THE CURIO US CASE O F LADY P URBEC K Y H THOR B T E SAME A U . ROCHESTER AND O THER LITERARY RAK ES OF H i some Account T E CO URT O F CHARLES II . W th of their u oun n . ith Po t a ts . 8vo 1 65 . gs W x i , S rr di _ 5 r r LK L N it 8 Po a ts and other I ust a ons . FA A DS. W h rtr i ll r ti 8vo mu. d , 6 . TH BY t I ust a E LIFE O F SIR K ENELM DIG . Wi h 7 ll r t ons . 8vo 16s . i , C L PEN AND PO N OR BENVENUTO HISE , IG ARD ; , Wltb CELLINI HI S IMES AND HIS CONTEMPO IES . , T RAR 1 I C v 5 ust at ons own 8 o . 9 ll r i . r , 5 Y N M N P V P P chiefl of the PR I GS A O G RI ATE A ERS, y even en t a tee Cen u ies 8v 5 d e e nd E nt . o . 6 . n t S t h igh h t r , 7 . THE F EN ADVENTURES O F K ING J AMES II . O G L N . t 2 Po t a s and ot e I ust ation s 8vo A D Wi h 7 r r it h r ll r , s d n 13 . 6 . et. M H TUR NN an Int o uct on b Br ad e ARS AL E E. With r d i y ig i r D i Genera NCIS LLOYD C. B . S. O . 20 I lus a l FRA , , W th l tr t ns 8vo 125 . 6d. net. io . , LO NGMANS G EEN AND CO . , R , , M A AND LO NDO N , NEW YO RK, BO B Y, CALCUTTA. " THE PRIGMENT THE LIFE O F A PRxG ” “ " BEDE HOW TO M KE A INT , A SA , HITE n one o u e. C o n 8vo s W I m w . V l r , 5 M 8v s PL OF P . o 6 . THE ATITUDES A ESSI IST , H H v L F O F C B O P L . 8 o 1 s. A I E AR IS AUD , 5 THE L F CO N P O SIR VE D I BY IFE O A S IRAT R ( E RAR D G ). Port a . 8vo s. With r it , g EG ENCH ER C R AN P L T TRUBN O . LTD . AU . R , , , LO NDO N. A THE X ITH E SCAND L .O F VI C NT URY BY THE AUTHO R O F " I E F ‘ K NEL BY “ THE V N L F O SIR E M DIG , AD E TURES THE L OF C . IFE A PRIG , ET L NG A N E N A N D O M S, G R E , ‘ E K B M Y AN CA CU’I TA N W YOR , O BA , D L 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 .