Produced by An Anonymous Volunteeer
ROYALTY RESTORED
or, LONDON UNDER CHARLES II.
By J. FITZGERALD MOLLOY
Original Transcriber's Note:
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close to the place where they were indicated by a suffix in the original
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Text in italics has been written in capital letters.
PG Editor's Note: Archaic spelling and grammar retained.
TO THOMAS HARDY, ESQ.
DEAR MR. HARDY,
In common with all readers of the English language, I owe you a
debt of gratitude, the which I rejoice to acknowledge, even in so
poor a manner as by dedicating this work to you.
Believe me,
Faithfully yours always,
J. FITZGERALD MOLLOY.
PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.
No social history of the court of Charles II. has heretofore been
written. The Grammont Memoirs, devoid of date and detail, and addressed
"to those who read only for amusement," present but brief imperfect
sketches of the wits and beauties who thronged the court of the merry
monarch whilst the brilliant Frenchman sojourned in England. Pepys,
during the first nine years of the Restoration, narrates such gossip as
reached him regarding Whitehall and the practices that obtained there.
Evelyn records some trifling actions of the king and his courtiers,
with a view of pointing a moral, rather than from a desire of adorning a
tale.
To supply this want in our literature, I have endeavoured to present a
picture of the domestic life of a king, whose name recalls pages of the
brightest romance and strangest gallantry in our chronicles. To this I
have added a study of London during his reign, taken as far as possible
from rare, and invariably from authentic sources. It will readily be
seen this work, embracing such subjects, could alone have resulted from
careful study and untiring consultation of diaries, records, memoirs,
letters, pamphlets, tracts, and papers left by contemporaries
familiar with the court and capital. The accomplishment of such a task
necessitated an expenditure of time, and devotion to labour, such as in
these fretful and impatient days is seldom bestowed on work.
As in previous volumes I have writ no fact is set down without
authority, so likewise the same rule is pursued in these; and for such
as desire to test the accuracy thereof, or follow at further length
statements necessarily abbreviated, a list is appended of the principal
literature consulted. And inasmuch as I have found pleasure in this
work, so may my gentle readers derive profit therefrom; and as I have
laboured, so may they enjoy. Expressing which fair wishes, and moreover
commending myself unto their love and service, I humbly take my leave.
J. FITZGERALD MOLLOY.
LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, TRACTS, AND NEWSPAPERS,
CONSULTED IN WRITING THIS VOLUME.
"Elenchus Motuum Nuperorum." Heath's "Flagellum; or, the Life and Death
of Oliver Cromwell." Banks' "Life of Cromwell." "Review of the Political
Life of Cromwell." "A Modest Vindication of Oliver Cromwell." "The
Machivilian Cromwellist." Kimber's "Life of Cromwell." "The World
Mistaken in Oliver Cromwell"(1668). "A Letter of Comfort to Richard
Cromwell." "Letters from Fairfax to Cromwell." "Cromwell's Letters and
Speeches." "A Collection of Several Passages concerning Cromwell in his
Sickness." "The Protector's Declaration against the Royal Family of the
Stuarts." "Memoirs of Cromwell and his Children, supposed to be written
by himself." "Narrative of the Proceedings of the English Army in
Scotland." "An Account of the Last Houres of the late renowned Oliver,
Lord Protector" (1659). "Sedition Scourged." Heath's "Chronicles of the
late Intestine War." Welwood's "Memoirs of Transactions in England."
"Memoirs of Edmund Ludlow, M.P., in the year 1640." Forster's "Statesmen
of the Commonwealth." "Killing No Murther." Thurloe's "State Papers."
Lord Clarendon's "State Papers." Tatham's "Aqua Triumphalis." "The
Public Intelligencer." "Mercurius Politicus." "The Parliamentary
Intelligencer." Lyon's "Personal History of Charles II." "The Boscobel
Tracts, relating to the Escape of Charles II." "An Exact Narrative of
his Majesty's Escape from Worcester." Several Passages relating to the
"Declared King of Scots both by Sea and Land." "Charles II.'s Declaration
to his Loving Subjects in the Kingdom of England." "England's Joy; or,
a Relation of the most Remarkable Passages from his Majesty's Arrival
at Dover to his Entrance at Whitehall." "Copies of Two Papers written
by the King." "His Majesty's Gracious Message to General Monk." "King
Charles, His Starre." "A Speech spoken by a Blew-Coat of Christ's
Hospital to his Sacred Majesty." "Monarchy Revived." "The History of
Charles II., by a Person of Quality." Lady Fanshawe's "Memoirs." "The
Character of Charles II., written by an Impartial Hand and exposed to
Public View." "Sports and Pastimes of the English People." "A History
of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England." Wright's "Homes of Other
Days." Idalcomb's "Anecdotes of Manners and Customs of London." Pepys'
"Diary." Evelyn's "Diary." Grammont's "Memoirs." Lord Romney's "Diary
of the Times of Charles II." "The Life and Adventures of Colonel Blood."
"Diary of Dr. Edward Lake, Court Chaplain." Bishop Burnet's "History of
His Own Times." Oldmixon's "Court Tales." Madame Dunois' "Memoirs of
the English Court." Heath's "Glories and Triumphs of Charles II."
"Continuation of the Life of Edward, Earl of Clarendon." "Original
Correspondence of Lord Clarendon." "The Memoirs of Sir John Reresby."
Lister's "Life of Clarendon. Brain Fairfax's "Memoirs of the Duke of
Buckingham." "Letters of Philip, Second Earl of Chesterfield." Aubrey's
"Memoirs." "The Life of Mr. Anthony a Wood, written by Himself." Elias
Ashmole's "Memoirs of his Life." Luttrell's "Diary." "The Althorp
Memoirs" (privately printed). Lord Broghill's "Memoirs." "Memoir of
Barbara, Duchess of Cleveland" (privately printed). Aubrey's "Lives
of Eminent Men." Count Magalotti's "Travels in England." "The Secret
History of Whitehall: consisting of Secret Memoirs which have hitherto
lain conceal'd as not being discoverable by any other hand." "Athenae
Oxonienses." Lord Rochester's Works. Brown's "Miscellanea Aulica." The
Works of Andrew Marvell. "State Tracts, relating to the Government
from the year 1660 to 1689." "Antiquities of the Crown and State of
Old England." "Narrative of the Families exposed to the Great Plague of
London." "Loimologia; or, an Historical Account of the Plague in 1665."
"A Collection of very Valuable and Scarce Pieces relating to the Last
Plague in 1665." "London's Dreadful Visitation." "Letter of Dr, Hedges
to a Person of Quality." "God's Terrible Voice in the City: a Narrative
of the late Dreadful Judgments by Plague and Fire." "Pestis; a
Collection of Scarce Papers relating to the Plague." "An Account of the
Fire of London, published by authority." Lord Clarendon's "Account of
the Great Fire." "A Voyage into England, containing many things relating
to the State of Learning, Religion, and other Curiosities of that
Kingdom," by Mons. Sorbiere. Carte's "Life of James, Duke of Ormond."
Carte's "History of England." Lord Somers' "Collection of Scarce and
Valuable Tracts." "Memoirs of the Duchess of Mazarine." "Secret History
of the Duchess of Portsmouth." St. Evremond's "Memoirs." "Curialia;
or, an Historical Account of some Branches of the Royal Household."
"Parliamentary History." Oldmixon's "History of the Stuarts." Ellis's
"Original Letters." Charles James Fox's "History of James II." Sir
George L'Estrange's "Brief History of the Times." Lord Romney's "Diary
of the Times of Charles II." Clarke's "Life of James II." "Vindication
of the English Catholics." "The Tryals, Conviction and Sentence of Titus
Oates." "A Modest Vindication of Oates." "Tracts on the Popish Plot."
Macpherson's "Original Papers." A. Marvell's "Account of Popery."
"An Exact Discovery of the Mystery of Iniquity as Practised among the
Jesuits." Smith's "Streets of London." "London Cries." Seymour's "Survey
of the Cities of London and Westminster." Stow's "Survey of London
and Westminster." "Angliae Metropolis." Dr. Laune's "Present State of
London, 1681." Sir Roger North's "Examn." "The Character of a Coffee
House." Stow's "Chronicles of Fashion." Fairholt's "Costume in England."
"A Just and Seasonable Reprehension of Naked Breasts and Shoulders."
Sir William Petty's "Observations of the City of London." John Ogilvy's
"London Surveyed." R. Burton's "Historical Remarks." Dr. Birch's
"History of the Royal Society of London." "A Century of Inventions."
Wild's "History of the Royal Society." "The Philosophical Transactions
of the Royal Society." Richardson's "Life of Milton." Philip's "Life of
Milton." Johnson's "Lives of the Poets." Aubrey's "Collections for
the Life of Milton." Langbaine's "Lives and Characters of the
English Dramatic Poets." "Some Remarkable Passages in the Life of Mr.
Wycherley." "Some Account of what Occurred at the King's Death," by
Richard Huddlestone, O.S.B. "A True Narrative of the late King's Death."
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Cromwell is sick unto death.--Fears and suspicions.--Killing no
Murder.--A memorable storm.--The end of all.--Richard Cromwell
made Protector,--He refuses to shed blood. Disturbance and
dissatisfaction.--Downfall of Richard.--Charles Stuart proclaimed
king.--Rejoicement of the nation.--The king comes into his own.--Entry
into London.--Public joy and festivity.
CHAPTER II.
The story of the king's escape.--He accepts the Covenant, and lands in
Scotland.--Crowned at Scone.--Proclaimed king at Carlisle.--The
battle of Worcester,--Bravery of Charles.--Disloyalty of the Scottish
cavalry.--The Royalists defeated.--The king's flight.--Seeks refuge
in Boscobel Wood. The faithful Pendrells.--Striving to cross the
Severn.--Hiding in an oak tree.--Sheltered by Master Lane. Sets out
with Mistress Lane.--Perilous escapes.--On the road.--The king is
recognised.--Strange adventures.--His last night in England.
CHAPTER III.
Celebration of the king's return. Those who flocked to Whitehall.--My
Lord Cleveland's gentlemen.--Sir Thomas Allen's supper.--Touching for
king's evil.--That none might lose their labour--The man with the fungus
nose.--The memory of the regicides.--Cromwell's effigy.--Ghastly scene
at Tyburn.--The king's clemency.--The Coronation procession.--Sights and
scenes by the way.--His majesty is crowned
CHAPTER IV.
The king's character.--His proverbial grace.--He tells a story well.--"A
warmth and sweetness of the blood."--Beautiful Barbara Palmer.--Her
intrigue with my Lord Chesterfield.--James, Duke of York. His
early days.--Escape from St. James's.--Fights in the service of
France.--Marriage with Anne Hyde.--Sensation at Court.--The Duke of
Gloucester's death.--The Princess of Orange.--Schemes against the
Duke of York's peace.--The "lewd informer."--Anne Hyde is acknowledged
Duchess of York.
CHAPTER V.
Morality of the restoration.--Puritan piety.--Cromwell's
intrigues.--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.--Delights all hearts.--The king's projected
marriage.--Catherine of Braganza.--His majesty's speech.--A royal
love-letter.--The new queen sets sail.
CHAPTER VI.
The king's intrigue with Barbara Palmer.--The queen arrives at
Portsmouth.--Visited by the Duke of York.--The king leaves town.--First
interview with his bride.--His letter to the lord chancellor.--Royal
marriage and festivities.--Arrival at Hampton Court Palace.--Prospects
of a happy union.--Lady Castlemaine gives birth to a second child.--The
king's infatuation.--Mistress and wife.--The queen's misery.--The king's
cruelty.--Lord Clarendon's messages.--His majesty resolves to break the
queen's spirit.--End of the domestic quarrel.
CHAPTER VII.
Their majesties arrive at Whitehall.--My Lady Castlemaine a
spectator.--Young Mr. Crofts.--New arrivals at court.--The Hamilton
family.--The Chevalier de Grammont.--Mrs. Middleton and Miss Kirke.--At
the queen's ball.--La belle Hamilton.--The queen mother at Somerset
House.--The Duke of Monmouth's marriage.--Fair Frances Stuart.--Those
who court her favour.--The king's passion.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Duke of York's intrigues.--My Lady Chesterfield and his royal
highness.--The story of Lady Southesk's love,--Lord Arran plays the
guitar.--Lord Chesterfield is jealous.--The countess is taken from
court.--Mistress Margaret Brooks and the king.--Lady Denham and the
duke.--Sir John goes mad.--My lady is poisoned.
CHAPTER IX.
Court life under the merry monarch.--Riding in Hyde Park.--Sailing on
the Thames.--Ball at Whitehall.--Petit soupers.--What happened at
Lady Gerrard's.--Lady Castlemaine quarrels with the king.--Flight to
Richmond.--The queen falls ill.--The king's grief and remorse.--Her
majesty speaks.--Her secret sorrow finds voice in delirium.--Frances
Stuart has hopes.--The queen recovers.
CHAPTER X.
Notorious courtiers.--My Lord Rochester's satires.--Places a watch on
certain ladies of quality.--His majesty becomes indignant.--Rochester
retires to the country.--Dons a disguise and returns to town.--Practises
astrology.--Two maids of honour seek adventure.--Mishaps which befell
them.--Rochester forgiven.--The Duke of Buckingham.--Lady Shrewsbury
and her victims.--Captain Howard's duel.--Lord Shrewsbury avenges
his honour.--A strange story.--Colonel Blood attempts an
abduction.--Endeavours to steal the regalia.--The king converses with
him.
CHAPTER XI.
Terror falls upon the people.--Rumours of a plague.--A sign in the
heavens.--Flight from the capital.--Preparations against the dreaded
enemy.--Dr. Boghurst's testimony.--God's terrible voice in the
city.--Rules made by the lord mayor.--Massacre of animals.--O, dire
death!--Spread of the distemper.--Horrible sights.--State of the
deserted capital.--"Bring out your dead."--Ashes to ashes.--Fires are
lighted.--Relief of the poor.--The mortality bills.
CHAPTER XII
A cry of fire by night.--Fright and confusion.--The lord mayor is
unmanned.--Spread of the flames.--Condition of the streets.--Distressful
scenes.--Destruction of the Royal Exchange.--Efforts of the king and the
Duke of York.--Strange rumours and alarms, St. Paul's is doomed.--The
flames checked.--A ruined city as seen by day and night.--Wretched state
of the people.--Investigation into the origin of the fire.--A new city
arises.
CHAPTER XIII.
The court repairs to Oxford--Lady Castlemaine's son.--Their majesties
return to Whitehall.--The king quarrels with his mistress.--Miss Stuart
contemplates marriage.--Lady Castlemaine attempts revenge.--Charles
makes an unpleasant discovery.--The maid of honour elopes.--His majesty
rows down the Thames.--Lady Castlemaine's intrigues.--Fresh quarrels at
court.--The king on his knees.
CHAPTER XIV.
The kingdom in peril.--The chancellor falls under his majesty's
displeasure.--The Duke of Buckingham's mimicry.--Lady Castlemaine's
malice.--Lord Clarendon's fall.--The Duke of Ormond offends the king's
mistress.--She covers him with abuse.--Plots against the Duke of
York.--Schemes for a royal divorce.--Moll Davis and Nell Gwynn.--The
king and the comedian.--Lady Castlemaine abandons herself to great
disorders.--Young Jack Spencer.--The countess intrigues with an
acrobat.--Talk of the town.--The mistress created a duchess.
CHAPTER XV.
Louise de Querouaille.--The Triple Alliance.--Louise is created Duchess
of Portsmouth,--Her grace and the impudent comedian.--Madam Ellen moves
in society. The young Duke of St. Albans.--Strange story of the
Duchess of Mazarine.--Entertaining the wits at Chelsea.--Luxurious
suppers.--profligacy and wit.
CHAPTER XVI.
A storm threatens the kingdom--The Duke of York is touched in his
conscience.--His interview with Father Simons.--The king declares his
mind.--The Duchess of York becomes a catholic.--The circumstances of her
death.--The Test Act introduced.--Agitation of the nation.--The Duke
of York marries again.--Lord Shaftesbury's schemes.--The Duke of
Monmouth.--William of Orange and the Princess Mary.--Their marriage and
departure from England.
CHAPTER XVII.
The threatened storm bursts.--History of Titus Oates and Dr. Tonge.--A
dark scheme concocted.--The king is warned of danger.--The narrative of
a horrid plot laid before the treasurer.--Forged letters.--Titus Oates
before the council.--His blunders.--A mysterious murder.--Terror of the
citizens.--Lord Shaftesbury's schemes.--Papists are banished from the
capital.--Catholic peers committed to the Tower.--Oates is encouraged.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Reward for the discovery of murderers.--Bedlow's character
and evidence.--His strange story.--Development of the "horrid
plot."--William Staley is made a victim.--Three Jesuits hung.--Titus
Oates pronounced the saviour of his country.--Striving to ruin the
queen.--Monstrous story of Bedlow and Oates.--The king protects
her majesty.--Five Jesuits executed.--Fresh rumours concerning
the papists.--Bill to exclude the Duke of York.--Lord Stafford is
tried.--Scene at Tower Hill.--Fate of the conspirators.
CHAPTER XIX.
London under Charles II.--Condition and appearance of the
thoroughfares.--Coffee is first drunk in the capital.--Taverns and
their frequenters.--The city by night.--Wicked people do creep
about.--Companies of young gentlemen.--The Duke of Monmouth kills
a beadle.--Sir Charles Sedley's frolic.--Stately houses of the
nobility.--St. James's Park.--Amusement of the town.--At Bartholomew
Fair.--Bull, bear, and dog fights.--Some quaint sports.
CHAPTER XX.
Court customs in the days of the merry monarch.--Dining in public.--The
Duke of Tuscany's supper to the king.--Entertainment of guests by
mountebanks.--Gaming at court.--Lady Castlemaine's losses.--A fatal
duel.--Dress of the period.--Riding-habits first seen.--His majesty
invents a national costume.--Introduction of the penny post.--Divorce
suits are known.--Society of Antiquaries.--Lord Worcester's
inventions.--The Duchess of Newcastle.
CHAPTER XXI.
A period rich in literature.--John Milton's early life.--Writing
"Paradise Lost."--Its publication and success.--His later works and
death.--John Dryden gossips with wits and players.--Lord Rochester's
revenge.--Elkanah Settle.--John Crowne.--Thomas Otway rich in
miseries.--Dryden assailed by villains.--The ingenious Abraham
Cowley.--The author of "Hudibras."--Young Will Wycherley and Lady
Castlemaine. The story of his marriage.--Andrew Marvell, poet and
politician.--John Bunyan.
CHAPTER XXII.
Time's flight leaves the king unchanged.--The Rye House
conspiracy.--Profligacy of the court.--The three duchesses.--The king
is taken ill.--The capital in consternation.--Dr. Ken questions his
majesty.--A Benedictine monk is sent for.--Charles professes catholicity
and receives the Sacraments.--Farewell to all.--His last night on
earth.--Daybreak and death.--He rests in peace.
ROYALTY RESTORED
or, LONDON UNDER CHARLES II.
CHAPTER I.
Cromwell is sick unto death.--Fears and suspicions.--Killing no
Murder.--A memorable storm.--The end of all.--Richard Cromwell
made Protector.--He refuses to shed blood.--Disturbance and
dissatisfaction.--Downfall of Richard.--Charles Stuart proclaimed
king.--Rejoicement of the nation.--The king comes into his own.--Entry
into London.--Public joy and satisfaction.
On the 30th of January, 1649, Charles I. was beheaded. In the last days
of August in the year of grace 1658, Oliver Cromwell lay sick unto death
at the Palace of Whitehall. On the 27th day of June in the previous
year, he had, in the Presence of the Judges of the land, the Lord
Mayor and Aldermen of the City, and Members of Parliament assembled at
Westminster Hall, seated himself on the coronation chair of the Stuarts,
assumed the title of Lord Protector, donned a robe of violet velvet,
girt his loins with a sword of state, and grasped the sceptre, symbolic
of kingly power. From that hour distrust beset his days, his nights were
fraught with fear. All his keen and subtle foresight, his strong and
restless energies, had since then been exerted in suppressing plots
against his power, and detecting schemes against his life, concocted
by the Republicans whose liberty he had betrayed, and by the Royalists
whose king he had beheaded.
Soon after he had assumed the title of Lord High Protector, a most
daring pamphlet, openly advocating his assassination, was circulated
in vast numbers throughout the kingdom. It was entitled "Killing no
Murder," and was dedicated in language outrageously bold to His Highness
Oliver Cromwell. "To your Highness justly belongs the honour of dying
for the people," it stated, "and it cannot but be an unspeakable
consolation to you, in the last moments of your life, to consider with
how much benefit to the world you are likely to leave it. It is then
only, my lord, the titles you now usurp will be truly yours; you will
then be, indeed, the deliverer of your country, and free it from a
bondage little inferior to that from which Moses delivered his, you
will then be that true reformer which you would now be thought; religion
shall then be restored, liberty asserted, and Parliaments have those
privileges they have sought for. All this we hope from your Highness's
happy expiration. To hasten this great good is the chief end of my
writing this paper; and if it have the effects I hope it will, your
Highness will quickly be out of the reach of men's malice, and your
enemies will only be able to wound you in your memory, which strokes you
will not feel."
The possession of life becomes dearest when its forfeiture is
threatened, and therefore Cromwell took all possible means to guard
against treachery--the only foe he feared, and feared exceedingly. "His
sleeps were disturbed with the apprehensions of those dangers the day
presented unto him in the approaches of any strange face, whose motion
he would most fixedly attend," writes James Heath, gentleman, in his
"Chronicles," published in 1675. "Above all, he very carefully observed
such whose mind or aspect were featured with any chearful and debonair
lineaments; for such he boded were they that would despatch him; to that
purpose he always went secretly armed, both offensive and defensive;
and never stirred without a great guard. In his usual journey between
Whitehall and Hampton Court, by several roads, he drove full speed in
the summer time, making such a dust with his life-guard, part before and
part behinde, at a convenient distance, for fear of choaking him with
it, that one could hardly see for a quarter of an hour together, and
always came in some private way or other." The same authority, in his
"Life of Cromwell," states of him, "It was his constant custom to shift
and change his lodging, to which he passed through twenty several locks,
and out of which he had four or five ways to avoid pursuit." Welwood, in
his "Memoirs," adds the Protector wore a coat of mail beneath his dress,
and carried a poniard under his cloak.
Nor was this all. According to the "Chronicle of the late Intestine
War," Cromwell "would sometimes pretend to be merry, and invite persons,
of whom he had some suspicion, to his cups, and then drill out of their
open hearts such secrets as he wisht for. He had freaks also to divert
the vexations of his misgiving thoughts, calling on by the beat of drum
his footguards, like a kennel of hounds to snatch away the scraps and
reliques of his table. He said every man's hand was against him,
and that he ran daily into further perplexities, out of which it was
impossible to extricate, or secure himself therein, without running
into further danger; so that he began to alter much in the tenour of
his former converse, and to run and transform into the manners of the
ancient tyrants, thinking to please and mitigate his own tortures with
the sufferings of others."
But now the fate his vigilance had hitherto combated at last overtook
him in a manner impossible to evade. He was attacked by divers
infirmities, but for some time made no outward sign of his suffering,
until one day five physicians came and waited on him, as Dr. George Bate
states in his ELENCHUS MOTUUM NUPERORUM. And one of them, feeling
his pulse, declared his Highness suffered from an intermittent fever;
hearing which "he looked pale, fell into a cold sweat, almost fainted
away, and orders himself to be carried to bed." His fright, however,
was but momentary. He was resolved to live. He had succeeded in raising
himself to a position of vast power, but had failed in attaining the
great object of his ambition--the crowned sovereignty of the nation he
had stirred to its centre, and conquered to its furthest limits. Brought
face to face with death, his indomitable will, which had shaped untoward
circumstances to his accord with a force like unto fate itself, now
determined to conquer his shadowy enemy which alone intercepted his path
to the throne. Therefore as he lay in bed he said to those around him
with that sanctity of speech which had cloaked his cruellest deeds and
dissembled his most ambitious designs, "I would be willing to live to be
further serviceable to God and his people."
As desires of waking hours are answered in sleep, so in response to his
nervous craving for life he had delusive assurances of health through
the special bounty of Providence. He was therefore presently able
to announce he "had very great discoveries of the Lord to him in his
sickness, and hath some certainty of being restored;" as Fleetwood, his
son-in-law, wrote on the 24th of August in this same year.
Accordingly, when one of the physicians came to him next morning, the
High Protector said, "Why do you look sad?" To which the man of lore
replied evasively, "So it becomes anyone who had the weighty care of
his life and health upon him." Then Cromwell to this purpose spoke: "You
think I shall die; I tell you I shall not die this bout; I am sure on't.
Don't think I am mad. I speak the words of truth upon surer grounds than
Galen or your Hippocrates furnish you with. God Almighty himself hath
given that answer, not to my prayers alone, but also to the prayers of
those who entertain a stricter commerce and greater intimacy with him.
Ye may have skill in the nature of things, yet nature can do more than
all physicians put together, and God is far above nature." The doctor
besought him to rest, and left the room. Outside he met one of his
colleagues, to whom he gave it as his opinion their patient had grown
light-headed, and he repeated the words which Cromwell had spoken.
"Then," said his brother-physician, "you are certainly a stranger in
this house; don't you know what was done last night? The chaplain and
all their friends being dispersed into several parts of the palace
have prayed to God for his health, and they all heard the voice of God
saying, 'He will recover,' and so they are all certain of it."
"Never, indeed, was there a greater stock of prayers going on for any
man," as Thurlow, his secretary, writes. So sure were those around him
that Providence must hearken to and grant the fulfilment of such
desires as they thought well to express, that, as Thomas Goodwin, one of
Cromwell's chaplains, said, "We asked not for the Protector's life, for
we were assured He had too great things for this man to do, to remove
him yet; but we prayed for his speedy recovery, because his life and
presence were so necessary to divers things then of great moment to be
despatched." When this Puritanical fanatic was presently disappointed,
Bishop Burnet narrates "he had the impudence to say to God, 'Thou hast
deceived us.'"
Meanwhile the Protector lay writhing in pain and terror. His mind was
sorely troubled at remembrance of the last words spoken by his daughter
Elizabeth, who had threatened judgments upon him because of his refusal
to save the King; whilst his body was grievously racked with a tertian
fever, and a foul humour which, beginning in his foot, worked its way
steadily to his heart. Moreover, some insight regarding his future
seemed given to him in his last days, for he appeared, as Ludlow, his
contemporary, states, "above all concerned for the reproaches he saw men
would cast upon his name, in tramping upon his ashes when dead."
On the 30th of August his danger became evident even to himself, and
all hope of life left him. For hours after the certain approach of death
became undeniably certain, he remained quiet and speechless, seemingly
heedless of the exhortation and prayers of his chaplains, till suddenly
turning to one of them, he whispered, "Tell me, is it possible to fall
from grace?" The preacher had a soothing reply ready: "It is not," he
answered. "Then," exclaimed this unhappy man, whose soul was red with
the blood of thousands of his countrymen, "I am safe, for I know I was
once in grace." Anon he cries out, whilst tossing wildly on his bed,
"Lord, although I am a miserable and a wretched creature, I am in
covenant with Thee through grace, and I may and will come to Thee for
Thy people. Pardon such as desire to trample upon the dust of a poor
worm. And give us a good night if it be Thy pleasure. Amen."
It was now the 2nd of September. As the evening of that day approached
he fell into a stupor, and those who watched him thought the end had
come.
Within the darkened chamber in Whitehall all was silence and gloom;
without all was tumult and fear. Before the gates of the palace a
turbulent crowd of soldiers and citizens had gathered in impatient
anxiety. Those he had raised to power, those whose fortunes depended on
his life, were steeped in gloom; those whose principles he had outraged
by his usurpation, those whose position he had crushed by his sway,
rejoiced at heart. Not only the capital, but the whole nation, was
divided into factions which one strong hand alone had been able to
control; and terror, begotten by dire remembrances of civil war and
bloodshed, abode with all lovers of peace.
As evening closed in, the elements appeared in unison with the
distracted condition of the kingdom. Dark clouds, seeming of ominous
import to men's minds, gathered in the heavens, to be presently torn
asunder and hurried in wild flight by tempestuous winds across the
troubled sky. As night deepened, the gale steadily increased, until it
raged in boundless fury above the whole island and the seas that rolled
around its shores. In town houses rocked on their foundations, turrets
and steeples were flung from their places; in the country great trees
were uprooted, corn-stacks levelled to the ground, and winter fruits
destroyed; whilst at sea ships sank to rise no more. This memorable
storm lasted all night, and continued until three o'clock next
afternoon, when Cromwell expired.
His body was immediately embalmed, but was of necessity interred in
great haste. Westminster Abbey, the last home of kings and princes, was
selected as the fittest resting-place for the regicide. Though it was
impossible to honour his remains by stately ceremonials, his followers
were not content to let the occasion of his death pass with-out
commemoration. They therefore had a waxen image of him made, which they
resolved to surround with all the pomp and circumstances of royalty. For
this purpose they carried it to Somerset House--one of the late King's
palaces--and placed it on a couch of crimson velvet beneath a canopy of
state. Upon its shoulders they hung a purple mantle, in its right hand
they placed a golden sceptre, and by its side they laid an imperial
crown, probably the same which, according to Welwood, the Protector had
secretly caused to be made and conveyed to Whitehall with a view to his
coronation. The walls and ceiling of the room in which the effigy lay
were covered by sable velvet; the passages leading to it crowded with
soldiery. After a few weeks the town grew tired of this sight, when the
waxen image was taken to another apartment, hung with rich velvets and
golden tissue, and otherwise adorned to symbolize heaven, when it was
placed upon a throne, clad "in a shirt of fine Holland lace, doublet
and breeches of Spanish fashion with great skirts, silk stockings,
shoe-strings and gaiters suitable, and black Spanish leather shoes."
Over this attire was flung a cloak of purple velvet, and on his head
was placed a crown with many precious stones. The room was then lit, as
Ludlow narrates, "by four or five hundred candles set in flat shining
candlesticks, so placed round near the roof that the light they gave
seemed like the rays of the sun, by all which he was represented to be
now in a state of glory." Lest, indeed, there should be any doubt as to
the place where his soul abode, Sterry, the Puritan preacher, imparted
the information to all, that the Protector "now sat with Christ at the
right hand of the Father."
But this pomp and state in no may overawed the people, who, by pelting
with mire Cromwell's escutcheon placed above the great gate of Somerset
House gave evidence of the contempt in which they held his memory. After
a lapse of over two months from the day of his death, the effigy was
carried to Westminster Abbey with more than regal ceremony, the expenses
of his lying-in-state and of his funeral procession amounting, as stated
by Walker and Noble, to upwards of L29,000. "It was the joyfullest
funeral I ever saw," writes Evelyn, "for there were none that cried but
dogs, which the soldiers hooted away with a barbarous noise, drinking
and taking tobacco as they went."
A little while before his death Cromwell had named his eldest surviving
son, Richard, as his successor, and he was accordingly declared
Protector, with the apparent consent of the council, soldiers, and
citizens. Nor did the declaration cause any excitement, "There is not
a dog who wags his tongue, so profound is the calm which we are in,"
writes Thurlow to Oliver's second son, Henry, then Lord Lieutenant of
Ireland. But if the nation in its dejection made no signs of resistance,
neither did it give any indications of satisfaction, and Richard was
proclaimed "with as few expressions of joy as had ever been observed on
a like occasion." For a brief while a stupor seemed to lull the
factious party spirit which was shortly to plunge the country into
fresh difficulties. The Cromwellians and Republicans foresaw resistless
strife, and the Royalists quietly and hopefully abided results.
Nor had they long to wait. In the new Parliament assembled in January,
1659, the Republicans showed themselves numerous and bold beyond
measure, and hesitated to recognise Richard Cromwell as successor to
the Protectorate. However, on the 14th of the following month the
Cromwellians gained the upper hand, when Richard was confirmed in his
title of "Lord Protector, and First Magistrate of England, Scotland, and
Ireland, with all the territories depending thereon." Further discussion
quickly followed. "One party thinks the Protectorate cannot last; the
other that the Republican cannot raise itself again; the indifferent
hope that both will be right. It is easy to foretell the upshot,"
writes Hyde. The disunion spread rapidly and widely; not only was the
Parliament divided against itself, but so likewise was the army; and the
new Protector had neither the courage nor the ability to put down strife
with a strong hand. Richard Cromwell was a man of peaceful disposition,
gentle manners and unambitious mind, whom fate had forced into a
position for which he was in no way fitted. By one of those strange
contradictions which nature sometimes produces, he differed in all
things from his father; for not only was he pleasure-loving, joyous,
and humane, but he was, moreover, a Royalist at heart, and continued in
friendship with the Cavaliers up to the period of his proclamation as
Protector. It has been stated that, falling on his knees, he entreated
his father to spare the life of Charles I.; it is certain he remained
inactive whilst the civil wars devastated the land; and there is
evidence to show that, during the seven months and twenty-eight days of
his Protectorship, he shrank from the perpetration of cruelty and
crime. Accordingly, when those who had at first supported his authority
eventually conspired against him, he refrained from using his power to
crush them. At this his friends were wrath. "It is time to look about
you," said Lord Howard, speaking with the bluntness of a friend. "Empire
and command are not now the question. Your person, your life are in
peril. You are the son of Cromwell; show yourself worthy to be his son.
This business requires a bold stroke, and must be supported by a good
head. Do not suffer yourself to be daunted. I will rid you of your
enemies: do you stand by me, and only back my zeal for your honour with
your name; my head shall answer for the consequences."
Colonel Ingoldsby seconded the advice Lord Howard gave, but Richard
Cromwell hearkened to neither. "I have never done anybody any harm,
and never will," said he, "will not have a drop of blood spilt for the
preservation of my greatness, which is a burden to me." At this Lord
Howard was indignant. "Do you think," he asked, "this moderation of
yours will repair the wrong your family has committed by its elevation?
Everybody knows that by violence your father procured the death of the
late king, and kept his sons in banishment: mercy in the present state
of affairs is unreasonable. Lay aside this pussillanimity; every moment
is precious; your enemies spend the time in acting which we waste
in consulting." "Talk no more of it," answered the Protector. "I am
thankful for your friendship, but violent counsels suit not with me."
The climax was at hand; his fall was but a question of time. "A
wonderfull and suddaine change in ye face of ye publiq," writes Evelyn,
on the 25th of April, 1659. "Ye new Protector Richard slighted; several
pretenders and parties strove for the Government; all anarchy and
confusion. Lord have mercy on us!"
Before the month of May had expired, the House of Commons commissioned
two of its members to bid Richard Cromwell leave the palace of
Whitehall, and obtain his signature to a deed wherein he acknowledged
complete submission to Parliament. His brief inglorious reign was
therefore at an end. "As with other men," he wrote to the House of
Commons, "I expect protection from the present Government: I do hold
myself obliged to demean myself with all the peaceableness under it,
and to procure, to the utmost of my power, that all in whom I have any
interest to do the same." He retired into Hampshire, where he dwelt as
a private gentleman. His brother Henry resigned his position as Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland and settled in Cambridgeshire. From this time the
name of Cromwell was no longer a power in the land.
During two years subsequent to the death of Oliver the government
of England underwent various changes, and the kingdom suffered many
disorders; until, being heartily sick of anarchy, the people desired
a king might once more reign over them accordingly, they turned their
eyes towards the son of him whom "the boldest villany that ever any
nation saw" had sent to the block. And the time being ripe, Charles
Stuart, then an exile in Breda, despatched Sir John Grenville with royal
letters to both Houses of Parliament, likewise to the Lord Mayor of
London and members of the Common Council, to Monk, commander of the
forces, and Montagu, admiral of the fleet. These letters were received
with so universal a joy and applause, that Parliament forthwith ordained
Charles Stuart should be proclaimed "the most potent, mighty, and
undoubted King of England, Scotland and Ireland." Moreover, both Houses
agreed that an honourable body of Commissioners, all men of great
quality and birth, should be sent to the king with letters, humbly
begging his majesty would be pleased to hasten his long-desired return
into England. And because they knew full well the royal exchequer was
empty, Parliament ordered these noble gentlemen to carry with them a
present of fifty thousand pieces of gold to the king, together with ten
thousand to his brother of York, and five thousand to his brother of
Gloucester. Nor was the City of London backwards in sending expressions
of loyalty and tokens of homage and devotion; to evince which twenty
valiant men and worthy citizens were despatched with messages of
goodwill towards him, and presents in gold to the amount of twelve
thousand pounds.
And presently Admiral Montagu arriving with his fleet upon the coast of
Holland, awaited his majesty near Scheveling; and all things being in
readiness the king with his royal brothers and a most noble train set
sail for England.
It came to pass that on the 25th day of May, 1660, a vast concourse of
nobility, gentry, and citizens had assembled at Dover to meet and greet
their sovereign king, Charles II., on his landing. On the fair morning
of that day a sound of cannon thundering from the castle announced that
the fleet, consisting of "near forty sail of great men-of-war," which
conveyed his majesty to his own, was in sight; whereon an innumerable
crowd betook its joyful way to the shore. The sun was most gloriously
bright, the sky cloudless, the sea calm. Far out upon the blue horizon
white-winged ships could be clearly discerned. By three o'clock in the
afternoon they had reached the harbour, when the king, embarking in a
galley most richly adorned, was rowed to shore. Then cannon roared once
more from the castle, and were answered from the beach; bells rang from
church towers, and a mighty shout went up from the hearts of the people.
In the midst of these rejoicings Charles II. landed, and the gallant
General Monk, who had been mainly instrumental in bringing his royal
master to the throne without loss of blood, now fell upon his knees to
greet his majesty. The king raised the general from the ground, embraced
and kissed him. Then the nobility hastened to pay their duty likewise,
and the Mayor and Aldermen of Dover presented him with a most loyal
address. And presently, with the roar of cannon, the clangour of bells,
the sound of music, and the shouts of a great multitude ringing in his
ears, the king advanced on his way towards Canterbury. At the gates
of this ancient city he was met by the mayor and aldermen, and was
presented by them with a golden tankard, Here he spent the following
day, which being Sunday, he went with a great train to the cathedral,
where service according to the Church of England, long disused by the
Puritans, was restored, to the satisfaction of many.
Setting out from Canterbury on Monday, the 29th of May--which was,
moreover, the anniversary of his birth--he journeyed to Blackheath,
where he reviewed the forces drawn up with great pomp and military
splendour to greet him, and bestowed many gracious expressions on them.
Then, having received assurances of their loyal homage through their
commander, Colonel Knight, he turned towards London town. And the nearer
he approached, the more dense became crowds thronging to meet him; the
fields on either side the long white road being filled with persons of
all conditions, who cheered him lustily. As he passed they flung leaves
of trees and sweet May flowers beneath his horse's feet, and waved green
boughs on high, And when he came to St. George's Fields, there was my
lord mayor in his robes of new velvet, wearing his collar of wrought
gold, and attended by his aldermen in brave apparel likewise. Going down
on his knees my lord mayor presented the king with the city sword, which
his majesty with some happy expressions of confidence gave back into his
good keeping, having first struck him with it upon the shoulder and bade
him rise up Sir Thomas Allen. Whereon that worthy man rose to his feet
and conducted the king to a large and richly adorned pavilion, and
entertained him at a splendid collation, it being then one of the clock.
And being refreshed his majesty set forth again, and entered the city,
which had never before shown so brave and goodly an appearance as on
this May day, when all the world seemed mad with joy.
From London Bridge even to Whitehall Palace the way was lined on one
side by the train-bands of the city, and on the other by the city
companies in their rich livery gowns; to which were added a number
of gentlemen volunteers, all in white doublets, commanded by Sir John
Stanel. Across the streets hung garlands of spring flowers that made the
air most sweet, and at the corners thereof were arches of white hawthorn
in full bloom, bedecked with streamers of gay colours. From wooden
railed balconies, jutting windows, and quaint gables hung fair
tapestries, rich silks, and stuffs of brilliant hues; and from the high
red chimneys, grey turrets, and lofty spires, floated flags bearing
the royal arms of England, and banners inscribed with such mottoes as
loyalty and affection could suggest. The windows and galleries
were filled with ladies of quality in bright dresses; the roofs and
scaffolding, with citizens of all classes, who awaited with eager and
joyous faces to salute their lord and king.
And presently, far down the line of streets, a sound was heard of
innumerable voices cheering most lustily, which every minute became
nearer and louder, till at last a blare of trumpets was distinguished,
followed by martial music, and the tramp and confusion of a rushing
crowd which suddenly parted on all sides. Then there burst on view the
first sight of that brave and glorious cavalcade to the number of twenty
thousand, which ushered the king back unto his own. First came a troop
of young and comely gentlemen, three hundred in all, representing the
pride and valour of the kingdom, wearing cloth of silver doublets and
brandishing naked swords which flashed in the sunlight. Then another
company, less by a hundred in number, habited in rich velvet coats,
their footmen clad in purple liveries; and next a goodly troop under the
command of Sir John Robinson, all dressed in buff coats with cloth of
silver sleeves, and green scarves most handsome to behold. These were
followed by a brave troop in blue doublets adorned with silver lace,
carrying banners of red silk fringed with gold. Then came trumpets, and
seven footmen in sea-green and silver liveries, bearing banners of blue
silk, followed by a troop in grey and blue to the number of two hundred
and twenty, and led by the most noble the Earl of Northampton. After
various other companies, all brave in apparel, came two trumpets bearing
his majesty's arms, followed by the sheriffs' men in red cloaks and
silver lace, and by a great body of gentlemen in black velvet coats with
gold chains. Next rode six hundred brave citizens, twelve ministers, the
king's life guards, led by Sir Gilbert Gerrard, the city marshals with
eight footmen, the city waits and officers, the sheriffs and aldermen in
scarlet gowns, the maces and heralds in great splendour, the lord mayor
carrying a naked sword in his strong right hand, the Duke of Buckingham,
and General Monk, soon to be created Duke of Albermarle.
Now other heralds sound their trumpets with blasts that make all hearts
beat quicker; church bells ring far louder than before; voices are
raised to their highest pitch, excitement reaches its zenith, for here,
mounted on a stately horse caparisoned in royal purple and adorned with
gold, rides King Charles himself; on his right hand his brother of York,
on his left his brother of Gloucester. Handkerchiefs are waved, flowers
are flung before his way, words of welcome fall upon his ear, in answer
to which he bows with stately grace, smiles most pleasantly, and gives
such signs of delight as "cheared the hearts of all loyal subjects
even to extasie and transportation." Last of all came five regiments of
cavalry, with back, breast, and head piece, which "diversified the show
with delight and terrour." John Evelyn stood in the Strand and watched
the procession pass, when that worthy man thanked God the king had
been restored without bloodshed, and by the very army that had rebelled
against him. "For such a restauration was never mention'd in any history
ancient or modern, since the returne of the Jews from the Babylonish
captivity; nor so joyfull a day and so bright ever seene in this nation,
this hapning when to expect or effect it was past all human policy."
For full seven hours this "most pompous show that ever was" wound its
way through the city, until at nine of the clock in the evening it
brought his majesty to the palace of Whitehall, where the late king had
"laid down his sacred head to be struck off upon a block," almost twelve
years before. Then the lord mayor and his aldermen took their goodly
leave, and the king entered into the banquet hall, where the lords and
commons awaited him, and where an address was made to him by the Earl
of Manchester, Speaker to the House of Peers, congratulating him on his
miraculous preservation and happy restoration to his crown and dignity
after so long and so severe a suppression of his just right and title.
Likewise his lordship besought his majesty to be the upright assertor of
the laws and maintainer of the liberties of his subjects. "So," said the
noble earl, "shall judgment run down like a river, and justice like a
mighty stream, and God, the God of your mercy, who hath so miraculously
preserved you, will establish your throne in righteousness and peace."
Then the king made a just and brief reply, and retired to supper and to
rest.
The worthy citizens, however, were not satisfied that their rejoicements
should end here, and "as soon as night came," says Dr. Bate, "an
artificial day was begun again, the whole city seeming to be one great
light, as, indeed, properly it was a luminary of loyalty, the bonfires
continuing till daybreak, fed by a constant supply of wood, and
maintained with an equal excess of gladness and fewel." Wine flowed from
public fountains, volleys of shot were discharged from houses of the
nobility, drums and other musical instruments played in the streets,
citizens danced most joyfully in open places, and the effigy of Cromwell
was burned, together with the arms of the Commonwealth with expressions
of great delight.