Chapter 24

[170]Sketches of the History of Literature and Learning in England, vol. i. p. 69. By Geo. L. Craik.[171]See Fosbroke. Dallaway’s Heraldic Enquiries.[172]Henniker, Norman Tiles.[173]Cowel, Mosaic Work, apud Fosbroke.[174]The Signor left the banks of the Wye the day after relating the preceding anecdote, or the narrator would have shared another experiment with him. “While at Derby, however, it is related that such was the wonderful power of his imitative faculties, that he far outsoared the violins when playing inalt, whose masters laid them down in the orchestra in astonishment at being so entirely eclipsed by a human voice. They next played a hunting song, in which the signor appeared to equal advantage. The rich and mellow tones of the French horn were as successfully imitated, as the still finer and more distinct ones of the violins; and in some shakes he quite enraptured his audience. They then played a full piece together, which was such a grand display of his talents, that the admiration and delight of his auditors could go no further—they seemed electrified by his powers.”[175]The river’s bank is here the haunt of otters, and the resort of herons and halcyon kingfishers. The rocky precipices abound in rabbits, foxes, weasels, martins, and polecats; whilst the more umbrageous parts afford protection to hedgehogs, dormice, and squirrels.—Thomas.[176]Ibid.[177]See view of the Refectory.[178]See view of the door leading into cloisters.[179]“The Beaufort Arms,” where the writer experienced much civility with moderate charges, is, unfortunately, too small to accommodate more than a party of three or four persons; but it is comfortable.[180]See page 38-62.[181]See page 33, passim.[182]See page 38-39, passim.[183]See page 65, passim.[184]Running across the neck of land, it shortens the distance between the Abbey and Tinterne Parva.[185]In this engraving, the modern iron gate which shuts up this passage, dividing the church from the cloisters, has beenintentionallyomitted, as not in harmony with the subject.[186]See page 52, passim.[187]Published by order of Parliament, 1827.[188]Acle, or Oakley, eleven miles east from Norwich, and situated near the Bure, on grounds which rise suddenly from the marshes below. The church, dedicated to St. Edmund, is a rectory, value £20.[189]Monast. ii. 724, v. 269.[190]Munimenta Antiqua, vol. iii. p. 250.[191]Munimenta Antiqua, vol. iii. p. 252.[192]Dugdale’s Baronage, vol. i. p. 327.[193]Munimenta Antiqua, vol. iii. p. 251.[194]By Gertrude, daughter of Manners, Earl of Rutland, his first wife, he had issue four sons and three daughters. His second wife was Elizabeth, widow of Sir William Cavendish, whose son Henry married the Lady Grace, one of the earl’s daughters by his first wife.[195]Messrs. Brayley and Britton: 1805. King, Whitelocke, Itinerary, and other sources.[196]The cut here inserted represents specimens of [supposed] ancient armour in the Gateway Tower.[197]Raglan, elegans comitis Wigorniæ Castellum, etc. Silur., p. 510.[198]Son of Thomas ap Gwillim ap Jenkin, by his wife Maud, daughter and heiress of Sir John Morley, Knt., Lord of Raglan Castle.[199]This gallant warrior fell by the side of his master, Henry V., at the battle of Agincourt.[200]Collins, vol. iii. 25, 27.[201]Robert Hillyard.[202]Speed, p. 858, 859. Which the reader may compare with Dugdale, p. 257; and Collins, vol. iii. p. 28, by whom the circumstances are somewhat differently stated. See also Hollinshed, p. 672.[203]The Herberts in former times were spread all over this county, and possessed several of its best estates and mansions; but, notwithstanding the immense possessions of this ancient family, yet it is very singular that there is not one landowner of £50 a year of the name of Herbert to be found in the whole county; although it must be allowed that the family ofJonesof Lanarth, is of an elder branch of the Earls of Pembroke.—Williams.[204]Grafton, vol. ii. p. 15, 16.[205]Whose mother and Henry Duke of Somerset were brother’s children.[206]At the Festival of the Virgin Mary, 1514.[207]See notice of Chepstow, ante, page 4.[208]See vol. i. of this work, art. Arundel Castle.[209]As stated by Collins—Mr. Thomas says, “at Raglan Castle; adding, ‘two headless and mutilated parts of alabaster statues of this nobleman and his lady, which are, alas, kicked about by every chance visitor to the church, alone remain of the magnificent tomb erected to their memory!’”—Raglan, p. 137.[When the Editor visited the place in August, 1848, the monument presented the same pitiable state of dilapidation—a bitter homily on the vanity of wealth, birth, and titles—yet in sad but perfect harmony with the desolation of the adjoining Castle.][210]Collins, 1768, vol. iii. p. 208.[211]Illustrations of British History, vol. i. p. 490.[212]Illustrations of British History, vol. i. p. 490, 491, ed. 1838.[213]History of England,Manners and Customs, book viii. chap. vi. p. 629.[214]Till the year 1627, it was customary in these two counties to have but one sheriff.[215]Charles Sackville was the direct descendant of the great Thomas Lord Buckhurst. Of his youth it is disgraceful enough to say, that he was the companion of Rochester and Sedley; but his mature life, like that of Sedley, was illustrated by public spirit, and his fortune enabled him to be a beneficent friend to men of genius. He attended the Duke of York as a volunteer in the Dutch war, and finished his well-known song, “To all you ladies now at land,” on the day before the sea-fight in which Opdam, the Dutch admiral, was blown up with all his crew:—“To all you ladies now at land,We men at sea indite;But first would have you understand,How hard it is to write;The Muses now, and Neptune too,We must implore to write to you.With a fa, la, la, la, la.“Should foggy Opdam chance to knowOur sad and dismal story;The Dutch would scorn so weak a foe,And quit their fort atGoree;For what resistance can they findFrom men who’ve left their hearts behind!With a fa, la, la, la, la.”—Campbell’s British Poets, p. 316.[216]Peck’s Curiosa.[217]Ibid.[218]Opus citatum in Pict. Hist. Engl., book vii. chap. vi. p. 629.[219]It was fortunate that, while the aristocracy were thus becoming more vitiated, the common people had become more temperate than formerly; but to this assertion Stow adds—“It was not from abstinence but necessity; ale and beer being small, and wines in price above their reach.” During the period of the Commonwealth, greater temperance in eating and drinking naturally prevailed, from the ascendancy of Puritan principles, which recommended simplicity and self-denial.—Manners and Customs, Pict. Hist.[220]Something like the court-suit of Prince Esterhazy.[221]Pictor. Hist. Engl., cit.Winwood, book vi. chap. vi. p. 630.[222]Harleian MS., quoted by Miss Aikin, in her ‘Memoirs of the Court of James I.’ This Lady Compton, who valued herself upon being “so reasonable,” was the daughter and sole heiress of Sir John Spencer, who was probably the wealthiest citizen of his time, as he died worth nearly a million sterling. He was called “The Rich Spencer.” Lord Compton, her husband, was so transported at his inheritance, that he went out of his wits, and remained in that condition for several years.—Winwood, quoted in the Pict. Hist. of England.[223]Osborne’s Memoirs of King James, in Pict. Hist. of Engl., book vii. chap. vi. p. 630.[224]Manners and Customs, Pict. Hist. of England.[225]Ibid.[226]History of England,Manners and Customs, quoting from “Peck’s Curiosa,” “Evelyn’s Diary,” “Strutt,” “Somers’ Tracts,” and “Court of King James.”[227]So much was swearing identified with loyalty, that Cromwell, after a skirmish with the Scottish horse at Musselburgh, sent word to the Parliament that the enemy had English cavaliers in their ranks,becausehe heard one of their wounded exclaiming with his last breath, “D—n me! I’m going to my King.”—Howel’s Letters, quoted in the History of England.[228]The woodcut here introduced represents theboar’s head—a favourite dish in the olden time—on its way from the kitchen to the banquet-room.[229]See notice of him in this work, art. “Chepstow Castle.”[230]Tour throughout South Wales and Monmouthshire, by J. T. Barber.[231]Bayly, p. 36-44.[232]Churchyard. See Wood’s “Rivers of Wales.”[233]Was it here that Henry Bolingbroke was confined, as traditionally believed?[234]The reader is probably aware that in certain churches, palaces, &c., obnoxious pictures and statues were treated in this manner by the soldiery; and hence the lamentable destruction of these works of Art, which were once the ornaments of the country.[235]See the Woodcut.[236]See Thomas’s Tinterne, p. 133.[237]See paper in the “Archæological Journal.”[238]See Description and Anecdote in a subsequent page of this Volume.[239]Archæolog. Journal, art. “Raglan Castle.”[240]Ibidem.[241]By removing the ivy from a portion of the great Hall, in the course of last autumn, another magnificent window has been brought into view; and by a similar course of discovery, other interesting features of baronial splendour will no doubt reappear.—[Note by Mr. G. May, “Warden” of the Castle, whose efforts to preserve what remains, and bring into view what is yet concealed of these noble ruins, is alike creditable to his taste and his industry.][242]This appears ungenerous. There seems no just ground for suspecting the Marquess of any motive incompatible with the most devoted loyalty.—See his own declaration in a subsequent page of this article.[243]Lord Clarendon’s Hist., vol. iii. p. 154, ed. 1706.[244]“Out of a window they (the rabble) killed Colonel Lawley, and two officers more, without hurting a common soldier.”—Clar. Hist.[245]Lord Clarendon’s Hist., vol. ii. p. 156, ed. 1706.[246]An allusion possibly to some design on the part of Charles to forsake rebellious London, and make York his capital; but more probably—as I am reminded by a correspondent—to an old prophetic saw in rhyme, viz.—“Lincolnwas, Londonis, and Yorkshall beThe greatest city of the three.”[247]Ubi Troja nunc seges.[248]Literally, having been created Marquess very recently.[249]This quaint phrase may mean two days or two months.[250]Thus the King had his money, and the poor Marquess was indulged with the royal conversation, which Dr. Bayly worked up into the “Certamen Religiosum,” a duodecimo of 232 pages.—Certamen Religiosum, p. 2-11, Lond. 1649.[251]In variety of wines, and the copious use of them, the wealthier classes of England in this age were not a whit behind their ancestors. The arrival of the Danish King and his courtiers in the reign of James, had greatly increased the national thirst; insomuch that it was observed, “The Danes have again conquered England!” In the reign of Charles the First theCavalierswere as little famed for temperance as the Courtiers of King James. The English followed also, very scrupulously, the Danish custom of drinking healths; and foreigners were astonished to find that when a company amounted to some twenty or thirty, it was still expected that every guest should drink the health of each in rotation. Such festivals, of course, inflamed the love of quarrel. Toasts were given which produced discussion, or refusal to drink them; and if the overheated parties did not immediately come to blows, still duels and bloodshed were the usual consequences. Sometimes, when a lady or an absent patron was toasted, the company pledged the toast upon their knees. Among other disgusting modes of drinking healths at this period, the toper sometimes mingled his own blood with the wine.—“Manners and Customs of England.”[252]Apophthegm 25, Bayly, p. 52.[253]Nothing can be more wondered at than that the King should amuse himself about forming a new army in counties which had been already vexed and worn by his own troops, and the licence of those governors whom he had put over them; and not have immediately repaired into the west, where he had an army already formed, and a people generally well devoted to his service; whither all his broken troops, and General Gerrard, might have transported themselves, before Fairfax could have given them any interruption.—Clarendon.[254]The branch of the Morgan family here mentioned, like that of Worcester, were devoted to the royal cause, and on all occasions evinced that unshrinking loyalty which added lustre to their descent. In the halls of Tredegar, as in Raglan Castle, Charles found an asylum—the only asylum, perhaps, that could then be a sure guarantee for his personal safety. The Morgan family was descended from the ancient princes of South Wales, and as much distinguished by its hospitality as its antiquity.[255]Sir Henry Ellis’s Orig. Lett., vol. iii. p. 310.[256]Grandfather of the famous Dean of St. Patrick’s.[257]Apophthegms.—See the formernote.[258]Among what are called “The King’s Pamphlets,” in the British Museum, the collection of which, begun by a Mr. George Thomason, and continued by order of King Charles the First, there is a single folio sheet printed at London, containing “Verseslately written by Thomas Earle of Strafford.”—Sir Henry Ellis’s “Original Letters” illustrative of English History, vol. iii. p. 238.[259]Of this disastrous event a sympathising French poet writes:—Tel qu’un lion forcé de repaire en repaire,En dépit des chasseurs regagne sa tanière.MaisCharles, en cet asile investi sans sécours,Ne pouvait s’y flatter que d’un frêle recours—Trop déplorable objet de tant de trahisons,Indigné, trainé de prisons en prisons,L’imfortuné Monarque, abreuvé de misères,Finit sur le billot ses destins sanguinaires.[260]See Thomas’s “Tinterne,” p. 78.[261]Rowland Williams of Llangibby was distinguished by royal favour, both in the reign of Queen Elizabeth and that of her successor, and in proof thereof received the honour of knighthood. His grandson, the Sir Trevor Williams here mentioned, in consideration of his loyal attachment to the interests of King Charles, was created a baronet on the 14th of May, 1642.[262]See Letter published by Mr. Thomas in his “Account of Raglan,”note23.[263]Stated by Rushworth, as only 1,500 men, while the garrison in the Castle amounted to 800 men.[264]Of this document the following is a copy:—“To our trusty and well-beloved Sir Thos. Glenham, Sir Thos. Tildesley, Col. H. Washington, Col. Tho. Blagge, Governors of our Cities and Towns of Oxford, Lichfield, Worcester, and Wallingford, and all other Commanders of any Towns, Castles, and Forts, in our Kingdome of England:—“Charles R.“Having resolved to comply with the desires of our Parliament in every thing which may be for the good of our subjects, and leave no means unessayed for removing all differences amongst us, therefore We have thought fit, the more to evidence the reality of our intentions of settling an happy and firm peace, to require you to quit those Towns, Castles, and Forts intrusted to you by us, and to disband all the Forces under your several commands.“Newcastle, the 10th June, 1646.”[265]The Marquess, like many other royalists, considered that the King was under restraint; and that it was hisdutyto disobey the royal orders for surrender. In fact, Charles himself had written to the Queen that he was in durance in the hands of the barbarous and perfidious Scots; and that she, his son, and all his faithful counsellors, were to regard every order from him, C. R., as forced or surreptitious. The Marquess, therefore, regarded the document with well-grounded suspicion, and took exception to his Majesty’s warrant, because, while it specified others, it did not name him or his Castle.—Hist. of Engl., Civ. and Milit. Transact.p. 356.[266]It is worthy of remark, that Sir Thomas Fairfax, on his arrival, does not so much continue the siege already commenced by Colonel Morgan, as begin a new siege by a new summons. It was thought, perhaps, that the Marquess would be more disposed to surrender his Castle to a man of General Fairfax’s rank than to Colonel Morgan; and from what follows, the opinion was not without foundation.[267]A prohibition, by-the-by, which the noble owner and his royal master do not seem to have applied to themselves.—SeeCertamen Religiosum.[268]“An exact and true Relation of the many several Messages that have passed between his Excellency Sir Thomas Fairfax and the Marquess of Worcester, Governor of Raglan Castle, touching the Surrender thereof: Together with a Copy of the Propositions sent to the General from the Marquess of Worcester out of Raglan Castle, and his Excellency’s Refusal to treat on them: Also, the Names your Commissioner appointed to treate with the Enemy upon the Propositions sent to them from the Generall. Certified in a Letter to a Member of the Honourable House of Commons, on Tuesday, August 18th, 1646, and commanded to be forthwith printed and published. London. 1646.”[269]Fairfax was encamped on a rising ground north of the Castle, which commanded the whole line of the fortress occupied by the Marquess of Worcester.[270]It is deserving of notice, that the communication above quoted was ordered by the House of Commons to be made public the moment it was received, although it describes very frankly all the plans and difficulties of the besieging army. In other cases it would probably have formed the substance of a secret despatch.[271]An account precisely similar to that quoted is given in the “Mercurius Civicus—London’s Intelligencer; or, Truth impartially related from thence to the whole Kingdom, to prevent misinformation. From Thursday, August 13, to Thursday, August 20, 1646.” This singular-looking gazette, determined it would seem on impartiality of honours, ornaments its title-page with a likeness of Sir Thomas Fairfax, faced by that of King Charles.[272]Part of this building remains, with the date 1616. In the parish church of Llandenny, is a monument of Roger Oates of Kevantilla, who died 1706, ætatis 67.[273]“History of England,” Charles I. p. 607.[274]Among the gentlemen who took part with him in the defence was Sir Harry Killigrew, of whose melancholy fate Clarendon gives some interesting particulars.—Clarendon, part ii. p. 39, ed. 1706; also, vol. v. p. 40.[275]“In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made, each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats.”—Isaiah ii. 20.[276]Dr. Henry Edwards, author of “History of the Siege of Jerusalem.”—Archæol. Journ., vol. i. p. 112.[277]“Thomas’s Tinterne,” p. 158.[278]From lines ascribed to Lord Strafford.—Sir Henry Ellis’s“Original Letters,” vol. iii.[279]“Tout est perdu, horsl’honneur.”[280]Carlyle’s “Cromwell:” [quoting Hist. of Independ. London, 1683-5.][281]See description of this walk,antep. 158.[282]London, 1650; a thin folio volume.[283]Douay, 1654.[284]Quoting from Sacred Writ.[285]“Guide to Piety.”[286]A small volume with this title: “Worcester’s Apophthegms; or, Witty Sayings of the Right Honourable Henry (late) Marquess and Earle of Worcester, delivered upon several occasions, and now published for the benefit of the reader, by T. B., a constant observer and no less admirer of his Lordship’s wisdom and loyalty. 1650.”[287]Seeantepage 175, the King’s letter to Glamorgan.[288]This, in some degree, explains the strong motives by which the Marquess was actuated in his devotion to the King.[289]On the coffin was this inscription, engraved on a brass plate:—“Depositum illustrissimi principis Edwardi, Marchionis et Comitis Wigorniæ, Comitis de Glamorgan, Baronis Herbert de Raglan, Chepstow, et Gower, nec non serenissimo nuper Domino Regi Carolo Primo, South Walliæ locum tenentis, qui obiit apud Lond., tertio die Apriles, An. Dom.MDCLXVII.”

[170]Sketches of the History of Literature and Learning in England, vol. i. p. 69. By Geo. L. Craik.

[171]See Fosbroke. Dallaway’s Heraldic Enquiries.

[172]Henniker, Norman Tiles.

[173]Cowel, Mosaic Work, apud Fosbroke.

[174]The Signor left the banks of the Wye the day after relating the preceding anecdote, or the narrator would have shared another experiment with him. “While at Derby, however, it is related that such was the wonderful power of his imitative faculties, that he far outsoared the violins when playing inalt, whose masters laid them down in the orchestra in astonishment at being so entirely eclipsed by a human voice. They next played a hunting song, in which the signor appeared to equal advantage. The rich and mellow tones of the French horn were as successfully imitated, as the still finer and more distinct ones of the violins; and in some shakes he quite enraptured his audience. They then played a full piece together, which was such a grand display of his talents, that the admiration and delight of his auditors could go no further—they seemed electrified by his powers.”

[175]The river’s bank is here the haunt of otters, and the resort of herons and halcyon kingfishers. The rocky precipices abound in rabbits, foxes, weasels, martins, and polecats; whilst the more umbrageous parts afford protection to hedgehogs, dormice, and squirrels.—Thomas.

[176]Ibid.

[177]See view of the Refectory.

[178]See view of the door leading into cloisters.

[179]“The Beaufort Arms,” where the writer experienced much civility with moderate charges, is, unfortunately, too small to accommodate more than a party of three or four persons; but it is comfortable.

[180]See page 38-62.

[181]See page 33, passim.

[182]See page 38-39, passim.

[183]See page 65, passim.

[184]Running across the neck of land, it shortens the distance between the Abbey and Tinterne Parva.

[185]In this engraving, the modern iron gate which shuts up this passage, dividing the church from the cloisters, has beenintentionallyomitted, as not in harmony with the subject.

[186]See page 52, passim.

[187]Published by order of Parliament, 1827.

[188]Acle, or Oakley, eleven miles east from Norwich, and situated near the Bure, on grounds which rise suddenly from the marshes below. The church, dedicated to St. Edmund, is a rectory, value £20.

[189]Monast. ii. 724, v. 269.

[190]Munimenta Antiqua, vol. iii. p. 250.

[191]Munimenta Antiqua, vol. iii. p. 252.

[192]Dugdale’s Baronage, vol. i. p. 327.

[193]Munimenta Antiqua, vol. iii. p. 251.

[194]By Gertrude, daughter of Manners, Earl of Rutland, his first wife, he had issue four sons and three daughters. His second wife was Elizabeth, widow of Sir William Cavendish, whose son Henry married the Lady Grace, one of the earl’s daughters by his first wife.

[195]Messrs. Brayley and Britton: 1805. King, Whitelocke, Itinerary, and other sources.

[196]The cut here inserted represents specimens of [supposed] ancient armour in the Gateway Tower.

[197]Raglan, elegans comitis Wigorniæ Castellum, etc. Silur., p. 510.

[198]Son of Thomas ap Gwillim ap Jenkin, by his wife Maud, daughter and heiress of Sir John Morley, Knt., Lord of Raglan Castle.

[199]This gallant warrior fell by the side of his master, Henry V., at the battle of Agincourt.

[200]Collins, vol. iii. 25, 27.

[201]Robert Hillyard.

[202]Speed, p. 858, 859. Which the reader may compare with Dugdale, p. 257; and Collins, vol. iii. p. 28, by whom the circumstances are somewhat differently stated. See also Hollinshed, p. 672.

[203]The Herberts in former times were spread all over this county, and possessed several of its best estates and mansions; but, notwithstanding the immense possessions of this ancient family, yet it is very singular that there is not one landowner of £50 a year of the name of Herbert to be found in the whole county; although it must be allowed that the family ofJonesof Lanarth, is of an elder branch of the Earls of Pembroke.—Williams.

[204]Grafton, vol. ii. p. 15, 16.

[205]Whose mother and Henry Duke of Somerset were brother’s children.

[206]At the Festival of the Virgin Mary, 1514.

[207]See notice of Chepstow, ante, page 4.

[208]See vol. i. of this work, art. Arundel Castle.

[209]As stated by Collins—Mr. Thomas says, “at Raglan Castle; adding, ‘two headless and mutilated parts of alabaster statues of this nobleman and his lady, which are, alas, kicked about by every chance visitor to the church, alone remain of the magnificent tomb erected to their memory!’”—Raglan, p. 137.[When the Editor visited the place in August, 1848, the monument presented the same pitiable state of dilapidation—a bitter homily on the vanity of wealth, birth, and titles—yet in sad but perfect harmony with the desolation of the adjoining Castle.]

[When the Editor visited the place in August, 1848, the monument presented the same pitiable state of dilapidation—a bitter homily on the vanity of wealth, birth, and titles—yet in sad but perfect harmony with the desolation of the adjoining Castle.]

[210]Collins, 1768, vol. iii. p. 208.

[211]Illustrations of British History, vol. i. p. 490.

[212]Illustrations of British History, vol. i. p. 490, 491, ed. 1838.

[213]History of England,Manners and Customs, book viii. chap. vi. p. 629.

[214]Till the year 1627, it was customary in these two counties to have but one sheriff.

[215]Charles Sackville was the direct descendant of the great Thomas Lord Buckhurst. Of his youth it is disgraceful enough to say, that he was the companion of Rochester and Sedley; but his mature life, like that of Sedley, was illustrated by public spirit, and his fortune enabled him to be a beneficent friend to men of genius. He attended the Duke of York as a volunteer in the Dutch war, and finished his well-known song, “To all you ladies now at land,” on the day before the sea-fight in which Opdam, the Dutch admiral, was blown up with all his crew:—“To all you ladies now at land,We men at sea indite;But first would have you understand,How hard it is to write;The Muses now, and Neptune too,We must implore to write to you.With a fa, la, la, la, la.“Should foggy Opdam chance to knowOur sad and dismal story;The Dutch would scorn so weak a foe,And quit their fort atGoree;For what resistance can they findFrom men who’ve left their hearts behind!With a fa, la, la, la, la.”—Campbell’s British Poets, p. 316.

“To all you ladies now at land,We men at sea indite;But first would have you understand,How hard it is to write;The Muses now, and Neptune too,We must implore to write to you.With a fa, la, la, la, la.“Should foggy Opdam chance to knowOur sad and dismal story;The Dutch would scorn so weak a foe,And quit their fort atGoree;For what resistance can they findFrom men who’ve left their hearts behind!With a fa, la, la, la, la.”—Campbell’s British Poets, p. 316.

“Should foggy Opdam chance to knowOur sad and dismal story;The Dutch would scorn so weak a foe,And quit their fort atGoree;For what resistance can they findFrom men who’ve left their hearts behind!With a fa, la, la, la, la.”—Campbell’s British Poets, p. 316.

[216]Peck’s Curiosa.

[217]Ibid.

[218]Opus citatum in Pict. Hist. Engl., book vii. chap. vi. p. 629.

[219]It was fortunate that, while the aristocracy were thus becoming more vitiated, the common people had become more temperate than formerly; but to this assertion Stow adds—“It was not from abstinence but necessity; ale and beer being small, and wines in price above their reach.” During the period of the Commonwealth, greater temperance in eating and drinking naturally prevailed, from the ascendancy of Puritan principles, which recommended simplicity and self-denial.—Manners and Customs, Pict. Hist.

[220]Something like the court-suit of Prince Esterhazy.

[221]Pictor. Hist. Engl., cit.Winwood, book vi. chap. vi. p. 630.

[222]Harleian MS., quoted by Miss Aikin, in her ‘Memoirs of the Court of James I.’ This Lady Compton, who valued herself upon being “so reasonable,” was the daughter and sole heiress of Sir John Spencer, who was probably the wealthiest citizen of his time, as he died worth nearly a million sterling. He was called “The Rich Spencer.” Lord Compton, her husband, was so transported at his inheritance, that he went out of his wits, and remained in that condition for several years.—Winwood, quoted in the Pict. Hist. of England.

[223]Osborne’s Memoirs of King James, in Pict. Hist. of Engl., book vii. chap. vi. p. 630.

[224]Manners and Customs, Pict. Hist. of England.

[225]Ibid.

[226]History of England,Manners and Customs, quoting from “Peck’s Curiosa,” “Evelyn’s Diary,” “Strutt,” “Somers’ Tracts,” and “Court of King James.”

[227]So much was swearing identified with loyalty, that Cromwell, after a skirmish with the Scottish horse at Musselburgh, sent word to the Parliament that the enemy had English cavaliers in their ranks,becausehe heard one of their wounded exclaiming with his last breath, “D—n me! I’m going to my King.”—Howel’s Letters, quoted in the History of England.

[228]The woodcut here introduced represents theboar’s head—a favourite dish in the olden time—on its way from the kitchen to the banquet-room.

[229]See notice of him in this work, art. “Chepstow Castle.”

[230]Tour throughout South Wales and Monmouthshire, by J. T. Barber.

[231]Bayly, p. 36-44.

[232]Churchyard. See Wood’s “Rivers of Wales.”

[233]Was it here that Henry Bolingbroke was confined, as traditionally believed?

[234]The reader is probably aware that in certain churches, palaces, &c., obnoxious pictures and statues were treated in this manner by the soldiery; and hence the lamentable destruction of these works of Art, which were once the ornaments of the country.

[235]See the Woodcut.

[236]See Thomas’s Tinterne, p. 133.

[237]See paper in the “Archæological Journal.”

[238]See Description and Anecdote in a subsequent page of this Volume.

[239]Archæolog. Journal, art. “Raglan Castle.”

[240]Ibidem.

[241]By removing the ivy from a portion of the great Hall, in the course of last autumn, another magnificent window has been brought into view; and by a similar course of discovery, other interesting features of baronial splendour will no doubt reappear.—[Note by Mr. G. May, “Warden” of the Castle, whose efforts to preserve what remains, and bring into view what is yet concealed of these noble ruins, is alike creditable to his taste and his industry.]

[242]This appears ungenerous. There seems no just ground for suspecting the Marquess of any motive incompatible with the most devoted loyalty.—See his own declaration in a subsequent page of this article.

[243]Lord Clarendon’s Hist., vol. iii. p. 154, ed. 1706.

[244]“Out of a window they (the rabble) killed Colonel Lawley, and two officers more, without hurting a common soldier.”—Clar. Hist.

[245]Lord Clarendon’s Hist., vol. ii. p. 156, ed. 1706.

[246]An allusion possibly to some design on the part of Charles to forsake rebellious London, and make York his capital; but more probably—as I am reminded by a correspondent—to an old prophetic saw in rhyme, viz.—“Lincolnwas, Londonis, and Yorkshall beThe greatest city of the three.”

“Lincolnwas, Londonis, and Yorkshall beThe greatest city of the three.”

[247]Ubi Troja nunc seges.

[248]Literally, having been created Marquess very recently.

[249]This quaint phrase may mean two days or two months.

[250]Thus the King had his money, and the poor Marquess was indulged with the royal conversation, which Dr. Bayly worked up into the “Certamen Religiosum,” a duodecimo of 232 pages.—Certamen Religiosum, p. 2-11, Lond. 1649.

[251]In variety of wines, and the copious use of them, the wealthier classes of England in this age were not a whit behind their ancestors. The arrival of the Danish King and his courtiers in the reign of James, had greatly increased the national thirst; insomuch that it was observed, “The Danes have again conquered England!” In the reign of Charles the First theCavalierswere as little famed for temperance as the Courtiers of King James. The English followed also, very scrupulously, the Danish custom of drinking healths; and foreigners were astonished to find that when a company amounted to some twenty or thirty, it was still expected that every guest should drink the health of each in rotation. Such festivals, of course, inflamed the love of quarrel. Toasts were given which produced discussion, or refusal to drink them; and if the overheated parties did not immediately come to blows, still duels and bloodshed were the usual consequences. Sometimes, when a lady or an absent patron was toasted, the company pledged the toast upon their knees. Among other disgusting modes of drinking healths at this period, the toper sometimes mingled his own blood with the wine.—“Manners and Customs of England.”

[252]Apophthegm 25, Bayly, p. 52.

[253]Nothing can be more wondered at than that the King should amuse himself about forming a new army in counties which had been already vexed and worn by his own troops, and the licence of those governors whom he had put over them; and not have immediately repaired into the west, where he had an army already formed, and a people generally well devoted to his service; whither all his broken troops, and General Gerrard, might have transported themselves, before Fairfax could have given them any interruption.—Clarendon.

[254]The branch of the Morgan family here mentioned, like that of Worcester, were devoted to the royal cause, and on all occasions evinced that unshrinking loyalty which added lustre to their descent. In the halls of Tredegar, as in Raglan Castle, Charles found an asylum—the only asylum, perhaps, that could then be a sure guarantee for his personal safety. The Morgan family was descended from the ancient princes of South Wales, and as much distinguished by its hospitality as its antiquity.

[255]Sir Henry Ellis’s Orig. Lett., vol. iii. p. 310.

[256]Grandfather of the famous Dean of St. Patrick’s.

[257]Apophthegms.—See the formernote.

[258]Among what are called “The King’s Pamphlets,” in the British Museum, the collection of which, begun by a Mr. George Thomason, and continued by order of King Charles the First, there is a single folio sheet printed at London, containing “Verseslately written by Thomas Earle of Strafford.”—Sir Henry Ellis’s “Original Letters” illustrative of English History, vol. iii. p. 238.

[259]Of this disastrous event a sympathising French poet writes:—Tel qu’un lion forcé de repaire en repaire,En dépit des chasseurs regagne sa tanière.MaisCharles, en cet asile investi sans sécours,Ne pouvait s’y flatter que d’un frêle recours—Trop déplorable objet de tant de trahisons,Indigné, trainé de prisons en prisons,L’imfortuné Monarque, abreuvé de misères,Finit sur le billot ses destins sanguinaires.

[259]Of this disastrous event a sympathising French poet writes:—

Tel qu’un lion forcé de repaire en repaire,En dépit des chasseurs regagne sa tanière.MaisCharles, en cet asile investi sans sécours,Ne pouvait s’y flatter que d’un frêle recours—Trop déplorable objet de tant de trahisons,Indigné, trainé de prisons en prisons,L’imfortuné Monarque, abreuvé de misères,Finit sur le billot ses destins sanguinaires.

[260]See Thomas’s “Tinterne,” p. 78.

[261]Rowland Williams of Llangibby was distinguished by royal favour, both in the reign of Queen Elizabeth and that of her successor, and in proof thereof received the honour of knighthood. His grandson, the Sir Trevor Williams here mentioned, in consideration of his loyal attachment to the interests of King Charles, was created a baronet on the 14th of May, 1642.

[262]See Letter published by Mr. Thomas in his “Account of Raglan,”note23.

[263]Stated by Rushworth, as only 1,500 men, while the garrison in the Castle amounted to 800 men.

[264]Of this document the following is a copy:—“To our trusty and well-beloved Sir Thos. Glenham, Sir Thos. Tildesley, Col. H. Washington, Col. Tho. Blagge, Governors of our Cities and Towns of Oxford, Lichfield, Worcester, and Wallingford, and all other Commanders of any Towns, Castles, and Forts, in our Kingdome of England:—“Charles R.“Having resolved to comply with the desires of our Parliament in every thing which may be for the good of our subjects, and leave no means unessayed for removing all differences amongst us, therefore We have thought fit, the more to evidence the reality of our intentions of settling an happy and firm peace, to require you to quit those Towns, Castles, and Forts intrusted to you by us, and to disband all the Forces under your several commands.“Newcastle, the 10th June, 1646.”

[264]Of this document the following is a copy:—

“To our trusty and well-beloved Sir Thos. Glenham, Sir Thos. Tildesley, Col. H. Washington, Col. Tho. Blagge, Governors of our Cities and Towns of Oxford, Lichfield, Worcester, and Wallingford, and all other Commanders of any Towns, Castles, and Forts, in our Kingdome of England:—

“Charles R.

“Having resolved to comply with the desires of our Parliament in every thing which may be for the good of our subjects, and leave no means unessayed for removing all differences amongst us, therefore We have thought fit, the more to evidence the reality of our intentions of settling an happy and firm peace, to require you to quit those Towns, Castles, and Forts intrusted to you by us, and to disband all the Forces under your several commands.

“Newcastle, the 10th June, 1646.”

[265]The Marquess, like many other royalists, considered that the King was under restraint; and that it was hisdutyto disobey the royal orders for surrender. In fact, Charles himself had written to the Queen that he was in durance in the hands of the barbarous and perfidious Scots; and that she, his son, and all his faithful counsellors, were to regard every order from him, C. R., as forced or surreptitious. The Marquess, therefore, regarded the document with well-grounded suspicion, and took exception to his Majesty’s warrant, because, while it specified others, it did not name him or his Castle.—Hist. of Engl., Civ. and Milit. Transact.p. 356.

[266]It is worthy of remark, that Sir Thomas Fairfax, on his arrival, does not so much continue the siege already commenced by Colonel Morgan, as begin a new siege by a new summons. It was thought, perhaps, that the Marquess would be more disposed to surrender his Castle to a man of General Fairfax’s rank than to Colonel Morgan; and from what follows, the opinion was not without foundation.

[267]A prohibition, by-the-by, which the noble owner and his royal master do not seem to have applied to themselves.—SeeCertamen Religiosum.

[268]“An exact and true Relation of the many several Messages that have passed between his Excellency Sir Thomas Fairfax and the Marquess of Worcester, Governor of Raglan Castle, touching the Surrender thereof: Together with a Copy of the Propositions sent to the General from the Marquess of Worcester out of Raglan Castle, and his Excellency’s Refusal to treat on them: Also, the Names your Commissioner appointed to treate with the Enemy upon the Propositions sent to them from the Generall. Certified in a Letter to a Member of the Honourable House of Commons, on Tuesday, August 18th, 1646, and commanded to be forthwith printed and published. London. 1646.”

[269]Fairfax was encamped on a rising ground north of the Castle, which commanded the whole line of the fortress occupied by the Marquess of Worcester.

[270]It is deserving of notice, that the communication above quoted was ordered by the House of Commons to be made public the moment it was received, although it describes very frankly all the plans and difficulties of the besieging army. In other cases it would probably have formed the substance of a secret despatch.

[271]An account precisely similar to that quoted is given in the “Mercurius Civicus—London’s Intelligencer; or, Truth impartially related from thence to the whole Kingdom, to prevent misinformation. From Thursday, August 13, to Thursday, August 20, 1646.” This singular-looking gazette, determined it would seem on impartiality of honours, ornaments its title-page with a likeness of Sir Thomas Fairfax, faced by that of King Charles.

[272]Part of this building remains, with the date 1616. In the parish church of Llandenny, is a monument of Roger Oates of Kevantilla, who died 1706, ætatis 67.

[273]“History of England,” Charles I. p. 607.

[274]Among the gentlemen who took part with him in the defence was Sir Harry Killigrew, of whose melancholy fate Clarendon gives some interesting particulars.—Clarendon, part ii. p. 39, ed. 1706; also, vol. v. p. 40.

[275]“In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made, each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats.”—Isaiah ii. 20.

[276]Dr. Henry Edwards, author of “History of the Siege of Jerusalem.”—Archæol. Journ., vol. i. p. 112.

[277]“Thomas’s Tinterne,” p. 158.

[278]From lines ascribed to Lord Strafford.—Sir Henry Ellis’s“Original Letters,” vol. iii.

[279]“Tout est perdu, horsl’honneur.”

[280]Carlyle’s “Cromwell:” [quoting Hist. of Independ. London, 1683-5.]

[281]See description of this walk,antep. 158.

[282]London, 1650; a thin folio volume.

[283]Douay, 1654.

[284]Quoting from Sacred Writ.

[285]“Guide to Piety.”

[286]A small volume with this title: “Worcester’s Apophthegms; or, Witty Sayings of the Right Honourable Henry (late) Marquess and Earle of Worcester, delivered upon several occasions, and now published for the benefit of the reader, by T. B., a constant observer and no less admirer of his Lordship’s wisdom and loyalty. 1650.”

[287]Seeantepage 175, the King’s letter to Glamorgan.

[288]This, in some degree, explains the strong motives by which the Marquess was actuated in his devotion to the King.

[289]On the coffin was this inscription, engraved on a brass plate:—“Depositum illustrissimi principis Edwardi, Marchionis et Comitis Wigorniæ, Comitis de Glamorgan, Baronis Herbert de Raglan, Chepstow, et Gower, nec non serenissimo nuper Domino Regi Carolo Primo, South Walliæ locum tenentis, qui obiit apud Lond., tertio die Apriles, An. Dom.MDCLXVII.”

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