Chapter IV: Part 4

In appearance the King of Sweden was fair, his eyes were light blue, but most expressive, his features aquiline, his complexion florid. All his portraits resemble each other so nearly that we cannot but feel familiar with the personal aspect of this great and good man. He was idolised by his friends, subjects, and comrades. His death seems to have stricken down the unfortunate King of Bohemia, who loved him dearly, and on all the Protestant princes it fell like a thunderbolt. He cultivated the arts and sciences, and improved the social position of Sweden, although so often absent on foreign campaigns. By his beloved and beautiful wife, Maria Elenora, Princess of Brandenburgh, Gustavus left an only daughter, the famous Christina, who succeeded her father on the throne of Sweden; but after reigning about twenty years she abdicated.

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No. 51.

VISCOUNTESS TORRINGTON.

_Blue mantle trimmed with fur._

LADY Lucy Boyle, only daughter of John Earl of Cork and Orrery, by Margaret, daughter and sole heir of John Hamilton of Caledon, county Tyrone, Ireland, and wife of George, fourth Viscount Torrington.

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No. 52.

LOUISA CARTERET, VISCOUNTESS WEYMOUTH.

THE SECOND WIFE OF THE SECOND VISCOUNT WEYMOUTH.

_In the Coronation robes of a Peeress._

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No. 53.

THOMAS, SECOND VISCOUNT WEYMOUTH.

BY SIR GODFREY KNELLER.

_Full length. In a Peer’s Parliamentary robes._

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No. 54.

VISCOUNTESS LANSDOWNE.

BY SIR GODFREY KNELLER.

_In the Coronation robes of a Peeress._

SHE was the daughter of the Earl of Jersey, by Barbara, daughter of Chiffinch, the closet-keeper and close confidant of Charles II., who has gained no enviable fame from the sketch which Sir Walter Scott has drawn of him in _Peveril of the Peak_. She married first, Thomas Thynne, Esq., of Old Windsor, who died, leaving her with child. Her son succeeded to the title of Weymouth. Lady Mary Thynne afterwards married Lord Lansdowne, by whom she had four daughters.

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No. 55.

WILLIAM, EARL, AFTERWARDS MARQUIS, OF
HERTFORD AND DUKE OF SOMERSET.

OLD STONE. AFTER VANDYCK.

DIED 1660.

_In armour. Holding a truncheon._

HE was the eldest surviving son of Lord Beauchamp (consequently great-grandson to Protector Somerset), by Honora, daughter of Sir Richard Rogers of Bryanston, county Dorset.

He was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, at the time that James _I._ and his Queen were keeping Court at Woodstock. Amongst the fairest and noblest of Her Majesty’s ladies, was the King’s own cousin, the Lady Arabella Stuart. As soon as she and William Seymour met, they loved, and the young lady, suspecting that her royal kinsman would be averse to their union, impressed on her lover the importance of secrecy.

Their attachment was discovered, and Arabella Stuart and William Seymour were summoned before the Privy Council, and reprimanded in no moderate terms, but the affection had taken so deep a root, that even the tyrannical decrees of James could not prevent the consummation of the marriage. As we have told at length in the notice of Arabella Stuart’s life, they were privately united, for which crime they were both imprisoned, and both in the course of time made their escape. Seymour was far more fortunate than his wife, and it was supposed that the authorities were not unwilling that he should regain his liberty. Disguised, in a black peruke, and tawny suit, he followed a cart out of the courtyard of the Tower, which had brought in firewood, and found a faithful friend at the iron gate, in whose company he travelled with all speed to the sea-coast, where it had been arranged he should meet Arabella.

Foiled in this hope, he made his way to Ostend, and resided some time in Flanders, after the death of his wife, until that of his grandfather, when he succeeded to the titles of Lord Beauchamp and Earl of Hertford. He then returned to England, and went to reside on his estates, and in the society of a few chosen friends, passed his time in study, and the improvement of the fortune, which had been sadly diminished, at the time of the attainder of Protector Somerset.

For some time after the accession of Charles I., Lord Hertford voted on the popular side, but he became disgusted with their ultra views, and with the injustice of the proceedings at the trial of Lord Strafford, although that nobleman was no personal friend of his. As was the case with many leading men of the time, Hertford now seceded from the party he had hitherto upheld, and devoted his services, his fortune, and his influence to the Royal cause.

In his new career he displayed an energy and activity of which he had hitherto appeared incapable. He proved his zeal, moreover, by accepting the post of Governor to the Prince of Wales, for which Clarendon tells us he was not fitted, neither did he incline to the duties. But so conscientious was he in their discharge, that he boldly withstood Parliament in a matter where the Prince of Wales’s interests were involved.

About this time he succeeded to the Marquisate of Hertford. In 1643 he was named Lieutenant-General Commandant of the western counties, with power to raise troops at his discretion for the King’s service. He was not very successful at first, but was afterwards joined by the Princes Maurice and Rupert, who served under him, and was present at the victories of Lansdowne and Roundway. At the taking of Weymouth a dispute arose between him and Rupert as to the nomination of a Governor to that town. Hertford waived his claim in submission to the King’s wish, but, throwing up his military command, went to reside with Charles at Oxford, who gave him a place in the household, and he was elected Chancellor of the University. He now served the King in a civil capacity, taking part in the negotiations between his Majesty and the Parliament, and that with so much rectitude and moderation as to procure him the respect of both parties. His generosity kept pace with his loyalty; his coffers were open to his King; and during the time of Charles II.’s exile, Hertford allowed him an annual income, and he was one of the few mourners permitted to pay their last tribute to their martyred King by attending his funeral. At the Restoration he met Charles at Dover, who invested him with the Garter to which he had been named some years before; Cromwell had deprived him of the Chancellorship of Oxford, which he now resumed, and the King, in the most flattering manner, restored to him the Dukedom of Somerset, forfeited by the Protector, and after expressing his gratitude for the loyalty which Lord Hertford had evinced to his father and himself, hoped ‘no man would envy the honours thus bestowed,’ observing ‘that it was no more than a good master should do for such a servant.’

The Duke did not survive this mark of royal favour very long. He died in 1660, and was buried at St. Bedwin in Wales.

His second wife was the Lady Frances Devereux, daughter of Robert, the second Earl of Essex, and sister and co-heir of Robert, the third Earl, and Parliamentary General.

Of his five sons, three died unmarried, and his four daughters all married Peers of the realm.

Lord Clarendon said of him, ‘He was a man of good parts and conversant with books, both Greek and Latin; he loved study better than exercise, and a country better than a public life. By nature he was indolent, and though brave and faithful, he was by no means a good soldier.’

He was succeeded by his grandson and namesake, William Duke of Somerset, who died young.

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No. 56.

JOAN HAYWARD, LADY THYNNE.

BY ZUCCHERO.

_Full length. Black and white embroidered dress. Ruff.
Holding a feather fan._

YOUNGEST daughter of Sir Rowland Hayward, Knight, who was twice Lord Mayor of London. She was co-heir to her mother, Joan Tylsworth, and brought into the Thynne family Cawse Castle, the Manor of Tretton, county Salop, and other lands. She married Sir John Thynne, (the second of that name,) by whom she had Sir Thomas and other children.

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No. 57.

THE LADIES DEVEREUX.

BY ZUCCHERO(?).

(_According to one Catalogue of an earlier date, ‘Two Ladies, by
Honthorst,’ or as it is spelled, Hunthurst._)

_Two sisters dressed alike, in one picture. Half length. Light hair. Red
and gold velvet bodices. White sleeves. Pearl necklaces._

IN all probability, the Lady Frances and the Lady Dorothy Devereux, daughters of Robert, the second Earl of Essex (Queen Elizabeth’s favourite)—the eldest married to the Earl of Hertford, widower of Arabella Stuart, afterwards Duke of Somerset; and the younger to Sir Henry Shirley of Stanton Harold, county Leicester, and secondly, to William Stafford, Esq. of Blatherwyck, county North Hants.

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No. 58.

SIR JOHN THYNNE, THE SECOND.

DIED 1604.

_Black dress. White collar and sleeves. Right hand resting on hip,
left on pommel of sword._

ELDEST son of Sir John, the builder of Longleat, by Christian, daughter of Sir Richard Gresham. He married Joan, daughter of Sir Rowland Hayward, who brought many estates into the family.

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No. 59.

LADY ARABELLA STUART.

_A head. Dress as in large picture on staircase._

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No. 60.

GRACE, COUNTESS GRANVILLE.

BY SIR GODFREY KNELLER.

_Full length. In the Coronation robes of a Peeress._

SHE was the daughter of John Granville, first Earl of Bath, by Jane, daughter of Sir Peter Wyche. The Granvilles, or Grenvilles, as they were originally called, were a noble and heroic race; witness the exploits by sea of Sir Richard, immortalised in history and poetry, who lived in the time of Queen Elizabeth, and of the brave Sir Bevil, who perished in arms for King Charles _I._ at the battle of Lansdowne, he on whose death it was written—

‘Where shall the next famed Grenvil’s ashes stand?
Thy grandsire fills the sea, and thou the land,’

a couplet most characteristic of the high-flown language of the period. Lady Grace was destined to be allied with heroes, for she married Sir George Carteret, afterwards raised to the Peerage as Baron Carteret, in consideration of the services of his father, and his grandfather, the gallant Earl of Sandwich. These two brave men died at Solebay fight in 1682, in an engagement with the Dutch, when Lord Sandwich’s ship held out singly for five hours, at fearful odds with the enemy. After Sir George’s death, his widow was created Countess Granville and Baroness Carteret, in her own right, with limitation of her first title to her eldest son; she also succeeded to vast wealth and estates on the death of her nephew, the Earl of Bath.

But both these titles soon became extinct, that of Carteret being renewed in the person of Henry Thynne, son of the second Lord Weymouth by Lady Louisa Carteret, Lady Granville’s granddaughter. The Peerage of Carteret was destined to be short-lived, as it is now again extinct.

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No. 61.

EDWARD VILLIERS, FIRST EARL OF JERSEY.

DIED 1711.

_Full length. In Peer’s Coronation robes, holding a wand._

THE eldest son of Sir Edward Villiers, by Frances, daughter to the Earl of Suffolk. He accompanied Princess Mary to Holland on her marriage with the Prince of Orange; returned to England with them in 1688, and was appointed Master of the Horse to the Queen, with other marks of royal favour.

In the third year of King William’s reign he was created Viscount Villiers of Dartford and Baron Villiers of the Hoo, both in county Kent. On the Queen’s death he went to the Hague as Plenipotentiary; in 1697 was employed in the same capacity for the Treaty of Ryswick, and shortly afterwards Ambassador to the States-General, on which occasion he was created Earl of Jersey. In 1698 he went to Paris as Ambassador-Extraordinary, where he kept up great state. On his return Lord Jersey was made one of the Principal Secretaries of State and one of the Lords Justices for the administration of the government, during the King’s absence in Holland. He joined William at the Loo, and held other diplomatic posts, besides being chosen Lord Chamberlain of the Household, an office he continued to hold under Queen Anne until 1704, when he retired from public life. He died in 1711, the day before his intended nomination as Privy Seal, and was buried in St. Michael’s Chapel, Westminster. He married Barbara, daughter to William Chiffinch, by whom he left three sons and a daughter—Mary, wife of Thomas Thynne of Old Windsor, (and mother of the second Viscount Weymouth,) who was afterwards Lady Lansdowne.

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No. 62.

THE HONOURABLE LADY SAVILE.

DIED 1662.

_Oval. Black dress. Jewels. Ringlets._

ANNE, eldest daughter of the Lord Keeper Coventry, married Sir William Savile of Thornhill, county York, a distinguished officer, enthusiastically devoted to the cause of Charles I.

He had served under his relative the Earl of Arundel against the Scots in 1639, and in 1643 he was appointed by his kinsman William Cavendish, Earl (afterwards Duke) of Shrewsbury (at that time in command of the Royal Forces in the northern counties), Governor of Sheffield. But his services were soon required elsewhere, and Thomas Beaumont was named Governor-Deputy in his absence. Sir William was anxious that his wife should accompany him, but she was too near her confinement to be able to follow him in his frequent marches and countermarches.

The separation was for ever. Sir William died early in 1643-44, and in the August of that year the town of Sheffield was besieged by the Roundheads under Major-General Crawford, who sent a summons to Beaumont to surrender. But the garrison, the Governor, and the brave widow of their late commander, were all of one mind. The reply, accompanied with a volley of shot, was to the effect that they refused to parley. Batteries were raised, and artillery kept playing for twenty-four hours without effect.

Crawford then sent for the ‘Queen’s Pocket Pistol,’ a celebrated piece of ordnance, and a culverin, which did sad damage to the walls, already full of cracks.

At length the garrison showed signs of wishing to capitulate, but Lady Savile, whose time of trouble was drawing very near, assured the soldiers she would rather perish than give up the fortress intrusted to them by her gallant husband; even though her state was all the more distressing in consequence of the besiegers refusing admittance into the town of a female attendant, whose services the noble lady so much required. Such is the testimony of a zealous Royalist, Dr. Barwick, Dean of St. Paul’s. But there was no help for it, and the garrison surrendered, having made honourable terms for the lady whose courage had so endeared her to them all:—

‘Lady Savile, with her family, with her own proper goods, shall pass with horses, coaches, and wagons to Thornhill, or elsewhere, with guard befitting her quality, and without any injury to their persons, or plundering of their goods, or otherwise; she, they, or any of them to go, or stay, at their own pleasure, until she or they be in a condition to remove themselves.’

Terms so honourable to both parties seem at variance with the spirit of cruelty which could forbid help, but a few hours before; but then the fortress was still unconquered. The day after the surrender Lady Savile gave birth to a son, who became Earl of Halifax.

She married, as her second husband, Sir Thomas Chicheley of Wimpole, Cambridgeshire. Finding herself very ill, ‘this illustrious example of piety towards God and love to her country sent for her constant friend, Dr. Barwick (whose counsel in doubtful, and whose advice in difficult affairs she had often experienced), to make use of his pious ministrations. She resigned her breath easily, dying at Wimpole one year and a half after the Restoration.’

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No. 63.

OLD PRINCE OF CONDÉ.

SO called in the Catalogue, but no evidence to say which Prince of Condé, as they none of them lived to be old.

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No. 64.

AN ECCLESIASTIC.

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No. 65.

SIR JAMES THYNNE.

BY DOBSON.

DIED 1670.

_Full length. Buff jerkin. Slashed sleeves. Red scarf. Red ribbons at
knees and on shoes._

HE was the eldest surviving son of Sir Thomas Thynne, by his first wife, the daughter of Lord Audley. He married the Lady Isabella Rich, daughter of the Earl of Holland. An ill-starred union; for even before her marriage the lady bore a sorry reputation, and her subsequent conduct was such, that in 1653 she was legally separated from her husband, having doubtless tried his forbearance too far.

Sir James was a staunch Royalist, and we are told his house of Longleat was plundered by a party of Roundheads in 1643, under the command of Sir Edward Hungerford and Colonel Slade.

The marauders seemed to have turned their attention especially to the contents of the stables and harness-room. Handsome saddles, caparisons, plumes, bits, pleased the fancy of the two officers, while their men made free with the contents of the wardrobes, cellars, larders, and what not. In 1663 Charles II. and his Queen visited Sir James at Longleat.

Dying without children at Richmond, in Surrey, in 1670, he was succeeded by his nephew.

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No. 66.

SIR THOMAS THYNNE.

BY MYTENS.

DIED 1639.

_Full length. Black and gold dress. Close-fitting vest. Lace collar.
Scarlet stockings. Shoes with rosette._

HE was the eldest son of Sir John (and the grandson of Sir John the builder) of Longleat, by Joan Hayward. He was twice married—first to a daughter of Lord Audley, and secondly to a daughter of Lord Howard of Bindon. He had children by both wives, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, James.

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No. 67.

VIDÂME DE CHARTRES.

BY ZUCCHERO.

_White close-fitting vest. Trimmed beard and moustaches. Inscription,
‘Ætatis suæ 33, año 15.’ An escutcheon in the corner._

MESSIRE Prejamn de la Fin, Vidâme de Chartres, Prince de Chabanois, Baron de Confolant et Pousaujes, Seigneur de la Ferté, et Sire de Gravlie; Capitaine de cinquante hommes d’armes, des ordonnances du Roi très Chretien.

We read in Strype that when peace was concluded between France and England in 1550, and Boulogne ceded to France, a large sum was to be paid to King Edward VI., and several of the highest French nobles came over to this country as hostages.

Among many distinguished names, we find that of the Vidâme de Chartres, but we cannot be quite sure whether allusion be made to the subject of this notice or the kinsman, François de Vendôme, from whom he inherited his title and estates. There is mention of him in 1560 as an agent of the Bourbons, sent on a mission to the Connétable de Montmorency, where he is described as a Huguenot of high birth, and akin to the Connétable himself. There was some rumour of a scandal between this nobleman and Queen Catherine de Medicis, for which probably there was no foundation.

In 1567 the Condé party had taken possession of St. Denis, demanding the diminution of taxes and the summoning of the States-General, in consequence of which a royal herald was sent to call upon the chiefs (Condé, the Vidâme de Chartres, and others) to lay down their arms, on pain of being proclaimed rebels.

The King, after much discussion, came to a compromise with Condé, for a time at least, but a decree was passed against Coligny, the Vidâme, and others, of confiscation of property, execution, etc., the latter sentence being carried into effect, but fortunately at that time only in effigy.

In 1569 we hear of him again, for Lord Leicester writes to the Ambassador of the Emperor of Muscovy: ‘The Vidâme de Chartres is come to England, with his wife and familie, on a “snuffe,” having in the last action (a battle near Coignac) proved himselfe neither fishe nor fowle.’

We also find in the Life of Archbishop Grindal, speaking of the same: ‘A great nobleman of France, and of chief account among the Protestants, was here on some business relating to religion, and was favoured much by the friends of religion, but not so much by all at Court. The Bishop of London obtained for him the Bishop of Ely’s house in Holborn, where he remained some time.’

He was one of those who, just before the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, strove to persuade Coligny and his son-in-law to leave Paris, but in vain, though the life of the brave Admiral had already been attempted. At this time a colony of Huguenots lived outside the walls of Paris, the Vidâme included, and it had been arranged that on the day of St. Bartholomew the Provost-Marshal should let loose a thousand men to attack that quarter. But by good fortune the murderers stopped by the way to plunder, and never reached their destination. The Huguenot population was aroused by a tumult, and believing it to be a rising of the Guises, they were about to fly to the assistance of the King; so little did they suspect the truth. But the frightful reality was soon forced upon them, the massacre had already begun, and turning away, the chief part fled into the country.

The Vidâme’s escape was almost miraculous, the Duke of Guise had actually followed him into his own house with the intention of murdering him, but the fugitive contrived to elude his pursuer, and to conceal himself until he procured a safeguard from the King. Charles was suspected of having promised it while the Vidâme was still in hiding, with the conviction that he, being thrown off his guard, would return home, and thus fall into the hands of his enemies. But the hunted man was too wary: he stole away, and got safely on shipboard for England.

Immediately on his arrival, he wrote to the Treasurer to admonish him ‘to arouse Queen Elizabeth to a sense of her own danger, to excite her warmly to resent what had passed, and not to be too lenient to the Papists, believing they would become more gentle by a few light words, for he was assured they would become more insolent if too easily dealt with.’

In several letters from Secretary Smith to Lord Burghley, both in 1572 and the ensuing year, he mentions frequent interviews which the Vidâme and other noble refugees had with the Queen relating to the interests of the Huguenot party in France.

England, who has never been found wanting in sympathy or hospitality towards the oppressed or exiled of other nations, welcomed the fugitives from the Massacre of St. Bartholomew with more than usual warmth, and the Queen showed some of them great consideration, and especially the Vidâme de Chartres. We once more quote Secretary Smith, who, writing to the English Ambassador, then in France, observes that it did him ‘good to see the princely compassion that was in Her Majestie towards the poor Vidâme, who was escaped by good fortune into England, for whom the Queen had, at his humble and lamentable suit, written to the King of France in his favour, which she bade her Ambassador deliver with as good words as he might, and to require an answer.’ To which the King gives this answer: ‘That as he was glad to gratifie Her Majestie, so he could not grant this earnest request without touch of his honour, to suffer any of his subjects to live in a foreign countrie without a kind of defiance of his sincerity. Yet he could for gratifying Her Majestie be content that the Vidâme should return home and enjoy his livings there, as he could not have occasion to doubt his safety.’ But the exile dared not trust himself to these protestations of a hypocrite.

Queen Elizabeth answered the King, that in the present state of France, his subjects in England did not think it safe to return there. These particulars, though somewhat disjointed, are all we have been able to gather of a man, whose life was most eventful. Neither can we tell if he died in England.

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_CHAPEL CORRIDOR_.

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CHAPEL CORRIDOR.

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No. 68.

MARY, QUEEN OF ENGLAND.

BY SIR GODFREY KNELLER.

BORN 1661, ASCENDED THE THRONE 1689, DIED 1694.

_Red and white brocade dress. Blue mantle. Flowers in her hand._

SHE was the eldest daughter of King James II., by Anne Hyde, daughter of the Earl of Clarendon. Married in 1677 her first cousin, William, Prince of Orange, by whom she had no children. They reigned jointly as King and Queen on the abdication of her father.

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No. 69.

FAIR ROSAMOND.

_Black and scarlet dress. Scarlet mantle. Holding a golden cup in one
hand, and the cover in the other._

THE second daughter of Walter Fitz-Pons or Poyntz, who took the name of Clifford, having married Margaret de Toeni, the heiress of the Clifford family. The pitiful story of ‘the Rose of the World,’ her amours with Henry II. of England, the beauteous labyrinth in which he concealed the sweet flower, and her murder by Queen Eleanor, are amongst the best known of the romances of early English history; and few even endeavour to disentangle truth from fiction. All is doubtful, even dates; but it is said Rosamond was buried at Godston, near Oxford, by her royal lover. She had two sons—William Longespée, Earl of Salisbury in right of his wife; and Geoffrey, Archbishop of York.

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No. 70.

THE EARL AND COUNTESS OF CARNARVON.

AFTER VANDYCK.

THE EARL WAS KILLED IN ACTION, 1643.

_Full length. Drab coat and boots. Brown trunks. Lace collar. Sword-hand
on hip. Countess holding her husband’s hand. Blue dress trimmed with
pearls. Ringlets. Black page in scarlet dress, trunks, and hose.
Badge on breast._

THE eldest son of William Dormer, by Alice, daughter of Richard Molyneux, of Sefton, county Lancaster. He succeeded his grandfather, who had been created first a Baronet and then Baron Dormer of Wenge, county Bucks (by James I.), in these titles, but was himself raised to the dignity of Viscount Ascot, and Earl of Carnarvon by Charles I. In early life he travelled further than most young nobles of the time, not only visiting France and Italy, but also Spain, Turkey, etc. etc. Clarendon seems to regret that ‘he brought home some foreign tastes.’ But another biographer (David Lloyd) says that ‘if he had contracted a taste for gambling he hated drunkenness most perfectly.’

He took his degree of Deacon of Civil Law at Oxford, but did not come forward publicly till the impeachment of Strafford, whom he strove to befriend. On the rising of the Buckinghamshire men, under Hampden, when they came to London in 1642 to present ‘seditious petitions’ to both Houses of Parliament, Lord Carnarvon went down into the county, where he owned a large property, to raise troops in conjunction with other Royalists, and used all his influence to advance the King’s cause. He was with Charles at York, and was one of the Peers who signed ‘the Declaration.’ He afterwards joined His Majesty at Nottingham, with a force of a thousand men levied and equipped at his own cost; so zealous was he in the Royal service that his name was excepted from the list of those to whom the Parliament offered a pardon, in its instructions to the General Lord Essex.

Carnarvon was present at almost every action of importance about this time, and his courage, which often amounted to rashness, made him much beloved by the soldiery. At the battle of Edgehill (when in command of a squadron of horse under Prince Rupert) he pursued a body of the rebel cavalry so fast and so far, as to endanger the safety of his own men. He was appointed General of the Horse in the army of Lord Hertford, whom he joined in the west of England.

He maintained his reputation for valour at the battle of Stratton, and at Chewton, in the vicinity of Wells, he charged, Lord Clarendon says, ‘with incomparable gallantry, for Lord Carnarvon always charges home.’ But once more his hot pursuit brought him into imminent danger, when venturing too near the enemy’s quarters he encountered a superior force of Sir William Waller’s dragoons; Prince Maurice hastened to the rescue, but was himself wounded, unhorsed, and in his turn saved by Carnarvon, who rallied his men, and again sent the rebels flying. At the battle of Roundway Down he served as volunteer in Sir John Byron’s regiment, and greatly contributed towards gaining the victory; he then marched on Dorchester, at that time fortified by the rebels, which soon surrendered. But on the arrival of Prince Maurice there arose a difference of opinion between them.

Lord Carnarvon, being ‘full of honour and justice,’ was desirous of restraining the licence of the soldiery, a point on which the Prince was somewhat lax. The result was, that Carnarvon threw up his command, and marched on Gloucester, which the King was besieging. He had scarcely arrived when Lord Essex compelled the Royalists to raise the siege, and they accordingly took their way towards London. But they had not proceeded far when they were obliged to give battle, and on the 20th of September was fought the memorable battle of Newbury, when so many of England’s proudest chivalry were laid low. Lord Carnarvon, as usual, had been rash in pursuit, and was returning carelessly, when a stray trooper recognised his person, and closing on him suddenly, ran him through the body. He did not survive above an hour, but was most anxious in his inquiries as to the safety of his beloved master. A friend who was attending on him inquired if there were any last request he would wish conveyed to the King. ‘Nay,’ he replied, ‘I will not die with a suit in my mouth to any king, save the King of Heaven.’

Lord Clarendon, after paying a fine tribute to his memory, sums up by saying, ‘If he had lived he would have been a great ornament to his profession, and by his death the King found a sensible weakness in the army.’

Lord Carnarvon married Anne Sophia, eldest daughter of Philip Herbert, fourth Earl of Pembroke and first Earl of Montgomery. They had no children, and the title became extinct, although afterwards revived in the Herbert family.

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No. 71.

GIACOMO ROBUSTI, DETTO IL TINTORETTO.

BY HIMSELF.

DIED 1594.

A VENETIAN, son of a dyer; hence his sobriquet. Studied under Titian, but was desirous of forming a new school combining the colouring of his great master with the drawing of Michael Angelo. On the door of his studio was inscribed, ‘Disegno di Michelangelo, colorito di Tiziano.’ His best works are in his native Venice, but there are many at the Louvre (where is his own portrait) and elsewhere. He was celebrated for his quickness in finishing his pictures on occasions; which may account for the inequality of their excellence. His son Domenico, and his daughter Marietta, were also painters.

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No. 72.

JOHN ALEXANDER, FOURTH MARQUIS OF BATH.

BY JAMES SWINTON.

BORN 1831, SUCCEEDED 1837.

_Full length. Brown coat. White waistcoat. Cane and hat.
A large dog beside him._

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No. 73.

ELIZABETH BYNG, SECOND MARCHIONESS OF
BATH, WITH THREE CHILDREN.

BY SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE.

DIED 1830.

_Unfinished. Red gown. Gold-coloured scarf. Girls in white frocks and
blue sashes. Boy in jacket and trousers._

A DAUGHTER of George, fourth Viscount Torrington, by Lady Lucy Boyle. Married in 1794 Thomas, second Marquis of Bath, by whom she had ten children. The three portraits in this group are Elizabeth, afterwards the Countess of Cawdor, Lord John Thynne, afterwards in Holy Orders, and Lady Louisa, afterwards Countess of Harewood. The other children were Viscount Weymouth, who died _v.p._, Henry, who succeeded to the Marquisate, but only survived his father three months, William, Francis, Edward, George, Charlotte Duchess of Buccleuch, and Charles.

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No. 74.

GEORGE I., KING OF ENGLAND.

BORN 1680, SUCCEEDED TO THE ENGLISH THRONE 1714,
DIED 1727.

_In royal robes._

SON of the Elector of Hanover, by Sophia, daughter of Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia. Succeeded his father in the Electorate in 1698, and Queen Anne on the Throne of England in 1714. Married Sophia of Zell, his cousin, whom he divorced and imprisoned. By her he had an only son, who succeeded as George II.

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_HOUSEKEEPER’S ROOM_.

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HOUSEKEEPER’S ROOM.

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No. 75.

ELIZABETH, DUCHESS OF ALBEMARLE.

BY SIR PETER LELY.

DIED CIRCA 1734.

_Seated. Brocaded dress, short sleeves, deep lace. Blue mantle. Jewels.
Ringlets._

SHE was daughter and co-heir of Henry Cavendish, second Duke of Newcastle, by Frances Pierrepoint, daughter of the Earl of Kingston. Her large possessions made her a most desirable match in the eyes of General Monck, Duke of Albemarle, for his son Christopher. Feeling his end approaching, the anxious father hurried on the negotiations for the marriage, which were pending with Elizabeth’s family, and went so far as to insist that the nuptials should be celebrated in his own bedchamber, a few days previous to his death in 1670.

We have at this time no means of gaining much information respecting the married life of Christopher, second Duke of Albemarle, and his wife; but in 1687 he went out as Governor-General to Jamaica, and died there the following year. Neither are we in a position to ascertain the circumstances attending the insanity of his widow, as we have no trace of her life until the mention of her second marriage with Ralph, Lord (afterwards Duke of) Montagu. This eccentric man, after losing his beautiful and accomplished wife (Elizabeth Wriothesley, widow of Josceline Percy, Earl of Northumberland) in 1690, thought to console himself with the wealth of the Duchess of Albemarle, whose madness was then well known. This trifling impediment was not considered by any means insurmountable, and the unfortunate woman, or rather her large fortune, had many suitors.

One of the disappointed band, Lord Ross, gave vent to his spite, on hearing of Lord Montagu’s success, in the following lines:—

‘Insulting rival, never boast
Thy conquest lately won,
No wonder if her heart was lost,
Her senses first were gone.

From one that’s under Bedlam’s laws
What glory can be had?
For love, indeed, was not the cause,—
It proves that she was mad.’

Finding that the poor maniac had announced her determination of marrying no one but a Sovereign, Montagu caused himself to be presented to her as the Emperor of China, and doubtless the mumming and masquerading which ensued suited his volatile and eccentric humour. But if he looked forward to enjoying his wife’s wealth without her society, he was disappointed, as she survived him twenty-six years. Happy in her royal illusions, served to her dying day on bended knee, addressed always as Majesty, while even after death, her wishes were obeyed by the sumptuous funeral which was given to her remains in the lofty pile of Westminster Abbey compatible with her imperial dignity.

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No. 76.

POPE INNOCENT XI.

AFTER RUBENS.

BORN 1611, ELECTED 1676, DIED 1689.

BENEDETTO, of the noble House of Odescalchi, of Como, went to Rome, and on to Naples, when about twenty-five years of age, with no possessions save the weapons which he required for the military profession he had chosen. But a Cardinal, with whom he became acquainted, dissuaded him from becoming a soldier, and on his return to Rome Odescalchi entered on the career of the ‘Curia,’ where he was soon distinguished for zeal and ability, and gradually rose to elevation in several public offices. In 1645 he obtained the Cardinal’s Hat, and the Bishopric of Novara, a step which his enemies unjustly attributed to the influence of the celebrated Donna Olympia, for Odescalchi was ever remarkable for the morality, and even austerity, of his life.

He became so popular in Rome, that when the Conclave was sitting, a large concourse assembled under the portico of St. Peter’s, and shouted out his name; and the election of Innocent XI. to the Papal Chair gave very general satisfaction.

The new Pontiff, upright and conscientious by nature, first turned his thoughts to financial reform. He reduced the annual expenditure, inquired into all the abuses of Government sinecures, and though he had a worthy kinsman to whom he was much attached, he eschewed nepotism; he also watched over the state of the money market, and after the lapse of a few years, his efforts were rewarded by a great increase of the public revenue. Innocent showed himself a firm opponent of Louis XIV., when that King encroached, as His Holiness deemed, on spiritual privileges. He embraced the cause of the Jansenist priests who had fallen under the displeasure of the ‘Grand Monarque’ for withstanding some of the decrees they considered arbitrary, more especially on the long-vexed question of the ‘Regale.’ They appealed to the Pope, who wrote once, and yet twice, to the King on the subject, admonishing him not to listen to flatterers, and not to lay hands on the immunities of the Church, lest by so doing, he should ‘dry up the fountains of divine grace from his kingdom.’

Finding his homilies of no avail, Innocent spoke out more boldly still, assuring Louis that he ‘would suffer no storm nor danger to appal him, but would use every resource of that power he held at the hands of God’ to resist his injustice. But so completely were the mass of the French clergy enslaved by His Majesty that the Prince de Condé was used to say that if Louis chose to go over to the Protestant faith, the priests would be the first to follow him. Therefore they feared to stand by the Pope, who had defended their rights so zealously, and the ‘Declarations’ that were published from year to year increased and strengthened the royal authority in spiritual concerns.

This was especially manifest in the Articles of the Convocation of 1682; but the Pope was not easily disheartened. To those members of the Declaration whom Louis had preferred before all other candidates for Episcopal offices, Innocent denied spiritual institution. They might indeed receive the revenues of the sees, but ordination was refused them, neither could they exercise one spiritual act of their office.

About this time, the King, it was said, thought to ingratiate himself with the Holy See by his cruel persecutions of the Huguenots, but such measures were not calculated to please a man of Odescalchi’s character, and fresh disputes arose. One of the abuses which the Pope had endeavoured to abolish in Rome was the ‘right of asylum,’ as it was called, hitherto claimed by foreign Ambassadors. Not only on their arrival in the imperial city had they a palace assigned them, but quarters for innumerable hangers-on, in several adjacent streets. The Emperor, the King of Spain, and others, had listened to the remonstrances of His Holiness, and waived their claim to these unreasonable privileges; but Louis was glad of a fresh opportunity to oppose the Pope, boasting that he was not in the habit of following the example of others.

Accordingly, he sent his Ambassador, with a considerable armed force, to demand the rights of ‘asylum’ in the name of his royal master. The formidable array brought no fear to the brave heart of Benedetto Odescalchi. ‘They come with horses and chariots,’ he said, ‘but we will walk in the name of the Lord.’ The French emissary was excommunicated, and the Church of St. Louis (the patron saint of France), where he attended mass, was placed under interdict.

Reprisals were now the order of the day. The Papal Nuncio was detained a prisoner in Paris, many French bishops deprived of their canonical institutions, a territory of the Holy See occupied by France; in fact, daggers drawn! But other Powers besides Rome were jealous of the encroachments and arrogance of the French monarch, and Innocent allied himself with them from political motives. He made a friend of Austria, by assisting her with subsidies in the war with Turkey, and he incurred blame from some of the Catholic bystanders by an alliance with the Protestant Prince William of Orange. The plea was, that William had undertaken the command of the Rhine, and would defend not only the rights of the Empire, but also those of the Church, against Louis XIV. Be this as it may, it seems strange that the Pope should perhaps unwittingly have assisted in the elevation of the enemy of James II., to whose son he had stood godfather. But if the head of the Roman Catholic Church proved indirectly instrumental in furthering the Protestant cause in England, the Protestants, on their side, by maintaining the balance of power in Europe, did His Holiness a good turn. Innocent died soon after these events, leaving behind him a character for courage and steadfastness, combined with great humility and gentleness of manners. As we have already said, he was remarkable for the purity of his morals, and made himself very unpopular with the women of all classes by denouncing, in no measured terms, the indecency of dress and laxity of manners, which were (he considered) unusually prevalent in his reign. He was much opposed to the sect of the Quietists, and confirmed the sentence of the Inquisition against their unfortunate founder Molinos, who was imprisoned, and eventually died in the cells of that dread institution. He was but a poor scholar, and his secretaries were obliged to translate or turn into Italian, all Latin documents with which he had to deal.

Innocent XI. was charitable to the poor, and much beloved, especially by his dependants, of whose wellbeing he was most careful. He died in the month of August 1689, and the Roman people flocked round his tomb, invoking him as a saint, and disputing with each other any available relic of their favourite Pontiff.

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_GREAT STAIRCASE_.

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GREAT STAIRCASE.

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No. 77.

GEORGE VILLIERS, SECOND DUKE OF
BUCKINGHAM.

BY SIR PETER LELY.

BORN 1627, DIED 1688.

_Steel cuirass. Buff leather coat. Black and white sleeves. One hand
resting on a helmet. Red plume._

HE was the second son of the first Duke of Buckingham, (of the Villiers family,) by Catherine, daughter and sole heir of Francis Manners, sixth Earl of Rutland. No sooner did Charles I. learn the news of the murder of his friend (the first Duke) than he hastened to the residence of the sorrowing widow, to pay her a visit of condolence; the little Duke being then but an infant, and his mother expecting her confinement. The King, much touched by her sad position, said all he could to comfort her, and promised to be a father to her children; nor did he forget to fulfil the self-imposed trust. At the proper age, George Villiers was sent to Cambridge, and afterwards to travel abroad, accompanied by his brother Francis, under the care of a tutor provided for them by their royal guardian. On the breaking out of the civil war the two youths returned to England, and hastened to proffer their services to their Sovereign, a proceeding which brought down upon them the vengeance of the Parliament. Their property was confiscated, but in consideration of their youth the estates and revenues were soon restored to them. Poverty was ill suited to the splendid tastes, and profuse style of living, which characterised the Duke, on his second trip abroad, or indeed wherever he went, and in later life he was in constant pecuniary difficulties.

The war broke out afresh between Charles and his subjects; he was a prisoner in the Isle of Wight, when the loyal brothers returned home, and joined the Royalist army, under the Earl of Holland, who had unfurled his standard in the county of Surrey. Lord Holland was quartered at Kingston-on-Thames, and it was on the 11th of July 1648 that Lord Francis Villiers, ‘after performing prodigies of valour,’ was killed in a skirmish with the Parliamentarians near Nonsuch, to the sincere regret of his comrades and the inexpressible grief of his brother. ‘He was a youth,’ says Clarendon, ‘of rare beauty and comeliness of person.’

The expedition proved most disastrous; Lord Holland himself was taken prisoner shortly after, near St. Neot’s, and beheaded, the Duke of Buckingham narrowly escaping the same fate. He contrived to conceal himself, but one morning, finding the house in which he lay, surrounded by a troop of the enemy’s cavalry (with the dashing bravery which always characterised him), he leaped on his horse, and followed by one faithful servant, cut his way through the troopers, killing the officer in command, and gained the sea-shore, where he joined the Prince of Wales, who was on board a vessel lying in the Downs. A proclamation was issued by the Parliament, to the effect that if the Duke did not return in forty days, his property would a second time be forfeited.

Buckingham stood the test, and remained faithful to his allegiance. He lived for some time on the proceeds of a sale of magnificent pictures bequeathed to him by the Duke, his father (the chief part once the property of Rubens), which he disposed of at Antwerp. He remained abroad for some time, but accompanied his King on the expedition to Scotland, and after the battle of Worcester had another of his ‘hair-breadth ‘scapes,’ almost as miraculous as that of his royal master.

After leaving the King concealed in Boscobel House, the Duke, with other Royalist nobles, rode northward, and were intercepted by a body of Roundheads (who took many of them prisoners). Buckingham, according to his wont, escaped, by the aid of some friendly labourers and workmen, with one of whom he changed habits, and was concealed in a wood. He afterwards went from one house in the neighbourhood to another, and again made his way to the Continent in safety, first to Holland, and then to France, where he gained fresh laurels by his conduct at the sieges of Arras and Valenciennes.

Buckingham now resolved on a bold and daring step. The Parliament had awarded the chief part of his estates and revenues to General Lord Fairfax, but this noble-minded man had already set apart a considerable portion for the service of the widowed Duchess; and the Duke (although an outlaw) deemed it politic to return to England and appeal to the further generosity of ‘my Lord Fairfax.’ He repaired, then, forthwith to the home of his ancestors, ingratiated himself not only into the favourable feelings of the father, but still more into those of the daughter.

The handsome and irresistible George Villiers was not likely to sue long in vain; he proposed, was accepted, and became the son-in-law of the man who was in possession of his rent-roll. Cromwell, on hearing of the marriage, was exasperated beyond measure, and the Duke was again forced to go into hiding. Most likely this was not difficult, surrounded by his own tenantry, with the assistance of a loving bride; but he was rash, and doubtless trusted to his own talent for evading danger; and so one day, riding to visit his sister in the neighbourhood, he was waylaid, taken prisoner, and carried off to the Tower.

Fairfax, already disgusted with many of Cromwell’s proceedings, was furious, and expressed himself boldly. But the Protector was not one to listen patiently to any strictures on his own conduct, and laughed the General to scorn. Fortunately for the captive, Cromwell did not survive much longer, and on the abdication of Richard Cromwell the Duke regained his liberty. At the Restoration he was marked out for favour by the King, to whose fortunes he had been so faithful; he was made Lord-in-Waiting, Lord-Lieutenant of York, Master of the Horse, etc. etc. But his restless and intriguing spirit led him into many dangerous plots, so much so that in 1666 he was deprived of all his offices, and summoned to take his trial. The King came to the rescue, and caused him to be reinstated in many of his posts. Buckingham joined Lord Shaftesbury against Clarendon, became President of the Council, and his initial, as is well known, stood for the third letter of ‘Cabal.’

In 1670 he was sent Ambassador to the King of France, ostensibly to condole with him on the death of the Duchess of Orleans, but in reality with the project of breaking ‘The Triple Alliance.’ About this time there was an attempt on the life of the Duke of Ormonde by one Blood, and Lord Ossory (Ormonde’s son) accused the Duke of Buckingham of being an accomplice of the villain. His plea was that his father was a friend of Lord Clarendon’s, to whom Buckingham had vowed deadly enmity, but the charge soon fell to the ground.

Buckingham was one of the Plenipotentiaries (with the Earl of Arlington and others) to Holland, but the negotiations with which they were intrusted, failed. The Cabal breaking up, the Duke once more found himself accused of many heavy charges,—of treasonable correspondence with the King’s enemies, and the like.

He also made himself obnoxious to his royal master by the part he took respecting the Test Bill, and above all, by maintaining that the King had exceeded his royal prerogative in proroguing the Parliament for a longer time than was legal. He was sent to the Tower, and when once more liberated, mixed himself up (with a restlessness he doubtless called patriotism) in fresh plots and cabals. On the death of Charles II., the Duke of Buckingham, well aware that he could not expect the same indulgence from King James as from his predecessor, retired to the country (being in failing health at the time), and gave himself up to literary occupations and the sports of the field. One day, while intent on unearthing a fox, he was imprudent enough to sit for some time on the damp ground, in consequence of which he caught a chill that proved fatal in three days. His wife, who long survived him, was a most exemplary woman, who loved him in spite of his numerous and flagrant infidelities. They had no children, and the title became extinct.

The witty, handsome, profligate Duke of Buckingham is a well-known acquaintance to all readers, both of history and fiction. His manners were genial, even captivating; his anger or revenge generally vented itself in pointed satires or pungent _bon-mots_. Dryden immortalised him as Zimri in ‘Absalom and Achitophel.’ Pope drew his portrait in the _Moral Essays_ (Epist. iii.); his love for astrology and alchemy helped him to squander his living, but all his tastes were extravagant. His comedy of ‘The Rehearsal’ (in which, however, he is supposed to have been much assisted by friends) made a great noise, and his delineation of Dryden under the character of Bayes was much admired.

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No. 78.

CATHERINE CAREY, COUNTESS OF
NOTTINGHAM.

DIED IN 1603.

_Black dress. White lace cap. Ruff and cuffs. Black veil.
Holding a glove._

THE daughter of Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon, who was first cousin to Queen Elizabeth his mother being Mary Boleyn. Nor did ‘her Grace disdain to call him cousin,’ and her visit to Hunsdon House is immortalised in a painting (engraved) by Mark Gerrard, where she is carried in procession. The picture contains many portraits, including Lord and Lady Hunsdon, and Catherine, their daughter, the subject of this notice.

Grainger, speaking of Lord Hunsdon in his usually quaint manner, tells us ‘he was of a soldierly disposition, and a great seller of bargains to the maids of honour,’ and the Queen esteemed him much, and offered to create him an Earl on his deathbed, which somewhat tardy dignity he refused.

Catherine married the gallant Charles Howard, Lord High Admiral of England, whose name is invariably connected with the glorious defeat of the Spanish Armada. He was first created Baron of Effingham, and afterwards Earl of Nottingham; and it was to his wife that the unfortunate Essex intrusted the ring which Elizabeth had given him in the height of his favour, with the promise that whatever crime he should commit, she would pardon, provided he returned the pledge.

The story connected with this ring has been so often and so variously told, so many times asserted and disbelieved, that we might be tempted to let the subject pass in silence were it not for the fact that the actual relic is in the possession of Lord John Thynne, uncle of the present Marquis of Bath, (1879,) and therefore claims a comment in these pages. We subjoin what appears to us the most authentic account:—