noblemen and gentry on their arrival. The King was delighted to receive them safe and well. During the afternoon he returned with his queen to Windsor, while the duke and duchess went to St. James's. In the evening there were great popular rejoicings.

The royal brothers appear to have been on excellent terms, and the two courts very intimate.

Charles, in order to please the Duke of York and in gratitude for Colonel Churchill's services, created him a peer with the title of Baron Churchill of Ayemouth in Scotland.

The duke and duchess spent this summer at Windsor, going back to St. James's in August, where Mary Beatrice gave birth to a daughter, who was named Charlotte Mary. The next day Charles visited her, and returned to Windsor the same evening with his brother. The rest of the month was spent by them in hunting, going backwards and forwards to London, and attending races both at Datchet and Winchester.

Charles was very fond of tennis, which he played with great skill; generally either Lord Feversham, Lord Churchill, or Mr. Godolphin was his opponent. Very little is heard of Queen Catherine at this time. She led a very retired life, but on one occasion her household gave her a picnic in Windsor Forest; each member brought a dish, "Lady Bath a chine of beef, Mrs. Windham a venison pasty, Mrs. Hall two dozen 'ruffs and reeves and delicat baskets of fruit,' Mr. Chinning, on his daughter's behalf, twelve dozen of choice wine. The Queen was much pleased and very merry." In the letter giving the above information we learn that the Duchess of York "lykes Bartholemew Fair so well she hath bin at (it) againe incognito on Friday." was then eighteen years of age.

She

1 Rutland MSS., H.M.C.

Ꭰ

Early the following year a great fête was given at Gray's Inn on Candlemas Day. About a week before the event Sir Richard Gipps, attended by his revellers and a number of the nobility in their coaches and six, went in great state to Whitehall to invite the King and his court to a "mask," which invitation Charles graciously accepted. The whole court attended the entertainment, dancing being kept up till a late hour, after which there was a superb banquet.1

Although there is no apparent record of Sarah having attended the several diversions here mentioned, there is no reason to doubt her being there. At this time she was a person of no particular importance beyond being the intimate friend and attendant of the Princess Anne; but a change in her circumstances was about to take place.

It was during this summer that the princess married. When Prince George of Denmark arrived in the King's barge from Greenwich, he first "waited" on his Majesty at Whitehall, who received him in his bedchamber. The Duke of York then called on his future son-in-law, after which Prince George' paid his respects to the Queen, who "had a chair covered in tapestry" set ready for him. Later the prince "waited" at St. James's on the Duchess of York, saluting her cheek. Finally he was received by Princess Anne, but "again little conversation passed on either side." Although slightly marked with small-pox, Prince George had a pleasing countenance, somewhat grave. He was ten years older than Anne, had travelled much, was fond of hunting and country pursuits, and possessed about £10,000 a year.

In the midst of the usual court gaieties, on February 2, exactly two years after the mask at Gray's Inn, Charles

1 Luttrell's" Brief Historical Relation."

was taken ill of a fit of apoplexy. He lay unconscious for some time, reviving under the heroic remedies applied by fourteen doctors, who bled him frequently, searing his head with hot irons, and thrusting strong smelling-salts into his mouth. He lived four days after this treatment, and suffered such agony that his poor neglected wife could not bear the sight, and was carried senseless from the room.

The night before he died, he recommended the Duchess of Portsmouth and her boy to James's care, adding, "And do not let poor Nelly starve."

The Queen excused herself for not appearing, as she was unable to endure the sight of suffering, and she implored pardon for any offence she unwittingly might have given. "She asks my pardon, poor woman!” cried Charles; "I ask hers with all my heart." In his last hours he begged his brother to send for a priest. Huddleston, who had risked his life to save his royal master's after the Battle of Worcester, was once more called upon to run a grave risk. He was secretly introduced into the King's chamber, received his confession, and admitted him into the Church of Rome. Before noon on February 6, Charles was dead. The news of his death came as a surprise not unmixed with consternation. He had been popular with the common people, who had frequently seen him strolling in St. James's Park, feeding his ducks and playing with his spaniels. They had no love for his brother.

Immediately the King had breathed his last, the gates at Whitehall were shut. The Duchess of Portsmouth, knowing her unpopularity, thought it prudent to take refuge, with most of her valuables, at the French ambassador's. It was reported that she would not be allowed to leave the country until she had discharged her debts, which were numerous; also it was expected she would

return the crown jewels Charles had given her. The Duchess of Portsmouth had received for eleven years a pension of £8,600 a year.

It is not wonderful that Charles had suffered from shortness of money when one reads, "Lady Portsmouth hath a new debt of £30,000, must be paid instantly."

CHAPTER III

UNDER JAMES II

(1685-1688)

"He went like one that had been stunned.

And is of sense forlorn,

A sadder and a wiser man

He rose the morrow morn.”

JAMES'S coronation took place on the 23rd of April, when the crown, not fitting properly, was in danger of falling off. Henry Sidney, Keeper of the Robes, kept it firm, saying humorously, "This is not the first time our family have supported the Crown." The untoward incident was much commented upon and considered a bad omen. It certainly detracted from the solemnity of the occasion. The night following the coronation a ball was given at Whitehall, while fireworks were displayed and the town illuminated. Lord Churchill was shortly sent by James on a special embassy to Louis XIV., to announce his brother's death and his own accession to the throne.

James had always been unpopular on account of his religion, but he soon managed to estrange all parties. The loyalty of his Protestant subjects was early put to the proof. While still heir presumptive he heard mass privately, but as king he threw open the doors of the chapel at Whitehall to the public for services of the Roman Catholic faith, whilst priests and monks were seen openly in the streets in the uniform of their Orders. At the present day toleration for another's faith is in