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Royalty Restored or London under Charles II
Chapter V
by Molloy, J. Fitzgerald
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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.
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