Chapter I

State of England on the Accession of James I. compared with
that when Elizabeth began to Reign—The Great Rebellion
Attributable to the Misrule of James—Allusion of Lord
Clarendon to this Subject—The Luxury of a Favourite
Essential to James since the Age of Fourteen—Birth and
Origin of George Villiers—His Family little known to Fame
until his Elevation—The Sneers thrown upon it by Sir
Symonds D’Ewes; and its Claims to Honourable Descent
Considered—Sir Henry Wotton’s Testimony—The Family of
Villiers long known in the County of Leicester—The
Different Spellings of the Name—The Fortunes of the Family
in France—Remark of Lord Clarendon upon the Condition of
the Villiers Family in England—Also of the Historian
Sanderson—Brookesby, the Native Place of George
Villiers—His Mother, Mary Beaumont—Her Menial Condition in
the Family of Sir George Villiers—His Marriage—The Family
by a Former Union—Sir William Villiers—John, Viscount
Purbeck—The Children of the Second Marriage: Mary,
Countess of Denbigh—Christopher, George—Lady Villiers
retires to Goadby—Her Efforts for her Son’s Benefit—His
Education, Disposition, and Acquirements—The Slender Means
of his Mother—Her Second Marriage to Sir Thomas
Compton—George Villiers sent to Paris to complete his
Education—State of that Capital in the 17th
Century—Villiers returns from Paris, improved, and repairs
to his Mother’s House at Goadby 1