“RES ANGUSTA DOMI.” A WHITE ELEPHANT. GATHERING CLOUDS. KEEPING A BRAVE
HEART. A GRAND FUNCTION. ROYAL GIFTS. FRESH ANXIETIES. BARON STRANGE.
NATIONAL GRIEVANCES. “SHORTCOATS.” A CONTRACT.
Established at Lathom, Lady Strange sent intelligence to her mother of
the hope that ere long a child would be born to her; adding:—
“The length of our sojourn here is not decided upon, but if the twenty
thousand crowns do not come, it will not be easy to leave the place.
Your son-in-law is well, thank God, and joins frequently in the chase.
On Monday, a great number of people were here, and for several days my
husband has had to entertain many gentlemen. He shows me great
affection; and God bestows upon us the blessing of living in great
contentment and tranquillity of mind. We have some trouble with the Isle
of Man; and if Château-Neuf were here, we should have offered him the
charge of it. The appointment is worth a thousand francs: and that in a
place where one can live for next to nothing.”
Pecuniary cares, which harassed Lady Strange all the rest of her life,
were setting in. With the adoption of the Romanist faith by Henri IV.,
the prospects of the Huguenots darkened. The League took possession of
the towns and castles belonging to the Duke de la Trémoille; the
agricultural prosperity of France was again blighted by renewed civil
warfare, and the tenant-farmers were in arrears with their rents and
payments. The Duke was not able to sell his acres of arable and pasture
land, and consequently could not send his sister the money which was
hers by right. The Earl of Derby was likewise impoverished by the loss
of certain moneys which, hitherto appertaining to the male heirs of his
family, had now become alienated and divided: yet upon these reduced
incomings the Earl was expected still to maintain all the old state and
magnificence of the house of Stanley.
The Isle of Man was, moreover, a possession of exceedingly doubtful
value to its suzerain lords. The people were turbulent, and difficult to
rule and to please. As a separate and independent kingdom, they claimed
certain rights and privileges, and it required an Act of Parliament to
settle their differences. Lady Strange’s dower would have been
incalculably useful towards the settlement of all these troubles, and
about the close of the year 1627 she writes:—
“I am not without anxiety on many accounts; but God of His goodness will
provide.” She goes on to say that her husband is much pressed for money,
and how great her satisfaction would be if she were able to help him
with her own dower.
“I am assured Madame, that you will understand better than I do myself
the need for this; and also what a happiness it will be to me to afford
consolation and help to those to whom I have been hitherto but a
burden.”
Still, however, no money came, and Charlotte writes later on:—
“I should be glad to know that my fortune existed not only in words, but
in fact. It causes me great grief and anxiety.”
A letter, written to Madame de la Trémoille by Lady Strange on the eve
of her accouchement, is strikingly characteristic of the brave and
spirited, but wholly tender and womanly nature of the Lady of Lathom.
Expressing constantly a deep longing to see peace established between
England and France, and greatly desiring the general welfare of both her
native and adopted country, feminine and domestic interests chiefly
occupy her mind. Far from her own people, Lady Strange had hoped to have
her mother with her during her hour of trial; but the coming of the
Duchess was found to be impracticable, and Charlotte thus writes to her
sister-in-law in the December of 1627:—
“For the journey of Madame (the Dowager-Duchess), I see, dear heart, the
same objections to it as you do; and though I have passionately desired
her coming, I dread the discomfort and dangers to which she would be
exposed; and for myself, I trust in God that He will not forsake me,
although I am alone and inexperienced. But there, my dear one, I will
think no more about it, trusting in God. I know, dear heart (_mon
cœur_), that you remember me in your prayers, and how rejoiced you are
for me in thinking of the hopes I cherish. Also you are assured that the
blessing which Heaven may bestow upon us will be always at your
service.”
At the end of January 1628, Lord Strange informs the Duchess of the
birth of a son; and again, a month later, Lady Strange, writing in more
detail of the important event, is critical upon the English mode of baby
treatment.
“I forgot,” she says, “to tell you that he (Baby) is dark. I wish you
could see the manner in which children are swaddled in this country. It
is deplorable.”
Since the time of Lady Strange, custom in such matters must have
considerably changed, for in these days it is the tight swathing and
impeding garments of Continental babies which challenges the compassion
of English mothers for the small, cramped-up bodies.
“My husband,” continues Lady Strange, “would have written to you, but he
does not express himself in any language but his own. He is none the
less your very humble servant.”
On the 17th April she again writes:—
“I have informed Madame of the baptism of your nephew, whom God
thus graciously received on Sunday, 30th March.[4] He was
carried by my sister-in-law, and attended by the ladies of four
gentlemen of rank of this country. I had him dressed in white,
after the French fashion, for here they dress them in colours,
which I do not like. The Bishop of Chester baptized him in our
private chapel, and, as you know, by the King’s name only.
Afterwards, sweetmeats were served; and at supper, the roast
joints were brought to table by gentlemen of this neighbourhood,
as also upon several preceding and succeeding days. The King has
presented him with two gold mugs, which is his custom with those
upon whom he bestows the honour of his christian name. In
addition to this however, he has sent me a very beautiful
present which cost two thousand crowns; the diamonds ornamenting
it are very fine, and all faceted. I did not expect to receive
it. The Duchess of Richmond, his godmother, has given him a
large bowl and a gilded enamel knife, such as is used to remove
the rolls and pieces of bread with from the table before the
fruit is brought in; and to me she has given a turquoise
bracelet.”
Footnote 4:
Old style. The Gregorian calendar was not used in England.
Previous to the birth of his eldest son, the young father, who was only
twenty-two, was called to take his seat in the House of Lords, under the
title of Baron Strange. This arose out of error. The fact had been
overlooked that the barony of Strange formed one of the titles fallen
into disheritage at the death of Ferdinand, Earl of Derby. The error led
to the creation of a new peerage, which went to the house of Athol, and
for several years Lord Strange sat in the Upper House, during the
lifetime of his father, the Earl of Derby.
A new Parliament was now summoned; and Sir Robert Cotton, the mildest
and most temperate among the prominent men of the popular party, was
called to the King’s counsel table. He spoke there with wisdom and
frankness, setting forth the just grievances of the nation; and in order
to win its due support, impressing the necessity for redress. Sir Robert
recalled those words of Lord Burleigh to Queen Elizabeth:—
“Win their hearts, and their purses and their arms will be yours.”
Concerning her husband’s summons to town, Lady Strange writes on 18th
May 1628:—
“I write under much anxiety; for I believe my husband goes the
day after to-morrow to London. This is the more grievous, as the
air there does not suit him; but God of His goodness will
preserve him. As for our little one, he is very well, Heaven be
thanked. I have already in two of my letters asked you for
frocks for him, for he is very big for his age; and they are
needed the more that in this country children are short-clothed
at a month or six weeks old. I am considered out of my senses
that he is not yet short-coated. I also asked you to send hoods.
I hope that all may arrive together.
“God grant that all that Parliament decides be for His glory,
and for the good of the King and of the nation.”
Lord Strange did not however, go to London at this time.
“My husband,” writes Lady Strange a little later, “has not been summoned
to London (June 1628). There are great disturbances there. One day all
is confusion, the next everything goes well.”
It is small wonder that, to such a state of things, Lord Strange
preferred the tranquillity and domestic happiness of his ancestral home.
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