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Harvey and the Battle of Edgehill' *From Nova Et Vetera

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Harvey and the Battle of Edgehill' *From Nova Et Vetera Canad. M.A. JL Oct.1946, vol. 55] MISCELLANY 405 Harvey and the Battle of a number of Royalist wounded were congregated Edgehill' around it. The enemy calvalry, mistaking these men William Harvey is said to have been present at the for a formed body of troops, retired, which gave the Battle of Edgehill and, according to the legend, the princes their chance to escape. King entrusted his two young sons, the Prince of Here are two independent accounts of what hap- Wales and the Duke of York, to the care of that pened to the King's sons upon that memorable day; eminent physician. The originator of this yarn was both accounts are in agreement with each other and John Aubrey, gossip writer and a charming man, who completely contradict Aubrey's romantic little story. had only one enemy-himself. He was unreliable, as gossip-mongers have been throughout the ages. The SIR JOHN HINTON 'S ACCOUNT tale originated by Aubrey runs as follows:1 There is still a further witness, Dr. Hinton, later "When Charles I by reason of the tumults left Sir John Hinton aind physician to Charles II. This London, he [Harvey] attended him and was at the distinguished doctor had cause to petition His Majesty fight of Edgehill with him; and during the fight the after the Restoration. In the course of this document Prince and Duke of York were committed to his care: Hinton recalls his services at Edgehill, where he ap- he told me that he withdrew with them under a hedge pears to have been employed in the intelligence branch and took out of his pocket a book and read; but he of the army and not in the medical one, as might have had not read very long before a bullet of a great been expected. He says:6 gun grazed on the ground near him, which made him "Your majesty [Charles II] was unhappily left remove his station. " behind in a large field, at which time I had the honour This anecdote, which has not a shred of evidence to to attend upon vour person, and seeing the sudden support it, has been repeated by many of Harvey 's and quick march of the enemy towards you, I did with biographers, and some of them have even elaborated all earnestness most humbly, but at the last somewhat on it. One says that the book he was reading was rudely, importune your Highness to avoid the present Fabricius; 2 another states that Harvey was nearly apparent danger of being killed or taken prisoner, for hit by the cannon-ball; while a third has it that the their horse was by this time come up within half doctor and the boys had been for a walk and were musket-shot in a full body; at which your Highness tired of waiting for the battle to begin, so they sat was pleased to tell me you feared them not and down in a ditch to pass the time.3 An artist, W. F. drawing a pistol out of one of your holsters and Yeames, has depicted the incident in an oil painting, spanning it, resolved to charge them, but I did pre- which was reproduced in Ogle's Harveian Oration of vail with your Highness to quit the place and ride 1880. This pictures to us the battle in progress in from them in sonie haste; but one of their troopers the middle distance. The young princes are crawling being excellently mounted, broke his rank and coming up the bank to get as good a view of the fight as full career towards your Highness, I received his possible. The great man himself is seated on the charge and having spent a pistol or two upon each trunk of a fallen tree at the bottom of the ditch, other, I dismounted him in the closing but [he] being entirely engrossed in the book which he is reading, armed cap-a-pie, I could do no execution on him with and he has a second book on his knee. Artistic licence my sword, at which instant Mr. Mathews, a gentleman is pardonable in a painter, but is inexcusable in an pensioner, rides in and with a pole-axe immediately author such as Eliot Warburton, who is claiming to decides the business and then overtaking your High- write history. In his Memoirs of Prince Rupert (Vol. ness, you got safe to the royal army." 2, p. 17) he writes: This extract has been given at length because, if true, "Whether he [Harvey] was absorbed in the con- it completely demolishes the legend of Harvey acting templation of his favourite subject [the circulation as the guardian of the princes at the Battle of Edge- of the blood], under favourable circumstances or not, hill. There appears to be no reason why Hinton 's is uncertain, but he lay upon the hill side, apparently account should not be accepted. It corresponds with unconscious of the roar of battle from beneath and the one given by one of the principal actors, the of bullets plunging into the turf all round him, until Duke of York. Both agree that the incident took he was fairly carried off the field by someone who place on the left wing of the Royalist army, that cared more for him than he did for himself." the Prince of Wales ran a grave risk of being cut off by the einemy's horse, and that he was saved All very dramatic, but there is not a word of truth only by the fact that they did not charge as a formed in the whole story. If Aubrey's story had stood body. alone, it would have had to be accepted for want of Further, dare Hinton have invented such a story? any other evidence. Fortunately, evidence is avail- Surely he would not have taken the risk of being able which shows that the young princes were very exposed as a vulgar liar by his royal master. True, differently employed that day. First of all, there is the event had taken place years before, when Charles the statenment of an anonymous writer who, there can was only thirteen and his brother James nine. But be little doubt, was present at the battle, that the every incident of his first battle must have been cannonade at the start of the fight did little damage, firmly imprinted on his mind. Also, the story can but that a number of cannonballs fell near to where hardly have been invented to flatter Charles II, since the King and his children were located,4 and this it shows him acting rather foolishly and being told was certainly not in a ditch at some distance from so by an older and more experienced man. the battle. The story is carried forward by no less a D. STEWART, D.SC., M.R.C.S. person than the Duke of York himself. Ee informs US5 that the Kinig did not wish to expose his brother REFERENCES and himself to these dangers, and asked first the Duke 1. CLARK, A.: Brief Lives of Contemporaries, set down of Richmond and then the Earl of Dorset to take the by John Aubrey, between the years 1669 and 1696, boys away from the battlefield. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1: 297, 1898. Both these noblemen 2. ROBINSON, V.: Story of Medicine, Tudor Publishing asked to be excused, as they felt it would be cowardly Company, New York, p. 284, 1931. for them to withdraw while the action was in progress. 3. POWER, D'A.: William Harvey, T. Fisher Unwin, The King finally gave a direct order to London, p. 127, 1897. Sir William 4. CARTE, T.: A Collection of Original Letters, printed Howard to remove the children. As they were re- by James Bettenham, London, 1: 10, 1739. tiring they were nearly captured by a party of Parlia- 5. CLARKE, J. S.: Life of James II: King of England, mentary horse, which had come round the left flank Longmans, London, 1: 15, 1816. 6. ELLIs, SIR H.: Original Letters, Richard Bentley, of the Royalist infantry. Fortunately, a dressing London, 3rd ser., 4: 299, 1846. station had been opened in a barn in this area and Anatomy Department, *From Nova et Vetera: Brit. M. J., May 25, 1946. University of Manchester..
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