Chapter I: Preface: v

CHAPTER I.

Clarendon’s _History_ and the Duchess’s biography—Pepys—Family
history—A wonderful grandmother—Boyhood—Hobbes—Wotten—The Court
of Savoy—Said to have been disliked by Buckingham—Marriage 1

CHAPTER II.

Raised to the peerage—Purchases of peerages—Correspondence
with Buckingham—Cousin Pierrepont—Created Earl of
Newcastle—Money-squeezing—Newcastle’s rent-roll—Letters
among the Portland MSS. 12

CHAPTER III.

Personality of Newcastle—Charles I goes to Scotland—Dinner
to the King at Welbeck—Wentworth made Lord Deputy in
Ireland—Correspondence about the post of Governor to the
Prince of Wales—The King stays at Welbeck—Newcastle
discouraged in London—Letters to his wife 22

CHAPTER IV.

Appointed Governor to the Prince of Wales—His pupil will
not take his medicine—Advice of the Governor to the
pupil—Resigns the Governorship—Sir Walter Scott on the
Prince’s Governors—Hampden, Prynne and others—Expedition
against the Scots—Newcastle’s troop of gentlemen—Quarrel
with Lord Holland—Letter from Sir John Suckling 34

CHAPTER V.

Fears of civil war—The Short Parliament—Awkward position of
Strafford—Conway—The King goes to York—The Long
Parliament—Executions of Strafford and Laud—The
Queen—Suckling’s plot—Threatened impeachment of the
Queen—The five members—The King leaves London—Charles
appoints Newcastle Governor of Hull—The Parliament appoints
Sir John Hotham Governor of Hull—Newcastle summoned to
London by the Parliament—Sir John Hotham—The King goes to
Hull—Newcastle appointed to the command of the four northern
counties, and made governor of the city of Newcastle 50

CHAPTER VI.

Charles raises his standard at Nottingham—Appointment of
Fairfax as Newcastle’s opponent—Sedition in Durham—Newcastle
raises an army—Weapons of the period—Supplies sent by the
King of Denmark—Army of the North—Insurrection in
Yorkshire—Newcastle goes to York—A battle _à la_ Don
Quixote—Winter quarters—Newcastle as a General 64

CHAPTER VII.

The General of Infantry—The General of Cavalry—The General
of Artillery—Tadcaster—Correspondence with Hotham—Propositions
of Parliament—Objections to Catholics in Newcastle’s army—The
Parliament specially excepts Newcastle in case of a general
amnesty—The coming of the Queen to Yorkshire 75

CHAPTER VIII.

Boynton Hall—The Queen carries off the plate—Sir Hugh
Cholmley—Position of the Hothams—Hotham tells Newcastle that
he is being traduced at Court—Cholmley’s Memorials of the
Hothams 86

CHAPTER IX.

Goring’s victory at Bramham Moor—Goring’s defeat at
Wakefield—Newcastle takes Rotherham, Sheffield and Howley
House—Newcastle’s great victory at Adderton Moor—Newcastle
contemplates going South to the assistance of the King—He
is created a Marquess—He besieges Hull—The King wishes
him to go to the South—Newcastle raises the siege of Hull 99

CHAPTER X.

Newcastle goes to Chesterfield, and from thence to Bolsover
and Welbeck—News of an approaching Scottish invasion—Newcastle
encounters it at Newcastle—A battle—Skirmishes—A dispatch of
Newcastle’s—Disaster to some of Newcastle’s troops at Selby—He
retreats to York—Asks to be relieved of his command—A letter
from Charles—Hume on Newcastle 113

CHAPTER XI.

An army comes from Ireland to relieve the Royalists—It relieves
their enemies—Newcastle besieged at York—He sends Goring
with his cavalry to manœuvre in the adjoining
counties—Attacks, counterattacks, and sallies, at
York—Newcastle appeals to the King for reinforcements—Progress
of the siege of York—Newcastle asks the conditions of
surrender—The army of the Associated Counties—The Earl of
Manchester—Oliver Cromwell—State Papers about the proceedings
of Goring’s horse—State Papers about the siege of York 124

CHAPTER XII.

Newcastle’s feeling towards Rupert—Rupert reaches York—Problems
before each army—Councils of war—Retirement of the
enemy—Return of the enemy—Marston Moor—Soldiers refuse to
fight until paid—The order of battle—Ill-feeling between
Ethyn and Rupert—Psalm-singing and preaching—Rest, a pipe,
and a sleep 137

CHAPTER XIII.

Opening of the battle of Marston Moor—Newcastle in the
fight—Success of his horse on the left wing—Reports of a
Royalist victory spread throughout the country—Success of
the Roundhead horse on their own left—Action of
Cromwell—Heroism of Newcastle’s Whitecoats—Defeat 148

CHAPTER XIV.

Newcastle determines to fly the country—His journey—His
condition at Hamburg—Clarendon’s opinion of his
flight—Surrender of York—Quarrels among the Parliamentary
Generals—Manchester visits Welbeck—Death of Lady
Newcastle—Letters from Hamburg—Borrowing money—Journey to
Paris—Meets Margaret Lucas 162

CHAPTER XV.

Margaret Lucas—A duel—A perfect family—Love-letters—Opposition
by the Queen—Marriage—Six per cent—Raising the wind 174

CHAPTER XVI.

The Queen shows favour to Newcastle—A regal snub—Henrietta gives
Newcastle £2000—He keeps a large stud—His creditors’ tender
farewell—Rotterdam—Antwerp—More borrowing—Lady Newcastle
sent to England to raise money—Execution of Charles I—Literary
tastes of Lady Newcastle—She returns to her husband—The
starving man has a large stud—Death of Sir Charles
Cavendish—Correspondence of Newcastle—Calls himself Prince 190

CHAPTER XVII.

The Restoration—Newcastle pawns his wife and returns to England
after an exile of sixteen years—Redeems his wife from pawn—His
financial affairs as stated by his wife—Chief Justice in
Eyre—A stock of tobacco—Symptoms of rebellion—A son’s
debts—Created a Duke—Binds a son very tightly—A gentle
snub—Marriage negotiations 208

CHAPTER XVIII.

Newcastle poses as a man of letters—His book on Horsemanship—What
to do when a horse has a headache—How to sit on a horse—How to
reduce a “resty” horse—Bridles—Anatomy—Leaping-horses—
Pirouettes and voltes—Learning to ride from a book 226

CHAPTER XIX.

Newcastle as a playwright and a poet—Grainger’s
opinion—Langbaine’s opinion—Walpole’s opinion—Lodge’s
opinion—“The Humorous Lovers”—Pepys’s opinion—Newcastle’s
other plays—Newcastle as a patron of letters—Hobbes’s letters
to Newcastle 236

CHAPTER XX.

Literary works of the Duchess—List—Her secretaries—Rapid
out-put—Her “conceptions”—Her verse—D’Israeli and Grainger
on her works—Her philosophical works—An extract—James
Bristow’s difficulty 249

CHAPTER XXI.

Prologue to the Duchess’s plays—Specimens—Her dress—Pepys—The
Royal Society—Grammont and Charles II 262

CHAPTER XXII.

The Duchess’s religion—Time to stop—Deaths of the Duke and
Duchess—A defence of Newcastle—The Duchess—The best feature
of her character—Her great capacity for business
matters—Walpole again 273