by summoning a privy council, when a committee of peers +was formed for "Prevention and Spreading of the Infection." +Under their orders the College of Physicians drew up "Certain +necessary Directions for the Prevention and Cure of the Plague, +with Divers remedies for small Change," which were printed in +pamphlet form, and widely distributed amongst the people. [We +learn that at this time the College was stored with "men of +learning, virtue, and probity, nothing acquainted with the little +arts of getting a name by plotting against the honesty and +credulity of the people." The prescriptions given by this worthy +body were consequently received with a simple faith which later +and more sceptical generations might deny them. Perhaps the most +remarkable of these directions, given under the heading of +"Medicines External," was the following: "Pull off the feathers +from the tails of living cocks, hens, pigeons, or chickens, and +holding their bills, hold them hard to the botch or swelling, and +so keep them at that part until they die, and by that means draw +out the poison. It is good to apply a cupping glass, or embers +in a dish, with a handful of sorrel upon the embers."] + +The lord mayor, having likewise the welfare of the people at +heart, "conceived and published" rules to be observed, and orders +to be obeyed, by them during this visitation. These directed the +appointment of two examiners for every parish, who were bound to +discover those who were sick, and inquire into the nature of +their illness: and finding persons afflicted by plague, they, +with the members of their family and domestics, were to be +confined in their houses. These were to be securely locked +outside, and guarded day and night by watchmen, whose duty it +should be to prevent persons entering or leaving those +habitations; as likewise to perform such offices as were +required, such as conveying medicines and food. And all houses +visited by the distemper were to be forthwith marked on the door +by a red cross a foot long, with the words LORD HAVE MERCY UPON +US set close over the same sacred sign. Female searchers, "such +as are of honest reputation, and of the best sort as can be got +of the kind," were selected that they might report of what +disease people died; such women not being permitted during this +visitation to use any public work or employment, or keep shop or +stall, or wash linen for the people. Nurses to attend the +afflicted deserted by their friends were also appointed. And +inasmuch as multitudes of idle rogues and wandering beggars +swarming the city were a great means of spreading disease, the +constables had orders not to suffer their presence in the +streets. And dogs and cats, being domestic animals, apt to run +from house to house, and carry infection in their fur and hair, +an order was made that they should be killed, and an officer +nominated to see it carried into execution. It was computed +that, in accordance with this edict, forty thousand dogs, and +five times that number of cats, were massacred. + +All plays bear-baitings, exhibitions, and games were forbidden; +as were likewise "all public feasting, and particularly by the +companies of the city, and dinners at taverns, alehouses, and +other places of common entertainment; and the money thereby +spared, be employed for the benefit and relief of the poor +visited with the infection." Pest-houses were opened at Tothill +Fields, Westminster, and at Bunhill Fields, near Old Street, for +reception of the sick: and indeed every possible remedy +calculated to check the disease was adopted. Some of these, +though considered necessary to the well-being of the community, +were by many citizens regarded as hardships, more especially the +rule which related to closing of infected houses. + +The misery endured by those in health suffering such confinement, +was scarcely less than that realized by the afflicted. And fear +making way for disease, it frequently occurred a whole family, +when confined with one infected member, speedily became stricken +by plague, and consequently overtaken by death. It therefore +happened that many attempts were made by those in health to +escape incarceration. In some cases they bribed, and in others +ill-treated the watchmen: one of whom was actually blown up by +gunpowder in Coleman Street, that those he guarded might flee +unmolested. Again, it chanced that strong men, rendered +desperate when brought face to face with loathsome death, lowered +themselves from windows of their houses in sight of the watch, +whom they threatened with instant death if they cried out or +stirred. + +The apprehension of the sick, who were in most cases deserted by +their friends, was increased tenfold by the practices of public +nurses: for being hardened to affliction by nature of their +employment, and incapable of remorse for crime by reason of their +vileness, they were guilty of many barbarous usages. "These +wretches," says Dr. Hodges, "out of greediness to plunder the +dead, would strangle their patients, and charge it to the +distemper in their throats. Others would secretly convey the +pestilential taint from sores of the infected to those who were +well; and nothing indeed deterred these abandoned miscreants from +prosecuting their avaricious purposes by all methods their +wickedness could invent; who, although they were without +witnesses to accuse them, yet it is not doubted but divine +vengeance will overtake such wicked barbarities with due +punishment. Nay, some were remarkably struck from heaven in the +perpetration of their crimes; and one particularly amongst many, +as she was leaving the house of a family, all dead, loaded with +her robberies, fell down lifeless under her burden in the street. +And the case of a worthy citizen was very remarkable, who, being +suspected dying by his nurse, was beforehand stripped by her; but +recovering again, he came a second time into the world naked." + +But notwithstanding all precautions and care taken by the Duke of +Albemarle and the worthy lord mayor, the dreadful pestilence +spread with alarming rapidity; as may be judged from the fact +that the number who died in the first week of June amounted to +forty-three, whilst during the last week of that month two +hundred and sixty-seven persons were carried to their graves. +From the 4th of July to the 11th, seven hundred and fifty-five +deaths were chronicled; the following eight days the death rate +rose to one thousand and eighty-two; whilst the ensuing week this +high figure was increased by over eight hundred. For the month +of August, the mortality bill recorded seventeen thousand and +thirty-six deaths; and during September, twenty-six thousand two +hundred and thirty persons perished in the city. + +The whole British nation was stricken with consternation at the +fate of the capital. "In some houses," says Dr. Hodges, speaking +from personal experience, "carcases lay waiting for burial, and +in others were persons in their last agonies. In one room might +be heard dying groans, in an other the ravings of delirium, and +not far off relations and friends bewailing both their loss and +the dismal prospect of their own sudden departure. Death was the +sure midwife to all children, and infants passed immediately from +the womb to the grave. Some of the infected run about staggering +like drunken men, and fall and expire in the streets; whilst +others lie half dead and comatose, but never to be waked but by +the last trumpet." The plague had indeed encompassed the walls +of the city, and poured in upon it without mercy. A heavy +stifling atmosphere, vapours by day and blotting out all traces +of stars and sky by night, hovered like a palpable shape of dire +vengeance above the doomed city. During many weeks "there was a +general calm and serenity, as if both wind and rain had been +expelled the kingdom, so that there was not so much as to move a +flame." The oppressive silence of brooding death, unbroken now +even by the passing bell, weighed stupor-like upon the wretched +survivors. The thoroughfares were deserted, grass sprang green +upon side-paths and steps of dwellings; and the broad street in +Whitechapel became like unto a field. Most houses bore upon +their doors the dread sign of the red cross, with the +supplication for mercy written above. Some of the streets were +barricaded at both ends, the inhabitants either having fled into +the country or been carried to their graves; and it was estimated +in all that over seven thousand dwellings were deserted. All +commerce, save that dealing with the necessaries of life, was +abandoned; the parks forsaken and locked, the Inns of Court +closed, and the public marts abandoned. A few of the church +doors were opened, and some gathered within that they might +humbly beseech pardon for the past, and ask mercy in the present. +But as the violence of the distemper increased, even the houses +of God were forsaken; and those who ventured abroad walked in the +centre of the street, avoiding contact or conversation with +friend or neighbour; each man dreading and avoiding his fellow, +lest he should be to him the harbinger of death. And all +carried rue and wormwood in their hands, and myrrh and zedoary in +their mouths, as protection against infection. Now were the +faces of all pale with apprehension, none knowing when the fatal +malady might carry them hence; and moreover sad, as became those +who stand in the presence of death. + +And such sights were to be witnessed day after day as made the +heart sick. "It would be endless," says the Rev. Thomas Vincent, +"to speak what we have seen and heard; of some, in their frenzy, +rising out of their beds and leaping about their rooms; others +crying and roaring at their windows; some coming forth almost +naked and running into the streets; strange things have others +spoken and done when the disease was upon them: but it was very +sad to hear of one, who being sick alone, and it is like frantic, +burnt himself in his bed. And amongst other sad spectacles +methought two were very affecting: one of a woman coming alone +and weeping by the door where I lived, with a little coffin under +her arm, carrying it to the new churchyard. I did judge that it +was the mother of the child, and that all the family besides was +dead, and she was forced to coffin up and bury with her own hands +this her last dead child. Another was of a man at the corner of +the Artillery Wall, that as I judge, through the dizziness of his +head with the disease, which seized upon him there, had dashed +his face against the wall; and when I came by he lay hanging with +his bloody face over the rails, and bleeding upon the ground; +within half an hour he died in that place." + +And as the pestilence increased, it was found impossible to +provide coffins or even separate graves for those who perished. +And therefore, in order to bury the deceased, great carts passed +through the streets after sunset, attended by linkmen and +preceded by a bellman crying in weird and solemn tones, "Bring +out your dead." At the intimation of the watchmen stationed +before houses bearing red crosses upon their doors, the sad +procession would tarry, When coffinless, and oftentimes +shroudless, rigid, loathsome, and malodorous bodies were hustled +into the carts with all possible speed. Then once more the +melancholy cortege took its way adown the dark, deserted street, +the yellow glare of links falling on the ghastly burden they +accompanied, the dirge-like call of the bellman sounding on the +ears of the living like a summons from the dead. And so, +receiving additional freight upon its way, the cart proceeded to +one of the great pits dug in the parish churchyards of Aldgate +and Whitechapel, or in Finsbury Fields close by the Artillery +Ground. These, measuring about forty feet in length, eighteen in +breadth, and twenty in depth, were destined to receive scores of +bodies irrespective of creed or class. The carts being brought +to these dark and weirdsome gulphs, looking all the blacker from +the flickering lights of candles and garish gleams of lanterns +placed beside them, the bodies, without rite or ceremony, were +shot into them, and speedily covered with clay. For the +accomplishment of this sad work night was found too brief. And +what lent additional horror to the circumstances of these burials +was, that those engaged in this duty would occasionally drop +lifeless during their labour. So that it sometimes happened the +dead-carts were found without driver, linkman, or bell-man. And +it was estimated that the parish of Stepney alone lost one +hundred and sixteen gravediggers and sextons within that year. + +During the month of September, the pestilence raged with +increased fury; and it now seemed as if the merciless distemper +would never cease whilst a single inhabitant remained in the +city. The lord mayor, having found all remedies to stay its +progress utterly fail, by advice of the medical faculty, ordered +that great fires should be kindled in certain districts, by way +of purifying the air, Accordingly, two hundred chaldrons of coal, +at four pounds a chaldron, were devoted to this purpose. At +first the fires were with great difficulty made to burn, through +the scarcity, it was believed, of oxygen in the atmosphere; but +once kindled, they continued blazing for three days and three +nights, when a heavy downpour of rain falling they were +extinguished. The following night death carried off four +thousand souls, and the experiment of these cleansing fires was +discontinued. All through this month fear and tribulation +continued; the death rate, from the 5th of September to the 3rd +of October, amounting to twenty-four thousand one hundred and +seventy-one. + +During October, the weather being cool and dry, the pestilence +gave promise of rapid decrease. Hope came to the people, and was +received with eager greeting. Once more windows were +unshuttered, doors were opened, and the more venturous walked +abroad. The great crisis had passed. In the middle of the month +Mr. Pepys travelled on foot to the Tower, and records his +impressions. "Lord," he says, "how empty the streets are and +melancholy, so many poor sick people in the streets full of +sores; and so many sad stories overheard as I walk, everybody +talking of this dead, and that man sick, and so many in this +place, and so many in that. And they tell me that in Westminster +there is never a physician and but one apothecary left, all being +dead; but that there are great hopes of a decrease this week. +God send it." + +The while, trade being discontinued, those who had lived by +commerce or labour were supported by charity. To this good +purpose the king contributed a thousand pounds per week, and Dr. +Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury--who remained at Lambeth during +the whole time--by letters to his bishops, caused great sums to +be collected throughout the country and remitted to him for this +laudable purpose. Nor did those of position or wealth fail in +responding to calls made upon them at this time; their +contributions being substantial enough to permit the lord mayor +to distribute upwards of one hundred thousand pounds a week +amongst the poor and afflicted for several months. + +In October the death rate fell to nine thousand four hundred and +forty-four; in November to three thousand four hundred and forty- +nine; and in December to less than one thousand. Therefore, +after a period of unprecedented suffering, the people took +courage once more, for life is dear to all men. And those who +had fled the plague-stricken city returned to find a scene of +desolation, greater in its misery than words can describe. But +the tide of human existence having once turned, the capital +gradually resumed its former appearance. Shops which had been +closed were opened afresh; houses whose inmates had been carried +to the grave became again centres of activity; the sound of +traffic was heard in streets long silent; church bells called the +citizens to prayer; marts were crowded; and people wore an air of +cheerfulness becoming the survivors of a calamity. And so all +things went on as before. + +The mortality bills computed the number of burials which took +place in London during this year at ninety-seven thousand three +hundred and six, of which sixty-eight thousand five hundred find +ninety-six were attributed to the plague. This estimate has been +considered by all historians as erroneous. For on the first +appearance of the distemper, the number of deaths set down was +far below that which truth warranted, in order that the citizens +might not be affrighted; and when it was at its height no exact +account of those shifted from the dead-carts into the pits was +taken. Moreover, many were buried by their friends in fields and +gardens. Lord Clarendon, an excellent authority, states that +though the weekly bills reckoned the number of deaths at about +one hundred thousand, yet "many who could compute very well, +concluded that there were in truth double that number who died; +and that in one week, when the bill mentioned only six thousand, +there had in truth fourteen thousand died." + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +A cry of fire by night.--Fright and confusion.--The lord mayor is +unmanned.--Spread of the flames.--Condition of the streets.-- +Distressful scenes.--Destruction of the Royal Exchange.--Efforts +of the king and Duke of York.--Strange rumours and alarms.--St. +Paul's is doomed.--The flames checked.--A ruined city as seen by +day and night.--Wretched state of the people.--Investigation into +the origin of the fire.--A new city arises. + +Scarcely had the city of London recovered from the dire effects +of the plague, ere a vast fire laid it waste. It happened on the +2nd of September, 1666, that at two o'clock in the morning, the +day being Sunday, smoke and flames were seen issuing from the +shop of a baker named Faryner, residing in Pudding Lane, close by +Fish Street, in the lower part of the city. The house being +built of wood, and coated with pitch, as were likewise those +surrounding it, and moreover containing faggots, dried logs, and +other combustible materials, the fire spread with great rapidity: +so that in a short time not only the baker's premises, but the +homesteads which stood next it on either side were in flames. + +Accordingly, the watchman's lusty cry of "Fire, fire, fire!" +which had roused the baker and his family in good time to save +their lives, was now shouted down the streets with consternation, +startling sleepers from their dreams, and awaking them to a sense +of peril. Thereon they rose promptly from their beds, and +hastily throwing on some clothes, rushed out to rescue their +neighbours' property from destruction, and subdue the threatening +conflagration. + +And speedily was heard the tramp of many feet hurrying to the +scene, and the shouting of anxious voices crying for help; and +presently the bells of St. Margaret's church close by, ringing +with wild uneven peals through the darkness, aroused all far and +near to knowledge of the disaster. For already the flames, +fanned by a high easterly wind, and fed by the dry timber of the +picturesque old dwellings huddled close together, had spread in +four directions. + +One of these being Thames Street, the consequence was terrible, +for the shops and warehouses of this thoroughfare containing +inflammable materials, required for the shipping trade, such as +oil, pitch, tar, and rosin, the houses at one side the street +were immediately wrapped, from basement to garret, in sheets of +angry flame. And now flaunting its yellow light skywards, as if +exulting in its strength, and triumphing in its mastery over +men's efforts, the fire rushed to the church of St. Magnus, a +dark solid edifice standing at the foot of London Bridge. The +frightened citizens concluded the conflagration must surely end +here; or at least that whilst it endeavoured to consume a dense +structure such as this, they might succeed in subduing its force; +but their hopes were vain. At first the flames shot upwards to +the tower of the building, but not gaining hold, retreated as if +to obtain fresh strength for new efforts; and presently darting +forward again, they seized the woodwork of the belfry windows. A +few minutes later the church blazed at every point, and was in +itself a colossal conflagration. + +From this the fire darted to the bridge, burning the wooden +houses built upon it, and the water machines underneath, and +likewise creeping up Thames Street, on that side which was yet +undemolished. By this time the bells of many churches rang out +in sudden fright, as if appealing to heaven for mercy on behalf +of the people; and the whole east end of the town rose up in +alarm. The entire city seemed threatened with destruction, for +the weather having long been dry and warm, prepared the +homesteads for their fate; and it was noted some of them, when +scorched by the approaching fire, ignited before the flames had +time to reach them. + +Sir Thomas Bludworth, the lord mayor, now arrived in great haste, +but so amazed was he at the sight he beheld, and so bewildered by +importunities of those who surrounded him, that he was powerless +to act. Indeed, his incapacity to direct, and inability to +command, as well as his lack of moral courage, have been heavily +and frequently blamed. Bring a weak man, fearful of outstepping +his authority, he at first forebore pulling down houses standing +in the pathway of the flames, as suggested to him, a means that +would assuredly have prevented their progress; but when urged to +this measure would reply, he "durst not, without the consent of +the owners." And when at last, after great destruction had taken +place, word was brought him from the king to "spare no house, but +pull them down everywhere before the fire," he cried out "like a +fainting woman," as Pepys recounts, "Lord! what can I do? I am +spent; people will not obey me." + +Meanwhile, great bodies of the citizens of all classes had been +at work; some upon the cumbrous engines, others carrying water, +others levelling houses, but all their endeavours seemed +powerless to quell the raging flames. And it was notable when +first the pipes in the streets were opened, no water could be +found, whereon a messenger was sent to the works at Islington, in +order to turn on the cocks, so that much time was lost in this +manner. All through Sunday morning the flames extended far and +wide, and in a few hours three hundred houses were reduced to +ashes. Not at midday, nor yet at night, did they give promise of +abatement. The strong easterly wind continuing to blow, the +conflagration worked its way to Cannon Street, from thence +gradually encompassing the dwellings which lay between that +thoroughfare and the Thames, till the whole seemed one vast plain +of raging fire. + +The streets now presented a scene of the uttermost confusion and +distress. The affrighted citizens, whose dwellings were +momentarily threatened with destruction, hurried to and fro, +striving to save those of their families who by reason of +infancy, age or illness were unable to help themselves. Women on +the eve of child-birth were carried from their beds; mothers with +infants clinging to their naked breasts fled from homes which +would shelter them no more; the decrepit were borne away on the +shoulders of the strong. The narrow thoroughfares were moreover +obstructed by furniture dragged from houses, or lowered from +windows with a reckless speed that oftentimes destroyed what it +sought to preserve. Carts, drays, and horses laden with +merchandise jostled each other in their hurried way towards the +fields outside the city walls. Men young and vigorous crushed +forward with beds or trunks upon their backs; children laboured +under the weight of bundles, or rolled barrels of oil, wine, or +spirits before them. And the air, rendered suffocating by smoke +and flame, was moreover confused by the crackling of consuming +timber, the thunder of falling walls, the crushing of glass, the +shrieks of women, and the imprecations of men. + +And those who lived near the waterside, or in houses on the +bridges, hurried their goods and chattels into boats, barges, and +lighters, in which they likewise took refuge. For the +destruction of wharfs and warehouses, containing stores of most +inflammable nature, was brief and desperate. The Thames, now +blood-red from reflection of the fierce sky, was covered with +craft of all imaginable shape and size. Showers of sparks blown +by the high wind fell into the water with hissing sounds, or on +the clothes and faces of the people with disastrous and painful +effects; and the smoke and heat were hard to bear. And it was +remarked that flocks of pigeons, which for generations had found +shelter in the eaves and roofs of wooden houses by the riverside, +were loath to leave their habitations; and probably fearing to +venture afar by reason of the unwonted aspect of the angry sky, +lingered on the balconies and abutments of deserted houses, until +in some cases, the flames enwrapping them, they fell dead into +the waters below. + +On Sunday evening Gracechurch Street was on fire; and the flames +spread onwards till they reached, and in their fury consumed, the +Three Cranes in the Vintry. Night came, but darkness had fled +from the city; and for forty miles round all was luminous. And +there were many who in the crimson hue of the heavens, beheld an +evidence of God's wrath at the sins of the nation, which it was +now acknowledged were many and great. + +Throughout Sunday night the fire grew apace, and those who, in +the morning had carried their belongings to parts of the city +which they believed would by distance ensure safety, were now +obliged to move them afresh, the devastation extending for miles. +Therefore many were compelled to renew their labours, thereby +suffering further fatigue; and they now trusted to no protection +for their property save that which the open fields afforded. +Monday morning came and found the flames yet raging. Not only +Gracechurch Street, but Lombard Street, and part of Fenchurch +street, were on fire. Stately mansions, comfortable homes, +warehouses of great name, banks of vast wealth, were reduced to +charred and blackened walls or heaps of smoking ruins. Buildings +had been pulled down, but now too late to render service; for the +insatiable fire, yet fed by a high wind, had everywhere marched +over the dried woodwork and mortar as it lay upon the ground, and +communicated itself to the next block of buildings; so that its +circumvention was regarded as almost an impossibility. + +During Monday the flames attacked Cornhill, and then commenced to +demolish the Royal Exchange. Having once made an entrance in +this stately building it revelled in triumph; climbing up the +walls, roaring along the courts and galleries, and sending +through the broken windows volleys of smoke and showers of +sparks, which threatened to suffocate and consume those who +approached. Then the roof fell with a mighty crash, which seemed +for a time to subdue the powerful conflagration; the walls +cracked, parted, and fell; statues of kings and queens were flung +from their niches; and in a couple of hours this building, which +had been the pride and glory of British Merchants, was a +blackened ruin. + +The citizens were now in a state of despair. Upwards of ten +thousand houses were in a blaze, the fire extending, according to +Evelyn, two miles in length and one in breadth, and the smoke +reaching near fifty miles in length. Mansions, churches, +hospitals, halls, and schools crumbled into dust as if at +blighting touch of some most potent and diabolical magician. +Quite hopeless now of quenching the flames, bewildered by loss, +and overcome by terror, the citizens, abandoning themselves to +despair, made no further effort to conquer this inappeasable +fire; but crying aloud in their distraction, behaved as those who +had lost their wits. The king and the Duke of York, who on +Sunday had viewed the conflagration from the Thames, now alarmed +at prospect of the whole capital being laid waste, rode into the +city, and by their presence, coolness and example roused the +people to fresh exertions. Accordingly, citizens and soldiers +worked with renewed energy and courage; whilst his majesty and +his brother, the courtiers and the lord mayor, mixed freely with +the crowd, commanding and directing them in their labours. + +But now a new terror rose up amongst the citizens, for news +spread that the Dutch and French--with whom England was then at +war--and moreover the papists, whom the people then abhorred, had +conspired to destroy the capital. And the suddenness with which +the flames had appeared in various places, and the rapidity with +which they spread, leading the distracted inhabitants to favour +this report, a strong desire for immediate revenge took +possession of their hearts. + +Accordingly all foreigners were laid hold of, kicked, beaten, and +abused by infuriated mobs, from which they were rescued only to +be flung into prison. And this conduct was speedily extended to +the catholics, even when such were known to be faithful and well- +approved good citizens. For though at first it spread as a +rumour, it was now received as a certainty that they, in +obedience to the wily and most wicked Jesuits, had determined to +lay waste an heretical city. Nor were there wanting many ready +to bear witness they had seen these dreaded papists fling fire- +balls into houses of honest citizens, and depart triumphing in +their fiendish deeds. So that when they ventured abroad they +were beset by great multitudes, and their lives were imperilled. +And news of this distraction, which so forcibly swayed the +people, reaching the king, he speedily despatched the members of +his privy council to several quarters of the city, that in person +they might guard such of his subjects as stood in danger. + +Lord Hollis and Lord Ashley were assigned Newgate Market and the +streets that lie around, as parts where they were to station +themselves. And it happened that riding near the former place +they saw a vast number of people gathered together, shouting with +great violence, and badly using one who stood in their midst. +Whereon they hastened towards the spot and found the ill-treated +man to be of foreign aspect. Neither had he hat, cloak, nor +sword; his face was covered with blood, his jerkin was torn in +pieces, and his person was bedaubed by mud. And on examination +it was found he was unable to speak the English tongue; but Lord +Hollis, entering into conversation with him in the French +language, ascertained that he was a servant of the Portuguese +ambassador, and knew not of what he was accused, or why he had +been maltreated. + +Hereon a citizen of good standing pressed forward and alleged he +had truly seen this man put his hand in his pocket and throw a +fire-ball into a shop, upon which the house immediately took +flame; whereon, being on the other side of the street, he called +aloud that the people might stop this abominable villain. Then +the citizens had seized upon him, taking away his sword, and used +him according to their will. My Lord Hollis explaining this to +the foreigner, he was overcome by amazement at the charge; and +when asked what he had thrown into the house, made answer he had +not flung anything. But he remembered well, whilst walking in +the street, he saw a piece of bread upon the ground, which he, as +was the custom in his country took up. Afterwards he laid it +upon a shelf in a neighbouring house, which being close by, my +Lords Hollis and Ashley, followed by a dense crowd, conducted +him thither, and found the bread laid upon a board as he had +stated. It was noted the next house but one was on fire, and on +inquiry it was ascertained that the worthy citizen, seeing a +foreigner place something inside a shop without tarrying, and +immediately after perceiving a dwelling in flames, which in his +haste he took to be the same, he had charged the man with +commission of this foul deed. But even though many were +convinced of his innocence, my Lord Hollis concluded the +stranger's life would be in safer keeping if he were committed to +prison, which was accordingly done. + +Meanwhile the fire continued; and on Monday night and Tuesday +raged with increasing violence. The very heart of the city was +now eaten into by this insatiable monster: Soper Lane, Bread +Street, Friday Street, Old Change, and Cheapside being in one +blaze. It was indeed a spectacle to fill all beholding it with +consternation; but that which followed was yet more terrible, for +already St. Paul's Cathedral was doomed to destruction. + +Threatened on one side by the flames devastating Cheapside, and +on the other from those creeping steadily up from Blackfriars to +this great centre, it was now impossible to save the venerable +church, which Evelyn terms "one of the most ancient pieces of +early Christian piety in the world." Seen by this fierce light, +and overhung by a crimson sky, every curve of its dark outline, +every stone of its pillars and abutments, every column of its +incomparable portico, stood clearly defined, so that never had it +looked so stately and magnificent, so vast and majestic, as now +when beheld for the last time. + +Too speedily the fire advanced, watched by sorrowful eyes; but +even before it had reached the scaffolding now surrounding the +building, the vaulted roof, ignited by showers of sparks, burst +into flames. Then followed a scene unspeakably grand, yet +melancholy beyond all telling. In a few moments a pale yellow +light had crept along the parapets, sending faint clouds of smoke +upwards, as if more forcibly marking the course of destruction. +Then came the crackling, hissing sounds of timber yielding to the +fire, and soon a great sheet of lead which covered the roof, and +was said to measure six acres, melting by degrees, down came on +every side a terrible rain of liquid fire that seamed and burned +the ground, and carried destruction with it in its swift course +towards the Thames. + +And now, by reason of the fearful heat, great projections of +Portland stone, cornices, and capitals of columns, flew off +before the fire had time to reach them. Windows melted in their +frames, pillars fell to the ground, ironwork bent as wax; nay, +the very pavements around glowed so that neither man nor horse +dared tread upon them. And the flames, gradually gaining ground, +danced fantastically up and down the scaffolding, and covered the +edifice as with one blaze; whilst inside transom beams were +snapped asunder, rafters fell with destruction, and the fire +roaring through chapels and aisles as in a great furnace, could +be heard afar. And that which had been a Christian shrine was +now, a smoking ruin. + +Raging onward in their fierce career, the flames darted towards +such buildings in the neighbourhood as had been previously +untouched, so that Paternoster Row, Newgate Street, the Old +Bailey and Ludgate Hill were soon in course of destruction. And +from the latter spot the conflagration, urged by the wind, +rapidly rushed onwards towards Fleet Street. On the other hand, +it extended from Cheapside to Ironmongers' Lane, Old Jewry, +Lawrence Lane, Milk Street, Wood Street, Gutter Lane, and Foster +Lane; and again spreading from Newgate Street, it surrounded and +destroyed Christ Church, burned through St. Martin's-le-Grand +towards Aldgate, and threatened to continue its triumphant march +to the suburbs. + +For several miles nothing but raging fire and smoking ruins was +visible, for desolation had descended on the city. It was now +feared the flames would reach the Palace of Whitehall, and extend +towards Westminster Abbey, a consideration which caused much +alarm to his majesty, who prized the sacred fane exceedingly. +And now the king was determined the orders he had already issued +should be obeyed, and that houses standing in direct path of the +fire should be demolished by gunpowder; so that, a greater gap +being effected than any previously made by pulling them down, the +conflagration might have no further material wherewith to +strengthen and feed its further progress. + +This plan, Evelyn states, had been proposed by some stout seamen +early enough to have saved nearly the whole city; "but this some +tenacious and avaricious men, aldermen, etc., would not permit, +because their houses would have been the first." Now, however, +this remedy was tried, and with greater despatch, because the +fire threatened the Tower and the powder magazine it contained. +And if the flames once reached this, London Bridge would +assuredly be destroyed, the vessels in the river torn and sunk, +and incalculable damage to life and property effected. + +Accordingly Tower Street, which had already become ignited, was, +under supervision of the king, blown up in part, and the fire +happily brought to an end by this means in that part of the town. +Moreover, on Wednesday morning the east wind, which had continued +high from Sunday night, now subsided, so that the flames lost +much of their vehemence, and by means of explosions were more +easily mastered at Leadenhall and in Holborn, and likewise at the +Temple, to which places they had spread during Wednesday and +Thursday. + +During these latter days, the king and the Duke of York betrayed +great vigilance, and laboured with vast activity; the latter +especially, riding from post to post, by his example inciting +those whose courage had deserted them, and by his determination +overcoming destruction. On Thursday the dread conflagration, +after raging for five consecutive days and nights, was at length +conquered. + +On Friday morning the sun rose like a ball of crimson fire above +a scene of blackness, ruin, and desolation. Whole streets were +levelled to the ground, piles of charred stones marked where +stately churches had stood, smoke rose in clouds from smouldering +embers. With sorrowful hearts many citizens traversed the scene +of desolation that day; amongst others Pepys and Evelyn. The +latter recounts that "the ground and air, smoke and fiery vapour, +continu'd so intense, that my haire was almost sing'd, and my +feete unsuffurably surbated. The people who now walk'd about ye +ruines appear'd like men in some dismal desert, or rather in some +greate citty laid waste by a cruel enemy; to which was added that +stench that came from some poore creatures' bodies, beds, and +other combustible goods." + +It would have been impossible to trace the original course of the +streets, but that some gable, pinnacle, or portion of walls, of +churches, halls, or mansions, indicated where they had stood. +The narrower thoroughfares were completely blocked by rubbish; +massive iron chains, then used to prevent traffic at night in the +streets, were melted, as were likewise iron gates of prisons, and +the hinges of strong doors. Goods stored away in cellars and +subterranean passages of warehouses yet smouldered, emitting foul +odours; wells were completely choked, fountains were dried at +their sources. The statues of monarchs which had adorned the +Exchange, were smashed; that of its founder, Sir Thomas Gresham, +alone remaining entire. The ruins of St. Paul's, with its walls +standing black and cheerless, presented in itself a most +melancholy spectacle. Its pillars were embedded in ashes, its +cornices irretrievably destroyed, its great bell reduced to a +shapeless mass of metal; whilst its general air of desolation was +heightened by the fact that a few monuments, which had escaped +destruction, rose abruptly from amidst the charred DEBRIS. + +But if the ruins of the capital looked sad by day, their +appearance was more appalling when seen by light of the moon, +which rose nightly during the week following this great calamity. +From the city gates, standing gaunt, black, and now unguarded, to +the Temple, the level waste seemed sombre as a funeral pall; +whilst the Thames, stripped of wharves and warehouses, quaintly +gabled homes, and comfortable inns--wont to cast pleasant lights +and shadows on its surface--now swept past the blackened ruins a +melancholy river of white waters. + +In St. George's Fields, Moorfields, and far as Highgate for +several miles, citizens of all degrees, to the number of two +hundred thousand, had gathered: sleeping in the open fields, or +under canvas tents, or in wooden sheds which they hurriedly +erected. Some there were amongst them who had been used to +comfort and luxury, but who were now without bed or board, or +aught to cover them save the clothes in which they had hastily +dressed when fleeing from the fire. And to many it seemed as if +they had only been saved from one calamity to die by another: +for they had nought wherewith to satisfy their hunger, yet had +too much pride to seek relief. + +And whilst yet wildly distracted by their miserable situation, +weary from exhaustion, and nervous from lack of repose, a panic +arose in their midst which added much to their distress. For +suddenly news was spread that the French, Dutch and English +papists were marching on them, prepared to cut their throats. At +which, broken-spirited as they were, they rose up, and leaving +such goods that they had saved, rushed towards Westminster to +seek protection from their imaginary foes. On this, the king +sought to prove the falsity of their alarm, and with infinite +difficulty persuaded them to return to the fields: whence he +despatched troops of soldiers, whose presence helped to calm +their fears. + +And the king having, moreover, tender compassion for their wants, +speedily sought to supply them. He therefore summoned a council +that it might devise means of relief; and as a result, it +published a proclamation ordering that bread and all other +provisions, such as could be furnished, should be daily and +constantly brought, not only to the markets formerly in use, but +also to Clerkenwell, Islington, Finsbury Fields, Mile End Green, +and Ratcliffe, for greater convenience of the citizens. For +those who were unable to buy provisions, the king commanded the +victualler of his navy to send bread into Moorfields, and +distribute it amongst them. And as divers distressed people had +saved some of their goods, of which they knew not where to +dispose, he ordered that churches, chapels, schools, and such +like places in and around Westminster, should be free and open to +receive and protect them. He likewise directed that all cities +and towns should, without contradiction or opposition, receive +the citizens and permit them free exercise of their manual +labours: he promising, when the present exigency had passed +away, to take care the said persons should be no burden to such +towns as received them. + +The people were therefore speedily relieved. Many of them found +refuge with their friends and relatives in the country, and +others sought homes in the districts of Westminster and +Southwark: so that in four days from the termination of the +fire, there was scarce a person remaining in the fields, where +such numbers had taken refuge. + +The first hardships consequent to the calamity having passed +away, people were anxious to trace the cause of their sufferings, +which they were unwilling to consider accidental. A rumour +therefore sprang up, that the great fire resulted from a wicked +plot, hatched by Jesuits, for the destruction of an heretical +city. At this the king was sorely troubled; for though there was +no evidence which led him to place faith in the report, yet a +great body of the citizens and many members of his council held +it true. Therefore, in order to appease such doubts as arose in +his mind, and likewise to satisfy the people, he appointed his +privy council to sit morning and evening to inquire into the +matter, and examine evidences set forth against those who had +been charged with the outrage and cast into prison during the +conflagration. + +And in order that the investigation might be conducted with +greater rigour he sent into the country for the lord chief +justice, who was dreaded by all for his unflinching severity. +The lord chancellor, in his account of these transactions, +assures us many of the witnesses who gave evidence against those +indicted with firing the capital "were produced as if their +testimony would remove all doubts, but made such senseless +relations of what they had been told, without knowing the +condition of the persons who told them, or where to find them, +that it was a hard matter to forbear smiling at their +declarations." Amongst those examined was one Roger Hubert, who +accused himself of having deliberately set the city on fire. +This man, then in his twenty-fifth year, was son of a watchmaker +residing in Rouen. Hubert had practised the same trade both in +that town and in London, and was believed by his fellow workmen +to be demented. When brought before the chief justice and privy +council, Hubert with great coolness stated he had set the first +house on fire: for which act he had been paid a year previously +in Paris. When asked who had hired him to accomplish this evil +deed, he replied he did not know, for he had never seen the man +before: and when further questioned regarding the sum he had +received, he declared it was but one pistole, but he had been +promised five pistoles more when he should have done his work. +These ridiculous answers, together with some contradictory +statements he made, inclined many persons, amongst whom was the +chief justice, to doubt his confession. Later on in his +examinations, he was asked if he knew where the house had stood +which he set on fire, to which he replied in the affirmative, and +on being taken into the city, pointed out the spot correctly. + +In the eyes of many this was regarded as proof of his guilt; +though others stated that, having lived in the city, he must +necessarily become acquainted with the position of the baker's +shop. Opinion was therefore somewhat divided regarding him. The +chief justice told the king "that all his discourse was so +disjointed that he did not believe him guilty." Yet having +voluntarily accused himself of a monstrous deed, and being +determined as it seemed to rid himself of life, he was +condemned to death and speedily executed. + +Lord Clarendon says: "Neither the judges nor any present at the +trial did believe him guilty; but that he was a poor distracted +wretch, weary of his life, and chose to part with it in this way. +Certain it is that upon the strictest examination that could be +afterwards made by the king's command, and then by the diligence +of the House, that upon the jealousy and rumour made a committee, +that was very diligent and solicitous to make that discovery, +there was never any probable evidence (that poor creature's only +excepted) that there was any other cause of that woful fire than +the displeasure of God Almighty: the first accident of the +beginning in a baker's house, where there was so great a stock of +faggots, and the neighbourhood of such combustible matter, of +pitch and rosin, and the like, led it in an instant from house to +house, through Thames Street, with the agitation of so terrible a +wind to scatter and disperse it." + +But belief that the dreaded papists had set fire to the city, +lingered in the minds of many citizens. When the city was +rebuilt, this opinion found expression in an inscription cut over +the doorway of a house opposite the spot where the fire began, +which ran as follows: + +"Here, by the permission of heaven, hell broke loose on this +protestant city from the malicious hearts of barbarous papists, +by the hand of their agent Hubert, who confessed, and on the +ruins of this place declared the fact, for which he was hanged. +Erected in the mayoralty of Sir Patience Ward, Knight." + +The loss caused by this dreadful conflagration was estimated at +ten million sterling. According to a certificate of Jonas Moore +and Ralph Gatrix, surveyors appointed to examine the ruins, the +fire overrun 373 acres within the walls, burning 13,200 houses, +89 parish churches, numerous chapels, the Royal Exchange, Custom +House, Guildhall, Blackwell Hall, St. Paul's Cathedral, +Bridewell, fifty-two halls of the city companies, and three city +gates. + +As speedily as might be, the king and his parliament then sitting +at Oxford, sought to restore the city on a scale vastly superior +to its former condition. And the better to effect this object, +an act of parliament was passed that public buildings should be +rebuilt with public money, raised by a tax on coals; that the +churches and the cathedral of St. Paul's should be reconstructed +from their foundations; that bridges, gates and prisons should be +built anew; the streets made straight and regular, such as were +steep made level, such as were narrow made wide; and, moreover, +that every house should be built with party walls, such being of +stone or brick, and all houses raised to equal height in front. + +And these rules being observed, a stately and magnificent city +rose phoenix-like from ruins of the old; so that there was naught +to remind the inhabitants of their great calamity save the +Monument. This, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, and built at a +cost of fourteen thousand five hundred pounds, was erected near +where the fire broke out, the better to perpetuate a memory of +this catastrophe in the minds of future generations, which +purpose it fulfils unto this day. + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +The court repairs to Oxford.--Lady Castlemaine's son.--Their +majesties return to Whitehall.--The king quarrels with his +mistress.--Miss Stuart contemplates marriage.--Lady Castlemaine +attempts revenge.--Charles makes an unpleasant discovery.--The +maid of honour elopes.--His majesty rows down the Thames.--Lady +Castlemaine's intrigues.--Fresh quarrels at court.--The king on +his knees. + +The while such calamities befell the citizens, the king continued +to divert himself in his usual fashion. On the 29th of June, +1665, whilst death strode apace through the capital, reaping full +harvests as he went, their majesties left Whitehall for Hampton +Court, From here they repaired to Salisbury, and subsequently to +Oxford, where Charles took up his residence in Christchurch, and +the queen at Merton College. + +Removed from harrowing scenes of ghastliness and distress, the +court made merry. Joined by fair women and gallant men, their +majesties played at bowls and tennis in the grassy meads of the +college grounds; rode abroad in great hawking parties; sailed +through summer days upon the smooth waters of the river Isis; and +by night held revelry in the massive-beamed oak-panelled halls, +from which scarce five-score candles served to chase all gloom. + +It happened whilst life thus happily passed, at pleasant full- +tide flow, my Lady Castlemaine, who resided in the same college +with her majesty, gave birth on the 28th of December to another +son, duly baptized George Fitzroy, and subsequently created Duke +of Northumberland. By this time, the plague having subsided in +the capital, and all danger of infection passed away, his majesty +was anxious to reach London, yet loth to leave his mistress, whom +he visited every morning, and to whom he exhibited the uttermost +tenderness. And his tardiness to return becoming displeasing to +the citizens, and they being aware of its cause, it was whispered +in taverns and cried in the streets, "The king cannot go away +till my Lady Castlemaine be ready to come along with him," which +truth was found offensive on reaching the royal ears. + +Towards the end of January, 1666, he returned to Whitehall, and a +month later the queen, who had been detained by illness, joined +him. Once more the thread of life was taken up by the court at +the point where it had been broken, and woven into the motley web +of its strange history. Unwearied by time, unsatiated by +familiarity, the king continued his intrigue with the imperious +Castlemaine, and with great longing likewise made love to the +beautiful Stuart. But yet his pursuit of pleasure was not always +attended by happiness; inasmuch as he found himself continually +involved in quarrels with the countess, which in turn covered him +with ridicule in the eyes of his courtiers, and earned him +contempt in the opinions of his subjects. + +One of these disturbances, which occurred soon after his return +from Oxford, began at a royal drawing-room, in presence of the +poor slighted queen and ladies of the court. It happened in the +course of conversation her majesty remarked to the countess she +feared the king had taken cold by staying so late at her +lodgings; to which speech my Lady Castlemaine with some show of +temper answered aloud, "he did not stay so late abroad with her, +for he went betimes thence, though he do not before one, two, or +three in the morning, but must stay somewhere else." The king, +who had entered the apartment whilst she was speaking, came up to +her, and displeased with the insinuations she expressed, declared +she was a bold, impertinent woman, and bade her begone from the +court, and not return until he sent for her. Accordingly she +whisked from the drawing-room, and drove at once to Pall Mall, +where she hired apartments. + +Her indignation at being addressed by Charles in such a manner +before the court, was sufficiently great to beget strong desires +for revenge; when she swore she would be even with him and print +his letters to her for public sport. In cooler moments, however, +she abandoned this idea; and in course of two or three days, not +hearing from his majesty, she despatched a message to him, not +entreating pardon, but asking permission to send for her +furniture and belongings. To this the monarch, who had begun to +miss her presence and long for her return, replied she must first +come and view them; and then impatient for reconciliation, he +sought her, and they became friends once more. And by way of +sealing the bond of pacification, the king soon after agreed to +pay her debts, amounting to the sum of thirty thousand pounds, +which had been largely incurred by presents bestowed by her upon +her lovers. + +His majesty was not only rendered miserable by the constant +caprices and violent temper of the countess, but likewise by the +virtue and coldness Miss Stuart betrayed since her return from +Oxford. The monarch was sorely troubled to account for her +bearing, and attributing it to jealousy, sought to soothe her +supposed uneasiness by increasing his chivalrous attentions. Her +change of behaviour, however, proceeded from another cause. The +fair Stuart, though childlike in manner, was shrewd at heart; and +was moreover guided invariably by her mother, a lady who reaped +wisdom from familiarity with courts. Therefore the maid of +honour, seeing she had given the world occasion to think she had +lost her virtue, declared she was ready to "marry any gentleman +of fifteen hundred a year that would have her in honour." + +This determination she was obliged to keep-secret from the king, +lest his anger should fall upon such as sought her, and so +interfere with her matrimonial prospects. Now with such +intentions in her mind she pondered well on an event which had +happened to her, such as no woman who has had like experience +ever forgets; namely, that amongst the many who professed to love +her, one had proposed to marry her. This was Charles Stuart, +fourth Duke of Richmond, a man possessed of neither physical +gifts nor mental abilities; who was, moreover, a widower, and a +sot. + +However, the position which her union with him would ensure was +all she could desire, and he renewing his suit at this time, she +consequently consented to marry him. Now though it was probable +she could keep her design from knowledge of her royal lover, it +was scarcely possible she could hide it from observation of his +mistress. And the latter, knowing the extent to which fair +Frances Stuart shared his majesty's heart, and being likewise +aware of the coldness with which his protestations were by her +received, scorned the king and detested the maid. Lady +Castlemaine therefore resolved to use her knowledge of Miss +Stuart's contemplated marriage, for purpose of enraging the +jealousy of the one, and destroying the influence of the other. +In order to accomplish such desirable ends she quietly awaited +her opportunity. This came in due time. + +It happened one evening when his majesty had been visiting +Frances Stuart in her apartments, and had returned to his own in +a condition of ill-humour and disappointment, the countess, who +had been some days out of favour, suddenly presented herself +before him, and in a bantering tone, accompanied by ironical +smiles, addressed him. + +"I hope," said she, "I may be allowed to pay you my homage, +although the angelic Stuart has forbidden you to see me at my own +house. I will not make use of reproaches and expostulations +which would disgrace myself; still less will I endeavour to +excuse frailties which nothing can justify, since your constancy +for me deprives me of all defence, considering I am the only +person you have honoured with your tenderness, who has made +herself unworthy of it by ill-conduct. I come now, therefore, +with no other intent than to comfort and condole with you upon +the affliction and grief into which the coldness or new-fashioned +chastity of the inhuman Stuart has reduced your majesty." + +Having delivered herself of this speech she laughed loud and +heartily, as if vastly amused at the tenour of her words; and +then before the impatient monarch had time to reply, continued in +the same tone, with quickening breath and flashing eyes, "Be not +offended that I take the liberty of laughing at the gross manner +in which you are imposed upon; I cannot bear to see that such +particular affection should make you the jest of your own court, +and that you should be ridiculed with such impunity. I know that +the affected Stuart has sent you away under pretence of some +indisposition, or perhaps some scruple of conscience; and I come +to acquaint you that the Duke of Richmond will soon be with her, +if he is not there already. I do not desire you to believe what +I say, since it might be suggested either through resentment or +envy. Only follow me to her apartment, either that, no longer +trusting calumny and malice you may honour her with a just +preference, if I accuse her falsely; or, if my information be +true, you may no longer be the dupe of a pretended prude, who +makes you act so unbecoming and ridiculous a part." + +The king, overwhelmed with astonishment, was irresolute in +action; but Lady Castlemaine, determined on not being deprived of +her anticipated triumph, took him by the hand and forcibly pulled +him towards Miss Stuart's apartments. The maid of honour's +servants, surprised at his majesty's return, were unable to warn +their mistress without his knowledge; whilst one of them, in pay +of the countess, found means of secretly intimating to her that +the Duke of Richmond was already in Miss Stuart's chamber. Lady +Castlemaine, having with an air of exultation led the king down +the gallery from his apartments to the threshold of Miss Stuart's +door, made him a low courtesy savouring more of irony than +homage, bade him good-night, and with a subtle smile promptly +retired. + +The scene which followed is best painted by Hamilton's pen. "It +was near midnight; the king on his way met the chambermaids, who +respectfully opposed his entrance, and, in a very low voice, +whispered his majesty that Miss Stuart had been very ill since he +left her; but that being gone to bed, she was, God be thanked, in +a very fine sleep. 'That I must see,' said the king, pushing her +back, who had posted herself in his way. He found Miss Stuart in +bed, indeed, but far from being asleep; the Duke of Richmond was +seated at her pillow, and in all probability was less inclined to +sleep than herself. The perplexity of the one party, and the +rage of the other, were such as may easily be imagined upon such +a surprise. The king, who of all men was one of the most mild +and gentle, testified his resentment to the Duke of Richmond in +such terms as he had never before used. The duke was speechless +and almost petrified; he saw his master and his king justly +irritated. The first transports which rage inspires on such +occasions are dangerous. Miss Stuart's window was very +convenient for a sudden revenge, the Thames flowing close beneath +it; he cast his eyes upon it, and seeing those of the king more +incensed than fired with indignation than he thought his nature +capable of, he made a profound bow, and retired without replying +a single word to the vast torrent of threats and menaces that +were poured upon him. + +"Miss Stuart having a little recovered from her first surprise, +instead of justifying herself, began to talk in the most +extravagant manner, and said everything that was most capable to +inflame the king's passion and resentment: that if she were not +allowed to receive visits from a man of the Duke of Richmond's +rank, who came with honourable intentions, she was a slave in a +free country; that she knew of no engagement that could prevent +her from disposing of her hand as she thought proper; but, +however, if this were not permitted her in his dominions, she did +not believe that there was any power on earth that could hinder +her from going over to France, and throwing herself into a +Convent, to enjoy there that tranquillity which was denied her in +his court. The king, sometimes furious with anger, sometimes +relenting at her tears, and sometimes terrified at her menaces, +was so greatly agitated that he knew not how to answer either the +nicety of a creature who wanted to act the part of Lucretia under +his own eye, or the assurance with which she had the effrontery +to reproach him. In this suspense love had almost entirely +vanquished all his resentments, and had nearly induced him to +throw himself upon his knees, and entreat pardon for the injury +he had done her, when she desired him to retire, and leave her in +repose, at least for the remainder of that night, without +offending those who had either accompanied him, or conducted him +to her apartments, by a longer visit. This impertinent request +provoked and irritated him to the highest degree: he went out +abruptly, vowing never to see her more, and passed the most +restless and uneasy night he had ever experienced since his +restoration." + +Next morning, his majesty sent orders to the Duke of Richmond to +quit the court, and never appear again in his presence. His +grace, however, stayed not to receive this message, having +betaken himself with all possible speed into the country. Miss +Stuart, who likewise feared the king's resentment, hastened to +the queen, and throwing herself at her majesty's feet, entreated +forgiveness for the pain and uneasiness she had caused her in the +past, and besought her care and protection in the future. + +She then laid bare her intentions of marrying the Duke of +Richmond, who had loved her long, and was anxious to wed her +soon; but since the discovery of his addresses had caused his +banishment, and created disturbances prejudicial to her good +name, she begged the queen would obtain his majesty's consent to +her retiring from the vexations of a court to the tranquillity of +a convent. The queen raised her up, mingled her tears with those +of the troubled maid, and promised to use her endeavours towards +averting the king's displeasure. + +On consideration, however, the fair Stuart did not wait to hear +his majesty's reproaches, or receive his entreaties; for the +duke, being impatient to gain his promised bride, quietly +returned to town, and secretly communicated with her. It was +therefore agreed between them she should steal away from the +palace, meet him at the "Bear at the Bridge Foot," situated on +the Southwark side of the river, where he would have a coach +awaiting her, in order they might ride away to his residence at +Cobham Hall, near Gravesend, and then be legally and happily +united in the holy bonds of matrimony. And all fell out as had +been arranged: the time being the month of March, 1667. + +Now when the king discovered her flight, his anger knew no +bounds, though it sought relief in uttering many violent threats +against the duke, and in sending word to the duchess he would see +her no more. In answer to this message, she, with some show of +spirit, returned him the jewels he had given her, principal +amongst which were a necklace of pearls, valued at over a +thousand pounds, and a pair of diamond pendants of rare lustre. + +Neither she nor her husband paid much heed to the royal menaces, +for before a year elapsed they both returned to town, and took up +their residence at Somerset House. Here, as Pepys records, she +kept a great court, "she being visited for her beauty's sake by +people, as the queen is at nights: and they say also she is +likely to go to court again and there put my Lady Castlemaine's +nose out of joint. God knows that would make a great turn." But +to such proposals as were made regarding her return to Whitehall, +her husband would not pay heed, and she therefore remained a +stranger to its drawing-rooms for some time longer. And when two +years later she appeared there, her beauty had lost much of its +famed lustre, for meantime she was overtaken by smallpox, a +scourge ever prevalent in the capital. During her illness the +king paid her several visits, and was sorely grieved that the +loveliness he so much prized should be marred by foul disease. +But on her recovery, the disfigurement she suffered scarce +lessened his admiration, and by no means abated his love; which +seemed to have gained fresh force from the fact of its being +interrupted awhile. + +This soon became perceptible to all, and rumour whispered that +the young duchess would shortly return to Whitehall in a position +which she had declined before marriage. And amongst other +stories concerning the king's love for her, it was common talk +that one fair evening in May, when he had ordered his coach to be +ready that he might take an airing in the park, he, on a sudden +impulse, ran down the broad steps leading from his palace gardens +to the riverside. Here, entering a boat alone, he rowed himself +adown the placid river now crossed by early shadows, until he +came to Somerset House, where his lady-love dwelt; and finding +the garden-door locked, he, in his impatience to be with her, +clambered over the wall and sought her. Two months after the +occurrence of this incident, the young duchess was appointed a +lady of the bedchamber to the queen, and therefore had apartments +at Whitehall. There was little doubt now entertained she any +longer rejected his majesty's love; and in order to remove all +uncertainties on the point which might arise in her husband's +mind, the king one night, when he had taken over much wine, +boasted to the duke of her complaisancy. Lord Dartmouth, who +tells this story, says this happened "at Lord Townshend's, in +Norfolk, as my uncle told me, who was present." Soon after his +grace accepted an honourable exile as ambassador to Denmark, in +which country he died. + +During the absence of the Duchess of Richmond, my Lady +Castlemaine, then in the uninterrupted possession of power, led +his majesty a sorry life. Her influence, indeed, seemed to +increase with time, until her victim became a laughing-stock to +the heartless, and an object of pity to the wise. Mr. Povy, +whose office as a member of the Tangier Commission brought him +into continual contact with the court, and whose love of gossip +made him observant of all that passed around him, in telling of +"the horrid effeminacy of the king," said that "upon any falling +out between my Lady Castlemaine's nurse and her woman, my lady +hath often said she would make the king make them friends, and +they would be friends and be quiet--which the king had been fain +to do." Nor did such condescension on his majesty's part incline +his mistress to treat him with more respect; for in the quarrels +which now became frequent betwixt them she was wont to term him a +fool, in reply to the kingly assertion that she was a jade. + +The disturbances which troubled the court were principally caused +by her infidelities to him, and his subsequent jealousies of her. +Chief among those who shared her intrigues at this time was Harry +Jermyn, with whom she renewed her intimacy from time to time, +without the knowledge of his majesty. The risks she frequently +encountered in pursuit of her amours abounded in comedy. +Speaking of Harry Jermyn, Pepys tells us the king "had like to +have taken him abed with her, but that he was fain to creep under +the bed into the closet." It being now rumoured that Jermyn was +about to wed my Lady Falmouth, the countess's love for one whom +she might for ever lose received a fresh impulse, which made her +reckless of concealment. The knowledge of her passion, +therefore, coming to Charles's ears, a bitter feud sprang up +between them, during which violent threats and abusive language +were freely exchanged. + +At this time my lady was far gone with child, a fact that soon +came bubbling up to the angry surface of their discourse; for the +king avowed he would not own it as his offspring. On hearing +this, her passion became violent beyond all decent bounds. "God +damn me, but you shall own it!" said she, her cheeks all crimson +and her eyes afire; and moreover she added, "she should have it +christened in the Chapel Royal, and owned as his, or otherwise +she would bring it to the gallery in Whitehall, and dash its +brains out before his face." + +After she had hectored him almost out of his wits, she fled in a +state of wild excitement from the palace, and took up her abode +at the residence of Sir Daniel Harvey, the ranger of Richmond +Park. News of this scene spread rapidly through the court, and +was subsequently discussed in the coffee-houses and taverns all +over the town, where great freedom was made with the lady's name, +and great sport of the king's passion. And now it was said the +monarch had parted with his mistress for ever, concerning which +there was much rejoicement and some doubt. For notwithstanding +the king had passed his word to this effect, yet it was known +though his spirit was willing his flesh was weak. Indeed, three +days had scarcely passed when, mindful of her temper, he began to +think his words had been harsh, and, conscious of her power, he +concluded his vows had been rash. He therefore sought her once +more, but found she was not inclined to relent, until, as Pepys +was assured, this monarch of most feeble spirit, this lover of +most ardent temper, "sought her forgiveness upon his knees, and +promised to offend her no more." + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +The kingdom in peril.--The chancellor falls under his majesty's +displeasure.--The Duke of Buckingham's mimicry.--Lady +Castlemaine's malice.--Lord Clarendon's fall.--The Duke of Ormond +offends the royal favourite.--She covers him with abuse.--Plots +against the Duke of York.--Schemes for a royal divorce.--Moll +Davis and Nell Gwynn.--The king and the comedian.--Lady +Castlemaine abandons herself to great disorders.--Young Jack +Spencer.--The countess intrigues with an acrobat.--Talk of the +town.--The mistress created a duchess. + +At this time the kingdom stood in uttermost danger, being brought +to that condition by his majesty's negligence towards its +concerns. The peril was, moreover, heightened from the fact of +the king being impatient to rid himself of those who had the +nation's credit at heart, and sought to uphold its interests. To +this end he was led in part by his own inclinations, and +furthermore by his friends' solicitations. Foremost amongst +those with whose services he was anxious to dispense, were the +chancellor, my Lord Clarendon, and the lord lieutenant of +Ireland, his grace the Duke of Ormond. + +The king's displeasure against these men, who had served his +father loyally, himself faithfully, and their country honestly, +was instigated through hatred borne them by my Lady Castlemaine. +From the first both had bewailed the monarch's connection with +her, and the evil influence she exercised over him. Accordingly, +after the pattern of honest men, they had set their faces +against her. + +Not only, as has already been stated, would the chancellor refuse +to let any document bearing her name pass the great seal, but he +had often prevailed with the king to alter resolutions she had +persuaded him to form. And moreover had his lordship sinned in +her eyes by forbidding his wife to visit or hold intercourse with +her. These were sufficient reasons to arouse the hatred and +procure the revenge of this malicious woman, who was now +virtually at the head of the kingdom. For awhile, however, +Charles, mindful of the services the chancellor had rendered him, +was unwilling to thrust him from his high place. But as time +sped, and the machinations of a clique of courtiers in league +with the countess were added to her influence, the chancellor's +power wavered. And finally, when he was suspected of stepping +between his majesty and his unlawful pleasures--concerning which +more shall be said anon--he fell. + +At the head and front of the body which plotted against Lord +Clarendon, pandered to Lady Castlemaine, and, for its own +purposes--politically and socially--sought to control the king, +was his grace the Duke of Buckingham. This witty courtier and +his friends, when assembled round the pleasant supper table +spread in the countess's apartments, and honoured almost nightly +by the presence of the king, delighted to vent the force of their +humour upon the chancellor, and criticize his influence over the +monarch until Charles smarted from their words. In the height of +their mirth, if his majesty declared he would go a journey, walk +in a certain direction, or perform some trivial action next day, +those around him would lay a wager he would not fulfil his +intentions; and when asked why they had arrived at such +conclusions, they would reply, because the chancellor would not +permit him. On this another would remark with mock gravity, he +thought there were no grounds for such an imputation, though, +indeed, he could not deny it was universally believed abroad his +majesty was implicitly governed by Lord Clarendon. The king, +being keenly sensitive to remarks doubting his authority, and +most desirous of appearing his own master, would exclaim on such +occasions that the chancellor "had served him long, and +understood his business, in which he trusted him; but in any +other matter than his business, he had no more credit with him +than any other man." And presently the Duke of Buckingham--who +possessed talents of mimicry to a surpassing degree--would arise, +and, screwing his face into ridiculous contortions, and shaking +his wig in a manner that burlesqued wisdom to perfection, deliver +some ludicrous speech brimming with mirth and indecencies, +assuming the grave air and stately manner of the chancellor the +while. And finally, to make the caricature perfect, Tom +Killigrew, hanging a pair of bellows before him by way of purse, +and preceded by a friend carrying a fireshovel to represent a +mace, would walk round the room with the slow determined tread +peculiar to Lord Clarendon. At these performances the king, his +mistress, and his courtiers would laugh loud and long in chorus, +with which was mingled sounds of chinking glasses and flowing +wine. ["Came my lord chancellor (the Earl of Clarendon) and his +lady, his purse and mace borne before him, to visit me"-- +Evelyn's "Diary."] + +In this manner was the old man's power undermined; but a +circumstance which hastened his fall occurred in the early part +of 1667. In that year Lady Castlemaine had, for a valuable +consideration, disposed of a place at court, which ensured the +purchaser a goodly salary. However, before the bargain could +finally be ratified, it was necessary the appointment should pass +the great seal. This the chancellor would not permit, and +accompanied his refusal by remarking, "he thought this woman +would sell every thing shortly." His speech being repeated to +her, she, in great rage, sent him word she "had disposed of this +place, and had no doubt in a little time to dispose of his." And +so great was the malice she bore him, that she railed against him +openly and in all places; nor did she scruple to declare in the +queen's chamber, in the presence of much company, "that she hoped +to see his head upon a stake, to keep company with those of the +regicides on Westminster Hall." + +And some political movements now arising, the history of which +lies not within the province of this work, the king seized upon +them as an excuse for parting with his chancellor. The monarch +complained that my Lord Clarendon "was so imperious that he would +endure no contradiction; that he had a faction in the House of +Commons that opposed everything that concerned his majesty's +service, if it were not recommended to them by him; and that he +had given him very ill advice concerning the parliament, which +offended him most." + +Therefore there were rumours in the air that the chancellor's +fall was imminent; nor were the efforts of his son-in-law, the +Duke of York, able to protect him, for the friends of my Lady +Castlemaine openly told his majesty "it would not consist with +his majesty's honour to be hectored out of his determination to +dismiss the chancellor by his brother, who was wrought upon by +his wife's crying." It therefore happened on the 26th of August, +1667, as early as ten o'clock in the morning, Lord Clarendon +waited at Whitehall on the king, who presently, accompanied by +his brother, received him with characteristic graciousness. +Whereon the old man, acknowledging the monarch's courtesy, said +he "had no suit to make to him, nor the least thought to dispute +with him, or to divert him from the resolution he had taken; but +only to receive his determination from himself, and most humbly +to beseech him to let him know what fault he had committed, that +had drawn this severity upon him from his majesty." + +In answer to this Charles said he must always acknowledge "he had +served him honestly and faithfully, and that he did believe never +king had a better servant; that he had taken this resolution for +his good and preservation, as well as for his own convenience and +security; that he was sorry the business had taken so much air, +and was so publicly spoken of, that he knew not how to change his +purpose." To these words of fair seeming the troubled chancellor +replied by doubting if the sudden dismissal of an old servant who +had served the crown full thirty years, without any suggestion of +crime, but rather with a declaration of innocence, would not call +his majesty's justice and good nature into question. He added +that men would not know how to serve him, when they should see it +was in the power of three or four persons who had never done him +any notable service to dispose him to ungracious acts. And +finally, he made bold to cast some reflections upon my Lady +Castlemaine, and give his majesty certain warnings regarding her +influence. + +At this the king, not being well pleased, rose up, and the +interview, which had lasted two hours, terminated. Lord +Clarendon tells us so much concerning his memorable visit, to +which Pepys adds a vivid vignette picture of his departure. When +my lord passed from his majesty's presence into the privy garden, +my Lady Castlemaine, who up to that time had been in bed, "ran +out in her smock into her aviary looking into Whitehall--and +thither her woman brought her nightgown--and stood joying herself +at the old man's going away; and several of the gallants of +Whitehall, of which there were many staying to see the chancellor +return, did talk to her in her birdcage--among others Blaneford, +telling her she was the bird of paradise." + +A few days after this occurrence the king sent Secretary Morrice +to the chancellor's house, with a warrant under a sign manual to +require and receive the great seal. This Lord Clarendon at once +delivered him with many expressions of duty which he bade the +messenger likewise convey his majesty. And no sooner had Morrice +handed the seals to the king, than Baptist May, keeper of the +privy purse, and friend of my Lady Castlemaine, sought the +monarch, and falling upon his knees, kissed his hand and +congratulated him on his riddance of the chancellor. "For now." +said he, availing himself of the liberty Charles permitted his +friends, "you will be king--what you have never been before." +Finally, the chancellor was, through influence of his enemies, +impeached in the House of Commons; and to such length did they +pursue him, that he was banished the kingdom by act of +parliament. + +His grace the Duke of Ormond was the next minister whom my Lady +Castlemaine, in the strength of her evil influence, sought to +undermine. By reason of an integrity rendering him too loyal to +the king to pander to his majesty's mistress, he incurred her +displeasure in many ways; but especially by refusing to gratify +her cupidity. It happened she had obtained from his majesty a +warrant granting her the Phoenix Park, Dublin, and the mansion +situated therein, which had always been placed at service of the +lords lieutenants, and was the only summer residence at their +disposal. The duke, therefore, boldly refusing to pass the +warrant, stopped the grant. [According to O'Connor's +"Bibliotheca Stowensis," Lady Castlemaine soon after received a +grant of a thousand pounds per annum in compensation for her loss +of Phoenix Park.] This so enraged the countess, that soon after, +when his grace returned to England, she, on meeting him in one of +the apartments in Whitehall, greeted him with a torrent of +abusive language and bitter reproaches, such as the rancour of +her heart could suggest, or the license of her tongue utter, and +concluded by hoping she might live to see him hanged. The duke +heard her with the uttermost calmness, and when she had exhausted +her abusive vocabulary quietly replied, "Madam, I am not in so +much haste to put an end to your days; for all I wish with regard +to you is, that I may live to see you grow old." And, bowing +low, the fine old soldier left her presence. It may be added, +though the duke was deprived of the lord lieutenancy, the +countess's pious wish regarding him was never fulfilled. + +It now occurred to those who had relentlessly persecuted the +chancellor, that though they were safe as long as Charles +reigned, his death would certainly place them in peril. For they +sufficiently knew the Duke of York's character to be aware when +he ascended the throne he would certainly avenge the wrongs +suffered by his father-in-law. Accordingly these men, prominent +amongst whom were the Duke of Buckingham, Sir Thomas Clifford, +Lords Arlington, Lauderdale, and Ashley, and Baptist May, +resolved to devise means which would prevent the Duke of York +ever attaining the power of sovereignty. Therefore scarce a year +had gone by since Lord Clarendon's downfall, ere rumours were +spread abroad that his majesty was about to put away the queen, +This was to be effected, it was said, by the king's +acknowledgment of a previous marriage with Lucy Walters, mother +of the Duke of Monmouth, or by obtaining a divorce on ground of +her majesty's barrenness. + +The Duke of Buckingham, who was prime mover in this plot, aware +of the king's pride in, and fondness for the Duke of Monmouth, +favoured the scheme of his majesty's admission of a marriage +previous to that which united him with Catherine of Braganza. +And according to Burnet, Buckingham undertook to procure +witnesses who would swear they had been present at the ceremony +which united him with the abandoned Lucy Walters. Moreover, the +Earl of Carlisle, who likewise favoured the contrivance, offered +to bring this subject before the House of Lords. However, the +king would not consent to trifle with the succession in this vile +manner, and the idea was promptly abandoned. But though the +project was unsuccessful, it was subsequently the cause of many +evils; for the chances of sovereignty, flashing before the eyes +of the Duke of Monmouth, dazzled him with hopes, in striving to +realize which, he, during the succeeding reign, steeped the +country in civil warfare, and lost his head. + +The king's friends, ever active for evil, now sought other +methods by which he might rid himself of the woman who loved him +well, and therefore be enabled to marry again, when, it was +trusted, he would have heirs to the crown. It was suggested his +union might, through lack of some formality, be proved illegal; +but as this could not be effected without open violation of truth +and justice, it was likewise forsaken. The Duke of Buckingham +now besought his majesty that he would order a bill to divorce +himself from the queen to be brought into the House of Commons. +The king gave his consent to the suggestion, and the affair +proceeded so far that a date was fixed upon for the motion. +However, three days previous, Charles called Baptist May aside, +and told him the matter must be discontinued. + +But even yet my Lord Buckingham did not despair of gaining his +wishes. And, being qualified by his character for the commission +of abominable deeds, and fitted by his experience for undertaking +adventurous schemes, he proposed to his majesty, as Burnet +states, that he would give him leave to abduct the queen, and +send her out of the kingdom to a plantation, where she should be +well and carefully looked to, but never heard of more. Then it +could be given out she had deserted him, upon which grounds he +might readily obtain a divorce. But the king, though he +permitted such a proposal to be made him, contemplated it with +horror, declaring "it was a wicked thing to make a poor lady +miserable only because she was his wife and had no children by +him, which was no fault of hers." + +Ultimately these various schemes resolved themselves into a +proposition which Charles sanctioned. This was that the queen's +confessor should persuade her to leave the world, and embrace a +religious life. Whether this suggestion was ever made to her +majesty is unknown, for the Countess of Castlemaine, hearing of +these schemes, and foreseeing she would be the first sacrificed +to a new queen's jealousy, opposed them with such vigour that +they fell to the ground and were heard of no more. The fact was, +the king took no active part in these designs, not being anxious, +now the Duchess of Richmond had accepted his love, to unite +himself with another wife. Whilst her grace had been unmarried, +the idea had indeed occurred to him of seeking a divorce that he +might be free to lay his crown at the feet of the maid of honour. +And with such a view in mind he had consulted Dr. Sheldon, +Archbishop of Canterbury, as to whether the Church of England +"would allow of a divorce, when both parties were consenting, and +one of them lay under a natural incapacity of having children." +Before answering a question on which so much depended, the +archbishop requested time for consideration, which, with many +injunctions to secrecy, was allowed him. "But," says Lord +Dartmouth, who vouches for truth of this statement, "the Duke of +Richmond's clandestine marriage, before he had given an answer, +made the king suspect he had revealed the secret to Clarendon, +whose creature Sheldon was known to be; and this was the true +secret of Clarendon's disgrace." For the king, believing the +chancellor had aided the duke in his secret marriage, in order to +prevent his majesty's union with Miss Stuart, and the presumable +exclusion of the Duke and Duchess of York and their children from +the throne, never forgave him. + +Though the subject of the royal divorce was no longer mentioned, +the disturbances springing from it were far from ended; for the +Duke of Buckingham, incensed at Lady Castlemaine's interference, +openly quarrelled with her, abused her roundly, and swore he +would remove the king from her power. To this end he therefore +employed his talents, and with such tact and assiduity that he +ultimately fulfilled his menaces. The first step he took towards +accomplishing his desires, was to introduce two players to his +majesty, named respectively Moll Davis and Nell Gwynn. + +The former, a member of the Duke of York's troupe of performers, +could boast of goodly lineage, though not of legitimate birth, +her father being Thomas Howard, first Earl of Berkshire. She +had, early in the year 1667, made her first appearance at the +playhouse, and had by her comely face and shapely figure +challenged the admiration of the town. Her winsome ways, +pleasant voice, and graceful dancing soon made her a favourite +with the courtiers, who voted her an excellent wench; though some +of her own sex, judging harshly of her, as is their wont towards +each other, declared her "the most impertinent slut in the +world." + +Now the Duke of Buckingham knowing her well, it seemed to him no +woman was more suited to fulfil his purpose of thwarting the +countess; for if he succeeded in awaking the king's passion for +the comedian, such a proceeding would not only arouse my lady's +jealousy, but likewise humble her pride. Therefore, when this +court Mephistopheles accompanied his majesty to the playhouse, he +was careful to dwell on Moll Davis's various charms, the +excellency of her figure, the beauty of her face, the piquancy of +her manner. So impressed was the monarch by Buckingham's +descriptions, that he soon became susceptible to her +fascinations. The amour once begun was speedily pursued; and she +was soon enabled to boast, in presence of the players, that the +king--whose generosity was great to fallen women--had given her a +ring valued at seven hundred pounds, and was about to take, and +furnish most richly, a house in Suffolk Street for her benefit +and abode. Pepys heard this news in the first month of the year +1668; and soon afterwards a further rumour reached him that she +was veritably the king's mistress, "even to the scorn of the +world." + +This intrigue affected Lady Castlemaine in a manner which the +Duke of Buckingham had not expected. Whilst sitting beside +Charles in the playhouse, she noticed his attention was riveted +upon her rival, when she became melancholy and out of humour, in +which condition she remained some days. But presently rallying +her spirits, she soon found means to divert her mind and avenge +her wrongs, of which more shall be recorded hereafter. +Meanwhile, the poor queen, whose feelings neither the king nor +his courtiers took into consideration, bore this fresh insult +with such patience as she could summon to her aid, on one +occasion only protesting against her husband's connection with +the player. This happened when the Duke of York's troupe +performed in Whitehall the tragedy of "Horace," "written by the +virtuous Mrs. Phillips." The courtiers assembled on this +occasion presented a brilliant and goodly sight. Evelyn tells us +"the excessive gallantry of the ladies was infinite, those jewels +especially on Lady Castlemaine esteemed at forty thousand pounds +and more, far outshining ye queene." Between each act of the +tradgedy a masque and antique dance was performed. When Moll +Davis appeared, her majesty, turning pale from sickness of heart, +and trembling from indignation at the glaring insult thrust upon +her, arose and left the apartment boisterous with revelry, where +she had sat a solitary sad figure in its midst. As a result of +her intimacy with the king, Moll Davis bore him a daughter, who +subsequently became Lady Derwentwater. But the Duke of +Buckingham's revenge upon my Lady Castlemaine was yet but half +complete; and therefore whilst the monarch carried on his +intrigue with Moll Davis, his grace, enlarging upon the wit and +excellency of Nell Gwynn, besought his majesty to send for her. +This request the king complied with readily enough, and she was +accordingly soon added to the list of his mistresses. Nell +Gwynn, who was at this period in her eighteenth year, had joined +the company of players at the king's house, about the same time +as Moll Davis had united her fortunes with the Duke of York's +comedians. Her time upon the stage was, however, but of brief +duration; for my Lord Buckhurst, afterwards Earl of Dorset, a +witty and licentious man, falling in love with her, induced her +to become his mistress, quit the theatre, and forsake the society +of her lover, Charles Hart, a famous actor and great-nephew of +William Shakespeare. And she complying with his desires in these +matters, he made her an allowance of one hundred pounds a year, +on which she returned her parts to the manager, and declared she +would act no more. + +Accordingly in the month of July, 1667, she was living at Epsom +with my Lord Buckhurst and his witty friend Sir Charles Sedley, +and a right merry house they kept for a time. But alas, ere the +summer had died there came a day when charming Nell and his +fickle lordship were friends no more, and parting from him, she +was obliged to revert to the playhouse again. + +Now Nell Gwynn being not only a pretty woman, but moreover an +excellent actress, her return was welcomed by the town. Her +achievements in light comedy were especially excellent, and +declared entertaining to a rare degree. Pepys, who witnessed her +acting "a comical part," in the "Maiden Queen," a play by Dryden, +says he could "never hope to see the like done again by man or +woman. So great performance of a comical part," he continues, +"was never, I believe, in the world before as Nell do this, both +as a mad girle, then most and best of all when she comes in like +a young gallant; and hath the motions and carriage of a spark the +most that ever I saw any man have. It makes me, I confess, +admire her." In the part of Valeria, in "Tyrannic Love," she was +also pronounced inimitable; especially in her delivery of the +epilogue. The vein of comedy with which she delivered the +opening lines, addressed to those about to bear her dead body +from the stage, was merry beyond belief. "Hold!" she cried out +to one of them, as she suddenly started to life-- + + "Hold! are you mad? you damned confounded dog! + I am to rise and speak the epilogue." + +Before the year 1667 ended, she had several times visited his +majesty at Whitehall. The king was now no less assured of her +charms as a woman, than he had previously been convinced of her +excellence as an actress. In due time, her intimacy with the +monarch resulted in the birth of two sons; the elder of which was +created Duke of St. Albans, from whom is descended the family now +bearing that title: the second died young and unmarried. + +Through influence of these women, my Lady Castlemaine's power +over the king rapidly diminished, and at last ceased to exist; +seeing which, as Burnet says, "She abandoned herself to great +disorders; one of which by the artifice of the Duke of Buckingham +was discovered by the king in person, the party concerned leaping +out of the window." The gallant to whom the worthy bishop refers +was John Churchill, afterwards the great Duke of Marlborough, at +this time a handsome stripling of eighteen summers. In his +office as page to the Duke of York, he frequently came under +notice of her ladyship, who, pleased with the charms of his +boyish face and graceful figure, intimated his love would not +prove unacceptable to her. Accordingly he promptly made love to +the countess, who, in the first fervour of her affection, +presented him with five thousand pounds. With this sum he +purchased a life annuity of five hundred pounds, which, as Lord +Chesterfield writes, "became the foundation of his subsequent +fortune." Nor did her generosity end here: at a cost of six +thousand crowns she obtained for him the post of groom of the +bedchamber to the Duke of York, and was instrumental in +subsequently forwarding his advancements in the army. + +My Lady Castlemaine was by no means inclined to spend her days in +misery because the royal favour was no longer vouchsafed her; and +therefore, by way of satisfying her desires for revenge, +conducted intrigues not only with John Churchill and Harry +Jermyn, but likewise with one Jacob Hall, a noted acrobat. This +man was not only gifted with strength and agility, but likewise +with grace and beauty: so that, as Granger tells us, "The ladies +regarded him as a due composition of Hercules and Adonis." His +dancing on the tight rope at Bartholomew Fair was "a thing worth +seeing and mightily followed;" whilst his deeds of daring at +Southwark Fair were no less subjects of admiration and wonder. +The countess was so charmed by the performance of this athlete in +public, that she became desirous of conversation with him in +private; and he was accordingly introduced to her by Beck +Marshall, the player. The countess found his society so +entertaining that she frequently visited him, a compliment he +courteously returned. Moreover, she allowed him a yearly salary, +and openly showed her admiration for him by having their +portraits painted in one picture: in which she is represented +playing a fiddle, whilst he leans over her, touching the strings +of a guitar. + +Her amours in general, and her intimacy with the rope-dancer in +particular, becoming common talk of the town, his majesty became +incensed; and it grieved him the more that one who dwelt in his +palace, and was yet under his protection, should divide her +favours between a king and a mountebank. Accordingly bitter +feuds arose between her and the monarch, when words of hatred, +scorn, and defiance were freely exchanged. His majesty +upbraiding her with a love for the rope-dancer, she replied with +much spirit, "it very ill became him to throw out such reproaches +against her: that he had never ceased quarrelling unjustly with +her, ever since he had betrayed his own mean low inclinations: +that to gratify such a depraved taste as his, he wanted the +pitiful strolling actresses whom he had lately introduced into +their society." Then came fresh threats from the lips of the +fury, followed by passionate storms of tears. + +The king, who loved ease greatly, and valued peace exceedingly, +became desirous of avoiding such harrowing scenes. Accordingly, +he resolved to enter into a treaty with his late mistress, by +which he would consent to grant her such concessions as she +desired, providing she promised to discontinue her intrigues with +objectionable persons, and leave him to pursue his ways without +reproach. By mutual consent, his majesty and the countess +selected the Chevalier de Grammont to conduct this delicate +business; he being one in whose tact and judgment they had +implicit confidence. After various consultations and due +consideration, it was agreed the countess should abandon her +amours with Henry Jermyn and Jacob Hall, rail no more against +Moll Davis or Nell Gwynn, or any other of his majesty's +favourites, in consideration for which Charles would create her a +duchess, and give her an additional pension in order to support +her fresh honours with becoming dignity. + +And as the king found her residence in Whitehall no longer +necessary to his happiness, Berkshire House was purchased for her +as a suitable dwelling This great mansion, situated at the south- +west corner of St. James's Street, facing St. James's Palace, was +surrounded by pleasant gardens devised in the Dutch style, and +was in every way a habitation suited for a prince. This handsome +gift was followed by a grant of the revenues of the Post Office, +amounting to four thousand seven hundred pounds a year, which was +at first paid her in weekly instalments. On the 3rd of August, +1670, Barbara, Countess of Castlemaine, was created Baroness +Nonsuch, of Nonsuch Park, Surrey; Countess of Southampton; and +Duchess of Cleveland in the peerage of England. The reasons for +crowding these honours thick upon her were, as the patent stated, +"in consideration of her noble descent, her father's death in the +service of the crown, and by reason of her personal virtues." + +Nor did his majesty's extravagant favours to her end here. She +was now, as Mr. Povy told his friend Pepys, "in a higher command +over the king than ever--not as a mistress, for she scorns him, +but as a tyrant, to command him." In consequence of this power, +she was, two months after her creation as duchess, presented by +the monarch with the favourite hunting seat of Henry VIII., the +magnificent palace and great park of Nonsuch, in the parishes of +Cheam and Malden, in the county of Surrey. And yet a year later, +she received fresh proofs of his royal munificence by the gift of +"the manor, hundred, and advowson of Woking, county Surrey; the +manor and advowson of Chobham, the hundred of Blackheath and +Wootton, the manor of Bagshot (except the park, site of the manor +and manor-house, and the Bailiwick, and the office of the +Bailiwick, called Surrey Bailiwick, otherwise Bagshot Bailiwick), +and the advowson of Bisley, all in the same county." + +Her wealth, the more notable at a time when the king was in debt, +and the nation impoverished from expenditure necessary to +warfare, was enormous. Andrew Marvell, writing in August, 1671, +states: "Lord St. John, Sir R. Howard, Sir John Bennet, and Sir +W. Bicknell, the brewer, have farmed the customs. They have +signed and sealed ten thousand pounds a year more to the Duchess +of Cleveland; who has likewise near ten thousand pounds a year +out of the new farm of the country excise of Beer and Ale; five +thousand pounds a year out of the Post Office; and they say, the +reversion of all the King's Leases, the reversion of places all +in the Custom House, the green wax, and indeed what not? All +promotions spiritual and temporal pass under her cognizance." + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +Louise de Querouaille.--The Triple Alliance.--Louise is created +Duchess of Portsmouth.--Her grace and the impudent comedian.-- +Madam Ellen moves in society.--The young Duke of St. Albans.-- +Strange story of the Duchess of Mazarine.--Entertaining the wits +at Chelsea.--Luxurious suppers.--Profligacy and wit. + +The Duchess of Cleveland having shared the fate common to court +favourites, her place in the royal affections was speedily filled +by a mistress whose influence was even more baneful to the king, +and more pernicious to the nation. This woman was Louise de +Querouaille, the descendant of a noble family in Lower Brittany. +At an early age she had been appointed maid of honour to +Henrietta, youngest sister of Charles II., soon after the +marriage of that princess, in 1661, with the Duke of Orleans, +brother to Louis XIV. Fate decreed that Mademoiselle de +Querouaille should be brought into England by means of a +political movement; love ordained she should reign mistress of +the king's affections. + +It happened in January, 1668, that a Triple Alliance had been +signed at the Hague, which engaged England, Sweden, and the +United Provinces to join in defending Spain against the power of +France. A secret treaty in this agreement furthermore bound the +allies to check the ambition of Louis XIV., and, if possible, +reduce his encroaching sway. That Charles II. should enter into +such an alliance was galling to the French monarch, who resolved +to detach his kinsman from the compact, and bind him to the +interests of France. To effect this desired purpose, which he +knew would prove objectionable to the British nation, Louis +employed Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans, to visit England on +pretext of pleasure and affection, and secretly persuade and +bribe her brother to the measures required. + +The young duchess, though an English princess, had at heart the +interests of the country in which she had been reared, and which +on her marriage she had adopted as her own. She therefore gladly +undertook this mission, confident of her success from the fact +that of all his family she had ever been the most tenderly +beloved by Charles. Therefore she set out from France, and in +the month of May, 1670, arrived at Dover, to which port the king, +Queen, and court hastened, that they might greet and entertain +her. For full ten days in this merry month, high revelry was +held at Dover, during which time Henrietta skilfully and secretly +effected the object of her visit. And her delight was now the +greater, inasmuch as one item which this agreement entrusted her +to make, engaged that Charles would, as soon as he could with +safety, follow the example of his brother the Duke of York, and +become a Catholic. In carrying out this purpose Louis promised +him substantial aid and sure protection. Likewise, it may be +mentioned, did the French king engrage to grant him a subsidy +equal to a million a year, if Charles joined him in an attack on +Holland. + +The prospect of his sister's return filled the king with sorrow, +which increased as the term of her visit drew to an end. "He +wept when he parted with her," wrote Monsieur Colbert, the French +ambassador, who significantly adds, "whatever favour she asked of +him was granted." + +Now Louis knowing the weakness of the English monarch's +character, and aware of his susceptibility to female loveliness, +had despatched Mademoiselle de Querouaille in the train of +Henrietta. Satisfied that Charles could not resist her charms, +the French monarch had instructed this accomplished woman, who +was trusted in his councils, to accept the royal love, which it +was surmised would be proffered her; so that by the influence +which she would consequently obtain, she might hold him to the +promises he might make the Duchess of Orleans. + +As had been anticipated, the king became enamoured of this +charming woman, who, before departing with the princess, +faithfully promised to return and become his mistress. In his +desire to possess her the merry monarch was upheld by his grace +of Buckingham, who, continuing in enmity with the Duchess of +Cleveland, resolved to prevent her regaining influence over the +king by adding the beautiful Frenchwoman to the number of his +mistresses. He therefore told Charles, in the sarcastic manner +it was occasionally his wont to use, "it was a decent piece of +tenderness for his sister to take care of some of her servants;" +whilst on being sent into France, he assured Louis "he could +never reckon himself sure of the king, but by giving him a +mistress that should be true to his interests." But neither king +required urging to a resolution on which both had separately +determined; and soon Mademoiselle Querouaille was ready for her +journey to England. A yacht was therefore sent to Dieppe to +convey her, and presently she was received at Whitehall by the +lord treasurer, and her arrival celebrated in verse by Dryden. +Moreover, that she might have apartments in the palace, the king +at once appointed her a maid of honour to her majesty, this being +the first of a series of favours she was subsequently to receive. +Evelyn, writing in the following October, says it was universally +reported a ceremonious espousal, devoid of the religious rite, +had taken place between his majesty and Mademoiselle Querouaille +at Lord Arlington's house at Euston. "I acknowledge," says this +trustworthy chronicler "she was for the most part in her undresse +all day, and that there was fondnesse and toying with that young +wanton; nay, 'twas said I was at the former ceremony, but 'tis +utterly false; I neither saw nor heard of any such thing whilst I +was there, tho' I had ben in her chamber, and all over that +apartment late enough, and was myself observing all passages with +much curiosity." + +She now became a central figure in the brilliant court of the +merry monarch, being loved by the king, flattered by the wits, +and tolerated by the queen, to whom--unlike the Duchess of +Cleveland--she generally paid the greatest respect. Her card +tables were thronged by courtiers eager to squander large sums +for the honour of playing with the reigning sultana; her suppers +were attended by wits and gallants as merry and amorous as those +who had once crowded round my Lady Castlemaine in the zenith of +her power. No expense was too great for his majesty to lavish +upon her; no honour too high with which to reward her affection. +The authority just mentioned says her apartments at Whitehall +were luxuriously furnished "with ten times the richnesse and +glory beyond the Queene's; such massy pieces of plate, whole +tables and stands of incredible value." After a residence of +little more than three years at court she was raised by King +Charles to the peerage as Baroness of Petersfield, Countess of +Farnham, and Duchess of Portsmouth; whilst the French king, as a +mark of appreciation for the services she rendered France, +conferred upon her the Duchy of Aubigny, in the province of Berri +in France, to which he added the title and dignity of Duchess and +Peeress of France, with the revenues of the territory of Aubigny. +And two years later King Charles, prodigal of the honours he +conferred upon her, ennobled the son she had borne him in 1672. +The titles of the Duke of Richmond and Lennox having lately +reverted to the crown by the death of Frances Stuart's husband, +who was last of his line, the bastard son of the French mistress +was created Duke of Richmond and Earl of March in England, and +Duke of Lennox and Earl of Darnley in Scotland. To these proud +titles the present head of the noble house of Richmond and +Lennox--by virtue of the grant made by Louis XIV. to his +ancestress likewise adds that of Duc d'Aubigny in the peerage of +France. + +But though honoured by the king, and flattered by the court, the +Duchess of Portsmouth was far from enjoying uninterrupted +happiness; inasmuch as her peace was frequently disturbed by +jealousy. The principal cause of her uneasiness during the first +five years of her reign was the king's continued infatuation for +Nell Gwynn; now, by reason of the elevated position she enjoyed, +styled Madam Ellen. This "impudent comedian," as Evelyn calls +her, was treated by his majesty with, extreme indulgence and +royal liberality. In proof of the latter statement, it may be +mentioned that in less than four years from the date of her first +becoming his mistress, he had wantonly lavished sixty thousand +pounds upon her, as Burnet affirms. Moreover, he had purchased +as a town mansion for her "the first good house on the left-hand +side of St. James's Square, entering Pall Mall," now the site of +the Army and Navy Club; had given her likewise a residence +situated close by the Castle at Windsor; and a summer villa +located in what was then the charming village of Chelsea. To +such substantial gifts as these he added the honour of an +appointment at court: when the merry player was made one of the +ladies of the privy chamber to the queen. Samuel Pegg states +this fact, not generally known, and assures us he discovered it +"from the book in the lord chamberlain's office." + +From her position as the king's mistress, Madam Ellen moved on +terms of perfect equality with the Duchess of Portsmouth's +friends--supping with my Lady Orrery, visiting my Lord Cavendish, +and establishing a friendship with the gay Duchess of Norfolk. +This was a source of deep vexation to the haughty Frenchwoman; +but Nell Gwynn's familiarity with the king was a cause of even +greater mortification. Sir George Etherege records in verse when +the monarch was "dumpish" Nell would "chuck the royal chin;" and +it is stated that, mindful of her former conquests over Charles +Hart and Charles Lord Buckley, it was her habit to playfully +style his majesty "Charles the Third." Her wilfulness, wit, and +beauty enabled her to maintain such a strong hold upon the king's +heart, that he shared his time equally between her and the +Duchess of Portsmouth. Indignant that a woman from the playhouse +should receive such evidences of the royal affection, her grace +lost no opportunity of insulting Nell, who responded by mimicry +and grimaces, which threw those who witnessed the comedy into +fits of laughter, and covered the wrathful duchess with +confusion. + +But though the light-hearted actress frequently treated disdain +with ridicule, she could occasionally analyze the respective +positions held by herself and the duchess with seriousness, +Madame de Sevigne tells us, Nell would reason in this manner: +"This duchess pretends to be a person of quality: she affirms +she is related to the best families in France, and when any +person of distinction dies she puts herself in mourning. If she +be a lady of such quality, why does she demean herself to be a +courtesan? She ought to die with shame. As for me, it is my +profession. I do not pretend to anything better. The king +entertains me, and I am constant to him at present. He has a son +by me; I contend that he ought to acknowledge him--and I am well +assured that he will, for he loves me as well as the duchess." + +To have her son ennobled, and by this means raise him to an +equality with the offspring of her grace, became the desire of +Nell Gwynn's life. To her request that this favour might be +granted, the king had promised compliance from time to time, but +had as frequently postponed the fulfilment of his word. At last, +weary of beseeching him, she devised a speech which she trusted +might have the desired effect. Accordingly, when the monarch +came to see her one day, he found her in a pensive mood, playing +with her pretty boy; and the lad, being presently set upon his +feet, he promptly tottered down the room, whereon she cried out +to him, "Come here, you little bastard!" Hearing this word of +evil import applied to his son, the monarch begged she would not +use the expression, "I am sorry," said she regretfully, "but, +alas, I have no other name to give him! "His majesty took the +hint, and soon after bestowed on him that of Charles Beauclerk, +and created him Baron of Heddington, in Oxon, and Earl of Burford +in the same county; and finally, when he had reached the age of +ten years, raised him to the dignity of Duke of St. Albans. + +After a reign of five years in the court of the merry monarch, +her Grace of Portsmouth was destined to encounter a far more +formidable rival than Nell Gwynn, in the person of the Duchess of +Mazarine. This lady, on her arrival in England in 1675, +possessed most of the charms which had rendered her notable in +youth. To the attraction they lent was added an interest arising +from her personal history, in which King Charles had once +figured, and to which fate had subsequently added many pages of +romance. + +Hortensia Mancini, afterwards Duchess of Mazarine, was descendant +of a noble Roman family, and niece of the great Julius Mazarine, +cardinal of the church, and prime minister of France. Her +parents dying whilst she, her sister and brother were young, they +had been reared under the care of his eminence. According to the +memoirs of the duchess, the cardinal's peace must have frequently +been put to flight by his charges, whose conduct, he declared, +exhibited neither piety nor honour. Mindful of this, he placed +his nieces under the immediate supervision of Madame de Venelle, +who was directed to have the closest guard over them. A story +related by the duchess shows in what manner this lady's duty was +carried out, and what unexpected results attended it on one +occasion. + +When the court visited Lyons, in the year 1658, the cardinal's +nieces and their governess lodged in a commodious mansion in one +of the public squares. "Our chamber windows, which opened +towards the market-place," writes Hortensia, "were low enough for +one to get in with ease. Madame de Venelle was so used to her +trade of watching us, that she rose even in her sleep to see what +we were doing. One night, as my sister lay asleep with her mouth +open, Madame de Venelle, after her accustomed manner, coming, +asleep as she was, to grope in the dark, happened to thrust her +finger into her mouth so far that my sister, starting out of her +sleep, made her teeth almost meet in her finger. Judge you the +amazement they both were in to find themselves in this posture +when they were thoroughly awake. My sister was in a grievous +fret. The story was told the king the next day, and the court +had the divertisement of laughing at it." + +Whilst the great minister's nieces were yet extremely young, +Louis XIV. fell passionately in love with the elder, Maria, and +his marriage with her was frustrated only by the united +endeavours of the queen mother and the cardinal. A proposal to +raise Hortensia to the nominal dignity of queen was soon after +made on behalf of Charles II., who sought her as his bride. But +he being at the time an exile, banished from his kingdom, and +with little hope of regaining his throne, the offer was rejected +by Cardinal Mazarine as unworthy of his favourite niece. + +His eminence was, however, anxious to see her married, and +accordingly sought amongst the nobility of France a husband +suitable to her merits and equal to her condition, she being not +only a beautiful woman but, through his bounty, the richest +heiress in Christendom. It happened the cardinal's choice +settled upon one who had fallen in love with Hortensia, and who +had declared, with amorous enthusiasm, that if he had but the +happiness of being married to her, it would not grieve him to die +three months afterwards. + +The young noble was Armand Charles de la Porte, Duke de +Meilleraye, who had the sole recommendation of being one of the +richest peers of France. On condition that he and his heirs +should assume the name of Mazarine and arms of that house, the +cardinal consented to his becoming the husband of his niece. And +the great minister's days rapidly approaching their end, the +ceremony was performed which made Hortensia, then at the age of +thirteen, Duchess of Mazarine. A few months later the great +cardinal expired, leaving her the sum of one million six hundred +and twenty-five thousand pounds sterling. Alas that she should +have died in poverty, and that her body should have been seized +for debt! + +Scarce had the first weeks of her married life passed away, when +the young wife found herself mated to one wholly unsuited to her +character. She was beautiful, witty, and frivolous; he jealous, +dull, and morose. The incompatibility of their dispositions +became as discernible to him, as they had become intolerable to +her; and, as if to avenge the fate which had united them, he lost +no opportunity of thwarting her desires, by such means striving +to bend her lissom quality to the gnarled shape of his unhappy +nature. + +With such a purpose in view no opportunity was neglected to curb +her pleasures or oppose her inclinations. He continually forced +her to leave Paris, and even when her condition required rest and +care, compelled her to accompany him on long and weary journeys, +undertaken by him in consequence of his diplomatic missions. If +she received two successive visits from one man, he was instantly +forbidden the house. If she called her carriage, the coachman +received orders not to obey. If she betrayed a preference for +one maid more than another, the favourite was instantly +dismissed, moreover, the duchess was surrounded by spies, her +movements being rigorously watched, and invariably reported. Nor +would the duke vouchsafe an explanation to his young wife +regarding the cause of this severe treatment, but continued the +even course of such conduct without intermission or abatement. + +After displaying these eccentricities for some years, they +suddenly associated themselves with religion, when he became a +fanatic. Her condition was now less endurable than before; his +whims more ludicrous and exasperating. With solemnity he +declared no one could in conscience visit the theatre; that it +was a sin to play blind man's buff, and a heinous crime to retire +to bed late. And presently, his fanaticism increasing, he +prohibited the woman who nursed his infant to suckle it on +Fridays or Saturdays; that instead of imbibing milk, it might, in +its earliest life, become accustomed to fasting and mortification +of the flesh. + +The young duchess grew hopeless of peace. All day her ears were +beset by harangues setting forth her wickedness, by exortations +calling her to repentance, and by descriptions of visions +vouchsafed him. By night her condition was rendered scarcely +less miserable. "No sooner," says St. Evremond, "were her eyes +closed, than Monsieur Mazarine (who had the devil always present +in his black imagination) wakes his best beloved, to make her +partaker--you will never be able to guess of what--to make her +partaker of his nocturnal visions. Flambeaux are lighted, and +search is made everywhere; but no spectre does Madame Mazarine +find, except that which lay by her in the bed." + +The distresses to which she was subjected were increased by the +knowledge that her husband was squandering her vast fortune. In +what manner the money was spent she does not state. "If" she +writes, "Monsieur Mazarine had only taken delight in overwhelming +me with sadness and grief, and in exposing my health and my life +to his most unreasonable caprice, and in making me pass the best +of my days in an unparalleled slavery, since heaven had been +pleased to make him my master, I should have endeavoured to allay +and qualify my misfortunes by my sighs and tears. But when I saw +that by his incredible dilapidations and profuseness, my son, who +might have been the richest gentleman in France, was in danger of +being the poorest, there was no resisting the force of nature; +and motherly love carried it over all other considerations of +duty, or the moderation I proposed to myself. I saw every day +vast sums go away: moveables of inestimable prices, offices, and +all the rich remains of my uncle's fortune, the fruits of his +labours, and the rewards of his services. I saw as much sold as +came to three millions, before I took any public notice of it; +and I had hardly anything left me of value but my jewels, when +Monsieur Mazarine took occasion to seize upon them." + +She therefore sought the king's interference, but as the duke had +interest at court, she received but little satisfaction. Then +commenced disputes, which, after months of wrangling, ended by +the duchess escaping in male attire out of France, in company +with a gay young cavalier, Monsieur de Rohan. After various +wanderings through Italy and many adventures in Savoy, she +determined on journeying to England. That her visit was not +without a political motive, we gather from St. Evremond; who, +referring to the ascendancy which the Duchess of Portsmouth had +gained over his majesty, and the uses she made of her power for +the interests of France, tells us, "The advocates for liberty, +being excluded from posts and the management of affairs, +contrived several ways to free their country from that infamous +commerce; but finding them ineffectual, they at last concluded +that there was no other course to take than to work the Duchess +of Portsmouth out of the king's favour, by setting up against her +a rival who should be in their interest. The Duchess of Mazarine +was thought very fit for their purpose, for she outshined the +other, both in wit and beauty." + +Charles de St. Denis, Seigneur de St. Evremond, was a soldier, +philosopher, and courtier, who had distinguished himself by his +bravery, learning, and politeness. Having fallen under the +displeasure of the French court, he had, in the year 1662, sought +refuge in England, where he had been welcomed with the courtesy +due to his rank, and the esteem which befitted his merits. +Settling in the capital, he mixed freely in the companionship of +wits, gallants, and courtiers who constituted its society; and +delighted with London as a residence, he determined on making +England his country by adoption. An old friend and fervent +admirer of the Duchess of Mazarine, he had received the news of +her visit with joy, and celebrated her arrival in verse. + +The reputation of her loveliness and the history of her life +having preceded her, the court became anxious to behold her; the +king, mindful of the relationship he had once sought; with the +duchess, grew impatient to welcome her. After a few days' rest, +necessary to remedy the fatigue of her journey, she appeared at +Whitehall. By reason of her beauty, now ripened rather than +impaired by time, and those graces which attracted the more from +the fascination they had formerly exercised, she at once gained +the susceptible heart of the monarch. St. Evremond tells us her +person "contained nothing that was not too lovely." In the +"Character of the Duchess of Mazarine," which he drew soon after +her arrival in London, he has presented a portrait of her worth +examining not only for sake of the object it paints, but for the +quaint workmanship it contains. "An ill-natured curiosity," he +writes, "makes me scrutinize every feature in her face, with a +design either to meet there some shocking irregularity, or some +disgusting disagreeableness. But how unluckily do I succeed in +my design. Every feature about her has a particular beauty, that +does not in the least yield to that of her eyes, which, by the +consent of all the world, are the finest in the universe. One +thing there is that entirely confounds me: her teeth, her lips, +her mouth, and all the graces that attend it, are lost amongst +the great variety of beauties in her face and what is but +indifferent in her, will not suffer us to consider what is most +remarkable in others. The malice of my curiosity does not stop +here. I proceed to spy out some defect in her shape; and I find +I know not what graces of nature so happily and so liberally +scattered in her person, that the genteelness of others only +seems to be constraint and affectation." + +The king--to whom the presence of a beautiful woman was as +sunshine to the earth--at once offered her his affections, the +gallants tendered their homage, the ladies of the court +volunteered the flattery embodied in imitation. And by way of +practically proving his admiration, his majesty graciously +allotted her a pension of four thousand pounds a year, with +apartments in St. James's Palace. + +The sovereignty which the Duchess of Portsmouth had held for five +years over the monarch's heart was now in danger of downfall; and +probably would have ended, but for Madame Mazarine's +indiscretions. It happened a few months after her arrival in +London, the Prince of Monaco visited the capital. Young in +years, handsome in person, and extravagant in expenditure, he +dazzled the fairest women at court; none of whom had so much +power to please him in all as the Duchess of Mazarine. +Notwithstanding the king's generosity, she accepted the prince's +admiration; and resolved to risk the influence she had gained, +that she might freely love where she pleased. Her entertainment +of a passion, as sudden in development as fervid in intensity, +enraged the king; but his fury served only to increase her +infatuation, seeing which, his majesty suspended payment of her +pension. + +The gay Prince of Monaco in due time ending his visit to London, +and leaving the Duchess of Mazarine behind him, she, through the +interposition of her friends, obtained his majesty's pardon, was +received into favour, and again allowed her pension. + +She now ruled, not only mistress of the king's heart, but queen +of a brilliant circle of wits and men of parts, whose delight it +became to heed the epigrams and eccentricities which fell from +her lips. Her rooms at St. James's, and her house in Chelsea, +became the rendezvous of the most polite and brilliant society in +England. In the afternoons, seated amongst her monkeys, dogs, +parrots, and pets, she discoursed on philosophy, love, religion, +politics, and plays; whilst at night her saloons were thrown open +to such as delighted in gambling. Then the duchess, seated at +the head of the table, her dark eyes flashing with excitement, +her red lips parted in expectation, followed the fortunes of the +night with anxiety: all compliments being suspended and all fine +speeches withheld the while, nought being heard but the rustle of +cards and the chink of gold. + +Dainty and luxurious suppers followed, when rare wines flowed, +and wit long suppressed found joyous vent. Here sat Charles +beside his beautiful mistress, happy in the enjoyment of the +present, careless of the needs of his people; and close beside +him my Lord of Buckingham, watchful of his majesty's face, +hatching dark plots whilst he turned deft compliments. There +likewise were my Lord Dorset, the easiest and wittiest man +living; Sir Charles Sedley, one learned in intrigue; Baptist May, +the monarch's favourite; Tom Killigrew who jested on life's +follies whilst he enjoyed them; the Countess of Shrewsbury, +beautiful and amorous; and Madam Ellen, who was ready to mimic or +sing, dance or act, for his majesty's diversion. + +And so, whilst a new day stole upon the world without, tapers +burned low within the duchess's apartments; and the king, his +mistress, and a brave and gallant company ate, drank, and made +merry. + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +A storm threatens the kingdom.--The Duke of York is touched in +his conscience.--His interview with Father Simons.--The king +declares his mind.--The Duchess of York becomes a catholic.--The +circumstances of her death.--The Test Act introduced.--Agitation +of the nation.--The Duke of York marries again.--Lord +Shaftesbury's schemes.--The Duke of Monmouth.--William of Orange +and the Princess Mary.--Their marriage and departure from +England. + +Whilst the surface life of the merry monarch sped onward in its +careless course, watchful eyes took heed of potent signs boding +storms and strife. The storm which shook the kingdom to its +centre came anon; the strife which dethroned a monarch was +reserved for the succeeding reign. These were not effected by +the king's profligacy, indolence, or extravagance, but because of +a change in the religious belief of the heir-apparent to the +crown. + +The cloud, no bigger than a man's hand, which presently spread +and overcast the political horizon, was first observed towards +the beginning of the year 1669. The Rev. J. S. Clarke, +historiographer to George III., chaplain to the royal household, +and librarian to the Prince Regent, in his "Life of James II., +collected out of Memoirs writ of his own hand," tells us that +about this time the Duke of York "was sensibly touched in his +conscience, and began to think seriously of his salvation." +Accordingly, the historian states, "he sent for one Father +Simons, a Jesuit, who had the reputation of a very learned man, +to discourse with him upon that subject; and when he came, he +told him the good intentions he had of being a catholic, and +treated with him concerning his being reconciled to the church. +After much discourse about the matter, the Jesuit very sincerely +told him, that unless he would quit the communion of the Church +of England, he could not be received into the Catholic Church. +The duke then said he thought it might be done by a dispensation +from the pope, alleging the singularity of his case, and the +advantage it might bring to the catholic religion in general, and +in particular to those of it in England, if he might have such +dispensation for outwardly appearing a protestant, at least till +he could own himself publicly to be a catholic, with more +security to his own person and advantage to them. But the father +insisted that even the pope himself had not the power to grant +it, for it was an unalterable doctrine of the Catholic Church, +not to do ill that good might follow. What this Jesuit thus said +was afterwards confirmed to the duke by the pope himself, to whom +he wrote upon the same subject. Till this time his royal +highness believed (as it is commonly believed, or at least said +by the Church of England doctors) that dispensations in any such +cases are by the pope easily granted; but Father Simons's words, +and the letter of his holiness, made the duke think it high time +to use all the endeavours he could, to be at liberty to declare +himself, and not to live in so unsafe and so uneasy a condition. + +Inasmuch as what immediately followed touches a point of great +delicacy and vast importance, the words of the historian, mainly +taken from the "Stuart Papers," are best given here, "His royal +highness well-knowing that the king was of the same mind, and +that his majesty had opened himself upon it to Lord Arundel of +Wardour, Lord Arlington, and Sir Thomas Clifford, took an +occasion to discourse with him upon that subject about the same +time, and found him resolved as to his being a catholic, and that +he intended to have a private meeting with those persons above +named at the duke's closet, to advise with them about the ways +and methods fit to he taken for advancing the catholic religion +in his dominions, being resolved not to live any longer in the +constraint he was under. The meeting was on the 25th of January. +When they were met according to the king's appointment, he +declared his mind to them on the matter of religion, and said how +uneasy it was to him not to profess the faith he believed; and +that he had called them together to have their advice about the +ways and methods fittest to be taken for the settling of the +catholic religion in his kingdoms, and to consider of the time +most proper to declare himself, telling them withal that no time +ought to be lost; that he was to expect to meet with many and +great difficulties in bringing it about, and that he chose rather +to undertake it now, when he and his brother were in their full +strength and able to undergo any fatigue, than to delay it till +they were grown older and less fit to go through with so great a +design. This he spoke with great earnestness, and even with +tears in his eyes; and added, that they were to go about it as +wise men and good catholics ought to do. The consultation lasted +long, and the result was, that there was no better way for doing +this work than to do it in conjunction with France, and with the +assistance of his Most Christian majesty." Accordingly the +secret treaty with France was entered into, as already mentioned. + +No further movement towards professing the catholic religion was +made by the king or his brother for some time. The tendencies of +the latter becoming suspected, his actions were observed with +vigilance, when it was noted, that although he attended service +as usual with the king, he no longer received the sacrament. It +was also remarked the Duchess of York, whose custom it had been +to communicate once a month, soon followed his example. Her +neglect of this duty was considered the more conspicuous as she +had been bred a staunch protestant, and ever appeared zealous in +her support of that religion. Moreover, it was noted that, from +the beginning of the year 1670, she was wont to defend the +catholic faith from such errors as it had been charged withal. + +These matters becoming subjects of conversation at court soon +reached the ears of Bishop Morley, who had acted as her confessor +since her twelfth year, confession being then much practised in +the English Church. Thereon he hastened to her, and spoke at +length of the inferences which were drawn from her neglect of +receiving the sacrament, in answer to which she pleaded business +and ill-health as sufficient excuses. But he, suspecting other +causes, gave her advice, and requested she would send for him in +case doubts arose in her mind concerning the faith she professed. +Being now free from all uncertainties, she readily promised +compliance with his desire, and added, "No priest had ever taken +the confidence to speak to her on those matters." + +The fact that she no longer communicated becoming more noticed as +time passed, the king spoke to his brother concerning the +omission, when the duke told him she had become a catholic. +Hearing this, Charles requested him to keep her change of faith a +secret, which was accordingly done, none being aware of the act +but Father Hunt, a Franciscan friar, Lady Cranmer, one of her +women of the bedchamber, and Mr. Dupuy, servant to the duke. In +a paper she drew up relative to her adoption of the catholic +religion, preserved in the fifth volume of the "Harleian +Miscellany," she professes being one of the greatest enemies that +faith ever had. She likewise declares no man or woman had said +anything, or used the least persuasion to make her change her +religion. That had been effected, she adds, by a perusal of Dr. +Heylin's "History of the Reformation;" after which she spoke +severally to Dr. Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury and Dr. +Blandford, Bishop of Worcester, who told her "there were many +things in the Roman Church which it was very much to be wished +they had kept--as confession, which was no doubt commanded by +God; and praying for the dead, which was one of the ancient +things in Christianity--that for their parts they did it daily, +though they would not own to it." + +The duchess pondered over what she had read and heard, and being +a woman accustomed to judge for herself, and act upon her +decisions, she, in the month of August, 1670 became a member of +the Catholic Church, in which communion she died seven months +later. For fifteen months previous to her demise she had been +suffering from a complication of diseases, with which the medical +skill of that day was unable to cope, and these accumulating, in +March, 1671, ended her days. The "Stuart Papers" furnish an +interesting account of her death. Seeing the hour was at hand +which would sever her from all earthly ties, she besought her +husband not to leave her whilst life remained. She likewise +requested that in case Dr. Blandford or any other of the bishops +should come to visit her, he would tell them she had become a +member of the Catholic Church; but if they insisted on seeing her +she was satisfied to admit them, providing they would not +distress her by arguments or controversy. + +Soon after she had expressed these desires, Bishop Blandford +arrived, and begged permission to see her, hearing which the duke +went into the drawing-room, where his lordship waited, and +delivered the message with which the duchess had charged him. +Thereon the bishop said, "he made no doubt but that she would do +well since she was fully convinced, and had not changed out of +any worldly end." He then went into the room, and having made "a +short Christian exhortation suitable to the condition she was +in," took his departure. Presently the queen came and sat by the +dying woman, with whom she had borne many wrongs in common; and +later on, the Franciscan friar being admitted, the duchess +"received all the last sacraments of the Catholick Church, and +dyed with great devotion and resignation." + +Though no mystery was now made concerning the faith in which she +died, the duke, from motives of prudence, continued to preserve +the secret of his having embraced the same religion. He still +publicly attended service on Sundays with the king, but continued +to absent himself from communion. At last, the Christmastide of +the year 1672 being at hand, his majesty besought Lord Arundel +and Sir Thomas (now Lord) Clifford to persuade the duke to take +the sacrament with him, "and make him sensible of the prejudice +it would do to both of them should he forbear so to do, by giving +the world so much reason to believe he was a catholick." To this +request these honest gentlemen replied it would be difficult to +move the duke to his majesty's desires; but even if they +succeeded, it would fail to convince the world his royal highness +was not a catholic. With these answers Charles seemed satisfied; +but again on Christmas Eve he urged Lord Clifford to advise the +duke to publicly communicate on the morrow. His royal highness, +not being so unscrupulous as the king, refused compliance with +his wishes. + +The following Easter he likewise refrained from communicating. +Evelyn tells us that "a most crowded auditorie" had assembled in +the Chapel Royal on this Sunday; possibly it had been drawn there +to hear the eloquence of Dr. Sparrow, Bishop of Exeter--probably +to observe the movements of the king's brother. "I staied to +see," writes Evelyn, "whether, according to costome, the Duke of +York received the communion with the king; but he did not, to the +amazement of everybody. This being the second year he had +forborn and put it off, and within a day of the parliament +sitting, who had lately made so severe an act against ye increase +of poperie, gave exceeding griefe and scandal to the whole +nation, that the heyre of it, and ye sonn of a martyr for ye +Protestant religion, should apostatize. What the consequence of +this will be God only knows, and wise men dread." + +That the nation might no longer remain in uncertainty concerning +the change the duke was suspected to have made, a bill, commonly +called the "Test Act," was, at the instigation of Lord +Shaftesbury, introduced into the House of Commons, on its +reassembling. In substance this set forth, that all persons +holding office, or place of trust, or profit, should take the +oaths of supremacy and allegiance in a public court; receive the +sacrament according to the Church of England in some parish +church on the Lord's Day; and deliver a certificate of having so +received communion, signed by the respective ministers and +church-wardens, and proved by two credible witnesses on oath. +After prolonged debates upon this singular bill, it was passed +through both houses of parliament, and received a reluctant +consent from the king. [This act continued in force until the +reign of George IV.] + +A great commotion followed the passing of this Act. Immediately +the Duke of York resigned his post of lord high admiral of +England. Suspicion now became certainty; he was truly a papist. +His enemies were elated with triumph, his friends dejected by +regret. Before public feeling had time to subside, it was +thoroughly startled by the news that Lord Clifford, who was +supposed to be a staunch protestant, had delivered up his staff +of office as lord treasurer; and Lord Bellasis and Sir Thomas +Strickland, papists both, "though otherwise men of quality and +ability," had relinquished their places at court. The king was +perplexed, the parliament divided into factions, the nation +disturbed. No man knew who might next proclaim himself a papist. +As days passed, excitement increased; for hundreds who held +positions in the army, or under the crown--many of whom had +fought for the king and his father--by tendering their +resignations, now proved themselves slaves of what a vigorous +writer calls the "Romish yoke: such a thing," he adds, "as +cannot, but for want of a name to express it, be called a +religion." + +Public agitation steadily rose. Evelyn tells us, "he dare not +write all the strange talk of the town." Distrust of the king, +fear of his brother, hatred of popery and papists, filled men's +minds and blinded their reason with prejudice. That the city had +seven years ago been destroyed by fire, in accordance with a +scheme of the wicked Jesuits, was a belief which once more +revived: the story of the gunpowder plot was again detailed. +Fearful suspicions sprang up and held possession of the vulgar +mind, that the prosecutions suffered by protestants under Queen +Mary might be repeated in the reign of the present monarch, or of +his brother. That heaven might defend the country from being +overrun by popery, the House of Commons besought his majesty to +order a day of fasting and humiliation. And by way of adding +fury to the gathering tempest, the bishops, Burnet states, +"charged the clergy to preach against popery, which alarmed the +court as well as the city, and the whole nation." + +The king therefore complained to Dr. Sheldon, Archbishop of +Canterbury, that the discourse heard in every pulpit throughout +the capital and the kingdom was "calculated to inflame the +people, and alienate them from him and his government. "Upon +which Dr. Sheldon called the bishops together, that he might +consult with them as to what answer he had best make. Whereon +these wise men declared "since the king himself professed the +protestant religion, it would be a thing without a precedent that +he should forbid his clergy to preach in defence of a religion, +while he himself said he was of it." The next action which +served to inflame public prejudice against catholicism, was the +marriage of the Duke of York to a princess professing that faith. + +Soon after the death of his wife, it was considered wise and well +his royal highness should marry again. Of the four sons and four +daughters the duchess had borne him, three sons and one daughter +had died before their mother, and the surviving son and another +daughter quickly followed her to the tomb; therefore, out of +eight children but two survived, Mary and Anne, at this time +respectively aged nine and seven. It being desirable there +should be a male heir-presumptive to the crown, the king was +anxious his brother should take unto himself a second wife. And +that a lady might be found worthy of the exalted station to which +such a union would raise her, the Earl of Peterborough was sent +incognito to report on the manners and appearance of the +princesses of the courts of Neuburg and of Modena. Not being +impressed by the merits of those belonging to the former, he +betook himself to the latter, where, seeing the young Princess +d'Este, then in her fifteenth year, he came to the conclusion no +better choice could be made on behalf of the duke than this fair +lady. On communicating this opinion to his royal highness and to +his majesty, the king commissioned him to demand the hand of the +princess in marriage for his brother. + +Difficulties regarding this desired union now arose. The young +lady, having been bred in great simplicity and ignorance, had +never heard of such a country as England, or such a person as the +Duke of York; and therefore had no mind to adventure herself in a +distant land, or wed a man of whom she knew nought. Moreover, +she had betrayed an inclination to spend her days in the +seclusion of a convent, and had no thought of marriage. Her +mother, the Duchess of Modena, then regent, by reason of her +husband's death and her son's minority, was anxious for so +advantageous an alliance. And being unable to gain her +daughter's consent, she sought the interference of the pope, who +wrote to the young princess, that compliance with her mother's +request would "most conduce to the service of God and the public +good." On this, Mary Beatrice Eleonora, Princess d'Este, +daughter of the fourth Duke of Modena, consented to become +Duchess of York. Whereon the Earl of Peterborough made a public +entry into Modena, as ambassador extraordinary of Charles II.; +and having agreed to all the articles of marriage, wedded her by +proxy for the royal duke. + +Meanwhile, news that the heir to the crown was about to wed a +papist spread with rapidity throughout the kingdom, carrying +alarm in its course. If sons were born of the union, they would, +it was believed, undoubtedly be reared in the religion of their +parents, and England in time became subject to a catholic king. +The possibility of such a fate was to the public mind fraught +with horror; and the House of Commons, after some angry debates +on the subject, presented an address to the king, requesting he +would abandon this proposed marriage. To this he was not +inclined to listen, his honour being so far involved in the +business; but notwithstanding his unwillingness, his councillors +urged him to this step, and prayed he would stop the princess, +then journeying through France on her way to England. This so +incensed him that he immediately prorogued parliament, and freed +himself from further interference on the subject. + +On the 21st of November, 1673, the future duchess landed at +Dover, where the duke awaited her, attended by a scant retinue. +For the recent protestations, made in the House of Commons +against the marriage, having the effect of scaring the courtiers, +few of the nobility, and but one of the bishops, Dr. Crew of +Oxford, ventured to accompany him, or greet his bride. On the +day of her arrival the marriage was celebrated, "according to the +usual form in cases of the like nature." The "Stuart Papers" +give a brief account of the ceremony. "The Duke and Duchess of +York, with the Duchess of Modena her mother, being together in a +room where all the company was present, as also my Lord +Peterborough, the bishop asked the Duchess of Modena and the Earl +of Peterborough whether the said earl had married the Duchess of +York as proxy of the duke? which they both affirming, the bishop +then declared it was a lawful marriage." + +This unpopular union served to strengthen the gathering storm; +Protests against popery were universally heard; an article in the +marriage settlement, which guaranteed the duchess a public +chapel, was broken; and the duke was advised by Lord Berkshire to +retire into the country, "where he might hunt and pray without +offence to any or disquiet to himself." This counsel he refused +to heed. Until his majesty should command him to the contrary, +he said, he would always attend upon him, and do such service as +he thought his duty and the king's security required of him. His +enemies became more wrathful at this reply, more suspicious of +popery, and more fearful of his influence with the king, They +therefore sought to have him removed from his majesty's councils +and presence by act of parliament. + +Consequently, when both Houses assembled on the 7th of January, +1674, the lords presented an address to the monarch, praying he +would graciously issue a proclamation, requiring all papists, or +reputed papists, within five miles of London, Westminster, or +Southwark, to depart ten miles from these respective cities, and +not return during this session of Parliament. A few days +afterwards an act was introduced into the House of Commons +proposing a second test, impossible for catholics to accept, the +refusal of which would not only render them incapable of holding +any office, civil or military, or of sitting in either House of +Parliament, but "of coming within five miles of the court." This +unjust bill, to which, if it passed both houses, Charles dared +not refuse assent, threw the court and country into a state of +renewed excitement. Knowing it was a blow levelled at the duke, +his friends gathered round him, determined to oppose it by might +and main; and after great exertions caused a clause to be +inserted excepting his royal highness from the test. This was +ultimately carried by a majority of two votes, which, says +Clarke, "put the little Earl of Shaftesbury so out of humour, +that he said he did not care what became of the bill, having that +proviso in it." + +This noble earl, who was chief among the royal duke's enemies, +was a prominent figure in the political history of the time. Mr. +Burnet tells us his lordship's strength lay in the knowledge of +England, and of all considerable men. "He understood," says the +bishop, "the size of their understandings and their tempers; and +he knew how to apply himself to them so dexterously, that though +by his changing sides so often it was very visible how little he +was to be depended on, yet he was to the last much trusted by all +the discontented party. He had no regard to truth or justice." +As rich in resources as he was poor in honour, he renewed a plan +for depriving the Duke of York from succession to the crown; +which, though it had failed when formerly attempted, he trusted +might now succeed. This was to declare the Duke of Monmouth the +king's legitimate son and heir to the throne of England, a scheme +which the ambitious son of Lucy Walters was eager to forward. + +His majesty's affection for him had strengthened with time, and +his favours had been multiplied by years. On the death of the +Duke of Albemarle, Captain General of the Forces, Monmouth had +been appointed to that high office; and some time later had been +made General of the Kingdom of Scotland, posts of greatest +importance. Relying on the monarch's love and the people's +admiration for this illegitimate scion of royalty, Lord +Shaftesbury hoped to place him on the throne. As the first step +necessary in this direction was to gain his majesty's avowal of a +union with Lucy Walters, he ventured on broaching the subject to +the king; at which Charles was so enraged that he declared, "much +as he loved the Duke of Monmouth, he had rather see him hanged at +Tyburn than own him as his legitimate son." There was, however, +another man engaged in a like design to the noble earl, who, if +not less scrupulous, was more daring. + +This was one Ross, a Scotsman, who had been made governor of the +young duke on his first coming into England, and who had since +acted as his friend and confidant. Now Ross, who had not failed +to whisper ambitious thoughts into his pupil's head, at this time +sought Dr. Cosin, Bishop of Durham, and according to the "Stuart +Papers," told him "he might do a great piece of service to the +Church of England in keeping out popery, if he would but sign a +certificate of the king's marriage to the Duke of Monmouth's +mother, with whom that bishop was acquainted in Paris. Ross also +told the bishop, to make the thing more easy to him, that during +his life the certificate should not be produced or made use of." +The same papers state that, as a bishop's certificate is a legal +proof of marriage, Dr. Cosin's compliance would have been +invaluable to the duke and his friends. His lordship, however, +rejected the proposition, and laid the matter before the king, +who expelled Ross from court. + +Horror of popery and fear of a papist sovereign increased with +time, care having been taken by my Lord Shaftesbury and his party +that the public mind, once inflamed, should be kept ignited. For +this purpose he spread reports abroad that the Irish were about +to rise in rebellion, backed by the French; and that the papists +in London had entered into a vile conspiracy to put their fellow +citizens to the sword on the first favourable opportunity. To +give this latter statement a flavour of reality he, assuming an +air of fright, betook himself one night to the city, and sought +refuge in the house of a fanatic, in order, he said, that he +might escape the catholics, who had planned to cut his throat. + +A tempest, dark and dangerous, was gathering fast, which the +court felt powerless to subdue. The king's assurance to +parliament that "he would endeavour to satisfy the world of his +steadfastness for the security of the protestant religion," had +little avail in soothing the people. Many of them suspected him +to be a catholic at heart; others knew he had accepted the bounty +of a country feared and detested by the nation. Deeds, not +words, could alone dispel the clouds of prejudice which came +between him and his subjects; and accordingly he set about the +performance of such acts as might bring reconciliation in their +train. + +The first of these was the confirmation, according to the +Protestant Church, of the Lady Mary, eldest daughter of the Duke +of York, and after him heir presumptive to the crown; the second +and more important was the marriage of that princess to William +of Orange. This prince was son of the king's eldest sister, and +therefore grandson of Charles I. As a hero who, by virtue of his +statesmanship and indomitable courage, had rescued Holland from +the hateful power of France, he was regarded not only as the +saviour of his country, but as the protector of protestantism. +Already a large section of the English nation turned their eyes +towards him as one whom they might elect some day to weald the +sceptre of Great Britain. Subtle, ambitious, and determined, a +silent student of humanity, a grave observer of politics, a +sagacious leader in warfare, he had likewise begun to look +forward towards the chances of succeeding his uncle in the +government of England--in hopes of which he had been strengthened +by the private overtures made him by Shaftesbury, and sustained +by the public prejudices exhibited against the Duke of York. + +The proposed union between him and the heiress presumptive to the +crown was regarded by the nation with satisfaction, and by the +prince as an act strongly favouring the realization of his +desires for sovereignty. Cold and grave in temperament, sickly +and repulsive in appearance, blunt and graceless in manner, he +was by no means an ideal bridegroom for a fair princess; but +neither she nor her father had any choice given them in a concern +so important to the pacification of the nation. She, it was +whispered at court, had previously given her heart to a brave +young Scottish laird; and her father, it was known, had already +taken an instinctive dislike to the man destined to usurp his +throne. In October, 1677, the Prince of Orange came to England, +ostensibly to consult with King Charles regarding the +establishment of peace between France and the Confederates; but +the chief motive of his visit was to promote his marriage, which +had some time before been proposed, and owing to political causes +had been coolly received by him. Now, however, his anxiety for +the union was made plain to the king, who quickly agreed to his +desires. "Nephew," said he to the sturdy Dutchman, "it is not +good for man to be alone, and I will give you a help meet for +you; and so," continues Burnet, "he told him he would bestow his +niece on him." + +The same afternoon the monarch informed his council that "the +Prince of Orange, desiring a more strict alliance with England by +marriage with the Lady Mary, he had consented to it, as a thing +he looked on as very proper to unite the family, and which he +believed would be agreeable to his people, and show them the care +he had of religion, for which reason he thought it the best +alliance he could make." When his majesty had concluded this +speech, the Duke of York stepped forward, and declared his +consent to the marriage. He hoped "he had now given a sufficient +testimony of his right intentions for the public good, and that +people would no more say he designed altering the government in +church or state; for whatever his opinion on religion might be, +all that he desired was, that men might not be molested merely +for conscience' sake." + +The duke then dined at Whitehall with, the king, the Prince of +Orange, and a noble company; after which he returned to St. +James's, where he then resided. Dr. Edward Luke, at this time +tutor to the Lady Mary, and subsequently Archdeacon of Exeter, in +his interesting manuscript diary, informs us that on reaching the +palace, the duke, with great tenderness and fatherly affection, +took his daughter aside, "and told her of the marriage designed +between her and the Prince of Orange; whereupon her highness wept +all that afternoon and the following day." Her tears had not +ceased to flow when, two days after the announcement of her +marriage, Lord Chancellor Finch, on behalf of the council, came +to congratulate her; and Lord Chief Justice Rainsford, on the +part of the judges, complimented her in extravagant terms. + +This union, which the bride regarded with so much repugnance, was +appointed to take place on the 4th of November, that date being +the bridegroom's birthday, as likewise the anniversary of his +mother's nativity. Dr. Luke gives a quaint account of the +ceremony. "At nine o'clock at night," he writes, "the marriage +was solemnized in her highness's bedchamber. The king; who gave +her away, was very pleasant all the while; for he desired that +the Bishop of London would make haste lest his sister [the +Duchess of York] should be delivered of a son, and so the +marriage be disappointed. And when the prince endowed her with +all his worldly goods [laying gold and silver on the book], he +willed to put all up in her pockett, for 'twas clear gains. At +eleven o'clock they went to bed, when his majesty came and drew +the curtains, saying, 'Hey! St. George for England!'" + +For a time both court and town seemed to forget the trouble and +strife which beset them. Bonfires blazed in the streets, bells +rang from church towers, the populace cheered lustily; whilst at +Whitehall there were many brilliant entertainments. These +terminated with a magnificent ball, held on the 15th instant, the +queen's birthday; at the conclusion of this festivity the bride +and bridegroom were to embark in their yacht, which was to set +sail next morning for Holland. For this ball the princess had +"attired herself very richly with all her jewels;" but her whole +appearance betrayed a sadness she could not suppress in the +present, and which the future did not promise to dispel. For +already the bridegroom, whom the maids of honour had dubbed the +"Dutch monster" and "Caliban," had commenced to reveal glimpses +of his unhandsome character; "and the court began to whisper of +his sullennesse or clownishnesse, that he took no notice of his +princess at the playe and balle, nor came to see her at St. +James', the day preceding that designed for their departure." + +The wind being easterly, they were detained in England until the +19th, when, accompanied by the king, the Duke of York, and +several persons of quality, they went in barges from Whitehall to +Greenwich. The princess was sorely grieved, and wept +unceasingly. When her tutor "kneeled down and kissed her gown" +at parting, she could not find words to speak, but turned her +back that she might hide her tears; and, later on, when the queen +"would have comforted her with the consideration of her own +condition when she came into England, and had never till then +seen the king, her highness replied, 'But, madam, you came into +England; but I am going out of England.'" + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +The threatened storm bursts.--History of Titus Oates and Dr. +Tonge.--A dark scheme concocted.--The king is warned of danger. +--The narrative of a horrid plot laid before the treasurer.-- +Forged letters.--Titus Oates before the council.--His blunders.-- +A mysterious murder.--Terror of the citizens.--Lord Shaftesbury's +schemes.--Papists are banished from the capital.--Catholic peers +committed to the Tower.--Oates is encouraged. + +The marriage of the Lady Mary, though agreeable to the public +mind, by no means served to distract it from the turmoil by which +it was beset. Hatred of catholicism, fear of the Duke of York, +and distrust of the king, disturbed the nation to its core. +Rumours were now noised abroad, which were not without +foundation, that the monarch and his brother had renewed the +treaty with France, by which Louis engaged to send troops into +England to support Charles, when the latter saw fit to lay aside +duplicity, and proclaim himself a catholic. And, notwithstanding +the rigorous Test Acts, it was believed many high positions at +court were held by those who were papists at heart. Occasion was +therefore ripe for the invention of a monstrous fraud, the +history of which has been transmitted under the title of the +Popish Plot. + +The chief contrivers of this imposture were Titus Oates and Dr. +Tonge. The first of these was son of a ribbon-weaver, who, +catching the fanatical spirit of the Cromwellian period, had +ranted as an Anabaptist preacher. Dissent, however, losing +favour under the restoration, Oates, floating with the current of +the times, resolved to become a clergyman of the Church of +England, He therefore took orders at Cambridge, officiated as +curate in various parishes, and served as chaplain on board a +man-of-war. The time he laboured as spiritual shepherd to his +respective flocks was necessarily brief; for his grossly immoral +practices becoming notable, he was in every case ousted from his +charge. The odium attached to his name was moreover increased by +the fact, that his evidence in two cases of malicious prosecution +had been proved false; for which he had been tried as a perjurer. +Deprived of his chaplaincy for a revolting act of profligacy, +driven from congregations he had scandalized, homeless and +destitute, he in an evil hour betook himself to Dr. Ezrael Tonge, +to whom he had long been known, and besought compassion and +relief. + +The Rev, Dr. Tonge, rector of St. Michael's, Wood Street, was a +confirmed fanatic and political alarmist. For some years +previous to this time, he had published quarterly treatises +dealing with such wicked designs of the Jesuits as his heated +brain devised. These he had printed and freely circulated, in +order, as he acknowledged, "to arouse and awaken his majesty and +the parliament" to a sense of danger. He had begun life as a +gardener, but left that honest occupation that he might cultivate +flowers of rhetoric for the benefit of Cromwell's soldiers. Like +Titus Oates, he had become suddenly converted to orthodox +principles on return of the king, and had, through interest, +obtained the rectorship of St. Michael's. Bishop Burnet +considered him "a very mean divine, (who) seemed credulous and +simple, and was full of projects and notions." + +Another historian who lived in those days, the Rev. Laurence +Eachard, Archdeacon of Stowe, states Dr. Tonge was "a man of +letters, and had a prolific head filled with all the Romish plots +and conspiracies since the reformation." According to this +author, Tonge took Oates into his house, provided him with +lodging, diet, and clothes; and when the latter complained he +knew not where to get bread, the rector told him "he would put +him in a way." After this, finding Oates a man of great +ingenuity and cunning, "he persuaded him," says Archdeacon +Eachard, "to insinuate himself among the papists, and get +particular acquaintance with them; which being effected, he let +him understand that there had been several plots in England to +bring in popery, and that if he would go beyond sea among the +Jesuits, and strictly observe their ways, it was possible there +might be one at present; and if he could make that out, it would +be his preferment for ever; but, however, if he could get their +names, and some information from the papists, it would be very +easy to rouse people with the fears of popery." + +Hungering for gold, and thirsting for notoriety, Oates quickly +agreed to the scheme laid before him. Accordingly he became +acquainted with, and was received into the Catholic Church by, +Father Berry, a Jesuit, and in May, 1677, was sent by the Jesuits +to study in one of their seminaries, situated in Valladolid, in +Spain. Oates, however, though he had proved himself an excellent +actor, could not overcome his evil propensities, and before seven +months had passed, he was expelled from the monastery. + +Returning to England, he sought out Dr. Tonge, to whom he was +unable to recount the secret of a single plot. Confident, +however, that wicked schemes against the lives and properties of +innocent protestants were being concocted by wily Jesuits, the +fanatical divine urged Oates to present himself once more before +them, bewail his misconduct, promise amendment, and seek +readmission to their midst. Following his advice, Oates was +again received by the Jesuits, and sent to their famous seminary +at St. Omer's; where, though he had reached the age of thirty +years, he was entered among the junior students. For six months +he remained here, until his vices becoming noted, he was turned +away in disgrace. Again he presented himself before the rector +of St. Michael's, knowing as little of popish plots as he did on +his previous return. But Tonge, though disappointed, was not +disheartened; if no scheme existed, he would invent one which +should startle the public, and save the nation. Such proposals +as he made towards the accomplishment of this end were readily +assented to by Oates, in whose breast wounded pride and bitter +hate rankled deep. Therefore, after many consultations they +resolved to draw up a "Narrative of a Horrid Plot." This was +repeatedly changed and enlarged, until eventually it assumed the +definite shape of a deposition, consisting of forty-three +distinct articles, written with great formality and care, and +embodying many shocking and criminal charges. + +The narrative declared that in April, 1677, the deponent was +employed to carry letters from the Jesuits in London to members +of their order in Spain; these he broke open on the journey, and +discovered that certain Jesuits had been sent into Scotland to +encourage the presbyterians to rebel. Arrived in Valladolid, he +heard one Armstrong, in a sermon delivered to students, charge +his majesty with most foul and black-mouthed scandals, and use +such irreverent, base expressions as no good subjects could +repeat without horror. He then returned to England, and was soon +after sent to St. Omer with fresh letters, in which was mentioned +a design to stab or poison his majesty--Pere la Chaise, the +French king's confessor, having placed ten thousand pounds at the +disposal of the Jesuits that they might, by laying out such a +sum, the more successfully accomplish this deed. While abroad +the deponent had read many letters, relating to the execution of +Charles II., the subverting of the present government, and the +establishment of the Romish religion. Returning again to +England, he became privy to a treaty with Sir George Wakeham, the +queen's physician, to poison the king; and likewise with an +agreement to shoot him, made between the Jesuits and two men, +named Honest William and Pickering. He had heard a Jesuit preach +a sermon to twelve persons of quality in disguise, in which he +asserted "that protestants and other heretical princes were IPSO +FACTO deposed because such; and that it was as lawful to destroy +them as Oliver Cromwell or any other usurper." He also became +aware that the dreadful fire had been managed by Strange, the +provincial of the Jesuits, who employed eighty-six men in +distributing seven hundred fire-balls to destroy the city; and +that notwithstanding his vast expenses, he gained fourteen +thousand pounds by plunder carried on during the general +confusion, a box of jewels, consisting of a thousand carat weight +of diamonds, being included in the robbery. + +The document containing these remarkable statements was finished +in August, 1678. It now remained to have it brought before the +king or the council. Tonge was resolved this should he done in a +manner best calculated to heighten the effect of their narrative; +at the same time he was careful to guard the fact that he and +Oates had an intimate knowledge of each other. Not knowing any +one of interest at court, he sought out Christopher Kirby, a man +employed in the king's laboratory, of whom he had some slight +knowledge, and, pledging him to the strictest secrecy, showed him +the "Narrative of the Horrid Plot," and besought his help in +bringing it under the notice of his majesty in as private a +manner as possible. + +This aid was freely promised; and next day, the date being the +13th of August, when the monarch was about to take his usual +airing in the park, Kirby drew near, and in a mysterious tone +bade his majesty take care, for his enemies had a design against +his life, which might be put into execution at any moment. +Startled by such words, the king asked him in what manner was it +intended his life should be taken; to which he replied, "It might +be by pistol; but that to give a more particular account of the +matter, required greater privacy." The monarch, who quickly +recovered his first surprise, resolved to take his usual +exercise; and, subduing his curiosity, he bade Kirby attend him +on his return from the park, and tell him what he knew of the +subject. + +When the time arrived, Kirby saw his majesty alone, and related +to him in brief that two men waited but an opportunity to shoot +him; and Sir George Wakeham had been hired to poison him; which +news, he concluded, had been imparted to him by a worthy man +living close at hand, who would attend his majesty's pleasure +when that was manifested. + +Bewildered by such intelligence, yet suspicious of its veracity, +the king ordered Kirby to summon his informant that evening by +eight o'clock. When that hour came his majesty repaired to the +Red Room, and there met Dr. Tonge, who delivered his narrative +into his hands. The rector was convinced the great moment he had +so long awaited, in which he would behold the monarch aroused to +a sense of his danger, had arrived. He was doomed to bitter +disappointment. His majesty coolly took the narrative, and +without opening it, said it should be examined into. On this +Tonge begged it might be kept safe and secret, "lest the full +discovery should otherwise be prevented and his life endangered." +The monarch replied that, before starting with the court to- +morrow for Windsor, he would place it in the hands of one he +could trust, and who would answer for its safety. He then bade +him attend on the Lord Treasurer Danby next morning. + +In obedience to this command, Tonge waited on his lordship at the +appointed time, and by the character of his replies helped to +develop his story of the plot. When asked if the document he had +given his majesty was the original of the deponent, Tonge +admitted it was in his own handwriting. On this, Lord Danby +expressed a desire to see the original, and likewise become +acquainted with its author. Nothing abashed, the rector replied +the manuscript was in his house, and accounted for its possession +by stating that, singularly enough, it had been thrust under his +door--he did not know by whom, but fancied it must be by one who, +some time before, had discussed with him on the subject of this +conspiracy. Whereon his lordship asked him if he knew the man, +and was answered he did not, but he had seen him lately two or +three times in the streets, and it was likely he should see him +soon again. + +Being next questioned as to whether he had any knowledge of +Honest William, or Pickering, the villains who sought the king's +life, he answered he had not. Immediately, however, he +remembered it was their habit to walk in St. James's Park, and +said, if any man was appointed to keep him company, he was almost +certain he would have opportunities of letting that person see +these abominable wretches. Finally, Lord Danby asked him if he +knew where they dwelt, for it was his duty to have them arrested +at once; but of their abode Tonge was completely ignorant, though +he was hopeful he should speedily be able to obtain the required +information. + +He was therefore dismissed, somewhat to his satisfaction, being +unprepared for such particular examination; but in a couple of +days he returned to the charge, determined his tale should not be +discredited for lack of effrontery, On this occasion he said he +had met the man he suspected of being author of the document, who +owned himself as such, and stated that his name was Titus Oates, +but requested Tonge would keep it a strict secret, "because the +papists would murder him if they knew what he was doing." +Moreover, Oates had given him a second paper full of fresh +horrors concerning this most foul plot. Taking this with him, +the lord treasurer hastened to Windsor, that he might consult the +king, having first left a servant with Tonge, in hopes the latter +might catch sight of Honest William and Pickering in their daily +walk through the park, and have them arrested. On Danby +recounting Tonge's statements to the king, his majesty was more +convinced than before the narrative was wholly without +foundation, and refused to make it known to his council or the +Duke of York. Therefore the lord-treasurer, on conclusion of a +brief visit, left Windsor for his country residence, situated at +Wimbledon. + +For some days no fresh disclosure was made concerning this horrid +plot, until late one night, when Dr. Tonge arrived in great haste +at Lord Danby's house, and informed him some of the intended +regicides had resolved on journeying to Windsor next morning, +determined to assassinate the king. He added, it was in his +power to arrange that the earl's servant should ride with them in +their coach, or at least accompany them on horseback, and so give +due notice of their arrival, in order that they might be timely +arrested. Alarmed by this intelligence, Danby at once hastened +to Windsor, and informed the king of what had come to his +knowledge. Both endured great suspense that night, and next day +their excitement was raised to an inordinate pitch by seeing the +earl's servant ride towards the castle with all possible speed. +When, however, the man was brought into his majesty's presence, +he merely delivered a message from Dr. Tonge, stating the +villains "had been prevented from taking their intended journey +that day, but they proposed riding to Windsor next day, or within +two days at farthest." Before that time had arrived, another +message came to say, "one of their horses being slipped in the +shoulder, their trip to Windsor was postponed." + +Taking these foolish excuses, as well as Dr. Tonge's +prevaricating answers and mysterious statements, into +consideration, the king was now convinced the "Narrative of a +Horrid Plot" was an invention of a fanatic or a rogue. He was, +therefore; desirous of letting the subject drop into obscurity; +but Lord Danby, foreseeing in the sensation which its avowal +would create, a welcome cloud to screen the defects of his +policy, which parliament intended to denounce, urged his majesty +to lay the matter before his privy council. This advice the king +refused to accept, saying, "he should alarm all England, and put +thoughts of killing him into people's heads, who had no such +ideas before." Somewhat disappointed, the lord treasurer +returned once more to Wimbledon, the king remaining at Windsor, +and no further news of the plot disturbed the even tenour of +their lives for three days. + +At the end of that time Dr. Tonge, now conscious of the false +steps he had taken, conceived a fresh scheme by which his story +might obtain credence, and he gain wealth and fame. Accordingly +he wrote to Danby, informing him a packet of letters, written by +the Jesuits and concerning the plot, would, on a certain date, be +sent to Mr. Bedingfield, chaplain to the Duchess of York. Such +information was most acceptable to Danby at the moment; he at +once started for Windsor, and laid this fresh information before +the king. To his lordship's intense surprise, his majesty handed +him the letters. These, five in number, containing treasonable +expressions and references to the plot, had been some hours +before handed by Mr. Bedingfield to the Duke of York, saying, he +"feared some ill was intended him by the same packet, because the +letters therein seemed to be of a dangerous nature, and that he +was sure they were not the handwriting of the persons whose names +were subscribed to the letters." On examination, they were +proved to be most flagrant forgeries. Written in a feigned hand, +and signed by different names, they were evidently the production +of one man; the same want of punctuation, style of expression, +and peculiarities of spelling being notable in all. The Duke of +York, foreseeing malice was meant by them, forcibly persuaded the +king to place the epistles before the privy council. +Accordingly, they were handed to Sir William Jones, attorney +general, and Sir Robert Southwell, who stated, upon comparing +them with Dr. Tonge's narrative, they were convinced both were +written by the same hand. + +Meanwhile, Tonge and Oates, aware of the coldness and doubt with +which his majesty had received the "Narrative of the Horrid +Plot," and ignorant of the fact he had placed the letters before +his privy council, resolved to make their story public to the +world. It therefore happened on the 6th of September they +presented themselves before Sir Edmondbury Godfrey, a justice of +the peace, in the parish of St. Martin's, who, not without +considerable persuasion, consented to receive a sworn testimony +from Titus Oates regarding the truth of his narrative, which had +now grown from forty-three to eighty-one articles. This action +prevented further secrecy concerning the so-called plot. + +A few days later the court returned to town for the winter, when +the Duke of York besought the privy council to investigate the +strange charges made in the declaration. Accordingly, on the +28th of the month, Tonge and Oates were summoned before it, when +the latter, making many additions to his narrative, solemnly +affirmed its truth. Aghast at so horrible a relation, the +council knew not what to credit. The evil reputation Oates had +borne, the baseness of character he revealed in detailing his +actions as a spy, the mysterious manner in which the fanatical +Tonge accounted for his possession of the document, tended to +make many doubt; whilst others, believing no man would have the +hardihood to bring forward such charges without being able to +sustain them by proof, contended it was their duty to sift them +to the end. Believing if he had been entrusted with secret +letters and documents of importance, he would naturally retain +some of them in order to prove his intended charges, the council +asked Oates to produce them; but of these he had not one to show. +Nor, he confessed, could he then furnish proof of his words, but +promised if he were provided with a guard, and given officers and +warrants, he would arrest certain persons concerned in the plot, +and seize secret documents such as none could dispute. These +being granted him, he immediately caused eight Jesuits to be +apprehended and imprisoned. Then he commenced a search for +treasonable letters, not only in their houses, but in the homes +of such catholics as were noted for their zeal. His +investigations were awaited with impatience; nor were they +without furnishing some pretext for his accusations. + +One of the first dwellings which Titus Oates investigated was +that of Edward Coleman. This gentleman, the son of an English +divine, had early in life embraced catholicity, for the +propagation of which he thenceforth became most zealous. Coming +under notice of the court, he became the confidant of the Duke of +York, and by him was made secretary to the duchess. A man of +great mental activity, religious fervour, and considerable +ambition, he had, about four years previous to this time, entered +into a correspondence with the confessor of the French king and +other Jesuits, regarding the hopes he entertained of Charles II. +professing catholicity. Knowing him to be bold in his designs +and incautious in his actions, the duke had discharged him from +his post as secretary to the duchess, but had retained him in his +dependence. This latter circumstance, together with a suspicion +of the confidence which had existed between him and his royal +highness, prompted Oates to have him arrested, and his house +searched. Coleman, having received notice of this design, fled +from his home, incautiously leaving behind him some old letters +and copies of communications which had passed between him and the +Jesuits. These were at once seized, and though not containing +one expression which could be construed as treasonable, were, +from expectations they set forth of seeing catholicity re- +established in England, considered by undiscerning judges, proofs +of the statements made by Oates. + +On the strength of his discovery, Oates hastened to Sir +Edmondbury Godfrey, and swore false informations; becoming aware +of which, Coleman, conscious of his innocence, delivered himself +up, in hopes of meeting a justice never vouchsafed him. + +The Privy council now sat morning and evening, in order to +examine Oates, whose evidence proved untrustworthy and +contradictory to a bewildering degree. When it was pointed out +to him the five letters, supposed to come from men of education, +contained ill-spelling, bad grammar, and other faults, he, with +much effrontery, declared it was a common artifice among the +Jesuits to write in that manner, in order to avoid recognition; +but inasmuch as real names were attached to the epistles, that +argument was not considered just. The subject was not mentioned +again. When an agent for these wicked men in Spain, he related, +he had been admitted into the presence of Don John, and had seen +him counting out large sums of money, with which he intended to +reward Sir George Wakeham when he had poisoned the king. Hearing +this, his majesty inquired what kind of person Don John was. +Oates said he was tall, lean, and black; whereas the monarch knew +him to be small, stout, and fair. And on another occasion, when +asked where he had heard the French king's confessor hire an +assassin to shoot Charles, he replied, "At the Jesuits' monastery +close by the Louvre;" at which the king, losing patience with the +impostor, cried out, "Tush, man! the Jesuits have no house +within a mile of the Louvre!" Presently Oates named two catholic +peers, Lord Arundel of Wardour and Lord Bellasis, as being +concerned in the plot, when the king again spoke to him, saying +these lords had served his father faithfully, and fought his wars +bravely, and unless proof were clear against them, he would not +credit they sought him ill. Then Oates, seeing he had gone too +far, said they did not know of the conspiracy, but it had been +intended to acquaint them with it in good time. Later on he +swore falsely against them. + +Meanwhile the wildest sensation was caused by the revelations of +this "hellish plot and attempt to murder the king." The public +mind, long filled with hatred of papacy, was now inflamed to a +degree of fury which could only be quenched by the blood of many +victims. To the general sensation which obtained, a new terror +was promptly added by the occurrence of a supposed horrible and +mysterious murder. + +On the evening of Saturday, the 12th of October, Sir Edmondbury +Godfrey was missing from his home in the parish of St. Martin's. +The worthy magistrate was an easy going bachelor of portly +appearance, much given to quote legal opinions in his discourse, +and to assert the majesty of the law as represented in his +person. He was alike respected for his zeal by the protestants, +and esteemed for his lenity by the catholics. Bishop Burnet +records the worthy knight "was not apt to search for priests or +mass-houses;" and Archdeacon Eachard affirms "he was well known +to be a favourer rather than a prosecutor of the papists." +Accordingly, his disappearance at first begot no evil suspicions; +but as he did not return on Monday, his servants became alarmed +at the absence of a master whose regularity was proverbial. His +brothers were of opinion he was in debt, and sought escape from +his creditors; whilst his friends, after their kind, were ready +to name certain houses of doubtful repute in which they were +certain he had taken temporary lodgings. On his papers being +examined, it was found he had set his affairs in order, paid all +his debts, and destroyed a quantity of his letters and documents. +It was then remembered he had been occasionally susceptible to +melancholia--a disease he inherited from his father, who had +perished by his own hand. It was noted some days before that on +which he was missed, he had appeared listless and depressed. It +was known the imprisonment of his friend Coleman had weighed +heavily on his spirits. A terrible fear now taking possession of +his relatives and friends, thorough search was made for him, +which proved vain until the Thursday following his disappearance, +when he was accidentally discovered lying in a ditch, a cloth +knotted round his neck, and a sword passed through his body, "at +or near a place called Primrose Hill, in the midway between +London and Hampstead." + +If he had been murdered, no motive appeared to account for the +deed; neither robbery nor revenge could have prompted it. His +rings and money, gloves and cane, were found on and near his +body; and it was known he had lived in peace with all men. Nor +did an inquest lasting two days throw any light upon the mystery. +If it were proved he had died by his own hand, the law of that +day would not permit his brothers to inherit his property, which +was found to be considerable. It was therefore their interest to +ignore the fact that strangulation pointed to FELO DE SE, and to +assume he had been murdered. Accordingly they prohibited the +surgeons from opening the body, lest examination should falsify +conclusions at which they desired to arrive. A verdict was +ultimately returned "that he was murdered by certain persons +unknown to the jurors, and that his death proceeded from +suffocation and strangling by a certain piece of linen cloth of +no value." + +Occurring at such a moment, his death was at once attributed to +the papists, who, it was said, being incensed that the magistrate +had received the sworn testimonies of Oates, had sought this +bloody revenge. Fear now succeeded bewilderment; desires of +vengeance sprang from depths of horror. For two days the mangled +remains of the poor knight were exposed to public view, "and all +that saw them went away inflamed." They were then interred with +all the pomp and state befitting one who had fallen a victim to +catholicism, a martyr to protestantism. The funeral procession, +which took its sad way through the principal thoroughfares from +Bridewell to St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, numbered seventy-two +divines, and over twelve hundred persons of quality and +consideration. Arriving at the church, Dr. Lloyd, a clergyman +remarkable for his fine abhorrence of papists, ascended the +pulpit, where, protected by two men of great height and strength, +he delivered a, discourse, pointing to the conclusion that Sir +Edmondbury Godfrey had been sacrificed to the catholic +conspiracy, and instigating his hearers to seek revenge. Sir +Roger North tells us the crowd in and about the church was +prodigious, "and so heated, that anything called papist, were it +cat or dog, had probably gone to pieces in a moment. The +catholics all kept close in their houses and lodgings, thinking +it a good composition to be safe there." + +The whole city was terror-stricken. "Men's spirits were so +sharpened," says Burnet, "that it was looked on as a very great +happiness that the people did not vent their fury upon the +papists about the town." Tonge and Oates went abroad protected +by body guards, arresting hundreds of catholics; cannon were +mounted around Whitehall and St. James's; patrols paraded the +streets by day and night; the trained bands were ready to fall in +at a moment's notice; preparations were made for barricading the +principal thoroughfares; the city gates were kept closed so that +admission could be only had through the wickets; and the Houses +of Parliament demanded a guard should keep watch on the vaults +over which they sat, lest imitators of Guy Fawkes might blow them +to pieces. Moreover, it was not alone the safety of the +multitude, but the protection of the individual which was sought +to be secured. In the dark confusion which general terror +produced, each man felt he might be singled out as the next +victim of this diabolical plot, and therefore devised means to +guard his life from the hands of murderous papists. North, in +his "Examen," speaking of this period, tells us: "There was much +recommendation of silk armour, and the prudence of being provided +with it against the time the Protestants were to be massacred. +And, accordingly, there were abundance of those silken back, +breast, and headpots made and sold, that were pretended to be +pistol proof; in which any man dressed up was as safe as in a +house, for it was impossible anyone could go to strike him for +laughing; so ridiculous was the figure, as they say, of hogs in +armour. This was the armour of defence; but our sparks were not +altogether so tame as to carry their provision no further, for +truly they intended to be assailants upon fair occasion, and had +for that end recommended also to them a certain pocket weapon, +which for its design and efficacy had the honour to be called a +protestant flail. It was for street and crowd work; and the +engine lurking perdue in a coat pocket, might readily sally out +to execution, and so, by clearing a great hall, or piazza or so, +carry an election by a choice of polling called knocking down. +The handle resembled a farrier's blood stick, and the fall was +joined to the end by a strong nervous ligature, that in its swing +fell just short of the hand, and was made of LIGNUM VITAE, or +rather, as the poet termed it, MORTIS." + +One day, whilst the town was in this state of consternation, +Tonge sent for Dr. Burnet, who hastened to visit him in the +apartments allotted him and Oates at Whitehall. The historian +says he found Tonge "so lifted up that he seemed to have lost the +little sense he had. Oates came in," he continues, "and made me +a compliment that I was one that was marked out to be killed. He +had before said the same to Stillingfleet of him. But he had +made that honour which he did us too cheap, when he said Tonge +was to be served in the same manner, because he had translated +'The Jesuits' Morals' into English. He broke out into great fury +against the Jesuits, and said he would have their blood. But I, +to divert him from that strain, asked him what were the arguments +that prevailed on him to change his religion and to go over to +the Church of Rome? He upon that stood up, and laid his hands on +his breast, and said, 'God and His holy angels knew that he had +never changed, but that he had gone among them on purpose to +betray them.' This gave me such a character of him, that I could +have no regard to anything he said or swore after that." + +The agitation now besetting the public mind had been adroitly +fanned into flame by the evil genius of Lord Shaftesbury. +Eachard states that if he was not the original contriver of this +disturbance, "he was at least the grand refiner and improver of +all the materials. And so much he seemed to acknowledge to a +nobleman of his acquaintance, when he said, 'I will not say who +started the game, but I am sure I had the full hunting of it.'" +In the general consternation which spread over the land he beheld +a means that might help the fulfilment of his strong desires. +Chief among these were the exclusion of the Duke of York from the +throne, and the realization of his own inordinate ambition. A +deist in belief, he abhorred catholicism; a worshipper of self, +he longed for power. He had boasted Cromwell had wanted to crown +him king, and he narrated to Burnet that a Dutch astrologer had +predicted he would yet fill a lofty position. He had long +schemed and dreamed, and now it seemed the result of the one and +fulfilment of the other were at hand. The pretended discovery of +this plot threatened to upheave the established form of +government, for the king was one at heart with those about to be +brought to trial and death. A quarter of a century had not +passed since a bold and determined man had risen up and governed +Great Britain. Why should not history repeat itself in this +respect? the prospect was alluring. Possessing strong +influence, great vanity, and an unscrupulous character, +Shaftesbury resolved to stir the nation to its centre, at the +expense of peace, honour, and bloodshed. + +On the 21st of October, Parliament assembled, when Lord Danby, +much against his majesty's inclination, brought the subject of +the plot before the Commons. This was a movement much +appreciated by the House, which, fired by the general +indignation, resolved to deal out vengeance with a strong hand. +As befitted such intention, they began by requesting his majesty +would order a day of general fasting and prayer, to implore the +mercy of Almighty God. The king complying with this desire, they +next, "in consideration of the bloody and traitorous designs," +besought him to issue a proclamation "commanding all persons +being popish recusants, or so reputed," to depart ten miles from +the city. Accordingly, upwards of thirty thousand citizens left +London before the 7th of the following month, "with great +lamentations leaving their trades and habitations." Many of them +in a little while secretly returned again. A few days before +this latest petition was presented to the monarch, Oates had been +examined before the House for over six hours; and so delighted +was he by the unprejudiced manner in which his statements were +received, that he added several items to them. These were not +only interesting in themselves, but implicated peers and persons +of quality to the number of twenty-six. The former, including +Lords Stafford, Powis, Petre, Bellasis, and Arundel of Wardour, +were committed to the Tower, the latter to Newgate prison. + +At the end of his examination he was several times asked if he +knew more of the plot, or of those concerned with it, to which he +emphatically replied he did not. Three days later he remembered +a further incident which involved many persons not previously +mentioned by him. + +Both Houses now sat in the forenoon and afternoon of each day; +excitement was not allowed to flag. Oates seldom appeared before +the Commons without having fresh revelations to make; but the +fertility of his imagination by no means weakened the strength of +his evidence in the opinions of his hearers. "Oates was +encouraged," writes John Evelyn, "and everything he affirmed +taken for gospel." Indignation against the papists daily +increasing in height, the decrees issued regarding them became +more rigorous in severity. + +On the 2nd of November the king, in obedience to his Parliament, +offered a reward of twenty pounds for the discovery of any +officer or soldier who, since the passing of the Test Act, "hath +been perverted to the Romish religion, or hears mass." Two days +later a bill was framed "for more effectually preserving the +king's person and government, by disabling papists from sitting +in either House of Parliament." As it was feared a clause would +be inserted in this, excluding the Duke of York, the enemies of +his royal highness more plainly avowed their object by moving +that an address be presented to the king, praying his brother +should "withdraw himself from his majesty's person and counsels." +This was the first step towards the Bill of Exclusion from +Succession which they hoped subsequently to obtain. The monarch, +however, determined to check such designs whilst there was yet +time; and accordingly made a speech to the peers, in which he +said to them, "Whatever reasonable bills you shall present to be +passed into laws, to make you safe in the reign of my successor, +so they tend not to impeach the right of succession, nor the +descent of the crown in the true line, shall find from me a ready +concurrence." + +The intended address was therefore abandoned for the present; but +the bill for disabling catholics from sitting in either House of +Parliament, having a clause which excepted the Duke of York from +that indignity, passed on the 30th of November. + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +Reward for the discovery of murderers.--Bedlow's character and +evidence.--His strange story.--Development of the "horrid plot." +--William Staley is made a victim.--Three Jesuits hung.--Titus +Oates pronounced the saviour of his country.--Striving to ruin +the queen.--Monstrous story of Bedlow and Oates.--The king +protects her majesty.--Five Jesuits executed.--Fresh rumours +concerning the papists.--Bill to exclude the Duke of York.--Lord +Stafford is tried.--Scene at Tower Hill.--Fate of the +conspirators. + +Before the remains of Sir Edmondbury Godfrey were laid to rest, a +proclamation was issued by the king, offering a reward of five +hundred pounds for discovery of the murderers. If one of the +assassins betrayed those who helped him in the deed, he should +receive, not only the sum mentioned, but likewise a free pardon, +and such protection for his security as he could in reason +propose. Two days after this had been made public, a man named +William Bedlow put himself in communication with Sir William +Coventry, Secretary of State, declaring he had a certain +knowledge of the murder in question. + +Archdeacon Eachard tells us this man "was one of a base birth and +worse manners, who from a poor foot-boy and runner of errands, +for a while got into a livery in the Lord Bellasis's family; and +having for his villainies suffered hardships and want in many +prisons in England, he afterwards turned a kind of post or letter +carrier for those who thought fit to employ him beyond sea. By +these means he got the names and habitations of men of quality, +their relations, correspondents, and interests; and upon this +bottom, with a daring boldness, and a, dexterous turn of fancy +and address, he put himself into the world. He was skilful in +all the arts and methods of cheating; but his masterpiece was his +personating men of quality, getting credit for watches, coats, +and horses; borrowing money, bilking vintners and tradesmen, +lying and romancing to the degree of imposing upon any man of +good nature. He lived like a wild Arab upon prey, and whether he +was in Flanders, France, Spain, or England, he never failed in +leaving the name of a notorious cheat and impostor behind him." + +On the 7th of November, Bedlow was brought before the king, and +examined by two Secretaries of State. Here he made the +extraordinary declaration that he had seen the body of the +murdered magistrate lying at Somerset House--then the residence +of the queen; that two Jesuits, named La Faire and Walsh, told +him they, with the assistance of an attendant in the queen's +chapel, had smothered Sir Edmondbury Godfrey between two pillows; +that he had been offered two thousand guineas if he would safely +remove the body, which on his refusal was carried away, a couple +of nights after the murder, by three persons unknown to him, who +were servants of the queen's household. Hearing this statement, +Sir William Coventry asked him if he knew anything of the popish +plot, when he affirmed on oath he was entirely ignorant regarding +it; he likewise swore he knew no such man as Titus Oates. + +That night he was lodged in Whitehall, in company with Tonge and +Oates; and next morning appeared before the House of Lords, when +it was evident his memory had wonderfully improved since the +previous day. His story now assumed a more concise form. In the +beginning of October, he stated, he had been offered the sum of +four thousand pounds, to be paid by Lord Bellasis, provided he +murdered a man whose name was withheld from him, This he refused. +He was then asked to make the acquaintance and watch the +movements of Sir Edmondbury Godfrey. With this he complied. +Soon after dusk on the 12th of October, the magistrate had been +dragged into the court of Somerset House by the Jesuits, and +asked if he would send for the documents to which Oates had +sworn. On his refusal he had been smothered with a piece of +linen cloth; the story of suffocation by pillows, being at +variance with the medical evidence, was now abandoned. One of +the Jesuits, La Faire, had asked Bedlow to call at Somerset House +that night at nine o'clock; and on presenting himself, he was +conducted through a gloomy passage into a spacious and sombre +room, where a group of figures stood round a body lying on the +floor. Advancing to these, La Faire turned the light of a +lantern he carried on the face of the prostrate man, when Bedlow +recognised Sir Edmondbury Godfrey. He was then offered two +thousand guineas if he would remove the body, which was allowed +to remain there three days. This he promised to accomplish, but +afterwards, his conscience reproving him, he resolved to avoid +the assassins; and rather than accept the sum proffered, he had +preferred discovering the villainy to the Government. + +This improbable story obtained no credit with the king, nor +indeed with those whose minds were free from prejudice. "His +majesty," writes Sir John Reresby, "told me Bedlow was a rogue, +and that he was satisfied he had given false evidence concerning +the death of Sir Edmondbury Godfrey." Many circumstances +regarding the narrator and his story showed the viciousness of +the one and the falsity of the other. The authority just +mentioned states, when Bedlow "was taxed with having cheated a +great many merchants abroad, and gentlemen at home, by +personating my Lord Gerard and other men of quality, and by +divers other cheats, he made it an argument to be more credited +in this matter, saying nobody but a rogue could be employed in +such designs." Concerning the murder, it chanced the king had +been at Somerset House visiting the queen, at the time when, +according to Bedlow, the deed had been committed. His majesty +had been attended by a company of guards, and sentries had been +placed at every door; yet not one of them had witnessed a +scuffle, or heard a noise. Moreover, on the king sending Bedlow +to Somerset House, that he might indicate the apartment in which +the magistrate's remains had lain three days, he pointed out a +room where the footman waited, and through which the queen's +meals were daily carried. + +But the dishonesty of his character and falsity of his statements +by no means prevented the majority of his hearers from believing, +or pretending to believe, his statements; and therefore, +encouraged by the ready reception they met, he ventured to make +fresh and startling revelations. Heedless of the oath he had +taken on the first day of his examination, regarding his +ignorance of the popish plot, he now asserted he was well +acquainted with all its details. For some four years he had been +in the secret employment of the wicked Jesuits, and knew they +intended to stab and poison his majesty, establish catholicity in +England, and make the pope king. So far, indeed, had their evil +machinations been planned, that several popish peers already held +commissions for posts they expected to fill in the future. Lord +Bellasis and Lord Powis were appointed commanders of the forces +in the north and south; whilst Lord Arundel of Wardour had +permission to grant such positions as he pleased. Then the Dukes +of Buckingham, Ormond, and Monmouth, with Lords Shaftesbury and +Ossory, together with many others, were to be murdered by forty +thousand papists, who were ready to rise up all over the country +at a moment's notice. "Nor was there," he added, "a Roman +Catholic of any quality or credit but was acquainted with these +designs and had received the sacrament from their father +confessors to be secret in carrying it out." + +It by no means pleased Oates that Bedlow should surpass him in +his knowledge of this hellish plot. Therefore, that he might not +lose in repute as an informer, he now declared he was also aware +of the commissions held by popish peers. He, however, assigned +them in a different order. Arundel was to be made chancellor; +Powis, treasurer; Bellasis general of the army; Petre, +lieutenant-general; Ratcliffe, major-general; Stafford, +paymaster-general; and Langhorn, advocate-general. Nay, his +information far outstripped Bedlow's, for he swore that to his +knowledge Coleman had given four ruffians eighty guineas to stab +the king, and Sir George Wakeham had undertaken to poison his +majesty for ten thousand pounds. When, however, he was brought +face to face with these men, he was unable to recognise them, a +fact he accounted for by stating he was exhausted by prolonged +examination, + +All England was scared by revelations so horrible; "the business +of life," writes Macpherson, "was interrupted by confusion, +panic, clamour, and dreadful rumours." In London, two thousand +catholics were cast into prison; houses were daily searched for +arms and treasonable documents; and in good time merciless +executions filled up the sum of bitter persecutions. + +One of the first victims of this so-called plot was William +Staley, a catholic banker of fair renown. The manner in which +his life was sacrificed will serve as an example of the injustice +meted to those accused. One day, William Staley happened to +enter a pastrycook's shop in Covent Garden, opposite his bank, +where there chanced to stand at the time a fellow named +Carstairs; one of the infamous creatures who, envious of the +honours and riches heaped on Oates and Bedlow, resolved to make +new discoveries and enjoy like rewards. At this time he was, as +Bishop Burnet states, "looking about where he could find a lucky +piece of villainy." Unfortunately the banker came under his +notice, and Bedlow and an associate pretended to have heard +Staley say the king was a rogue and a persecutor of the people +whom he would stab if no other man was found to do the deed. +These words Carstairs wrote down, and next morning called on the +banker, showed him the treasonable sentence, and said he would +swear it had been uttered by him, unless he, Staley, would +purchase his silence. Though fully aware of his danger, he +refused to do this; whereon Carstairs had him instantly arrested +and committed for trial. Hearing of his situation, and knowing +the infamous character of his accusers, Dr. Burnet thought it his +duty to let the lord chancellor and the attorney-general know +"What profligate wretches these witnesses were." His +interference was received with hostility. The attorney-general +took it ill that he should disparage the king's evidence; Lord +Shaftesbury avowed those who sought to undermine the credit of +witnesses were to be looked on as public enemies; whilst the Duke +of Lauderdale said Burnet desired to save Staley because of the +regard he had for anyone who would murder his majesty. +Frightened by such remarks at a time when no man's life or credit +was safe, Burnet shrank from further action; but rumour of his +interference having got noised abroad, it was resented by the +public to such an extent, that he was advised not to stir abroad +for fear of public affronts. + +Within five days of his arrest, William Staley was condemned to +death. In vain he protested his innocence, pointed out the +improbability of his using such words in a public room, and +referred to his character as a loyal man and worthy citizen. He +was condemned and executed as a traitor. + +The next victim was Coleman. He denied having hired assassins to +murder his majesty, or entertained desires for his death; but +honestly stated he had striven to advance his religion, not by +bloodshed, but by tolerance. Whilst lying in chains at Newgate +prison under sentence of death members of both Houses of +Parliament visited him, and offered him pardon if he confessed a +knowledge of the plot; but, in answer to all persuasions and +promises, he avowed his innocence; protesting which, he died at +Tyburn. + +A little later, three Jesuits, named Ireland, Whitehead, and +Fenwick, and two attendants of the queen's chapel, named Grove +and Pickering, were executed on a charge of conspiracy to kill +the king. Oates and Bedlow swore these Jesuits had promised +Grove fifteen hundred pounds as price of the murder; Pickering +chose as his reward to have thirty thousand masses, at a shilling +a mass, said for him. Three times they had attempted this deed +with a pistol; but once the flint was loose, another time there +was no powder in the pan, and again the pistol was charged only +with bullets. These five men died denying their guilt to the +last. + +Meanwhile, Dr. Tonge, the ingenious inventor of the plot, had +sunk into insignificance by comparison with his audacious pupil. +Not only did the latter have apartments at Whitehall allotted +him, and receive a pension of twelve hundred a year, but he was +lauded as the saviour of his country, complimented with the title +of doctor of divinity, honoured in public, and entertained in +private. Eachard mentions "a great supper in the city," given in +compliment to Oates by "twenty eminent rich citizens;" and Sir +John Reresby writes of meeting him at the dinner-table of Dr. +Gunning, Bishop of Ely. Nothing could exceed the insolence and +arrogance of the impostor. He appeared in a silk gown and +cassock, a long scarf, a broad hat with satin band and rose, and +called himself a doctor of divinity. No man dared contradict or +oppose him, lest he should be denounced as a conniver of the +plot, and arrested as a traitor. "Whoever he pointed at was +taken up and committed," says North. "So that many people got +out of his way as from a blast, and glad they could prove their +last two years' conversation. The very breath of him was +pestilential, and if it brought not imprisonment, it surely +poisoned reputation." Sir John, speaking of him at the bishop's +dinner-table, says "he was blown up with the hopes of running +down the Duke of York, and spoke of him and his family after a +manner which showed himself both a fool and a knave. He +reflected not only on him personally, but upon her majesty; +nobody daring to contradict him, for fear of being made a party +to the plot. I at least did not undertake to do it, when he left +the room in some heat. The bishop told me this was his usual +discourse, and that he had checked him formerly for taking so +indecent a liberty, but he found it was to no purpose." + +The impostor's conversation on this occasion furnishes the key- +note of a vile plot now contrived to intercept the lawful +succession, either by effectually removing the queen, and thereby +enabling the king to marry again; or otherwise excluding the Duke +of York by act of parliament from lawful right to the crown. +Though Shaftesbury's hand was not plainly seen, there can be no +doubt it was busily employed in working out his favourite design. + +The blow was first aimed at her majesty by Bedlow, who, on the +25th of November, accused her of conspiring to kill her husband. +About eighteen months previously, he said, there had been a +consultation in the chapel gallery at Somerset House, which had +been attended by Lord Bellasis, Mr. Coleman, La Faire, Pritchard, +Latham, and Sheldon, four Jesuits, and two Frenchmen whom he took +to be abbots, two persons of quality whose faces he did not see, +and lastly by her majesty. The Jesuits afterwards confided in +him as a person of trust, that the queen wept at a proposal to +murder the king which had been made, but subsequently yielding to +arguments of the French abbots, had consented to the design. +Indeed, Bedlow, who was in the sacristy when her majesty passed +through at the termination of this meeting, noticed her face had +much changed. Here his story ended; but, as was now usual, it +was taken up and concluded by Oates. + +Appearing at the Bar of the House of Commons, this vile impostor +cried out, "Aye, Taitus Oates, accause Caatharine, Quean of +England, of haigh traison." Then followed his audacious +evidence. In the previous July, Sir George Wakeham, in writing +to a Jesuit named Ashby, stated her majesty would aid in +poisoning the king. A few days afterwards, Harcourt and four +other Jesuits having been sent for, attended the queen at +Somerset House. On that occasion Oates waited on them; they went +into a chamber, he stayed without. Whilst there he heard a +woman's voice say she would endure her wrongs no longer, but +should assist Sir George Wakeham in poisoning the king. He was +afterwards admitted to the chamber, and saw no woman there but +her majesty; and he heard the same voice ask Harcourt, whilst be +was within, if he had received the last ten thousand pounds. + +The appetite of public credulity seeming to increase by that on +which it fed, this avowal was readily believed. That the +accusation had not been previously made; that Oates had months +before sworn he knew no others implicated in the plot beyond +those he named; that the queen had never interfered in religious +matters; that she loved her husband exceeding well, were facts +completely overlooked in the general agitation. Parliament "was +in a rage and flame;" and next day the Commons drew up an address +to the king, stating that "having received information of a most +desperate and traitorous design against the life of his sacred +majesty, wherein the queen is particularly charged and accused" +they besought him that "she and all her family, and all papists +and reputed papists, be forthwith removed from his court." +Furthermore, the House sent a message to the Peers, desiring +their concurrence in this request; but the Lords made answer, +before doing so they would examine the witnesses against her +majesty. This resolution was loudly and indecently protested +against by Lord Shaftesbury and two of his friends. + +The king had discredited the story of the plot from the first; +but remembering the unhappy consequences which had resulted upon +the disagreement of the monarch and his parliament in the +previous reign, he weakly resolved to let himself be carried away +by the storm, other than offer it resistance. On the +condemnation of the Jesuits, he had appeared unhappy and +dissatisfied; "but," says Lord Romney, "after he had had a little +advice he kept his displeasure to himself." The Duke of York +states, in the Stuart Papers, that "the seeming necessity of his +affairs made his majesty think he could not be safe but by +consenting every day to the execution of those he knew in his +heart to be most innocent." Now, however, when foul charges were +made against the queen, calculated not merely to ruin her honour +but destroy her life, he resolved to interfere. He therefore +requested she would return to Whitehall, where she should be safe +under his protection; and feeling assured Oates had received +instructions from others more villainous than their tool, he +ordered a strict guard to be kept upon him. This he was, +however, obliged to remove next day at request of the Commons. + +On the examination before the House of Lords of Oates and Bedlow, +their evidence proved so vague and contradictory that it was +rejected even by the most credulous. When Bedlow was asked "why +be had not disclosed such a perilous matter in conjunction with +his previous information touching the murder of Sir Edmondbury +Godfrey," he coolly replied, "it had escaped his memory." On +Oates being sent to point out the apartment in which he had seen +her majesty and the Jesuits, he first selected the guard-room, +and afterwards the privy chamber, places in which it would have +been impossible to have held secret consultation. Aware that the +king was resolved to protect her majesty, and conscious the +evidence of her accusers was more wildly improbable than usual, +the Lords refused to second the address of the Commons, when the +charge against this hapless woman was abandoned, to the great +vexation of my Lord Shaftesbury. + +Though the queen happily escaped the toils of her enemies, the +reign of terror was by no means at an end. At request of the +king, the Duke of York left England and took refuge in Brussels; +the catholic peers imprisoned in the Tower were impeached with +high treason; Hill, Green, and Berry, servants of her majesty, +charged with the murder of Sir Edmondbury Godfrey, were, without +a shadow of evidence, hurried to the scaffold, as were soon after +Whitebread, Fenwick, Harcourt, Gavan and Turner, Jesuits all, and +Langhorn, a catholic lawyer, for conspiring to murder the king. +On the morning when these unfortunate men stood ignominiously +bound to the gallows at Tyburn, the instruments of death before +their eyes, the angry murmurs of the surging mob ringing in their +ears, suddenly the sound of a voice crying aloud, "A pardon! a +pardon!" was heard afar off, and presently a horseman appeared +riding at full speed. The soldiers with some difficulty making +way for him through a line of excited people, he advanced to the +foot of the scaffold, and handed a roll of paper bearing the +king's seal to the sheriff, who, opening it, read a promise of +pardon to those now standing face to face with death, provided +"they should acknowledge the conspiracy, and lay open what they +knew thereof." To this they replied they knew of no plot, and +had never desired harm to the king; and, praying for those who +had sought their lives, they died. + +The firmness and patience with which the victims of judicial +murder had one and all met death, refusing bribes, and resisting +persuasions to own themselves guilty, could not fail in producing +some effect upon the public mind; and towards the middle of the +year 1679 the first signs of reaction became visible, when three +Benedictine monks and the queen's physician were tried for +conspiracy "to poison the king, subvert the government, and +introduce popery." During the examination, Evelyn tells us, "the +bench was crowded with the judges, lord mayor, justices, and +innumerable spectators." After a tedious trial of nine hours, +the jury brought the prisoners in not guilty, "without," says +Evelyn, "sufficient disadvantage and reflection on witnesses, +especially on Oates and Bedlow." + +As my Lord Shaftesbury had not yet succeeded in his desired +project of excluding the Duke of York from succession, the +symptoms of change in public opinion were thoroughly distasteful +to him. He therefore resolved to check them immediately, and +stimulate the agitation and fear that had for many months reigned +paramount through out the nation. For this purpose he had +recourse to his former method of circulating wild and baseless +reports. Accordingly a rumour was soon brought before the House +of Commons of a horrible plot hatched by the papists to burn +London to the ground. This, it was alleged, would be effected by +a servant-maid setting a clothes-press on fire in the house of +her master, situated in Fetter Lane. Two vile Irishmen were to +feed the flames, and meanwhile the catholics would rise in +rebellion, and, assisted by an army of sixty thousand French +soldiers, kill the king, and put all protestants to the sword. +Though this tale was in due time discredited, yet it served its +purpose in the present. The violent alarm it caused had not +subsided when another terrible story, started on the excellent +authority of Lord Shaftesbury's cook, added a new terror. This +stated the Duke of York had placed himself at the head of the +French troops, with intention of landing in England, murdering +the king and forcing papacy on his subjects. The scare was +sufficiently effectual to cause Parliament to petition his +majesty that he might revoke all licenses recently granted +catholic householders to reside in the capital; and order the +execution of all priests who administered sacraments or +celebrated mass within the kingdom. Soon after this address, +Lord Russell was sent by the Commons to the Peers, requesting +their concurrence in the statement that "the Duke of York's being +a papist, the hope of his coming to the crown had given the +greatest countenance and encouragement to the conspiracies and +designs of the papists." And now, in May, 1679, the condition of +popular feeling promising well for its success. the Bill of +Exclusion was introduced, ordaining that "James, Duke of York +should be incapable of inheriting the crowns of England and +Ireland; that on the demise of his majesty without heirs of his +body, his dominions should devolve, as if the Duke of York were +also dead, on that person next in succession who had always +professed the protestant religion established by law." This +passed the House of Commons by a majority of seventy-nine votes. + +Alarmed by this bill, Charles resolved to show signs of +resentment, and at the same time check the increasing power of +the Commons, by a sudden and decisive movement. Therefore, +without previously hinting at his intentions, he prorogued +parliament before the bill was sent to the House of Lords. This +was a keen surprise to all, and a bitter disappointment to +Shaftesbury, who vowed those who advised the king to this measure +should answer for it with their heads. Owing to various delays, +the Bill of Exclusion was not brought before the Peers until +eighteen months later. Its introduction was followed by a debate +lasting six hours, in which Shaftesbury distinguished himself by +his force and bitterness. At nine o'clock at night the House +divided, when the measure was rejected by a majority of thirty- +three votes, amongst which were those of the fourteen bishops +present. + +Mortified by this unexpected decision, the violent passions of +the defeated party hurried them on to seek the blood of those +peers lodged in the Tower. Of the five, William Howard, Viscount +Stafford--youngest son of the Earl of Arran, and nephew of the +Duke of Norfolk--was selected to be first put upon his trial; +inasmuch as, being over sixty years, and a sufferer from many +infirmities, it was judged he would be the least capable of +making a vigorous defence. Three perjured witnesses swore he had +plotted against the king's life, but no proof was forthcoming to +support their evidence. Notwithstanding this was "bespattered +and falsified in almost every point," it was received as +authentic by the judges, who made a national cause of his +prosecution, and considered no punishment too severe for a +papist. After a trial of five days sentence of death was +pronounced upon him, and on the 29th of December, 1680, he was +beheaded on Tower Hill. + +Like those who had suffered from similar charges, he protested +his innocence to the last; but his words met with a reception +different from theirs. Their dying speeches had been greeted by +groans, hisses, and signs of insatiable fury; but his +declarations fell upon silent and sympathizing hearts. When he +had made denial of the crimes of which he was accused, a great +cry rose from the mob, "We believe you--we believe you, my lord;" +and then a single voice calling out "God bless you!" the words +were taken up and repeated by a vast throng, so that the last +sounds he heard on earth were those of prayer. He died with a +firmness worthy of his caste. Having laid his head upon the +block, the executioner brandished his axe in the air, and then +set it quietly down at his feet. Raising his head, Lord Stafford +inquired the cause of delay; the executioner replied he awaited a +sign. "Take your time," said he who stood at the verge of +eternity; "I shall make no sign." He who held the axe in his +hand hesitated a second, and then said in a low and troubled +voice, "Do you forgive me, sir?" To which Lord Stafford made +brief answer, "I do." Then he laid his head again upon the +blood-stained block. Once more the glitter of steel flashed +through the air, a groan arose from the crowd, and Lord +Stafford's head was severed from his body. + +A reaction now set in, and gained strength daily. The remaining +peers were in due time liberated; the blood of innocent victims +was no longer shed; and the Duke of York was recalled. Such was +the end of the popish plot, which, says Archdeacon Eachard, +"after the strictest and coolest examinations, and after a full +length of time, the government could find very little foundation +to support so vast a fabrick, besides downright swearing and +assurance; not a gun, sword, nor dagger, not a flask of powder or +dark lanthorn, to effect this strange villainy, and with the +exception of Coleman's writings, not one slip of an original +letter of commission among those great numbers alledged to uphold +the reputation of the discoveries." + +Concerning those through whose malice such disturbance was +wrought, and so much blood shed, a few words may be added. +Within twelve months of Lord Stafford's execution, Shaftesbury +was charged with high treason, but escaping condemnation, fled +from further molestation to Holland, where, after a residence of +six weeks, he died. Tonge departed this life in 1680, +unbenefited by the monstrous plot he had so skilfully devised; +and in the same year Bedlow was carried to the grave after an +illness of four days. Oates survived to meet a share of the +ignominy and punishment due to his crimes. After a residence of +three years in Whitehall, he was driven out of the palace on +account of "certain misdemeanors laid to his charge," and +deprived of his salary. Two years later, in May, 1683, he was +accused of calling the Duke of York a traitor, and using +scandalous words towards his royal highness. Upon hearing of the +case the jury fined him one hundred thousand pounds. Unable to +pay the sum, he was cast into prison, where he remained six +years, until liberated in the reign of William and Mary, His +punishment was not, however, at an end. At the Michaelmas term +of 1684 he was accused of having wilfully perjured himself at the +late trials. As he pleaded not guilty, his case was appointed to +be heard at the King's Bench Court. His trial did not take place +until May, 1685, on which occasion the lord chief justice, in +summing up the evidence, declared, "There does not remain the +slightest doubt that Oates is the blackest and most perjured +villain on the face of the earth." + +After a quarter of an hour's absence from court, the jury +returned a verdict of guilty, and sentence was pronounced against +him. He was stripped of his canonical habit; forced to walk +through all the courts of Westminster Hall proclaiming his +crimes; to stand an hour on the pillory opposite Westminster Hall +gate on Monday; an hour on the pillory at the Royal Exchange on +Tuesday; and on Wednesday he was tied to a cart and whipt at the +hands of the common hangman from Aldgate to Newgate, in the +presence, says Eachard, "of innumerable spectators, who had a +more than ordinary curiosity to see the sight." + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +London under Charles II.--Condition and appearance of the +thoroughfares.--Coffee is first drunk in the capital.--Taverns +and their frequenters.--The city by night.--Wicked people do +creep about.--Companies of young gentlemen.--The Duke of Monmouth +kills a beadle.--Sir Charles Sedley's frolic.--Stately houses of +the nobility.--St. James's Park.--Amusement of the town.--At +Bartholomew Fair.--Bull, bear, and dog fights.--Some quaint +sports. + +During the first six years of the merry monarch's reign, London +town, east of Temple Bar, consisted of narrow and tortuous +streets of quaintly gabled houses, pitched roofed and plaster +fronted. Scarce four years had passed after the devastating fire +which laid this portion of the capital in ashes, when a new and +stately city rose upon the ruins of the old. Thoroughfares lying +close by the Thames, which were wont to suffer from inundations, +were raised; those which from limited breadth had caused +inconvenience and bred pestilence were made wide; warehouses and +dwellings of solid brick and carved stone, with doors, window- +frames, and breastsummers of stout oak, replaced irregular though +not unpicturesque habitations; whilst the halls of companies, +eminent taverns, and abodes of great merchants, were now built +"with fair courtyards before them, and pleasant gardens behind +them, and fair spacious rooms and galleries in them, little +inferior to some princes' palaces." Moreover, churches designed +by the genius of Christopher Wren, adorned with spires, steeples, +and minarets, intersected the capital at all points. + +This new, handsome, and populous city presented an animated, ever +changing, and merry scene. From "the high street which is called +the Strand," far eastwards, great painted signs, emblazoned with +heraldic arms, or ornamented with pictures of grotesque birds and +animals, swung above shop-doors and taverns. Stalls laden with +wares of every description, "set out with decorations as valuable +as those of the stage," extended into the thoroughfares. In the +new Exchange, built by the worshipful company of mercers at a +cost of eight thousand pounds, and adorned by a fair statue of +King Charles II. in the habit of a Roman emperor, were galleries +containing rows of very rich shops, displaying manufactures and +ornaments of rare description, served by young men known as +apprentices, and likewise by comely wenches. + +At corners and nooks of streets, under eaves of churches and +great buildings, and other places of shelter, sat followers of +various trades and vendors of divers commodities, each in the +place which had become his from daily association and long habit. +These good people, together with keepers of stalls and shops, +extolled their wares in deafening shouts; snatches of song, +shouts of laughter, and the clang of pewter vessels came in +bursts of discord from open tavern doors; women discoursed with +or abused each other, according to their temper and inclination +as they leaned from the jutting small-paned windows and open +balconies of their homesteads; hackney coaches or "hell carts," +as they drove by, cast filth and refuse lying in kennels upon the +clothes of passengers; the carriers of sedan-chairs deposited +their burthens to fight for right of way in narrow passages and +round crowded corners. + +Through the busy concourse flowing up and down the thoroughfares +from dawn to dusk, street-criers took their way, bearing wares +upon their heads in wicker baskets, before them on broad trays, +or slung upon their backs in goodly packs. And as they passed, +their voices rose above the general din, calling "Fair lemons and +oranges, oranges and citrons!" "Cherries, sweet cherries, ripe +and red!" "New flounders and great plaice; buy my dish of great +eels!" "Rosemary and sweet briar; who'll buy my lavender?" +"Fresh cheese and cream!" "Lily-white vinegar!" "Dainty +sausages!" which calls, being frequently intoned to staves of +melody, fell with pleasant sounds upon the ear. [These hawkers +so seriously interfered with legitimate traders, that in 1694 +they were forbidden to sell any goods or merchandise in any +public place within the city or liberties, except in open markets +and fairs, on penalty of forty shillings for each offence, both +to buyers and sellers.] Moreover, to these divers sights and +sounds were added ballad singers, who piped ditties upon topics +of the day; quacks who sold nostrums and magic potions; dancers +who performed on tight-ropes; wandering musicians; fire-eaters of +great renown; exhibitors of dancing dolls, and such like +itinerants "as make show of motions and strange sights," all of +whom were obliged to have and to hold "a license in red and black +letters, under the hand and seal of Thomas Killigrew, Esq., +master of the revels to his sacred majesty Charles II." + +Adown the Strand, Fleet Street, and in that part of the city +adjoining the Exchange, coffee-houses abounded in great numbers. +Coffee, which in this reign became a favourite beverage, was +introduced into London a couple of years before the restoration. +It had, however, been brought into England at a much earlier +period. John Evelyn, in the year 1638, speaks of it being drunk +at Oxford, where there came to his college "one Nathaniel +Conoposis out of Greece, from Cyrill the patriarch of +Constantinople, who, returning many years after, was made Bishop +of Smyrna." Twelve good years later, a coffee-house was opened +at Oxford by one Jacobs, a Jew, where this beverage was imbibed +"by some who delighted in novelty." It was, however, according +to Oldys the antiquarian, untasted in the capital till a Turkey +merchant named Edwards brought to London a Ragusan youth named +Pasqua Rosee, who prepared this drink for him daily. The +eagerness to taste the strange beverage drawing too much company +to his board, Edwards allowed the lad, together with a servant of +his son-in-law, to sell it publicly; whence coffee was first sold +in St. Michael's Alley in Cornhill by Pasqua Rosee, "at the sign +of his own head," about the year 1658. + +Though coffee-drinkers first met with much ridicule from wits +about town, and writers of broadsheet ballads, the beverage +became gradually popular, and houses for its sale quickly +multiplied. Famous amongst these, in the reign of the merry +monarch, besides that already mentioned, was Garraway's in +Exchange Alley; the Rainbow, by the Inner Temple Gate; Dick's, +situated at No. 8, Fleet Street; Jacobs', the proprietor of which +moved in 1671 from Oxford to Southampton Buildings, Holborn; the +Grecian in the Strand, "conducted without ostentation or noise;" +the Westminster, noted as a resort of peers and members of +parliament; and Will's, in Russell Street, frequented by the poet +Dryden. + +These houses, the forerunners of clubs, were, according to their +situation and convenience, frequented by noblemen and men of +quality, courtiers, foreign ministers, politicians, members of +learned professions, wits, citizens of various grades, and all +who loved to exchange greetings and gossip with their neighbours +and friends. Within these low-ceilinged comfortable coffee-house +rooms, fitted with strong benches and oak chairs, where the black +beverage was drunk from handless wide brimmed cups, Pepys passed +many cheerful hours, hearing much of the news he so happily +narrates, and holding pleasant discourse with many notable men. +It was in a coffee-house he encountered Major Waters, "a deaf and +most amorous melancholy gentleman, who is under a despayer in +love, which makes him bad company, though a most good-natured +man." And in such a place he listened to "some simple discourse +about quakers being charmed by a string about their wrists;" and +saw a certain merchant named Hill "that is a master of most sorts +of musique and other things, the universal character, art of +memory, counterfeiting of hands, and other most excellent +discourses." + +In days before newspapers came into universal circulation, and +general meetings were known, coffee-houses became recognised +centres for exchange of thought and advocacy of political action. +Aware of this, the government, under leadership of Danby, not +desiring to have its motives too freely canvassed, in 1675 issued +an order that such "places of resort for idle and disaffected +persons" should be closed. Alarmed by this command, the keepers +of such houses petitioned for its withdrawal, at the same time +faithfully promising libels should not be read under their roofs. +They were therefore permitted to carry on their business by +license. + +Next in point of interest to coffee-houses were taverns where men +came to make merry, in an age when simplicity and good fellowship +largely obtained. As in coffee-houses, gossip was the order of +the day in such places, each tavern being in itself "a broacher +of more news than hogsheads, and more jests than news." Those of +good standing and fair renown could boast rows of bright flagons +ranged on shelves round panelled walls; of hosts, rotund in +person and genial in manner; and of civil drawers, who could +claim good breeding. The Bear, at the bridge-foot, situated at +the Southwark side, was well known to men of gallantry and women +of pleasure; and was, moreover, famous as the spot where the Duke +of Richmond awaited Mistress Stuart on her escape from Whitehall. +The Boar's Head, in Eastcheap, which gained pleasant mention in +the plays of William Shakespeare, when rebuilt, after the great +fire, became a famous resort. The Three Cranes, in the Vintry, +was sacred to the shade of rare Ben Jonson. The White Bear's +Head, in Abchurch Lane, where French dinners were served from +five shillings a head "to a guinea, or what sum you pleased," was +the resort of cavaliers, The Rose Tavern, in the Poultry, was +famous for its excellent ale, and no less for its mighty pretty +hostess, to whom the king had kissed hands as he rode by on his +entry. The Rummer was likewise of some note, inasmuch as it was +kept by one Samuel Prior, uncle to Matthew Prior, the ingenious +poet. On the balcony of the Cock, near Covent Garden, Sir +Charles Sedley had stood naked in a drunken frolic; and at the +King's Head, over against the Inner Temple Gate, Shaftesbury and +his friends laid their plots, coming out afterwards on the double +balcony in front, as North describes them, "with hats and no +peruques, pipes in their mouths, merry faces and dilated throats, +for vocal encouragement of the canaglia below." + +All day long the streets were crowded by those whom business or +diversion carried abroad; but when night fell apace, the keepers +of stalls and shops speedily secured their wares and fastened +their doors, whilst the honest citizen and his family kept within +house. For the streets being unlighted, darkness fell upon them, +relieved only as some person of wealth rode homewards from +visiting a friend, or a band of late revellers returned from a +feast, when the glare of flambeaux, carried by their attendants, +for a moment brought the outlines of houses into relief, or +flashed red light upon their diamond panes, leaving all in +profound gloom on disappearing. + +The condition of the thoroughfares favouring the inclination of +many loose persons, they wandered at large, dealing mischief to +those whose duty took them abroad. From the year 1556, in the +reign of Queen Mary, "fit persons with suitable strength" had +been appointed to walk the streets and watch the city by night; +to protect those in danger, arrest suspected persons, warn +householders of danger by fire and candle, help the poor, pray +for the dead, and preserve the peace. These burly individuals +were known as watch or bell men; one was appointed for each ward, +whose duty it was to pass through the district he guarded ringing +his bell, "and when that ceaseth," says Stow, "he salutes his +masters and mistresses with his rhymes, suitable to the seasons +and festivals of the year, and bids them look to their lights." + +In the third year of the reign of King Charles II., whilst Sir +John Robinson was mayor of London town, divers good orders were +made by him and his common council for the better service of +these watches. The principal of these set forth that each should +be accompanied by a constable and a beadle selected from the +inhabitants of their respective wards, who should be required in +turn to render voluntary service in guarding the city, from nine +of the clock at night till seven in the morning, from Michaelmas +to the 1st of April; and from that date until the 31st of March, +from ten at night till five in the morning. + +These rules were not, however, vigorously carried out; the +volunteers were frequently unwilling to do duty, or when, fearful +of fine, they went abroad, they usually spent their time in +tippling in ale-houses, so that, as Delaune remarks, "a great +many wicked persons capable of the blackest villainies do creep +about, as daily and sad experience shows." It was not only those +who, with drawn swords, darted from some deep porch or sheltering +buttress, in hopes of enriching themselves at their neighbour's +expense, that were to be dreaded. It was a fashion of the time +for companies of young gentlemen to saunter forth in numbers +after route or supper, when, being merry with wine and eager for +adventure, they were brave enough to waylay the honest citizen +and abduct his wife, beat the watch and smash his lantern, bedaub +signboards and wrench knockers, overturn a sedan-chair and +vanquish the carriers, sing roystering songs under the casements +of peaceful sleepers, and play strange pranks to which they were +prompted by young blood and high spirits. + +Among those who made prominent figures in such unholy sports was +the king's eldest son, my Lord Duke of Monmouth. He and his +young grace of Albemarle--son to that gallant soldier now +deceased, who was instrumental in restoring his majesty--together +with some seven or eight young gentlemen, whilst on their rounds +one Sunday morning encountered a beadle, whose quaint and +ponderous figure presented itself to their blithe minds as a fit +object for diversion in lieu of better. Accordingly they +accosted him with rough words and unceremonious usage, the which +he resenting, they came to boisterous threats and many blows, +that ended only when the poor fellow lay with outstretched limbs +stark dead upon the pavement. Sir Charles Sedley and Lord +Brockhurst were also notable as having been engaged in another +piece of what has been called "frolick and debauchery," when +"they ran up and down all night almost naked through the streets, +at last fighting and being beaten by the watch, and clapped up +all night." + +It was not until the last years of the merry monarch's reign that +there was introduced "an ingenious and useful invention for the +good of this great city, calculated to secure one's goods, +estates, and person; to prevent fires, robberies and +housebreakings, and several accidents and casualties by falls to +which man is liable by walking in the dark" This was a scheme for +lighting the streets, by placing an oil-lamp in front of every +tenth house on each side of the way, from Michaelmas to Lady-day, +every night from six of the clock till twelve, beginning the +third night after every full moon, and ending on the sixth night +after every new moon; one hundred and twenty nights in all. The +originator of this plan was one Edward Hemming, of London, +gentleman. His project was at first ridiculed and opposed by +"narrow-souled and self-interested people," who were no doubt +children of darkness and doers of evil deeds; but was eventually +hailed with delight by all honest men, one of whom, gifted with +considerable imagination, declared these poor oil-lamps "seemed +but one great solar light that turned nocturnal shades to +noonday." + +In this reign the city proper was confined eastward of Temple +Bar; to the west lay the palaces of Somerset House and Whitehall, +the stately parks, and great houses of the nobility surrounded by +wide gardens and wooded grounds. Monsieur Sorbiere, who in this +reign made a journey into England, an account of which he +subsequently published "to divert a person of quality who loved +him extremely," resided close by Covent Garden during his stay. +It was usual, he writes, for people in the district to say, "I go +to London," for "indeed 'tis a journey for those who live near +Westminster. 'Tis true," he adds, "they may sometimes get +thither in a quarter of an hour by water, which they cannot do in +less than two hours by land, for I am persuaded no less time will +be necessary to go from one end of its suburb to the other." For +a crown a week this ingenious and travelled gentleman had +lodgings in Covent Garden, not far removed from Salisbury House, +a vicinity which he avows was "certainly the finest place in the +suburbs." Covent Garden itself has been described by John +Strype, native of the city of London, as "a curious large and +airy square enclosed by rails, between which railes and houses +runs a fair street." The square, or, as it was commonly called, +garden, was well gravelled for greater accommodation of those who +wished to take the air; and that its surface might more quickly +dry after rain, it was raised by an easy ascent to the centre, +where stood a sundial fixed on a black marble pillar, at the base +of which were stone steps, "whereon the weary' might rest." + +The west side of the square was flanked by the handsome portico +of St. Paul's Church, erected at the expense of Francis, Earl of +Bedford, from designs by Mr. Inigo Jones; the south side opened +to Bedford Gardens, "where there is a small grotto of trees, most +pleasant in the summer season. Here, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and +Saturdays, a market was held, well stocked with roots, fruits, +herbs, and flowers. On the north and east sides stood large and +stately houses of persons of quality and consideration, the +fronts of which, being supported by strong pillars, afforded +broad walks, known as the Piazza, and found convenient in wet and +sultry weather. + +Here amongst other houses was that of my Lord Brouncker, where +Mr. Pepys enjoyed a most noble French dinner and much good +discourse, in return for which he gave much satisfaction by the +singing of a new ballad, to wit, Lord Dorset's famous song, "To +all ye ladies now on land." Not far distant, its face turned to +the Strand, was the stately residence of the Duke of Bedford, a +large dark building, fronted by a great courtyard, and backed by +spacious gardens enclosed by red-brick walls. Likewise in the +Strand stood Arundel House, the residence of Henry Frederick +Howard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, and Earl Marshal of England; +Hatfield House, built by Thomas Hatfield, Bishop of Durham, as a +town residence for himself and his heirs lawfully begotten; York +House, richly adorned with the arms of Villiers and Manners--one +gloomy chamber of which was shown as that wherein its late noble +owner, George, first Duke of Buckingham, was stabbed by Felton; +Worcester House, at one time occupied by Lord Chancellor +Clarendon; and Essex House, situated near St. Clement Danes, the +town residence of Arthur Capel, Earl of Essex, "a sober, wise, +judicious, and pondering person, not illiterate beyond the rate +of most noblemen of this age." + +There were also many other noble mansions lying westward, amongst +them being those of the Dukes of Ormond and Norfolk in St. +James's Square, which was built at this time; Berkeley House, +which stood on the site now occupied by Berkeley Square, a +magnificent structure containing a staircase of cedar wood, and +great suites of lofty rooms; Leicester House, situated in +Leicester Fields, subsequently known as Leicester Square, behind +which stretched a goodly common; Goring House, "a very pretty +villa furnished with silver jars, vases, cabinets, and other rich +furniture, even to wantonnesse and profusion," on the site of +which Burlington Street now stands; Clarendon House, a princely +residence, combining "state, use, solidity, and beauty," +surrounded by fair gardens, that presently gave place to Bond +Street; Southampton House, standing, as Evelyn says, in "a noble +piazza--a little town," now known as Bloomsbury Square, whose +pleasant grounds commanded a full view of the rising hills of +Hampstead and Highgate; and Montagu House, described as a palace +built in the French fashion, standing on the ground now occupied +by the British Museum, which in this reign was backed by lonely +fields, the dread scenes of "robbery, murder, and every species +of depravity and wickedness of which the heart can think." + +Besides the grounds and gardens surrounding these stately +mansions, a further aspect of space and freshness was added to +the capital by public parks. Foremost amongst these was St. +James's, to which the merry monarch added several fields, and for +its greater advantage employed Monsieur La Notre, the famous +French landscape-gardener. Amongst the improvements this +ingenious man effected were planting trees of stately height, +contriving a canal one hundred feet broad and two hundred and +eighty feet long, with a decoy and duck island, [The goodnatured +Charles made Monsieur St. Evremond governor of Duck Island, to +which position he attached a salary much appreciated by the +exile. The island was removed in 1790 to make room for fresh +improvements.] and making a pleasant pathway bordered by an +aviary on either side, usually called Bird Cage Walk. An +enclosure for deer was formed in the centre of the park; not far +removed was the famous Physic Garden, where oranges were first +seen in England; and at the western end, where Buckingham Palace +has been erected, stood Arlington House, described as "a most +neat box, and sweetly seated amongst gardens, enjoying the +prospect of the park and the adjoining fields." + +The great attraction of St. James's Park was the Mall, which +Monsieur Sorbiere tells us was a walk "eight hundred and fifty +paces in length, beset with rows of large trees, and near a small +wood, from whence you may see a fine mead, a long canal, +Westminster Abbey, and the suburbs, which afford an admirable +prospect." This path was skirted by a wooded border, and at the +extreme end was set with iron hoops, "for the purpose of playing +a game with a ball called the mall." ["Our Pall Mall is, I +believe, derived from paille maille, a game somewhat analogous to +cricket, and imported from France in the reign of the second +Charles. It was formerly played in St. James's Park, and in the +exercise of the sport a small hammer or mallet was used to strike +the ball. I think it worth noting that the Malhe crest is a +mailed arm and hand, the latter grasping a mallet."--NOTES AND +QUERIES, 1st series, vol. iii. p. 351.] + +In St. James's Park Samuel Pepys first saw the Duke of York +playing at "pelemele"; and likewise in 1662 witnessed with +astonishment people skate upon the ice there, skates having been +just introduced from Holland; on another occasion he enjoyed the +spectacle of Lords Castlehaven and Arran running down and killing +a stout buck for a wager before the king. And one sultry July +day, meeting an acquaintance here, the merry soul took him to the +farther end, where, seating himself under a tree in a corner, he +sung him some blithesome songs. It was likewise in St. James's +Park the Duke of York, meeting John Milton one day, asked him if +his blindness was not to be regarded as a just punishment from +heaven, due to his having written against the martyred king. "If +so, sir," replied the great poet and staunch republican, "what +must we think of his majesty's execution upon a scaffold?" To +which question his royal highness vouchsafed no reply. + +It was a favourite custom of his majesty, who invariably rose +betimes, to saunter in the park whilst the day was young and pass +an hour or two in stroking the heads of his feathered favourites +in the aviary, feeding the fowls in the pond with biscuits, and +playing with the crowd of spaniels ever attending his walks. For +his greater amusement he had brought together in the park a rare +and valuable collection of birds and beasts; amongst which were, +according to a quaint authority, "an onocratylus, or pelican, a +fowl between a stork and a swan--a melancholy water-fowl brought +from Astracan by the Russian ambassador." This writer tells us, +"It was diverting to see how the pelican would toss up and turn a +flat fish, plaice or flounder, to get it right into its gullet at +its lower beak, which being filmy stretches to a prodigious +wideness when it devours a great fish. Here was also a small +water-fowl, not bigger than a more-hen, that went almost quite +erect like the penguin of America. It would eate as much fish as +its whole body weighed, yet ye body did not appear to swell the +bigger. The Solan geese here are also great devourers, and are +said soon to exhaust all ye fish in a pond. Here was a curious +sort of poultry not much exceeding the size of a tame pidgeon, +with legs so short as their crops seemed to touch ye earth; a +milk-white raven; a stork which was a rarity at this season, +seeing he was loose and could fly loftily; two Balearian cranes, +one of which having had one of his leggs broken, and cut off +above the knee, had a wooden or boxen leg and thigh, with a +joint so accurately made that ye creature could walke and use it +as well as if it had ben natural; it was made by a souldier. The +park was at this time stored with numerous flocks of severall +sorts of ordinary and extraordinary wild fowle breeding about the +decoy, which, looking neere so greate a citty, and among such a +concourse of souldiers and people, is a singular and diverting +thing. There are also deere of several countries, white, spotted +like leopards; antelopes, an elk, red deere, roebucks, staggs, +Guinea goates, Arabian sheepe, etc. There are withy-potts or +nests for the wild fowle to lay their eggs in, a little above ye +surface of ye water." + +Hyde Park, lying close by, likewise afforded a pleasant and +convenient spot for recreation. Here, in a large circle railed +off and known as the Ring, the world of quality and fashion took +the air in coaches. The king and queen, surrounded by a goodly +throng of maids of honour and gentlemen in waiting, were wont to +ride here on summer evenings, whilst courtiers and citizens +looked on the brilliant cavalcade with loyal delight. Horse and +foot races were occasionally held in the park, as were reviews +likewise, Cosmo, Grand Duke of Tuscany, "a very jolly and good +comely man," whilst visiting England in 1669, was entertained by +his majesty with a military parade held here one Sunday in May. + +On arriving at Hyde Park, he found a great concourse of people +and carriages waiting the coming of his majesty, who presently +appeared with the Duke of York and many lords and gentlemen of +the court. Having acknowledged an enthusiastic greeting, Charles +retired under shade of some trees, in order to protect himself +from the sun, and then gave orders for the troops to march past. +"The whole corps," says the Grand Duke, "consisted of two +regiments of infantry, and one of cavalry, and of three companies +of the body-guard, which was granted to the king by parliament +since his return, and was formed of six hundred horsemen, each +armed with carabines and pistols, all well mounted and dressed, +which are uniform in every; thing but colour. When they had +marched by, without firing either a volley or a salve, his +majesty dismounted from his horse, and entering his carriage, +retired to Whitehall." + +Besides such diversions as were enjoyed in the parks, the people +had various other sources of public amusement; amongst these +puppet-shows, exhibitions of strength and agility, bear-baiting, +cock-fighting, and dancing obtained. Until the restoration, +puppet-shows had not been seen for years; for these droll dolls, +being regarded as direct agents of Satan, were discountenanced by +the puritans. With the coming of his majesty they returned in +vast numbers, and were hailed with great delight by the people. +One of these exhibitions which found special favour with the +town, and speedily drew great audiences of gallants and ladies of +quality, was situated within the rails of Covent Garden. And so +perfect were the marionettes of this booth in the performance of +divers sad tragedies and gay comedies, that they had the honour +of receiving a royal command to play before their majesties at +Whitehall. Amongst the most famous tumblers, or, as they were +then styled, posturemakers, of this reign were Jacob Hall the +friend of my Lady Castlemaine, and Joseph Clarke, beloved by the +citizens. Though the latter was "a well-made man and rather +gross than thin," we are told he "exhibited in the most natural +manner almost every species of deformity and dislocation; he +could dislocate his vertebrae so as to render himself a shocking +spectacle; he could also assume all the uncouth faces he had seen +at a quaker's meeting, at the theatre, or any public place. He +was likewise the plague of all the tailors about town. He would +send for one of them to take measure of him, but would so +contrive it as to have a most immoderate rising in one of his +shoulders; when his clothes were brought home and tried upon him, +the deformity was removed into the other shoulder, upon which the +tailor begged pardon for the mistake, and mended it as fast as he +could; but on another trial found him as straight-shouldered a +man as one would desire to see, but a little unfortunate in a +hump back. In fact, this wandering tumour puzzled all the +workmen about town, who found it impossible to accommodate so +changeable a customer." + +Florian Marchand, "the water-spouter," was another performer who +enjoyed considerable fame. Such was the dexterity of this +conjurer that, "drinking only fountaine-water, he rendered out of +his mouth in severall glasses all sorts of wine and sweete +waters." A Turk, who walked up an almost perpendicular line by +means of his toes, danced blindfold on a tight rope with a boy +dangling from his feet, and stood on his head on the top of a +high mast, shared an equal popularity with Barbara Vanbeck, the +bearded woman, and "a monstrous beast, called a dromedary." +These wondrous sights, together with various others of a like +kind, which were scattered throughout the town and suburbs during +the greater part of the year, assembled in full strength at the +fairs of St. Margaret, Southwark, and St. Bartholomew, in +Smithfield. These gatherings, which usually lasted a fortnight, +were looked forward to with considerable pleasure, and frequented +not only by citizens bent on sport, but by courtiers in search of +adventure. + +Nay, even her majesty was tempted on one occasion to go a- +fairing, as we gather from a letter addressed to Sir Robert +Paston, contained in Ives's select papers. "Last week," says the +writer thereof, "the queen, the Duchess of Richmond, and the +Duchess of Buckingham had a frolick to disguise themselves like +country lasses, in red petticoates, waistcoates, etc., and so goe +see the faire. Sir Bernard Gascoign, on a cart jade, rode before +the queen; another stranger before the Duchess of Buckingham, and +Mr. Roper before Richmond. They had all so overdone it in their +disguise, and look'd so much more like antiques than country +volk, that as soon as they came to the faire, the people began to +goe after them; but the queen going to a booth to buy a pair of +yellow stockins for her sweethart, and Sir Bernard asking for a +pair of gloves, sticht with blew, for his sweethart, they were +soon, by their gebrish, found to be strangers, which drew a +bigger flock about them. One amongst them [who] had seen the +queen at dinner, knew her, and was proud of her knowledge. This +soon brought all the faire into a crowd to stare at the queen. +Being thus discovered, they as soon as they could got to their +horses; but as many of the faire as had horses, got up with their +wives, children, sweetharts, or neighbours behind them, to get as +much gape as they could till they brought them to the court gate. +Thus by ill conduct was a merry frolick turned into a penance." + +On another occasion my Lady Castlemaine went to Bartholomew fair +to see the puppets play "Patient Grissel;" and there was the +street "full of people expecting her coming out," who, when she +appeared, "suffered her with great respect to take the coach." +Not only the king's mistress, but likewise the whole court went +to St. Margaret's fair to see "an Italian wench daunce and +performe all the tricks on the high rope to admiration; and +monkies and apes do other feates of activity." "They," says a +quaint author, "were gallantly clad A LA MODE, went upright, +saluted the company, bowing and pulling off their hats, with as +good a grace as if instructed by a dancing master. They turned +heels over head with a basket having eggs in it, without breaking +any; also with lighted candles on their heads, without +extinguishing them; and with vessells of water without spilling a +drop." + +The cruel sport of bull and bear baiting was also commonly +practised. Seated round an amphitheatre, the people witnessed +these unfortunate animals being torn to pieces by dogs, the +owners of which frequently jumped into the arena to urge them to +their sanguinary work, on the result of which great wagers +depended. Indignation arising against those who witnessed such +sights may be somewhat appeased by the knowledge that infuriated +bulls occasionally tossed the torn and bleeding carcases of their +tormentors into the faces and laps of spectators. Pepys +frequently speaks of dense crowds which assembled to witness this +form of cruelty, which he designates as good sport; and Evelyn +speaks of a gallant steed that, under the pretence that he had +killed a man, was baited by dogs, but fought so hard for his life +"the fiercest of them could not fasten on him till he was run +through with swords." Not only bull and bear baiting, cock and +dog fighting were encouraged, but prize combats between man and +man were regarded as sources of great diversion. Pepys gives a +vivid picture of a furious encounter he, in common with a great +and excited crowd, witnessed at the bear-garden stairs, at +Bankside, between a butcher and a waterman. "The former," says +he, "had the better all along, till by-and-by the latter dropped +his sword out of his hand; and the butcher, whether not seeing +his sword dropped I know not, but did give him a cut over the +wrist, so as he was disabled to fight any longer. But Lord! to +see how in a minute the whole stage was full of watermen to +revenge the foul play, and the butchers to defend their fellow, +though most blamed him; and then they all fell to it to knocking +down and cutting many on each side. It was pleasant to see, but +that I stood in the pit, and feared that in the tumult I might +get some hurt." + +Among the more healthy sports which obtained during the reign +were horse-racing, tennis, and bowling. The monarch had, at vast +expense, built a house and stables at Newmarket, where he and his +court regularly repaired, to witness racing. Here likewise the +king and "ye jolly blades enjoyed dauncing, feasting, and +revelling, more resembling a luxurious and abandoned route than a +Christian court." He had likewise a tennis-court and bowling +green at Whitehall, where at noonday and towards eve, blithe +lords, and ladies in brave apparel, might be seen at play. +Bowling was a game to which the people were much devoted, every +suburban tavern having its green, where good friends and honest +neighbours challenged each other's strength and skill. And +amongst other pleasant sports and customs were those practised on +May-day, when maids rose betimes to bathe their faces in dew, +that they might become sweet-complexioned to men's sight; and +milk-maids with garlands of spring flowers upon their pails, and +posies in their breasts, danced to the merry music of fiddles +adown the streets. + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +Court customs in the days of the merry monarch.--Dining in +public.--The Duke of Tuscany's supper to the king.-- +Entertainment of guests by mountebanks.--Gaming at court.--Lady +Castlemaine's losses.--A fatal duel.--Dress of the period.-- +Riding-habits first seen.--His majesty invents a national +costume.--Introduction of the penny post.--Divorce suits are +known.--Society of Antiquaries.--Lord Worcester's inventions. +--The Duchess of Newcastle. + +Few courts have been more brilliant than that of the merry +monarch. All the beauty of fair women, the gallantry of brave +men, and the gaiety of well-approved wits could compass, +perpetually surrounded his majesty, making the royal palace a +lordly pleasure house. Noble banquets, magnificent balls, and +brilliant suppers followed each other in quick succession. Three +times a week--on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays--the king and +queen dined publicly in ancient state, whilst rare music was +discoursed, and many ceremonies observed, amongst these being +that each servitor of the royal table should eat some bread +dipped in sauce of the dish he bore. On these occasions meats +for the king's table were brought from the kitchen by yeomen of +the guard, or beef-eaters. These men, selected as being amongst +the handsomest, strongest, and tallest in England, were dressed +in liveries of red cloth, faced with black velvet, having the +king's cipher on the back, and on the breast the emblems of the +Houses of York and Lancaster. By them the dishes were handed to +the gentlemen in waiting, who served royalty upon their knees. +"You see," said Charles one day to the Chevalier de Grammont, +"how I am waited on." "I thank your majesty for the +explanation," said the saucy Frenchman; "I thought they were +begging pardon for offering you so bad a dinner." [This mode of +serving the sovereign continued unto the coming of George I.] + +The costliness and splendour of some royal entertainments require +the description of an eye-witness to be fully realized. Evelyn, +speaking of a great feast given to the Knights of the Garter in +the banqueting-hall, tells us "the king sat on an elevated +throne, at the upper end of the table alone, the knights at a +table on the right hand, reaching all the length of the roome; +over against them a cupboard of rich gilded plate; at the lower +end the musick; on the balusters above, wind musick, trumpets, +and kettle-drums. The king was served by the lords and +pensioners who brought up the dishes. About the middle of the +dinner the knights drank the king's health, then the king theirs, +when the trumpets and musick plaid and sounded, the guns going +off at the Tower. At the banquet came in the queene and stood by +the king's left hand hand, but did not sit. Then was the +banquetting stuff flung about the roome profusely. In truth the +crowd was so great that I now staied no longer than this sport +began for fear of disorder. The cheere was extraordinary, each +knight having forty dishes to his messe, piled up five or six +high." + +Concerning the habit mentioned by Evelyn, of mobs rushing into +banquet-halls, in order to possess themselves of all on which +they could lay hands, many instances are mentioned. The Duke of +Tuscany, amongst other authorities, narrates the inconvenience it +caused at a supper he gave the king. When his majesty drove to +the duke's residence he was preceded by trumpeters and torch- +bearers, attended by the horse-guards and a retinue of courtiers, +and accompanied by a vast crowd. On alighting from the coach the +Duke of Tuscany, together with the noblemen and gentlemen of his +household, received and conducted him through passages lighted by +torches to the banquet-hall. From the ceiling of this saloon was +suspended a chandelier of rock crystal, blazing with tapers; +beneath it stood a circular table, at the upper end of which was +placed a chair of state for the king. The whole entertainment +was costly and magnificent. As many as eighty dishes were set +upon the table; foreign wines, famous for great age and delicate +flavour, sparkled in goblets of chased gold; and finally, a +dessert of Italian fruits and Portuguese sweetmeats was served. +But scarce had this been laid upon the board, when the impatient +crowd which had gathered round the house and forced its way +inside to witness the banquet, now violently burst into the +saloon and carried away all that lay before them. Neither the +presence of the king nor the appearance of his soldiers guarding +the entrance with carbines was sufficient to prevent entrance or +hinder pillage. Charles, used to such scenes, left the table and +retired into the duke's private apartments. + +A quaint and curious account of a less ceremonious and more +convivial feast, also graced by the king's presence, was narrated +by Sir Hugh Cholmely to a friend and gossip. This supper was +given by Sir George Carteret, a man of pleasant humour, and +moreover treasurer of the navy. By the time the meats were +removed, the king and his courtiers waxed exceedingly merry, when +Sir William Armorer, equerry to his majesty, came to him and +swore, "'By God, sir,' says he, 'you are not so kind to the Duke +of York of late as you used to be.' 'Not I?' says the king. +'Why so?' 'Why,' says he, 'if you are, let us drink his health.' +'Why, let us,' says the king. Then he fell on his knees and +drank it; and having done, the king began to drink it. 'Nay, +sir,' says Armorer; 'by God, you must do it on your knees!' So +he did, and then all the company; and having done it, all fell +acrying for joy, being all maudlin and kissing one another, the +king the Duke of York, the Duke of York the king; and in such a +maudlin pickle as never people were." + +Throughout this reign the uttermost hospitality and +good-fellowship abounded. Scarce a day passed that some noble +house did not throw open its doors to a brilliant throng of +guests; few nights grew to dawn that the vicinities of St. +James's and Covent Garden were not made brilliant by the torches +of those accompanying revellers to their homes. The fashionable +hour for dinner was three of the clock, and for greater +satisfaction of guests it now became the mode to entertain them +after that meal with performances of mountebanks and musicians, +Various diaries inform us of this custom. When my Lord Arlington +had bidden his friends to a feast, he subsequently diverted them +by the tricks of a fellow who swallowed a knife in a horn sheath, +together with several pebbles, which he made rattle in his +stomach, and produced again, to the wonder and amusement of all +who beheld him. [At a great dinner given by this nobleman, +Evelyn, who was present, tells us that Lord Stafford, the +unfortunate nobleman afterwards executed on Tower Hill, "rose +from the table in some disorder, because there were roses stuck +about the fruite when the descert was set on the table; such an +antipathie it seems he had to them, as once Lady St. Leger also +had, and to that degree, that, as Sirr Kenelm Digby tell us, +laying but a rose upon her cheeke when she was asleepe, it raised +a blister; but Sir Kenelm was a teller of strange things."] The +master of the mint, worthy Mr. Slingsby, a man of finer taste, +delighted his guests with the performances of renowned good +masters of music, one of whom, a German, played to great +perfection on an instrument with five wire strings called the +VOIL D'AMORE; whilst my Lord Sunderland treated his visitors to a +sight of Richardson, the renowned fire eater, who was wont to +devour brimstone on glowing coals; melt a beer-glass and eat it +up; take a live coal on his tongue, on which he put a raw oyster, +and let it remain there till it gaped and was quite broiled; take +wax, pitch and sulphur, and drink them down flaming; hold a fiery +hot iron between his teeth, and throw it about like a stone from +hand to hand, and perform various other prodigious feats. + +Other means of indoor amusement were practised in those +days, which seem wholly incompatible with the gravity of the +nation in these latter times. Pepys tells us that going to the +court one day he found the Duke and Duchess of York, with all the +great ladies, sitting upon a carpet on the ground playing "I love +my love with an A, because he is so-and-so; and I hate him with +an A, because of this and that;" and some of the ladies were +mighty witty, and all of them very merry. Grown persons likewise +indulged in games of blind man's buff, and amusements of a like +character; whilst at one time, the king, queen, and the whole +court falling into much extravagance, as Burnet says, "went about +masked, and came into houses unknown, and danced there with a +great deal of wild frolic. In all this they were so disguised, +that without being in the secret, none could distinguish them. +They were carried about in hackney chairs. Once the queen's +chairmen, not knowing who she was, went from her; so she was +alone and was much disturbed, and came to Whitehall in a hackney +coach; some say it was in a cart." + +Dancing was also a favourite and common amusement amongst all +classes. Scarce a week went by that Whitehall was not lighted up +for a ball, at which the king, queen, and courtiers danced +bransles, corants, and French figures; [The bransle, or brawl, +had all the characteristics of a country-dance; several persons +taking part in it, and all at various times joining hands. The +corant was a swift lively dance, in which two persons only took +part, and was not unlike our modern galop.] and no night passed +but such entertainments were likewise held in the city. +Billiards and chess were also played, whilst gambling became a +ruling passion. The queen, Duchess of York, and Duchess of +Cleveland had each her card-table, around which courtiers +thronged to win and lose prodigious sums. The latter being a +thorough rake at heart, delighted in the excitement which hazard +afforded; and the sums changing owners at her hoard were +sometimes enormous. Occasionally she played for a thousand, or +fifteen hundred pounds at a cast, and in a single night lost as +much as twenty-five hundred guineas. It is related that once +when playing basset she lost all her money; but, being unwilling +to retire, and hopeful of regaining her losses, she asked young +Churchill, on whom she had bestowed many favours, to lend her +twenty pieces. Though the wily youth had a thousand before him +on the table, he coolly refused her request, on the plea that the +bank-- which he was then keeping--never lent. "Not a person in +the place," says the narrator of this anecdote, "but blamed him; +as to the duchess, her resentment burst out into a bleeding at +her nose, and breaking of her lace, without which aid it is +believed her vexation had killed her on the spot." + +The courtly Evelyn speaks of a certain Twelfth-night, when the +king opened the revels in his privy chamber by throwing dice, and +losing one hundred pounds; and Pepys describes the groom-porters' +rooms where gambling greatly obtained, and "where persons of the +best quality do sit down with people of any, though meaner." +Cursing and swearing, grumbling and rejoicing, were heard here to +an accompanying rattle of guineas; the whole causing dense +confusion. And amongst the figures crouching round the tables of +this hell, that of my Lord St. Albans was conspicuous. So great, +indeed, was his passion for gambling, that when approaching his +eightieth year, and quite blind, he was unable to renounce his +love for cards, but with the help of a servant who named them to +him, indulged himself in this way as of yore. + +As may be expected, disputes, frequently ending in duels, +continually arose betwixt those who gambled. Although the king +had, on his restoration, issued a proclamation against this +common practice, threatening such as engaged in it with +displeasure, declaring them incapable of holding any office in +his service, and forbidding them to appear at court, yet but +little attention was paid his words, and duels continually took +place, Though most frequently resorted to as a means of avenging +outraged honour, they were occasionally the result of +misunderstanding. A pathetic story is told of a fatal encounter, +caused by a trifle light as air, which took place in the year +1667 at Covent Garden, between Sir Henry Bellasis and Tom Porter +--the same witty soul who wrote a play called "The Villain," which +was performed at the Duke's Theatre, and described as "a pleasant +tragedy." + +These worthy gentlemen and loyal friends loved each other +exceedingly. One fatal day, both were bidden to dine with Sir +Robert Carr, at whose table it was known all men drank freely; +and having feasted, they two talked apart, when bluff Sir Henry, +giving words of counsel to honest Tom, from force of earnestness +spoke louder than his wont. Marvelling at this, some of those +standing apart said to each other, "Are they quarrelling, that +they talk so high?" overhearing which the baronet replied in a +merry tone, "No, I would have you know I never quarrel but I +strike; and take that as a rule of mine." At these words Tom +Porter, being anxious, after the manner of those who have drunk +deep, to apprehend offence in speech of friend or foe, cried out +he would like to see the man in England that durst give him a +blow. Accepting this as a challenge, Sir Henry dealt him a +stroke on the ear, which the other would have returned in anger +but that they were speedily parted. + +And presently Tom Porter, leaving the house full of resentment +for the injury he had received, and of resolution to avenge it, +met Mr. Dryden the poet, to whom he recounted the story. He +concluded by requesting he might have his boy to bring him word +which way Sir Henry Bellasis would drive, for fight he would that +night, otherwise he felt sure they should be friends in the +morning, and the blow would rest upon him. Dryden complying with +his request, Tom Porter, still inflamed by fury, went to a +neighbouring coffee-house, when presently word arrived Sir +Harry's coach was coming that way. On this Tom Porter rushed +out, stopped the horses, and bade the baronet alight. "Why," +said the man, who but an hour before had been his best friend, +"you will not hurt me in coming out, will you?" "No," answered +the other shortly. Sir Henry then descended, and both drew their +swords. Tom Porter asked him if he were ready, and hearing he +was, they fought desperately, till of a sudden a sharp cry was +heard; Sir Henry's weapon fell upon the ground, and he placed one +hand to his side, from which blood flowed freely. Then calling +his opponent to him, he looked in his face reproachfully, kissed +him lovingly, and bade him seek safety. "For, Tom," said he, +struggling hard to speak, "thou hast hurt me; but I will make +shift to stand upon my legs till thou mayest withdraw, and the +world not take notice of you, for," continued he, with much +tenderness, "I would not have thee troubled for what thou hast +done." And the little crowd who had gathered around carried him +to his coach and twenty days later they followed him to his +grave. + +Throughout this merry reign, many fantastic changes took place in +the costumes of courtiers and their followers. At the +restoration, the dress most common to women of all ranks +consisted of a gown with a laced stomacher and starched +neckerchief, a sad-coloured cloak with a French hood, and a high- +crowned hat. Such habiliments, admitting of little variety and +less ornament, found no favour in the eyes of those who returned +from foreign courts with the king, and therefore a change was +gradually effected. The simple gown of wool and cotton gave +place to loose and flowing draperies of silk and satin; the stiff +neckerchief was removed to display fair shoulders and voluptuous +breasts; the hat was bedecked by feathers of rare plumage and +rich colour; the cloaks changed hues from sad to gay; the hoods +being of "yellow bird's eye," and other bright tints. Indeed, +the prodigal manner in which ladies of quality now exposed their +bosoms, though pleasing to the court, became a matter of grave +censure to worthy men. One of these in a pamphlet, entitled "A +Just and Seasonable Reprehension of Naked Breasts and Shoulders," +charges women of fashion with "overlacing their gown bodies, and +so thrusting up their breasts in order that they might show them +half-naked." It was not only at balls and in chambers of +entertainment, he avowed, they appeared in this manner, but +likewise at church, where their dress was "not only immodest, but +sometimes impudent and lascivious;" for they braved all dangers +to have the satisfaction of being seen, and the consolation of +giving pleasure. + +The riding-habit, first introduced in 1664 caused considerable +notice, and no small amount of mirth. The garb, as it was +called, consisted of a doublet buttoned up the breast, a coat +with long skirts, a periwig and tall hat, so that women clad in +this fashion might be mistaken for men, if it were not for the +petticoat which dragged under the coat. At the commencement of +the reign, ladies of the court wore their hair after the French +fashion, cut short in front and frizzed upon the forehead. When +the queen arrived, her hair was arranged A LA NEGLIGENCE, a mode +declared mighty pretty; but presently a fashion came in vogue of +wearing "false locks set on wyres to make them stand at a +distance from the head; as fardingales made the clothes stand out +in Queen Elizabeth's reign." Painting the face, which had been +practised during the Commonwealth, became fashionable; as did +likewise the use of patches and vizards or masks; which from the +convenience they afforded wearers whilst witnessing an immoral +play, or conducting a delicate intrigue, came greatly into use. + +According to Randal Holmes's notes on dress, in the Harleian +Library, the male costume at the restoration consisted of "a +short-waisted doublet, and petticoat breeches--the lining, being +lower than the breeches, is tied above the knees. The breeches +are ornamented with ribands up to the pocket, and half their +breadth upon the thigh; the waistband is set about with ribands, +and the shirt hanging out over them." This dress gradually +increased in richness and ornamentation: the doublet and +breeches being changed from cloth to velvet and satin, the hat +trimmed with plumes of gay feathers, and the neck adorned with +bands of cambric, trimmed with Flanders and Brussels lace. The +perfection and costliness to which the costume eventually reached +is best shown by a description of Sir Richard Fanshaw ambassador +of the king, as presented in the diary of his spouse. "Sir +Richard was dressed," she writes, "in a very rich suit of clothes +of a dark FILLEMONTE brocade, laced with silver and gold lace-- +nine laces--every one as broad as my hand, and a little silver +and gold lace laid between them, both of very curious +workmanship; his suit was trimmed with scarlet taffety ribbon; +his stockings of white silk upon long scarlet silk ones; his +shoes black, with scarlet shoestrings and gaiters; his linen very +fine, laced with rich Flanders lace; a black beaver buttoned on +the left side with a jewel of twelve hundred pounds' value, a +rich curious wrought gold chain, made in the Indies at which hung +the king his master's picture, richly set with diamonds; on his +fingers he wore two rich rings; his gloves trimmed with the same +ribbon as his clothes." + +The uttermost extravagance and luxury in dress now obtained; +indeed, to such a passion and pride did it reach that the monarch +resolved on giving it some check by inventing a suit of plainer +pretensions, which should become the national costume, and admit +no change. + +This determination he solemnly declared to his council in +October, 1666, and on the 14th of the month appeared clad in a +long vest slashed with white silk, reaching the knee, having the +sword girt over it, a loose coat, straight Spanish breeches +ruffled with black ribbons, and buskins instead of shoes and +stockings. Though the habit was pronounced decent and becoming +to his majesty, and was quickly adopted by the courtiers, there +were those amongst his friends who offered him a wager he would +not persist in wearing it long. At this the king stated his +resolution afresh of never changing; but before the month was out +he had made an alteration, for inasmuch as the vest being slashed +with white, was said by a wag to make the wearers look like +magpies, his majesty changed the colour of the silk to black. +This "manly and comely habit" might have become permanently the +fashion, if the King of France, by way of ridiculing the merry +monarch, had not caused his footmen to be clad in like manner. +Therefore, in less than two years, this mode gave place to others +more fantastical. The vest was retained, but the shape and +material were altered; the surcoat of cloth was discarded for +velvet and rich plush, adorned with buckles of precious stones +and chains of gold; the Spanish leather boots were laid aside for +high-heeled shoes with rosettes and silver buckles. Towards the +close of the reign the costume became much plainer. Through all +these varying fashions the periwig, introduced in 1663, held its +own, increasing in length and luxuriance with time. On its first +coming into general use, the clergy had cried out against it as +ministering to the vanity and extravagance of the age; but in a +while many of them adopted its use, for, as Granger remarks, "it +was observed that a periwig procured many persons a respect and +even veneration which they mere strangers to before, and to which +they had not the least claim from their personal merit." + +Amongst other strange innovations and various improvements known +in this reign, the introduction of a penny post may be considered +the most useful. King James I., of happy memory, had, in +imitation of like regulations in other countries, established a +general post for foreign parts; King Charles I. had given orders +to Thomas Witherings, Esquire, his postmaster-general, to settle +"a running post or two, to run night and day between Edinburgh, +in Scotland, and the city of London, to go thither and back in +six days;" but the organization of a penny post, for the +conveyance of letters and parcels throughout the capital and +suburbs, was reserved for the reign of the merry monarch. This +beneficial scheme was originated by an upholsterer named Murray, +who communicated it to one William Dockwra, a man who for over +ten years had laboured with fidelity in the Custom House. +Uniting their efforts, they, with great labour and vast expense, +carried the plan into execution in the year 1680, + +The principal office was stationed at the residence of William +Dockwra, in Lime Street; seven sorting-houses and as many as four +hundred receiving-houses were speedily established in the cities +of London, Westminster, and the suburbs; and a great number of +clerks and messengers were employed to collect, enter, and +deliver parcels and letters not exceeding one pound in weight nor +ten pounds in value. Stamps were used as an acknowledgment that +postage was paid, and likewise to mark the hours when letters +were sent out from the offices, by which, in case of delay, its +cause might be traced to the messengers; and deliveries took +place ten times in the vicinity of the Exchange and Inns of +Court, and four times in the suburbs daily. All persons were +requested to post their communications before six o'clock in the +winter, and seven in the summer, on Saturday nights, "that the +many poor men employed may have a little time to provide for +their families against the Lord's Day." And it was moreover +intimated that upon three days at Christmas, and two at Easter +and Whitsuntide, as likewise upon the 30th of January, the post +would not be delivered. + +From the first this scheme promised success, the manner in which +it was carried out being wholly admirable; yet there were many +who raised their voices against it persistently. Porters and +messengers declared it took away their means of subsistence; +whilst those of higher grade were confident it was a contrivance +of the papists, which enabled them to carry out their wicked +schemes with greater security. But these illusions vanished with +time; and the penny post became such a success that Government +laid claim to it as a branch of the General Post Office, and +annexed its revenues to the Crown. [In the year 1703 Queen Anne +bestowed a grant on Elizabeth, Dowager countess of Thanet, to +erect a penny post-office in Dublin, similar to that in existence +in London.] + +Another innovation in this interesting reign were stage-coaches, +described as affording "admirable commodiousness both for men and +women of better rank, to travel from London and to almost all the +villages near this great city, that the like hath not been known +in the world, wherein one may be transported to any place, +sheltered from foul weather and foul ways, free from endamaging +one's health or body by hard jogging or over-violent emotion, and +this not only at a low price, as about a shilling for every five +miles in a day; for the stage-coaches called flying coaches make +forty or fifty miles in a day, as from London to Cambridge or +Oxford, and that in the space of twelve hours, not counting the +time for dining, setting forth not too early, nor coming in too +late." + +Likewise were divorce suits introduced whilst Charles II. sat +upon the throne for the first time--if the case of Henry VIII. be +excepted--when my Lord Rosse, in consequence of the misconduct of +his lady, had a bill brought into the House of Lords for +dissolving his marriage and enabling him to wed again. There +being at this period, 1669, a project for divorcing the king from +the queen, it was considered Lord Rosse's suit, if successful, +would facilitate a like bill in favour of his majesty. After +many and stormy debates his lordship gained his case by a +majority of two votes. It is worth noting that two of the lords +spiritual, Dr. Cosin, Bishop of Durham, and Dr. Wilkins, Bishop +of Chester, voted in favour of the bill. + +The social history of this remarkable reign would be incomplete +without mention of the grace and patronage which Charles II. +extended towards the Society of Antiquaries. This learned body, +according to Stow, had been in existence since the days of +Elizabeth; but for lack of royal acknowledgment of its worth and +lore, was permitted to languish in neglect and finally become +extinct. However, under the commonwealth the society had +revived, from the fact that numbers of the nobility being +unemployed in affairs of state, and having no court to attend, +applied themselves whilst in retirement to the study of +chemistry, mathematics, mechanism, and natural philosophy. The +Duke of Devonshire, Marquis of Worcester, Viscount Brouncker, +Honourable Robert Boyle, and Sir Robert Murray, built +laboratories, made machines, opened mines, and perfected +inventions. When the temper of the times permitted, these men, +with various others of like tastes, drew together, held weekly +meetings at Gresham College in Bishopsgate Street, discoursed on +abstruse subjects, and heard erudite lectures, from Dr. Petty on +chemistry, from Dr. Wren on astronomy, from Mr. Laurence Rooke on +geometry; so that the Society of Antiquaries may be said to have +been founded in the last years of the republic. + +Now Charles II., having some knowledge of chemistry and science, +looked upon the society with favourable eyes; and in the first +year of his restoration desired to become one of its members; +expressed satisfaction it had been placed upon a proper basis in +his reign; represented the difficulty of its labours; suggested +certain investigations, and declared his interest in all its +movements. Moreover, in the year 1662 he bestowed on the society +a charter in which he styled himself its founder and patron; +presented it with a silver mace to be borne before the president +on meeting days; and gave it the use of the royal arms for a +seal. Nor did his concern for its welfare cease here. He was +frequently present at its meetings, and occasionally witnessed, +and assisted "with his own hands," in the performance of +experiments. Some of these were of a singularly interesting +character; amongst which may be mentioned infusion of the blood +of an animal into the veins of a man. This took place in the +year 1667, the subject being one Arthur Coga, a minister poor in +worldly substance, who, in exchange for a guinea, consented to +have the operation performed on him. Accordingly two surgeons of +great skill and learning, named Lower and King, on a certain day +injected twelve ounces of sheep's blood into his veins. After +which he smoked an honest pipe in peace, drank a glass of good +canary with relish, and found himself no worse in mind or body. +And in two days more fourteen ounces of sheep's blood were +substituted for eight of his own without loss of virility to him. + +Nor were experiments in vivisection unknown to the Royal Society, +as it was called, for the "Philosophical Transactions" speak of a +dog being tied through the back above the spinal artery, thereby +depriving him of motion until the artery was loosened, when he +recovered; and again, it is recorded that Dr. Charleton cut the +spleen out of a living dog with good success. + +The weighty discourses of the learned men who constituted the +society frequently delighted his majesty; though it must be +confessed he sometimes laughed at them, and once sorely puzzled +them by asking the following question. "Supposing," said +Charles, assuming a serious expression, and speaking in a solemn +tone, "two pails of water were placed in two different scales and +weighed alike, and that a live bream or small fish was put into +one, now why should not the pail in which it was placed weigh +heavier than the other?" Most members were troubled to find the +king a fitting reply, and many strange theories were advanced by +way of explaining why the pail should not be found heavier, none +of them being thought satisfactory. But at last a man sitting +far down the table was heard to express an opinion, when those +surrounding him laughed; hearing which the king, who had not +caught his words, asked him to repeat them. "Why, your +majesty," said he boldly, "I do believe the pail would weigh +heavier." "Odds-fish!" cried Charles, bursting out into +laughter, "you are right, my honest fellow!" and so the +merriment became general. + +The Royal Society was composed of men of quality with a genius +for investigation, and men of learning eager for further +knowledge. Persons of all nationalities, religions, and +professions were admitted members; and it was continually +enriched by the addition of curiosities, amongst which in +particular were an herb which grew in the stomach of a thrush; +the skin of a Moor tanned, with the beard and hair white; a +clock, having movements directed by loadstone; an ostrich, whose +young had been born alive; mummies; strange fish; and the hearts +and livers of vipers. Likewise was the society endowed with +gifts, amongst the most notable being the valuable library of +Henry Howard, afterwards Duke of Norfolk. + +Fostered by this society, science received its first impulse +towards the astounding progress it has since achieved. Nay, in +this reign the germs of some inventions were sown, which, +subsequently springing into existence, have startled the world by +their novelty, utility, and power, Monsieur Sorbiere, when in +England, was shown a journal kept by Montconis, concerning the +transactions of the Royal Society, in which several new devices, +"which scarce can be believed unless seen," were described. +Amongst these were an instrument for showing alterations in the +weather, whether from heat, cold, wind, or rain; a method for +blowing up ships; a process for purifying salt water, so that it +could be drunk; and an instrument by which those ignorant of +drawing could sketch and design any object. He also states Dr. +Wallis had taught one born deaf and dumb to read. + +In 1663, "the right honourable (and deservedly to be praised and +admired) Edward Somerset, Marquis of Worcester," published a +quaint volume entitled "A Century of the Names and Scantlings of +such Inventions as at present I can call to mind to have tried +and perfected, which (my former notes being lost) I have, at the +instance of a powerful friend, endeavoured to set down in such a +way as may sufficiently instruct me to put any of them in +practice." Amongst these are enumerated false decks, such as in +a moment should kill and take prisoners as many as should board +the ship, without blowing her up, and in a quarter of an hour's +time should recover their former shape without discovering the +secret; a portable fortification, able to contain five hundred +men, which in the space of six hours might be set up, and made +cannon-proof; a dexterous tinder-box which served as a pistol, +and was yet capable of lighting a fire or candle at any hour of +the night without giving its possessor the trouble of stretching +his hand from bed; a lock, the ways of opening which might be +varied ten millions of times, but which on a stranger touching it +would cause an alarm that could not be stopped, and would +register what moneys had been taken from its keeping; a boat +which would work against wind and tide; with various other +discoveries to the number of one hundred, all arrived at from +mathematical studies. + +The means of propelling a boat against such disadvantages, to +which the Marquis of Worcester alludes, was in all probability by +steam-power. This he described as "an admirable and most +forcible way to drive up water by fire," the secret of which he +is believed to have first discovered. [Before the century was +concluded, Captain Savery contrived a steam-engine which was +certainly the first put to practical uses. It has been stated +that he owed the knowledge of this invention to hints conveyed in +Lord Worcester's little volume.] In the preface to his little +book, the marquis states he had sacrificed from six to seven +hundred thousand pounds in bringing his various inventions to +perfection; after which it is satisfactory to find he derived +some profit from one of them, conceived, as he says, "by heavenly +inspiration." This was a water-engine for drying marsh-lands and +mines, requiring neither pump, suckers, barrels, bellows, nor +external nor additional help, save that afforded from its own +operations. This engine Sorbiere describes as one of the most +curious things he had a mind to see, and says one man by the help +of this machine raised four large buckets full of water in an +instant forty feet high, through a pipe eight inches long. An +act of parliament was passed enabling the marquis to reap the +benefit and profit from this invention, subject to a tenth part +which was reserved for the king and his heirs. + +The Royal Society soon became one of the foremost objects of +interest in the city. Foreigners of distinction were conducted +to its rooms that they might behold the visible signs of +knowledge it could proudly boast; and women of culture were +admitted to hear the lectures its members delivered. + +Amongst these latter may be mentioned the eccentric Duchess of +Newcastle; a lady who dressed her footmen in velvet coats, +habited herself in antique gowns, wrote volumes of plays and +poetry, desired the reputation of learning, and indulged in +circumstances of pomp and state. Having expressed her desire to +be present at one of the meetings of the Royal Society, the +council prepared to receive her, not, it must be admitted, +without some fear her extravagance would expose them to the +ridicule of the town, and place them fit the mercy of ballad- +mongers. So it happened one fair May-day, in the year 1667 a +vast concourse of people had assembled to witness her arrival at +Arundel House in the Strand, where the society held its meetings +for some years after the burning of Gresham College. And she in +good time reaching there, surrounded by her maids of honour, +gentlemen in waiting, and lackeys, was met by the president, +Viscount Brouncker, having his mace carried before him, and was +conducted to the great room. When the meeting was over, various +experiments were tried for her satisfaction; amongst others a +piece of roasted mutton was turned into pure blood. The while +she witnessed these sights, crowds of gallants gathered round her +that they might catch and retain such fine things as fell from +her lips; but she only cried out her wonder and admiration at all +she saw; and at the end of her visit was conducted in state to +her coach by several noble lords, notable amongst whom was a +vastly pretty young man, Francis Seymour, fifth Duke of Somerset. + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +A period rich in literature.--John Milton's early life.--Writing +"Paradise Lost."--Its publication and success.--His later works +and death.--John Dryden gossips with wits and players.--Lord +Rochester's revenge.--Elkanah Settle.--John Crowne.--Thomas Otway +rich in miseries.--Dryden assailed by villains.--The ingenious +Abraham Cowley.--The author of "Hudibras."--Young Will Wycherley +and Lady Castlemaine--The story of his marriage.--Andrew Marvell, +poet and politician.--John Bunyan. + +The men of genius who lived in the days of the merry monarch have +rendered his reign, like that of Elizabeth, illustrious in the +annals of literature. The fact of "Paradise Lost," the +"Pilgrim's Progress," "Hudibras," and "Alexander's Feast" being +given to the world whilst Charles II. occupied the throne, would +have sufficiently marked the epoch as one exceeding in +intellectual brilliancy; but besides these works, an abundance of +plays, poems, satires, treatises, and histories added fresh +lustre to this remarkable age. + +At the period of the restoration, John Milton had reached his +fifty-second year. He had studied in the University of +Cambridge; published the "Masque of Comus;" likewise a treatise +against the Established Church; taught school at Aldersgate +Street; married a wife and advocated divorce; printed a pamphlet +to compose the minds of those disturbed by the murder of Charles +I.; as also a defence of his murderers, justifying the monarch's +execution, for which the author was awarded a thousand pounds; +had become secretary to Cromwell, whom he stooped to flatter; and +had even, on the advent of his majesty's return, written and set +forth "A Ready and Easy Way to establish a Free Commonwealth." +["To your virtue," writes John Milton to Oliver Cromwell, +"overpowering and resistless, every man gives way, except some +who, without equal qualifications, aspire to equal honours, who +envy the distinctions of merit greater than their own, and who +have yet to learn that, in the coalition of human society, +nothing is more pleasing to God, or more agreeable to reason, +than that the highest mind should have the sovereign power. +Such, sir, are you, by general confession: such are the things +achieved by you, the greatest and most glorious of our +countrymen, the director of our public councils, the leader of +unconquered armies the father of your country; for by that title +does every good man hail you with sincere and voluntary praise."] + +On the landing of Charles II. Milton withdrew to the privacy +afforded by a residence in Bartholomew Close, near West +Smithfield. For a time he was apprehensive of punishment. His +pamphlet justifying the late king's execution was, with others of +a like kind, burned by the common hangman; but though parliament +ordered the attorney-general would prosecute the authors of these +works, Milton was neither seized nor brought to trial. Soon +after his arrival, Charles published an act of grace promising +free pardon to those instrumental in overthrowing his father's +government, with the exception of such as had contrived his +death; and inasmuch as Milton had but justified that monstrous +act after it had taken place, he escaped condemnation. Moreover, +he received a special pardon, which passed the privy seal in +December, 1660. His escape has been attributed to his friend +Davenant. This loyal soldier had, when taken by Cromwell's +troopers in the civil war, been condemned to speedy death; from +which, by Milton's intercession, he escaped; an act of mercy +Davenant now repaid in kind, by appealing to his friends in +behalf of the republican's safety. + +Having secured his freedom, Milton lived in peace and obscurity +in Jewin Street, near Aldersgate Street. During the commonwealth +his first wife, the mother of his three children, had died; on +which he sought solace and companionship in a union with +Catherine Woodcock, who survived her marriage but twelve months; +and being left free once more, he, in the year of grace 1661, +entered into the bonds of holy matrimony for a third time, with +Elizabeth Minshul, a lady of excellent family and shrewish +temper, who rendered his daughters miserable in their father's +lifetime, and defrauded them after his death. + +In order to support his family he continued to keep a school, and +likewise employed himself in writing "Paradise Lost" the +composition of which he had begun five years previously. From +his youth upwards he had been ambitious to furnish the world with +some important work; and prevision of resulting fame had given +him strength and fortitude in periods of difficulty and +depression. And now the time had arrived for realization of his +dream, though stricken by blindness, harassed by an unquiet wife, +and threatened by poverty, he laboured sore for fame. The more +fully to enjoy quiet necessary to his mental condition, he +removed to a house in Artillery Walk, Bunhill Fields. His life +was one of simplicity. He rose as early as four o'clock in +summer and five in winter, and being "smit with the love of +sacred song," had a chapter of the Bible read to him; studied +until twelve, dined frugally at one, and afterwards held +discourse with such friends as came to visit him. + +One of these was Thomas Elwood, a quaker much esteemed amongst +good men, who, in order that he might enjoy the advantages of the +poet's conversation, read Latin to him every afternoon save +Sunday. The whilst his voice rose and fell in regular monotony, +the blind man drank his words with thirsty ears; and so acute +were the senses remaining to him, that when Elwood read what he +did not understand, Milton perceived it by the inflection of his +voice, and stopped him to explain the passage. In fair weather +the poet wandered abroad, enjoying the fragrance of sweet pasture +land, and the warmth of glad sunlight he might not behold. And +anon, seated in a high-backed chair without his door, his +straight pale face full of repose and dignity, his light brown +hair falling in curls upon his shoulders, his large grey eyes, +"clear to outward view of blemish or of spot," fixed on vacancy, +his figure clad in coarse cloth--he received those who sought his +society. + +In their absence the poet spent solitary hours conning over as +many lines of the great poem as his memory could store, until one +of his friends arrived, and relieved him by taking the staazas +down. Frequently his nephew, Edward Philips, performed this task +for him. To him Milton was in the habit of showing his work as +it advanced, and Philips states he found it frequently required +correction in orthography and punctuation, by reason of the +various hands which had written it. As summer advanced, he was +no longer favoured by a sight of the poem; inquiring the reason +of which, Milton told him "his vein never happily flowed but from +the autumnal equinox to the vernal; and that whatever he +attempted at other times was never to his satisfaction, though he +courted his fancy never so much." + +In the year 1665 "Paradise Lost" was completed, but no steps +were taken towards its publication, as the author, in company +with his neighbours, fled from the dreaded plague. The following +year the citizens were harassed by losses sustained from the +great fire, so that Milton did not seek to dispose of his poem +until 1667; when, on the 27th of April, it was sold to Samuel +Simmons, a publisher residing in Aldersgate Street. The +agreement entered into stated Milton should receive an immediate +payment of five pounds, with the stipulation that he should be +given an equal sum on sale of thirteen hundred copies of the +first edition, and five pounds on disposal of the same number of +the second edition, and yet five pounds more after another such +sale of the third edition. Each edition was to number fifteen +hundred books. Two years after the publication of "Paradise +Lost," its author received the second payment of five pounds; +five years later a third payment was made him; before the fourth +fell due his life had been set free from care. + +From the first his poem had come in contact with a few receptive +minds, and borne the blessed fruit of appreciation. Richardson +recounts that Sir John Denham, a poet and man of culture, one +morning brought a sheet of the great epic fresh from the press to +his friend Sir George Hungerford. "Why, what have you there?" +asked the latter. "Part of the noblest poem that was ever +written in any, language or in any age," said Sir John, as he +laid the pages before him. And a few weeks later my Lord +Dorset, looking over a bookstall in Little Britain, found a copy +of this work, which he opened carelessly at first, until he met +some passages which struck him with surprise and filled him with +admiration: observing which the honest bookseller besought him +to speak in favour of the poem, for it lay upon his hands like so +much waste-paper. My lord bought a copy, carried it home, read +and sent it to Dryden, who, in due time returning the volume, +expressed his opinion of its merits in flattering terms. "The +author," said he, "cuts us all out--aye, even the ancients too." + +Such instances as these were, however, few in number. That the +work did not meet with wider appreciation and quicker sale is not +surprising when it is called to mind that from 1623 to 1664 but +two editions of Shakespeare's works, comprising in all about one +thousand copies, had been printed. In an age when learning was +by no means universal, and polite reading uncommon, it was indeed +a scource of congratulation, rather than a topic for +commiseration, that the work of a republican had in two years +reached a sale of thirteen hundred copies. + +Before a third edition was required his fame had spread. The +house in which he had been born, in Bread Street, was shown with +pride to foreign visitors; parents sent their sons to read to +him, that they might reap the benefit of his remarks. The latter +testimony to his genius was a tribute the blind poet appreciated. +But it happened there were times and seasons when these obliging +youths were not at hand, or when it was inconvenient for him to +receive them. On such occasions he demanded that his daughters +should read him the books he required, though these were +frequently written in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Italian, and Spanish +--languages of which they were wholly ignorant. The torment this +inflicted on those striving to pronounce unaccustomed words which +had no meaning to their ears, and the torture endured by him, may +readily be conceived. Expressions of complaint on the one side, +and of pain on the other, continually interrupted the readings, +which were eventually wholly abandoned; the poet sending his +children, whose education was so limited that they were unable to +write, to learn "ingenious sorts of manufacture proper for women, +particularly embroideries in gold and Silver." + +When in 1665 Milton had shown his poem to Elwood, the good quaker +observed, "Thou hast said a great deal upon Paradise Lost: what +hast thou to say upon Paradise Found?" This question resting in +the poet's mind, in due time produced fruit; for no sooner had +his first poem been published than he set about composing the +latter, which, under the name of "Paradise Regained," was given +to the world in 1670 "This," said he to Elwood, "is owing to +you; for you put it into my head by the question which you put to +me, which otherwise I had not thought of." This poem, he +believed, had merits far superior to those of "Paradise Lost," +which he could not bear to hear praised in preference to +"Paradise Regained." In the same year he published "Samson +Agonistes," and two years later a treatise on "Logic," and +another on "True Religion, Heresy, Schism, Toleration, and the +Best Methods to Prevent the Growth of Popery." In this, the mind +which had soared to heaven and descended to hell in its boundless +flight, argues that catholics should not be allowed the right of +public or private worship. In the last year of his life he +republished his "Juvenile Poems," together with "Familiar +Epistles in Latin." + +He had now reached his sixty-sixth year. His life had been +saddened by blindness, his health enfeebled by illness, his +domesticity troubled by his first marriage and his last, his +desires disappointed by the result of political events. So that +when, on the 10th of November, 1674, death summoned him, he +departed without regret. + +Amongst those who visited Milton was John Dryden, whom the author +of "Paradise Lost" regarded as "a good rhymester, but no poet," +an opinion with which posterity has not held. At the +restoration, John Dryden was in his twenty-ninth year. The son +of Sir Erasmus Dryden, Baronet, of Canons Ashby, he enjoyed an +income of two hundred pounds a year, a sum then considered +sufficient to defray the expenses of a young man of good +breeding. He had passed through Westminster School, taken a +degree at Cambridge, written a eulogistic stanza on the death of +Cromwell, and a joyous poem on the happy restoration of the merry +monarch. + +Three years after the arrival of his majesty, Dryden's comedy +entitled "The Wild Gallant" was produced, this being the first of +twenty-eight plays which followed. In the year 1668 he had the +honour to succeed Sir William Davenant as poet laureate, the +salary attached to which office was one hundred pounds a year and +a tierce of wine. His dignity was moreover enhanced, though his +happiness was by no means increased, by his marriage with the +Lady Elizabeth Howard, daughter of the Earl of Berkshire. For my +lady's temper sorely marred the poet's peace, and left such +impressions upon his mind, that to the end of his days his +invectives against the bonds of matrimony were bitter and deep. +In justice it must be mentioned the Lady Elizabeth's mental +condition was supposed to be unsettled; a conjecture which was +proved true by a madness which befell her, subsequent to her +husband's death. + +Dryden was now a well known figure in town, consorting with men +of the highest quality and parts, and gossiping with wits and +players who frequented Will's coffee-house. Here, indeed, a +special chair was appropriated to his use; which being placed by +the fire in winter, and on the balcony in summer, he was pleased +to designate as his winter and his summer seat. At Will's he was +wont to hold forth on the ingenuity of his plays, the perfection +of his poems, and the truth of astrology. It was whilst leaving +this coffee house one night a memorable occurrence befell the +poet, of which more anon. + +It happened at one time the brilliant, poetical, and mercurial +Earl of Rochester extended his favour and friendship towards +Dryden, gratified by which, the poet had, after the manner of +those days, dedicated a play to him, "Marriage a la Mode." This +favour his lordship received with graciousness, and no doubt +repaid with liberality. After a while, Dryden, led by choice or +interest, sought a new patron in the person of the Earl of +Mulgrave. For this nobleman Rochester had long entertained a +bitter animosity, which had arisen from rivalry, and had been +intensified from the fact that Rochester, refusing to fight him, +had been branded as a coward. Not daring to attack the peer, +Rochester resolved to avenge himself upon the poet. In order to +effect his humiliation, the earl at once bestowed his favour on +Elkanah Settle, a playwright and poet of mean abilities. He had +originally been master of a puppet-show, had written verses to +order for city pageants, and produced a tragedy in heroic verse, +entitled "Cambyses, King of Persia." + +His patron being at this time in favour with the king, introduced +Settle to the notice of the court, and induced the courtiers to +play his second tragedy, "The Empress of Morocco," at Whitehall, +before their majesties. This honour, which Dryden, though poet +laureate, had never received, gave Elkanah Settle unmerited +notoriety; the benefit of which was apparent by the applause his +tragedy received when subsequently produced at the Duke's Theatre +in Dorset Gardens. Nor did the honour and profit which "The +Empress of Morocco" brought him end here; it was published by +William Cademan, and had the distinction of being the first +English play ever illustrated, or sold for the price of two +shillings. It was scarce to be expected, in an age when men +ventilated their merest grievances by the publication of +pamphlets, Dryden could refrain from pointing out to the public +the mistake into which they had fallen by honouring this man. +Nor was he singular in his feelings of animosity. The poets +Shadwell and Crowne, believing themselves ignored and neglected, +whilst their rival was enriched and exalted, joined Dryden in +writing a merciless criticism upon Settle's tragedy. This was +entitled "The Empress of Morocco, or some few erratas to be +printed instead of the sculptures [Illustrations.], with the +second edition of the play." In this Settle was described as "an +animal of a most deplored intellect, without reading and +understanding;" whilst his play was characterized as "a tale told +by an idiot, full of noise and fury signifying nothing." To +these remarks and others of like quality, Settle replied in the +same strain, so that the quarrel diverted the town and even +disturbed the quiet of the universities. Time did ample justice +to both men; lowering Settle to play the part of a dragon in a +booth at Bartholomew Fair, and consecrating Dryden to +immortality. + +Before the clamour resulting from this dispute had ended, +Rochester, fickle and eccentric, grew weary of his PROTEGE and +consequently abandoned him. He had not, however, tired of +humiliating the laureate, and to mortify him the more, introduced +a new poet at court, This was John Crowne, a man then little +known to the town, and now best remembered as author of "Sir +Courtly Nice," a comedy of wit and entertainment. So well did he +succeed in obtaining favour at court, through Rochester's +influence, that the queen ordered him to write a masque. This +command he immediately obeyed, producing "Calisto, or the Chaste +Nymph," which was acted at Whitehall by the Duke of York's fair +daughters, the Princesses Mary and Anne, together with many +gracious ladies and noble lords. Dryden, probably the better to +hide the mortification he felt at seeing his office as laureate +unceremoniously usurped, offered to write an epilogue for the +occasion; but this service was, through Rochester's interference, +rejected. The masque proved a brilliant success; "the dancing, +singing, and music, which were all in the highest perfection, and +the graceful action, incomparable beauty, and splendid habits of +those ladies who accompanied them, afforded the spectators +extraordinary delight." "Calisto" was therefore performed thirty +times. + +The author's gratitude for his lordship's patronage was only +equalled by his disappointment upon its hasty withdrawal. +Growing weary of him, Rochester found a more worthy object for +his favour in Thomas Otway, a poet rich in all the miseries which +afflicted genius in those days. Son of the rector of Woolbeding, +pupil at Winchester School, and commoner of Christchurch, +Cambridge, he had on his arrival in town vainly sought employment +as an actor, and barely earned bread as a play-writer. Before he +became a PROTEGE of my Lord Rochester he had written +"Alcibiades," a tragedy, he being then, in 1665, in his twenty- +fifth year. His next play was "Don Carlos, Prince of Spain," +which, through the earl's influence, gained great success. In +the preface to this tragedy he acknowledges his unspeakable +obligations to my lord, who he says made it his business to +establish "Don Carlos" in the good opinion of the king and of his +royal highness the Duke of York. Unwarned by the fate of his +predecessors, and heedless of the fickleness of his patron, he +basked in hope in the present, mercifully unconscious of the +cruel death by starvation which awaited him in the future. Alas! +Rochester not only forsook him, but loaded him with satire in a +poem entitled "Session of the Poets." + +In verses which he wrote soon after, entitled "An Allusion to the +Tenth Satire," Rochester likewise attacked Dryden; who, in the +preface of his "All for Love," replied in like manner. Then +there appeared an "Essay on Satire," which ridiculed the king, +dealt severely with his mistresses, said uncivil things of the +courtiers in general, and of my Lord Rochester in particular. +The noble earl was indeed described as being "lewd in every +limb," affected in his wit, mean in his actions, and cowardly in +his disposition. Now, though this was conceived and brought +forth by my Lord Mulgrave, Rochester suspected Dryden of its +authorship, and resolved to punish him forthwith. Accordingly on +the night of the 18th of December, 1679, when Dryden was passing +through Rose Street, Covent Garden, on his homeward way from +Will's Coffee House, he was waylaid by some ruffians, and, before +he could draw his sword, promptly surrounded and severely beaten. + +This occurrence caused considerable sensation throughout the +town, and though surmises arose in many minds as to who had hired +the bravoes, it was found impossible to prove them. In hope of +gaining some clue to the instigator of the attack, Dryden caused +the following advertisement to be inserted in the LONDON GAZETTE +AND DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE for three consecutive days: "Whereas +John Dryden, Esq., was on Monday, the 18th instant, at night, +barbarously assaulted and wounded in Rose Street, in Covent +Garden, by divers men unknown; if any person shall make discovery +of the said offenders to the said Mr. Dryden, or to any justice +of the peace, he shall not only receive fifty pounds, which is +deposited in the hands of Mr. Blanchard Goldsmith, next door to +Temple Bar, for the said purpose; but if he be a principal or an +accessory in the said fact, his majesty is graciously pleased to +promise him his pardon for the same." + +Dryden sought no opportunity for revenge; for which restraint, +outliving Rochester, and having a noble mind and generous +disposition, he was no doubt glad at heart. Not only did he +survive the earl, but likewise the king. To the company and +conversation of that gracious sovereign the poet was frequently +admitted, a privilege which resulted in satisfaction and pleasure +to both. One pleasant day towards the end of his majesty's +reign, whilst they walked in the Mall, Charles said to him, "If I +were a poet, and indeed I think I am poor enough to be one, I +would write a satire on sedition." Taking this hint, Dryden +speedily set himself to work, and brought a poem on such a +subject to his royal master, who rewarded him with a hundred +broad pieces. + +Amongst Dryden's friends was the excellent and ingenious Abraham +Cowley, whose youth had given the promise of distinction his +manhood fulfilled. It is related that when quite a lad, he found +in the window recess of his mother's apartment a copy of +Spencer's "Faerie Queene." Opening the book, he read it with +delight, and his receptive mind reflecting the poet's fire, he +resolved likewise to exercise the art of poesy. In 1628, when at +the age of ten, he wrote "The Tragic History of Pyramus and +Thisbe;" five years later he published a volume of poems; and +whilst yet a schoolboy wrote his pastoral comedy, "Love's +Riddle." + +When at St. John's College, Oxford, he gave proof of his loyalty +by writing a poem entitled the "Puritan and the Papist," which +gained him the friendship of courtiers. On the Queen of Charles +I. taking refuge in France, he soon followed her, and becoming +secretary to the Earl of St. Albans, conducted the correspondence +between her majesty and the king, ciphering and deciphering their +letters, and such as were sent or received by those immediately +concerned in the cause of royalty. In this situation he remained +until four years previous to the restoration, when he was sent +into England for the purpose of observing the condition of the +nation, and reporting the same. Scarce had he set foot in London +when he was seized, examined, and only liberated on a friend +offering bail for him to the amount of one thousand pounds. + +The better to disguise the object of his visit, and lull +suspicions of republicans, he took out the degree of Doctor of +Physic at Oxford; after which he retired into Kent, where he +devoted a great portion of his time to the study of botany and +the composition of poetry. On Cromwell's death he hastened to +France, and remained there until the king's return; which he +celebrated by a song of triumph. Like hundreds of others who had +served Charles in his exile, he looked forward to gratitude and +reward, but met disappointment and neglect. Amongst the numerous +places and employments the change of government opened in court +and state, not one was offered the loyal poet. + +Nay, his hardships did not end here; for having, in 1663, +produced his merry comedy, "Cutter of Coleman Street," it was +treated with severity as a censure upon the king. Feeling over- +nervous to witness the result of its first representation, the +poet absented himself from the playhouse; but thither his friends +Dryden and Sprat sped, hoping they might be able to bear him +tidings of its triumph. When they returned to him at night and +told him of its fate, "he received the news of its ill success," +says Sprat, "not with so much firmness as might have been +expected from so great a man." Of all intent to satirize the +king he was entirely innocent--a fact he set before the public in +the preface to his play on its publication. Having, he argues, +followed the fallen fortunes of the royal family so long, it was +unlikely he would select the time of their restoration to quarrel +with them. + +Feeling his grievances acutely, he now published a poem called +"The Complaint," which met with but little success; whereon, +depressed by ill-fortune and disgusted by ingratitude, he sought +consolation in the peace of a country life. Through the +influence of his old friend, Lord St. Albans, and the Duke of +Buckingham, he obtained a lease of the queen's lands at Chertsey, +which produced him an income of about three hundred pounds a +year--a sum sufficient for his few wants and moderate desires. +He resided here but two years, when he died, on the 28th of July, +1667. Milton, on hearing of his death, was troubled. The three +greatest English poets, he declared, were Spenser, Shakespeare, +and Cowley. + +The ungrateful neglect with which he was treated in life was +sought to be atoned for by useless honours paid him after death. +His remains were first conveyed to Wallingford House, then a +residence of the Duke of Buckingham, from whence they were +carried in a coach drawn by six horses, and followed by all the +men of letters and wits of the town, divers stately bishops, +courtiers, and men of quality, whose carriages exceeded one +hundred in number, to Westminster Abbey. Here the Poet was laid +at rest beside Geoffrey Chaucer, and not far removed from gentle +Spenser, whose words had first inspired his happy muse. + +The literary wealth of this reign was furthermore enhanced by the +genius of Butler, the inimitable author of "Hudibras," concerning +whom little is known, save that he was born in 1612, and spent +his life in poverty. He passed some years as clerk to a justice +of the peace; he also served a great man's steward, and acted as +secretary to Sir Samuel Luke, one of Cromwell's officers. With +those of the commonwealth he held no part; that he was a royalist +at heart his great satire indicates. The first part of this was +published in the third year of the restoration, and was +introduced to the notice of his majesty by my Lord Dorset. So +delighted was the monarch by its wit that its lines were +continually on his lips, an example speedily followed by the +courtiers. It was considered certain a man possessing such +brilliant genius and loyal nature would be rewarded with place or +pension; but neither boon was bestowed upon him. Resting his +hopes on future achievements, the second part of "Hudibras" +appeared in 1664; but again his recompense was delayed. +Clarendon made him promises of valuable employments, which were +never fulfilled; and to soothe his disappointment the king sent +him a present of three hundred guineas. + +Indignant at the neglect from which he suffered, his friend +Wycherley spoke to the Duke of Buckingham on his behalf, saying +it was a shame to the court a man of Butler's parts should be +allowed to suffer want. With this his grace readily agreed, and +promised to use his influence towards remedying the poet's ill- +fortune; but time went by, and his condition remained unaltered. +Whereon Wycherley conceived the idea of bringing Butler and the +duke together, that the latter might the more certainly remember +him. He therefore succeeded in making his grace name an hour and +place in which they might meet. So it came to pass they were +together one day at the Roebuck Tavern; but scarce had Buckingham +opened his lips when a pimp of his acquaintance--"the creature +was likewise a knight"--passed by with a couple of ladies. To a +man of Buckingham's character the temptation was too seductive to +be neglected; accordingly, he darted after those who allured him, +leaving the needy poet, whom he saw no more. Butler lived until +1680, dying in poverty. Longueville, having in vain solicited a +subscription to defray the expenses of the poet's burial in +Westminster Abbey, laid him to rest in the churchyard of Covent +Garden. + +Wycherley, the friend of Butler, though a child of the Muses, was +superior to poverty. He was born in the year of grace 1640, and +early in life sent for his better education into France. +Returning to England soon after the king had come unto his own, +young Wycherley entered Queen's College, Oxford, from whence he +departed without obtaining a degree. He then betook himself to +town, and became a law student. The Temple, however, had less +attraction for him than the playhouse. Indeed, before leaving +Oxford he had, written a couple of comedies--to wit, "Love in a +Wood," and "The Gentleman Dancing Master," a fact entitling him +to be considered a man of parts. Not satisfied with this +distinction, he soon developed tastes for pleasures of the town, +and became a man of fashion. His wit illuminated choice +gatherings of congenial spirits at coffee-houses; his epigrams +were repeated by boon companions in the precincts of the court. + +In the year 1672 his comedy "Love in a Wood" was produced. It +immediately gained universal favour, and, moreover, speedily +attracted the attention of his majesty's mistress, the Duchess of +Cleveland. Wycherley was a man well to look upon: her grace was +a lady eager for adventure. Desiring his acquaintance, and +impatient of delay, she introduced herself to his notice in a +manner eminently characteristic of the age. It happened when +driving one day through Pall Mall, she encountered Wycherley +riding in his coach in an opposite direction. Thrusting her head +out of the window of her vehicle, she saluted the author with a +title unknown to the conversations of polite society in the +present day. + +The fashionable playwright understanding the motive which +prompted her remark, hastily ordered his coach to follow hers; +and, overtaking her, uncovered and began a speech becoming so +ardent a gallant. + +"Madam," said he, "you have been pleased to bestow a title on me +which belongs only to the fortunate. Will your ladyship be at +the play to-night?" + +"Well," replied her grace, well pleased at this beginning, "what +if I am there?" + +"Why, then," answered he, "I will be there to wait on your +ladyship, though I disappoint a fine woman who has made me an +assignation." + +"So," said this frail daughter of Eve, greedily swallowing his +flattery, "you are sure to disappoint a woman who has favoured +you for one who has not?" + +"Yes," quoth he, readily enough, "if the one who has not favoured +me is the finer woman of the two. But he who can be constant to +your ladyship till he can find a finer, is sure to die your +captive." + +That night her grace sat in the front row of the king's box at +Drury Lane playhouse, and sure enough there was handsome Will +Wycherley sitting in the pit underneath. The gentleman cast his +eyes upwards and sighed; the lady looked down and played with her +fan; after which preliminaries they fell into conversation which +both found far more interesting than the comedy then being +enacted before their eyes. This was the beginning of an intimacy +concerning which the court made merry, and of which the town +spoke scandal. My lady disguised herself as a country wench, and +visited his chambers, Mr. Wycherley dedicated his play, "Love in +a Wood," to her in elegant phraseology, He was of opinion that +she stood as little in need of flattery as her beauty did of art; +he was anxious to let the world know he was the greatest admirer +she had; and he was desirous of returning her his grateful +acknowledgment for the favours he had received from her. + +The interest of this romance was presently intensified by the +introduction of a rival in the person of the Duke of Buckingham. +Probably from fear an intrigue with such a prominent figure +would, if indulged in, quickly become known to the king, she +refused to encourage Buckingham's love. His grace was not only a +passionate lover, but likewise a revengeful man; accordingly, he +resolved to punish my lady for her lack of good taste. It +therefore became his habit to speak of her intrigues before the +court, and to name the individuals who received her favours. Now +Wycherley, being amongst these, grew fearful his amour with the +duchess should become known to the king, from whom at this time +he expected an appointment. Accordingly, he besought his good +friends, Lord Rochester and Sir Charles Sedley, to remonstrate on +his behalf with the duke. These gentlemen undertook that kindly +office, and in order to make the rivals acquainted, besought his +grace to sup with the playwright. The duke complying with their +request, met Wycherley in a friendly spirit, and soon professed +himself delighted with his wit; nay, before the feast was over he +drank his health in a bumper of red wine, and declared himself +Mr. Wycherley's very good friend and faithful servant henceforth. + +Moreover, he was as good as his word; for, being master of the +horse, he soon after appointed Wycherley an equerry, and +subsequently gave him a commission as captain of a regiment of +which he was colonel. Nor did the duke's services to the +dramatist end here; for when occasion offered he introduced him +to the merry monarch, and so pleased was the king with the +author's conversational powers that he admitted him to his +friendship. His majesty's regard for Wycherley gradually +ripened, and once when he lay ill of fever at his lodgings in Bow +Street, Covent Garden, the merry monarch visited him, cheered him +with words of kindness, and promised he would send him to +Montpelier when he was well enough to travel. For this good +purpose Charles sent him five hundred pounds, and Wycherley spent +the winter of 1679 abroad. + +Previous to this date he had written, besides his first comedy, +three others which had been received with great favour by the +town, viz., "The Gentleman Dancing Master," "The Country Wife," +and "The Plain Dealer." Soon after his return to England the +crisis of his life arrived, and he married. His introduction to +the lady whom fate ordained to become his wife is not the least +singular episode in a remarkable biography. Being at Tunbridge +Wells, then a place of fashion and liberty, he was one day +walking with a friend named Fairbeard. And it happened as they +were passing a book-stall they overheard a gentlewoman inquire +for the "Plain Dealer." + +"Madam," says Mr. Fairbeard, uncovering, "since you are for the +'Plain Dealer,' there he is for you;" whereon he led Wycherley +towards her. + +"This lady," says that gentleman, making her a profound bow, "can +bear plain speaking; for she appears to be so accomplished, that +what would be compliment said to others, spoken to her would be +plain dealing." + +"No truly, sir," replied the lady; "I am not without my faults, +like the rest of my sex; and yet, notwithstanding all my faults, +I love plain dealing, and never am more fond of it than when it +points out my errors." + +"Then, madam," said Mr. Fairbeard, "you and the plain dealer seem +designed by heaven for each other." + +These pretty speeches having been delivered and received with +every mark of civility, Mr. Wycherley made his exit with the +lady, who was none other than the Countess of Drogheda, a young +widow gifted with beauty and endowed by fortune. Day by day he +waited on her at her lodging, accompanied her in her walks, and +attended her to the assemblies. Finally, when she returned to +town he married her. It is sad yet true the union did not result +in perfect happiness. Mr. Wycherley had a reputation for +gallantry, the Countess of Drogheda was the victim of suspicion. +Knowing jealousy is beget by love, and mindful of sacrifices she +had made in marrying him, Wycherley behaved towards her with much +kindness. In compliance with her wishes he desisted visiting the +court, a place she probably knew from experience was rife with +temptation; and moreover when he cracked a bottle of wine with +convivial friends at the Cock Tavern, opposite his lodgings in +Bow Street, he, for the greater satisfaction of his wife, would +leave the windows open of the room in which he sat, that she +might from the vantage ground of her home see there were no +hussies in the company. + +As proof of her love, she, when dying, settled her fortune upon +him; but unhappily his just right was disputed by her family. +The case therefore went into litigation, for the expenses of +which, together with other debts, Wycherley was cast into prison. +Here the brilliant wit, clever writer, and boon companion, was +allowed to remain seven long years. When released from this vile +bondage, another king than the merry monarch occupied the English +throne. + +The name of Andrew Marvel is inseparably connected with this +period. He was born in the year 1620 in the town of Kingston- +upon-Hull; his father being a clever school-master, worthy +minister, and "an excellent preacher, who never broached what he +had never brewed, but that which he had studied some compitent +time before." At the age of fifteen, Andrew Marvell was sent to +Trinity College, Cambridge. But he had not long been there when +he withdrew himself, lured, as some authorities state, by wiles +of the wicked Jesuits; repulsed, as others say, by severities of +the head of his college. Leaving the university, he set out for +London, where his father, who hastened thither in search of him, +found him examining some old volumes on a book-stall. He was +prevailed to return to his college, where, in 1638, he took his +degree as bachelor of arts. + +On the completion of his studies and death of his father, he +travelled through Holland, France, and Italy. Whilst abroad he +began to produce those satirical verses such as were destined to +render him famous. One of his earliest efforts in this direction +was aimed at the Abbe de Maniban, a learned ecclesiastic, whose +chief fault in Marvell's eyes lay in the fact of his professing +to judge characters from handwriting. + +Whilst in Italy, Andrew Marvell met John Milton, and they having +many tastes and convictions in common, became fast friends. In +1653, the former returned to England, and for some time acted as +tutor to Mistress Fairfax; he being an excellent scholar, and a +great master of the Latin tongue. He now led a peaceful and +obscure life until 1657. In that year, Milton, "laying aside," +as he wrote, "those jealousies, and that emulation which mine own +condition might suggest to me," introduced him to Bradshaw; soon +after which he was made assistant-secretary to Milton, who was +then in the service of Cromwell. + +He had not been long engaged in this capacity, when the usurper +died; and Marvell's occupation being gone, the goodly burgesses +of the town of Hull, who loved him well, elected him as their +representative in parliament, for which service, in accordance +with a custom of the time, he was paid. The salary, it is true, +was not large, amounting to two shillings a day for borough +members; yet when kindly feeling and honest satisfaction mutually +existed between elector and representative, as in Marvell's case, +the wage was at times supplemented by such acceptable additions +as home-cured pork and home-brewed ale, "We must first give you +thanks," wrote Marvell on one occasion to his constituents, on +the receipt of a cask of beer, "for the kind present you have +pleased to send us, which will give occasion to us to remember +you often; but the quantity is so great, that it might make sober +men forgetful." + +He now, in the warfare of political life, made free use of his +keen wit and bitter sarcasm as serviceable weapons. These were +chiefly employed in exposing measures he considered calculated to +ruin the country, though they might gratify the king. However, +he had no hatred of monarchy, but would occasionally divert +Charles by the sharpness of his satire and brilliancy of his wit. +Considering how valuable these would be if employed in service of +the court, Charles resolved to tempt Marvell's integrity. For +this purpose the Lord Treasurer Danby sought and found him in his +chamber, situated in the second floor of a mean house standing in +a court off the Strand. Groping his way up the dark and narrow +staircase of the domicile, the great minister stumbled, and +falling against a door, was precipitated into Marvell's +apartment, head foremost. Surprised at his appearance, the +satirist asked my Lord Danby if he had not mistaken his way. +"No," said the courtier with a bow, "not since I have found Mr. +Marvell." He then proceeded to tell him that the king, being +impressed by a high sense of his abilities, was desirous of +serving him. Apprehending what services were expected in return, +Marvell answered that he who accepted favours from the court was +bound to vote in its interests. "Nay," said my lord, "his +majesty but desires to know if there is any place at court you +would accept." On which Marvell replied he could receive nothing +with honour, for either he must treat the king with ingratitude +by refusing compliance with court measures, or be a traitor to +his country by yielding to them. The only favour he therefore +begged was, that his majesty would esteem him a loyal subject; +the truer to his interests in refusing his offers than he would +be by accepting them. It is stated that Lord Danby, surprised at +so much purity in an age of corruption, furthermore tempted him +with a bag of gold, which Marvell obstinately refused to accept. + +He died suddenly in the year 1678, leaving behind him a +reputation for humour and satire which has rarely been excelled. + +Besides these poets and dramatists, there were other great men, +who as prose writers, helped to render the literary history of +the period remarkable for its brilliancy. Amongst these were +Lord Clarendon, High Chancellor of England, concerning whom much +has already been said; and Thomas Hobbs of Malmesbury, better +known as author of "The History of the Causes of the Civil War," +and of "Human Nature," than as a translator of the Iliad and the +Odyssey. Dr. Gilbert Burnet, author of "The History of his Own +Times;" and Dr. Ralph Cudworth, author of "The True Intellectual +System of the Universe," were likewise men of note. But one +whose name is far more familiar than any writer of his time is +John Bunyan, author of "The Pilgrim's Progress." + +He was the son of a tinker, and was born within a mile of Bedford +town in the year 1628. He imbibed at an early age the spirit of +Puritanism, fought in the civil wars, took to himself a wife, and +turned preacher. Six months after the merry monarch landed, +Bunyan was flung into Bedford gaol, where, rather than refrain +from puritanical discourses, in the utterance of which he +believed himself divinely inspired, he remained, with some short +intervals of liberty, for twelve years. When offered freedom at +the price of silence, he replied, "If you let me out to-day, I +will preach to-morrow." Nay, even in his confinement he +delivered sermons to his fellow-prisoners; and presently he +commenced to write. His convictions leading him to attack the +liturgy of the Church of England, and the religion of the +Quakers, his productions became popular amongst dissenters. At +length, by an act annulling the penal statutes against Protestant +Nonconformists and Roman Catholics, passed in 1671, he was +liberated. When he left prison he carried with him a portion of +his "Pilgrim's Progress," which was soon after completed and +published, though at what date remains uncertain. In 1678 a +second edition was printed, and such was the growth of its +popularity, that six editions were issued within the following +four years. + +Now he became famous, his lot was far different from what it had +been; his sermons were heard by eager audiences, his counsel was +sought by those in trouble, his prayers were regarded as the +utterances of inspiration. Once a year he rode, attended by vast +crowds, from Bedford Town to London City, that he might preach to +those burdened by sin; and from the capital he made a circuit of +the country, where he was hailed as a prophet. His life extended +beyond the reign of King Charles; his influence lasted till his +death. + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +Time's flight leaves the king unchanged.--The Rye House +conspiracy.--Profligacy of the court.--The three duchesses.--The +king is taken ill.--The capital in consternation.--Dr. Ken +questions his majesty.--A Benedictine monk sent for.--Charles +professes catholicity and receives the Sacraments.--Farewell to +all.--His last night on earth.--Daybreak and death.--He rests in +peace. + +His majesty's habits changed but little with the flight of time, +To the end of his reign the court continued brilliant and +profligate. Wits, courtezans, and adventurers crowded the royal +drawing-rooms, and conversed without restraint; the monarch +pursued his pleasures with unsatiated zest, taking to himself two +new mistresses, Lady Shannon and Catherine Peg, who respectively +bore him a daughter and a son, duly created Countess of Yarmouth +and Earl of Plymouth. For a while, indeed, a shadow fell upon +the life of the merry monarch, when, in 1683, he was roused to a +sense of danger by discovery of the Rye House conspiracy. + +This foul plot, entered into by the Whigs on failure of the +Exclusion Bill, had for its object the murder of his majesty and +of the Duke of York. Before arriving at maturity its existence +and intentions were revealed by one of the conspirators, when +William Lord Russell, the Earl of Essex, and Algernon Sidney, +second son of the Earl of Leicester, were arrested and charged +with high treason. My Lord Essex died in the Tower by his own +hand; Lord Russell was condemned on testimony of one witness, and +duly executed; as was likewise Algernon Sidney, whose writings on +Republicanism were used as evidence against him. On the +revelation of this wicked scheme the country became wildly +excited, and the king grievously afflicted. A melancholy seized +upon his majesty, who stirred not abroad without double guards; +and the private doors of Whitehall and avenues of the park were +closed. + +From this condition, however, he gradually recovered, and resumed +his usual habits. Accordingly, we find him engaged in "luxurious +dalliance and prophaneness" with the Duchess of Mazarine, and +visiting the Duchess of Portsmouth betimes in her chamber, where +that bold and voluptuous woman, fresh risen from bed, sat in +loose garments talking to the king and his gallants, the while +her maids combed her beautiful hair. + +"I can never forget," says John Evelyn, writing on the 4th of +February, 1685, "the inexpressible luxury and prophaneness, +gaming, and all dissoluteness, and as it were total +forgetfullnesse of God (it being Sunday evening), which this day +se'nnight I was witnesse of, the king sitting and toying with his +concubines, Portsmouth, Cleveland, and Mazarine, etc., a French +boy singing love songs in that glorious gallery, whilst about +twenty of the greate courtiers and other dissolute persons were +at basset round a large table, a bank of at least two thousand in +gold before them, upon which two gentlemen who were with me made +reflexions with astonishment. Six days after was all in the +dust." + +For now the end of all things had come for Charles Stuart. It +happened on the morning of the 2nd of February, 1685, the day +being Monday, the king whilst in his bedroom was seized by an +apoplectic fit, when crying out, he fell back in his chair, and +lay as one dead. Wildly alarmed, his attendants summoned Dr. +King, the physician in waiting, who immediately bled him, and had +him carried to bed. Then tidings spread throughout the palace, +that his majesty hovered betwixt life and death; which should +claim him no man might say. Whereon the Duke of York hastened to +his bedside, as did likewise the queen, her face blanched, her +eyes wild with terror. His majesty after some time recovering +consciousness, slowly realized his sad condition. Then he +conceived a fear, the stronger as begotten by conviction, that +the sands of his life had run their course. Throughout that day +and the next he fainted frequently, and showed symptoms of +epilepsy. On Wednesday he was cupped and bled in both jugulars; +but on Thursday he was pronounced better, when the physicians, +anxious to welcome hope, spoke of his probable recovery. + +But, alas, the same evening he grew restless, and signs of fever +became apparent. Jesuits' powders, then of great repute, were +given him, but with no good result. Complaining of a pain in his +side, the doctors drew twelve ounces more of blood from him. +Exhaustion then set in; all hope of life was over. + +Meanwhile, the capital was in a state of consternation. Prayers +for his majesty's recovery were offered up in all churches +throughout the city; likewise in the royal chapels, where the +clergy relieved each other every quarter of an hour. Crowds +gathered by day and night without the palace gates, eager to +learn the latest change in the king's condition from those who +passed to and fro. Inside Whitehall all was confusion. Members +of the Privy Council assembled in the room adjoining that where +the monarch lay; politicians and ambassadors conversed in +whispers in the disordered apartments; courtiers of all degrees +flocked through the corridors bearing signs of deep concern upon +their countenances. + +And amongst others who sought his majesty's presence was the +Archbishop of Canterbury, together with the Bishops of London, +Durham, Ely, and Bath and Wells; all being anxious to render +spiritual services to the king. Of these good men, Charles liked +best Dr. Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, having most faith in his +honesty. For, when his lordship was a prebend of Winchester, it +had happened Charles passed through that city, accompanied by +Nell Gwynn, when Dr. Ken refused to receive her beneath his roof +even at the king's request. This proof of integrity so pleased +his majesty, that he gave him the next vacant bishopric by way of +reward. And now, his lordship being at hand, he read prayers for +the Sick from out the Common Prayer Book for his benefit, until +coming to that part where the dying are exhorted to make +confession of their sins, when the bishop paused and said such +was not obligatory. He then asked his majesty if he were sorry +for the iniquities of his life? when the sick man, whose heart +was exceeding heavy, replied he was; whereon the bishop +pronounced absolution, and asked him if he would receive the +Sacrament. To this Charles made no reply, until the same +question had been repeated several times, when his majesty +answered he would think of it. + +The Duke of York, who stood by the while, noting the king's +answer, and aware of his tendencies towards Catholicism, bade +those who had gathered round stand aside; and then, bending over +him, asked in a low tone if he might send for a priest. A look +of unspeakable relief came into the king's face, and he answered, +"For God's sake do, brother, and lose no time." Then another +thought flashing across his mind, he said, "But will not this +expose you to much danger?" James made answer, "Though it cost +me my life I will bring you a priest." He then hurried into the +next room, where, among all the courtiers, he could find no man +he could trust, save a foreigner, one Count Castelmachlor. +Calling him aside, he secretly despatched him in search of a +priest. + +Between seven and eight o'clock that evening, Father Huddleston, +the Benedictine friar who had aided the king's escape after the +battle of Worcester, awaited at the queen's back stairs the +signal to appear in his majesty's presence. The duke being made +aware of the fact, announced it to the king, who thereon ordered +all in his room to withdraw; but James, mindful that slander +might afterwards charge him with killing his brother, begged the +Earl of Bath, the lord of the bedchamber then in waiting, and the +Earl of Feversham, captain of the guard, might stay--saying to +the king it was not fitting he should be unattended in his weak +condition. These gentlemen therefore remained. And no sooner +had all others departed than the monk was admitted by a private +entrance to the chamber. The king received him with great joy +and satisfaction, stating he was anxious to die in the communion +of the catholic church, and declaring he was sorry for the wrongs +of his past life, which he yet hoped might be pardoned through +the merits of Christ. + +He then, as we read in the Stuart Papers, "with exceeding +compunction and tenderness of heart," made an exact confession of +his sins, after which he repeated an act of contrition, and +received absolution. He next desired to have the other +Sacraments of the church proper to his condition administered to +him: on which the Benedictine asked if he desired to receive the +Eucharist; eagerly he replied, "If I am worthy pray fail not to +let me have it." Then Father Huddleston, after some exhortation, +prepared to give him the Sacrament; when the dying man, +struggling to raise himself, exclaimed, "Let me meet my heavenly +Lord in a better posture than lying in bed." But the priest +begged he would not move, and then gave him the Communion, which +he received with every sign of fervour. And for some time he +prayed earnestly, the monk and the duke kneeling by the while, +silence obtaining in the room. This was presently broken by the +sad and solemn tones of the priest's voice, reading a +commendation of the soul to its Maker: the which being ended, +the Benedictine, with tears in his eyes, took leave of his +majesty. "Ah," said Charles, "you once saved my body; you have +now saved my soul." Then the monk gave him his benediction, and +departed as quietly as he had come. + +Then those waiting without were once more admitted to the room, +when Charles nerved himself to take a sad farewell of those +around him. He first publicly thanked his brother for the +services and affection he had ever rendered him through life, and +extolled his obedience and submission to his commands. Giving +him his keys, he said he had left him all he possessed, and +prayed God would bless him with a happy and prosperous reign. +Finally, he recommended all his children to him by name, +excepting only the Duke of Monmouth then in Holland, and +suffering from the king's displeasure; and besought him to extend +his kindness towards the Duchesses of Portsmouth and Cleveland; +"and do not," said he, "let poor Nelly starve." Whilst these +commands were addressed him, the duke had flung himself on his +knees by the bedside, and, bursting into tears, kissed his +brother's hand. + +The queen, who had scarce left his majesty since the beginning of +his illness, was at this time absent, her love and grief not +permitting her to endure this afflicting scene. He spoke most +tenderly of her; and when presently she sent a message praying he +would pardon her absence in regard to her excessive grief, and +forgive her withal if at any time she had offended him, he +replied, "Alas, poor woman! She beg my pardon?--I beg hers, with +all my heart." He next summoned his children to him, one by one, +and addressing them with words of advice, embraced them heartily +and blessed them fervently. And he being the Lord's anointed, +the bishops present besought he would give them his benediction +likewise, and all that were present, and in them the whole body +of his subjects; in compliance with which request he, with some +difficulty, raised himself, and all falling on their knees, he +blessed them fervently. Then they arose and departed. + +Silence fell upon the palace; night wore slowly away. Charles +tossed upon his bed racked with pain, but no complaint escaped +his lips. Those who watched him in the semi-darkened room heard +him ask God to accept his sufferings in atonement for his sins. +Then, speaking aloud, he declared himself weary of life, and +hoped soon to reach a better world. Courteous to the last, he +begged pardon for the trouble he gave, inasmuch as he was long in +dying. And anon he slumbered, and quickly woke again in agony +and prayed with zeal. Never had time moved with slower passage +for him; not hours, but weeks, seemed to elapse between each +stroke of the clock; and yet around him was darkness and tardy +night. But after much weary waiting, morning was at hand, the +time-piece struck six. "Draw the curtains," said the dying man, +"that I may once more see day." The grey light of a February +dawn, scarce brightened to eastward a cheerless sky; but he +hailed this herald of sunrise with infinite relief and terrible +regret; relief that he had lived to see another day; regret that +no more morns should break for him. + +His soul tore itself from his body with fierce struggles and +bitter pain. It was hard for him to die, but he composed himself +to enter eternity "with the piety becoming a Christian, and the +resolution becoming a king;" as his brother narrates. About ten +o'clock on Friday morning, February 6th, 1685, he found relief in +unconsciousness; before midday chimed he was dead. He had +reached the fifty-fifth year of his life, and the twenty-fifth +year of his reign. + +His illegitimate progeny was numerous, numbering fifteen, besides +those who died in infancy. These were the Duke of Monmouth and a +daughter married to William Sarsfield, children of Lucy Walters; +the Dukes of Southampton, Grafton, and Northumberland, the +Countesses of Litchfield and of Sussex, and a daughter Barbara. +who became a nun, children of the Duchess of Cleveland; the Duke +of Richmond, son of the Duchess of Portsmouth; the Duke of St. +Albans, and a son James, children of Nell Gwynn; Lady +Derwentwater, daughter of Moll Davis; the Countess of Yarmouth, +daughter of Lady Shannon; and the Earl of Plymouth, son of +Catherine Peg. + +For seven days the remains of the late king lay in state; on the +eighth they were placed in Westminster Abbey. The ceremony was +of necessity conducted in a semi-private manner for by reason of +his majesty dying in the Catholic religion, his brother +considered it desirable the ceremonies prescribed for the +occasion by the English church should be dispensed with. +Therefore, in order to avoid disputes or scandal, the king was +laid in the tomb without ostentation. At night his remains were +carried from the painted chamber in Westminster sanctuary to the +abbey. The procession, headed by the servants of the nobility, +of James II., and his queen, of the dowager queen, and of the +late king, was followed by the barons, bishops, and, peers +according to their rank; the officers of the household, and the +Archbishop of Canterbury. Then came all that was mortal of his +late majesty, borne under a canopy of velvet, supported by six +gentlemen of the privy chamber, the pall being held by six earls. +Prince George of Denmark--subsequently husband of Queen Anne-- +acted as chief mourner, attended by the Dukes of Somerset and +Beaufort, and sixteen earls. One of the kings of Arms carried +the crown and cushion, the train being closed by the king's band +of gentlemen pensioners, and the yeomen of the guard. + +At the abbey entrance the dean and prebendaries, attended by +torch bearers, and followed by a surpliced choir, met the +remains, and joined the procession, the slow pacing figures of +which seemed spectral in this hour and place; then the sad +cortege passed solemnly through the grey old abbey, the choir +chanting sorrowfully the while, the yellow flare of torches +marking the prevailing gloom. And being come to the chapel of +Henry VII., the body of the merry monarch was suffered there to +rest in peace. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg Etext Royalty Restored/London Under Charles II + diff --git a/old/rruc210.zip b/old/rruc210.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..19104ac --- /dev/null +++ b/old/rruc210.zip |