This first note made the Princess quite giddy: she kissed it a hundred times, and then by the same hand sent her artless, rapturous reply. Always inclined more to love than to be wise, and forgetting in a moment the counsel and warning of governesses, preceptors, chaplains, step-mother and sister, she gave herself over to a correspondence which, had it fallen into malicious hands, might well have been enough to ruin her. Over the course of that hot Windsor summer, some dozen quires-worth of love-notes were exchanged, and countless more amorous looks; that most accomplished gentleman sent besides this settings for songs, which he had composed himself – he said – and which the delighted Princess spent many hours playing over and over on guitar and harpsichord until she had them by heart and had quite driven her ladies to distraction with the tedium of hearing them; and of course, he sent poems, poems in praise of her charms and virtues, poems declaring his adoration, poems lamenting the many obstacles that lay in the way of his making love to her, and, on at least one occasion, a poem to excuse his faults:
Inconstancy Excused
I must confess I am untrue
To Gloriana’s eyes;
But he that’s smiled upon by you
Must all the world despise.
In winter, fires of little worth
Excite our dull desire;
But when the sun breaks kindly forth,
Those fainter flames expire.
Then blame me not for slighting now
What I did once adore;
Oh, do but this one change allow,
And I can change no more:
Fixt by your never-failing charms,
Till I with age decay,
Till languishing within your arms
I sigh my soul away.
Alas for Gloriana and her Inconstant Admirer, this delightful scene was never to be realised beyond the page. The lovers and their go-between were betrayed: there were about the Princess a tight group of ladies, and among them were several with heads considerably cooler, and judgement considerably keener, than that of Mrs Cornwallis, and one of these, perhaps perceiving dangers that her mistress could not, and also perhaps seeking a means of removing from her household a lady whose company she believed could do the Princess no good, and whose foolish gabbling she feared would drown out her own, better counsel, took it upon herself to retrieve certain of the Princess’s letters from her closet, and to discover them to the Duke and Duchess.
The Duke’s rage, on perusal of these letters, might easily be imagined. A couple he tore at once to shreds, the rest he threw to the ground, first demanding his daughter, her so-called friend and her would-be lover be sent for at once, then changing his mind and declaring that they all be banished from his sight for he could not bear to run but the slightest danger of ever laying eyes on any one of them ever again. He lamented that the Earl, whom he had himself loved and trusted, should do him such a shabby turn as to seek to make love to his daughter – his own daughter – for no child of his would be married to a commoner, nor would any son-in-law of his be served a buttered bun on his wedding night. The Duchess, observing his condition, suggested that perhaps she had better talk to the Princess alone, and the Duke – once he had satisfied himself by kicking the discarded correspondence across the floor – agreed that this course would probably be the wisest.
The Princess was duly summoned to her step-mother’s closet, where a most uncomfortable interview took place, which quite mortified both ladies, and left each with such a disagreeable impression of the other, that there could thereafter never be more than the pretence of familiarity between them. The Duchess informed her step-daughter that her Mrs Cornwallis was to be sent at once from Court, never to return, and would not, despite entreaties, discover to the Princess the name of her betrayer, only maintaining, that this nameless lady – whoever she was – had already proved herself a truer friend than that other, who had sought only to urge her mistress on to folly, and thereby to gain from it herself.
And as if all this were not trouble enough for the Princess, she was further discomforted, first by a letter from her sister in Holland, who showed, in her disapproval, that the news of her near-disgrace had travelled overseas, and then by the revelation that the story of thwarted love had also been spread about nearer to home, about the Court, and thence to the populace at large, to whom it had been represented in the crudest terms, in verses quite different from those with which she had been wooed:
Come all ye youths that yet are free
From Hymen’s deadly snare;
Come listen all and learn of me,
And keep my words with care.
For all of you it much concerns,
That would lead quiet lives,
And have no mind to purchase horns,
Take heed of London wives.
For it’s full true, though it’s full sad,
There’s ne’er a lass in town
But some or other lusty lad
Has blown her up and down.
And first and foremost Princely Nan
Heirs both her parents’ lust,
And Mulgrave is the happy man
by whom our breed is crossed.
This happy man, meanwhile, made his submission to the King, protesting that he had been ‘only ogling’, but the monarch (who might well have had sympathy, in his secret heart, for any adventurous gentleman) did what he was only duty-bound to do when the virtue of his royal niece had been threatened, by stripping the hapless Mulgrave of all his Court offices, and sending him back to Tangiers, on a frigate less than seaworthy. The Earl, if truth be told, was not too sorry to have to leave Court for a while, if only because he no longer had to endure the taunts and satires of his fellow wits, who had dubbed him ‘King John’ for his supposed ambition, and for his foolishness, ‘Numps’.
With the Earl and Mrs Cornwallis thus safely disposed of, the attention of the King and his brother turned to the fate of the Princess. They faced the difficult task of finding for her a prince who would be both Protestant and acceptable to Cousin Louis, but happily for them all, there was one prince – perhaps only one – suitable for the purpose. This was the younger brother of Louis’s ally, the King of Denmark, one Prince George, a noted soldier, and twelve years’ the Princess’s senior. He was a large, fair man, good-natured if somewhat shy, and the Princess was delighted with him – even more so, when she was told that he would reside with her at her uncle’s Court, so she need not, as her sister had, lose home and friends in exchange for a husband. The Duke was pleased to see his daughter happily settled at last; both he and the King were greatly relieved at having found a way, through her alliance, to placate Cousin Louis; Louis rejoiced to have disobliged William; William, for his part, was incensed.
Part III
His Majesty’s Declaration to all His Loving Subjects
On the 28th of July, the day of Anne’s marriage to George, the King issues a Declaration, appointed to be read in all Churches and Chapels within the Kingdom, concerning the lately discovered Treasonable Conspiracy against his Sacred Person and Government.
It has been His Observation that for several years last past, a Malevolent Party has made it their business to promote Sedition by False News, Libellous Pamphlets and other wicked arts, whereby they endeavoured not only to render his Government Odious to the People, but also to incite them to a Dislike and Hatred of his own Royal Person. It was evident that the aim of this Party could only be the Ruin of the King and his Government; that even as he, by his utmost Care, manifested to all his Subjects his Zeal for the Maintenance of the Protestant Religion and his Resolution to Govern according to Law, they continued to misrepresent his actions to the People, so that the weaker Sort came to look upon them as the best Defenders of their Religion and Liberties.
Their Numbers increased, and their Boldness, so that they showed themselves in Tumults and Riots, and Unlawf
ul and Seditious Conventicles. But it pleased God, by these their Violent Ways, to open the Eyes of His good Subjects, who easily foresaw what Trouble these Methods would produce, so that then this Fractious Party, observing that they were losing Ground daily, became Desperate, and resolved not to Trust any longer to the slow Methods of Sedition, but to betake themselves to Arms.
It is hard to imagine how men of so many different Interests and Opinions, could join in any Enterprise; but it is certain, they readily concurred in the Resolution of taking Arms to destroy the Government, even before they had Agreed what to set up in the place of it. To which purpose, Some contrived a General Insurrection in this Kingdom and likewise in Scotland; Others were conspiring to assassinate his Royal Person, and his Dearest Brother, and to massacre the Magistrates of his City of London, and his Officers of State.
It is certain, that, with so many Differences among them, if it had pleased God to permit these wicked Designs to have taken Effect, there could have been nothing in Prospect for the Kingdom but Confusion. But the Divine Providence, which has preserved the King through the whole Course of His Life, has at this time in an Extraordinary manner, showed itself in the Wonderful and Gracious Deliverance of Him and His Dearest Brother and all His Loyal Subjects from this Horrid and Damnable Conspiracy.
The Principal and main Designs of it have appeared to be as follows: about the beginning of October last, there was a Meeting of Some of the Principal Conspirators to Agree about the best means to master His Guards and to seize His Person. They found it necessary also to prepare their Friends in the Several Counties, and in Scotland to join with them.
At the same time, Some Villains were likewise carrying on that Horrid and Execrable Plot of Assassinating His Royal Person and His Dearest Brother in their Return from Newmarket at March last. The Place Appointed was the House of one Richard Rumbold, called the Rye, near Hoddesdon in the County of Hertford. It was resolved that the Forty Persons who were to be Actors in this Assassination, under the Command of the said Richard Rumbold, should hide themselves in or near the said House; And when His Coach should come over against them, then Three or Four were to shoot with Blunderbusses at the Postillion and Horses. Others were appointed to shoot into the Coach, where His Royal Person, and His Dearest Brother, were to be; Others to fire upon the Guards that should be Attending them.
And it was further resolved, that on that same Day, many Lords, and other Persons of Quality, whom they supposed favourable to their Designs, should be invited to Dine in His City of London, that they might be more ready to appear among the Citizens upon Arrival of the News. And lest His Officers of State, and the Magistrates of His said City, with the Militia thereof, and other Loyal Subjects, should be able to put some stop to their Careers, they resolved to follow this Blow with a Massacre.
But it pleased Almighty God, by His Wonderful Providence, to defeat their Counsels by the sudden Fire at Newmarket, which necessitated the return of the King and His Dearest Brother from thence before the time they had appointed.
Yet the Villains were not thereby discouraged from pursuing the same Bloody Design, but resolved to take the first Opportunity for effecting the same, wherever it might be done. And that they might be better prepared, when there should be occasion, they kept Arms always ready for that purpose; they divided the Cities of London and Westminster into Twenty Parts, from each of which they expected Five Hundred Men to be ready at the first Onset; these were to be under the Command of One Hundred Old Officers, who had been engaged in the late Rebellion.
The late Earl of Shaftesbury, who had pressed them to a Sudden Rising, which he would have had before the 17th of November last, upon finding that they would not adventure without farther Preparation, conveyed himself secretly into Holland, to avoid the danger he might be in by a Discovery.
The Party were by no means discouraged by this, however, and appointed a new Counsel of Six Persons; and they made a Treaty with Archibald Campbell, late Earl of Argyle, so that the Design might be carried on jointly in both Kingdoms. These Six then debated among themselves whether the Rising should be first in London, or in some remote parts; it was resolved at last that it should be in all parts at the same time.
And this Design was very near taking effect, but such was the Abundant Mercy of Almighty God, a Discovery was made unto the King by one of the Accomplices, on the Twelfth of June last; since which time He has used the best Means He could for the Detecting and Prevention of so Hellish a Conspiracy.
But so it has happened, that divers of the Conspirators, having notice of Warrants Issued for their Apprehension, are fled from Justice; Viz. James Duke of Monmouth, the Lord Melvin, Sir John Cochrane, Sir Thomas Armstrong, Robert Ferguson, Richard Goodenough, Francis Goodenough, Richard Rumbold, William Rumbold his brother . . . [the Declaration lists divers others].
Ford Lord Gray being apprehended, made his Escape out of the hands of a Serjeant at Arms, and Arthur late Earl of Essex, being Committed to the Tower for High Treason, killed himself.
Others have been taken and Committed to Custody, some of whom, Viz. the Lord William Russell, Thomas Walcott, William Hone, and John Rowse, have upon their Trials been Convicted, Attainted, and Executed according to Law.
This the King thought fit to make known to His Loving Subjects that they being sensible (as He is) of the Mercy of God in this Great Deliverance, may Devoutly join with Him in returning Solemn Thanks to Almighty God for the Same.
For which end He does hereby appoint the Ninth day of September next, to be observed as a day of Thanksgiving in all Churches and Chapels within this His Kingdom of England, Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick upon Tweed.
The Prince and Princess of Denmark
Anne is now Princess of Denmark, but only in name and in marriage, and her Prince is very nearly the only Dane in their Whitehall lodgings. This has not been easy to accomplish, but there are hopes that, with Lord Churchill’s help, the Duke will succeed in having Von Plessen, the Prince’s secretary, sent home to Copenhagen and replaced with Lady Churchill’s brother-in-law, so that they might all be quite comfortably English together. The Prince, who is allowed his Lutheran religion, unimpeded in his inquiries into wine, and frequently encouraged into his new wife’s bed, is not a man to complain. He is not a man to say much of anything, and as he does not seem to expect Anne to fill any silences, they go on beautifully together. It is only a few months since their wedding, and already the felicity of their marriage is a byword. Whomever she meets, whether dancing at Court, or riding in the Park, or playing cards in the Duchess of Portsmouth’s rooms, or watching the play at the theatre, or coming out of Chapel, asks Anne, most respectfully, how she does, and in the way their eyes flit so quickly and discreetly from her face to her middle, she perceives the question behind the question.
She has been married only a few weeks when she begins to have an inkling of an answer: tea has acquired a new, not very pleasant flavour; she feels a tenderness in her breasts when her bodice is laced, and more and more she finds herself yawning over her cards in the afternoons. There have even been a couple of occasions in Chapel, when a visiting preacher has been more than usually verbose, on which Anne has felt her eyelids beginning to droop and her head to fall forward, so that she has had to jerk it up again and make a great show of looking about her, if only to make the whispering subside. So far the only people who know that she has missed her monthly courses are herself, the Prince, Lady Churchill and of course Danvers, who has the closest care of Anne’s person, and cannot have failed to have counted the weeks since she last helped her change a clout.
Anne has chosen to tell Lady Churchill because she is her dearest friend, the favourite Lady of her newly appointed Bedchamber, and she would never scruple to tell her anything. Strictly speaking, she should tell her First Lady and Groom of the Stool, but Lady Clarendon was the Duke’s choice, not hers, and Anne suffers her company only when it cannot be avoided. As she has
told Lady Churchill, it is vexing indeed to get rid of one Hyde aunt only to have her replaced by another, and to be free of the strictures and the haughtiness of the former, only to find herself plagued with the prosing of the latter, who looks like a madwoman and talks like a scholar – characteristics which, Anne maintains, agree all too well together.
Anne’s Maids of Honour
‘Truly we have all had a surfeit of your sullen faces today.’ Lady Churchill is scolding the Maids of Honour. ‘No doubt our company is dreadfully dull, but you might at least have the grace not to show it.’ The Maids – Mrs Drummer, Mrs Temple, Mrs Talbot, Mrs Nott – hang their pretty heads and say nothing. ‘What? Silence? Is that all? If I were you I would make my submission to Her Highness.’
The Maids exchange frantic looks, then, after some silent agreement has been reached, the boldest of them, Mrs Nott, rises, curtsies to Anne and offers, ‘Please forgive us, Your Highness. We are indeed weary today but we promise to try harder.’ She makes a motion behind her and the others rise and curtsy in their turn.
‘Oh, do sit down again,’ Anne says. ‘I cannot say I blame you for finding us dull today. I am sure you had expected to ride, or play cards as usual.’
She does feel a little sorry for the Maids, but she has endured two successive nights of heavy losses at the Duchess of Portsmouth’s table, and is now in a penitent mood, which her household must share in. Before dinner, she heard the catechism of a couple of the as-yet-unconfirmed younger servants, a task she would usually leave to her chaplains, and now, after dinner, she, Lady Clarendon, Lady Churchill and the Maids are spending a rare afternoon at their work. Lady Churchill is prettifying a child’s smock with point-lace; Lady Clarendon is working an elaborate pattern in fine gold thread onto a piece of satin, the better to adorn the binding of some enormous book or other; the Maids have been given a great, tangled pile of threads that Lady Churchill has discovered in a press, and told by her to make themselves useful and sort it through. It is a task better suited to little girls than to hopeful young ladies, and Anne cannot wonder that they should find it irksome.
A Want of Kindness Page 11