THE Curious Case of Lady Purbeck Is Here Pre S Sented Without Embelli Hment, Much As It Has Been F Old Ound in Old Books and Manuscripts, Chieﬂy at The

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I 909

P R E F A C E

THE curious case of Lady Purbeck is here pre s sented without embelli hment, much as it has been f old ound in Old books and manuscripts, chieﬂy at the

e f u m R cord O ﬁce and at the British M seu . Readers

“ ” n ot to - must expect ﬁnd any well drawn characters,

” ” “ u or r a ﬁne descriptions, local colo r , d amatic t lent,

a on Dr - - in these p ges , each of which Mr. y as dust

of will be encountered . Possibly some writer ﬁction, endowed with able hands directed by an imaginative

ma a c mind , y some day produce readable roman e f - rom the rough hewn matter which they contain but,

’ as their au thor s object has been to tell the story

to u as simply, as it has come down us and , as m ch

to i of e was possible , let the contemporar es the heroin

ow n a to tell it in their words, he has ende voured

own own an d suppress his imagination , his emotions,

He e ow n . his Opinions , in writing it has the pleasur of acknowledging mu ch useful assistance and kind

r encouragement in this little work from Mr . Walte

Herries Pollock.

C O N T E N T S

CHAPTER I . PAC 8 — — Sir Edward Coke -Lady Elizabeth Hatton Bacon Marriage of Coke — and Lady Elizabeth Birth of the Herome

I I CHAPTER .

— Rivalry of Coke and Bacon "uarrellin g between Coke and Lady — ‘ — Eli zabeth Coke oﬁen ds the Kin g an d loses his ofﬁces Letter of Bacon to C oke

CHAPTER III .

' C oke tries to regai n the favour of Buc kin gham an d the Kin g by oﬁerin g — — his daughter to Sir J oh n Villiers An ger of Lady Eli zabeth Lady Elizabeth steals away with her daughter

IV CHAPTER .

‘ — Coke besieges his wife and carries oh his daughter Coke and Winwood E z an d acon— C ar es and cou n te - 0 . Lady li abeth B h g r charges

R V CHAPTE .

— Lady Eli zabeth tries to recover her daughter Her scheme for a match

e een F nces Co e and the E a of x fo — acon ﬁn n b tw ra k rl O rd B , di g that he has offen e o uc n am an d the n u n s oun an d d d b th B ki gh Ki g, t r r d — — favours the match with Villiers Tri al of Lady Ex eter Imprison ’ ment of Lady Eli zabeth at an Alderman s house

V II CONTENTS

C v1 HAPTER .

PAGE

— — mes Fran ces is tortured into con sent The marriage Lady Elizabeth co — ’ in to royal favour an d Coke falls out of it Lady Elizabeth s dinner — party to the Kin g Carleton an d his wife quarrel about her

II CHAPTER V .

— B uckin gham ennobles his own family Villiers becomes Lord Purbeck Purbeck and the Countess of Buckingham become Catholics Rumours that Purbeck is insane

C V HAPTER III .

— — — The in sani ty questi on "uite s an e Thought in san e again Letter — — from Lady Purbeck t o Buc kin gham Birth of Robert Wright Sir Robert Howard

C IX HAPTER .

Proceedin gs in stituted again st Sir Robert Howard an d Lady Purbeck ’ Buckin gham s con espon dence about them with hi s lawyers ’ an e the n s mus c an — uc n am accuses a Pu ec L i r, Ki g i i B ki gh L dy rb k f af — Dr am e— a an d wi c af o witc hcr t . L b L ud tch r t

C X HAPTER .

— Trial of Lady Purb ec k before the High Commission The sen ten ce — — — Archbishop Laud The Ambassador of Savoy Escape Clun — Some of our other characters Lady Purbeck goes to Stoke P ogis — to take care of her father Death of Coke

C I HAPTER X .

— — Lady Purbeck goes to Lon don Laud Arrest of Lady Purbeck an d Sir ‘ — — Robert How ard "uestion of her virtue at that time Lord Dan by — — — Guernsey Paris Sir Robert Howard turns the tables on Laud — Chan ges of religion CONTENTS

XII CHAPTER . PAGE — — Lady Purbec k in Paris The En glish Ambassador Servin g a — — Lady P urbeck at a conven t Sir Ken elm Digby His letter about — Lady Purbeck Lady Purbeck returns to En glan d

X II CHAPTER I . — Lord Purbeck takes Lady Purbeck back again as his wife He acknow — ledges Rob ert Wright as his ow n son Death of Lady Purbeck — — Retrospect of her life and character Her descen dan ts Claims to the title of Viscoun t Purbeck

1 C H A PT E R .

A e s a ance ft r thi lli ,

Let e s ma c bin ds an d o es tig r t h with , w lv with sheep, ” An d e e c ea u e cou e i f v ry r t r pl with ts oe. Y EN DR D .

THE political air of E ngland w as highly charged with electricity . Queen Elizabeth , after quarrelling with

of her lover , the Earl Essex , had boxed his ears “ severely and told him to go to the devil where upon he had left the room in a rage , loudly exclaim ing that he would not have brooked such an insult from her father, and that much less would he tolerate it from a king in petticoats . This well -known incident is only mentioned to give an idea of the period of English history at

is which the following story makes its start . It not, however , with public , but with private life that we are to be here concerned ; nor is it in the Court of the Queen , but in the humbler home of her Attorney

General , that we must begin . In a humbler , it is

. At true , yet not in a very humble home ; for Mr torney Coke had inherited a good estate from his father , had married an heiress , in Bridget Paston , who brought him the house and estate Of Hunting " ff ﬁeld Hall , in Su olk , together with a large fortune in r 2 TH E CURIOUS CASE OF LADY P URBECK hard cash and he had a practice at the Bar which had w as never previously been equalled . Coke in great

a th of I 8 sorrow , for his wife had died on the 7 June , 59 , and such was the pomp with which he determined to bury her, that her funeral did not take place until the

h - a4t Of July . In his memorandum book he wrote on the day Of her death Most beloved and most excellent wife, she well and happily lived, and , as a true handmaid Of the Lord , fell asleep in the Lord ” n and ow reigns in Heaven . Bridget had made good

of she use her time, for, although died at the age of - thirty three, she had , according to Burke , seven children but , according to Lord Campbell , ten . im As Bridget was reigning in Heaven , Coke mediately began to look about for a substitute to ﬁll the throne which she had left vacant upon earth .

Youth , great personal beauty and considerable wealth , thought this broken -hearted widower at the age

- for Of forty six, would be good enough him , and the weeks since the true handmaid of the Lord had left him desolate were only just beginning to blend into months , when he ﬁxed his mind upon a girl

to . He likely fulﬁl his very moderate requirements , a widower , naturally sought a widow , and , happily , he

. for found a newly made one Youth she had, she was only twenty ; beauty she must have had in a

for on e of remarkable degree, she was afterwards the lovely girls selected to act with the Queen of James ’ M as ue o B t I . in Ben Jonson s q f eau y ; and wealth she of had in the shape immense estates . FRANCIS BACON 3

- Elizabeth , grand daughter of the great Lord ’ of Bur hle s son Burghley , and daughter g y eldest

of Thomas Cecil, some years later Earl Exeter , had been married to the nephew and heir of Lord Chan

l r Not c el o Hatton . very long after her marriage her husband had died , leaving her childless and pos sessed of the large property which he had inherited hi from s uncle . This young widow w as a woman not only of high birth , great riches , and exceptional beauty , but also of remarkable wit , and , as if all this

she were not enough , had , in addition , a violent temper and an obstinate will . This Coke found out in her conduct respecting a daughter who eventually

f r o ou . became Lady Purbeck, the heroine little story Romance was not wanting in the Attorney

’ General s second wooing ; for he had a rival , whom Lord Campbell in his L ives of Me de “ a brie ﬂess scribes as then barrister , but with bril ” of -ﬁv e liant prospects , a man thirty , who happened ’ as to be Lady Elizabeth s cousin . H is name w

Francis Bacon , afterwards Lord Chancellor , Baron

Verulam , Viscount St . Albans , and the author Of the N ozmm O rgmm m as well of a host of other works , including essays on almost every conceivable subject . In the opinion of certain people, he was also the author of the plays commonly attributed to o n e William Shakespeare . This rival was good k w as loo ing, had a charming manner, and brilliant

his of w as in conversation , while range subjects

w hereas almost unlimited , the wooer in whom we it 1 4 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

f w as take such an af ectionate interest , wrinkled , dull ,

- - narrow minded , unimaginative , selﬁsh , over bearing, arrogant , illiterate, ignorant in almost everything ex

w as cept jurisprudence , of which he the greatest oracle then living, and uninterested in everything

x e cept law , his own personal ambition , and money making. Shortly before Coke had marked the young and lovely Lady E lizabeth Hatton for his own , Bacon had

his o not only paid court to her in person , but had als to persuaded his great friend and patron , Lord Essex,

x use his inﬂuence in inducing her to marry him . E sse

so for did to the very best of his ability, a kind service which Bacon afterwards repaid him after he had fallen — w e have seen that his star was already in its de — b ff cadence y making every e ort, and successful

ff to e ort , to get him convicted of treason , sentenced

d . eath , and executed Which of these limbs of the law was the beautiful heiress to select " She showed no inclination to

she w as s marry Francis Bacon , and backed up in thi

. d disinclination by her relatives, the Cecils The hea

’ of that family , Lord Burghley , Queen E lizabeth s

his Lord H igh Treasurer, was particularly proud of

ad second son , Robert , whom he had succeeded in v an cin an d g by leaps bounds until he had become. Secretary of State ; and Burghleyand the rest of his family feared a dangerous rival to Robert in the brilliant Bacon , who had already attracted the notice , and was apparently about to receive the patronage, A PRO POSAL A T A FUN ERA L

f o the Court . If Bacon should marry the famous

of beauty and become possessed her large fortune,

w as there no saying, thought the Cecils , but that he might attain to such an exalted position as to put

ow n their precocious Robert in the shade . Bridget had n ot been in her grave four months w hen the great Lord Burghley died . Coke attended his funeral , and a funeral being obviously a ﬁtting occasion on which to talk about that still more dreary ceremony , a wedding, Coke took advantage of it to broach the question of a marriage between himself a n d Lady Elizabeth Hatton . He broached it both t o her father , the new Lord Burghley , and to her W uncle , the much more talented Robert . hatever their astonishment may have been , each of these

Cecils promised to offer no Opposition to the match . They probably reﬂected that the Attorney - General

his was a man in a powerful position , and that , with own great wealth combined with that of Lady E liza

of beth Hatton, he might possibly prove service to the Cecil family in the future .

u How the match , proposed nder such conditions ,

u six came abo t , history does not inform us, but, within

’ months of Bridget s funeral , her widower embalmed her memory by marrying E lizabeth Hatton, a girl

ﬁfteen years her junior. If any writer possessed of imagination should choose to make a novel on the foundation of this

his simple story , he may describe to readers how the

- in c ross grained and unattractive Coke contrived to 6 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY P URBECK duce the fair Lady Elizabeth Hatton to accept him f r o a husband . The present writer cannot say how

w as for this miracle worked , the simple reason that he does not know . One incident in connection with the marriage, however , is a matter of history . E lizabeth w as not sufﬁciently proud of her prospective bride groom to desire to stand beside him at a wedding

f a n d be ore a large, fashionable , critical assemblage in a London church . If he would have her at all , she insisted that he must take her in the only way in n which he could get her, namely, by a clandesti e marriage, in a private house , with only two or three witnesses.

w as Now , if there one thing more than another in which Mr . Attorney Coke lived and moved and had

w as f his being , it the law , to all of enders against which he w as an object of terror ; and such a great lawyer must have been fully aware that , by making a clandestine marriage in a private house , he would render himself liable to the greater excommunication , whereby , in addition to the minor annoyance of being debarred from the sacraments , he might forfeit the whole of his property and be subjected to perpetual imprisonment . To make matters worse , Archbishop Whitgift had just issued a pastoral letter to all the bishops in the province of Canterbury , condemning marriages in private houses at unseasonable hours , and forbidding under the severest penalties any

or marriage , except in a cathedral in a parish church , during the canonical hours , and after proclamation of

8 THE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK and all sorts of gaiety ; she delighted in admiration and loved to be surrounded by young gallants who had served in the wars under Sydney and Essex , and who could flatter her with apt quotations from the verses of Spenser and Surrey . The husband , on the i contrary , detested everyth ng in the form of fun and

ex frolic , loved nothing but law and money , loathed t rava an ce of g and cared for no society , except that

- middle aged barristers and old judges . As might

- be expected , the union of this singularly ill assorted

n e couple was a most unhappy o . Indeed it was a case of “ ’ at ome tis s ead as a e h t f t h t , " 1 An d on e etern al t empest O f debate.

O f Within a year their marriage , that is to say in

1 as 599 , Lady E lizabeth Hatton , she still called her

a . self, had daughter Here again Burke and Lord

Campbell are at variance . Burke says that by this m arriage Coke had two daughters , Elizabeth , who d ied unmarried , and Frances , our heroine ; whereas Lord Campbell says that Frances w as born within a y ear O f their marriage and makes no mention of any

E lizabeth . It is pretty clear , from subsequent events ,

she that , if there was an E lizabeth , must have died very young, and that Frances must have been born almost as soon as was possible after the birth of her 2 elder sister .

’ 1 o Youn g s L ve of Fame. 2 Most O f the matter in this chapter has been taken from The

’ Lives o tire Gaza ustices o En land b o n Lo f f j f g , y J h , rd Camp

I n t mes . Lon n M be . wo o u do : o n u a 1 8 V . ol I . ll v l J h rr y , 49 , , p .

I . 2 se a . V I 3 9 a , Ch p THE HEROINE 9

The beginning of ou r heroine may make the end

n ot of our chapter. In the next she will be seen at

re all ; but , as will duly appear , the events therein corded had a great— it might almost be said a sup

— in u n reme ﬂ e ce on her fortunes . 1 C H APTE R 1 .

Now a ed is b far h n u e h tr y t e lo gest pleas r , M en e in as e u sure. lov h t , b t they detest at lei

B an uan x i 16 . j , ii ,

IV S R AL in love, rivals in law , rivals for place, Coke and Bacon , while nominally friends, were implacable ff enemies , but they sought their ends by di erent I methods . When James . had ascended the throne ,

' Bacon began at once to seek his favour ; but Coke

n o took trouble whatever for that purpose , and he was n ot even introduced to the royal presence until

n . several weeks after the accessio Bacon , then a

K . C held no Ofﬁce during the ﬁrst four years of the new reign ; but his literary fame and his skilful ad v ocac of y at the Bar excited the jealousy Coke . On on e occasion , Coke grossly insulted him in the Court of : At or Exchequer , whereupon Bacon said Mr . t

ou o u n ot ney , I respect y but I fear y ; and the less

ou of ow n y speak your greatness , the more I will ” “ : think of it . Coke angrily replied I think scorn to of ou h stand upon terms greatness towards y , w o — ” are less than little less than the least . Lord Campbell says that Sir Edward Coke’s

to to w ho a arrogance the whole Bar , and all p TORT URE

roached n ow f p him , became almost insuf erable , and “ that his demeanour was particularly offensive to — “ hi . s his rival Bacon As to prisoners , brutal conduct brought permanent disgrace upon him self and upon the E nglish Bar . When Sir Walter

his Raleigh was being tried for life , but had not yet been “ found guilty , Coke said to him Thou art the most vile and execrable traitor that ever lived . I want

f o i r words su ﬁcient t express thy v p ous treasons . When Sir Everard Digby confessed that he deserved the vilest death , but humbly begged for mercy and some moderation of justice , Coke told him that he ought “ rather to admire the great moderation and

of mercy the King, in that , for so exorbitant a crime , n o new torture answerable thereto was devised to be ” tliat as to inﬂicted upon him , and , his wife and children , he ought to desire the fulﬁlment of the words of the Psalm Let his wife be a widow and his children vagabonds : let his posterity be de stroyed , and in the next generation let his name be ” ’ quite put out . According to Lord Campbell , Coke s arrogance of demeanour to all mankind is u n paralleled .

of Towards the end of the reign Elizabeth , Coke , as - Attorney General , had had another task well suited to x his taste , that of e amining the prisoners stretched

on . x the rack , at the Tower Volumes of e aminations ’ of prisoners under torture , in Coke s own handwriting, f are still preserved at the State Paper O ﬁce , which , “ f his says Campbell , su ﬁciently attest zeal , assiduity 12 TH E CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK and hard -heartedness in the service He scrup u lou sly attended to see the proper degree of pain in

ﬂic d - te . Yet this severe prosecutor , bitter advocate a n d x cruel e aminer , became a Chief Justice of tolerable c in ourtesy , moderate severity , and unimpeachable

r teg ity . If he had everything his own way in the criminal court and the torture chamber , Coke did not ﬁnd

hi T o his wishes altogether unopposed in s family .

f O f begin with, he suf ered the perpetual insult the refusal on the part of his wife to be called by his n ame . If her ﬁrst husband had been of higher rank, it might have been another matter : but both were h only knig ts , and it was a parallel case to the widow

she Jones , after had married Smith , insisting upon “ still calling herself Mrs . Jones . Lady Elizabeth de 1 “ fended her conduct on this point as follow s ' I returned this answer : that if Sir Edward Cooke would bury my ﬁrst husband accordin ge to his own directions , and also paie such small legacys as he

all comin e n o gave to divers of his friends , in g t to

00 00 w as n above 7 or A9 , at the most that left u

’ be all performed , having Sir William Hatton s goods

lands to a large proportion , then would I willingly hi s . stile myself by name But he never yielded , so

d to I consente not the other . Whether Hatton ’ o r w as Coke , as an Earl s daughter she Lady Eliza w beth , by which name alone let us kno her .

l ' d ar d k z r E w Co e B H. l e o St . . Woolr f f y W ych. Lon don

- T . 8 26 a e 1 . 1 8 . J . W . Cl rk , , pp 45 4 STOKE PO GIS

Campbell states that , after the birth of Frances, “ Sir Edward and Lady E lizabeth lived little together , although they had the prudence to appear to the world to be on decent terms till the heiress was marriage able Coke had been astute enough to secure a

f - di com ortable country house , at a very convenient s

tance from London , through Lady E lizabeth . Her

Po is ladyship had held a mortgage upon Stoke g , a place that belonged formerly to the Earls of Hun l t in don g , and Coke , either by foreclosing or by selling,

of obtained possession the property . As it stood but

or to three four miles the north of Windsor, the situa 2 ’ w as tion excellent . Sir Edward s London house

w as f O f olborn in the then ashionable quarter H , a place to which dwellers in the city used to go for change of 3 As air . Coke and his wife generally quarrelled when 4 n together , the husband was usually at Holborn whe

’ w ee-vers w as ei . the wife at Stoke , and It w as almost impossible that Miss Frances should

’ 1 t and An ti ui tie o tii e o s fl is or s C . o B ucks Lipscomb y q f f ,

8 . l . 8 Vo . 1 4 7, . IV , p 54 2 Gray made the churchyard of Stoke Pogis the scen e of his

an d he was bu ed e e in 1 1 . famous Elegy, ri th r 77 3 V . n L n n r V l X I A c e o o do . a o . E ney . B i , rti l 4 ' Lady Elizabeth s house in Holborn was called Hatton House . “ Ha n A D om ames I . 1 u 1 62 2 sa s Lad o S P . letter ( , J , 3 th J ly, ) y y tt

u s in Ho bo n to the Duke of Len n ox for sells her ho e l r , “ A ua 1 628 sa s a Lad Ha on n e e ih. a6th eb oth r lett r ( F r ry, ) y th t y tt complain ed so m uch of her bargain with the Duchess of Richmon d

n Hous a the Du c ess has a en her at her o d for Hatto e, th t h t k w r

an s e eb she oses 1 0 0 a ea an d and left it on her h d , wh r y l , 5 y r, ”

ﬁn e . 14 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

not notice the strained relations between her parents . Nothing could have been much worse for the educa tion of their daughter than their constant squabblin gs

she f and , unless dif ered greatly from most other daughters , she would take advantage of their mutual antipathies to play one against the other , a pleasing pastime, by means of which young ladies , blessed with quarrelsome parents, often obtain permissions and other good things of this world , which otherwise they would have to do without . Lady E lizabeth found a friend and a sympathiser in her domestic worries . Francis Bacon , the former

of lover her fortune , if not of her person , became her consoler and her counsellor . Let not the reader sup pose that these pages are so early to be sullied by a scandal . Nothing could have been farther from re proach than the marital ﬁdelity of Lady Elizabeth , but it must have gratiﬁed Bacon to annoy the man

or who had crossed and conquered him in love , in what masqueraded under that name , by fanning the ﬂames of Lady Elizabeth ’s ﬁery hatred against her

. ow n husband Hitherto , Coke had had it all his way . He had snubbed and insulted Bacon in the law courts , and he had snatched a wealthy and beautiful

his heiress from grasp . The wheel of fortune was to now about take a turn in the Opposite direction .

16 1 1 About the year , King James entertained the

as idea of reigning an absolute sovereign . Archbishop

Bancroft ﬂattered him in this notion , and suggested

“ that the King ought to have the privilege of judging

16 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

of otherwise , cannot change any part the common ” law , or statute law , or the customs of the realm .

This still further aggravated James .

- Meanwhile Bacon , now Attorney General , was

’ w as high in the King s favour , and he constantly manoeuvring in order to bring about the downfall of his rival . He persuaded James to remove Coke ’ — from the Common Pleas to the King s Bench a promotion , it is true , but to a far less lucrative post . This greatly annoyed Coke , who , on meet

' “ ing Bacon , said Mr . Attorney , this is all your

his doing. For a time Coke counteracted fall in

’ James s favour by giving to a Ben ev o lence , which the King had asked for the pressing

of to necessities the Crown , a benevolence which the other judges contributed only very small sums .

w as of n This fair weather , however , not to be lo g duration .

16 16 f In Coke again of ended the King. Bacon had declared his opinion that the King could pro bibit the hearing of any case in which his p reroga tive was concerned . In the course of a trial which shortly afterwards took place, Bacon wrote to the “ ’ judges that it w as his Majesty s express pleasure that the farther argument of the said cause be put ’ off till his Majesty s farther pleasure be known ” upon consulting him . I n a reply , drawn up by

Coke and signed by the other judges , the King “ w as told that we have advisedly considered of f o . n the said letter Mr Attorney , and with o e GEORGE VILLI ERS consent do hold the same to be contrary to law , and such as we could not yield to by ou r oaths .

James was furious . H e summoned the judges t o Whitehall and gave them a tremendous scolding . They fell on their knees and all were submissive ex

“ cept Coke , who boldly said that obedience to his Majesty ’s command would have been a delay of s justice, contrary to law , and contrary to the oath of the judges . Although Coke w as now in terrible disgrace at

f of Court , he might have retained his o ﬁce Chief

for Justice , if he would have sanctioned a job Villiers , the new royal favourite . George Villiers , a young

of - man twenty four , since the fall of the Earl of Somerset had centralised all power and patronage in

ow n his hands . The chief clerkship in the Court of ’ w as King s Bench , a sinecure worth a year , falling vacant , and Villiers wished to have the disposal f f o . f w as o n it The o ﬁce in the gift Coke , and , whe Bacon asked that its gift should be placed in the

of V hands illiers , Coke ﬂatly refused and thus offended the most powerful man in England . Nothing then became bad enough for Coke and nothing in

Coke could be good . H is reports of cases were

to carefully examined by Bacon , who pointed out the “ ff King many novelties , errors , and o ensive con ” ceits in them . The upshot of the whole matter fﬁ was that Coke was deprived of o ce . When the

to news was communicated him , says a contemp z 18 T HE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

“ orary letter, he received it with dejection and tears . It would be natural to suppose that by this time Bacon had done enough to satisfy his vengeance upon

n Coke . But o " H e must needs worry him yet further by an exasperating letter , from which some w extracts shall be given . It opens ith a good deal o f scriptural quotation as to the wholesomeness of 2 f to : Afﬂic a ﬂiction . Then Bacon proceeds say

- tions level the mole hills of pride, plough the heart

for to sow for and make it ﬁt Wisdom her seed , and

to . grace bring forth her increase Happy is that man ,

e of th refore, both in regard H eavenly and earthly wisdom , that is thus wounded to be cured , thus broken to his be made straight , thus made acquainted with o w n imperfections that he may be perfect . Suppos fﬂ h ing this to be the time of your a iction , that w ich I

to a have propounded myself is , by taking the se son able advantage, like a true friend (though far unworthy to so to be counted ) show your shape in a glass . of Yet this resolve yourself, it proceedeth from love

to ou ou and a true desire do y good , that y , knowing w hat the general Opinion is may not altogether neglect o r ou contemn it, but mend what y may ﬁnd amiss in yourself. First , therefore , behold your E rrors :

1 ’ ’ Le er om o n as e See D I sr li tt fr J h C tl . ae s Ckaraeter of a mes 1 y ", p . 25 . 9 Cabala Sine Ser i na Sacra : Mysteries of State and Govern

men . In Letter o lu tr iou s Il s s P er sons etc . L t f , ondon : Thomas Sawbrid e an d o ers 1 1 86 g th , 79 , p . . A LECTURING LETTER

In discourse you delight to speak too much . Your affections are entangled with a love of your ow n a rguments , though they be the weaker.

ou u Secondly, y cloy your auditory : when yo would

or . be observed , speech must either be sweet, short

ou n ot Thirdly , y converse with Books , Men

F r who are the best Books . o a man of action

ou employment y seldom converse , then but with underlings n ot freely but as a schoolmaster with his

You to . scholars , ever to teach , never learn should know many of these tales you tell to be but

ou ordinary , many other things , which y repeat,

for to serve in novelties be but stale. Your t oo of too much love the world is much seen , when “ having the living [income" of you re

or so lieve few none the hand that hath taken much , can it give so little " Herein you show no bowels of

ou o compassion . We desire y t amend this let your poor Tenants in Norfolk ﬁnd some comfort, where nothing of your Estate is spent towards their

to relief, but all brought up hither, the impoverishing

O f n ot ou r your country. When we will mind

God to selves , (if we belong him) takes us in hand ,

because he seeth that we have unbridled stomachs , ” therefore he sends outward crosses . And Bacon “ ’ ends by commending poor Coke to God s Holy Spirit beseeching H im to send you a good is

out of to sue all these troubles , from henceforth work a reformation in all that is amiss , a resolute

8: perseverance , proceeding, growth , in all that is 2 a$ 20 THE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK

His good , that for glory, the bettering of yourself, this Church Commonwealth whose faithful servant

w hilest . you remain , I am a faithful servant unto you

If ever there was a case of adding insult to injury, surely this piece of canting impertinence was one of the most outrageous . III C H AP T E R .

Marriage is a matte r O f more worth ” in a o n e s Than to be dealt by tt r y hip .

fl em I . v y VI . , , . , 5 .

IF Bacon ﬂattered himself that he had extinguished

for . Coke good and all , he was much mistaken It

to must have alarmed him ﬁnd that Lady Elizabeth , after constant quarrels with her husband and ceasing to now live with him , had taken his part , that he had f been dismissed from o ﬁce , that she had solicited his 1 cause at the very Council table , and that she had quarrelled with both the King and the Queen about

of the treatment her husband , with the result that she o had been forbidden to g to Court, and had to begun live again with Coke, taking with her her ’ n ow on daughter, well in her teens .

of There was a period hostilities, however , early

1 1 a in the year 6 7. Sir Edward and L dy E lizabeth went to law about her jointure. In May Chamber lain wrote to Carleton “ The Lord Coke his lady hath great wars

a . w as t on at the council t ble I here Wednesday, but f ’ by reason o the Lord Keeper s absence, there was

1 a r a n in a e e da ed zand une 1 616 . Ch mbe l i , l tt r t J , 21 22 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

nothing done . What passed yesterday I know not yet : but the ﬁrst time she came accompanied with

her his the Lord Burghley ( eldest brother) , f lady , the Lord Danvers (her maternal grand ather) , “ ” -in - the Lord Denny (her brother law) , Sir

Thomas Howard (her nephew, afterwards ﬁrst Earl of Berkshire) his lady , with I know not how many

85 more , declaimed bitterly against him , and so carried herself that divers said Burbage ” [the cele “ brated actor of that time"could not have acted better .

Indeed , it seems he [Sir Edward Coke"hath carried himself very simply, to say no more , in divers matters and no doubt he shall be sifted thoroughly , for the

is 8: his King much incensed against him , by own weakness he hath lost those few friends he had .

It is clear from this letter that, although her hus

Of band was one the greatest lawyers of the day, Lady Elizabeth was not at all afraid of pitting herself against him in Court, where indeed she seems to have proved

a the better ple der of the pair .

This dispute was patched up . On 4th June “ : Chamberlain wrote Sir Edward Coke his Lady, after so much animosity and wrangling, are lately made friends ; his curst heart hath been forced to yield more than ever he meant but upon this agree ment he ﬂatters himself that she will prove a very ” “ f SO good wi e . Coke and his very good wife settled down together again . We shall see presently whether there was to be a perpetual peace between them .

24 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

. James I . and Buckingham had gone to Scotland

I n the absence of the King and the Court , Bacon , as Lord Keeper , was one of the greatest men left in London , and quite the greatest in his own estimation . Misled by this idea of his own import

col ance , he was imprudent enough to treat his league , Winwood , the Secretary of State , with a s little ceremony as if he had been a junior clerk , thereby incurring the resentment of that very high o fﬁcial . Common hatred of Bacon made a strong

of bond union between Coke and Winwood , and Winwood joined readily in the plot newly laid by

Coke . Sir John Villiers w as already acquainted with

’ Coke s pretty daughter ; and , when Coke went to him , suggested a match , and enlarged upon the for tune to which she was sole heiress , Sir John pro fessed to be over head and ears in love with her , and “ observed that although he would have been well pleased to have taken her in her smoke [smock", he should be glad , by way of curiosity , to know how much could be assured by marriage settlement upon her and her issue . With some reluctance Sir

Edward Coke then entered into particulars , and the m w as atch regarded as settled by both sides . Everything having been now satisfactorily ar it ranged , occurred to Coke that possibly the time

his had arrived for informing, ﬁrst wife , and after

1 am V A uo a on en b Lo d C e ol. I . . u q t ti giv y r pb ll ( , p b t he does n ot state his authority . CONVULS IVE RA GE 25

his of wards daughter , the marriage to which he had agreed .

his Sir Edward had often seen wife in a passion , and he had frequently been a listener to torrents of abuse from her pretty lips and caustic tongue . Although he had been notorious as the rudest

of member the Bar , he had generally come off second best in his frequent battles of words with his beautiful

. as w as helpmate Stolid and unimpressible he , he can hardly have been impervious to the effects of the verbal venom with which she had constantly

’ stung him . But all this had been mere child s play in comparison with her fury on being informed that ,

as without so much consulting her , her husband had deﬁnitely settled a match for her only child with a

w as portionless knight . A new weapon lying ready

u se to her hand , and she made every possible of it .

as she It consisted in the fact that , much and her

she husband had quarrelled and lived apart , had

to his returned him in the hour of tribulation , had

his fought battles before the King and the Council , and had even braved the royal displeasure and em dured exile from the Court , rather than desert him in his need . She bitterly reproached him for repaying her constancy and sacriﬁces on his behalf by selling

’ her daughter without either inquiring as to the mother s f o . wishes , or even informing that mother his intention If Lady Elizabeth w as infuriated at the news of the match , her daughter was frenzied . She detested

Sir John Villiers , and she implored her parents never 26 THE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK

again to mention the question of her marrying him . The mother and daughter were on one side and the

on father the other neither would yield an inch , and

Hatton House, H olborn , became the scene of violent invective and bitter weeping.

Buckingham is said to have promised Coke that , if he would bring about the proposed marriage, he should have his ofﬁces restored to him . Bucking ’ ham s mother , Lady Compton , also warmly supported “ n ow the project. She was what would be called a very managing woman Since the death of Buck ’ ingham s father, she had had two husbands, Sir l William Rayner and Sir Thomas Compton , brother f to the Earl o Northampton . She was in high of favour at Court , and she was created Countess Buckingham just a year later than the time with which we are now dealing. As Buckingham fa voured the match , of course the King favoured it

1 A u son in his e O f ames . a d H t rth r Wil , lif J I ( C m en , i s ory of

En land Vol. . . e s the o n g , II , p t ll f llowi g story about Sir T . “ ” m on om he ca s a low s i “ o ed man . B C pt wh ll p rit One ird, a

oar n a ai n was the mo e n so en a r i g C pt , r i l t gain st him because he foun d him s o backwar A e man o oca s B l w ft r y pr v tion , ird wrought ” so u on his co d m e a Com on n p l te p r, th t pt se t him a challen ge . ’ On rece n B d o d Com on s secon d ivi g it , ir t l pt that he would on ly accept the challenge on c on dition that the duel should take place “ in a saw- he m be su e pit, Where ight r Compton could n ot run ” - a a om him. en bo c omba an s e e in th w y fr Wh th t t w r e saw pit, “ ” B d sa d : Now om on ou s a n ot esca ir i , C pt , th h lt pe me, and W an d s ed his s o d abo e his ead. e he w s br i h w r v h hil a doing this, Compton in a momen t run him through the Body so that his ” Pr de e to the roun d an d e e did S a out i i f ll g , th r pr wl ts last van ity . FLIGHT BY N I GH T

as also and , has been seen , Winwood , the Secretary of State, favoured it , simply because Bacon did not .

On the other side , among the active opponents of the match , were Bacon the Lord Keeper , Lord and Lady Burghley , Lord Danvers , Lord Denny ,

Sir Thomas and Lady H oward , and Sir Edmund Wi hi l and Lady t p o e .

’ to Suddenly , Coke s great satisfaction , Lady

Elizabeth became , as he supposed , calm and quiet .

’ his to It was habit to go to bed at nine o clock, and get up very early . One night he went to bed at his usual hour , under the impression that his wife was settling down nicely and resigning herself t o

- . a hi the inevitable While he w s in s beauty sleep , soon after ten , that excellent lady quietly left the house with her daughter , and walked some little distance to she a coach , which had engaged to be in waiting f r o them at an appointed place . In this coach they travelled by unfrequented and circuitous roads , until

be they arrived at a house near Oatlands , a place

of t longing to the Earl Argyll , but rented at tha time

’ Wi hi ole t . by Lady Elizabeth s cousin , Sir Edmund p

as The distance from H olborn to Oatlands , the crow t ﬂies , is about twenty miles ; but , by the roundabou roads which the fugitives took in order to prevent attempts to trace them , the distance must have been considerable , and the journey , in the clumsy coach of the period , over the rutted highways and the still

b - of worse y roads those times , must have been long and wearisome . Oatlands is close to Weybridge , to 28 THE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK

- in the south west of London , Surrey , just over the boundary of Middlesex and about a mile to the south of the river Thames .

’ In Sir Edmund Withipole s house Lady Elizabeth and her daughter lived in the strictest seclusion , and all precautions were taken to prevent the place of their retreat from becoming known . And great

w as for caution necessary , Lady Elizabeth and Frances were almost within a dozen miles of Stoke

Po is g , their country home ; so that they would have of a been in danger being recognised , if they had p p eared outside the house . But Lady Elizabeth was n ot idle in her voluntary imprisonment . She conceived the idea that the best method of preventing a match which she disliked for her daughter would be to make on e of which she

she ff could approve . Accordingly O ered Frances to f o . young H enry de Vere, eighteenth Earl Oxford

Although to a lesser extent , like Sir John Villiers , he was impecunious and on the look out for an heir — e ss w as for , his father who distinguished having been one of the peers appointed to sit in judgment on Mary , Queen of Scots , for having had com

ﬂ to for mand of a eet Oppose the Armada , his suc

his cess in tournaments , for comedies , for his wit , and for introducing the u se of scents into England -having dissipated the large inheritance of his family .

Undoubtedly, Lady Elizabeth was a woman of considerable resource ; but , with all her virtues , she FO RGERY

n ot - for was over scrupulous , as Lord Campbell says , to induce her daughter to believe that Oxford was in

she love with her, showed her a forged letter, pur

to porting come from that nobleman , which assever to ated that he was deeply attached her , and that

as a he aspired to her hand . Lady Elizabeth w p — paren tly of opinion that everything an d every thing includes lying and forgery— is fair in love and war.

’ 1 - l u ust ce V ol. I . . 2 2 8 C efj i s, , pp 97 9 C H APT E R I V .

There is n o such thin g as perfect sec recy . — ’ Soa t/zs Ser mons .

AS might be expected , the whereabouts of the place for concealment of Lady Elizabeth and her daughter l eaked out and reached the ears of Sir Edward Coke , who immediately applied to the Privy Council for a i warrant to search for h s daughter . Bacon opposed it . Indeed , it is said that Bacon had not only been

’ a ll of the time aware the place of the girl s retreat , but had also joined actively in the plot to convey her f to it . Because it was di ﬁcult to obtain a search warrant from the Privy Council , Coke got an order

ff of to the same e ect from Winwood , the Secretary 1 w as State ; and , although this order of doubtful regularity , Coke determined to act upon it .

16 1 In July , 7, Coke mustered a band of armed ’ his men , made up of his sons ( Bridget s sons) , servants

a n d . his dependents He put on a breastplate , and , with a sword at his side and pistols in the holsters of

his his saddle , he placed himself at the head of little

1 ames I . u 16 1 . am a i D om , J , J ly, 7 Ch berl in to S r Dudley

Carleton .

3 2 TH E CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK of a ﬂank attack, and , after sneaking round the house ,

’ this warrior adopted the burglar s man muv re of fo rc ing Open a window , on the ground ﬂoor . One by

’ one the valiant members of Coke s little army climbed into the house by this means , and the august person of the ex- Lord Chief Justice himself was squeezed through the aperture. Nobody appeared to oppose their search but preparations to prevent it had evi den tly been made with great care ; for Chamberlain “ ” wrote that they had to brake open divers doors .

r w as Room afte room searched in vain ; but , at last , Lady Elizabeth and Frances were discovered hidden in a small closet . Both the father and the mother clasped their daughter in their arms almost at the same moment . The daughter clung to the mother ; the father clung to the daughter . Sir e Edward pulled ; Lady Elizabeth pulled ; and , aft r a violent struggle between the husband and the wife , Coke succeeded in wrenching the weeping girl ’ 1 ’ from her mother s arms . Without a moment s parley with his defeated antagonist , he dragged away his prey , took her out of the house , placed her on horse

of - back behind one her half brothers , and started off with his whole cavalcade for his house at Stoke

Po is g . The writer is old enough to have seen farmers ’ wives riding behind their husbands , on pillions . Most uncomfortable sitting those pillions appeared to f af ord , and he distinctly remembers the rolling move

1 ’ Lo d am b s c u r C p ell ac o nt . O N A P ILLION 33

to to ments which the sitters seemed be subjected .

or This was when the pace was at a walk a slow jog. But the unfortunate Frances must have been rolled and bumped at speed ; for there was a pursuit . In his already quoted letter to Carleton , Chamberlain ’ “ says that Sir Edward Coke s lady was at his heels ,

n ot and , if her coach had held stuck in the mud of the appalling roads of the period in the pursuit after him , there was like to be strange tragedies . Miss Coke must have been long in forgetting that

on enforced ride of at least a dozen long miles , a pillion

as behind a brother , and a prisoner surrounded by an armed force .

Po is Campbell states that , on reaching Stoke g , “ his of Coke locked daughter in an upper chamber, ” which he himself kept the key . Possibly , Sir John

’ Villiers mother , Lady Compton , may have been there, in rea diness to receive her for Chamberlain says that “ Coke delivered his daughter to the Lady Compton ,

’ Sir John s mother but, the next day , Edmondes ,

of w as Clerk the Council , sent with a warrant to have

w n the custody of the lady at his o house . This ’ was probably Bacon s doing. m Among the anuscripts at Trinity College, Cam 1 a to bridge, is letter written from the Inner , Temple

of e Mrs . Ann Sadler, a daughter Sir Edward Cok

f . on by his ﬁrst wi e From this we learn that, ﬁnding herself robbed of her daughter, Lady Elizabeth hastened to London to seek the assistance of her friend Bacon.

1 "uoted by Speddin g in his Life of B acon . 34 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

In driving thither her coach was overturned . We saw that it had “ held in the heavy roads when she

its was chasing her husband in it, and very likely wheels may have become loosened in some ruts on

w as a . that occ sion An upset in a carriage, however, a common occurrence in those days , and , nothing daunted , Lady Elizabeth managed to complete her journey to the house of Bacon in London .

she w as When she reached it , told that the Lord

Keeper was unwell and in his room , asleep . She per “ suaded the door -keeper to take her to the sitting

n x she room e t to his bedroom , in order that might be “ the ﬁrst to speak with him after he w as stirring . The door -keeper fulﬁlled her desire and in the mean ” time gave her a chair to rest herself in . Then he most imprudently left her, and she had not been alone long when “ she rose up and bounced against my Lord ’ Keeper s door. The noise not only woke up the “ f sleeping Bacon , but af righted him to such an

x e tent that he called for help at the top of his Voice . h H is servants immediately came rushing to is room . Doubtless he was relieved at seeing them but his feel ings may have been somewhat mixed when Lady Eliza beth thrust in with them . He was on very friendly terms with her ; but it was disconcerting to receive a lady from his bed when he w as half awake and wholly frightened, especially when , as the correspondent de it scribes , the condition of that lady was like that of “ a cow that had lost her calf. The upshot of this rather unusual visit was that ’ COKE S DEAREST DAUGHTER 3 5

’ ot Lady Elizabeth g Bacon s warrant , as Lord Keeper, and also that of the Lord Treasurer and others of the

Council , to fetch her daughter from the father and bring ” them both to the Council . At that particular time Bacon had just made a ’ of blunder . H e was well aware Buckingham s high favour with the King ; but he scarcely realised its measure. Indeed , since he had seen him last, and during the time that the King had been in Scotland , Buckingham ’s inﬂuence over James had increased enormously . It is true that Bacon had enlisted the of services Buckingham to defeat Coke , and that he had used him as a tool to secure the ofﬁce of Lord

Keeper but, as the occupier of that exalted position , he considered himself secure enough to take his ow n f line , and even to Of er Buckingham some fatherly

as . advice, will presently appear Bacon now made another attack upon his enemy by summoning Coke before the Star Chamber on a charge of breaking into a private house with violence .

On receiving this summons , Coke wrote to Buck ingham , who was with the King in the North , com

Withi oles plaining that his wife , the p , and their f ” con ederates , had conveyed his dearest daughter

his from house , in most secret manner , to a house Withi ole near Oatland , which Sir Edmund p had taken for the summer of my Lord Argyle . Then “ ’ he said I , by God s wonderful providence ﬁnding where she was , together with my sons and ordinary

a tw o attendants did bre k Open doors , recovered 3 i 36 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

w as my daughter . H is object , he said , First principally , lest his Majesty should think I was of or confederacy with my wife in conveying her away , charge me with want of government in my household

ff e n in su ering her to be carried away , after I had gaged myself to his Majesty for the furtherance of this match .

re Buckingham , at about the same time that he

’ ceiv ed f Coke s letter , received one in a very dif erent 1 “ tone from Bacon , in which he said Secretary Winwood has busied himself with a match between ’ w Sir John Villiers Sir Ed ard Coke s daughter , rather to make a faction than out of any good affec

’ tion to your lordship . The lady s consent is not

’ n or her mot/i er s r om wkom s/ze ex ectet/i a gained , , f p

r t or tu n u ea e. o t "g f This match , of my faith free dom to your lordship , I hold very inconvenient , both for your mother , brother , yourself.

First. H e shall marry into a disgraced house , which in reason of state, is never held good .

a Next. He shall m rry into a troubled house of man wife , which in religion and Christian dis i cretion s not liked .

o Thirdly . Your lordship will g near to lose all such of your friends as are adverse to Sir Edward

Coke (myself only except , who , out of a pure love

thankfulness , shall ever be ﬁrm to you).

is Therefore , my advice , your lordship shall do

to yourself a . great honour , if, according religion

1 ' ard s Li e and Corre ond o s ence o B acon . 2 1 F f p f , p 4 . PRAGMATICALS

the law of God , your lordship will signify unto my

is lady , your mother , that your desire that the marriage be not pressed or proceeded in without

so the consent of both parents , either break it altogether , or defer any further delay in it (sic) till ’ your lordship s return .

2 th w A few days later , on the 5 of July , Bacon rote to an even greater man than Buckingham , namely , ” “ to the King himself. If, said he , there be any merit in drawing on this match , your Majesty should bestow thanks , not upon the zeal of Sir Edward

Coke to your Majesty , nor upon the eloquent per

ra m i l W suasions or p g at ca s of Mr . Secretary inwood — “ but upon them —" meaning himself w ho have so humbled Sir Edward Coke , as he seeketh now that wi th submission which (as your Majesty knoweth) " before he rejected with scorn . And then he says that if the King really wishes for the match , concern ing which he should like more deﬁnite orders , he will “ be w further it ; for, says , though I ill not wager on

’ women s minds , I can prevail more with the mother than any other man .

’ is King James s reply is not in existence , and it unknown ; but, judging from a further letter of

’ Bacon s , it must have been rather cold and unfavour

’ able ; and , in Bacon s second letter to the King, he w as foolish enough to express a fear lest Bucking ’ “ ham s height of fortune might make him too secure .

of In his answer to this second letter Bacon , James ’ reproves him for plotting with his adversary s wife to 38 TH E CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

to overthrow him , saying this is be in league with ” f r Delilah . He also scolds Bacon o being afraid that ’ Buckingham s height of fortune might make him “ ” misknow himself. The King protests that Buck ingham is farther removed from such a vice than

to any of his other courtiers . Bacon , he says , ought have written to the King instead of to Buckingham “ “ about the inconven ience of the match that would have been the part of a true servant to us , and of a true friend to him [Buckingham". But ﬁrst to make an opposition , then to give advice , by way

to the of friendship, is make the plough go before ” horse . By the time these letters had been carried back wards and forwards , to and from Scotland and the

North of England, a later date had been reached

ou r than we have legitimately arrived at in story, and we must now go back to within a few days of ’ Sir Edward Coke s famous raid at Oatlands .

40 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

m ’ Coach , and there was Clem Coke , y Lord s ﬁghting sonne ; and they all swore they would dye in the

Place , before they would part with her .

w as Without doubt , it fortunate for both parties that they did not meet each other . The attempt was

as a misfortune , as well a defeat for Lady Elizabeth

she for while she failed to rescue her daughter , also gave her husband a fresh count to bring against her in the legal proceedings which he forthwith insti l t u ted —

C et 1 . For conveying away her daughter lam

e 2. secret . For endeavouring to bind her to my

’

x . Lord O ford without her father s consent 3 . For counterfeiting a letter of my Lord Oxford offering her marriage . 4. For plotting to surprise her daughter a n d take her away by force , to the breach of the

’ King s peace , and for that purpose assembling a body o f desperate fellows , whereof the consequences might ” have been dangerous . To these terrible accusations Lady E lizabeth u n

1 blushingly replied . I had cause to provide for

she her quiet , Secretary Winwood threatening should f be married rom me in spite of my teeth , and Sir Edward Coke intending to bestow her against her

: she liking whereupon asked me for help , I placed

’ her at my cousin -german s house a few days for her

2 u health and quiet . . My da ghter tempted by her

’ u sua e father s threats and ill g , and pressing me to ﬁnd a

be remedy , I did compassionate her condition , and 1 V m be l . . a o . I 0 0 . C p ll, , p 3 A MOST NOTORIOUS RIOT 4 1 thought myself of this contract with my Lord of O x

if so I ford , she liked , and therefore gave it to her to

she peruse and consider by herself liked it , cheerfully

r writ it out with her own hand , subscribed it , and e it — turned to me . 3 . The end justiﬁes at least ex cuses — ’ the fact for it w as only to hold up my daughter s mind to her own choice that she might with the more constancy endure her imprisonment— having this only antidote to resist the poison— no person or speech being admitted to her but such as spoke Sir John

’ Villiers language . 4. Be it that I had some tall fellows assembled to such an end , and that something w as P— intended , who intended this the mother And wherefore " Because she was unnaturally and bar barou sl y secluded from her daughter , and her daughter forced against her will , contrary to her vows and liking, to the will of him she disliked .

of She then goes on to describe , by way recrimina ’ “ com tion , Sir Edward Coke s most notorious riot ,

’ mitted of at my Lord Argyle s house , where , without constable or warrant, well weaponed , he took down

of the doors of the gatehouse and the house itself, and tore the daughter in that barbarous manner from her mother— justifying it for good law : a word for the encouragement of all notorious and rebellious male factors from him who had been a Chief Justice , and

f e reputed the oracle o th law .

I 1 h 16 1 State P a er D ona . t A p ( , James , 9 July , 7, John Chamberlain to Sir Dudley Carleton) tells u s

As what followed . correspondence with Sir Dudley 42 THE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK

Carleton will be largely quoted in these pages , this opportunity may be taken of observing that he w as

Ambassador , at various times , in Savoy , in the Low

Countries , and in Venice, that he became one of

’ irst s Charles the F principal Ministers of State , and that he w as eventually created Viscount Dorchester . The next day being all convened before the

” “ she Council , [Frances the daughter"was sequest

81 ered to Mr . Attorney , yesterday , upon a palliated

x his agreement twi t Sir Edward Coke lady , she was sent to Hatton House , with order that the Lady Compton should have access to win her wear ” ” her . One wonders whether the last 85 w as “ accidentally substituted for the word or , by a slip “ ” In of the pen . any case to wear her is highly signiﬁcant " “ It were a long story to tell all the passages of

’ this business , which hath furnished Paul s , this town very plentifully the whole week . [One of the ecclesiastical scandals of that period was that the nave ’

. w as of St Paul s Cathedral a favourite lounge , and a regular exchange for gossip " The Lord Coke w as in great danger to be committed for disobeying the ’ 8: Council s order , for abusing his warrant , for the violence used in breaking Open the doors ; to all of

which he gave reasonable answers , for the violence , will justify it by law , though orders be given to prefer a bill against him in the Star Chamber . He and his friends complain of hard measure from some of the greatest at that Board , that he w as too much FACTION AND AMB ITION 43

trampled upon with ill language . And our friend “ [Winwood"passed not scot free from the warrant , which the greatest there [Bacon"“ said was subject

r aem u n i re to a p , withal , told the Lady Compton that they wished well to her and her sons , would be ready to serve the Earl of Buckingham with all

f of true af ection , whereas others did it out faction ” ambition . Bacon might swagger at the Council Board ; but in his heart he was becoming exceedingly uneasy .

We saw , at the end of the last chapter , that he had received a very sharp letter from the King and now the royal favourite himself also wrote in terms which f showed , unmistakably , how much Bacon had of ended him 1 In this business of my brother ’s that you over trouble yourself with , I understand from London , by some of my friends , that you have carried yourself with much scorn and neglect both towards myself and my friends , which , if it prove true , I blame not you but myself. f as This was su ﬁciently alarming , and at least much so was a letter which came from the King himself 2 in which w as written “ Whereas you talk of the riot and violence com mitted by Sir Edward Coke , we wonder you make no mention of the riot and violence of them that stole away his daughter , which was the ﬁrst ground ” of all that noise .

1 2 re . 0 2 . . a am e V l. I . . 0 1 C pb ll, o , p 3 , p 3 44 THE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURB ECK

w It is clear , therefore , that if things ere going badly for Coke , they were going almost worse for

Bacon , who now found himself in a very awkward position both with the King and with Buckingham . Nor w as he succeeding as well as he could have

- n u on wished in his attack S p Coke . H e had made an attack by proceeding against him for a certain action , when a judge ; but Coke had parried this thrust by paying what was then a very large su m to settle the affair . In a letter to Carleton 1 Gerrard says

The hiefe Lord C Justice Sir Ed . Coke hath payd 3 500£ for composition for taking common

P ra c e Bayle for some accused of y y , which hath been

a a n s urged g y t him since hys fall . And perhaps fear ing more such claps ; intendi n g to stand out the storme ' no longer , privately hath agreed on a match with Sir John Villiers for hys youngest daughter

’ Franche , the mother s Darling, with which the King was acquainted w ithall and w ritt to have it ” done before hys coming backe . And presently he says “ The caryadge of the business hath made such a ster in the Towne as never was Nothing can fully

Comm ed e represent it but a y . A letter written on the same day by Sir John Finet mentions the projected marriage of Sir Edward ’ Coke s daughter with Sir John Villiers , who would

an d have a year from Buckingham , be left

1 S . P . D ona ames I . Vol. . NO 1 0 1 z . and u 16 1 , J , XCII , , J ly, 7. A STATE AFFAIR 45

as heir of his lands , he was already of his Earldom ,

’ failing the Earl s male issue . He adds that Sir w Ed ard Coke went cheerily to visit the Queen , and that the common people said he would die Lord

as Treasurer . Such gossip that must have been anything but amusing to Bacon . The Coke - Villiers engagement had now become f almost , if not quite , a State af air . Nearly three weeks later Sir H orace Vere wrote to Carleton — 1 I hear nothing so m uch spoken of here as that

’ of Sir John Villiers and Sir Ed . Coke s daughter . f t My Lady Hatton doth continue sti f against y , and yesterday I w ayted upon my wife to my Lady of

’ h m r n s No rt u be la d . She tould my wife that she gives yt ou t that her daughter is formmerlie con tracted to an other and to such a one that will not be i afeard to plead h s interest if he be put to yt . Six days afterwards a third candidate for Frances

Coke w as talked about . George Gerrard wrote to the same correspondent 2

’ The Lady Hatton s daughter to be maryed to one Cholmely a Baronet . Of late here is by all the fren des of my Lady Hatton a Contract published of H er Daughter Frances to the Erle of Oxford which w as sent him to Venice to which he hath returned and answer that he will come presently over , and see her fayre eyes and conclude the what he shall thin ke

1 8 a h u us No . 1 r t V l. . A P . D om ames I . o S. , J , XCIII , , g t,

1 6 1 7. 2 t 1 6 1 . NO . 28 1 8 u us . A P D ona ames I . Vol. S . . , , J , XCIII , , th g 7 46 TH E CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

ﬁt for him to doe : I have sent your Lordship Mis Frances Coke’s Love Letter to my Lord of Oxford herein concluded I believe you never read the like Thys is like to become a grate business : for the King hath shewed him selfe much in advancing thys

r matte for Sir John Villiers . H e says that Lady Elizabeth offers to give Lord “ O x ford besyde s her daughter ten and thirty hundred pound a year , which will before twenty years passe bee nigh 6000£ a yeare besydes two houses

fu rn ish Ld well t . A Greate fortune for my . yett it is doubted w heathe r hee will endanger the losse of the King ’s favor for so fayre a woman and so fayre a fortune . ’ “ The following is Frances Coke s enclosed love letter of which Gerrard believed , as well he might , ” that Carleton never read the like . It is evidently the work of Lady E lizabeth “ I vow before God and take the Almighty to witness That I Frances Coke Yon ger daughter to

Chiefe Sir Ed . Coke late Lord Justice of England ,

m selfe doe give y absolutely to Wife to Henry Ven .

Balbok e x Viscount , Erle of O enford , to whom I

kee e m selfe plight my fayth and inviolate vows , to p y till Death us do part And if even I break e the least of these I pray God Damne mee body and soule in Hell fyre in the world to come And in thys world I humbly Beseech God the Earth may open and Sw allow e mee up qu icke to the Terror of all fayth

m n breakers that re ay e alive . In witness whereof I

48 T HE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK

Sir John Villiers with Frances Coke . Among other things he said ’ I did also send to my Lady Hatton , Coke s wife and some other Special friends to acquaint them that l SO would declare , if anything, for the match that they may no longer account on [my"assistance .

I sent also to Sir John Butler , and after by letter to my Lady [Compton"your mother , to tender my performance of any good ofﬁce toward the match . To this letter Buckingham sent a very chilling

his reply , whereupon Bacon , in anxiety , sent Yelver ton in person to try to conciliate Buckingham and the

so so King, enjoining him to lie hard and unblushingly as to declare that Bacon had never hindered , but had in “ many ways furthered the marriage that all he had done had been to check Coke ’s “ impertinent ” “ carriage in the matter , which he wished had more nearly resembled the Earl of Buckingham ’s sweet ” disposition .

a Yet fter faithfully fulﬁlling this nefarious errand ,

Yelverton failed to conciliate Buckingham , for he wrote the following very unsatisfactory report to Bacon “ The Earl [of Buckingham"p rofes seth openly “ t as agains you ; whereas , Sir Edward Coke, if he were already on his wings , triumphs exceedingly ; hath much private conference with his Majesty , and in public doth offer himself, and thrust upon the

as King with as great boldness of Speech heretofore . Things were beginning to look desperate for Bacon SHE BEGI NS TO COME ABOUT 49

Indeed it seemed as if afﬂiction were about to “ ’ - n ot n ow of level the mole hills , of Coke s , but ’ ” ’ Bacon s pride ; to plough Bacon s heart and

for to e for make it ﬁt Wisdom sow her s ed , and to w Grace bring forth her increase, blessings hich Bacon had so kindly so liberally promised to Coke in a letter already quoted .

n About the middle of August , Chamberlai wrote that Frances Coke was staying with Sir Robert Coke ,

’ his Sir Edward s son by ﬁrst wife , and that Lady

to s Elizabeth was with her all day , prevent the acces of others but that , ﬁnding her friends were deserting “ ” her , and that she struggles in vain against the ’ “ i to King s W ll she begins come about , and upon

’ some co n dItion s will double her husband s portion ” and make up the match and give it her blessing. Presently he says But it seems the Lady Hatton t would have all the honour and thanks , and so defea

’ she her husband s purpose , towards whom , of late, has carried herself very strangely , and , indeed , ” neither like a wife, nor a wise woman .

AS Chamberlain says , Lady Elizabeth was de termin ed that , if she had to yield , she would be paid for doing so , and that her husband should obtain none of the proﬁts of the transaction . It was unfortunate that that transaction should be the means of inju r ing her daughter whom she loved ; but it was very fortunate that it might be the means of injuring her of husband whom she hated . Her own account her ﬁnal agreement to the marriage may be seen ' 50 THE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY P URB E CK in a letter which she wrote to the King in the following year 1 “ m I call to witness y Lord Haughton , whom I sent tw yce to moove the matter to my Lady Compton , s o as by me she would take it . This was after he

O ff Bu kin ham had so fondly broke with my Lorde of g , when he ruled your Majestie ’s favour scarse at the salerie of a After that my brother and

Bu r hl ff sister of g y o ered , in the Galerie Chamber at

theire Whitehall, service unto my Ladie Compton to further this marriage , so as from me She would take

m s elfe comin e it. Thirdly , y g from Kingstone in a

I then f coach with my Ladie Compton , of ered her that if shee would leave Sir Edward Cooke I would proceed with her in this marriage .

had Although , as Chamberlain written , Lady ” E lizabeth was now beginning to come about, in fact had come about , her faithful friend , Bacon , in his frantic anx iety to regain the favour of Buckingham and the King, ordered her to be arrested and kept in strict though honourable conﬁnement. In fact , to use a modern term , all the actors in this little drama, possibly with the ex ception of Frances Coke and Sir “ to John Villiers , were prepared , at any moment , ” 2 give each other away . According to Foard , Bacon

for was , at this time , busily engaged in preparing the

1 Li e o Si r Edw ar d Coke. B Hu m e Wo lr f f y phr y o ych.

- T . 1 8 6 don : . . C a e 2 . 1 Lon 6 8 . J W l rk , , pp 4 4 2 e a n d Cor res ondence o Francis B a n s p f co . Lon don

Saun de s O e CO . 1 86 1 . r , tl y , , p 459 . LADY EX ETER 5:

’ of trial another member of Lady Elizabeth s family , 1 namely her stepmother , Lady Exeter . of By the irony fate, it happened that the two mortal enemies, Coke and Bacon , acted together in the matter of the incarceration of Lady Elizabeth ; for , while the former pleaded for it, the latter ordered it . It was spent partly at the house of Alderman 2 3 of Bennet , and partly at that Sir William Craven ,

1 6 10 16 1 8 Lord Mayor of London in the years and , and father of the ﬁrst Earl of Craven . In both houses

w as she she doubtless treated with all respect , and must have occupied a position in them something be tween that of a paying-guest and a lunatic living in — the private house of a doctor n ot that there was any f lunacy in the mind o Lady E lizabeth . Quite the contrary "

1 was oun nn c n an d her accu Sir T m She f d i o e t , sers, ho as an d

La e e e m soned an d ﬁn ed to the in an d Lady k , w r i pri K g,

to Lady Ex eter as damages for the libel . A chamber ’ n of the nesses was at th maid who was o e wit , whipped e cart s tail

’ R s the e O f Lad Ex eter s s e - an u . Lad oo d for her perjry y , wif y t p gr

a dau e of the La es made a u con ess on a she son , and ght r k , f ll f i th t

he was sen enc had participated in spreadin g the scandal . S t ed to ' n su e be imprison ed durin g the Ki g s plea r . 2 V . 6th O c obe 1 6 1 . D ona ames I . ol. S . P . , J , XCIII , t r, 7

Letter from Sir Gerald Herbert . 8 Th son m n of a 0 fn . m e V . e t l. . . Campbell, o I , p 3 3 i pri t wh were called people O f quality u sually took place either in the

ouses of derm n in ose mes Tower or in the private h Al e , th ti , although they were sometimes imprisoned in the Fleet . C HAPT E R VI .

’ Of all the action s of a man s life his marriage doth least c on cern other people ; yet of all action s of our life it is most meddled with by other people . SEL EN D .

IN in t ri u all these negotiations , and caballings , and g ings , the person most concerned, Frances Coke , the beauty and the heiress , was only the ball in the game . Neither her father nor her mother nor anybody else either considered her feelings or consulted her wishes about the proposed marriage, except so far as it was to their own personal interest to do SO .

At last the poor girl yielded , or pretended to yield . “ Lord Campbell says , as well he may , and without

as doubt, just Frances had before copied and signed

of the contract with Lord Oxford , at the command her mother , she now copied and signed the following 1 of f letter to her mother at the command her ather .

MADAM I must now humbly desire your

to to ou patience in giving me leave declare myself y , h w whic is , that ithout your allowance and liking, all the world shall never make me entangle or tie my

’ 1 V l 1 M S o . . Coles S. . . , XXXIII , p 7 52 A DICTATED LETTER 53

’ self. But now , by my father s especial command ment , I obey him in presenting to you my humble d is t o uty in a tedious letter , which know your

’ as thin l : Ladyship s pleasure , not a g desire but I

t o resolve be wholly ruled by my father and yourself, knowing your judgments to be such that I may well rely upon , and hoping that conscience and the natural affection parents bear to children will let you do nothing but for my good , and that you may receive comfort, I being a mere child and not understanding

r the world nor what is good fo myself. That which makes me a little give way to it is , that I hope it will be a means to procure a reconciliation between my father and your Ladyship . Also I think it will be a

’ means of the King s favour to my father . H imself [Sir John Villiers"is n ot to be misliked his fortune is very good , a gentleman well born . So I humbly take my leave, praying that all things may be

’ to every one s contentment . ‘ Your Ladyship’s most obedient

u for and humble da ghter ever ,

‘ FRANCES COK E. Dear Mother believe there has no violent ’ means been used to me by words or deeds .

of This , as Campbell says , has every appearance being a letter copied from on e written by her father . There is also reason for believing that Coke added the postscript for a very special purpose ; for the

how who on question arises Frances, is admitted 54 THE CURI OUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK

all sides to have hated Sir John Villiers , could have been induced to copy and to Sign this letter . Was she literally forced to do so p There happens to be

n a answer to that question .

1 N otes of t/ce Villiers Family . N B [ . B M have heard it from a noble Peer, a near relation of the Danvers family , and Mr . Villiers , Brother to the person who now claims the Earldom

as his of Buckingham , Brother assumed the Title , that the Lady Frances Viscountess Purbeck was tyed to the Bed - Poste and severely whipped into consent to

’ marry with the Duke of Buckingham s Brother , Sir ° A 16 1 2 John Villiers , 7, who was years after created Viscount Purbeck .

This was written after the death of Frances , but it has been accepted as true , and that may well be . It is difﬁcult in our days to believe that a young lady

to could be put physical torture by her father , until she consented to marry a man whom she loathed ; but the parental ethics of those times were very ff di erent from those of our own . A man like Coke would have no difﬁculty in persuading himself that a marriage with Sir John Villiers would be for his

’ daughter s welfare , and , consequently , that a whipping to bring that marriage about would also be for her w elfare . Coke had often waited for the confessions of men

1 ’ V Coles M S . ol. . . 1 . M S B . m M useu . , XXXIII , p 7 ( rit SS

No .

56 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

sa nobility of England . Strange to y, Lady Hatton still remained in conﬁnement , while Sir Edward Coke , — in nine coaches , one man in nine coaches

brought his daughter and his friends to the palace ,

’ - from his son s at Kingston Townsend . The banquet was most Splendid : a masque was performed in the evening the stocking w as thrown with all due Spirit a n d - the bride and bride groom , according to long established fashion , received the company at their couchée . In a footnote to Tire Secr et History af f ames I Vol . . , p . we read

The Scottish historian , Johnstone , says that

’ Purbeck s marriage w as celebrated amid the gratula tion of the fawning courtiers , but stained by the tears of ’ the reluctant bride , who was a sacriﬁce to her father s

’ ambition of the alliance with Buckingham s family .

is Here another account of the wedding, in a 2 letter from Sir Gerard Herbert to Carleton

dshi Lor e . Maie it please yor. pp L I know not any news to write yor . o other than the marriadge of Sir John Villiers with ’ my Lord Coke s youngest daughter , on Monday last , beyn ge Michailmas day at Hampton Courte when King Queen and prince were present in the chappell to see them married . My Lord Coke gave his daughter to the Kinge (with some words of comple

1 Lon man s CO . 1 8 1 1 . g ,

D om ames I . Vol. C . NO . 1 1 6th O c o e , J , X III , 4 , t b r, THE WEDDING 57

ment at the givinge ). The King gave her Sir John to Villiers . The prince sate with her grand dynner and supper so to many Lordes and Ladies , my Lord

Canterbury , my Lord Treasurer, my Lord Chamber

droncke layne , etc. The King dynner and supper healthe to the brid e roome behin de bride, the g g stood the bride ; the dynner and supper. The Bride and

Bride roome 1 2 clocke g lay next day a bedd till past a , for to see the Kinge sent worde he wold come them ,

n therefore wold they ot rise. My Lord Coke looked with a merrie Countenance and sate at the dynner and

n ot supper, but my Lady Hatton was at the wedd

Ben n ettes rison ere. inge , but is still at Alderman p

for to t he w eddin e The King sent her g , but (she)

in e to sa w as . desired be excused , y g she sicke My

of so nes Lord Buckingham, mother , brethren , there y , and his sisters weare throughout day at Court, my ’ so n es Lord Cooke s sonnes and there y , but I saw

ill re never a Cc c . The Sonday my Lord Coke was stored to his place of counsellor as before.

Yo Lo in all service to commande “ (Signed) G ERRARD HERBERT.

L NDON s O , thi

6 Oct.

Lady E lizabeth would n ot submit to being let out of to prison , just for the day, in order witness

to the wedding, which was a large extent a triumph f r to o . her husband She meant, on the contrary, have a triumph on her ow n account . H er intention 58 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURB E CK was that one of those who had had a hand in putting — her into prison a prison which in fact was a com — fortable house should come to take her ou t of it ; and she w as determined to be escorted from her

of place punishment , not as a repentant criminal , but as a conquering heroine . In a letter to Carleton 1 Chamberlain says “ The King coming to towne yesterday it was told me that the Earle of Buck . meant to go himself

’ and fetch Lady Elizabeth as yt were in pomp Fr . William corner (where she hath ben so long com m itted ), and bring her to the King, who upon a letter of her submission is graciously affected towards her . Seeing her yielding and as it were won to geve her allowance to the late marriage , the King will give her all the contentment and co untenance he can in hope of the great portion she may bestow upon ’ “ Buckingham s brother , Sir John Villiers for there i s little or nothing more to be looked for from Sr . Ed .

redem ed Cooke , who hath the land he had allotted his daughter for so that they have already had of him paide down . She layes all the ” fault of her late troubles upon the deceased secretarie , “ Winwood , who not long Since telling her brother that for all her bitter speeches they two [Lady Eliza beth and her husband"shold become goode fren ds

she again . She protested wold sooner be fren ds with ” D v ill the c .

’ Lady Elizabeth w as so much in the King s good

1 S. D V . P . ona am I . ol C No . 1 8 es rs . 1 6 1 . , J , X II I 5 , 3 t O ct , 7 LADY ELI"ABETH AT HER "EN ITH 59 graces that aspirants for ofﬁce tried to win her in

ﬂ u e n ce with James and Buckingham in their favour .

x Chamberlain , in the letter quoted above , e presses the wish that she might endeavour to obtain for

of Carleton the post of Secretary State , which had just then fallen vacant through the death of Winwood . 1 In a letter written a fortnight later , however , Cham berlain says Your father Savile is gon into Kent to his

his daughter Salley , the day before goings I met him

to c and wisht him appli the Lady Hatton , whom he had alredy visited but moved her in nothing because the time was not ﬁt but she meant to do yt before he

alred in a ed went. Some whisper that she is y g g and meanes to employ her full force strength and vertue

for . the L Hawton or Hollis , who is become her prime p riv ie Cou n sailor and doth by all meanes in terest and combine her with the Lady of Su ffolke and that house . A man whom Sir Edward Cooke can n o w a e s y indure , and from whose company he wold faine but cannot debarre her Obviously a very suf

ﬁcien t reason for liking him and espousing his cause . Lady E lizabeth had fairly outwitted her husband but , as will presently be seen , She had not yet quite

is done with him . Another account of her liberation ’ t 2 to be found in St r aﬂ ord s L etters an d D esﬁa c/i es . “ ’ The expectancy of Sir Edward s rising is much

’ of his w as abated by reason lady s liberty , who brought

1 V l . 1 m e 1 6 1 mes I . o . o e b a C . J , X IV , 5th N v r, 7 2 V l o . I . . . , p 5 60 TH E CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK in great honour to Exeter House by my Lord of ’

Buckingham , from Sir William Craven s , whither s he had been remanded , presented by his Lordship t o to the King, received gracious usage , reconciled her daughter by his Majesty , and her house in Hol

at born enlightened by his presence dinner , where there was a royal feast : and to make it more ab solutel y her own , express commandment given by her Ladyship that neither Sir Edward Coke nor any ” o f his servants should be admitted . 1 Here is another account of the same banquet , ’ a s well as of one given in return by Buckingham s mother , who was still hoping that Lady Elizabeth would increase Sir John Villiers ’ allowance “ ’ The Lady Hatton s feast w as very magn iﬁcall and the King graced her every way , and made foure f o her creatures knights . This weeke on wens day [Lady Compton"made a great feast to the Lady

is Hatton , and much court there between them , but for ought I can heare the Lady Hatton holdes her bandes and gives not (The original is much torn and damaged here) “ out of her milke so fouly [fully" as was ex pected which in due time may turn the

in matter about aga e . There were some errors ’ at the Lady Hatton s feast (yf it were not of purpose)

of that the L . Chamberlain and the L . Arundell were not invited but went away to theyre ow n e dinner and came backe to wait on the King and Prince but the

1 S . P . D om ames I . Vol. . No . 0 1 th o em e , J , XCIV , 3 , s N v b r,

1 61 a e a n to a e on . 7. Ch mb rl i C rl t A H INT TO STAY AWAY greatest error was that the goodman of the house was neither invited n or spoken of but dined that day ” at the Temple .

’ 1 1 Camden s account of this dinner ( Ed . 7 9 , Vol .

. . is I I , p although very abrupt , to the point

The wife of Sir Ed . Coke qu on dam Lord Chief

t he Justice , entertained the King, Buckingham , and

in v i rest of the Peers , at a splendid dinner , and not t in g her husband . 1 In a letter to Carlton John Pory said of this

' “

Lo. w as dinner My Coke only absent, who in all

w as vulgar opinions there expected . His Majesty

n or was never merrier more satisﬁed , who had not patience to sit a quarter of an hour without drinking

of was the health my Lady Elizabeth Hatton, which pledged ﬁrst by my Lord Keeper [Bacon"and my

Lord Marquis Hamilton , and then by all the gallants. ” in the next room . This exclusion from her party w as a direct an d a

to on his very public insult Coke the part of wife , and ,

on of through consent , that the King also . All Coke had gained by his daughter ’s marriage with Sir John

he Villiers was restoration to the Privy Council . As

his his had made up mind to take daughter to market,

f . he should have made certain o his bargain . This

to . he failed do As has been shown , he promised

down with her and a year . This Buckingham did n ot consider enough ; but Coke

to refused promise more, declaring that he would

1 S . P . . NO . 1 . , XCIV , 5 62 TH E CURIOUS CASE OF LADY P URBECK

’ not buy the King s favour too dear . In a letter to n ot Carleton , Chamberlain says that, if he had

stuck at this , Coke might have been Lord Chancel A of . s lor it was , he incurred the whole Odium having

his his w ho sold daughter , while wife, had gained the credit of protesting against that atrocious bargain , quietly pocketed its price in the coin of royal favour . Lady Elizabeth not only embroiled her own f family, but also brought discord about her af airs

of into the family another, as may be inferred from the following lette 1

“

to r . Elizabeth , Lady Hatton , Ca leton

MY RDE LO , I un derstan de by your letter the quarrel"of

betw een e unkindness yourself and your wife , but hav ing considered the cause of the difference to proceed o shew ne nly from your loving respect towards me , I hope that my thankfulle acknowledgements will be sufﬁcient reconcilement to give you both proceedings for the continuance of your wonted goode wille and affectione even though I un derstan de by your letter you thin ke women to be capable of little else but compliments . Wherefore to express a gracious c ou rtesie for your kindness as in the few wordes I am willing to utter you may assure yourselfe yt my desire is to remayn e “ Your assured loving Frend

I" H (Signed) EL A ATTON. HATTON HOUSE

20th Afarcﬁ 1 61 8 .

1 l D ona ames I . V o . V . 6 S P . , J , XC I NO 9 .

V II C H APT E R .

— 7 I . . c ut a e " ﬁ enr VI v . What is wedlock for ed, b h ll y , , , 5

LITTLE is recorded of the early married life of Sir

John and Lady Villiers . Before it began they had both been mere pawns in the game, and pawns they

be remained for a good many years afterwards . If fore her marriage the career of Lady Villiers . had lain in the hands of her father and her mother after

w as of her marriage it , for a time, in the hands her

-in - of brother law , Buckingham , as the career Sir John always had been and continued to be during the life of Buckingham . In the Secret History of james we read con “ cerning Buckingham : But I must tell you what

to got him most hatred , raise brothers and brothers in - law to the highest ranks of nobility , which were n ot capable of the place of scarce a justice of the

his peace ; only brother Purbeck , had more wit and honesty than all the ki ndred beside and did keep him in some bounds of honesty and modesty , whilst he lived about him , would speake plaine English

to . him If this be true , there must have been some good in Sir John ; but Buckingham was impervious

1 P 444 . 64 T ITLE -SELLING 65 t o his advice and treated him just as he pleased . It is possible , again , that Lady Villiers , without having any of the affection which a wife ought to have for a husband , may have had a sort of respect for him as a man of probity , much older than herself, who treated her well and even kindly .

u - George Villiers , a m shroom grown Duke him

his self, having made the King create mother Countess of Buckingham , bethought him of his eldest brother and determined to make him a peer . And not only

of that . H e also conceived the idea squeezing some ’ — more money out of his brother s mother in - law for

f ob him , by of ering her a peerage , for the cash thus

ain d w as t e . It suggested to her that she might be “ made Countess of Westmorland ; but she refused ” 1 to . buy the title at the price demanded Indeed , Lady E lizabeth w as ready to ﬁght anybody and

at everybody . On the one hand , she resisted the tempts of the almighty Buckingham to bleed her

Still further for Sir John Villiers , and , on the other , she wrote to the King concerning her husband I ﬁnd how desirous he is to rubb up anie thing to make ill bloode betwixt my sonne Villiers my ” 2 she selfe . Meanwhile prosecuted her husband in the Star Chamber . Mr . Brant wrote to Carleton The Ladie Hatton p rev ayleth exceedingly against her husband and bath driven him into a

1 ’ His au o f r k . 1 0 . o W Ed. o e oolrych s Life of Si r C , p 5 th rity

i n An n . ac . . . this statemen t s Camde , J , p 4 5 2 Letter quoted by Woolryc h. 66 THE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK

' n umn esse on a of of side , which is forerunner ye ”

alsie recov ured. dead p , though now he be somewhat 16 1 w as In May , 9 , Lady Elizabeth informed

n o that, if she would give that isle, longer an island ,

of h h to the Isle Purbeck , w ic was her property, her son -in - of law , she should be made Countess Purbeck an d he Viscount Purbeck ; but she refused to ex

for . change good land an empty name H owever , in July, Sir John Villiers was created Baron Villiers of Stoke (Stoke Pogis) and Viscount Purbeck . This

of heaping up peerages in the Villiers family, in addi

of tion to the number valuable posts , and especially

for high ecclesiastical posts , obtained by Buckingham his friends , or for anybody who would bribe him

to heavily enough to obtain them , led much murmur ing and ill -feeling among those whom he did n ot thus favour , and greatly irritated the populace . There was no apparent reason why Sir John Villiers should be ennobled , and his peerages were looked upon as

of a glaring piece jobbery .

w as un The Court also, at this time, becoming popular. Buckingham was ﬁlling it with licentious

of to gallants and with ladies a type match them.

of At Whitehall, there was a constant round dissipa tion and libertinism . Besides the very free and easy balls, masques and banquets, there were what were “ ” called quaint conceits of more than doubtful de cen c ff of lo y, and there was much bu oonery a very w

Secret Histor o tne C urt o o antes I . type . In the y f f [

is u 16 1 8 it recorded that , at this time , namely , abo t A CONVERS I ON

16 1 or 9 , there were none great with Buckingham

as but bawds and parasites , and such humoured him in his unchaste pleasures so that since his ﬁrst being ff a pretty , harmless , a able gentleman , he grew inso ” lent, cruel , and a monster not to be endured . Lord Purbeck held the appointment of Master of to the Robes Prince Charles , and he seems to have

of for lived in the palace the Prince ; , even as late as “ 1 2 of 6 5, we read Lady Purbeck remaining in the ” 1 In 16 2 to Prinses house . 0 Chamberlain wrote Carleton 2 that when Buckingham was overpressed

be by business , handed over suitors to his brother 3 1 8 h 1 6 2 . t 0 Purbeck On the of January , , a letter ’ of Nethersole s states that Purbeck had resigned his

of in post of Master the Robes , order to become

Master of the H orse to the Prince . At some date between that of his marriage in the

16 1 162 2 year 7 and , Purbeck was received into the

Catholic Church , by Father Percy , alias Fisher , a

n ot Jesuit . This step does appear in any way to have affected his position at Court . In a manuscript in the library of the large Jesuit College of Stony 4 “ hurst , in Lancashire , it is stated that the Viscount de Purbeck (sic) brother of the Marquis of Bucking ham , having been converted to the Catholic faith and

1 No . 2 . l. L . D on mes I . Vo P . a a S , J , C XXXIII , 5 2 V . NO . 1 . l. D om am s I . o S. P . e , J , CXII , 3 m es I NO . 1 8 . . P D o am . S . , J , 4 An d Recor ds An ia Vol. . on hurst MSS. l St y , g , VII 2 i nce tlze Societ o esus Ser es I . . . Englis/z P r ov of y f j , i , p 53 5 a 68 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURB EC K

reconciled to the Holy Church , by Father John P ersen s S. . to , J , betook himself the Countess , his

so mother , and gave her good an account of the said

Father , and of the consolation he had received of him , that she greatly desired to speak to him , and

she dis sending him to call the Father, heard him ”

&c . course fully of the Catholic faith ,

’ L an d s Diar is : 16 2 2 In y there an entry ,

2 April 3 . Being the Tuesday in Easter week, the King sent for me set me into a course about

w ho the countess of Buckingham , about that time

of was wavering in point religion . And again “ 1 2 May 4. The conference between Mr . Fisher

[Percy"a Jesuit, myself, before the lord Marquis of Buckingham , the countess , his mother . There are people who are of opinion that for a Protestant to become a Catholic is an almost certain

of proof madness and such will rejoice to hear that , some time after Lord Purbeck had been received

t is into the Ca holic Church , he either showed , or reputed to have shown , signs of lunacy . Some authorities doubt whether Purbeck was ever ou t of his mind but on the whole the weight of evidence is against them . Yet there are some rather

1 At a subsequen t c on feren ce Kin g James was presen t

r o t En lis/z Colle a t Rome Tlt (D ia y f ile g ge . e n ames of tile

Re or t Alumn i NO . A so c ds o he En lislz P r o , l f g vince of tlze h un f Bu . Series I . . . T e Co ess o c n am su s u n SJ , , p 53 3 t ki gh b eq e tly became a a o c and her son the Du e o a n C th li , , k , bt i ed leave from “ " the n for a er Pe c to e on a o e in her e Ki g F th r y liv p r l hous , which

hi m in Lon n f r ecame s o e do o ten ea s I bid. b h y r ( , p . THE WATERS O F SPAW

unaccountable incidents in their favour . Again ,

is when anybody reputed to be mad , exaggerated stories of his doings are very likely to be spread about . Even in these days of advanced medical

is to science , it sometimes difﬁcult decide whether a

or patient is insane not , and it is quite possible to suffer from very severe ﬁts of depression without being the subject of maniacal melancholia , or from

of very violent ﬁts passion without being a madman .

There is just a possibility , too , that Buckingham

his may have wished to keep brother quiet , or to get “ him out of the way , because that brother would speake plaine E nglish to him about his licentious conduct and other matters , as we have already read . When a friend or a relative tells a man that he is be having scandalously , the recipient of the information

‘ is apt to say that his informer is cracked . The earliest hint of Lord Purbeck’s insanity was “ 1 2 given in 6 0 . The Lord Viscount Purbeck went

1620 abroad in the latter end of May , under colour of drinking the waters of Spaw , but in fact , as Camden ” 1

us to . tells , hide his being run mad with pride The strongest evidence of anything like actual madness is 2 in a letter from Chamberlain to Carleton , written on

8 h 1 2 2 . t . June, 6 It may , however , be mere gossip

Pu rbecke The Lord of is out of order likewise , for this day feu rtn ight getting into a roome next the street in Wallingford house , he beat down the glasse

1 E. o oo n o e . f Sir e . B io . B r it n o ce o g , ti C k F t t 2 V l. . No . 2 . m s I . o C S . P . D om a e , J , XXXI , 4 70 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK w in c dow es with his bare ﬁsts and all blou died & .

If this be true, may it not be possible that he was trying to break his way out of a room in which Buckingham had locked him up on the pretence that he was insane 1 Of Wallingford House the same “ correspondent says in another letter ' Buckingham

’ has bought Lord Wallingford s house at Whitehall , 1 by paying some money making Sir Thomas H0 ward , Visct . Andover , and some say , releasing the ” Earl and Countess of Somerset .

1 62 In August , 3 , the Duchess of Buckingham

’ his h this would be Buckingham s wife and not mot er , the Countess of Buckingham— wrote to Conway

My sister and myselfe have seene a letter w ritt from you to Sir John K eyesley concerning my

11‘1 s ma Brother Purbeck , by his command and doubt

tie not but his ma hath bin informed with the most of his distemper . Wee have bin with him the moste parte of this weeke at London , and have found him very temperate by which wee thin ke hee is inclining

melan chol e ﬁtt towards his y , which if hee were in ,

w a es then hee might be perswaded any y , which at

1 D V l . P . om . . mes I o . a No . am S. C C e a n , J , XXVII , 3 5 h b rl i

- to Ca e on l th an ua 1 62 2 . ames I . 1 6 1 2 . Th rl t , g J ry, J , 9 3 , p 3 3 7. e

ce a d is sa d to a e been See Ga d n e V ol. pri p i i h v r i r, IV . ,

C a . XL. . 2 . Lo d a n o d was made Ea of B h p , p 79 r W lli gf r rl an bury, an d the subsequen t claim to this title became as curious as that to th t e of Pu ec c n e itl rb k, whi h will be show later . 2 P . D om ames I . V S . ol. LI . NO . 86 . , J , C ,

72 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

And I cannot expresse soe ﬁnely as his Ma

riseth did , how much he p and loveth that blessed sweetness in you , and you in it . But I must tell your m to thin ke Ma . Grace his prays you , not it a little distemper which carryed him to those publique actes ,

irrem edi and publique places , and to consider how

is his able it , when intemperance hath carryed him to

himselfe do some act of dishonour to , which may , and must , reﬂect upon his most noble Brother , beyond h the follies and disp roﬁts which he dayly p ractiset . And that your Grace will not only bee to suffer some sure course to bee taken for the conveying of him into the country , but that you will advise it and assist it with the most gentle (yet sure) w ayes possible . That he may be rest rayn ed from the power and pos sibilit as scorn e y of doing such acts may him , or be dangerous to him which these w ayes of acting ca n hi m h s Ma . sa et never provide for . For y there cannot

‘ ’ soe w hoe bee much as would have thought it , which

fooles a n sw e re : is the , left for an error in this for whoe would not thin ke that a distempered minde

‘ie may doe the worst to be done . H is Ma . therefore once more p rayes you that his former directions to Sir John Ers ley may bee put in ex ecution and the safest and surest for the goode of the unfortunate noble m his Ma person , and honor of youre deare Lorde, dearest servant . “ This is that I have in charge . My faith and duty calls for this profession that noe m an is more bound to study and endeavour the preservation of ’ HIS MAJ ESTY S DEAREST S ERVANT 73 the honor and good of those that have interest in my noble patron than myselfe nor noe man more bound a n d more ready to obey your commandments than “ ’ Your Grace s most humble servant .

AL E H T . 0 Au 62 D RS O 3 gust 1 3 .

a s The chief object aimed at by Conway and , will

w as be seen presently , by the King, to prevent any scandal or gossip about Purbeck ’ s behaviour injuring

“ ties ’ his Ma dearest servant , Buckingham . Purbeck s personal interests evidently counted for very little, if for anything. V III C H APT E R .

w d on e a una c e to h lf l ti .

Tami n o til e S/zrew . 1 . g f , II , POOR Purbeck seems to have had many amateur keepers . The King gave orders to a Sir John Hip

isle to p y remove him from the Court , in September 1 623 and on the zu d Sir John wrote to Conway

N B SIR O LE , I have received the King’s command and your directions in your letters to bring my Lord of Pu rbecke out of London which I have done and have made n o noise of it and have done all I could to give n o scandal to the Duke or Viscount He is

o now at Hampton Court , but is not willing to g any further till the king send express commande that he

Shall not staye here . Sir I have obeyed all the King’s commandes and ”— that without any scandal to the Duke, always the point of main importance now my humble request to you is that I may be free from entering any farther in this business and that I may come and kiss his Maj""s hand for now I am ﬁt . There is one Mr . Aimes that knoweth my Lord of Purbecke and ﬁtte to be 1 V l m s o . L . S . P . D om. a e C No . 6 . , J I III , A TEMPORARY RECOVERY

him employed by rate he hath power to persuade . I beseech you grant me fair of this and you shall have it me To be your faithful"servant ever to be commanded “ H PPI LE ( Signed) J o : I S Y. HAMPTON CO URT “ s 2 f e tem er thi o S p b .

From this it is very clear that Hippisley did n ot want to have anything more to do with a disagree able business and the question presents itself whether it w as because he disliked acting as keeper to a

or so lunatic , because he did not think Purbeck mad as w as pretended , if mad at all , and objected to having a hand in a Shady transaction .

to In the same month , the King wrote himself 1 Purbeck . The letter is almost illegible but its pur

of port appears to be to urge Lord Purbeck , out con

his ow n sideration for Buckingham , as well as for

to o to to good , g , and stay at, whatever place might be appointed for him by the Earl of Middlesex . During the summer of the following year Purbeck seems to have recovered his sanity but only

for . a time , although a considerable time Chamber 2 lain wrote to Carleton

MY VERY SWEETE LORD The Viscount Pu rbecke followed the court a good while in very goode temper , and there

1 . NO . 1 . D om ames I . V ol. CL S . P . . , J , II , 3 2 V l . NO . a th u 1 6 2 . P . D om. ames I . o . L S. , J , C XX , 54 , 4 J ly, 4 76 THE CURI OUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK was speech of making him a marquis that he might go before his younger brother but I heare of late he is f rais allen backe to his old c e and worse .

1 s Yo Lop most assuredly

at command ,

(Signed) J OHN CHAMB ERLAIN.

his in This Shows that , if Purbeck was insane, sanity was intermittent ; and it could not have been c hronic ; for in later years we read that he w as

his f managing own af airs and that he married again , f some time after the death o Frances .

From the following letter , written by Lady Pur

n beck to Bucki gham , and unfortunately undated , it would seem that Buckingham had driven her from her home, when she had become the subject of a cer t of a s ain amount vague scandal , but , so far was then known , or at least proved , of nothing more and that he had contrived that She should have none of the wealth which She had brought to her husband: As

w as a will be seen , she pparently penniless , except for what she received from her mother or her friends .

1 My Lord : Though you may judge what pleasure there is in the conversation of a man in the d See istemper you your brother in ; yet , the duty I o w e ff to a Husband , and the a ection I bear him (which Sickness shall not diminish) makes me much desire to be with him , to add what comfort I can to

fﬂ is his a icted mind , since his only desire my com

1 a i e r i n ia acr a abal S v Sc S . C etc . 1 8 , , , p 3 . ’ LADY PURBECK S LETTER 77

pany which , if it please you to satisfy him in , I shall

ff all with a very good will su er with him , and think but my duty , though I think every wife would not do so . But if you can so far dispense with the laws of

God to as keep me from my Husband , yet aggravate

his it not by restraining me from means , and all other contentments ; but , which I think is rather the part of a Christian , you especially ought much rather to study comforts for me , than to add ills to ills , since it is the marriage of your brother makes me thus miser able . For if you please but to consider , not only the

of lamentable estate I am in , deprived of all comforts

s a Husband , and having no means to live of beside falling from the hopes my fortune then did promise

o u to me ; for y know very well, I came no beggar

’

ou u off. y , though I am like so to be tur d

For your own honour and conscience sake , take

to some course give me satisfaction , to tye my tongue

for from crying to God and the world for vengeance ,

an d the unwilling dealing I have received , think not

’ to e send me again to my Mother s , wh re I have

of : stayed this quarter a year , hoping (for that Mother said you promised) order Should be taken for me ; but I never received a penny from you . Her con ﬁden ce in your nobleness made me so long silent ; but now , believe me , I will sooner beg my bread in

to the streets , all your dishonours , than any more trouble my friends , and especially my Mother , who w as not only content to afford us part of the little

she means hath left her , but whilst I was with her , 78 THE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURB ECK was continually distempered with devised Tales ”— which came from your Family , this refers to cer tain scandalous stories about her own conduct

she and withal lost your good Opinion , which before either had , or you made shew of it but had it been

a so re l, I can not think her words would have been ’ translated , nor in the power of discontented servants tales to have ended it .

My Lord , if the great H onour you are in can suffer you to have so mean a thought as of so miser able a creature as I am so made by too much credulity of your fair promises , which I have waited for per forman c e of almost these ﬁve years and now it were

hO e time to despair, but that I p you will one day be yourself, and be governed by your own noble thoughts , and then I am assured to obtain what I

so for desire, since my desires be reasonable, and but

ow n ou or mine , which whether y grant not , the a fﬂiction my poor husband is in (if it continue) will keep my mind in a continual purgatory for him , and will suffer me to Sign myself no other but your u n fortunate sister

UR EC . F . P B K This letter may be taken as evidence of Purbeck’ s

n ot lunacy . On the other hand it might possibly , if p lausibly, be argued that it may only mean that he was in a very bad state of bodily health accompanied

of by great mental depression . Some readers these pages may have experienced the capabilities of a liver in lowering the spirits .

80 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK of her person that she was afterwards ﬂogged until

n a she co sented to , make a marriage contract with

she man much older than herself, whom disliked

— a intensely form of marriage which was no marriage, a s her will for it w a s wanting and she w as literally

a forced into it , if any girl was ever forced into marriage . An old husband hateful to a young wife would become yet more unattractive if he became insane ,

his or . or eccentric , even an irritable invalid Then change of religion would most likely annoy her

’ re extremely . Whether a husband leaves his wife s li ion g for a better or a worse religion , it is equally distasteful to her . Her condition would be made still further miser able when she was turned out of her own home, and practically robbed of her own possessions , luxuries and comforts . From what we have seen of her

f she mother , it is di ficult to believe that was a tender hearted woman , to whom a daughter would go for consolation in her affliction nor could that daughter place much confidence in a mother w ho had once de i d h ce v e . w o her with a forged letter To her father , had treated her with great brutality and had sold her just as he might have sold a beast among his farm

to for stock, she would be still less likely turn comfort or for counsel . Add to all this that , as the wife of f ’ an o ﬁcial in Prince Charles s household , and as the

- in - w as a sister law of the reigning favourite , she good deal at the Court of James I . at a time when ROBERT WRI GH T it was one of the most dissolute in Europe ; and it will be easy to recognise that her whole life had been spent in unwholesome atmospheres . When we consider the position of a very beautiful

- - girl of between twenty one and twenty four , who had had such an education , had endured such villainous treatment , and was now placed under such trying con dition s , we can but feel prepared to hear that some or other of the usual results of bad education , bad treat ment , and bad surroundings exhibited themselves ,

a w as and surely if trouble , and worse th n trouble, ever likely to come of a marriage that had been an

’ on e empty form , Lady Purbeck s was after which it might be expected . " And it came Near Cripple Gate, at the North

1 6 2 w as Wall of London , in October , 4, born a boy named Robert Wright . More than a century later the Vicar of the Parish was asked to refer to his registers about this event , and he sent the following reply 1

LO N ON A r il 1 0 1 0 . D , p 74

I have searched my Parish Register ac cording to your directions and have found the follow ing E ntry concerning Robert Wright .

“ Christening in October 1 624 .

Son Robert , of John Wright , Gentleman , of

Bishopthorpe in Yorkshire , baptised in the Garden

1 ’ 1 1 8 . Coles M SS . Vol . . . , XXXIII , pp 7, 6 82 TH E CURIOUS C ASE O F LADY P URBECK

Man n in e House of Mr. g at the upper end of White h Cross Street 2ot .

I am , Sir ,

Your very humble servant ,

W ICHOLLS ILL N ,

’

Giles s . Vicar of St. Cripplegate

f w as The ather of this boy , in reality, Sir Robert

ff to H oward , the ﬁfth son of the Earl of Su olk, the Earl whose vigilance the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot

f in is attributed by some authorities . But Suf olk had

of curred the enmity Buckingham , had been deprived

f for of the O ﬁce of Lord Treasurer, had been tried peculation in the discharge of it , and then condemned in the Star Chamber to imprisonment in the Tower and a ﬁne of When he was liberated , he

his was told that two of sons , who held places in the ’ King s household , were expected to resign them but

f to Suf olk , in very Spirited letters to the King and

Cabala . Buckingham ( , pp 3 3 3 , protested against this . The whole family , therefore, was in bad odour at Court and with Buckingham at this time. Sir Robert Howard was a brother of the ﬁrst Earl of Berkshire, who married a niece of Lady Elizabeth

Hatton . It may possibly have been through this con n ection by marriage that Sir Robert H oward became

o acquainted and intimate with Lady Purbeck and, t make a long story short , let it be observed here that, in

to w as relation the boy who christened Robert Wright ,

Lady Purbeck had had what , among the lower classes , “ n is euphemistically termed a misfortu e . IX C H APT E R .

The ﬁ ’ s n we do e s all the a e s . r t thi g , l t kill l wy r

Hén r 2 . 2 VI . y , , IV ,

A UG w as LTHO H Robert Wright baptised in October ,

1 62 his is 4, the date of birth uncertain . H e may have been born many months before his baptism but his b eing christened at a private house rather points the other way . Anyhow , proceedings were instituted against Sir Robert H oward and Lady Purbeck, long

Til e Dia r o before the child was christened . In y f A rc/i oisnop L au d occurs the following entry for the year 1 6 24 “ L r d u r 2 1 . F r ida . o jan a . y The business of my

P u r éecfe . , made known unto me by my Lord Duke This business of my Lord Purbeck may refer exclu siv el y to his insanity , or reputed insanity but it seems more probable that it has reference to the H oward

Purbeck scandal . 1 A letter from the Lord Keeper , Williams , Bishop of 1 1th Lincoln , to Buckingham , and written on

162 March , 4, shows that the proceedings against Sir Robert H oward and Lady Purbeck were in full swing a t that date .

1 8 1 . Cabala . 2 , p 83 84 THE CURI OUS CAS E OF LADY PURB ECK

May it please your Grace ,

Sir Robert H oward appeared yesterday , and

his w e continues obstinate in refusal to swear . When came to examine the Commission for our Power to

ﬁne him for his Obstinacy , we found , that Sir Edward

Coke (foreseeing, out of a prophetical Spirit , how near

- it might concern a Grand Child of his own) , hath ex pu n ged this Clause (by the Help of the Earl of Salis bury) out of the Commission , and left us nothing but the rusty Sword of the Church , Excommunication ,

e to vindicate the Authority of this Court . We hav given him day until Saturday next , either to conform , or to be excommunicated . She hath answered wittily , f and cunningly , but yet su ﬁcient for the Cognisance of the Court : Confesseth a Fame of Incontinen ce against her and H oward but saith , it was raised by

’ her Husband s Kindred . I do not doubt , but the Business will go on well ; but (peradventure) more slowly , if Howard continue refractory , for want of this power to ﬁne and amerce him . “ as That Lady Purbeck answered wittily , or , “ ” is would now be said , cleverly in court , not to be wondered at for w as She not the daughter of a father who had been the cleverest barrister of his day , and of a mother who w as more than a match for that cleverest of barristers " A couple of days later the same correspondent 1 “ ’ to : wrote the Duke For your Brother s Business , this is all I have to acquaint your Grace with : Sir

1 a a a . 28 2 . C b l , p A PATCH ED -UP PEACE 85

Robert H oward appeared , yesterday , at Lambeth , pretended want of Council (the Doctors being out of

to- Town) desired respite until morrow , and had it ’ m e n granted by my Lord s Grace . Most think he will not take his Oath at all I do incline to the con trar y Opinion , because, to my knowledge, he hath sent

for far and near , the most able Doctors in the King dom , to be feed for him , which were great folly , if he

n ot is x reaml intended to answer. H e e t y commended for his closeness and secrecy by the major part of our

- Auditors (the H e and She Good fellows of the Town , )

is and though he refuseth to be a Confessor, yet he s to of ure dye a Martyr , and most the Ladies in Town will worship at his Shrine. The Lady Hatton , some nine days Since was at Stoke , with the good Knight her Husband , for some counsel in this particular ; but to “ dis mist he refused meddle therewithal , and her

Ladishi p , when she had stayed with him very lovingly half a quarter of an hour . There had been some sort of reconciliation be

16 2 1 tween Coke and Lady E lizabeth in July , , says “ Woolr ch y in his life of Coke , a reconciliation effected through the mediation of the King. It was “ n ot for to , however, cordial ; we have good reason suppose that they lived apart to the day of Coke’s ” death , says Campbell . At any rate they were now on speaking terms , though that was about all for , as

to we have just seen , Coke refused meddle in a matter upon which he was eminently qualiﬁed to give an

ot of opinion , and he g rid Of his wife after an interview 86 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

of seven minutes and a half, instead giving her the leisurely an d lengt hy advice and instructions which were the least that She might have expected from f . o him Sympathy , course, she could not have hoped for. The proceedings against the two delinquents would appear to have been in abeyance during the

of 162 rest the year but in January, 5, Sir John Coke

— of on e of the Secretary State, not the Cokes of ’ 1 f — to Sir Edward s amily wrote Buckingham , saying

so to that the King, although ill as scarcely be able t o S to ign his name, had put it the warrant sent by the Lord Chief Justice for authority to examine into ’ a L dy Purbeck s business . This warrant, however ,

or James either issued with certain qualiﬁcations , else privately advised Buckingham only to act upon with prudence, as may be inferred from the following 2 1 1 letter , written on February the th , by Buckingham to the Lord Chief Justice

' for I have moved the P . a warrant from his ma for of R0 i the commitment Sir . Howard and my s s

tie his ma ou t ter Purbeck, but hath of his gracious and provident care of me dissuaded me in this lest upon it coming to a publique hearing it might be thought that I had gained power more by the way of favour

wa es of than by the y justice . I desire you to acquaint this bearer Mr . Innocent Lanier all the particulars of this matter for I know him to be very

1 V S. P . Dom ames I . l o . CL . N , J , XXXII , o. 79 . 2 P . D ona ames . V S. I ol. L . No . , J , C XXXIII , 4 1 .

88 THE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURB ECK

is . It true that , ﬁfty years afterwards , in a petition to the House of Lords 1 by Lord Denbigh against a

is claim made by a son of Robert Wright , it stated that Lord and Lady Purbeck had not lived together as man and wife for two years before the birth of Robert Wright ; and that Lord Purbeck was en trusted in the hands of physicians for the cure of a n melancholy distemper , occasio ed by the cruelty and ” disorders of his wife . But this claimed absence of

is two years , or anything approaching two years . very questionable , if not very improbable ; and although there is not much doubt as to the real parentage of w Robert Wright , Purbeck may have lived ith his wife sufﬁciently near the birth of the boy to imagine himself his father. Indeed , as the following letter will Show , she s o was far at Court , as to be living in Prince ’ 16 2 Charles s house so late as February, 5, a year after

. as the birth of the boy Moreover , we have seen , Lord Purbeck held ofﬁce in Prince Charles ’s house hold , and from this it might be inferred that Purbeck i and Lady Purbeck were then together . This s the more likely because in the following letter Bucking “ ham expresses a fear that his brother will be also every day runni n g to her and give her occasion to ” w orke subtlt on him by the y of her discourse . And if the husband and wife had access to each other when the proceedings against the latter had gone so far , they are much more likely to have been to

1 f M SS. o ﬂ u ﬁ ouse o Lords 2 2 8 oth A 1 6 f f , , 3 pril, 75 . Hist . R Pa Com. M SS . n e o . . 0 . , Ni th p rt , rt II , p 5 AN AFFECTI ONATE BROT HER-IN-LAW 89

gether during the year . preceding the birth of the boy . All this only affects the question whether Pur

’ his beck discredited wife s ﬁdelity . Nothing has been said above in favour of the theory that She was faithful . Buckingham experienced considerable difﬁculties

1 in the prosecution of Lady Purbeck . On 5th Feb 1 ruar 162 y , 5, he wrote from Newmarket to the Lord Chief Justice :

MY RD LO , I un derstan de you are not yet resolved to committ my sister Purbeck w ho (if she be at Lib bertie) will be still plotting and devising with her ill counsellors to cover and conceal the truth and fowl ness of her crime and my brother will be also every day running to her and give her occasion to w orke

is on him by the subtlty of her discourse . It known

tie that His Ma was tender (at the ﬁrst mention of this business) of the hande of a Lady of her quallity but sure [if"he hath fully understood the proofs and truth of her fault and how dishonorably she hath carryed herself he would have no more support showen to her than to an ordinary Lady in the like case for that ” she hath by her ill carriage forfyted that hande. Things were n ot going so well now as they had been with Buckingham . Within twelve months he

to e of was be imp ached in the H ouse Commons and ,

1 L X o. 2 . V . N S . P . D om . ames I . ol C . , J , XX III , 5 90 THE CURIOUS CAS E OF LADY PURB ECK

although still high in the royal favour , his King may not have been so completely his servant at k this time as he had been formerly . Buc ingham continues It is likewise very unﬁt she should remayn e in the Prinses house for defying which I thin ke much aggravates her crimes and his highness often speaks

dis as in t t of her continuance there . You are well

w so acquainted ith the proof which is against her , as I shall not nede to tell you how much it reminds me to be careful"in the prosecution of her faulte but I assure you there is nothing that more sollis its my

than ke for minde . I you the paynes you have always taken in this business , which my earnest de sire is to have to be fully discovered and that you will for much oblige me by the continuance of the care and diligence therein as that she may be tym ely prevented in her cunning endeavours to hinder the discovery of the truth of the facts whereof She stands justly accused which (in my Opinion) cannot be done but by her present commitment .

And Sir , I rest ,

Your very loving friend .

Upon syght of the pregnancy of the proofes and Rob the guiltiness of Sir . H oward and my Sister , I desire that you will com mitt them to prison with little

respect , from where I heare Sir Rob . H oward is , ’ for an Alderman s House is rather an honour than disparagement to him and rather a place of entertain

9 2 THE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURB ECK

I have written a letter to yourself and to Mr . Attorney regarding the business of the Lady Purbeck Showing that I desire you principally only to ag gravate her crimes that the Lady by my humble and

be your like kind favour may yet be kept in prison ,

retu rn e fore the to towne , for other my brother who hopes to be going soune will not be kept from her and she will (if he should meet with her) so w orke on him by her subtilty and that shee will draw from him something to the advantage of her dishonourable cause and to her end . Here again is evidence that

Purbeck will not be kept from his wife and that , “ if they meet shee will draw something to the ad ” vantage of her case in the divorce suit . In what form could this something come " Is it possible that Buckingham may have thought that She might in duce Purbeck to appear as a witness in her favour " Or that she might persuade him to stop the suit if he should happen to be sane enough to do so when it came on "

The next letter has an interest, ﬁrst, because it ’ shows that Lady Purbeck s child w as really in the custody of Buckingham . Nominally it was probably in that of Purbeck ; but , if Purbeck as a lunatic was ’ in the custody of Buckingham , what was in Purbeck s ’ custody would be in Buckingham s custody . Pre sen tl y, however , we shall hear of the child being with its mother in her imprisonment at the house of an

Alderman . LAN IER ’ S LETTER

1 I n n ocen t L t an ier o B u ckingﬁam . a May it ple se your grace,

A on retu rn e pp my to London , I presently re a red : Chiefe p y to my Lo Justice , where I found

. . r Mr Attorney and Mr Solicitor . I have hee inclosed fore your Grace ther letter which before it was sealed they showed mee , being something con

Ch trar n hte w w as y to their resolution last yg , , to have R . 0 : s o sent for Sr Howard this morning, and to comitt 0105 5 Fleett him in the , but of this I presume ther letter will give yor . Grace such satisfaction that

of I shall need neither to write more of it , nor what ’ i r des e . is yett past . They much yor Grace s com

w ilbe as w ilbe ing to towne w eb. I hope speedy it

" ﬁn de material . I them resolved to deale roundly in

desiers this Busnes as yor . Grace and are this morning in the ex amination of divers witness the better to Inform themselves agayn st my Ladies com

aftern oon e . ing this The next Day , they Intend to

u on fall upp on Lambe and Frodsham . My Lady pp the receipt of my 10 : Chiefe Justice letter is some thing dismayed but resolved to prove a new lodging,

re and new keepers . The Childe , and Nurse , must

u s mayne with till farther directions , having nothing

n w h a ua t . t . more at this present to q y yor Grace of, my humblest duty I take leave .

’ Yor . Grace s most humble and “ obedient Servant ,

L NI ( Signed) I . A ER . M K DEN AR HOUSE. “ PM. 1 1 6 2 . 9 , 5 1 V V N . an D om am s I . ol. L os d I . P . e C S . J . XXXI 7 T 94 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

l So . . En close . . d. Att Gen Coventry and Gen ’

Heath to Buckingham . Have consulted with Sir Henry Martin on Lady

’ Purbeck s business , and think the best plan would be

' to have the case brought before the High CommiS

sit sion Court , which can without delay , in the vaca tion , and when the crime is proved there, the divorce

u n adv is can be obtained by ordinary law . Think it

is able to send the culprits to prison , as it unusual for persons of their rank but advise that they may be c onﬁned in the houses of Aldermen , where in fact they would probably be more closely restrained than in prison . The last statement sounds curious especially as

s aw we , a few pages ago , that Buckingham wrote “ an Alderman ’s house is rather an honour than “ disparagement and rather a place of entertainment than a prison . Buckingham now sought a fresh weapon against

-in - his sister law . A couple of scoundrels , mentioned

’ in rodsham Lanier s letter , and named F and Lambe, f men suspected of sorcery, of ered to give evidence to the effect that Lady Purbeck had paid them to help b her to ewitch both Purbeck and Buckingham . On l 6th 1 62 1 the of February , 5, Buckingham wrote to

C A - oventry, the ttorney General “ I perceive by the paper I have received how much I am beholding to you and do also understand by Innocent Lanier and others of the paynes [you"

1 P D ona ames I . Vol. CL S. . N . 6 , J , XXXIII . , o 5 .

96 THE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK

that , unless Lady Purbeck were put in prison , Lord “ Purbeck would not be kept from her , which does n ot look as if he can have been afraid lest she should bewitch him . The letter runs “ I have written a letter to yourself and Mr . Attorney concerning the business of the Lady Pur beck which I desire you on whose love to me I principally rely to aggravate and ayre the crimes of that Lady and her dealings with Lambe and the like, so soon as yet she may be before my coming to London committed to some prison for otherwise my

w ho brother hopes to be going hence, will not be kept from her and she will (if he Should come to her) so w orke on him by her subtilty as that she will draw from him something to the advantage

o of her dishonourable ends and t his prejudice . Iff ffrodsham and Lambe once feele or be brought to feare their punishment I believe they will u n

for fold much more than they yet have, it seems they have but boath sported in their examinations,

&c .

This letter, again, proves that Lord Purbeck was on good terms with Lady Purbeck, and that Buck ingham was striving to keep them apart and it adds still further support to the theory that it was not Lord Purbeck but Buckingham w ho was trying to divorce “ Lady Purbeck, by aggravating and airing her crimes . Buckingham himself w as suspected of having dealings with Lambe on his own account for Arthur A CONJ URER AND A SORCERER 97

1 Li I ' e o ames . Wilson says , in his f f j Dr Lamb , a man of an infamous Conversation , (having been ar rai n ed Wor g for a Witch , and found guilty of it at ces te r ; and arraigned for a Rape , and found guilty

’ of it at the King s Bench - Bar at Westminster ; yet

of for escaped the Stroke Justice both , by his Favou r in Court) was much employed by the Mother and the ” i e Son , . . , by the Duke of Buckingham and his

’ mother . If this be true, Buckingham s conduct to wards Lady Purbeck , in connection with Lambe,

n ot to does seem have been very straightforward . ’ “ n o Lambe s favour in Court , however , proved 1 protection to him in the streets . Whitelock writes in 163 2 ' This Term the business of the Death of

’ Doctor Lamb was in the King s Bench , wherein it appeared that he w as neither Dr . nor any way

for Lettered , but a man odious to the Vulgar , some

of Rumors that went him , that he was a Conjurer or

Sorcerer , and he was quarrelled with in the Streets in

as London , and the people more and more gathered about him , so they pelted him with rotten Eggs , Stones , f f and other ri f ra f, justled him , beat him , bruised him ,

so to and continued pursuing him from Street Street , till they were ﬁve hundred people together following him . This continued three hours together until Night , and no Magistrate or Ofﬁcer of the Peace once showed himself to stop this Tumult : so the poor man being

1 a mden Com lete Histor o E n la nd Vol. . . 1 ed. C , p y f g , II , p 79 ( 1 71 9) 2 A a irs etc . . 1 . Memor ials of the English f , , p 7 7 9 8 T HE C URI OUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK

above eighty years of age, died of this violence, and no Inquisition was taken of it nor any of the Male factors discovered in the City . 1 On the 26th of February Chamberlain wrote to Carleton “ th Pu rbecke w The Lady her young sonne , and

Sr . Robert Howard are committed to the custodie of General"Aldermen Barkham and Freeman to be close

mm o kept . When she was carried to Sergeants y e t

x h Chiefe O be e amined by t e new L. Justice and thers she saide she marv ailled what those poore old cuck

is olds had to say to her . There an imputation laide o n her that with powders and potions she did in tox i cate her husbands braines , and practised somewhat in that kinde upon the D . of Buckingham . This (they say) is confest by one Lambe a notorious old rascal"that was condemned the last sommer at the K s . bench for a rape and arraigned some yeare or two before at Worcester for bewitching my L.

Windsor 4 4 I see not what the fellow can gaine by

han d this confession but to be g the sooner . Would you thin ke the Lady Hatte n s s tomacke could stoupe k t o go see e her L . Cooke at Stoke for his coun saile and assistance in this business It would appear that Buckingham really believed Lady Purbeck to have possessed herself of some powers of witchcraft and that he felt considerable u n

as a easiness on his own account , well s on his ’ brother s , in connection with it for he seems to have

1 . P D om V S . am I . . es l. L o V . NO . , J , C XXXI , 4 7.

100 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

f sa in e that he of ered to laye his hand on your head y g , I would doe noe more than thiss ; And that there

fearin e sorcer e or upon you started backe, g some y ye " like , and that you were not quiett til you had spoken

to f with me about it . This , or much this ef ect is the uttermost I can remember that passed at ye time . Buckingham had evidently felt some scruples about meddling with the Black Art , and had con su l ed t Laud on the question . It is also pretty plain

w as f that Laud anxious not to of end Buckingham , yet , at the same time, wished to guard against any

of possibility of being accused of approving, or even conniving at , witchcraft . These notes occur in a “ of draft of a speech , in the handwriting Bishop

to Laud , and apparently intended to be addressed the House of Commons , by the Duke of Buckingham . It has not been found that this latter speech w as ever ” actually spoken . SO far as accusations against Lady Purbeck of witchcraft were concerned , Buckingham must have 1 found that he had no case ; for , in a letter to Carle ton on 1 2th 16 2 , written March , 5, Chamberlain says that the charge of sorcery had been dropped ; but that Lady Purbeck was to be prosecuted for in con

n n ti e cy. He adds that Sir Robert H oward w as a close prisoner in the Fleet in spite of the advice given by the Attorney -General and the Solicitor General three weeks earlier— and that Lady Purbeck ’ w as Barkham s n o a prisoner at Alderman , had

1 P D om. am I . V l. L S . . es o X V . NO . 8 , J , C X X , 4 . EX COMMUN ICAT ION

friends who would stand bail for her , and was asking Buckingham to let her have a little money with

’ which to pay her counsel s fees . Eleven days later 1 Chamberlain again wrote to Carleton , saying that Lady Purbeck was acquittin g herself well in the Court of H igh Commission ; that a servant of the

’ A rchbishop s had been committed for saying that she

she had been hardly used , and that called this man o n e of her martyrs . H e also states that Sir Robert

H oward had been publicly excommunicated at St .

’ Paul s Cross, for refusing to answer . H ow long the delinquents were kept in captivity

of is very doubtful . Little else is recorded either of

of them during the next two years ; but , at the time

1 6 2 their trial in 7, they would seem to have been at liberty . The reason of this long interval between the trial in the Court of High Commission in 1 62 5 and that before the same Court in 16 27 seems in explicable .

1 D om ames I . NO . . S . P . , J , 99 X C H APT E R .

Let us e ea P a se to God an d e Laud to the giv gr t r i , littl

Devil .

G ace sa d b the Cou es e A c e A ms on en he ( r i y rt J t r, r hi r tr g , wh had be act as c a a n in the absen ce of a O fﬁc a gged to h pl i . th t i l ,

- s Laud was e in at the dinn er table of Charles I . Archbi hop littl stature . )

THE following account of the trial of Lady Purbeck 1 in 16 27 is given by Archbishop Laud : Now the Cause of Si r Robert How ard w as this

He fell in L eagu e with the L ady Viscou n tess P u rbeck . The L ord Viscou nt P u rbecb being in some weak ness and distemper , the Lady used him at her pleasure , and betook her self in a manner , wholly to Sir Robert

w as H oward , and had a Son by him . She delivered of this Child in a Clandestine way , under the Name

M i str ss i e Wri a . of g These things came to be known ,

H li - Commission and she was brought into the ig , and

u there, after a Legal Proceeding, was fo nd guilty of

Adu lter P en n an ce : y , and sentenced to do Many of the great Lords of the Kingdom being present in ” Court , and agreeing to the Sentence .

1 Tile [Yistory of tbc Troubles and Try al of tlze most Rever end

Fatber i n God a nd B lessed M art r William La ud Arclzbi , y , , sbop r H o Can ter bu . o e mse du n hi f y Wr t by i lf, ri g s Imprison men t in h T L n t e o e : o on R. s e 6 1 6 w r d , Chi w ll , 1 95 , p . 4 .

102

104 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURB ECK

her place of withdrawal or , to speak plainly , her place f As she o w as . hiding, undiscovered we have seen ,

w as was sentenced on the l gth of November . She not arrested ; but she w as commanded to present ” herself on a certain Sunday at the Savoy chapel , to perform her public penance . As might have been

she expected , did not present herself, to the great dis

of she appointment a large congregation , and thereby f dis exposed herself to arrest . The o ﬁcials did not cover her place oi retreat u ntil about Christmas . The following story of an incident that then happened in connection with this matter is told by Sir John 1 in e F tt .

-at - A serjeant arms , accompanied by other ofﬁcers o f justice and their men , proceeded to the house in which Lady Purbeck was concealed , and at once guarded every door into the Street ; but admittance

un was refused , and the Co tess of Buckingham sent “ ” “ ” a gentleman to the Ambassador of Savoy , whose garden adjoined that of the house in which

Lady Purbeck was staying, to beg the Ambassador that he would allow the ofﬁcers to pass through his house and garden into the garden of Lady Purbeck’s house of refuge “ for her more easy apprehension and arrest that way .

in The Ambassador refused , considering it an dignity to be asked to allow men of such a type a free ﬁ passage through his house, and feeling horri ed at “ the idea of lending assistance to the surprise and

1 Fi netti P /zzlox en is Lon d n 1 6 o 6 . 2 . , , 3 , p 3 9 O N THE WRONG SCENT

arrest of a fair lady , his neighbour . After many protests , however , he consented to the entrance of

man w as one constable into his garden , and the to of Am avail himself an opportunity which , said the bassador - , would occur at dinner time, of passing into the garden of the next house and arresting Lady

Purbeck .

a In the meantime the Ambass dor called his page ,

his a handsome fair boy , and , with the help of

’ attendants , dressed him in women s clothes. He then ordered his coach to be brought round , and when it came , his attendants , ostentatiously , but with a Show

out of of great hurry and fear of discovery , ran the “ house with the sham -lady and thrust her suddenly

off. into the carriage, which immediately drove

his The constable, congratulating himself upon

as sharpness in discovering, he thought , the escape of Lady Purbeck, at once gave the alarm to his “ followers o utside . The coach drove fast down the

Strand , followed by a multitude of people, and those

f n ot o ﬁcers , without danger to the coachman , from their violence, but with ease to the Ambassador , that ” had his house by this device cleaned of the constable .

While all this turmoil was going on in the Strand , Lady Purbeck went quietly away to another place of hiding ; but her escape got the gallant and kind hearted Ambassador into great trouble . Bucking ham was enraged when he heard of the trick . Sir

Fin u John ett shall himself tell s what followed . “ Buckingham , he says , declared that all this was 106 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURB ECK

done of designe for the ladies escape, (which in that

she hubbub made) , to his no small prejudice and

so scorn , in a business that nearly he said concerned

she him , ( being wife to his brother), and bringing him children of anothers begetting ; yet such as by the law (because begotten and born while her hus

n hi band was i the land) must be of s fathering . The ambassador for his purgation from this charge, went immediately to the Duke at Whitehall , but w as den ied accesse Whereupon repairing to my

his t o Lord Chamberlain for mediation, I was sent him by his lordship , to let him know more particularly

’ the Duke s displeasure, and back by the ambassador to the Duke with his humble request but of one quar

m in ter O f an hours audience for his disbla g. But the duke returning answer , that having always held him s o much his friend and given him so many fair proofs of his his so respects , he took proceeding unkindly , as

a d he was resolved not to spe k with him . I reporte this to the ambassador , and had for his only answer ,

t . wha reason cannot do , time will Yet, after this the Earls of Carlie"and H olland interposing ; the ambas

his sador , (hungry after peace from a person of such

u b power , and regarding his masters service and the p f lic af airs), he a seven night after obtained of the duke

s an interview in Whitehall garden , and after an hour ” parley , a reconciliation .

AS f has just been seen , the o ﬁcers of the law lost

. do sight of Lady Purbeck So also , for the present we ; but we know what became of her ; for she w as

108 THE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK himself with attending the Speaker to the bar of the

H ouse of Lords when judgment was to be prayed , and with hearing the Chief Justice, by order of the

in ca Lords , condemn Bacon to a ﬁne of p acit x y ever to hold any ofﬁce again , e ile from Court , and imprisonment in the Tower during the King’s pleasure . It w as generally supposed that the ex ultant Coke

f : would now be of ered the Great Seal but , to the astonishment of the world and to Coke s unqualiﬁed “ chagrin , the King proclaimed Williams , a shrewd ” as Welsh parson , Lord Campbell calls him , Lord

Keeper in the place of Bacon . After this disappoint

ﬁercer ment , Coke became even against the Court

’ ’ than he had been before Bacon s disgrace . Bacon s “ ’ ” as ﬁne was remitted , the King s pleasure to the

his w as length of imprisonment only four days, he w as to allowed return to Court , and he was enabled to interest himself with the literary pursuits which he loved better than law and almost as much as power but he was harassed by want of what , perhaps , he may have loved most of all , namely money , and he

1626 his con demn a died in , ﬁve years after fall and tion . Although Buckingham was at the summit of his glory , everything did not go well with him during the period at which he was scheming to rid his

of 1 62 brother Lady Purbeck . In 3 he went to Spain with Prince Charles to arrange a marriage with the

Infanta, a match which he failed to bring about . In ASSASS INAT ION O F B UCK I NGHAM 109

16 26 w as he impeached , though unsuccessfully , by

16 2 the H ouse of Commons . In 7 he commanded an

to Rhé expedition the Isle of against the French , on behalf of the H uguenots , and completely failed in the

16 2 attempt . In 8 a new Parliament threw the blame upon him of all the troubles and drawbacks from f which the country was then suf ering and , in August ,

w as the same year , he murdered by an assassin less than twelve months after he had succeeded in his proceedings against Lady Purbeck . It w as n ot until shortly after the death of Bacon that his rival , Sir Edward Coke , reached the zenith of his fame as a politician . Only a few months before the death of Buckingham , Coke framed the celebrated

of n Petition Rights , a document which has often bee

as M a n a Cle r ta spoken of the second g a . He had gained little through his attempt to bribe Buckingham by giving his daughter and her wealth to Bucking

’ ham s brother , and he was now exasperated against

’ the royal favourite and that favourite s royal master. “ ”

of . In the H ouse Commons , Sir Ed Coke , says 1 “ his M emor ials to Whitelock in , named the Duke be the cause of all their miseries , and moves to goe ” to the King, and by word to acquaint him . Rush 2 ’ w orth writes more fully of this speech of Coke s .

u s Sir Edward Cook spake freely . Let palliate

n o . longer ; if we do , God will not prosper us I think the Duke of Buckingham is the cause of all ou r miseries and till the King be informed thereof,

1 2 P 1 t on . 60 d. . 0 . H tor ica o lec i s e is l C l , p 7 ( 1 10 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY P URBECK

we shall never go out with honour , or Sit with honour here ; that man is the Grievance of Grievances : let us set down the causes of all our disasters, and all will reﬂect upon him And Coke was as bitter against the King. A little later Charles I . had issued a warrant for a certain commission , when , 1 in a conference with the Lords, Coke moved “ That the Warrant may be damned and de stroyed . After the prorogation of Parliament which soon followed , Coke retired into private life and lived at

Po is is en cou r Stoke g , where he supposed to have

his his aged neighbour, Hampden , in plots against the Court. In the year 1 63 2 Lady Purbeck left Sir Robert

Howard to live with and take care of her father . She probably went to him on hearing that he had been 2 his seriously hurt by a fall from his horse . In diary “ rd of Coke thus describes this accident The 3 May ,

16 2 3 , riding in the morning in Stoke, between eight

’ and nine o clock to take the air, my horse under me had a strange Stumble backwards and fell upon me (being above eighty years old) where my head lighted near to sharp stubbles , and the heavy horse upon f “ me . He declares that he suf ere d no hurt at all but , as a matter of fact , he received an internal injury . “ Lord Campbell says that , from this time his

1 ’ R r h ushwo t s Collections . 6 1 6 . , p 2 m b V l Ca e o . I . . . p ll, , p 3 3 4

1 12 THE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK

set ought to be in the stocks , or whipped from tithing ” to tithing. Nor can Lady Purbeck have found him a very tractable patient . He had no faith in either physicians 1 or physic . Mead wrote to Sir Martin Stuteville “ Sir Edward Coke being now very inﬁrm in body , a friend of his sent him two or three doctors to regu late his health , whom he told that he had never taken physic since he was born , and would not now begin ; and that he had now upon him a disease which all the drugs of Asia , the gold of Africa, nor all the — doctors of Europe could cure old age . He therefore both thanked them and his friend that sent them , and dismissed them nobly with a reward of twenty pieces ” to each man . Doubtless a troublesome invalid for a daughter to manage. At last it became apparent that the end w as rapidly approaching, and then Lady Purbeck was Tw subjected to a most embarrassing annoyance . o ’ days before her father s death she w as summoned

his Win deban k from bedside to receive Sir Francis , the Secretary of State , who had arrived at the house, accompanied by several attendants , bringing in his hand an order from the King and Council to search ’

Sir Edward Coke s mansion for seditious papers and , if any were found , to arrest him .

Sir Francis , on hearing the critical condition of

Sir Edward , assured Lady Purbeck that he would give her father no personal annoyance but he insisted

1 Ha e an MS. 0 f rl i 3 9 , ol. 53 4 . DEATH OF COKE on searching all the rooms in the house except that in which Coke was lying ; and he carried away every manuscript that he could ﬁnd , including even Sir ’ — Edward s will a depredation which subsequently

a caused his family gre t inconvenience. It is believed that Coke was kept in ignorance of this raid upon his

of house, probably by the care and vigilance Lady

Purbeck . Thus his last hours were undisturbed, and on rd of 1 6 8 rd of the 3 September, 34, in the 3 year

of of his age, died one the most disagreeable men his

of times, but the most incorruptible judge in a period exceptional judicial corruption . X I C H APT E R .

' ’ ’ The c c e smil d en whis er d an d en sn eer d ir l , th p , th , ' Th m es d an d the a fr e iss bridle , m tron s own d

’ Some hoped thin gs might n ot turn out as they fear d Some wou ld n ot deem such women could be foun d ’ Some n e er believed on e half of what they heard ’ ’ ’

m look d er lex d an d o e s lo k o oun . So e p p , th r o d pr f d

D on uan ix 8 j , . , 7 .

S N of to OO after the death Sir Edward Coke, up the date of which event his daughter had apparently been taking care of him with great ﬁlial piety for two years and living a virtuous life , she came to London . About this coming to London Archbishop Laud 1 n ot must be allowed to have his say , albeit altogether a pleasant say “

i . e. They , , Sir Robert H oward and Lady “ Purbeck , grew to such boldness , that he brought her up to London and lodged her in Westminster .

w as This so near the Court and in so open View , that

of as the King and the Lords took notice it , a thing

so full of Impudence, that they should publickly ad venture to outface the Justice of the Realm , in so

. on e as fowl a business And day , I came of course to his wait on Majesty, he took me aside , and told

1 ' fﬁ stor o til e Troubles and Tr al o Ar cbbislzo La ud y f y f p (ed. 1 6 p . 4 .

1 16 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

f take Sir Robert H oward at Suf olk H ouse , and to carry him to the Fleet but there w as never any p ro ceedin g against him , for he refused to take the oath ex -o cio ﬁ , and had the Parliament to back him out , but I fear he will not escape s o now . It is open to those who may like to do so to take Laud ’s words as meaning that Lady Purbeck and Sir Robert Howard were again living together in im ’ morality . Possibly that may have been Laud s

w as . meaning. If it , he may have been mistaken The world is seldom very charitable and , when Sir Robert and Lady Purbeck were both in London— which was comparatively a small place in those days— the gos sips would naturally put the worst construction on the matter . If the very proper Charles I . heard such

so rumours , he would most likely believe them also would Laud . From the meagre evidence existing on the — question , there is much the present writer thinks most — to be said in favour of the theory that the relations of Lady Purbeck to Sir Rober H oward f were , at this time, per ectly innocent, and that they had been SO ever since she had left him to live with her father , two years earlier . To begin with , is it

so r likely that if, after long a separation , the pai had wished to resume their illicit intercourse, they would have chosen London as the place in which to " n ot do so Sir Robert may , or may , have obtained for Lady Purbeck her lodging . If he did ,

n ot there was necessarily any harm in that. A TH ING FULL O F I MPUD ENCE Then the fact of Lady Purbeck ’s returning openly to London looks as if she w as conscious of innocence

Since she had left Sir Robert a couple of years earlier , and as if she believed that the innocence of her

w as recent life generally known . And , indeed , She might naturally suppose that because, as Garrard “ ” wrote , She had not been much looked after by the

to authorities , when she had gone into the country f continue her of ence many years earlier, She was per fectly safe in returning to London now that She w as living a life of virtue . ’ Sir Robert H oward , says Garrard s letter , was f sought for and taken at Suf olk H ouse , the London home of his brother , whereas Lady Purbeck was “ on taken at , and living at , a house the Water side , over against Lambeth . This does not absolutely prove that they were not living together ; but it is certainly evidence in that direction .

Again , although it is possible that the King and Laud may have believed in the revival of the criminal intercourse between Lady Purbeck and Sir Robert , it is equally possible that they did not , and that they merely considered it “ boldness and a “ thing full of Impudence to “ publickly adventure to outface the ” Justice of the Realm , when a woman under sentence — to do public penance for grave immorality a woman who had ﬂed to a remote part of the country to escape from that penance— came back to London and “ so took up her quarters near the Court , and in so ” as open View , if nothing had happened ; and that , 1 18 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

as the sentence had never been repealed , they thought it ought to be executed . It might even be contended that the conduct of the King and Laud looks in favour of the innocence of Lady Purbeck; at that time ; for , if they had had f any evidence of a fresh of ence, far from being con tent with executing the sentence for the old trans

ression g , they would probably , if not certainly , have

on e prosecuted her again for the new , and have

or either added to the severity of the ﬁrst sentence , passed a second to follow it , as a punishment for the second crime .

as Be all this it may , one thing is certain , namely , that the King and Laud were determined t o carry out the sentence which had been passed some seven or eight years earlier , now that the escaped convict had had what Laud calls the Impudence ” to come to the capital ; and it appears that Sir Robert was to be proceeded against in the Star Chamber upon the l O d charge .

his Apart from any concern on own account , Sir Robert was greatly distressed that Lady Pur beck should be exposed to public punishment for

f of an of ence of the past , which he himself w as at least equally guilty . In the hope of saving her “ from it , he took into his counsel Sir of ” Hampshire , some friend whose name is illegible ’ in Laud s M S .

We must now turn attention , for a little time,

of elsewhere . The ﬁrst Earl Danby was a man of

120 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

old placed herself under the protection of her cousin ,

Lord Danby . That old cousin must have wished devoutly that

h For s e had placed herself anywhere else . the Governor of one of the King's islands to receive and to shelter a criminal ﬂying from justice was a very embarrassing position . On the other hand , to refuse protection to a helpless lady , and that lady a kins woman , much more to betray her into the hands of her enemies , would have been an act from which any honourable man might well shrink . The possibility that it might be discovered in the island that he was entertaining a woman in male attire must also have been an annoying uncertainty to the immaculate f Governor of Guernsey . Over the details o this per plex in g situation history has kindly thrown a veil ; indeed , we learn nothing further about Lady Pur

’ beck s proceedings until we read , in the already noticed

’ of she letter Garrard s , that landed at St . Malo ,

she whence eventually went to Paris . It seems safe to infer that whatever protection and hospitality her relative , Lord Danby , may have

ff w as a orded to Lady Purbeck , he heartily glad to get rid of her . If she had originally intended to go to

Paris , she would scarcely have made the long voyage of nearly two hundred miles out of her way to Guern sey , and the most natural explanation of that voyage is that she had hoped and expected to obtain conceal ment , hospitality , and a refuge in the house of her rela

o f tive . Instead conceding her these privileges for any T HE TABLES TURNED l ength of time , Lord Danby evidently speeded the p arting guest with great celerity .

w as While all this going on , Sir Robert H oward

u remained under arrest in London . La d , writing of ’ “ : Lady Purbeck s escape, says In the mean time , I c as ould not but know , though not perhaps prove t hen , that Sir Robert H oward laboured and con riv ed t this conveyance . And thereupon in the next s - itting of the H igh Commission , Ordered him to be close Prisoner, till he brought the Lady forth . So he c ontinued Prisoner about some two or three months .

It may be observed here that some years later ,

16 0 in fact in the year 4 , Sir Robert H oward turned “ r the tables upon Laud fo this transaction . On

2 1 Lan d 1 6 0 Munday , December , wrote in 4 , upon a Petition of Sir Robert Howard , I was condemned t o pay Five Hundred Pounds unto him for false Im

SO prisonment . And the Lords Order was strict , that I w as commanded to pay him the Money pres r e o . ntly , give Security to pay it in a very short time

satisﬁe I payed it , to the Command of the H ouse but was not therein so well advised as I might have

b . w as een , being Committed for Treason Laud at

to that time a prisoner in the Tower , only leave it for

e . 00 xecution In addition to this £5 , Sir Robert was o rdered to have a ﬁne of £ 2 50 paid to him by the s 00 orcerer , Lambe and another ﬁne of £5 by a man

so named Martin ; altogether , the Long Parliament a ssigned him damages .

1 L n a d V l . C a . . i g r , o . VII , h p V 122 THE C URIOUS CASE O F LADY PURB ECK

2 th In a letter to the Lord Deputy , dated 4 June , “ 1 6 : 3 Garrard says Sir Robert H oward , after

’ one month s close imprisonment in the Fleet , obtained his liberty , giving bond never more to come at Lady Purbeck, wherein he stands bound alone ;

his 0 but for appearance within 3 days , if he be called , two of his brothers stand bound for him in ” so I hope there is an end of the business .

oth 16 corres on On the 3 of July , 3 5, the same p ’ “ dent wrote of Lady Purbeck s being in some part of she France, where I wish may stay , but it seems n ot good so to the higher powers for there is of late an express messenger sent to seek her with the Privy

his Seal of Majesty to summon her into E ngland , within six weeks after the receipt thereof, which if

do is ac she not obey , she to be proceeded against f cording to the laws o this Kingdom . 2 In a letter from the Rev . Mr . Thomas Garrard to 2 th 16 the Lord Deputy, dated 7 April, 3 7, there is an announcement which may surprise some readers “ Another of my familiar acquaintance has gone

to over that Popish religion , Sir Robert H oward , which I am very sorry for . My Lady Purbeck left her country and religion both together , and since he will not leave thinking of her , but live in that detest able sin , let him go to that Church for absolution , ” for n On e comfort he can ﬁnd in ours .

1 ’ Stra ord etters V l. I L o . . . ﬁ , , p 43 4 2 1bid. V l. . o 2 . , II , p . 7

1 24 THE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK

1 ally of Archbishop Laud , therefore , not likely to have ’ of relations with an escaped prisoner Laud s although , as we shall presently ﬁnd, another, although very ff di erent, friend of Laud took her part . Nor is there anything to show that Sir Robert Howard went to Paris . ’ Respecting the matter of Sir Robert s submission to the Catholic Church , the Reverend Mr . Garrard was perfectly right in saying : Let him go to that

Church for absolution , for comfort he can ﬁnd none h in ours . Whether the Cat olic religion is the worst i of relig ons or the best of religions , it is the religion to which those in grievous trouble, whether through

or ow n misfortune their fault , most frequently have recourse ; a religion which offers salvation and solace

or even to the adulterer , the thief, the murderer, the

of perpetrator of any other crimes , on condition con 2 trit ion and ﬁrm purpose of amendment .

1 The emar a s ud ous ous an d os a e he led r k bly t i , pi , h pit ble lif , made him es ec ed es eemed b all oo men s ecia r p t t y g d , e p lly by

Laud who ene a s ed him in o n t his D , g r lly vi it g i g o 81 from iocese ’ Da d s 81 oun d his en e a n men a u of St. vi f t rt i t s kin d an d f ll of re ’ spect as ever he did from any friend (Burke s D orman t and Ex

ti nct P e ra . e ges, p 2 I ’ M V l . n Coles SS. o . . 1 ma be ou n d the , XXXIII , p 7, y f ' “ o o n n o e a e a men on O f P f ll wi g t , ft r ti Lady urbeck : Sir Robert

Ho a d d ed A r 2 2 1 6 an d was bu ed at lun n in hrO w r i p il , 53 , ri C S p s e ea n ssue b a e n e evill his fe s n s who hir , l vi g i y C th ri N , Wi , 3 o , , I ’ esu me he marr ed a e the Lad u pr , i ft r y P rbeck s death whic h hap en d 8 Th E p e years before his own . e pitaph in my Book in Folio of Li hﬁ l M n c e d n M o . r e me b r. Si R was th Son to , l t y itt obert s ” T omas Ea of Su L d T su h , rl ffolk, or rea rer of En glan d. II C H APT E R X .

0 mu s the e c ed ex e e e mou n t wr t h il v r r , Nor after len gth of rollin g years return Y E DR D N.

L DY U B CK A P R E was not to be left in peace in Paris . w As Garrard had said , a rit was issued commanding her to return to England upon her allegiance , and it was sent to Paris by a special messenger who w as ordered to serve it upon her , if he could ﬁnd her . The matter w as placed in the hands of the English

Ambassador, and he describes what followed in a letter 1 from Paris to the Secretary of State in Eng land l R Hon b e . t .

“ Your honours letters dated the 7th March I received the 2 1 the same style by the Courrier sent to serve his Majesties w ritt upon the Lady Vis

Purbecke 1 1 of countesse . They came to me about

of his the clock in the Morning. Upon the instant coming to me I sent a servant of myne own to Show

u bli uel him the house, where the Lady lived p q y, and in my neighbourhood .

1 mo e to Co e 2 th r . an e . cuda Fo . a es I c S S . P . , Ch rl , Fr r k , 5 — A dd essed to Sir o n 1 6 6 . T s e e was a March 4th pril , 3 hi l tt r r J h

he Sec e a of S a e . Coke, t r t ry t t 1 26 TH E CURIOUS CASE OF LADY P URB ECK

The business in hand , it will be observed , was not to arrest Lady Purbeck , but Simply to serve the writ upon her : a duty which proved not quite s o

at simple as might be supposed . On arriving the house in which Lady Purbeck was living, the Courrier taking off his Messengers Badge knocked at the doore to gett in . There came a Mayd to the

O doore that would not pen it , but peeped through a

his bu s in esse grating and asked . He sayd , he was

- not in such hast but he could come again e to morrow . But the Mayd and the rest of the household having

n ot to to as charge open the doore, but suche were ” k n n ow e n ot . well , the Messenger could gett in This ﬁrst failure would n ot in itself have much alarmed the Ambassador but he says In the after noone , I understood that the Lady had received notice

1 scale to for 5 days before, that a privy was come

to her, which had caused her ever since keep her house close .

to This made him nervous, and he tried push the a matter with gre ter speed . “ " w We endeavoured by several ways , he rote,

to have gotten the Messenger into the house . But having considered and tryed till the next day in the aftern oon e " , we grew very doubtful that the Messenger might be suspected and that the Lady might slip away from that place of her residence that night . U nless the writ could be properly served upon her, proceedings against her could not be carried ou t

ou t in E ngland , and , once of the house in which she

128 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK care to call the attention of some one in it to the fact

w as . that the writ there Unfortunately , says the Ambassador this p art of his instructions had been

return es . neglected . The Courrier to me And ﬁnding that he had forgotten to speake at the dore as

return e I had directed him , I caused him presently to and to discharge himself in such sort as is above

s . mentioned , which he will depo e he did

w as w as still This done , but even then something left undone ; for it yet remained to be proved that Lady Purbeck w as actually in the house at the time when the writ was thrown into it . The Ambassador conceived the idea of obtaining such proof by means f o . a female witness For this purpose, he very ingeniously contrived to ﬁnd a sister of one of Lady

’ of Purbeck s servants , and , no doubt by the promise

be to o to a heavy bribe , persuaded her g the house , to ask to be admitted in order to speak with her

a sister , to ﬁnd out , when there, if Lady Purbeck w s

to see in the house, and , if possible, her . This ruse was singularly successful, for , as will be seen , the ﬁrst person whom the girl saw was Lady Purbeck herself. “ A woman being sent to the house under Colour

of of speaking with a sister hers the Ladies servant ,

Lad e herselfe the y came downe to the dore , and

soe saw opening it a little, that the woman her , she sayd her sister should have leave to go home to her that night. And therefore the Lady w as in the house at the same time that the place of her residence w as SIR KENELM DIGBY 129

served . She hath lived in that house about a month , and there are (as I am informed) no other ” dwellers in it but herself.

n ow The writ had been served, although not into the very hands of Lady Purbeck yet it was hoped

f to su ﬁciently in order satisfy the law . But all was not yet smooth . The Ambassador wrote “ w as The morrow after this done , about mid

f tw o night , there came some o ﬁcers with coaches and 50 archers to divers houses to search for the Lady being directed and instructed by a warrant from the Cardinal that whereas there w as a Messenger sent from E ngland to offer some affront to your Lady

Purbeck in diminution of this Kings jurisdiction , that therefore they should ﬁnd out the sayd Lady and protect her . This intervention on the part of the French ' Government made Lord Scudamore fear lest l af ai re

P u rbeck h n mig t lead to inter ational complications , and he presently adds Coming to the knowledge of this particular this Morning I thought good to f ” hasten the Messenger out o the way .

w as n ot Fortunately for Lady Purbeck, she with out a friend in Paris . About a year before she went there, a curious character had arrived in the person of m of Sir Kenel Digby , a son the Sir E verard Digby w ho had been executed for having been concerned in the Gunpowder Plot . Sir Kenelm was well

h . known , bot at home and abroad He had stayed

his ‘ relative of at Madrid with , the Earl Bristol , at 9 1 30 THE C URIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK the time when Prince Charles had gone to Spain to w oo the Infanta. He had been a brilliant ornament

l . at the Court of Char es I but , like all the relations of Bristol , he had been hated by Buckingham .

Armed with letters of marque , he had raised a ﬂeet and ravaged the Mediterranean in the character of a

meta h s i privateer . He was literary , philosophical , p y

to his cal and scientiﬁc . When he came Paris beauti

a cou le t ful wife had been dead p of years , and the smar courtier had thrown off his hitherto splendid attire , had clothed himself in black of the very plainest , and

as had allowed his hair and beard to grow they would , ragged and untrimmed . Shortly before the arrival of

Lady Purbeck in Paris , Sir Kenelm had declared himself a Catholic ; and the fact that both he and Lady Purbeck had submitted themselves to the Catholic Church may have formed a bond of union between them . Sir Kenelm soon contrived to in ’ terest l Cardina Richelieu in Lady Purbeck s case, and not only Richelieu but also the King and the f Queen o France . “ R 1 E . to A certain wrote Sir R . Puckering “ The last week we had certain news that the Lady ” Purbeck was declared a papist . And then he went on to say that Louis X IIIth and the Queen of

France, as well as Cardinal Richelieu , had sent I messages or letters to Charles . , begging him to pardon Lady Purbeck and to allow her to return to

1 ’ Court and Times o C/zarles L B D Isra li V e l. f y , o II . , 2 p . 4 2 .

13 2 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

especially to those who are in trouble or difficulty . h The disadvantages are that , althoug the lodgers are perfectly free to go where they please and to do what they please , they can generally only get their v meals at rigidly appointed hours , that the con ent doors are finally closed at a fixed time , usually a very early one ; and that after that closing time there is no admittance . Practically the latter ar rangement precludes all possibility of society in an evening, and the present writer knows several

Catholics of the most unimpeachable orthodoxy , zeal , piety and virtue, who have tried living in convents and monasteries , as boarders , both in Rome and in

London , and have given it up simply on account of

. u n those inconveniences It was , therefore , very just to speak ill of Lady Purbeck for not having lived in a convent according to that Strictness as w as expected , because she left it. But this was done in 1 “ the following letter : The Lady Purbeck is come

Nu n n ri e e . forth of the English For , the Lady

to Abbess being from home, somebody forgott pro vide the Lady Purbeck her dinner , and to leave the roome open where she used to dine at night , expos tulat in fairel g with the Abbess , they agreed to part y, which the Abbess w as the more willing unto in regard the Lady P urbeck did not live according to that strictness as w as expected . Car . Richelieu helped her ” u m into the N n eric .

1 c W S. P . a es I . an e . Scudamo e to inde an k , Ch rl , Fr r b ,

1 6 6 . July, 3 LORD WIMBLEDON 133 It may be inferred from this letter that Lady Purbeck left the convent for the Simple reason that she was not comfortable in it— even the “ super — lativ ely virtuous do not like to be dinnerless and

she or that , either because was unpunctual , because she was inclined to make complaints , the Abbess was relieved when she took her departure . But by ’ fairel Scudamore s own showing they parted y or ,

n ow sa as we should y, good friends . Among Sir Kenelm Digby ’s English corre s on den ts p , while he was in Paris , was Lord Conway ,

as to a soldier as devoted to literature arms , and a general who always seemed fated to ﬁght under dis advantages . Shortly after the time with which we are at present dealing, he was defeated when in com

’

of . mand the King s troops at Newcastle Meanwhile , “ ” w as to Sir Kenelm endeavouring ﬁt him withal, f o . in the matter curious books , from Paris As the 1 letter from Sir Kenelm to Lord Conway , about to

has be quoted, something in it about Lord Wimbledon , it may be well to note that he w as a brother of Lady Elizabeth Hatton and therefore an uncle of Lady

Purbeck . After observing that E ngland has been singularly happy in producing men like King Arthur and others w ho performed actions of only moderate valour or interest , which subsequent ages mistook for great achievements , he says

1 8 . N . . Sir D om a es I . Vol CC L . O n e S. P . e m , Ch rl , C X IV , 5 K l o Ed a d Lo d Con a an d Kilulta h 2 1 an ua 1 6 Digby t w r r w y g , J ry, 3 7. 134 THE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK But none will be more famous and admirable to our N ev ewes (P) than the noble valiant and ingenious 1 Wimbledon e Peer , the Lord , whose epistle exceedeth all that was ever done before by any so victorious a general"of armies or so provident a governor of

n ot townes, I only lament for it that it was hatched in a season when it might have done the honor to 2 Baron ius , his collections , to have bin inserted among them . “ Here is a Lady that he hath reason to detest a w orlde bove all persons in the , if robbing a man of a ll of en erou sn esse the portion witt , courage, g , and o " ther heroical partes due to him , do meritt such an inclination of the minde tow ardes them that have thus bereaved them for surely the Genius that gov ern eth that family and that distributeth to each of them their

u iftes aslee e or shares of natures g was either p , mis tooke (or somewhat else w as the cause) when he gave my Lady of Purbec ke a dubble proportion of these and all other noble endowments , and left her poore U ncle , so naked and unfurnished Truly my lord to speake

sw eetin esse seriously I have not seen more prudence, ,

oodn esse g , honor and bravery shewed by any woman that I know , than this unfortunate lady sheweth She

1 Wimbledon was Govern or of Portsmouth and the letter in question was probably on e men tion ed by Walpole in his Roy al a nd

N bors to th Ma o of Po smou e e en d n him for oble Aut , e y r rt th r pr h i g the Town smen n ot pullin g off their hats to a Statue of the Kin g "

a es his Lo ds had e ec ed e e . Suc an e s e Ch rl , which r hip r t th r h pi tl

h n n c n em of Sir en e m might well ex cite t e derisio a d o t pt K l . 2 t The author of An nales Ecclesias ici .

136 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

Queen of France, Cardinal Richelieu, and the French

’ Ambassador at the Court of St . James s did their best to obtain forgiveness for Lady Purbeck , Charles I . w a s . long obdurate At ﬁrst , as we have seen , he had sent a writ commanding her to return at once to her native country for punishment . When he had with drawn that writ, he for some time refused to allow

to . her return at all, for any purpose But troubles

for were brewing Charles himself, and , after Lady

of Purbeck had spent an exile some length in Paris ,

w as to to she permitted come England , without any liability to stand barefoot in a white sheet for the amusement of the congregation in a fashionable Lon

n n do church o a Sunday morning. X III C H APT E R .

To err is um n d h a , to forgive ivine .

PO PE.

’ N N NG CO CER I Lady Purbeck s life, after her return to ’ Coles England , we have the following evidence from

M s r i t an u c s. p Let us observe, ﬁrst , that in the ex

a . w as tract there is mistake It not Lady Purbeck , but the wife of her son , whose maiden name was

Danvers . Anybody who may choose to discredit

on of the whole, account this error , can do so if he “ pleases ; but it is certain that Lord Purbeck owned ’ “ the son and that the son s grandson , the Rev . “ f ” a o of . Mr . Villiers , cl imed the Title Earl Bucks Therefore we see no reason for doubting the state “ ” his ment that Lord Purbeck took Wife again . “ The after 1 6 years would seem to tally with the undoubted facts . “ 1 ’ Lady Purbeck s name Danvers ; absent from H usband 16 years : had by Sir Robert Howard one s on who married a Bertie, and took the Title of Lord

’ Purbeck , which Lady Purbeck s will I have . Lord 1 6 Purbeck after years took his wife again , and owned

Son an d Son the , which Lord Purbeck had one ,

1 ’ Coles M SS . Vol. . . 1 . , XXXIII , p 7 I 3 7 138 THE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK

of . . Father the Rev Mr Villiers , who now claims the

c . Title of Earl of Bucks . & It will be remembered that even when Lady

w as Purbeck , being proceeded against for unfaith

to of fulness her husband, at the instigation Buck S ingham , he was on friendly terms with Lord

Purbeck, and that Buckingham had considerable difﬁculty in keeping them apart : consequently it is the less to be wondered at that Lord Purbeck “ took ” his wife again , after her return from exile. Not

a n ow r only was L dy Purbeck a reformed characte ,

t o but , like Lord Purbeck, she was a convert the Catholic Church ; and this would probably make him the more inclined to receive her again as his wife and to trust her for the future . At the time of their re union Lady Purbeck must have been about forty , and he must have been an oldish man ; although n ot too to Old be a bridegroom , and no longer under

of startin a suspicion insanity ; for, in addition to g

as second time husband to Frances , Lady Purbeck , it is recorded that after her death, which occurred in 1 or ﬁve six years, he married again, and survived hi s ﬁrst wife by twelve years .

of m If the beginning arried life a second time, — after an interval of sixteen years to say nothing of Certain awkward incidents which had transpired in — the meantime may have been a little out of the

m is co mon , it more remarkable still that Lord Pur

1 He ma r ed a dau e of Sir am S n s of K r i ght r Willi li g by ippax ,

Yorkshire .

140 THE CURIOUS CAS E OF LADY PURBECK

16 invalid , for she died in the year 45, when stay ing with her mother at Oxford . I n that year the

w as Court of Charles I . at this town , which may ’ account for her own and her mother s presence h there . As we saw , in the ﬁrst chapter , t ere is some question as to whether Lady Purbeck w as

1 1600 born in the year 599 or in , so she may have been either forty -ﬁve or forty - six at the time of her death . Her life, although of very moderate length , had been one of considerable adventure, which may have told heavily upon her constitution ; if her personal concerns were peaceful at the time of her death , we know that the conditions of the King and of the Court, together with the prospects of all of high

w ho rank were loyal to the Crown , were then causing great anxiety and excitement at Oxford : and this may well have had a bad effect upon the health of an invalid . Of Lady Purbeck ’s character much less is recorded than of the characters of several other leading ﬁgures — in this story her father , her mother , Bacon , Buck ingham . We know , however, that She faithfully nursed during his last two years her surly old father , who had treated her abominably and spoiled her life ; that she never lost the friendship of Lord

con Purbeck ; that , in her trouble she sought the solations of religion in a Church which would require a full confession of her sins , accompanied by sincere repentance and virtuous resolutions ; that she bore an excellent character in Paris ; and that she spent HERO IC PARTS 14 1

r her last years with her husband o her mother . It

she is true that she had sinned , that had sinned grievously ; but , when we consider her education under parents who were ﬁghting like cat and dog, the marriage which was forced upon her , and the

she dissolute Court in which , a singularly beautiful

of woman , spent the early years her married life , we may well hesitate before we look for stones to cast at her memory .

of And , after all, the only description her char

of acter , any length , which we have been able to ﬁnd ,

is namely , that given by Sir Kenelm Digby , highly

for favourable. If an apology be required repeating it , that apology is humbly given .

of After declaring that wit , courage, generosity , ” and other heroic parts, nature had given Lady b “ “ Pur eck a double share, together with all other ” “ : n ot noble endowments , Sir Kenelm says I have seen more prudence, sweetness , honour and bravery

u m shown by any woman that I know , than this

Show eth fortunate lady she hath such a rich stock of.

n afﬂic Besides her atural endowments , doubtless her

or tions add much rather have polished , reﬁned and ” heightened , what nature gave her . Even when we have made due allowance for the fact that the pen of Sir Kenelm Digby was inclined

ﬂ f descri to be a little owery , su ﬁcient is left in this p

of tion Lady Purbeck to make her character attractive , and we know that nature had added to her charms

No a by endowing her with exceptional beauty . t 142 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK tempt shall be made here to exaggerate either her

or or attractions her virtues , much less to extenuate minimise her faults ; but let u s at least forgive the latter . There are ladies who call the story of Mary M “ agdalen beautiful , yet would on no consideration tolerate a repetition of even its most beautiful in

iden c ts . , in real life If she now existed , the greatest c oncession they would make would be to subscribe towards sending her to a H ome for Fallen Women o r is ask , which more likely , they would for an order of admission for her from someone else who su b scribed to such an institution . From such we cannot ’ e xpect a charitable View of Tbe Cu ri ous Case of L aay

P u r beck. It would be out of place to enter into petty theo logical questions in a comparatively trivial work such a s — this to inquire , for instance, into the question whether it may not be as possible to be damned for detraction as to be damned for adultery but we may at least believe that Lady Purbeck spent her later years in contrition for the past and Virtue in the present . We have now done with the curious case of Lady

sa Purbeck, and it only remains to y something about the less curious cases of some of her descendants . ” w ho It might be supposed that Robert Wright , ’ his was just of age at the time of mother s death , would be proud to bear the name of Villiers and to be acknowledged as the rightful heir to the estates

144 THE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK member of the House of Lords but of the H ouse of

. w as Commons This plea not allowed , and he w as actually compelled to kneel at the bar of the House of Lords and to beg pardon for his criminal words . At the Restoration he remained an obstinate

of to Roundhead , and , instead showing any desire claim the title of Viscount Purbeck , he obtained per mission from Charles I I . to levy a ﬁne of his titles in

o possession and in remainder . Then he retired t an estate which he owned in the parish of H oughton in f o . Radnorshire, bearing the curious name Siluria

16 6 He died in the year 7 , at Calais , and in his will “ is he described as Robert Danvers , alias Villiers , E ” sq . ’ n ow he Robert s wife survived him , and , that and

a out his idiosyncr sies were safely of the way , it “ occurred to this daughter O f a regicide that the Right H onourable the Dowager Viscountess Pur beck would sound much more euphonious than ” — the widow Danvers ; accordingly solely for the — sake of others she adopted that title . At the same time, her two sons , Robert and Edward , resumed f the name o Villiers .

Immediately after the death of his father , Robert ,

t w o t o the elder of the sons , took as much trouble get summoned to the H ouse of Lords as his father had

on taken to escape from it . He sent a petition the

to . to subject Charles I I , who referred him the H ouse

of . on Lords His claim was opposed . First, the THE H O USE O F LORDS CONTA M INATED 145 ground that his father had barred his right to honours

i . e. by the ﬁne which he had levied , , by renouncing

on those honours, and , secondly , the ground that his

n ot son of father had been a John Villiers , First Vis

son of count Purbeck, but a Sir Robert Howard . A petition 1 against the claim was presented by the of w ho Earl Denbigh, professed himself highly con cerned in the honour of the Duke of Buckingham

s of and his sister, the Duches Richmond Len nox ; ’ Petitioner s mother , Susanna , having been the only

of of sister the late Duke Buckingham, and he “ prayed the H ouse t o ex amine the truth of these to assertions, before allowing itself be contaminated ” by illegitimate blood . This warning to the Lords against contaminating itself by illegitimate blood , at a time when Charles

w as ow n I I . constantly enriching it with his illegitimate

ff or to so o spring, what at least purported be , is rather

. of entertaining On the other hand, in support the

’ s to claim , the claimant s counsel profe sed be able to of prove the legitimacy Robert Villiers , alias Wright " The H ouse of Lords after considering the matter petitioned the King to allow the introduction of a Bill to disable Robert from claiming the title of Vis count Purbeck but seven peers Opposed this petition stating in writing that “ the said claimant’s right

a the did , both at the he ring at bar and debate in the

1 Hou e o Lords 228 oth A r 16 . M . a ilie SS f s f , , 3 p il, 75 2 t e House o Lo d 2 28 oth A r 16 . MSS. of h f r s, , 3 p il , 75 146 THE CURIOUS CASE OF LADY PURBECK

e House, appear to them clear in fact and law and abov II “ all objection . Charles . replied that he would take ” it into consideration . This appears to have been the last ofﬁcial word ever pronounced upon the sub

ce j t, and nobody has since then been summoned to the House of Lords as Viscount Purbeck.

to The claimant , however , continued call himself

Lord Purbeck. He came to an early end , being

" Lié e killed in a due by Colonel Luttrell , at g , when

- he was only twenty eight ; but he left a son . Nor did this son only call himself Lord Purbeck, for on

of u the death of the childless second Duke B ckingham , 1 of whom Dryden wrote

— Stiff in opin ion always in the wron g

Was e e n b s a s but n o n on v rythi g y t rt , thi g l g Who in the course O f on e revolvin g m oon W m ﬁd f as c e s d e s a sman an d bu oon . h i t, l r, t te f

T en all for omen a n n m n d n n h w , p i ti g , rhy i g, ri ki g Besides a thousan d freaks that died in thin kin g ;

John Villiers , alias Danvers , alias Wright , in addi tion to the title of Viscount Purbeck, assumed that of of of Earl Buckingham, the reversion which had been secured by the ﬁrst Earl and Duke to his brother hi f s o . and heirs , in the case his own direct heirs failing This self-styled Earl squandered his fortune in a life of debauchery, and then married the daughter of a clergyman, a widow with a large jointure but about

as as dissolute in character himself, which is saying much . He left no sons .

1 Absalom a nd Acbito lzel in e se . p , l 44 7, q

148 THE CURIOUS CASE O F LADY PURBECK the head of this story was n o longer to have any place in living interests . At this point, let us also tak e leave of it ; an d the author hopes that his

of readers , if ever reminded this book by the mention of n ot Lady Purbeck, may exclaim in the words “ of a character in Macbeth The devil himself could pronounce a title more hateful mi ne

c ar.

ABE D R EEN : THE UNIVERSITY PRES S