LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
RIVERSIDE
MEMOIRS OF THE VERNEY FAMILY
VOL. IV.
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FROM THE
RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION
1660 TO 1696
COMPILED FROM THE LETTERS AND ILLUSTRATED BY
THE PORTRAITS AT CLAYDON HOUSE BY
MAEGARET M. VERNEY
' Oblivion may not cover
A41 treasures hoarded by the miser, Time '
BLACKNALL MONUMENT AT ABINGDON
VOL. IV
LONGMANS, GKEEN, AND CO.
39 PATERN'OSTER ROW, LONDON
NEW YORK AND BOMBAY
1899
All rights reserved
PEE FACE
TO
THE FOUETH VOLUME
THIS concluding volume of the ' Verney Memoirs '
carries the reader from the Eestoration to the reign
of William and Mary, and the year 1696, when Sir
Ealph Verney is gathered to his fathers.
The letters are so numerous during these thirty-
six years, that many topics of interest they contain
have been left untouched; all that could be aimed
at was (as a modern philosopher puts it) to present
' these interminable mile-post piles of matter, in
essence, in chosen samples, digestibly.'
My thanks are due to the Eev. Llewellyn J.
Kenyon Stow, Vicar of Steeple Claydon, for his help
and encouragement throughout this task; to the
Eev. Herbert E. D. Blakiston, Senior Tutor of
Trinity College, Oxford, for the trouble he has taken,
with his special knowledge, to elucidate the corre-
spondence of the undergraduate at Trinity, in the
reign of James II. ; to Miss Butterfield for kind per-
mission to use the Eev. W. Butterfield's journal in her
possession ; and to other friends and correspondents.
VI VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
In tracing the family history, Sir Ealph Verney
is still the central figure round which all the
others are grouped. His lifelong friend, Sir Eoger
Burgoyne, has drawn this portrait of him in his
sixtieth year : ' However you come by it, you have
the quickest intelligence of any man I know. . . .
You are now become, I think, the Generall Trustee of
all that know you. Your Charity, Piety, & Friend-
ship, though it bringe much outward trouble, yet I am
confident it is attended with a great deal of inward
contentment ; it is so naturall to you soe to do kind-
nesses to your friends, that I beleeve the pleasure they
have in the favours they receive, cannot exceed that
you take yourself in those you give.'
His Puritanism was so graciously compounded,
that it was to him his grandchildren and their friends
appealed if a wild young spark was to be got out of
a scrape that threatened the gallows, or a damsel,
gentle or simple, was disappointed in love. c Tell me
not of y r age,' writes his favourite sister when he was
already an elderly man, ' for I am resolved to think
you but 40 years old this twenty years, if I live so
long, for more than that I would not have you, so long
as I live, but whatever your age is, I thank God y r
infirmities are not so many as most young men
have.'
In more settled times the veteran Parliament-
PREFACE TO THE FOURTH VOLUME Vll
man might have been content with his useful and
happy home-life, but the growing encroachments of
the Crown brought him once more to the front ;
he took an active share in the elections of 1681 and
'85, when he was twice returned for the Borough
of Buckingham in opposition to the Government.
Strong Protestant as he was, his sympathies were
entirely with James II. against Monmouth, and it
required all the injudicious acts of that misguided
monarch to alienate Sir Ealph completely, and to
make him rejoice in the accession of William and
Mary. He was a member of the Convention Parlia-
ment in old age, which consolidated the work the
Long Parliament of his youth had begun.
' The subject is but dull in itself,' says Fuller, ' to
tell the time & place of men's births & deaths, their
names, etc. & therefore this bare skeleton of Time.,
Place <$f Person must be fleshed with some pleasant
passages . . . that so the Eeader if he do not arise
. . . with more Piety or Learning, at least he may
depart with more pleasure & lawful delight.'
MARGARET M. VERNEY.
CLAYDON HOUSE, WINSLOW :
October 20, 1898.
CONTENTS
OF
THE FOUETH VOLUME
PAGE
PREFACE v
LIST OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS . xiii
CHAPTEE I.
THE WOOING OF MABY ABELL, 1660-1662.
AVilliam Abell The village and manor house of East Claydon
Squire Abell's loyalty Restoration rejoicings Charles II. 's
coronation Arrival of Catherine of Braganza Death of
Squire Abell Mr. Butterfield negotiates a marriage Betty
Verney at Goring and in London Valentines at East
Claydon Squire Duncombe's courtship A careless suitor
Marriage of Edmund Verney and Mary Abell The honey-
moon Guests at Claydon Penelope's woes A sham letter
to John Denton Betty's ' stolen matching ' A little cloud . 1
CHAPTER II.
IN CHANCERY LANE, 1662-16(35.
Sir Nathaniel and Lady Hobart remove to Chancery Lane Sir
Ralph, Edmund, and Mary share the house with them Mary's
melancholy Mr. Butterfield concerning Edmund's land
Visits to Croweshall and Milner Second winter in Chancerj 7
Lane Mary's increasing insanity Sir Ralph's estrangement
from her Edmund nurses her through measles and small-
pox Debate on the Trienniall Bill Mary ' starck mad '
Her physicians and treatment Edmund and Mary return to
East Claydon Their housekeeping and Christmas entertain-
ments 39
X VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
CHAPTER III.
SIR RALPH'S RELATIONS, 1661-1665.
PAGE
Henry Verney and his horses John Denton's death Penelope
keeps house for Henry Margaret Elmes and her husband
Gary Gardiner, her children and stepchildaen ' Adam and
Eve' in search of a living Tom and his forsaken wife
Marriage of George Nicholas and Nancy Denton The
Nicholas family Dr. Denton's theology Doll Leeke at the
White House 83
CHAPTER IV.
THE PLAGUE AND THE FIRE, 1665-1666
The plague in London Remedies suggested: Quicksilver, missel-
toe, garlic, unicorn's horn, &c. Lady Elmes at Knares-
borough Spa The plague in Bucks Aylesbury Gaol The
Court at Oxford The Hobarts desire lodgings Dr. Yate of
Brazenose Doll Leeke's illness and death The plague at
Winchester and Southampton Lady Hobart's woes in the
Fire of London Loss of property and confusion after the fire 116
CHAPTER V.
JOHN VERNEY AT ALEPPO, 1662-1674.
English merchants in the Levant trade Intrigues at Aleppo
An apprentice's trials Small business profits Journey to
Jerusalem The plague at Aleppo Home news delayed
John's return Schemes of marriage Mr. Edwards' daughter
Failure of a mercenary courtship 146
CHAPTER VI.
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON, 1665-1679.
Mnn's corpulence, his clothes, and his cares Birth of his son
Ralph Mary.'s recurring madness Steward Dover The
waiting-gentlewoman and the maids Deaths of Aunt Isham
and Ursula Verney Jaconiah Abercromby and a friend visit
the White House The burden of entertaining Dinners and
card-playing Sir Ralph one of Clarendon's pall-bearers
CONTENTS OF THE FOURTH VOLUME xi
PAGE
Death of Henrietta Maria and of Monk Death of Margaret
Elmes Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans Anne Hyde's death-
bed Death of Henry Verney Marriage of Penelope and
Sir John Osborne Mun longs to go to the Dutch War
Deaths of Sir Nathaniel Hobart and Mrs. Denton William
Butterfield, Eector Schooling for Mun's boys . . . 165
CHAPTER VII.
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH, 1675-1685.
Social life of the reign Dinners Weddings Races Balls
Private theatricals Street brawls Ormond attacked Duels
Judge Hale Death of Sir R. Burgoyne Marriage of
William and Mary Difficulty of raising troops Uniform of
the Guards The Lees of Ditchley Lord Rochester Mar-
riage of John Verney and Elizabeth Palmer The Exclusion
Bill The rival Dukes of York and Monmouth Address to the
King from the town of Wyconibe Rye House Plot Death
of John Stewkeley Gary Gardiner's infatuation for cards . 222
CHAPTER VIII.
SAINT NICHOLAS' CLERKS, 1655-1685.
Exploits of highwaymen Dangers of the road The Dawsons
Henry Verney's reputation Sir George Wheler's courtship
Fred Turville's hanging Dick Hals' career At the Bar
Sojourn in Newgate On board H.M.S. ' Revenge ' In the
Dutch War In Exeter Gaol In Chelmsford Gaol Made a
bailiff Assists at a village wedding Hung at Tyburn . . 281
CHAPTER IX.
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685.
Death of Charles II. Sir Ralph stands for Buckingham
Electioneering morality The Assizes The candidates Sir
Richard Pigott's funeral Election gossip The fight for the
county Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys Great Whig victory
Coronation of James II. Sir Ralph is returned and takes his
seat Death of Lady Gawdy Monmouth's rising His exe-
cution Sir Ralph's colds, and the prescribed remedies
Twyford allotments 318
xii VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
CHAPTER X.
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN THE REIGN OF JAMES II.,
1685-1688.
PAGE
Edmund Verney at Trinity College An undergraduate's outfit
Loyalty in Oxford The vacation Lady Gardiner as
a match-maker Death of young Ralph Speaking in the
theatre Riding, fencing, and other recreations Edmund
reported for sleeping out, and shirking afternoon lectures
Smallpox in the college Mun's expenses A dislocated
elbow The Daventry bonesetter The study of chemistry
Mourning suits 361
CHAPTER XL
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE, 1686-1689.
The Church deserts ' Nero ' Collections for the French Pro-
testants State of the army Duels amongst officers Mrs.
John Verney's death and burial Sir Ralph's failing health
Hester Denton Marriage of Jenny Nicholas Attack on
Magdalen College Declaration of Indulgence Birth of the
Prince of Wales The Seven Bishops The Royal christening
Death of Edmund Verney The heavy burdens left to his
heir War hi the air Flight of James Jeffreys' fall The
Irish night William's critics ...... 409
CHAPTER XII.
EXEUNT SEVERALLY, 1689-1696.
The last years of Sir Ralph's relations, Tom, Penelope, Gary,
Mary, Betty, and Dr. Denton Death of young Edmund of
East Claydon Molly's mourning Her tippet and her maid
Her ' stolen maching ' with John Keeling Her death and
that of her child Death of Mary Verney, nee Abell John's
second marriage and his wife's death His third marriage
Sir Ralph's last illness The sunset and the afterglow . . 450
INDEX OF NAMES IN VOL. IV 483
SUBJECT INDEX TO THE FOUR VOLUMES 501
LIST OF THE ILLUSTKATIONS
TO VOLUME IV.
SIR KALPH VERNEY, BARONET ..... Frontispiece
From a painting by Sir Peter Lely at Claydon House.
QUEEN CATHERINE OF BRAGANZA, WIFE OF CHARLES II. to face p. 13
From a painting at Claydon House.
ELIZABETH VERNEY, WIFE OF THE KEY. CHARLES ADAMS 86
From a painting at Claydon House.
GARY VERNEY, LADY GARDINER , ,,96
From a drawing in chalks in the possession of Mrs. Jackson,
North Lodge, Windsor ; reproduced by her kind permission.
SIR JOHN VERNEY, 2ND BARONET, AFTERWARDS IST
VISCOUNT FERMANAGH ,, 160
From a painting at Claydon House.
JAMES BUTLER, 12TH EARL, AFTERWARDS IST DUKE
OF ORMOND ; 228
From a painting by Egmont at Claydon House.
ANNE LEE, WIFE OF THOMAS, AFTERWARDS IST MARQUIS
OF WHARTON 243
From a painting by Sir Peter Lely at Claydon House.
ELIZABETH PALMER, IST WIFE OF JOHN VERNEY . ,, 250
From a painting by Sir Peter Lely at Claydon House.
ELEANOR LEE, WIFE OF JAMES BERTIE, IST EARL OF
ABINGDON 270
From a painting by Sir Peter Lely at Claydon House.
MARY LAWLEY, 2ND WIFE OF JOHN VERNEY . ,, 468
From a painting at Claydon House.
ELIZABETH BAKER, SRD WIFE OF SIR JOHN VERNEY 475
From a painting at Claydon House.
xiv VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
WOODCUTS.
BLACKNALL MONUMENT AT ABINGDON .... Title-page
"With the effigies of Dame Mary Verney's father, mother, and
sister, showing the loaves still distributed to the poor under
John Blacknall's will.
PORCH OF THE WHITE HOUSE, EAST CLAYDON . . . page 38
THE WHITE HOUSE (EAST CLAYDON) FROM THE WEST . . 165
SHIELD, VERNEY AND ABELL ARMS, 1675 191
MONUMENT TO MRS. JOHN VERNEY 419
THE WHITE HOUSE (EAST CLAYDON) FROM THE SOUTH . 437
MONUMENT TO COL. H. VERNEY AND LADY OSBORNE 455
MEMOIRS OF THE VEBNEF FAMILY
FROM
THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION
CHAPTER I.
THE WOOING OF MARY ABELL.
1660-1662.
A blithe and bonny country lass,
Heigh-ho, the bonny lass :
Sat sighing on the tender grass
And weeping said, ' Will none come woo rne ? '
WHILE England was enduring ' the miseries of a Civil
War, and the many and fruitless attempts towards
Settlements, upon imaginary Forms of Government,'
a Royalist merchant, William Abell, left the City of
London, bought the manor of East Claydon, with the
White House, and tried to bury himself in the safe
obscurity of the life of a country squire. He bore
a name which was unpleasantly notorious. William
Abell the elder, Master of the Vintners' Company,
had been the King's tool in his illegal attempts to
tax the City Companies, and to escape the jibes and
VOL. IV. B
2 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
caricatures showered upon him in London, during
the Protectorate, he fled to Holland.
Before the troubles, his son had married ' Anne,
daughter of John Wakering and Mary Palmer his
wife,' of an old family of small landowners, at
Kelverton, in Essex. Their eldest child, Mary Abell,
was born there, 'on the 5th of April 1641, between
6 and 7 at night,' and was baptized on the 17th ; the
next year a son, Thomas, was born on the 18th of
May, baptized in Kelvedon Church on the 29th, and
buried there on the 30th of August. Anne Abell
survived her boy but a few months, ' she dyed 22nd
January 1643, and was buried in St. Peter's Church
in St. Albans.' The widower settled down on his
newly acquired property, and here his little daughter
grew up, the pride of the village, and the darling of
her quiet home, but far removed from whatever
advantages town breeding and good society could
bestow.
East Claydon would, however, have repudiated
with scorn any idea of remoteness or rusticity. Was
it not known to all the world that the high-road
from London to Buckingham passed through it, and
that the London coach stopped to bait at Squire
Abell's substantial Village Inn, where a fine wain-
scoted parlour received the passengers who might wish
to taste the excellent home-brewed ale ? Plaistow,
too, the London carrier, had his abode here ; and the
Church books showed an admixture of outside
influences, unknown to the retired parish of Middle
THE WOOING OF MARY ABELL 3
Claydon. In 1641, there was quite a sensational
entry of the death and burial of Mercy Hawkins
of Greetworth in the County of Northampton, ' a
passenger from London.' l
The White House was then ' a handsome dwelling,
with numerous gables, heavy stacks of chimneys,
mullioned windows and piers surmounted with stone
balls.' It has now shrunk to smaller proportions,
but the beautiful Jacobean porch still remains, with
a recess beside it, containing a shelf meant perhaps
for a hive. The small mullioned bow-window of
Mary's parlour, built up in the intervening century,
has recently been brought to light. The ornamental
brick work of the garden wall, and the clipped box
hedges retain a respectable flavour of antiquity.
William Abell the widower kept up his friend-
ship with his wife's family, who were usefully con-
nected with the Protector's Government ; her brother,
Dionysius Wakering, married Anne Everard, daughter
of an Essex Baronet, and their only surviving child,
Mary, married Oliver St. John's son. 'Aunt Wakering,
who appears as a widow during Mary's girlhood,
1 At a time when some half-dozen Christian names sufficed for all
the boys and girls, gentle and simple, of the neighbourhood, the variety
in East Claydon is quite remarkable. With the Puritan taste for
Bible names Noah, Ezra, Jonas, Josias, Judith, Deborah, Lydia,
Susannah and the like, the older names have kept their ground, and
Christopher, Michael, Benedict, Agnes, Audrey, Christian (as a girl's
name), Constance, Dorothy, Elinor, Ursula, Priscilla, and Petronilla
are amongst the names of the village children. The "Welsh element
represented by Ellis, Hugh, Pierce and Winifred, may, perhaps, be
traced to the Vicar's household, whose signature, Maurice Gryftyth,
leaves no doubt as to his own nationality.
B 2
4 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
seems to have married late in life Cromwell's General,
Desborough.
While Mary was still a child, William Abell
returned to Essex for a wife, Mary, whose family
is not known to us ; she was related to the Wakerings
through the Wisemans, a connection difficult to trace,
as there were three Essex Baronets of the name of
Wiseman in the time of the Stuarts ; the Verneys were
connected with them through Sir Ealph's wife. 1
The second Mrs. Abell proved an excellent step-
mother, and Mary was tenderly attached to her.
Squire Abell's property adjoined Sir Ealph Verney's
in two parishes, and their dwelling-houses were scarce
two miles apart, but with such widely different
opinions and antecedents there was some instinctive
dislike and rivalry between them. The boundary
hedges and ditches afforded the usual subjects of
dispute between country neighbours ; and when
Mr. Abell's cattle and sheep broke through some
neglected gap and were promptly put in the pound,
Sir Ealph took it that Mr. Abell ' intended to quarrel,
1 To complicate matters still further, Mary, the second Mrs. Abell,
must have married a Wiseman after her first husband's death, for
when standing sponsor to her step-daughter's child in February 1G66,
she is described as ' the Lady Wiseman, wife of Sir Richard Wiseman
and relict of William Abell ; ' in September 1667, she writes to her
step-daughter from Woodhaui-Walter, signing herself ' Mary Fytche,'
and the latter replies telling her of the death of Wm. Meade, the
Parish Clerk, and others of her acquaintance in East Claydon ; Mrs.
Fytche is said (November 27, 1667) to be staying at the house of her
brother [in law ?] Sir Wm. Wiseman, and to be adopting one of her
late husband's sons; she seems therefore to have lost two husbands
and married a third witliin seven years.
THE WOOING OF MAEY ABELL 5
and that he must order his affairs accordingly.'
Edmund Verney was probably the only young man
in the Claydons who knew nothing of the gentle
maiden who was his nearest neighbour. When the
Eestoration was imminent, and it became profitable
to furbish up the rusty memory of a Eoyalist ancestor,
William Abell emerged from his retirement, with an
enthusiasm of obsequious loyalty, which the old
Bucks squires looked upon as officious and absurd.
4 Mr. Abell's Collection for the poore King, and the
various aspects and humours seen upon his Majesty's
proclayminge ' at East Claydon were among the
jokes of the county. * Mr. Abell read the King's May 21,
1 ( T U
letter and declaration to his neighbours after church,'
writes Mr. Butterfield, ' and haveing shewed them
what a gratious King they had, he moves them to see
what they would do for him ; and to begin lays
downe 9/. 16s. 2d. which was his owne proportion of
the mounthly taxe, and soe desires the like of them
all rich and poore. . . . 25/. was gathered, and to
Aylesbury he and some other of his Neighbours
carryed it, where they would have payed it to the
Treasurer, but he would none of it, as haveing no
order to receive it ; then at the Petty Sessions he
sends to the Justices to acquaint them of the money ;
they made themselves merry at it, but would not take
the money, So I heare he has now come up to
London it may be to meet his Majesty and acquaint
him with his doeings, for he told his neighbours the
King should know of their forwardness. . . . Mr.
6 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Townshend [Rector of Eadclive] told me I should see
this would be expected from us all. I laughed at
him and made him angry. Sure that man is also
strangely transported with this new change, he talks,
and preaches and does wondrously.'
No Stuart King ever frowned upon a worshipper
who offered up the incense of hard cash ; and we find
William Abell in October, '60, as a Captain of Foot,
among the gentlemen of the County of Bucks, named
to command the Trained Bands, and advanced in
due time to further honours.
Sir Ralph and his son spent that gay summer of
1660 in town, Mun is studying 'the elements of
Civil Law, but has reached,' he confesses, l no great
height of knowledge therein.' ' The Merry Monarch '
was receiving a welcome frantic in its enthusiasm.
Everybody who aspired to be anybody expected
office at Court, though there were not nearly places
enough to go round. Colonel Henry Verney applied
for the post of a gentleman-in-waiting, backed up by
'my Lady Peto, Lady Onion, and Sir Harry Newton.'
Edmund desired ' a troop ' and a ' red ribbon ' of the
Bath. ' The King,' he writes, * intends to be crowned
the first Thursday after Candlemasse Day, unlesse
the Duke of Glocester's death deferre it ... but I
thinke Princes doe not usually mourn so long.' ' Sir
Richard Temple, and a yong ladd of a very greate
estate and of my name, one Greville Verney,' 1 are
to be among the new knights ; ' the way had been
1 An ancestor of Lord Willoughby de Broke, of Compton Verney.
THE WOOING OF MAEY ABELL 7
only to acquaint my Lord Manchester that such a
gentleman had a desire to be knight of the Bath, and
to give in his name, which he is obliged to present to
the King, who denies no man who will be at the
charges.' l Even Heron, Edmund's servant, ' a good
sightly fellow, who writes well and is in all respects
fit to serve any gentleman,' is inclined to pick a
quarrel with his master, that he may be free to seek
' a place at court,' or at worst as ' a comedian ' in one
of the reopened theatres. ' To quit your service to
turn Player,' writes Sir Ealph to Mun, ' will be for
neither of your credits. . . . Players and Fiddlers
are treated with ignominy by our lawes, and truly I
should be sorry to see him in such debased company.'
Dr. Denton alone gets more than he wants. ' A Jan. 17,
feather in my capp,' he writes, ' a warrant to be
sworne in ordinary with a Eeserve of my Priority
and Seniority, but what to do with it now I have it,
I doe not know. I shall make noe hast to be
sworne .... amonge other Inconveniencies I doubt
swearinge may ingage me to ride at the Coronation,
and I have noe great man to squander away 100/.
. . . Dr. Bate and Dr. Manton have refused theire
Deaneries.'
Mun's friend Dr. Thomas Hvde succeeds Dr. March,
* < cci
Zouch at the Admiralty. More business came upon
Sir Ealph than ever ; his friends who had served ' the
1 The expenses are not given in detail, but the following year
(June 5, 1662) the fees for Sir William Ayscough's knighthood amounted
to 60Z. 10s. ; a baronetcy was said to cost 900Z.
VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
late Usurpers of Government,' were much persecuted
by ' malitious persons ; ' there were pardons to be
procured, suits pending before the House of Lords
' and Lords are teadious persons to waite on ; '
threadbare Eoyalists like ' Mr. Kenelm Digby to
be certified as being Loyal and Indigent,' and,
as Deputy Lieutenant, Sir Ealph was constantly
receiving proclamations about the raising of the
Militia, the prosecution of 'Anabaptists, Quakers,
Fifth Monarchy Men, and other Fanaticks,' and the
dispersing of their meetings.
Jan. is, There is a long correspondence with Cousin
1661
Thomas Stafford about the meeting of the Trained
Bands at Winslow, where his son, Captain Edmund
Stafford, is to be in command. He has ' my Ld.
Leift t? s Commission with some instructions,' but there
are only 14 pikes and he needs that ' the Collours,
Leading Staffe, Partizans, Halberts, Musketts &
Drums should be ready, that he may be in an
equipage to march, trayne & exercise his company,
according to the moderne discipline of warr.' The
Jan. 30, County is also raising a ' Volunteer Troop of Horse '
to meet at Aylesbury. Sir Win. Smith ' exceedingly
approves the designe ' and will send a horse or two ;
he is unable to appear in person, being summoned
' by my Lord Treasurer to wait upon him, about
some affairs of His Majesty's.'
Sir Ealph was no courtier, but he began to
consider whether some of the patents granted to Sir
Edmund could be revived, and whether his office of
THE WOOING OF MARY ABELL 9
Knight Marshal might not be fittingly bestowed on his
son ; rough drafts of petitions were drawn up in which
a good deal was said about his father's heroic death,
and his own exile and his decimation, which would
have touched the Standard Bearer's sense of humour.
Charles II., more anxious, as the Eoyalists March 16,
, . , .,. 1661
complained, to conciliate an opponent than to
reward a friend, made Sir Ealph Verney a Baronet.
Mun speaks of ' this Age of Universall concessions,'
and affirms that the ' Eevolution hath changed the Feb. 11,
-
face of the whole Nation which was heavy and
discontented into cheerfulnesse & joy.' ' Mercye
soe generally rules the land, that Traytors themselves
are preferred to their desires.'
' The happy change that wee have lately had in
England, makes us now begin to plant again,' writes
Sir Ealph to Monsieur Pappin at Blois, ' in hopes
that we, or our children, may reape the frute in
peace, under our good & gracious King, whose
vertues are more honour to him, then his Crownes,
& whose zeal & constancy in religion, are like to
make him the Head & Protector of all the Beformed
churches in Europe ; ' and on the strength of these
conclusions Sir Ealph begs his friend to send him
a large consignment of vines of the early ripe
Auvergnac grape.
The King rode from the Tower to Whitehall the
day before his Coronation ; a devout Eoyalist lady J
1 Diary of Anne Murray, Lady Halkett : Camden Soc., 1875,
p. 114,
10 VERNE Y FAMILY FEOM THE RESTORATION
who had known him from boyhood watched his
progress with breathless interest, imputing to him
the pious thoughts that filled her own mind. ' Such
was the multitude of beholders,' she writes, ' that
crowded aboutt the horse on which his Majestie did
ride, that his servants were not able to keepe aboutt
him, very many meane ordinary persons layd their
hands upon the horse & the rich trapings, which put
me in terror of some attempt on his Majestie's
person. . . . Butt while I was thus conflecting
with my feares the King rode on with a serene
undisturbed composure, free either from feare or
vanity, and seemed to be pleased with the liberty
the rude multitude tooke to approach him.' Sir
April 23, Ealph and Mun witnessed the Coronation in
1 fifil
Westminster Abbey. Dr. Morley, whom we last met
poking about the old bookstalls at the Hague,
bemoaning the triumphs of anarchy and schism,
was now preaching the Coronation sermon in full
canonicals as Bishop of Worcester ; poor starved Dr.
Cosins had become Prince Bishop of Durham ; and
Sir Frederick Cornwallis, who shared Sir Ealph's
imprisonment at Whitehall, was conspicuous as
Treasurer of the Household. While old friends met
again in so splendid a scene, there seemed, in the
excitement of the moment, no room for any feelings
but those of mutual congratulation. 'Did I not
know you very well,' writes Sir Ealph to Doll, ' I
should think you little less than a Phanaticke, for
being absent at this great solemnitie.' ' No pen nor
THE WOOING OF MAEY ABELL 11
ink can express the gallantry of the nobility,' writes
another eye-witness, * who are today in their
Parliament robes, I would have enlarged but we are
so busie with looking att bonfiers and fireworkes.' 1
Luce Sheppard is now installed at Burleigh, where
' the littell ladie thrives well under her tuition,' my
Lord of Exeter has a dispensation from his Majesty,
which relieves him of attendance at the Coronation
much to Luce's disappointment. Mun's account of
it to his old friend is more affectionate than instruc-
tive. ' Mrs. Shepard,' he begins;, ' your verball
expressions were most welcome to me, in truth it is
impossible any thing from you can be otherwise.
Had your affairs allowed me the happiness of
Personall attendance on you at the coronation, the
joy of the day had been mightilye improved. The
solemnitye and lustre thereof you have seene from a
pen more certeyne and polite than myne can bee ;
yet I must say againe, I missed you there.'
' Sweet Cossen,' writes Doll Leeke, ' I beleve
you came to towne to se all the bravery, and truly
by the relation of it, it was worth your time. . . I se
you 'have don better for your sonn, then he was
abell to do for him self, he is no knight of the Bath,
which he did not question to get, but you have given
him somthing which will advantag his family for
ever. . . . You se I am not to be temted with fine
sights to come to Loundon ; the truth is I spent all
my mouney when I was ther, and must take a longer
1 Fleming MSS., 442, Hist. MSS. Comm.
1'2 VERXEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
time to recrut. All that bravery wold have made
me malincoly, I am much finer in my ould clothes in
the Country, then I should have been ther. Your
coronation sute will serve us, ther fore pray come to
Croshall.'
April 29, Sir Ralph claims 20Z. from his son ' for killing my
Black bald Nagg ; with much difficulty hee came
home, but in such a case as ... never poore beast
was worse. There fell a humour into his hinder legg,
which swelled it as bigg as your Wast, and in a
short time it gangren'd, and became cold and Rotten,
soe he is now devided amongst my Carpes.' Edmund
denies that he had over-ridden the nag, 'mais la
pauvre beste N'avoit gueres envie de marcher, et
certes je ne le pouvois blamer, car sans doute il
cognoissoit par clarte de Nature, que chasque pas
qu'il alloit (quoyque fort petit) le hastoit aux Ombres
eternels.'
Meanwhile the heiress-hunting for Mun continues.
After Mary Eure's final rejection, Mun himself had
relapsed into his old indifference. Sir Ealph and
Aunt Isham were still in pursuit of ' Mr. Bacchus '
daughter and heiress who reappears as ' the widow
of a Mr. Bishop.' Anne Hobart had her own widow
to recommend, Sir Edward Alstone's daughter, who
had just thrown Lord Paget over, and was in treaty
against her father's wishes with ' the son of Lord
Coleraine.' Sir Edward Alstone preferred the
Verney alliance, and was conferring with Dr. Denton,
and so the dreary comedy dragged on.
<UA/l (iff///
icrutc
/rein ti'ptiinhnt? u/ ( ^lui/dcn */(ru. if .
THE WOOING OF MARY ABELL 13
My Lord Sandwich's fleet was starting for Lisbon, May n,
and Edmund writes : ' J'ai grandissime envie d'aller
en Portugall pour faire part du train de nostre
Eeyne qui sera.' 'As for your Portugal voyage/
Sir Ealpli replies, ' (whither it seemes you have a
greate desire to Eamble,) I looke uppon it as a
Fantastical! Dreame. Can you bee soe sencelesse as
to thinke that Portugall is your way to Wooe the
Widdow ? Beeleeve me Mun, the Widdow must bee
your Queue, and tis well if you can get her with all
the freindes and industry you have.'
Edmund hears that the Portuguese have been May 21,
1 fifil
defeated by the Spaniards. ' Si cela est, je crois que
notre pays ne manquera pas tant qu'il a fait de Eois
ni de Eeynes, car la Eeyne de Boheme est deja
arrivee comme si c'etait pour montrer le chemin au
reste.'
Doll Leeke contributes her mite of evidence as to
the good impression Catherine of Braganza made on
her arrival. ' My sister says the queen is very May 21,
hansom, and I hear very stricte in hir carage, and
all that is with hir modest and reserved. I hope it
will work upon some of our wild ladys to make them
more grave/ The picture at Claydon does not bear
out Anne Hobart's charitable opinion of the Queen's
good looks. Her expression is sensible and gentle,
but the features are heavy and commonplace. Her
hair, which in her earlier portraits is massed on the
top of her head not unbecomingly, is dressed in ' the
French mode,' and sticks out in a way to recall
14 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
her bridegroom's uncourteous speech. 'You have
brought me a bat.'
Edmund's own love-making did not prosper ; his
Widow is 'in a cooling condition,' and his ' late
letters have seemed much unconcerned, and rather
doubtfull then hopefull of it.' ' God's Will bee donne,'
writes Sir Ealph, with a piety which seems quaintly
out of place.
The Widow finally threw him over in favour of
' a lord ; ' and the rejected suitor joined his father at
Claydon. The country was in its full summer beauty ;
Sir Ealph, delighted to be at home again, and weary
of the wiles of fashionable dames, might well turn
his thoughts towards the little Perdita amongst the
sheep-folds of East Claydon. He made some inquiries
as to whether she would be Mr. Abell's sole heir,
' her father's brother,' Mun writes, ' is a very cunning
littigious fellow, who meaneth to try for it ; yet Sir
Eobert Wiseman, a civilian of the Commons, and
uncle to the mother-in-law, [step-mother] of the
young Lady, was imployed towards the cutting off of
the intayle, which was done accordingly by Sir
Orlando Bridgeman.'
Squire Abell was High Sheriff that year, but the
flutter of pride and excitement which had been felt
in the household at East Claydon, when he rode off
with much pomp and circumstance to Buckingham,
was quickly changed to sorrow ; he died suddenly
while performing his duty at the Assizes. The
sympathy this sad event evoked in the County brought
THE WOOING OF MAEY ABELL 15
his family into notice, and the rustic maiden became
known outside the village limits as the owner of the
picturesque old Manor-house and of the comfortable
estate that went with it.
Mr. Maurice Gryffyth had been Vicar of East
Claydon for nearly forty years, and was then a very
old man ; but Sir Ealph asked Mr. Butterfield to pay
a visit of condolence on his account, to the widow
and her step-child, and to put in a word as occasion
served about a possible marriage-treaty. It was but
five days after the High Sheriff's death that the Aug. is,
- **-
Eector reported to Sir Ealph : ' I found the gentle-
woman under such a cloud of sorrow and reservedness,
that I could not without some difficulty fasten any
discourse upon her, being never alone yet alwaies as
it were alone and silent. When I tooke my leave I
gave her a briefe touch of what I desired to have
spoken more at large, if my modesty and her re-
servedness could have contrived it ; yet what I sayd
I heard from one of her confidents, (for from herselfe
I received so low and still an answer that I could
not tell what to judge of it) she tooke very kindly.
I have been twice there since. . . she professes much
respect to you, and sayth after she hath advised with
her friends and the young Woman's she will make a
more satisfactory returne, but would not by any
meanes the young woman should be spoken to till she
had first broken it to her. She wants not suters and
those of good quality, yet I thinke you shall have
the first admittance to treat. The young woman
16 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
wants not wit, though she may breeding, and for
ought I can learne is resolved to marry where she
thinks she may live happy, and if there be a likeing
between the young folke it may be a Match. . . .
Eichard Abell hath been here and is gone again ; he
would feigne have gotten the young woman to live
with him and rely on him, but she absolutely refuses
him. They are very confident their estate is sure
in law, and he would cast about between the mother
and daughter, but they are as shye of him as of a
beare. There is with them now Doctor Sir Eobert
Wiseman, a grave discreet gent ; and one Mr. Gale
is sent for ; ' who had married William Abell's sister.
Edmund was courting Mary in September, when
Sir Ealph, with little consideration for the new Mary's
hopes, invited the old Mary to Claydon; but Mrs.
Sherard declined to complicate the situation. ' I
here your son is towardes a good fortewen,' she
writes, 'I wish him all happiness, and by that
account I have of her both for her fortewn and
person, shee is very considorabull, soe I hope ther
will be noe Stope of it.'
Oct. 7, Edmund writes to Dr. Hyde, ' I persist still in my
sute to Mrs. Mary Abel, who tells me she will be much
ruled by her uncle in law Gale, a proctor in Drs.
Commons, to whom I presume you are no stranger ;
therefore I beseech you, if it be in your power, so to
season this Gale that he may not blow any unpros-
perous wind towards me touching this affaire, yet I
beleive I shall cast so sure an anchor that my affaire
THE WOOING OF MARY ABELL 17
will not wrecke should he endeavour it. You .may
assure him that my estate in reversion is 3,000/. a
yeare, (my Father's debt only excepted, which you
need not take notice off) so that my fortune is
answerable to hers. Then we are the most con-
venient matches in England one to the other, because
the best part of our estates joyne.'
Sir Ealph asked Mr. Butterfield to talk over NOV. 15,
i Ci
matters again with Mrs. Abell ; he was not desirous
that Mary should make too generous a settlement on
her step-mother, while he felt all the delicacy of
interfering. The Hector writes 'Sir, I have beene NOV. 16,
1 AA1
all this day from 11 of the clocke to foure this after-
noone, at East Claydon ; where I found them won-
drous kinde and free both in their discourse and
entertainment. . . . They do so openly and with so
much affection own the Match with Mr. Verney, that
except it were really done, I do not see how they
could doe more. Stephen Choke sayes Mr. Verney
will have as good a dispositiond gentlewoman as can
be. Mrs. Goffe sayes they want Mr. Verney ex-
tremely, especially one of them. Mrs. Wiseman
sayes she is resolved to marry him. I told them you
had been like to have been robbed going up. The
young woman coloured at it and seemed to be much
concerned for it, and expressed a great deal of
satisfaction for your escape. I told it on purpose,
how true I know not, but had the relation from Will
Lea. She weares the ring Mr. Verney gave her
openly, and both speakes of him with much pleasing-
VOL. iv. c
18 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
nes^and seemes to delight to heare of him. Truly,
Sir, my thought there appeared in all they did and
sayd, such innocent and hearty intentions as to the
busines desired, that I could not in discretion
presse any thing more than what easily dropt
from them.' The next day the good Eector called
again. ' I received yours last Sunday dinner,' he
writes, ' and after evening service I carryed the
inclosed from Mr. Gale to his Niece. She went up
into her chamber to read it, and after a while came
downe. I perceived by them they expected a letter
from Mr. Verney. When she was sate I asked her if
there was any rub in the busines. She sayd no, but
that her uncle had sent for a perticular, which she
wondered att, and the mother sayd she had told you
the truth of the estate, and she thought you knew it
as well as they themselves. I told them . . . that
Mr. Gale . . . overvalued her estate and undervalued
his. Mrs. Abell replyed she had heard him under-
value your estate, but she thought he had known
theires better. Then the young woman sayd . . .
She was confident her rents would hold at Claydon,
so upon that we had some discourse in reference to
yours, which they heard were high. But I satisfyed
them that all your old inclosure was old rents ; and
for the new it was so upon improvement, that if it
were hard rented now, in seven yeares it would be
good.'
Mr. Butterfield said much about ' Mr. Verney's
frugality ' and that it would be c no inconvenience to
THE WOOING OF MARY ABELL 19
have such a father in law. . . . Mght came on, and
we parted faire.'
The negotiations were complicated and tedious ;
not only were Mary's relations anxious to make the
best bargain they could for the orphan heiress, but
Edmund, behind Sir Ealph's back, was urging Mr.
Gale to stand out in Mary's name for a . larger
present maintenance than his father was disposed
to allow him. He begs Mr. Gale to answer his
letters privately 'within a cover directed to my
Mistress.' Dr. Thomas Hyde is now mentioned as
* my deare deceased friende.'
' I pray God you may deserve all,' writes the
Eector to Mun. ' I have promised very faire for you.
Should you not make my words good, I should not
hereafter see her face without shame and sorrow. . . .
I am sure I left her in a very good mode.
' I am, Sir, your officious friend and servant,
4 ED. BUTTERFIELD.'
While Mun's courtship stumbles at the settlements,
there is another maiden who feels herself worse used
than Mary Abell, a backward suitor being preferable
in her opinion to none at all.
Betty Verney who, ' wherever she hath been, hath
never yet been pleased,' was in 1660 ' destitute of a
habitation.' John Stewkeley has ' said so much,' that
Gary with ' her train of babs ' can no longer offer
her a home. Betty is deeply in debt, ' beggarly in
clothes,' ' physick keeps her very bare,' and she is
C "2
20 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
exposed to the ' pity that is contempt, and all the
miseries that attend poverty and quality in conjunc-
tion.' Sir Ealph sends her eventually to a Mrs.
Henderson at Goring, who with her husband keeps
like Mrs. Barbauld a school for young gentlemen ;
' noe ill shelter,' Sir Ealph considers, ' till another can
1662 1?> be found.' Betty allows that ' the Dr. and his Wife
receved her veri kiendley,' ' but I am confident,' she
writes, ' if you ware heare, you would not thinck this
plas as fit for me as I thinck you doo, how ever I shal
indever to stay tel it plesies God and you to reles me
out of it.' Her real grievance was that her brother
had failed in his duty to provide her with a husband.
Her godmother Mrs. Isham, in her good-natured way,
feels sure that ' a Mr. Blagrave,' whose family com-
mands the Parliamentary seat at Eeading, would be
quite ready to marry her, but as he had wedded a
Miss Brown ' a month since,' unknown to his elder
brother, it was only dear Aunt Isham's sanguine
temper that found an opening here, for as Betty puts
it to Sir Ealph ' I thinck my marriing veri unlickley
in any plas, and imposibil in this . . . but I desier
to be holey ruled by you.'
She had set her heart on living with her brother
in London, but he cannot take in a maid, and she
cannot ' Dresse her Head ' herself. Sir Ealph, regard-
less of the fact that his own wigs required very
skilled attendance, makes light of difficulties with
which he has never had to grapple. ' I am sori you
thinck that to be so esei, which I find so hard,'
THE WOOING OF MARY ABELL 21
writes the aggrieved damsel. 'At London, as you
order matters,' he replies, ' there's noe hopes of pay-
ing your debts, . . London is a Theife will trick
your purse as well as mine.' To this Betty ' ack-
knoliges' that she has not a word to say. Three
months later her hair still remains intractable, it will
neither rise in billowy heights, nor fall in showers of
ringlets as the mode requires. ' As for the dresiong April 19,
*
my head myselfe, I must deale injenoiosley with
you ; I can not yet doo it ; I am confident goeing to
plow would not mack me mor sick than the reaching
up of my armes does.'
Mrs. Henderson resolves at the end of May ' to
tack no more borders,' ' the Dr. sais he will live with
onley his privat famley,' so they request Betty to
dispose of herself by Midsummer. ' The dressing of
your head puts off severall persons from entertaining
you,' says Sir Ealph. ' Write me word the utmost
you can give and what attendance you doe expect
for soe much money.' Betty can afford but ' 30/. A
yere for all things, besides fireing and woshing,' she
' must goe very menely ' and doubts she ' will not
hould out at that nether ; ' but she has heard ' from
A genteil woman of my acquientans to let me know
if I pleased I mit live at hur ffathers, and she and I
should be chamber feloes, herr name is Frances
Boltton, and she lives in Broad Street at the eind
towards Thrednedle Street.' Lady Hobart recom-
mends the Charter House, where Lady Lovet and
many others are ; ' she may be drest and have a
. 22 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
roome to herself e for 30Z. a yere.' The arrangement
with the * genteel woman ' is however carried out.
The poor little heiress at East Claydon is still
writing sadly to her uncle in Sermon Lane about the
* tedious and odious delayes ' in the marriage settle-
ment, when Mr. Butterfield gives Edmund a pretty
Feb. 24, account of drawing Valentines, in the old Manor
House. 'I found Mrs. Mary in her morning dresse, a
white and blacke petty Coate and wast coate, and all
cleane and fine linnen, so lovely proper and brisk e, I
protest I knew her not at first sight, though I had
been there a good part of the day but 3 dayes
before. . . . They made themselves merry at Valen-
tine's day in drawing Valentines, and very unwilling
she was to be brought to draw (6 or 7 papires being
put together rolled up) for feare she should not
draw you. But being pers waded to it at last she
ventured, and they say very fairely happened on you
to her great satisfaction ... I cannot but adde>
had I gained her, as you have done, I would marry
her, if she would have mee, though I beg'd ; and
thinke to see more happy dayes in such a choyce,
than in another with thousands per an.' Edmund
wrote warmly enough though not often. ' My
dearest Mistrisse, If I had no other errant yet I
ought to go a Pilgrim on foote to East Claydon, only
to kisse that deare and pleasant hand, which so
lovingly writ her self, most afiectionatly faythfull till
death unto me her slave, who must shortly make a
journey of devotion to my saint there, even to my
THE WOOING OF MARY ABELL 23
most passionately beloved Mistrisse Mary Abell
&c. &c. . . . He writes again on May 1, ' Yesterday
I returned from Gravesend, where I parted with my
poore brother, who is gone for Aleppo, and desired
me to present his humble service unto you, wishing
both you and me all happinesse in the enjoyment of
each other whereat I say Amen. . . . Madam I hope
all may be agreed twixt Mr. Gaell and my father
before my going downe to wayte upon you, and
conduct you hither, which I am resolved shall bee
next weeke at farthest.' This visit to London gave
Mary something definite to talk about when her
Mother and Aunt complained of Mun's neglect. She
could not but feel that it was not thus that other
maidens were sought and won. Squire Buncombe's,
zealous wooing of ' Joseph Busbye's daughter had
greatly pleased ' the elder ladies. He could not bear
to be parted from his mistress for an hour ; her
family must be at his house, or he at theirs ; he had
been all the last week at Addington ; ' always-
drunk,' alas, ' but if he could have had a priest, they
say, he would needs have been marryed at midnight,,
in spight of all his friends, and away he is gone
home with her again.' It was certainly disappoint-
ing to hear ten days later, that ' Squire Duncombe
was quite off of his hot matching, and would venture
her being sicke for love of him ; ' but need true love
be as cool and reasonable as Edmund's was ?
Mr. Butterfield was confounded. It was the
second time he had been rash enough to meddle with
24 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
the young man's love affairs. All his previous
experience had been of Edmund's hot-headed eager-
ness ; no diligence and zeal on his own part could
ever overtake his impatience. Night and day Mun
was writing love-letters, which Mary Eure cared
neither to read nor to answer. Mary Abell blushed
with expectation, and grew pale with disappointment
when the Eector's budget from Covent Garden con-
tained no word for her. Then every member of the
family had been tormented, and every conceivable
influence set to work, to induce Mary Eure to grant
Edmund an interview ; now when the heart of Mary
Abell had yielded almost before the siege was laid,
he scarce took the trouble of coming to claim the
April 28, gracious welcome that awaited him. ' She weares his
1 fifit?
picture openly and confidently,' writes the anxious
Eector. ' Mr. Verney does very ill in my minde to
breake his word thus with the ladyes here at not
coming down at the time prefixed, whose impatience
in being thus kept from towne ... is very mani-
fest.' When the truant came at last, he scolded,
argued and explained, but failed to satisfy them.
Mary herself was provoked out of her usual patient
silence, and Edmund writes in considerable irrita-
May 11, tion : ' Middle Claydon, 1662. Mon tres cher pere,
1662
Yendredy au soir assey tard ie passay par East
Claydon la ou j'entray et salue les damoiselles . . .
le lendemain j'ally disner avec elles et donnay le
present k ma maittresse, laqueUe estoit fort irritee
de ce que ie 1'avois fait tant demeurer pour rien, car
THE WOOING OF MARY ABELL 25
disoit elle ce n'est pas que ie me soucie d'aller a
Londres y ayant gueres d'affaires, mais c'est acause
que ie ne puis pas m'imaginer que vous avez tant
d'amour puor moy que vous pretendey, puisque vous
pouviez estre si long temps sans me venir voir,
et cela estant, j'advoue une folliebien grande d'avoir
entretennu une telle personne, car disoit elle, quelle
besogne aviez vous a Londres puisque Mon r vostre
pere n'a rien conclu avec mon Oncle, puis elle me
demanda pourquoy vous ne vouliez pas accorder
avec son Oncle, a tout cecy ie respondis Ie mieux
que ie peus, et veritablement i'eut grand peine a
1'appaiser.'
It seemed doubtful whether the long-promised
expedition would prove very enjoyable, but Edmund
hired a coach and made what haste he could to
' carry his women ' to town.
Mr. Butterfield writes to him : ' no saint but the
Virgin Mary can make you happy, sure you take
more state upon you then Majesty it selfe.' Small
pox is rife, and he trembles for his little country
damsel ' in that ugly London this hot season.' . . .
O /
* Make hast downe into the country,' he writes, ' that June 9,
, . , , , 1662
is now very sweet . . . but be sure before you come
join the two Claydons together or 'twill never be
halfe so pleasant to you. My humble respects to
your deare Lady, the maker or marrer of your
wealth.'
On the 16th of June, Mr. Butterfield's anxiety
reached its climax. ' It was first the private whispers
26 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
of some, but now 'tis Town and country talke,' he
writes to Sir Kalph, ' that the match will not be ;
whereat many that beare you no good will, I feare,
make themselves very merry, and your friends that
wish well to the family are much troubled. ... I
wish with my heart it had never been thus carryed
on. . . . 'Tis admirable to mee, that wise men should
stand so peremptorily upon such inconsiderable
nicety es (for so they will seeme to plainer judgments)
to the ruine of your credits and fortunes. . . . Why
will you destroy your family, and render all the cost
and paines you have been at in beautifying Claydon
fruitles ? . . . You may see my heart is full, but it
runs over so strangely. I must have one fling at him
too, and then I have done.'
Here follows the ' fling.' ' Mr. Yerney, I cannot
forbeare writeing. I had much adoe to forbeare
comeing to you. . . . Sir if your father and you had
studyed to make yourselves the talke of the Country,
the game and sport of those that do not love you, and
a grief to your friends, you could not have found out
such another way. ... If you could be careles of
your selfe, yet consider you have gained the affection
of an honest gentlewoman, whom if you should
wrong by an inconsiderate breach, you will never be
able to answer it while you breath, and looke to it,
never any prosper that are guilty of treachery in that
kinde. . . . Sir, I write this out of the bitterness of
my heart, and out of an honest desire to be instrumen-
tall to your good, not out of any busy humour to be
THE WOOING OF MARY ABELL 27
medling in other men's matters. ... I am concerned
in your welfare more than ordinary, and it vexes my
very soul to heare how the base bumpkins triumph
in the disappointment of this long expected Match,
because forsooth now East Claydon shall not be
inclosed, though that be the lest of those things
that trouble mee for you in this affaire. Sir, excuse
my zeale for you ; I hope 'tis needles ; put mee out of
doubt by a comfortable word or two, or els I shall
dy with melancholy. My respects to your good lady.'
Happily Mr. Butterfield's fears had overshot the
mark ; while the village gossips were still chuck-
ling over the supposed scandal, the news reached
Claydon that the marriage had actually taken place
on the 1st of July, probably in Henry VII's chapel,
Westminster. The presence of one relation was
certainly dispensed with. Tom had been more
than usually tragic ; he only desired ' a sleepy potion '
to put an end to life and its miseries, but he has now
a more genteel grievance. ' I was not of an alliance
neere enough to be invited to the marriage feast, yet
I hope I shall be thought worthy to wear a brideall
favour, not such as was bestowed on coachmen or
lacqueys, but such an one as was bestowed on him
whose equall I am in every respect. Sir, I should
not have been soe bold a beggar had it not been
layd in my dish on Fry-day last ; . . . This by the
way ffor my discours is of another matter and of farr
greater concernement to mee then a wedding favour
can be.' We can easily supply the rest !
28 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
The young couple spent three or four weeks in
London, and seem to have been very happy together.
Jniy 8, Sir Ealph writes to his son from Chancery Lane, ' My
Lady Hobart will bee at home all this day, and Sir
Nathaniell desires to heare your Trumpet either this
evening between 6 and 7, or to-morrow . . . there-
fore endeavour to get your Master hether.' Edmund
July 16, writes to Mr. Gale : ' Owning as well for my Deare
1 fifi9
Mall as for my selfe . . . the courtesies done to us
by you before, as well as since our marriage. . . .
And truly my selfe and second selfe would wayte
upon you, your sonne and daughter . . . but that
our neighbours in Buckinghamshire would think and
say we went only to avoyde them, if wee did not goe
directly from hence to Claydon, a purpose to enter-
tayne all that come to see us.'
July 24, To Sir Ealph he laments the expenses he must
incur ' dans cette ville devorante.' Besides spending
43 shillings for his wife's wadded cloak, he pays 2
pounds 3 shillings for her silk mantle ; ' one pound
for my pocket money; Wife 10 shillings; gloves 8
shillings and sixpence ; and for coache hire these 2
dayes 10 shillings. For, a Carman sent for and dis-
appointed Qd. : Paid at a play for 8 maides in the
ISd. places, 12s. : for their Extraordinaryes 6d.'
* Mr. Verney's frugality ' had never existed except in
good Mr. Butterfield's brain, and this was not the
moment to call it into existence ; indeed the cost of
marrying an heiress is feelingly alluded to in the
literature of the period. ' When the Bills of Wooing,
THE WOOING OF MARY ABELL 29
Wedding, and Honey- Year are defraid, the Baste I
doubt proves more than the Eoast.' :
But all else went well, the widow had become
' my Mother,' in Edmund's letters, and ' Sister Abell '
in Sir Ealph's ; great preparations were going on at
Claydon to welcome the Bride and to introduce her
handsomely to the whole Verney connection. The
Widower-host's establishment was in the greatest
commotion, no expense was to be spared to do them
honour. Luce Sheppard looked out the best markets
in town for fish and foreign fruits. Sir Ealph's
extravagance in this respect had often been the
subject of expostulations from the doctor ; ' You
are a noble gent, but a simple fellow, and doe not
consider that Qd. a peece for lemons and Nobbs
Brocadge doe not agree, and will not hold out, eat
your sawce with veniger and lett lemons alone.'
Luce had, however, succeeded in getting ' a dosin of Sept. 10 >
1662
lemonds att an exelent cheap rate . . . they cost but 3
shillings the dosen beside portage unwasht, if there be
any truth in man, and lickly to be Dearer. Orenges
are the worst at 12 pence apeece.' ' The sturgeon
promiseth faire ... in caes it want pickell, 'tis to
be covered with beare viniger, the lowest price that
the fishmonger alowed the kegg for was 15s. . . . the
oysters att 2s.' The cellar was stocked with Ehenish
Wine, Claret and Canary. The new housekeeper had
to provide an impossible number of beds ; coaches
and horses were needed at once in opposite directions.
1 Letter of Advice concerning Marriage, by A. B., 1676.
30 VERXEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
' Company I beleave you want not,' wrote Sister Pegg,
' how you will lodg all I cannot imaien.' Sir Ealph
Sept. 15, Writes that Sister Pen must positively defer her
'
arrival, till ' Sir Nathaniel Hobart returnes to London,
(which will bee very suddenly), for now my sister
Gardner takes upp the Parlour chamber, Sister
Elmes the Oreng, Coz. Leeke the Lying-in chamber,
and Sir Nath. Hobart and his Lady are to Have the
old Drawing Eoome ; and the truth is I expect both
Sir Thomas Bird and Sir Eoger Burgoyne and his
brother every day, and then they must lodg in the
Gallery chamber, and I beleeve my Cozen Mun
Hobart will bee heere on Satterday next, soe that I
am forced to set upp a Bed for my Aunt Isham
in the little drawing roome. ... I have neither
Eoome, nor bedding left for any body, noe not
for a servant, though I have already Borrowed,
and must get Sister Elmes and coz. Leeke to lodg
together, and made all other shifts that possibly I
can. Neither can I send my coach on Tuesday to
Alisbery, for that very day I am engaged to meete
the deputy Leiftenants of this quarter at a Muster at
Buckingham, and after that at Stoney Stratford . . .
wherfore I must needes intreate you to deferre your
jorney hether.' Penelope had her own reasons for
leaving home immediately. 'If weeping in my
Lodgins and in the Street by day and by night,
would break my heart, in earnest it ware happy
for me ... Mr. Denton has bin so outragious with
me, that he has run after me with his Knif in his
THE WOOING OF MARY ABELL 31
hand, and vowed to Stob me ; God mak me thank-
full I clapt a dore upon me, and my maid turn'd
the Kaye, so there I remained in the roome till his
great fury was over. ... He did till me that he
should never be att rest till he had washed his hands
in my blod.' ' Good Brother,' she continues, ' if
your Letter had com time enough to my hands
befor that I was in the coch, it had put a stop to my
Journey, for God knows my hart. I entended you
no trouble, but did belive that I might croud in
amoung the reast of the companey.' Her husband
joined her later, but at Claydon he was always on
his best behaviour. An elaborate practical joke was
devised against him by the wedding party. A
letter reached him purporting to come from Gape,
the Apothecary, of which a copy is labelled, lest
posterity should misread it, ' A Sham Letter to John
Denton that is Crackt.'
' Good Squire, I am given to understand by some
freinds att Court, that your Mother is labouring
with all the power and might shee can, to make
your youngest brother William a Lord, and hath
soe farre prevaild that shee hath gott a promise of it
from his Majesty, which my Lady Studdall, your
kinswoman, understandinge and being much con-
cerned in the injury don to you thereby, hath
prevailed soe farre by the interest she hath at
Court as to put a stoppe to it, and if you will part
with 500/. you shall have the honour your selfe
and not your brother. Now truely if you will
32 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
take my opinion, I would have you to doe it, for
when your brother shalbee sensible of the disgrace
that will here by bee put upon him, undoubtedly hee
will hang himselfe, and when your Mother knowes
that, then shee will presently bee mad, and soe you
being Eldest sonne the Law will cast the Estate
upon you, and then you may begge her for a
Lunaticke, and have the keeping of her your selfe,
and soe may bee revenged of all the injuryes shee
hath don you. Indeede you are mighty ly beholding
to my Lady Studdall, for shee hath not onely spoke
to the King for you, but to both the Queenes, the
Duke of Yorke and the Dutchesse, and there is not
a Lord of the privie Councell but shee hath made
them your freinds. The King is much taken with
the Comendations that my Lady Studdall hath
given of you, and hath comanded that you waite
upon him as soone as you come to London. And
it is generally belived that you wilbee one of the
Lords of the privie Councell, and that will bring
you in a Thousand pounds a yeare of it selfe ;
besides if you can by your wisdome be but as
great a favourite as my Lord Chancellor is, you
are made for ever. And I hope when you are in
power you will not forgett your freinds. You see
what hast you neede make to London. I will use
no other arguments but what I have don allready,
and onely tell you that I am, Sir, now your worship's,
but I hope within a few days it wilbe your honour's
most humble servant William Gape. I have sent the
THE WOOING OF MARY ABELL 33
messinger on purpose and therefore I pray you pay
him.' Of the ' jest's prosperity ' we hear nothing.
There is a joke against the good apothecary that he
has been ' choused by Sir Wm. Berkeley,' who has
given him the slip and embarked for Virginia, appa-
rently in Gape's debt.
Another merry letter was concocted by Aunt
Isham and signed by the guests to induce their host
to join the ladies at a picnic. ' Sir, you beinge one
of his Magistes Debity Leve tennants, you may be
pleased to take noties that too morroe aboute 10 a
cloke there is a meetinge att Jhon Eose's House
neere Eunts Woods. The desine is too devower all
as comes before them, as Egges, Baken and ale. For
the sagane [sacking ?] of your woode itt is thought
fite as you a Peare in your Passone [person] for who
knowes whate these Extravant Pople may doe in
thare Ale, whene thay be hie-flone : so you are too
sett all other consarnements a side too doe your
utmost endevore to keepe in good order the Passons
which intend too asemble them togeather.'
Betty Verney was not included in the wedding
party, and got up ' a stolen matching ' of her own,
on purpose, so the sisters assured him, to revenge
herself upon Sir Ealph. In October she had pro-
nounced her health to be such that she was not long
for this world the next news is from Mun. ' II est NOV. i,
' 1662
bruitte que ma Tante Isabeau a dessein de se perdre
sur un pauvre cure : car je vis ces mots deshono-
VOL. IV. D
34 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
rabies escrits par Madame Tipping a ma Tante Isham/
There is a chorus of indignation in the family and
NOV. 20, P e g Elmes writes in great wrath to Sir Kalph, ' I
assure you, you are not a loane in the sensur of my
sister Betty's casting a way of herselfe, for now they
bringeme very deepely in too . . . the trwthe is,
thaere is onely a little folly layed to her charge for
doeing it, but the chiefe blaime is cast on your selfe
and me. Sumtimes I am a weary of hearing it, how
she was cast of, and forsaken, and left to herselfe,
noe cowntinance showd her, nor care taken of her,
but sent to a person's house, to a scoole, like a babie.
But as I heare the buesines, this might a fallen out
any wheare, for the man as I am tolde, lived not
theare, but by acsident preached in that church, and
theare fell in love with her, which for allt I know,
him or sich a nother might a dun heare, if she wolde
be see simple to harken to sich a thinge. Now all
are for your getting of him a liveing, which sum say
you may doe of Sir Eichard Piggot, and that is
Grendon Parsonage, and your one whenever Mr.
Butterfield dies. Soe now you are put in mind of it
time enufgh.' Old Aunt Ursula who never lost an
opportunity of making a sharp reflection on Sir
Ealph, loudly declared that though Betty was a fool
the blame was his.
Gary considers that Betty's ' high discontents was
the caus of this rash ackt of casting herselfe away,
nether is shee so much to bee condemned as many
THE WOOING OF MARY ABELL 35
others. Lett us remember the Earl of Linsis's sister
who married Dr. Huit, 1 which was bot a chapling
and was as destitut of preferment when her marriage
was knone, as this man is ; and Sir William Eussels
dauftar, and to goe nearer homb, my cossin Town-
send. And 2 of these had grat fortuns, and the
third enough to subsist sartainly did upon them
and yet none of thies utterly cast of by ther frinds,
the rather sopported, and her case much more
excusabill then theirs ; for we have often red of men
as have past for wise and pious both, yet the feare
of want hath so far trans ported them, that they have
lade A side not only reson bot religion and destroyed
themselves, and I have often hard her say, that was
her fear, whenever you failled, and truly souch
thowts cause soul-sicknes.'
This impetuous bride of nine-and-twenty gave no
relations any chance ' to come up for her wedding ; '
indeed Peg had previously informed Sir Ealph, how
on the first rumour of the ' maridg ' she had sought
her sister for four hours in the city l and att the last
mett with one as I knew she went out of her lodgen
with, which in my disscourse with him, I fowned to
fallter much in ansering the questions I put to him
but att the last I threttned high if he did not bringe
her out, or let me know wheare she was, I wolde
1 Lady Mary Bertie's marriage was an odd instance to quote of
the happy results of marrying a clergyman, for Dr. John Hewitt took
so active a part in the plots for murdering Cromwell that he was
beheaded on Tower Hill.
D 2
36 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
come with that as should make him doe it, to them
of higher power.' After these ambiguous threats
had been launched, apparently at the head of the
Bridegroom, he hastily retreated, undertaking that
Betty should call on her sister that afternoon, ' ac-
cordingly she came allthough too lait, for she maryed
the Thursday after she came to town.' There is a
Nov. 21, letter from Betty full of abject apologies ' for this
great folt of mine which I should bee willing to Ack
Knolig upon my knees ware I in presans too doo it,'
but her new signature writ large at the bottom
of the page reminds her brother that the great fault
can never be undone, and she plucks up spirit
enough to assert that ' I am not so much lost, as sum
thinck I am, beecos I have maried one, as has the
reput of an oneist man, and one, as in time I may
live comfortably with.'
Even such a modest amount of domestic happiness
seemed far out of reach, though Mr. Adams had one
or two narrow escapes ; ' I was within 24 hours of
a parsonage in Cheshire for your new Brother, of
120 per annum, but it is gone,' writes Dr. Denton;
' we must look about us for some perferment for
him.'
The broad, kindly and wholly commonplace face
of Charles Adams looks out of its black frame at
Claydon, without a redeeming feature to suggest the
romantic instinct that prompted his runaway marri-
age. He eventually became ' Clerk of great Baddow
,
A/v// n fittm /<?/</ at
j ' t/vits&S / ft%
^*~*
THE WOOING OF MARY ABELL 37
in Essex,' and a highly respected member of the
family circle, but meanwhile it was a standing joke
with the sisters when they wished to torment their
busy elder brother, that they would call upon him in
the morning, and talk about Betty!
And so while poor 'Adam and Eve,' as Dr.
Denton called them, met with nothing but reproaches
and hard fare, Edmund and Mary were being feasted
and honoured at Claydon. Good Mr. Butterfield
saw the country damsel he had so gallantly cham-
pioned, the central figure of the family rejoicings ;
the square pew so long abandoned to moths and
spiders, was filled to overflowing; the Rector him-
self in the glory of his new surplice for which
Sir Ralph had supplied ' the cloth,' beamed down
upon them all with unmixed satisfaction. Dame
Margaret and Dame Mary from their niches in the
chancel looked kindly upon the girl who was to carry
on their work at Claydon, and take the woman's
place in the empty house. A few weeks of the
intimacy and confidence of married life had changed
her careless lover into a devoted husband, and after
enjoying Sir Ralph's hospitality and the festivities
that fashion prescribed, the Edmund Verneys were
to make their home in the old Manor House at East
Claydon where Mary Abell had spent her childhood.
But the assembled aunts and cousins, who warmly
applauded Edmund's assiduous attentions to his
young wife, were provoked to find that she was at
38 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
times moody, capricious, jealous or unreasonably
depressed. Whence came this strange shadow, which
seemed to alter Mary's whole character, and threatened
to darken her life just as a happy and useful career
was opening before her ?
PORCH OF THE WHITE HOUSE, EAST CLAYDON.
39
CHAPTER II.
IN CHANCERY LANE.
! let me not be mad not mad, sweet Heaven.'
1662-1665.
SIR NATHANIEL and Lady Hobart, the ' Sweet Nat '
and ' Sweet Nan ' of Sir Ealph's early days, were still
in middle life the truest of friends and the most
delightful of correspondents. Anne Hobart, with as
warm and constant a heart as her sister, Doll Leake,
was more a woman of the world, and was a very
capable mistress of a family, and a great lover and
grower of flowers. In 1652 Sir Nathaniel was
made a Master in Chancery 4 in Sir Ed. Leech his
dead place,' and in 1658 the family removed from
Highgate, that he might live near the law courts.
Lady Hobart gave as her address ' A greate house in
Chancery Lane, over against Lincoln's Inne, near
the Three Cranes, next dor to the Hole in the Wall,
within two dors of Mr. Farmer's and one dor of
Judge Ackings.' The house was further distin-
guished as being ' nigh to the Pumpe ' and as
having ' a very handsom garden with a wash hous in
it.' The rent, 55. a year, was considered a heavy
40
one, and as there were more rooms than they
required, Anne Hobart set her wits to work to
reduce her expenses, by letting a part of the house
to relations during the London season. Her first
experiment of taking in her married daughter, Lady
Smith, was not a success, and her next overtures were
made to Sir Ealph, who since his return to England
in 1653 had kept a pied a terre in Covent Garden or
in Eussell Street.
Sir Kalph liked the idea, but other relations, who
were accustomed to lodge near him, made indignant
protests against his removal to so remote a quarter
as Chancery Lane. ' Uncle Dr. and self mander
most greviously att it,' writes Peg Elmes ; ' I wish it
a thousand inconveanyantis to you, & them moare
as temted you to it.' On the other hand, Lady
Hobart, with her hospitable anxieties, was not always
easy to satisfy. 'You were not kind to me,' she
writes one evening that Sir Ealph had dined out,
when she had been ' busy all the morning buying a
banquet, and in the afternoon at my Lady Bartley's
to tech her to do paist, wich are all at your sarvis
. . . but you not coming I intend to send my
swetmeets into larland.' But on the whole Sir
Ealph was free to come and go as he liked, and the
evenings spent with Sir Nathaniel were most con-
genial to him.
The winter of 1662-3 found Sir Ealph with
Edmund and Mary Verney settled in their own
suite of rooms in Chancery Lane, to Lady Hobart's
IN CHANCERY LANE 41
intense satisfaction. Her daughters, Frances and
Nancy, whose strong wills sometimes brought them
into sharp collision with their mother, were fond of
cousin Mun, and gave his bride a kind welcome.
Mary Verney's health and spirits had been very
variable ; when she first arrived she was popular with
them all, but she became subject to fits of moody
silence or of hysterical excitement during which she
was a torment to herself and all about her. She
vexed her husband with unreasonable suspicions and
imaginary grievances, or, as Dr. Denton expresses March 2G r
it, ' Zelotipia [jealousy] is gott into her pericranium,
& T doe not know what will gett it out.' So disturb-
ing an element in the house completely destroyed
Sir Ealph's comfort ; he suddenly left for Claydon and
1 frightened them with his sad looks when he went
away.'
Lady Hobart was constantly urging him to return.
' Dear Sir Ealph, to tell you how much we want March 25,
r . / 1663
you a nights, is not to be put in this paper, but
hasen up, & you shall see how much you shall be
mayd on. Your por son will be a very misarabell
man in his wif I fear ; be sure you chuse a beter,
but one you must have. To be serus, I am greved
at hart, & though I have many trobells, yet 'tis as
much to me as any of my on. If sorow or tears cold
cuer hur she wold, for it has put a genarall sadnes
in us all, & we wish you hear, but it can not but
be a sad sight to you. I wish from my soil you had
had mor comfort, but you ar a wis man, & must mack
42 VEKNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
the best of this, and thinck this world has mor
crosis in it then blisings, but I hop you will at Last
by your goodness rech haven.'
Dr. Denton reports that Mary is ' much worse,
laughs more then before, speakes more boldly,
descants uppon by standers, myselfe, Dr. Ent (for
whom we sent), Sir Nat : Hob :, Sr. Wm. Smyth, &
few escape her. She is now averse from all phisick
& bleedinge, soe that I doubt we shall have much to
doe with her. If she will in any measure be ruled,
I hope to get her out of this, but I shall be ever
April 9, fearfull of returnes. . . . Though her illnes be out
1 f\fl^
of the usuall Eoad of other distractions, yet I doe
not like it the worse, but doe believe she is very
capable of Cure.'
Sir Ealph thinks that ' all the Phisick in the
World will not cure her, unlesse she strive against
her Malancholly, & in a good measure proove her
owne Doctor.' He sends ' a couple of Eent Capons
March 23, t j ie miller sent my Daughter with two Dozen
Puddings for Lady Hobart & another two Dozen for
Mary's Breakfast,' but he declines to return. Aunt
Isham occupied Sir Ralph's room during his absence.
'Now Mis Hubbord and I have a Little more
pleasure in your Bead than we had att the first,' she
writes ; ' itt was so soft as itt had all most kiled us.
So now we have gote a quilte & Lie very well. But
we wante your good companey.'
Edmund had little chance of getting his affairs
into order with such distracting anxieties and
IX CHANCERY LANE 43
expenses, and he was often trying to economise in
the wrong place. He had not a horse to ride, and
his father who 'is overstocked with Jades, having 17
at grass & 8 more at the house,' will not lend him
any, ' because you ought to keep your own, the
country wonders how you can bee without them, &
censures you very much for it.'
He begs his father to be at the Manor Court
which the steward holds in his absence at East
Claydon : ' Tout iroit mieux, car vostre presence
abbattroit leur insolence, a cause de la veneration
qu'ils vous doivent.'
Mr. Butterfield rates him vigorously for his
management of his wife's land : * I hate this rack-
renting 'tis worse than usury . . . my own small
rents come in roundly without any calling for.' He
fears Mun will soon have all his land thrown on his
hands, ' for none will ever come to your termes but
some ale-house chap-men that never mean to pay.
'Tis not for the profit of the landlord to have to Feb. i,
1663
do with such customers, out of whose fingers 'tis
more difficult to get rents, then to do all one's other
busines. 'Tis a poore trade to be alwayes proffer-
ing one's commodities either to such as we know
will not buy, or will not pay. Sett moderate rates
upon your land, & you shall not want tenants, other-
wise you shall have but little rent. This is truth, &
vou will finde it so.'
*/
The White House was still in Mrs. Abell's hands,
and there was a long but friendly bargaining over
44 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
the terms on which Edmund should take possession
of it. He writes to Mr. Butterfield, ' I will give my
mother 30/. a yeare for her house & horsestall &
closes, she paying all taxes but Church & poore and
chimeney money; but then I will have it for 99
yeares, if she so long live, that is for her whole
terme . . . you may assure her from mee, that shee
shah 1 command that or anything else that I have in
this world, & so present my humble service to Her &
her sister.'
Mary Verney's health improved ; in the summer
of 1663 she and her husband stayed with Sir Ealph
at Claydon House, and went with him and Lady
Elmes to visit Lady Vere Gawdy ; and then on to
the Warners, 1 rich relations of Mary's, living at
Milner in the same neighbourhood. Lady Hobart
is curious to know from Sir Ealph * how you did lick
your tret. I hear it was much beyond Croshall, i
desier the relason from cosen Elmes.'
There are ' large expressions ' of regret from all
the company at Croweshall at their departure, to the
which Sir Ealph desires to make a suitable return,
but he says to Doll Leake, writing from Milner at
Oct. 3, 11 o'clock at night : ' Though you love a long letter,
you know I love a short, & I ani sure you are ever
best pleased with what is most agreeable to the Lazy
Humour of, Deare Cozen, your sleepy Dull, yet most
affectionate humble servant.' To Lady Gawdy he
writes, ' I thanke you hartily over and over againe :,
1 Mrs. Warner was Mr. Gael's daughter.
IN CHANCERY LANE 45
'tis the King's own way of Rhetoricke when hee
receives the greatest Boones, soe that I hope it may
be allowed to bee courtly & in Fashion.' Dr.
Denton hopes that Mary ' is welcome home, & that
she hath left Mrs. Zelotipia behind, or else I am sure
she is not come well home in mind at least.'
Edmund writes in November to Lady Hobart : Nov. 11,
I AC3
' Madam, my thankes to you for receiving my family
last winter, must at this time bee Ushers to desire
the same favour of your Ladyship, if it may sute
with your occasions, for I esteeme it not the least of
my happinesse to live among such good company ;
to the end I may be as little trouble as possible, I
doe intend, if you thinke fitt, to bringe up Besse a
purpose to cleanse my chamber, & to doe all other
necessary work, so that I shall be one more in
number now then I was before.' He will wait on
her ' about the latter end of the Terme, & stay till a
little after Christmasse.'
Lady Hobart, undeterred by former experiences,
was full of hospitable preparations. Sir Ralph's
quarters must be quite to his liking. ' I have whited Oct. 16
the room, & stars hed, & clened the bed and hanings.
Pray send me word whether the chamber shall be
paned at the full bignes or no. If it be, it will be
Ligheter at the chimny, but then your beach box
must stand in one of the closets. The dor must goo
in by your man's beds fet. Now fur the stabels. i
have my chos of 2 ; one in Magpy Yard. Thar
is a pond in the yard to wash the horses and
46 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
very good water. It will hold four horsis, and the
hay loft will hold 4 lod of hay ; ther is bins for ots.
Thay say they ar very honist and si veil people ; judg
Ackings coach has stod thar this 14 year. Now thar
is another at the Eed Harp in Feter Lan ; tis one
turning mor beyond the Magpy, but it has the same
convenency. The Magpy is 16 pound a year, if
thay Log a man ; the other i can have for 14
pound.'
A little later she has ' paynted all the windows
and mayd all clen. You may come when you will,
but you sayd you will Ly on a quilt, thar fer I must
beg you to bring on, for i have non. I have mayd
all my hous beter than it was for clennes, but i am
very wrought in my stomack. Pray send me som
grens to set agans my new wall & som Jeseney &
hunicuckells.'
For Edmund and his wife she has prepared the
* gret chamber. I now want a bed ; if it be not to
much trobell to you to send up som curtans &
valanc, for at presant I want som. If it be your
wroght ons, or any other, it will be much mor con-
venant for them, & thay shall hav the Low rom at
thar sarvis to set in, & to bring all compeny in to,
for we did want that very much Last year. Hur
mayds shall have a very good Login to thar selfs
whar hur truncks shall stand. . . . Pray tell Bes
King she must Leve tiling storys ; my mayds dred
hur, thay Live quietly senc she went. But for what
she sayd to me, I forgive hur, & wold have her com
IN CHANCERY LANE 47
to dow thar worck; it will be very convenant for
me. She may wash all thar clos hear. Say nothing
to hur master, & pray Let them bring up 2 par of
shets for thar on bed. I will have on hundred of
fagets Layd into your wod hous redy aganst you
com. My mayd shall Ly in all the beds, & all shall
be well ared.'
Mrs. Abell hopes that her dear daughter Mary
may ' inioy the pleasures of the towne, which God be
blessed, you have all the reasone in the world soe to
doe. I am troubled with that illness at my hart that
I was when you left me. I have often wished my
selfe with you since you went from hence, that I
might in some part partake of your pleasure, but that
is a thing that I have bine weaned from a long time,
& the onely comfort that I have now left me is your
Deere selfe. I have soe great a tye & obly-gation
upon me for my Dearest of frinds sake, as allsoe for
your owne sweet deportment allways towards me,
that it hath for ever obliged mee.' But these love-
able qualities were again to be sadly overclouded.
The noise and bustle of town life probably affected
poor Mary's nerves, and she had not been long in
Chancery Lane before the distressing symptoms
returned with increased violence.
The relations had hoped much for Sir Ealph from
Edmund's marriage. His extreme kindness to all the
younger ladies of the family, and the pleasure he
took in their society, promised great happiness to a
daughter-in-law. He had given his son's bride the
48 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
kindest of welcomes. We know that he was not
exacting as to the amount of book-learning to be
demanded of a woman, but he was fastidiously
alive to any lack of politeness and good breeding, and
no lady could be permitted to do the honours of his
house who did not come up to his fine standard of
taste and courtesy. Such were the traditions left by
his mother and his wife ; and it was their want of
refinement that made the society of some of his sisters
so trying to him. Mary Abell, though homely and
unformed, had the gentle voice and manner belonging
to an unaffectedly sweet and modest nature, and she
was young enough to learn all Sir Kalph's example
would have taught her, had not her unhappy malady
completely estranged him from her.
The degree of moral responsibility attaching to
actions on the borderland of sanity, was a problem
far beyond the medical science of the day ; and Sir
Ralph took a severe view of Mary's want of self-
control. As she grew worse, the slovenliness of her
person and attire, and the indecorum of her conduct,
aroused in him nothing but sheer disgust ; her
screams, and her still more terrible laughter so
irritated his nerves, that his only wish was to fly
from any house in which she might be. All Lady
Hobart's plans for him were overthrown ; the old
opinion once more prevailed, that he would be driven
to marry again, and that his choice was likely to be
Vere, Lady Gawdy. Another version of the rumour
had reached that lady, and she hastens to congratu
IN CHANCEKY LANE 49
late him : ' I heare you are not farr from inioyinge A
Considerable pleasur, if our sex might procure it
you ; if it bee so, may all that renders women les
worthy then Men bee exempt from the Parson you
shall make happie.'
He let them talk, and left town for Claydon in
January 1664, making the journey in one day. Lady
Hobart entreats him while he is alone to go to bed
betimes ; ' i mack my Nat dew so ... all here want
you espeshally Nancy,' whose wild manners had
1 gron sivell ' in Sir Ealph's company. ' We have a bad
day or tew with my swet she cosen Varney. She has
the mesells, & I fear in gret danger . . . your son
Lis in a palet in hur chamber. I must tell you, if
she war the quen she cold not be beter locked to. I
wold not for the world have hur dy in my hous, but
god's will must be don. She has asked her husban
pardon, & is sory for what she has don, & has
promased to be a new woman if she live. My Nat
wants you very much, for we are much a Lon.'
Doll Leake writes, ' I hear she is very sensible of Feb. 10,
the ill opinion she has had of hir husband ; I pray
she may live to deserve the kindness he has ever paid
hir. I am sure he will be willing to remit all that is
past, and if she lay that yumer a side, she has so
many good things in hir, it will be a great content-
ment to him, and satisfaction and plesur to all that
love him.'
The best side of his nature was brought out by his
wife's sad condition, much as she had tried his
VOL. IV. E
50 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
patience ; the terrible symptoms which so repelled
and disgusted Sir Ealph, only made Edmund more
constant and pitiful in his attendance upon her. He
sent frequent reports of her health to Claydon.
Feb. i, ' Mon tres cher pere, J'ai beaucoup a vous
1664 . , , . , . . . .
escnre toucnant plusiers cnoses, mais je ne puis nen
dire, je suis tellement afflige a cause du tres grand
danger dans lequel ma pauvre femme gist a present,
elle a les Eougeoles dont le danger je crois est passe,
mais elle a une fievre continue, qui me perce le coeur,
par manque de repos n'ayant point dormi il y a
environ cinq nuits. . . . Dieu a soign des petits aussi
bien que des grands, & pour moi je mets tout mon
espoir en lui seul, & je le supplie avec toute soumission
imaginable qu'il daigne redonner la pleine sante a ma
chere et vertuese femme.'
The household in Chancery Lane was struck by
the sensibility he displayed ; his father is afraid of his
being too constantly with his sick wife, and begs that
he will walk in the garden as often as possible ; while
Mr. Butterfield acknowledges ' though I were heartily
sorry for the cause of your sorrow, yet it pleased mee
to heare how passionately you tooke it, & I hope this
demonstration of your affection, will take off all
occasion of future jealousies.'
In a few days Sir Ealph was back in town ; poor
Mary having recovered from the measles, fell much
more seriously ill with small-pox. Doll Leake's
solicitude on her behalf was tempered with dread of
the infection for lives still more precious to her. She
IN CHANCEEY LANE 51
is anxious that Sir Kalph should not go into the sick Mar. 3,
1 R.RA.
chamber. ' If she lives, which I hope she shall, I pray
she may deserve the care and kindness hir pore
husband has had and taken with hir. I pray send
to Mrs. Wisman Sidenham I mean for a medson
for hir face. It is very safe, & never any peted
[pitted] that yused it. Both Mrs. Abell's sisters
yused it, and were very full.' Mary happily re-
covered 'without any inconveniency to her com-
plexion.'
Mrs. Abell adds some motherly advice to her
congratulations : ' There is now noe thing more
remaines to make yourselfe hapy in this world, then
to have a cheerfull hart, & a good opinion of your
selfe : which I doe not doubt, being soe sensible of
your owne condision, but you will indevour what
lyes in your power to gaine.'
Nothing was more completely out of Mary's
reach than a cheerful heart, but she seemed fairly
well, and by the advice of the whole family Edmund
went to Clay don with his father, for rest and change,
after his arduous nursing. Lady Hobart, Frank and
Nancy offered with unselfish courage to take charge
of his wife.
The state of public affairs made Sir Ralph and
Dr. Denton very anxious. A subservient House of
Commons was ready to surrender the chief safeguard
which the Long Parliament had provided against the
King governing without calling a Parliament.
It was in accordance with the best traditions of
E2
52 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
the county, that the member for Buckingham should
throw himself into the breach, risking the loss of the
Court favour which he had been thought to value
Mar. 25, only too highly. ' The debate on tuesday was
1 1 ' l ' 1
about the Trienniall Bill,' writes Dr. Denton, * for
the Damninge of which Prynne spake most des-
perately & S r Epchard] T[emple] as desperately to
preserve it, & if all be true made a very coxco-
miny of Pryn confoundinge him demonstratively,
causinge severall Acts to be read shewinge his
palpable mistakes or wilfull perverting the text,
& that the Bill was not an Act of Grace, but the
peoples right & ought not to be denied them, nay
that it was A condicention in the ParP, & a wavinge
of part of theire right by takinge a Trienniall, when
an Annuall parl* was theire due by former Acts of
par? w h he caused to read, & for w ch you may be
sure he is farther become A white Hall Favorite the
cleane contrary way.' He adds a few days later,
Mar. si ' ^ T - Vaughan came to towne on Satterday, & on
Munday he pealed it away about Tryennialls an
houre & halfe by the clock, spake soe desperately
home that he out-shott S r E. T. ten bowes length,
but all in vaine, the Bill is ingrossed, marcht upp to
the Lords & soe farewell Magna Charta.'
Sir Nathaniel Hobart is not of Dr. Denton's
opinion ; he thinks that Mr. Solicitor in defending the
new Bill ' had both right & rhetorick of his side.'
Aprill) The Lords passed it 'without any alteration, tho'
there wanted not Critticks who quarreld both with
IN CHANCERY LANE 53
the form & the words, but the wiser Lords thought
it not safe to returne it to the Commons with any
amendment for fear of Mr. Vaughan & Sir Eich.
Temple.' ' Vaughan is lookt upon as malcontent ; '
he ' would have raised a filthy dust ' had he reached
town sooner.
The news of Mary does not improve. ' We have Mar. 20,
had a sad day with your dafter,' writes Lady Hobart.
' She now hats us all but thar to mayds, & this day
she has bin kind to franck wich dos pies me much,
for she must not be out with all at once. I have sen
your chamber very clen & Locked up, for non shall
Ly thar till you com. My she cosen would fan have
Lyed thar as soon as you went, & have had her hus
com doun to hur, but i bed hur be contented, for no
body shold Ly thar. I have no mor to say but
Love your self, & mack much of honis Sir Eaphe,
for when he is gon, his frinds will not find shuch
another. I am suer por me shant, thar for Love hur
that is Sir your sarvant to command A. Hobart.'
' Tusday our cosen was very ill all day, and hyly Mar. 23,
discontented. At night thay had no way but to
give hur a sleping pell, & she slep all night & till ten
in this morning, & wacked very tame but sulen.
We had much adow to get hur to eat a bet, but with
much in trety at Last she did eat a leg of a rabit, &
had a mind to goo a brod & i did goo with hur as
fur as Kensington, & as we cam back she wold goo
in to the parck, & if she will she must and did, &
was very well but sayd very letill, but as we cam
54 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
horn she wished she had never com to London, but
stayd with dear mother, for nobody dos love hur but
she and por Jan. And tould the gearls & me she
mought have lived if she had had soin about hur, &
raled on us all, & begon to gro very bad. So at last
I did persuad hur to wright to hur hus to let hur
Live with hur mother. So she is now a writing in
gret wroth. She says he shall hear a pes of hur
mind. Bats [Dr. Bates] is out of town,' but Dr.
Denton at night ' gave her dainty ease, & soe she
continued all Wenesday, & marcht abroad.'
Edmund rejoices to hear of the slightest improve-
ment ; he writes to Mary from Claydon :
Mar. 29, ' My Deare wife, It was no small joy to mee the
reading your lines, and the hearing of your riding
fourth, whereby I take it for granted that you are
not so ill as you would seem to be this good newes
came to me by my man after my returne from
Northampton Fayre, where I have bought you three
gallant bay coache-horses, for to carry you abroade
a ayring after your tedious sicknesse, therefore pray
thee to be of a couragious & cheerefull spirit
and chase away all those timerous & melancholy
thoughts which make thee conceit thy selfe in more
danger than really thou art : my deare soule if thou
hast any kindnesse for me be ruled by me & the rest
of thy freinds, who are with thee, and do not think
thy selfe more knowing then all of us, but thinke thy
husband adviseth thee best, when he desireth thee to
banish all despayring fancies, & to submitt unto our
IN CHANCERY LANE 55
great Makers pleasure, be it in life or death or any
affliction whatsoever, & that not only without
repining but also with cheerefulnesse : and as touch-
ing my particular part, thou mayst assure thy selfe
it hath & shall be acted with all the demonstrations
of a pure and sincere love towards thee, & I do send
my servant as my forerunner to know at this time
how thou dost, hoping to heare yet of thy growing
better & better before I see thee, w ch shall bee as
soone as possibly my businesse will permitt, yea &
sooner too if thou requirest it pray present
my services to my 2 cosens H : and to my Uncle Dr.,
as also to his colleague Dr. Bates, & let mee find
by thy observance of my desires that thou dost
remember
Thy most Loving husband
EDMUND VEENEY.'
The improvement is not sustained, and Lady
Hobart's mind misgives her : ' Pray dow not stay to Mar.
Long, nor kep your son, for i am so full of fears that
i dar not stur, for fear she shold have a freck of run-
ing out ... in earnes she is very disablegin, I fear
you have played the arant Theife with me for all my
fin seeds, I have bin starck mad for them ; it was ill
don to tack all. Send me som of them agan, or
your wig shall off. As the weather is windy &
stormy abrod, we have had our shar with my cosen
with in. She has bin very ill yuemered, by fits i
may tell you mad. She has cryed & scremed &
56 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
singed & raled on us all, & por docker tow. Now
Bats is all & all with hur ; she says she thinks in hur
hart he is not yet corupted, but thar is nothing but
hur mayd Jan, but longs for hur deth. She dos says
such things as flesh and blod never hard. To days i
kept from hur, only morning and night Locked in to
see how hur to mads did order her. I be Leve if
she had all hur estat in her powr, Jan shold have it
be for all the world.
' She has tacken ephsome waters this thre days. I
fear her ill yumer will never be quered [cured].
For two days she did cry send for hur hus, but now
she is off from that, but she dos hat us all. dear
sur raph i feare she will never be well ; hur por hus
will have a sad tim with hur. He must stick to it,
but for us we may be quit of it in tim. I lock on
her as one has brought a fourtin to your son, but tis
with so many ill yuemers, that he had beter have had
a sober woman in her smock. God give him pashenc
to bar his cros. . . . His best way will be to kep hur
in the country, but you can never be abell to Live
with hur, so tis well to Leve them ; he will be wery
of his Lif with hur, but I wold never wish him to
bring hur to town agan. My hous has bin very
unfortunat to hur, & she says she will set a cros on
it. I love my cosen, but til she is beter, I shall
never desier it. We shall be very hapy & quiet
when we have got you agan. The garden locks so
findly you wold be plesed with it. Dear Sir be Leve
i cold sarve you next to my Nat with my Lif. . . .
IN CHANCERY LANE 57
She says we wold poisen hur. Pray Let hur hus-
band com up, for i can not abyd to be raled at.
He will kep hur from it.' ,
, Her next letter has been labelled ' Lady H. per-
suades Sir E. V. to marry.' ' Sir I am Joyed to hear
you ar will. You have the plesuer of the country &
the fin flours now in the spring, but I cold wish that
worck men war as hard to get as gold then you wold
not set them a worck. You had beter be hear &
viset the fin wedows so in time you mought get a
companion ; tis tim, for when i lock on that plas
whar you have Layd out so much mony, & you still
a Ion at Bed & Bord, i thinck half that, with a good
vartus hansom sober bedfelow war beter, as now your
cas stands. For I fear your sonn will not have much
comfort in this woman, for in deed she gros wors
than ever. She gros very malisas in hur toung to us
all. She has set us all out to Sir Eobart wisman in a
bas maner. However i will bar with hur, & dow all
i can till hur husband corns, wich I hop will not be
long, for she is not to be without him; she is
afrayd to dow twenty things when he is hear that she
dos now. Still she is fond of Jan, & if i may say
betwen you and i, she is mor to hur then all the
world ; she now Lys with hur.'
Dr. Denton writes, c Your daughter is noe change-
linge yet ; A Diabollical Agew, up and downe, one
day Hosanna, the next crucifiye. She hath not many
dayes to live, then not many weeks, soe I am now
drivinge A subtle trade & began yesterday. I gave
58 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
her a peece in gold, and she is to give me 40Z. if she
lives to that day 40 weeks, & I hope that noble soul
her husband will make it good ; the reason is demon-
strative, for he will be well paid for her keeping,
which is now the constant burden of her songe.
o
Cock sure she putts on & assumes much, very much
of the vastly extravagant humors. My Lady Hobart
is soe disobliged and soe weary that she longs much
for Mun's presence. Consider of this crotchet for
Mun, when he finds he does no good on her to feigne
travellinge, & to leave her to her selfe with an
allowance.'
An entreaty for Edmund's return is the ever
recurring burden of Lady Hobart's letters ; she is in
deep distress at the poor woman's vagaries. ' She
gos out with her mayd to Lincsondend chapell. Thay
goo so Lick trampis, so durty tis a sham to see them.
Docker denton did chid them soundly. Now she
will have coridon [Dr. Colladon]. Truly she is starck
mad ... Sir Eobart wiseman says it war fit she
shold be removed ... for his part he wold not have
hur for a hundred pounds in his hous. Thay say he
gave hur very good councill, & did chid hur mitily.
... I fear she will be wors ; she eats one bet & feds
Jan with another, & drincks to hur, & they Ly in on
another's arms ; so much dearnes i never saw. She
bit Bes to-day & tor hur hed, for she was in the hall,
& begon to fall a roring, & she tock hur up in hur
arms & cared hur up, be caus thar was compeny
about. Now dear sur Eaph send her hus up, for she
IN CHANCEEY LANE 59
will dow som extravagant thing, & I can not help it.
I have don all I can, it will not dow. Dear dow not
tack it ill that i dow not goo to hur, for my care shall
be never the Les. ... I am slepy and vexet, & now
I fear I have vexed you, but I say no mor.'
Sir Ealph still lingered on and was anxious
to delay his son's return to such sad duties. Dr.
Denton supports Lady Hobart's appeal. ' Dear Eaph,
Cuckow-time approachinge I must be in fasshion &
continue in one tonge. I leave the pretty stories to
my Lady to write, but its high time both you and
your son were here.'
This letter crossed one of Mun's to his wife :
' My deare Mall, I thank you for your kind April 4,
expressions in your last to mee, but I should reckon
my selfe much more obliged to you, if your behaviour
toward my friends and your observance of my desires
were answerable, I must needs tell you what civill
respect and kindnesse you have showed to them, I
shall esteeme it as done to my selfe, as likewise the
contrary, therefore as the saying hath it Love mee
& love my dogg, so I say that if you love me you'le
love those that are my reall & worthy freinds. I wish
I may not find when I come to London that you have
been faulty towards some of them, I am afraid you
are too apt to it. I speake this because I do so
highly abhorr in my owne nature that devilish vice
Ingratitude : and now I must tell you besides that I
will never beleeve you love me unlesse you observe
me, & do what ever I would have you to doe, I have
60 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
performed so thoroughly to you, that few husbands
would have done so much whereby I have made it
appeare that I do love you more than you do mee,
for you have not done it to mee, nay so far are you
from it that you persist still wilfully in your idle and
ridiculous imaginations that you shall die untimely,
with many the like follies etc : Thus do you yeild to
your black melancholy and dismall humours so much
that they overcome you at last in such measure as to
make you seeme extravagant ; but pray do so no
more, & then & never till then will I beleeve that
you love me.'
April 9, Dr. Denton writes again, ' As soone as I had writ
I //> A
you this morninge, I went accordinge to custome to
visitt my neece, who kept me an houre by the clock,
& I beleeve by her good will would not be without a
Phismicary, a minute by night nor by day, & there-
fore I must love her dearely, but in truth I used her
very coarsely, for she drest her selfe in all hast to
goe to church, & I kept her in by force. She was
gott halfe way downe staires, & I made Besse take
her in her armes & carry her upp, I told her in
plaine tearmes that she was mad & was now to be
used as those in Bedlam, & that her maids should be
putt away, & strangers putt to her to master her, &
that I would not venture her husband to sleepe with
her. Though I talked all the while after this rate,
yet (whatever she thought) she gave me not an ill
word, but seemed rather the better for it. You will
find that rough meanes will prevaile best & most
IN CHANCERY LANE 61
with her. I pitty poore Mun, & longe to see you
both here, and soe good night to you.'
'Yesterday docker Bats saw hur in a wors fet April?,
1664
then ever he did,' Lady Hobart writes ' & he sayd he
wold com no mor. At night she bet hur mayd Jan
out of hur bed, & was raving all night. I am fan to
hyer one to wach, for the mayds are afrayd. She
sent this day for Docker Corydon ; she has sent ofen,
but he cam not til to day. She hats us & the docker
to deth. She struck at me, but i am carfull not to
com to near hur I kep knifs & shears from hur.
Ah how i pety por cosen mun, that must bar this
hevy cros. This day she raves for Prydian [Dr.
Prujean] but till my cosen corns i will dow nothing.
I will run away if he corns not. Dear sur, pety your
son & at present por me. Tusday was hur bearthday,
& the docker tould hur he wold com & drinck hur
health, & so he did, & bespock all he wold have &
brought all his family. They set him on the scor
abot forty shilings, ther was Mr. fuler & his wif & all
the rest, & thay war very mery. She cam down, &
for half an hour did cary hur self will, but be for &
afther she was as bad as ever.' Lady Elmes wrote of
these dismal festivities to her brother : ' The 5th
instant we all drancke your helth att my lady
Hobart's ; my uncle Dr. inviteing himselfe & all of us
heare to supper to my Neese Verney, it being her
berthday. Soe she was forsed to treat us, my uncle
asureing her he & all his wolde come to her. I wish
I had cause to say we did it with Joy.'
62 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Mun returned soon after his wife's birthday ; he
had only been gone a fortnight, though his absence
had seemed so long to Lady Hobart. He wrote to
his father :
Aprils, * J'arrivai hier ici, ou i'ai trouve ma femme dans
1664 .
la salle, en mauvais humeur, me disant qu'elle
estoit bien aise de me voir auparavant de mourir. . . .
Ce matin elle essaya de se jetter hors des fenestres,
et prit une epingle, la mettant dans sa bouche, la
voulant avaler, disant qu'il faut qu'elle aille en enfer ;
certainement son esprit est grandement trouble, elle
a une telle volonte qu'elle contredit tout ce qu'on lui
desire de faire.'
April 14, ' Ma femme devient pire en corps et en esprit, et
j'ai peur qu'elle ne devienne encore plus pire en ame,
car elle est si opiniatre qu'elle ne veut pas manger
chose aucune, ou faire ce qu'on la supplie, un tant
Diable de vouloir a t'elle et une melancholic et
jalousie tant profonde. Mais pourquoi suis je fasciae",
je me blame extremement pour cela, car helas la
pauvrette est folle tout a fait, et ne S9auroit qu'y
faire, et moi j'en suis tellement afflige que je ne sai
pas quoi faire, ou quelle voye me tourner. . . . J'ai
escrit a mon oncle D. de venir ici, a fin de consulter
avec d'autres medicins, comme Dr. Ent, ou Pridgeon
ou Nurse, ou avec tout, outre lui et Dr. Bates, car je
crains beaucoup que ma chere femme est en tres
grand danger de mourir. Elle a deux nourices qui
veillent aupres d'elle nuit et jour, tout cela me
coustera bien de 1'argent, mais pourtant si cela me
63
ruine il n'y a point de remede. Mon oncle Gale n'est
pas en ville, mais le chevalier Wiseman me conseilla
de la mettre dans la maison d'une nomme Lentall, en
la rue d'Aldersgate, qui prend des gens comme cela,
mais me semble k moi, et a d'autres de mes amis, que
ce lieu la est trop scandaleux et deshonorable. Je
voudrois bien que ma mere fut ici, et je vous supplie
de vous haster a venir ici pour adviser en cet estroit,
ce que je dois faire en prudence.'
Lady Hobart is full of pity for the poor husband.
' Truly it has put him in gret Distractions, but
now i hop he will bar it beter, senc he sees it can
be no beter. For presanc she is removed, & it is so
remoet that she can not be hurd to your chamber.
We have borded up the wendow & Locked & bared
up all saf. In earnis she is in a wors madnes then
ever, though not so raving, for now she wil nether
drinck, nor tack her fisick, but Ly & bemon hur
self. She is falen quit away ; her thy is no bigher
then Besis arm, & as Limp as can be. At this rate
she can not Last. I have set up a bed for Will &
Dick in the fals roof very will. Owen Lys at
fardings, so we ar all as we ues to be agan. Pray
send up if you have it, the spon to put fisick doun
hur throt.' ' Now she thincks hur selfe bewiched, & April 15,
i am one & have an evell ey, but this is not to the
purpos. My nat I blis god is very will, & very
much your sarvant. I am the worst in the hous,
but rub out. I shall chear up when you com.'
Dr. Denton writes to Sir Ealph, 'Eeally she
64 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
a 14, growes well towards a sceleton, & if she cannot be
1 I V 1
brought off from her fooleries, she cannot last
longe. ... I have cut off her haire.'
April 10, ' I am n t desirous to come nearer,' writes Sir
Ealph, 'unlesse I could do some good, either to
her or to you. In this case Phisitians are the
best councellours. I pray bee alwaies uppon your
Guard, I meane by way of Watchfulnesse, for if she
will hurt her selfe in those sad fits, none can bee
secure thats with her. I shall pray for her recovery,
& that Heaven would direct you in this greate
April 11, businesse. God bless her & you.' ' Tell me who is
1664
about your wife Night and Day, for she must not
bee left alone, nor with any that are affrayd of her.
I am soe troubled for her, that it puts my Businesse
April is, out of my Head.' . . . ' I finde you wish me at
1 1 ' * ' -1
London, & were it in the least kinde advantagious to
you or your Wife to have me there I would come away
at a minutes warning. But since I can doe neither of
you two any good, perhapps I may stay heere a few
dayes longer, in hopes to heare some better Tydings
of her, for the truth is it affects me soe much heere,
that I am not very desirous to come nearer, for
though she speakes scencibly, & that you thinke she
doth not rave, yet I heare she often makes a very
noyce, soe that she is heard by the Neighbours, &
that must needes encrease the greife of any man that
heares it. God direct you for the best. I thinke
you may doe well to meet your Mother halfe a mile
out of Towne with your coach & carry her to your
IN CHANCERY LANE 65
Wife presently ; I thinke she will take it kindly.
She comes upp in Sexton's coach. The House you
speake off in Aldersgate St. I doubt is for a meaner
sort of people. Tis best to let her owne friendes
dispose her, for that will give more satisfaction to all
that side, & thats to bee your endeavour, for all your
owne friendes are satisfied already.'
At length a ray of hope breaks upon the per-
plexed husband. He has heard of a woman named
Clark, who will undertake to cure his wife in two
months for 20/. ; but he dares not trust his wife
to her without having consulted with her uncle
Gael. Edmund will not consent to put her in a
public institution, or in any house where they would
be free to take in other patients ; he thinks of
taking a private lodging, and observing exactly all
that the doctors prescribe for her treatment. Sir
Ealph replies :
' I know not what to say to the Woeman more
then this, that unlesse her owne friends desire &
advise it, twill not bee fit for you to put her to bee
cured, for if any ill accident should follow, all the
world would blame you for it. I confesse divers
Woemen have very good receits, & good successe
too, & frequently have cured those that the Drs.
have not ; but all that will not excuse you from a
just censure.'
Lady Hobart writes, ' Your son's wif is very ill April 21,
uemored still. I am the divell of divells ; I sent hur
hus in the contry, & she thincks i kep him away all
VOL. IV. F
66 VEKNEY FAMILY FKOM THE RESTORATION
day, & thes ar the quarels with me. Thay ar remov-
ing hur; god blis hur whar ever she goos. Mrs.
Beckerstaf had a dafter, as she is 13 year, & a
woman did cuer hur. The woman was hear & dos
ax but 20 pound, & dos not desier it till she is cuered.
I find the dockers are not wiling to Let it be don
that way. She is one of that quality that must not be
delt with Lick another, but if she war my child I shold
venter hur. But your son has a wolf by the ear.'
1 If you come not up quickly,' Pegg writes, ' you
will not be in time to dance at Mistress Arabella
Hewet's wedding.'
The spring of 1664 was ' a rare season,'
Croweshall was in more than its usual beauty, and
Doll Leake longed for Sir Ealph ' to smell the
sucklins and the stocks & to see the new trees grow.'
There is a little Vere now, chasing the butterflies in
the prim old garden, the light of her grandmother's
eyes, who ' sayes that she owes hir dear Verney a
thousand kisses for glofes & ribins ' and desires * her
constant service ' to him. Lady Gawdy is shocked
to hear that her old friend is so much upset by the
family troubles that he thinks of going abroad.
May 12, ' You must pardone mee,' she writes, ' if I presume
1 ( ' t ' 1
to tell you, that if you forsack your one contry, &
should goe by yond sea, you would bee very unjust
to your sonne, your selfe, & to all that have the
honour to bee related to you. This is a time most
proper of all your life to sett at the helme, & to help
steere for your famelys good. ... It is possible the
IN CHANCERY LANE 67
wisest parsons may faile in there Judgments, when
there consernes dus transport, & a foole may chanse
to show them the neerest way to there hapines ; if I
were so blest I should never againe repine at my May
want of wisdom. I am extremly greved to heare
the sad condission of your daughter dus so highly
woorke upon you. Deare Sir you have to sattisfie
your selfe that never parson in the world has used
such a relation more oblegingly, nor passed by all
offences so silently as you have. Therefore doe not
destroy your selfe by discontent.'
Sir Ealph assures her that whatever his thoughts
may have been he has no present intention to travel,
and her obliging letter has convinced him ' that tis
not yet fit to be donn.'
Doll Leake is of opinion that 4 they take a very A P- 27,
1 t'i' i.
ill way with my cossen Verney to send hir to Dr.
prijon's ; I never heard of any he cured, and hirs is
of that natur, that if she wear well, the next thing
that crost hir yumer should put hir in it again.'
' Let not that Doctor yus hir any more so ruffly,' May is,
she writes again later. ' I studed hir a littell, & I
am much deseved if any Doctor can make a perfect
cure in hir. Nothing but death can free hir from
that disese, which will be a blesing to hir & to us
all. ... I wish my self with you som times to make
you mery, though my yumer is not very gamesom.'
Mary's health improved, however, beyond expecta-
tion, & by the middle of August she was moved
to East Clay don accompanied by ' the woman Dr.'
F 2
68 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Sir Ralph, who was staying with the Stewkeleys
at Preshaw, writes from thence :
Aug. 24, ' Mun, I very much desire to heare how your Wife
1fifi4
is now, & whether she begins to minde her houshold
businesse, & ordering her Family. In earnest you
must perswade her to it by all the wayes you can &
commend her doing of it at all times, & though she doe
not doe it well, yet you must commend her for it, &
keepe her to it, still ; for as her condition is I had
rather she should doe it, though she doe it ill, then any
body else though they doe it well. Beleeve me though
you loose by her doing of it, yet you will gayne ten
times as much by it another way ; for if she would
bee brought to imploy her minde about it, I am
confident it would doe her more good then all her
Phisick. Let her governe the whole Family, & let
her give order for everything in it, & not trust to
others doeing of it, but doe it her selfe. And I
thinke tis best to get her to keep a house booke, &
set downe all thats bought, & cast it upp once a
Weeke (every Friday night). She her selfe may cast
it upp as often as she pleaseth, but you need doe it
but once a Weeke. Be sure you put this on with all
your endeavours, for if anything under heaven doe
her good, tis imployment, a full & constant imploy-
ment. God blesse you both togeather Your loving
father R. Y. Tell me if my Brother [Henry] & his
Dame [Pen] were with you, & how you came off.'
Aug. 29, Edmund sends him a cheerful account of their
1664
joint doings. ' Ma femme se porte bien, mais ayant
IN CHANCERY LANE 69
hier beu beaucoup de vin, et mange du fromagge,
elle commencoit au soir a estre un peu detourbee.
. . . Je suis d'avis qu'elle mesnagera sa maison tres
bien, et qu'elle si addonnera avec le temps. Nous
sommes alles, elle et moy seulement, disner chez le
Chevalier Pigott, ou elle se deporta extremement bien,
devant grande compagnie, nous avons este aussi chez
mon Cousin Dormer, et demain nous irons a Katcliff.'
The friends who had so patiently borne with
Mary in her madness were not forgotten. Edmund
sent Lady Hobart's daughter Frank a present of 5/.,
and 10. to sister Anne. Frank replies : ' I have
sent according to your desires the spatula, which I
was in hops you would not have used any more.
For the mony it came to my hands I have given the
ten pounds to Nan, who returns her humble thanks
to you. But for the last it gave me soe great a
surprise that it put me strangly out of contenance to
receve favours of that nature where I have merited
soe little. I can not expresse the joy I have to
heare you arrived safe at Claydon, where I wish my
poor cousin may have an absolute cure. It shall be
my continuall prayer, & in order to her futer repose,
let me begge of you to be more kind, for of late
you have bine too ruffe. Consider you have your
perfect reson ; she is deprived of hers, & imput all
her errors & indiscretions to her distemper, & bare
with them as you have done formerly. There is
nothing will be more acceptable to god, nor can any
thing render you more considerable to all the world.
70 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
And beside, you will quickly lose the great reputa-
tion you have goten of being a good husband, which
will be a great dishonour to you, & I hope you will
be more noble then to trample upon what is in your
power. Let not any of her little miscarriages chang
the goodness of your natur. Beleve me cousin, it is
the great respect I have for you, & the affection I
beare to your wifie maks me take this liberty.'
Lady Hobart could not but rejoice to have her
house to herself again, she is looking into every chest
& cupboard with severe reflections upon Mary's
maidens.
' Bess is the gretis slut I ever had in my lif &
now i com to lock up all my things has destroyd me
mor then ever any sarvant did, & the basest
desembling wench ever cam into any bodys hous.'
She is refreshed by a visit to Sir Thomas & Lady
Hewytt at Pishobury. ' If you wold tack your coch
& com & fech me,' she writes to Sir Ealph, ' you
ned not fear your recepson ; it will be be yound
your mearit. I wish you hear, for in my Lif you
never saw mor netnes & clendlynes ; & then a
willcom with so much fre kindnes as wold winn any
creture to admier it. I never was mor plesed in any
plas in my Lif.'
She writes to Mun, ' I have a tru Love for you
both. She is a very good woman, & if she mends
will be consedrabell to you. I hear she locks to hur
hous wil, & gros a prety huswif & delights in it.
Oysters ar very good, & I know you Love them, so I
IN CHANCERY LANE 71
have sent you a basket of them.' ' My wife (I praise
God) is very hansomly recovered every way,' Edmund
replies, ' & did fully resolve were she not so very
slow (I know not how sure shee may bee), to write
unto your Ladiship an epistle of hearty thanks for all
your singular & manifold favours whereof you have
been so liberal! to her & mee both. Indeed they have
been so vast, that I cannot imagine how she'lle ever
be able to set forth her deepe sence thereof, for I am
certain my Witt can never do it for either of us.'
Edmund expresses in every letter his joy in his
wife's recovery ; both were taking pleasure & interest
in their home and its plenishings. Frank Hobart is to
send down the curtain rods ; Sir Nathaniel is to order
a frame for what his wife calls Edmund's ' gibbonish
Whimwham ; ' while Mary despite her slowness con-
trives to write a number of epistles to Lady Elmes
about her special commissions. ' S r Ealph & my cosen
Leke both teles me, as you ded before, that gimp is
out of fashing ; tharfore i shall quit my sellf of the
troble by taking your advice to worke a dimity bed
in gren cruells. For a drawing-rome i should have
2 squobs, & 6 turned woden chars of the haith of the
longe seates. Be pleased to by a tabel & stands of
the same coler ; & for the same rome a pair of
andirons, doges, fire shvl, tongs & thre bras flours
with irnes to fasten my glas. I have yet my closet
to furnish, & I beg your asistanc in it. I think to
hange it with peregon, but the coler, & whether it
shall be watered or no i leve to you. If goodnese
72 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
might merit honer, thar is none could be greater
then dere Aunt Elemes ; my self only hapey in being
alied to a person so truly vertueus.' Aunt Elmes
can find no tolerable chairs under 7s. a piece, & the
squobs 10s.
Sept. 23, Sir Ealph writes, ' Munn, truly I could wish your
Wife might take noe more Phisick at this time, for I
finde it much talked off, & to your disadvantage. My
Cozen Dormer's Family had been with you this day,
but that I told them she was to take her Phisick, soe
they say they will come to-morrow. I finde it held
absolutly necessary she should not bee alone with
servants, espetially such as yours, that make the
country ring of them.'
Sept 26, Three days later his son wrote to Mr. Gael, ' My
1 fiflQ
wife (I thank the Lord) is in very good health every
way, & hath already quite left off taking Physick.
The Woman is to be gone this weeke, so that now
she must be a right house-keeper ; & truly (though I
say it) I beleeve shee will performe it passing well,
for she hath an excellent judgement in the doing of
any thing when she is pleased to set her mind to it,
which she now begins to do.
Dec. s, Mary's unproved health was not without relapses ;
her husband describes her in the beginning of De-
cember as ' toujours fantasque.' ' Mun,' writes Sir
Ealph, 'I am unwilling you should be soe much
alone tis ill both for your Wife & yourselfe too. I
am glad the Eogues got not to your Horses you must
let Gutridg lie over the Stable. I could now get you
IN CHANCERY LANE 73
a furious Mastiffe, but tis little and indeed too furious,
espetially for you that dwell in a Towne & soe neare
the Highway, for this even in the day time will let
non come to the House, & had you such a Curr, I
would never come to your House, having knowne soe
much Mischief e donn by them. A little yealping Dogg
that were watchfull & angry were much more useful!
to you, for the Eogues have tricks to quiet Mastiffs,
but non can quiet these little Barking currs.'
' To deale freely with you,' he writes a few days
later, ' I shall not send you a Furious curst Mastiffe,
God knows there is too much of that already. . . .
But to be more searious, I am hartily sorry to heare
your wife hath been ill of Late, I pray humour her
all you can till this publique time is over. God
blesse & direct you.'
Edmund was inquiring for a responsible person
who could wait upon his wife, and keep up some
discipline in a household that sadly needed it. Mary
had seen and liked a certain Mistress Felton, but
the latter made so many stipulations about her
salary of 12/., about the chambermaid that was to
work under her, and other matters, that Edmund
was not very anxious to have her. Mrs. Felton was
not free till the spring, and he specially desired that
Mary should be saved fatigue during the Christmas
season, when they hoped to celebrate their return
home by a series of entertainments to their neigh-
bours.
During the summer of 1663, Mary Eure had
74 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
suddenly abandoned her Elizabethan attitude, and
given her heart and hand to a Yorkshire squire,
William Palmes. Her best friends knew nothing of
it, ' My marriage,' as she afterwards wrote to Sir
Ealph, ' being for some reasons concealed from almost
all my relations.' She had now engaged her old
friend Luce Sheppard, to come to her for an expected
confinement, and Edmund, who had not forgotten Luce
in preparing his Christmas presents, tried to get her
to help his wife, before she should be needed by
' Cousin Palmes ' in February. Luce was engaged
till the New Year, when she hoped to ' ogment his
trouble ' by coming to wait on him and his lady.
Another possible lady housekeeper was the widow of a
Mr. Major, with 40Z. a year of her own, between 40
and 50 years of age, the daughter of a Mr. Crisp,
whose house she used to manage ; ' so she has had
experience, and is as well educated, and as well-born,
but less necessitous than Mistress Felton.' Sir Ealph
writes, 'I do not know Mrs. Major, but I beleeve
her to bee very honest & modest, because all the
Brood have been soe. But I must tell you many
of them are very slow, & (as we call them)
softly persons, & being behinde hand in the world,
have not had any Breeding, & if this bee soe she
cannot bee fit for your purpose.'
Edmund asks Sir Ealph's help in organising his
entertainments : Michel Durand has become head cook.
' J'ai 1'intention de commencer mes festins le Mardi
apres le jour de Noell, c'est pourquoy s'il vous plaist
IN CHANCERY LANE 75
d'espargner vostre cuisinier je Fuseray ce jour Ik, et
le jeudi apres et le lundi apres cela, mais si vous ne
peuvez pas a cause de vostre beuf que vous devez
tuer j'attenderay vostre loisir . . . car Micho me dit
qu'il sera 2 ou 3 jours a travailler sur vostre boeuf.'
Sir Ealph entered heartily into their hospitable Dec. 22,
plans. ' Sir Eichard Temple tells mee the newes at
Buckingham is, that you will keepe the best Christmas
in the Sheire, & to that end have bought more frute
and spice then halfe the Porters in London can weigh
out in a day. I have writ to tell the Cooke that hee
shall doe my businesse about the Beefe at such times
as you can most conveniently spare him from East
Claydon ; and soe hee may very well, for hee hath
nothing to doe for mee but to make 2 collars of Beefe,
& bake some in Potts. I am very glad to heare
your Wife is so well, I pray remember mee to her, &
tell her I wish her a Merry Christmas.' Plaistow the
carrier expects a Christmas Box of 10s. for the
delivery of letters, which is what he receives at
Claydon House. Sir Ealph is anxious that his dogs
should go to Sir John Busby to be trained, but Sir
John does not think the season favourable. 'For
Gamboy and Fleury if they are not entered they will
be spoyled, for when they are too old they will not
enter so well, & bee so easily corrected for theire
faults ; you know tis soe with children, & if Sir John
Busby bee unwilling, let mee know it, never presse
him, for I can send them where they shall be welcome.
I pray tell me how Mary-gold lookes.' 'You see
76 VEKNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
what a poore case Sir John Busby had made of
Mopsey,' he writes again ; * she looked like one of
Pharoah's Leane Kine ; on the other side, you keepe
them soe fat, that they will burst themselves with
running.' The dogs are to be ' constantly hunted.'
' I had much rather you should see it donn, then any
man in England, for tis both a healthfull & a gentle-
man like exercise, my deare Father loved it hartily.'
' Touchant Chiens,' Edmund replies, ' dont deux
(c'est k dire) Luther et Calvin sont aussi mechans que
ces Arche-Heretiques desquels ils portent les noms,
car comme iceux il ne cherchent pas le vrai butin (Je
leur recompence, car ils tuent les innocens Brebis,
mais principalement ce vaut-rien Calvin.
Sir Ealph orders that if the ' Whelps meddle with
Sheepe, they must be tied to any Dead Sheepe, and
whipped soundly, but not beaten with Stickes ; tis
theire mettle that makes them doe, and such a fault
as must bee corrected, and in time too, or else they
will be spoyled. I pray let it bee carefully donn.'
He is getting Mun some mulberry trees ' of Mr.
Ball of Brentford End,' ' they love a moist ground &
will thrive best in it.'
The country is surprised to hear of the ' monstrous
sum ' of 2,500,000/., granted to the King. Edmund
thinks that we might conquer Holland with half that
money, 'nous entendons que vous envoyez du
Yenaison pour conforter les cceursde nos compatriots.'
Deo. 25, Sir Ealph explains that ' the 2,500,000/. will be raysed
by a Land Tax at 70,000/. a month for 3 yeares, &
IN CHANCERY LANE 77
offices must pay. But the Bill is not yet neare
perfected soe wee know not what other clauses will
be added. Buckinghamshire is raised about 37/. per
mensem ; Middlesex is raised 900/. per mensem ; &
London abated as much. Divers other Counties are
either abated or raised as the House thought fit. I
never had so ill venison in all my life one of them
is so very bad it will not serve my turne, tis not a
warrantable Doe. ... I have not killed any this
season, & this discourages me soe much that I will
lessen the stock of Deere, & keep other Cattle
amongst them, that will yeeld more profit though
lesse pleasure. I am very much joyed to heare your
Wife is soe well . . . desire her to be thankful to
heaven & careful of her Diet.' A postscript contained
the bitter news which had just reached London.
'The Dutch have beat us out of Cape Verde at
Guiny, taken the Marchant Shipps, put our men to
the sword for resisting them. De Euiter did it with
his Fleet, & tis feared hee will do us mighty mischeifes
in the str eights.'
The Puritans might put down roast beef and
mince pies, and the time-honoured festivities of
this season, but naval defeats were not wont to be
part of the Christmas fare which they provided
for England. Edmund, whose hearty dislike of the
Dutch was founded on his intimate personal ac-
quaintance with them, was most indignant, and
thought that our reverses in Guinea might have been
foreseen and prevented, ' mais cela estant fait, si
78 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Dec. 26, j'estois digne de conseiller le Eoy, je voudrois tascher
par tous les moyens du Monde a me venger sur De
Enter, avant son retour ; est je ne lui voudrois point
donner Cartier, ni a aucun antre Hollandois en aucun
lieu de rUnivers . . . et pour moy je suis content de
me vendre jusques a la chemise, et puis d'aller en
Personne pour punir ces villains de Beige.'
Edmund Denton's widow is ill and something in
Mary's condition of mental distress ; Dr. Denton has
been frightened out of 4 of his 5 senses at a report
that her mother Lady Eogers ' who is no better than
a Quaker,' is planning a marriage for her with a man
'of noe fortune & of as froward a humour as one
would wish . . . the children would be undone as to
breeding . . . this is of great concern to the family.'
The calamity seems to have been averted, and the
children were made wards in chancery. The poor
young widow died the following June, 'rather a
happiness for her family than a loss.'
Dec. 26, Edmund Verney wishes Alexander Denton ' here
1 1 ' * ' 1
to Xmasse with us, & we would be merrier yet, &
shew marveillous Gamball trickes.' Meanwhile the
festive preparations were being hurried on ; the
presence of the Claydon cook ensured the success of
the joints and the Plum Porridge; but the drink
caused Edmund some anxiety. He nattered himself
that he had brewed a good store of strong ale, but he
had no common white wine, and his best claret was
too good for the occasion; 'trop genereux pour
Paisanterie, en sorte que si je scavois ou achetter un
IN CHANCERY LANE 79
pen de vin de France, a fort bon marche (je ne me
souci gueres de la bonte), je 1'espanderois ce Noell
parmy mes Villains.' Sir Ealph believes that he may
get e Claret of 6 pence a quart ... & good enough
for the use you intend it, and twere pitty to cast
away better in that way ... I will look out some
for you . . . twill be ready enough to drinke in two
dayes for it shall have no Lees, & you may draw it
out of the Eunlet without Bottleing it, if you have no
time to bottle it.'
Before the wine arrives, this unthrifty host dis-
covers that he does not require it, because the best
claret will not keep, and may as well be finished;
later he is glad of it again, when the strong ale proves
to be no better than it should be.
Mary sends loving messages to Sir Ealph, desiring
his blessing, and rejoicing in the prospect of his
speedy return to Claydon, where his presence will
add to all their Christmas joy.
Her East Claydon tenants were feasted on the
27th, Middle Claydon tenants on another day, and
their third and last entertainment was given to 50 of
their poorer neighbours with their wives and children.
Wine and ale, good, bad and indifferent, flowed in
streams ; Edmund reported that the 6 d claret had
served its purpose well ; ' il plaist les gueulles de ces
gens, et aide aussi a les enivrer, mais pour mon gout
il n'est guere plaisant.'
* Mun, I presume you have ended your Christmas,' Jan. 5,
writes Sir Ealph on the 5th of January, ' and I hope
80 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
you have not found the charge extraordinary ; I dare
say a journey either to London or to Oxford for that
time would have been much dearer & lesse to your
credit. I am heartily glad my Daughter is soe
well, I pray you remember me very kindly to her,
& desire her to take noe Phisick whilst the Frost
holds, but I hope when that's over she will take a
little for a day or two, to carry away the reliques of
the Plumbe Pyes and Plumbe Porage. I am glad
Luce Shepherd comes to keepe her company for she
is too much alone.' He had paid civil visits in town
to Mary's uncles, Mr. Gael, and Sir Eobert Wise-
man.
Jan. 9, Mun writes on the 9th, * J'ai a cette heure fini
mes festins de Noel, mais . . . avec trop grands depens.
car cela m'a couste proche 100/., c'est a dire j'ai
despendu 80 livres, la quelle somme est trop pour
moi a jetter comme cela, si par la bonte de Dieu je
vis jusques a un autre Noel je ne despenderai tant.'
The chief local news is that Edward Challoner has
bought Steeple Claydon from his cousin. ' II a tenu
une Court la deja en son propre nom, et ce matin il
s'en est alle vers Gisborough en Yorkshire. La Veuve
Busby doit laisser Addington bien tost pour tout de
bon.' She is ' much troubled by disputes with her
son.' Mistress Abigail was the widow of Eobert Busby
(Sir Ealph's legal adviser at the time of his sequestra-
tion) and daughter of Sir John Gore, knight and
alderman of London. She came of a strong-willed
family, her husband stood in considerable awe of her,
IN CHANCERY LANE 81
her younger brother Dick defied the authority of the
redoubtable pedagogue at Westminster school, who
was his god-father as well as his master, till Dr. Busby
4 was a-weary of slashing him.'
Her son, Sir John Busby, Kt., had married Mary
Dormer in November 1662, and it was not surprising
that after two years' experience of her mother-in-law's
rule, the young Lady Busby should wish to be
mistress at Addington.
Squire Duncombe's betrothed, whom he had
courted so fervently, died of a fever. He also caught it,
but having recovered, consoled himself with another
Miss Busby, of Hogston, a Eoman Catholic ; they were
married in April, and Sir Ealph's cook dressed their
wedding dinner. Miss Butterfield was staying at the
White House, and the whole party dined with the
Duncombes to meet the Busbys of Addington. c We
keep good fires at Clay don, but none like Squire
Duncombe's,' said Mr. Butterfield, and Mun writes of
the dinner : ' On dit qu'il a achete tous les perdris,
becasses, becassines et autres volailles de cette
Province pour nous entretenir.' The hospitable
Squire had lately borrowed 1,000. of Mrs. Abell and
Sir Eobert Wiseman.
Sir Ealph writes, ' I am glad your troublesome & Jan. 12,
chargeable time is over, but you are certainly much
out of your account, for it could not cost you halfe
soe much as you speake of, you making but 3
Invitations & haveing noe Fiddles to draw other
company. Dr. Townsend writ word you entertained
VOL. IV. G
82 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
him & Nat Smith very hansomly; and now Uncle
Dr. is in the Country you had best goe visit him &
get him dine with you.'
Jan. 16, Edmund replies, ' Mon tres cher pere, Yous
doubtez si mes despens ce Noel peuvent avenir a une
telle grande somme, mais sur serieuse consideration
d'iceux, il faut que je vous responde (comme les
Hollandois font a ceux qui questionent leur compte,
contans plus qu'il n'estoit auparavant) que je crois
certes qu'il m'a couste" plustost proche de 90J. que
80/. Nous n'avons pas manque" musique seulement,
mais aussi nous avons eu Dan9eurs qu'on appelle
Morice; et tout cela je ne pouvois remedier pour
cette fois.'
Edmund's lavish hospitality had reinstated him in
the good opinion of his neighbours; he had been
able to increase his estate by one or two judicious
purchases, he was at length settling down in his own
home, with some prospect of domestic happiness, and
as Cousin Jack Fust expressed it, ' you must needs be
my Lord of East, West, North and South Claydon.'
83
CHAPTER m.
SIR RALPH'S RELATIONS.
1661-1665.
' My house and welcome on their pleasure stay.'
THE Eestoration suited Colonel Henry Verney exactly ;
the world was fit once more for a gentleman to live
in. He talked valiantly at first of military service,
and of commanding ' Viscount Mordaunt's regiment
of foot at Windsor,' but hearing that he would be
employed in a lower rank than he had held during
the Civil War, he found this incompatible with his
dignity, and did not press the point. Sir Ealph
considers that i these punctillios are not to be stood
uppon by younger brothers, especially at this time
when soe very many persons of worth and honour
doe rather chuze to take what they can get, then be
left out of all imployment,' but he will not offer to
advise him.
My Lord of Peterborough and Henry's other
noble patrons were in high offices, his father's name
was constantly in his mouth. He was magnificent
in his offers to procure a peerage for his brother
and a baronetage for Dr. Denton, a commission for
himself being of course included in the required fees.
62
84 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
'He thinks of nothing but an Irish Viscount, the
usual price it seems is 2500, if you will not give
him 250 per an. for his life he will take 200.'
Unhappily, his relatives were only moved to merri-
ment by the prospect of such honours ; but he
was more successful in ingratiating himself at Court.
His knowledge of horses and dogs, and his keen
sporting instincts, ensured him a welcome from the
King at Newmarket and other races, he was well
known also to the Duke and Duchess of York. Lord
Clarendon's affectionate intimacy with Sir Edmund
Verney led him to be kind to his sons, and our old
friend William Gape, the apothecary and his wife
were in attendance upon the Duke and Duchess
Anne. Eventually Henry claims a share ' in the
moneys given by Act of Par? amongst the truly
loyal & indigent officers ; ' he certifies that he was
' a Lieut. Coll. to Sir Humphrey Bennett's Keg 1 of
Horse, hath had a reall command of souldiers
according to his commission ; that he hath never
deserted his Maj ties or his blessed Father's service
during the late times of Rebellion and Usurpation,
& that he hath not a sufficient livelyhood of his
own.'
The 'truly loyal & indigent gentlemen' were
so many that Henry fared no better than many a
nobler Cavalier, but to be loyal and indigent was at
least a passport to the best society.
Penelope, whose letters bristle with great names,
writes to Sir Ealph of the marriage of Charles Stuart,
SIR RALPH'S RELATIONS 85
Duke of Eichmond, to his second wife Margaret
Banastre, widow of William Lewis. ' Upon Monday f P- 2 >
lOO<H
last the Duke was married, upon Tuesday he went
out of town & his Duchess for Blechinton, upon
Thursday the Duke & my Bro. Harry that went
out of town with his Grace, are for Eoehamton, the
plate is to be run for that day, the Duke puts in
for it but tis thought the Duke's horse will lose the
match, Bro. H. has betted on the Duke's hors. . . .
The Duke was pleased to do my Bro. Harry the
honor as to bid him com to his weding, that was
carried so privitly that no other parson was invited ;
but Bro. Harry was so very iU that morning that
he could not Attend his honor, att diner time he
went to the Duke's own lodging for there he dined
very privit, Bro. Harry was so ill that he ris from
diner and came home and att night he went agane
to attend the Duke att the Duke's lodging, but still
kept himself fasting only eating a mess of broth ....
he is still ill but if he dos hear of a rase that is to be
Eun, that will carry him all the world over.'
In June Henry is looking after his young horses June 9,
1 f*f*n
at Clay don, whence Mr. Butterfield writes to Mun :
4 Had you seen or heard how Mr. H. V. & Mr. Jo.
Eisley cheated one the other in the exchange of two
admirable jades, with what craft & confidence it
was carryed, twould make you intermit a little of
your serious thoughts to take a laugh.' Henry is Dec. 3,
engaged at Christmas time c to ride with the Duke in 1
person the 6 mile course at Newmarket with a
86 VEKNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Nagg of his called Shoulders,' and he is a well-known
figure at the various county race-meetings.
Oct. 29, In October 1663. Penelope's husband, John
Denton, died suddenly in London. Gary writes to
Sir Ealph, ' I beleve the nuw widdows grife is over
before you could come to comfort her. I wish no
greater grife may ever come to you or my selfe then
that was to Hary & her, and then I am shur wee
may well bar it.' ' She is not lik to breack her hart
except it bee with joy,' writes Lady Hobart, and
Dr. Denton adds, ' You ought to have come thro'
thick & thin to have comforted your most con-
solable sister.' The kind-hearted Mun does his best
to regret him. ' Alas my uncle John Denton is
dead, I am sorry for't, that's more than some are,
altho' he should be of a greater consequence me-
thinkes to them by farr.' Sir Ealph's words to the
widow check our uncharitable reflections upon the
poor, drunken, boorish Squire. 'And now hee is
dead, I shall say nothing of him, nor will you I hope
either doe or say more then is decent in such a case ;
for tho' you have been unhappy in him, yet hee was
a Gentleman & your Husband, & twill bee your
Honour to conceale his faults. . . . God grant you
may make a right use of this deliverance & fit us
all for Heaven.' Pen's lady friends remark that ' she
has put herself into very handsome mourning, but
that she cannot keep within.'
In spite of some plain speaking to her brother,
Pen had been a patient and forbearing wife. In the
SIR RALPH'S RELATIONS 87
worst of her troubles she could truly say, ' Had he
loved me but near so well as I did, or doe yet love
him, the thinges had nevor com to whot they are.'
There had been occasional tiffs between Pen and
Henry, he would torment her for loans to be repaid
'when he won his horse-mach;' but they were at
heart the best of friends. On John Denton's death
they set up house in London together, ' Harry had
never been so full of joy,' and Pen, though she called
him an old fool, rejoiced in ' his good company ' and
in her family nickname of ' Harry's Dame.' He
would ride down to the races at Quainton, Brackley,
and Banstead, or to a cock-fighting at Northamp-
ton, bring back his gains to Pen, or explain away
his losses, and abuse the town, ' where my stay is
like to be but short, for foote it in the dust I
cannot, & coach-hire is too dear for my purse.'
All their friends gamble in various ways : l Mrs.
Drake's sister has just gott the best lott in the
lottery, the richest sute of hangings there : the King
offered more than a 1,000 for them, this she had
for her 10/.'
There was no love lost between Penelope and
the Dentons, and Nancy writes to Sir Ealph the fol-
lowing year : ' I know that newes is very axceptabil
to pepeol in the cuntry and I have wondarfull newes
now, your Dearly beloved sis Denton is like to chous
Hary and to marry. It is to one Mr. Wilcocks a
Gentelman of Bray ; he keps his coch, and he is as
propar a man as her Esqre. was, but not altogathar
88 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
so handsom and altho' he has a very good reput yet
I think he has no more wit then my Lord Jhon if he
maris her. He was beloe stars in our hous, and I
rund hard & did see him, but Hary has this
day caried her out of town down to Stoe. This
sarves us for merth very well. Shur if he dus take
her he never looked out of the right cornor of his
eye, I beleve she has great store of good con-
disions, for she nevar maid show of any in her life,
she has horded them up with her money.'
July 2, Henry's letters to Sir Kalph are full of minute
directions about his horses, they are to have 'the
very best grass at Claydon, these are my choicest
horses and I dare not trust them for my nephew's
usage, nor with noe friend but you. They are as good
as can drive in a coach, and as fit for my saddell, and
the only horses I have to trust to for Newmarket.
The grey's feete are soe badd that noe smith can
shoe him without laming him or else I had not putt
him to grass. Good brother be careful of them.'
July 13, Sir Ealph has them ' fleeted in very good grasse at
Knowle Hill., Tom King the shepherd is very careful
of them, and removes them constantly, but such
poor lame Jades in such a surfeited condition will
not bee fat in hast.' But the Colonel is far from
being satisfied, he will not have his horses tethered.
'Good Brother . . . the worst grass you had had
in your lordshipp would a binn better for them att
liberty, for your own reason must needs tell you to
have surfeited and lame horses tied to a stake, bast-
SIR RALPH'S RELATIONS 89
ing all day in the sunn, cannot bee good for their
health. Tis the night's due, scope, fresh water and
liberty that must cuer them, it may bee you did
conclude them to bee as disorderly as their master,
and soe confined them without tryall.'
The long-suffering Sir Ealph agrees to send the
greys to another ground, the pasture is far worse,
* but if they will not rest quietly there, rather than
suffer them to lead my horses up and down the
country (hedges are few and far between) they must
be tied againe.' They are to be blooded at intervals
of three or four months (even the horses cannot
escape the thirst of the age for bleeding), after which
they are * to be corned something more than
ordinarie,' to be ready when Henry desires ' to ramble
amongst his friends.' He confesses that thanks to
Sir Ealph's * kindness and Mr. W. Tomes' care,' his
horses do look very well, he has left them to Sir
Ealph's 'good entertainment longer than ordinarie,
it was the king's fault and not mine.' ' I saw 3
good matches at Newmarket w ch pleased the king
well, but not my worshippe, for I gott no money
by them more then my charges. My L d Lovelass
lost 600J. of his horse, Mr. Elliot won 400Z. of his, &
my L d Sherard near 300Z. of his nagg.'
Margaret Elmes was having a hard time of it with
her cross-grained husband, the small allowance he
had given her when they separated was often in
arrears, and it was only when Sir Ealph threatened
legal proceedings that Sir Thomas would ' protest
90 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
upon the word of a gentleman,' that he wished to do
all that was fair and honourable, and he would
deliver Sir Kalph a lecture which he dared not write
to his wife, about the prudence and discretion needed
Dec.is, in 'her carriage in the world.' 'As things are with
her now, a private life is most for her repute and
humiliation, rather than her going to this person
and that person, to no purpose to herself but to be
laughed behind her back.' He will settle her join-
ture as soon as his debts are paid to ' Cousin
Knightly ; ' he assures Sir Ealph that there is no hurry,
as he never was in better health in his life. ' Elmes
is going to fast & pray & soe cannot write to you/
says Uncle Doctor. Matters are not much more
advanced at the end of another year. The delay
Sept. 16, is now caused by ' my cousin Humphry Elmes his
death, the old gentleman you see at my chamber,
I having been to Henley to see him interred & am
just now come up to towne. I have written a kind
letter to your sister. . . . were her heart & mine,
as yours & mine are in principle it were far better
for her. I know I need not write to you to say
nothing to the women for you know how captious
generally they are. I meane only for your sister's
good . . . had I matched into another family I
should have been more valewed.' His wife's relations
were certainly lacking in appreciation, and Dr. Denton
pronounced him to be ' the greatest tyrant in the
world.'
Peg naturally wanted something more substantial
SIR RALPH'S RELATIONS 91
than the smothering of her complaints, and Sir
Ralph had to write in a severe strain to his brother-
in-law : ' Haveinge had soe many Yeares Patience,
more then (as a Trustee) I could well answer.' He
finds it almost impossible ' to keep them quiet for
both of them are colerick & high enough, & have noe
great fondness for one another.' Peg, indeed, had
freely expressed her opinion, that the life she would
lead with him c is worse than keeping of hogs/
without even the alternative open to the prodigal of
returning to his father's house.
The unwearied peacemaker, however, got the
husband and wife to meet at Claydon in October with
such good effect, that old Aunt Abercromby writing
out of her bed (peremptorily to desire Sir Ealph to
send her a fat goose ' for All Holland-day, lest
wanting that, she should want money all the year ')
congratulates Nephew Elmes on his ' re-nuptials.'
Peg feels that due thanks to Sir Ralph are Oct. 20,
. 1661
beyond her reach, but her second honeymoon did
not open smoothly. ' The disasters in our jorney
to London were soe many & soe great that I
know you wolde a laughed sovfitiantly att me, had
you but seen them. Our horses tiored as soone
as we came out of Chalfont, for theare was noe fresh
ones to be had, it was neare eight a clock befoare we
got to Lester Hous corner, when we ware in all that
fine puddle, we had like to a binn over turned but
escaped it, by haveing the coach helde up, while we
a lighted in that cleane plaise, & when we ware
92 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
out, the coachman made shift to drive his coache
into sich a plaise as he could not pas through for
postes, nether could he put back again, soe we ware
forsed to wolke from that Plaise to Covent Garden
a fott, & not onely soe, but to take out all that was
had in the coache, a longe with us for the coach
was likely to stand in the feildes all night. My
brother Harry was with us, but the Squir &
Martin were gon home a horsback. Hary was
loaded like a porter betweene his own things &
his dame's.'
They fared better than did some travellers
driving on a wintry night. Another letter mentions
that ' a hackney coach & horses & a gentleman
in it, went back into Fleet Ditch (there were no
rails) & was either drowned or smothered in the
mud.'
Margaret Elmes was a clever housekeeper,
* Madam Spye-fault,' the doctor called her, which
sounds like a character in ' Pilgrim's Progress,' and Sir
Ealph often applied to her in domestic perplexities.
His pewter vessels are not to his liking. ' For your
plaites,' she writes, ' if they are well washed every
mealle with woater and brann, soe hott as theare
hands can indewar it, and then well rinsed in faire
woater, and soe sett one by one, befoare the fire, as
they may dry quick, I am confydent they will dry
with out spots, for I never knew any sawce staine soe
except it bee pickled rabbets, which stand up on the
plait a pretty while, soe they will stoaine them
SIR RALPH'S RELATIONS 93
fillthyly . . . this is all the scill I have, which I
have set downe att large.' She has made him lemon
cakes which he likes, when he has a cold.
The Elmes have been at Claydon again in the
winter of 1664-5 and returned with Sir Ealph to
London, when Sir Thomas caused quite a commotion
by his lamentations over the loss of an ' heirloom,'
described as ' a Dial of Glass with a Fly in it,'
which had belonged to his family for years and
years ; he felt sure that his wife had taken this
precious treasure to Claydon to hang up in her
window, and had left it behind there.
Lady Elmes disclaimed all knowledge of it, but
Mun Verney, on receiving his father's commands,
went down with a party from East Claydon, and
calling upon Mr. Butterfield to bear witness to their
exertions, the young people made merry in the old
house, going from one empty bedroom to another,
finding nothing at all, till in the Orange Chamber
Mun exclaimed that he saw ' something like to
Flye ; ' there was an imprisoned Owl in the window
lately dead. Amid shouts of laughter, the bird was
very carefully packed up in many wrappings, and sent
off to Sir Thomas Elmes by Carrier, specially addressed
4 to be conveyed to him with great care and speede,'
with a mocking letter in which Mun explained that
this was all they could find to answer the description
of his heirloom, ' I know not what you call it at
Greens Norton but here at Claydon wee call it Owle.
Sir I killed lately just such another sitting on an
94 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Elme, whereby I conjecture there is much sympathy
between them,' &c. &c. Unhappily for the success
of the jest, Sir Ealph intercepted the parcel, which he
thought of suspicious bulk and softness, with the
folio sheet of banter, and paid the carrier. ' He is a
strange man,' he writes to Mun, ' & his hatred to
his Wife makes him doe many of these simple
things. Certainly hee thinks hee saw a Diall at
Claydon, or else hee could not have invented it, but
I never remember anything like it in my House.'
Sir Ealph writes to congratulate his sister when
her jointure is settled, with a sly hit at her love of
London.
' Madame Margery, Eich, Eich, Eich, now your
money is come, but if you are soe simple as to spend
it, you shall bee caled by your Old Name, Poore,
Silly, Lowsy Megg againe. This very day it came.
. . . But I can tell you, that with your money, I
had a letter, such a letter, that you will thinke it a
good bargayne to give me halfe your Wealth to
let you read it, & though my Answere to it is
little worth, Yet I know you will bee soe Noble as to
give me Two pence for the sight of it. Enough of
this till we meet. My Cozen Dorothy Denton is
very well (at Hillesden) and Lives, and Lookes (and
I am confident Thrives) as well as if she were at
London. Mee thinke I heare you sweare this is a
Loud Ly, And you will not beleeve it.'
Lady Elmes is quite capable of a retort. ' If we
live to meete it is posable I may punish you for the
SIR RALPH'S RELATIONS 96
stile of Maddam Megg, I see it is not good to be
to longe from London, the cuntory teaching you
sich oulde clownish names, not fitt for sich a
spruse widower as y r selfe to name. It is Enuffe to
hinder the yonge bewtis from woing you, which I
know will grieve you much. The incivilities I re-
ceive from Sir Thomas makes me to be all most
reconsiled to the name which foremerly I was not
very fond of.'
Gary Gardiner still leads as busy a home life as
1 souch a train of babs ' must entail ; good John
Stewkeley is proud to see the old nursery filled a
second time. ' Here are many white aprons that
have long strings,' he writes to Sir Ealph of his
five baby girls, ' & lusty armes that will pull
hard.' His eldest son Will was at ' Winton Col-
lege,' but the sudden death of Mr. May his tutor
there in 1657, caused Mr. Stewkeley to send for
him home ; he then placed him in London at Dr.
Sterne's ' private academy with some ten gentlemen
more.' During the Protectorate * that intelligence
given of Oxford by severall freinds that have made a
strict inquiry, diverted his father from sending him
thither.' At twenty-two he is a worthless beau ;
Gary talks him over with Brother Stewkeley, 'who
is very good to her, though hee will sometimes
lett us understand hee is lord over us. 1 truly
love him very much for his care of my children . . .
hee & we are both much trobled what will be-
come of Will Stewkeley, who lives above what his
96 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
father hathe for himselfe & all the rest ; as great
A gamster as my brother Hary & as great a
rake, & I am confident the sotillest young man
in the world, but not the best natured. He is now
desirous to by a Court place, so that is next to be
sout for, but his mind is so wavouring that I think
hee will setill to nothing. Wee A low him 60/. a
yeare, besides my brother's 10/., & he hath lived
on us most of this yeare him selfe, & latly hath
taken a man unknown to his father, as all his
actions are, & kept 2 horses constantly. I find
him a great burden, and I am afrad my brother
should work on my husband to let him live thus,
or elc to increas his A lowance which hee is not
a bill to due without predigisin all the rest.'
Miss Ursula has not obliged her stepmother by
marrying, though she is much in company. ' Tis
not my patienc only as they all make havock
of, for my brother who I think hath some tye on
them, crys out most shamfully on them ; alas you
only know the best of them,' Gary tells Sir Ealph,
4 they differ so much from ther father as if he had
no relation to them ; bot tis none of them can
make us unhappy to each other, though ther wayes
lessens our Joys yet not our affections, which are
absolutely fixed in each other which is amonst all
my grifs the reallest comfort as can come to me.'
Gary has taken her own daughter Peg to Dau-
beney Turberville, an oculist at ' Crick Kerne,' who
promises ' to butify her left eye,' but having seen
SIR RALPH'S RELATIONS 97
her he reports it ' to be incurable & their judg-
ments all to be false, that have spent about her,
I have hopes strong of her right Eye which labours
with four diseases, ill Eyelidds, & falling away of
the haire, a spott on the pupill, & a corrupt fistula
in the Corner of her Eye towards her nose. ... I
doubt not to save her Eye if you please to give mee
time, I shall leave the gratification to your selfe, &
my endeavours shall bee as nimble as possible.' He
is to begin with ' an incision betweene her eye &
nose to be kept open eight or ten weekes,' but he
adds ' I shall not in all this time much torture her.'
Peg underwent the oculist's treatment with ' much
resolution & patienc.' Gary hears * a good report
of him & his birth is very good which maks mee
belive hee will perform what he promised.' Peg is
always under treatment ; after this she consults ' a
mounty bank,' and bears her present darkness with
hopes of sight,' because she is assured that Prince
Eupert gives him a good character.
Gary's boy is at school at his uncle's charge, she
has her anxieties about Jack's looks, 'sickness &
want of hare are two great blemishes, but I hope
time & helth will renuw his favour A gaine, &
should I take him homb his littill larning would sure
be lost, which would be an inevetabill ruing to him.'
Brother Stewkeley's ' humor is to love chang which
is the undoing of boys & my boy loves the place
very well wher he is, which I commend in him ; my
brother's humors & extravagant exprestions I have
VOL. IV. H
98 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
to sadly felt, but I must smother thim all for my
children's good.'
Betty and Mr. Adams were still looking out-
Mar. 25, ' Could you but get us A good parsinag I am con-
fident I should live cumfortabielley.' When real
troubles failed, which was seldom, Betty had quite a
craze for inventing them. Before the birth of her
first child she was particularly ingenious ; she had
secured Sir Ealph as godfather, and she wrote to
conjure him to protect her hapless infant, as she
foresaw her own death, her husband's second mar-
riage, and the child's sufferings from a cruel step-
mother. Sir Ealph declined to pledge himself till
the crisis arrived, but he got Peg Elmes to choose
some ' Childes Clowtes,' and when the boy had been
christened Betty thanks him for a ' silver sugar box
& coddel cup.' This child died, and Betty never
gave the cruel stepmother a chance, for she survived
her husband many years, having brought him a large
family of daughters.
Brother Tom is not to be ignored in this review
of the family fortunes, though every member of it
June 19, would gladly have forgotten him if possible. * There
are severall epitaphs,' he writes to Sir Ealph, * that
belong to the word brother' (anticipating by more
than a century Mrs. Malaprop's ' nice derangement'),
' as good, deare, hon red or the like, and in another
(which in some may prove the more proper) sense,
unkind, unnatureall or the like. Such strainge and
unbeseeming titles I forbeare to stile you with,
SIR RALPH'S RELATIONS 99
though (haply) I have just cause for it.' That there
may be no doubt that the right epithets should be
applied to himself he winds up his begging letter by
subscribing himself, ' Sweet Brother,
Yours most cordially to serve you whilst he is
THO: VERNEY.'
When he has tired out Sir Ealph he approaches
Edmund : ' Sir, Kings and Princes in time of need
prayeth ayd of their Allies, therefore I conceive it
noe dishonour to mee to crave a supply from my
relations. Sir, poverty to mee att this instant is as
great an enimy as the Turk is to the Emperor of
Germany, and doth dayly get advantages of mee. I
have (by several! embassies) treated with my brother,
who hath promised mee succour but not sufficient to
oppose soe powerfull an enimy, which prompts mee to
pray your assistance in some handsome manner, that
I may be the better strengthened to encounter my
approaching foe and abide him battaile.' It might
have gone hardly with the Turks, if the Emperor
had had Tom's ready wit and fertility of resource.
In '62 he intends going with the Earl of
Windsor to Jamaica, in '63 he is developing 'a
potash work,' the next spring he turns up in Ireland,
and writes from Bandon Bridge to refute ' some Mar. 26
scandal that was fomented against mee in my
absence. ... I would stop all clamorous reports
if possibly I could, yet letters may miscarry, I am
not within 35 miles of any post-town, besides the
H 2
100 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
casualty of the sea is to be considered. A friend
hath undertaken the conveyance of this to London,
that hath correspondency in Cornwall & doth
weekly return thither or to Plymouth, hides, tallow
& the like.' Soon after this there is ' a flying
report that Tom is gone for France,' Mrs. Tom * is in
want enough,' and intends to send the baby, born
after his departure, ' eyther to the parish att Bris-
tol or to Sir Ealph.' The poor woman comes to
see him at Lady Hobart's, and tells him how much
she had been 4 injured & abused by her husband
already ; he hath gotten her portion, & so hath
made her utterly unable to help the child or feed
herself, having nothing but what her own friends
in charity bestow upon her.' These friends press
Sir Ealph to pay half Tom's annuity direct to his
wife, but he has sold this annuity in advance to Sir
John Colladon, of the parish of St. Paul's, Covent
Garden, who is also clamouring for payment. Sir
Ealph can only desire Tom to take measures 4 that
hee may rest quiet from these importunities.' Tom
May si, * s tragically indignant and surprised. ' Sir had I
been the worst of brothers, you could not have more
estrainged your affections from mee, give mee (I
beseech you) a little liberty to argue the case with
you. Sir, is my concealment occasioned by or for
reason of any treason, murder or fellony committed
against his majesty, or any of his liege people ? You
cannot but judge me innocent. Was I the first that
left my native being for debt ? I beleeve I am not,
SIR RALPH'S RELATIONS 101
& I am almost confident I shall not be the last.
Truly I am not in love with a prison, neither dare I
trust the conscience of any man since brother &
brother are growne soe cruell one to another. I
hope I shall have noe caus to putt your name in the
Eole of Unkind Brothers.'
He desires Sir Ealph on no account to pay
Colladon any money, but in the closely written sheet
there is not an allusion to his miserable wife and
baby, and in June ' it hath pleased God to take away
the childe.' Tom's comment on the news is, that he June 24,
cannot be compelled to give his wife any of his
allowance without ' a long & chargeable sute in
Chancery, but I am not easily to be found, & death
may take away the one as it hath done the other, before
I make a returne homewards, I pray forbeare speak-
ing or writeing to mee concerning the party in any
of your letters.' No forbearance can be looked for
from Dr. Colladon, whom Tom has treated ' soe
very unhandsomely that he has thereby much en-
raged him.' Sir Ealph cannot bear to be classed,
even by Tom, in a Eoll of Unkind Brothers, and
continues to help him through Mr. Fowke, whom
he thanks for his ' many troubles about this unhappy
brother of mine.' Tom, on receiving an addition
to his quarterage, sends him thanks ' in number
numberless,' and quotes Tacitus 6 who in his life of
Otho sayd, There is not any one thing which persons
of courage and quality doe suffer with more regret
than that of poverty ; ' had he been blessed with an
102 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
estate he would not have slept, till he had repaid
all Sir Ealph's benefits. ' Could you but imagine
how infinitely I am abused by one that I am in-
formed is a dayly disturber of your quiet, you would
rather afford me your pity then your frowne.'
July 10, ( My services to you and yours wishing you all
health and happiness, as for any other of my relations
let them be as they are :
' When cloudy stormes are gone and past,
Then crums of comfort come att last.'
Tom finds his own peculiar ' crums of comfort '
during the Great Plague in the chance ' that it may
happily touch his chief creditor Colladon, before it
yet leaveth.'
Eliza Verney's letters to Sir Ealph are eminently
gentle and reasonable ; she has exhausted all her own
resources and the help given her by 'her uncle
Sir Verney Noell ; ' she entreats Sir Ealph to per-
suade her husband to live with her, and to accept some
employment which her friends will undertake to find
him. or to divide his 200/. a year with her, which
' the world cannot say is an unreasonable request.'
Tom is, however, quite scandalized that a deserted
wife can permit herself to make such unpleasant
suggestions to a man of culture and refinement.
Nor does Sir Ealph feel able to interfere on behalf
of the poor lady, whose petitions are as trouble-
some, as her wrongs are indisputable ; but as
he cannot shake off the claims which such near
SIR RALPH'S RELATIONS 103
kinship and his own kindness impose upon him,
Eliza's piteous appeals and Tom's highly moral
begging letters, continue to torment him to the end
of his life. The more preposterous Tom's request is,
the more Scripture he quotes in support of it, and
on one occasion he favours Sir Ealph with an essay Aug. 30,
upon 'The 3 Degrees of Ingratitude that history
maketh mention of,' their characteristics and the
penalties imposed upon them by the Egyptians and
other ancient nations ; Death alone being held fit
to expiate the third degree, ' that the earth might
quickly rot such an execrable creature as it had
brought forth.' The due balancing of his sentences
gives him never-failing pleasure, he would have
supplied invaluable leading articles to a pungent
party paper, with a daily demand for cheap abuse of
the opposite side.
Tom remained some years in Ireland with vary-
ing fortunes ; at one time he is hiding from fresh
creditors, hunted by five couple of beagles and ' the
pursuers,' but he proves, as he had boasted, 'not
easily to be found, to the great charge of my
malitious enemies ; ' then he is in clover again,
having ' in travelling towards Limerick, received an Aug. so,
invitation from one Sr George Hamilton, whose lady
is Sister to y e duke of Ormond, who knew mee (upon
his intimate acquaintance with my brother Sr Ed :)
at y e first sight of mee, and treated mee far beyond
my desert, and withall informed mee of some land
104 VERXEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
y* was allotted to my deceased brother for his arrears.
Sr George telleth mee it cannot be less worth y u
200/. per annum, & advised mee to look after it,
which I should gladly doe, provided it be with your
good leave and like ing.' ' Sir Daniel Treswell, lately
dead, Sir Wm. Flower and Mr. Stephens were the
commissioners to allot & sell out Sir Edmund
Verney's arrears/
Sir Ralph will not spend money in investigating
Edmund's claims, but if Tom can find any profit
accruing for it he shall have a good share. It was
not the only occasion that Tom traded on his
younger brother's fair fame ; a letter of Mary Lloyd's
to Dr. Denton describes how he turned up some
years later in Chester Cathedral.
Mar. is, ' Honour'd Uncle, Sr now I will acquainte you
Ifi7*i
with that as was the greatest of newes to mee :
last Sunday being att the quire who did I see but
my brother Tom Verney, and could not satisfy my
selfe whether I was not mistaken but after long
view I found him to be the same ; he came from
Scotland to a Chester Merchant about some Mynes
that he would be a partaker of, and returned on
Monday, he is in a good equipage & his man to
waite on him, & lookes well and lusty, but the
sam Tom V. for a plodding Braine & building
Castells in the Ayre ; the Gentlemen are very re-
spectfull & oblidging to him, for my Brother S r Edm d
was Governor of the Castle, & they honour & respect
the name still. My husband presents his humble
SIB RALPH'S RELATIONS 105
services to you, pray accept of the same from her
that is 8%
Yo r obedient niece & servant to command,
M. LLOYD.'
Whatever time and thought Dr. Denton could
spare from his patients, were divided between his
girl, who kept the house alive with her merry
tongue, and a ponderous theological treatise which
years of labour had rendered little less dear to him
than Nancy herself. This charming and saucy
damsel, though she did not marry till her twenty-
fourth year, had had many suitors from childhood.
In 1662 her father was in treaty with a Mr. Barker,
the settlements on each side promised well, the father
was ' in hearty good earnest,' but Doctor feared that
' there was a pad in the straw as to the sow,' and
being 'in a great quandary,' he appealed to Sir
Ealph having ' no one to consult withall but women.'
Nancy was meanwhile planning a marriage on
her own account. Strong in her position as the
spoilt child of the family, and absolutely certain of
being able to do what she chose with her father
and godfather, she received the addresses of a pre-
sumptuous Mr. Ford, who, disregarding all the
proprieties of the period, had approached her with-
out her father's knowledge. But for once ' Mistress
Monkey ' was startled to find she had reached the
end of her tether. Neither tears nor coaxing were
of the least avail, and a good deal alarmed and
sobered, Nancy wrote not unassisted the following
106 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
remarkable epistle to her suitor, a copy of which was
kept by the authorities she had defied. The phrase
about her father must have been all her own
imagination fails to picture the Doctor with his
dry humour and professional calmness, as ' implac-
ably enraged ' Nancy evidently wanted to cover her
retreat.
'Sir, As I have been obliged to you for your
value, and kindnesse to mee, soe I must begg this
farther obligation from you, as to lay a side all
thoughts of farther kindnesse, or addresses to mee,
for that uppon the presumption of my Fathers
greate love for mee, I made it knowne to him. . . .
but the truth is, instead of procuring his consent
I finde him soe implacably enraged & soe abso-
lutely peremtory in the deniall, that there is noe
possibility or hopes, ever soe much as to thinke of
it. ... I am very well assured that if I should
bee soe unhappy soe to marry, hee would never
give mee any thing of his estate liveing or dying, or
ever see my face agayne, and therfore being obliged
by the Law of God and nature to him, and my owne
happinesse to comply with him in this his resolu-
tion, I doe earnestly desire you to thinke noe
more of it, for I shall not on any account what-
soever, and soe I rest, Your servant,
ANNIE DENTON.'
In the winter of 1663, a more interesting alliance
was arranged for Mistress Nancy with George
Nicholas, a younger son of the old Secretary of
SIR RALPH'S RELATIONS 107
State. Sir Edward Nicholas represented the best
traditions of the Cavaliers ; ' entering official life
early, he had risen to its highest grade by proved
capacity for business and knowledge of affairs,' 1 and
was known ' throughout his whole life,' says Lord
Clarendon, ' as a person of very good reputation and
of singular integrity.' He was now an old man r
and had just retired from 'his great office,' refusing
a peerage, but continuing to serve his Majesty on
the Privy Council.
Nancy wrote to Sir Ealph in November, craving
his support at a difficult crisis of her engagement,
' as for the gentleman you have shued no bitterness
against him, I take you for one of my best friends
that will keep my father from being angry with me.'
At Christmas time Mrs. Dr. Denton was already
busily planning the wedding feast. Was there a fat
doe at Claydon, or could one be fatted at short
notice ? she inquired of Sir Ealph. Margaret
Elmes, whose taste and cleverness are universally
acknowledged, has come up to Covent Garden, and
the ladies ' are now every day mity busy about
the wedding clothes, 100/. is already gon with
them and a considerable som moare will be laid
out about them, it cannot be tolerably dun with less/
Dame Jane Nicholas, to whom Nancy has already
lost her heart, pays a ceremonious visit to good
vulgar Mrs. Denton. Aunt Isham hears i that the
man is without Excepchon, & that is the thinge
1 Nicholas Papers, publ. Camden Soc. 1886.
108 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
I am pleased att for all the forting is loe, one is not
always hapye with a greate fortine.' But though the
women's part of the business was in so forward a
state, there were rumours that the Doctor was yet
to satisfy about the settlements .
The Nicholas family suffered severely in the dis-
tracted times ; the bridegroom's grandfather had been
' plundered thrice in one week ; ' his uncle, the Dean
of Bristol, was turned out of house and home ; ' his
wife, poor gentlewoman, pitied by all, tho' not holpen
by any,' was reduced to sending her only maid into
the market-place, ' selling rosemary & bayes to buy
bread ; ' nor did Mr. Secretary Nicholas fare better.
Since the Eestoration the family fortunes had revived
a little ; the young Sir John Nicholas held his father's
old post of Clerk to the Privy Council, but no large
portion could be given to George, the youngest of the
three sons. Sir John Nicholas sought an introduction
to Sir Ealph from a mutual friend Charles Whitaker,
that he might not, on his brother's behalf, ' come
solitary in the quality of a stranger, which hee is,
purely, to his great unhappinesse.' Sir Edward
Nicholas eventually surrendered to his son George the
benefit ' of one 4th part of the office of Surveyor
Generall of his Majestie's Customs, as well as his
estate, title and interest in the parsonage of Wherl-
well in the County of Southampton,' and Dr. Denton
settled land on his daughter yielding a clear rental
of 100/. a year. The matter was apparently settled,
Feb. 16, but on February 16, an agitated note from Nancy
SIE EALPH'S RELATIONS 109
reached her kind old friend. ' If you could posibly
for your business com hethar, you wold oblige me
mutch, for now my father is as hard to be par-
swaded to anything as my mother is.' Sir Ealph
did not fail her, the marriage took place two days
later, and after the honeymoon the bride writes to
him in a rapture of gratitude : ' Deare Parant, this
titell corns not to you unmerited for I know of no
one that has more wright to it then yourselfe. . . .
God Almighty reward you for your peas-making
betwen fathar & child for next under God you
ware the means of it. ... I shall beg your pardon
& ever remain Your dutyfull child & best girlie still,
ANNE NICHOLAS.'
Sir Edward and Lady Nicholas offered bed and
board to the young couple for the first months, and
Nancy speaks of them with extreme affection. The
Doctor is more than reconciled to his son-in-law, and
in the autumn they ' are gon to the Fens and so in-
tend for a ramble.' ' My fathar and Nike are both
run a wae I think,' Nancy writes to Sir Ealph,
' for they are not com home yet but they have
almost destroied your manor of Cladon, & Nobill
Soul has uesed them as I hear very kindly.' Her
health requires care, and old Aunt Abercromby ' has
mounted the gard a fortnight sence. My mother is
in ill cais, seing my fathar stais so long a wae, &
sais she shall nevar be well, but I hope in that she
speaks not truth. The town is empty & barin of
newes & I as dull for want of my Nike. . . .
110 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
There is a Giant come out of Holond and he is 9 fut
hy & 2 inches. I beleve my poor Nike wold
stand betwen his legs, he has sutch long ones. . . .
I will now tiar you no longer, only ask you an evning
blesing, & rest as you shall ever find me your
truly loving cosin and best Child.'
In Christmas week both families rejoice over the
birth of ' a lusty boy,' christened Denton, who is
prosperous, ' even to a mirekell,' according to his
mother's account. ' My boy is now undressing by me,'
she writes, when the treasure is just able to toddle,
' and is sutch prety companey that he hindars me so,
I cannot write what I wold.'
The other children born to George Nicholas and
Nancy were, Jane (b. 1666), a son who died an
infant in 1670, and John (b. 1674). Denton Nicholas
was at Trinity College, Oxford, with the younger
Mun Verney ; he became a Doctor, and died in 1714.
Jane, called after her grandmother Nicholas, was also
^iay 10, Sir Ralph's godchild. Nancy writes to thank him for
' making a cristian of my litill girle who I will indevar
to make as duty full to you as myselfe am.'
Jane's marriage to Sir John Abdy is told in a
later chapter ; when her daughter was born, nothing
would satisfy Lady Abdy but that Sir Ealph should
stand sponsor, as he had stood for the baby's mother
and grandmother. He was flattered by the request,
being wont to boast that his godchildren ' were
alwaies the best of the Brood, witnesse Nancy
Nicholas.' Dr. Denton lived to be godfather to his
SIR RALPH'S RELATIONS 111
great-grandson, afterwards Sir Eobert Abdy. The
baronetage, which became extinct in 1759, was
revived in the female line, and the present Sir Wil-
liam Abdy is a direct descendant of Dr. Denton's.
Nancy's youngest son Jack had Bishop Patrick for
his godfather ; he was educated at Harrow, took Holy
Orders in 1701, married in 1706 ' the dau. of Parson
Dod,' and left a son George.
These grandchildren and great-grandchildren were
the joy of the Doctor's old age, and after his wife's
death in 1675 the Nicholases made their home with
him in Covent Garden.
Mistress Nancy's popularity was gauged rather
enviously by other matrons, by the amount of venison
she received in presents. ' I dar say,' one lady
remarks, ' fue as has parkes of ther one, has so much
spent in ther house as my Cossen Nicholas eats, for
as she tells me, she eats it as others eat beaf, three
tims A week, baked, boyled, rested and potted.' Sir
Ealph sends her snipes and larks. ' My Nike,' she
writes, ' was y* afternoon gone to bed w th a cold and
the exstrordinary goodnes of ye fouls tempted him
up again to supper. ... I never did see firmer or
fresher or fatter.'
She is delightfully young as a mother and grand-
mother, and expects to go everywhere and to see every-
thing. 'Nancy hath beene at the Tower,' the old
Doctor writes on one of these occasions, ' & was
afraid when she saw the men in armour, & durst
not see the Lyons.'
112 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
But to return to the year 1664, Nancy's marriage
being off his mind, the Doctor gave himself up with
keen relish to his defence of Protestant opinions,
and this same year his ' Horse Subsecivas ' was
published. He thus sets forth his intentions ' A sad
fate attends both him that writes and him that writes
not. He that Prints exposeth himself to be wounded
by others, and he that forbears to Speak or Print in
the cause of God, provokes God to disown him.' The
doctor has persuaded himself that in a century of
controversy, the 'just defence of England against
Eome, the Innocency of our Princes and their
Government and of the Protestant religion, has
never yet been particularly handled in any particu-
lar Tract that ever yet I could see and hear of,
which I hope may excuse me A tanto if not A toto.'
Arming himself with a goodly store of biblical
texts and classical quotations, the doctor descended
into the dusty arena and laid about him with
vigour, belabouring Popes, Cardinals and Councils,
1 rightly expounding things generally misunderstood,'
and in the heat of the fray losing the sense of
humour, the delicate irony and the felicity of ex-
pression which make his private letters so delight-
ful. He continued to prescribe for 'Ecclesiastics
of all Perswasions,' to purge out heresies, and to
devise for weak faith a robust tonic, feeling no scruple
in dogmatising about the soul's ailments, though he
had often confessed to the difficulty of treating
those of the body.
SIR RALPH'S RELATIONS 113
In the beginning of 1665 Dorothy Leeke's health
began to fail. She was one of the unmarried women
who are the good angels of a whole family. Her
warm heart, her unaffected piety, and her cheerful
spirits, unbroken by poverty and dependence, made
her welcome in every household.
Lady Gawdy treated her as a sister, and when-
ever she could be spared from Croweshall, she was
overwhelmed with invitations from friends and
cousins, but divided her time chiefly between Chan-
cery Lane and Claydon. She never lost an oppor-
tunity of serving Sir Ealph, and when Sir Charles
Gawdy sends over a groom to Claydon, he is sure
to have a merry letter from Doll in his wallet.
4 Dear Sir Ealph,' she writes on one of these occa-
sions, c you beleve your self now at liberty & fre
from all troublesome parsons, but this is to let you
see that you ought not to be very Confident of any
thing in this world, for in all places I shall find you
out to torment you, yet my thoughts are so free from
malis, that I wish this may only hinder you of a
quater of an hower slep in the Evining ; not when
you are in your park amoungst your prety dear,
Nancy atinding you ; nor in your fine wood &
walks, for ther I will a low you to think of the
last beauty you saw at Loundon. By this time I
beleve you wish to come to the bisnis that caused
this leter, but to tell you the truth I have none, nor
anything more to say, but that I could be con-
tented to be in Sir Charlses boy's plac the time he is
VOL. IV. I
114 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
at Cladon, if you wold admit me into the parlur, but
then or hear I can never be other then your most
faithfull servant to Comand.'
Edmund welcomed her very cordially at East
Claydon, where she took Luce Shepperd's place in
helping Mary with her housekeeping, and in en-
couraging her to occupy herself in various direc-
tions.
At the White House she is to ' lay over the Hall
because the inward room is so convenient for her
Maid,' ' dans la chambre sur la sale, mais non pas
dans une sale chambre,' Mun writes ; ' she eats no
flesh on Fridays nor willingly on Wednesdays in
Lent.' Mary is hard at work embroidering the
hangings for a big green bed ; Doll busies herself
with sorting silks and crewels ; she sends patterns
to Sir Ealph and Lady Elmes to be matched in
London, and helps Mary with the intricacies of the
' rosemary stitch.' Mary likes her task very well, but
Doll considers ' ther is too much work in it, and
ther is sertan birds and flyes and other crepers
which I know not, and frute which I do not much
like, but it is a very fine thing, tho they be Left
out. Gamboy, Marigold and Vaunter [Sir Ealph's
hounds] made us a visit which was all the strangers
we had.'
In the midst of her unselfish ministrations, this
kind woman first began to suspect the real nature
of the ' dangerous corroding disease ' from which
she was suffering. The shock and the increasing
SIR RALPH'S RELATIONS 115
pain upset her for the time, the more so as ' Doc-
tor's physicke ' failed entirely to check its progress,
but she rallied bravely from her depression, kept /
her sufferings to herself as far as might be, and as
the year wore on, private anxieties were merged in a
great public calamity.
i 2
116 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
CHAPTER IV.
THE PLAGUE AND THE FIKE.
1665-1666.
' Things are in the saddle
And ride Mankind.'
THE plague so often referred to in the earlier Verney
letters had been for many years in abeyance. ' During
the Civil Wars London had been the safest place of
residence & had grown fast while other towns were
languishing.'
At first the fresh outbreak in the spring of 1665
is noticed merely in joke : ' Tis plaguey newes that
the plague has come to Southwark.' In May Sir
May is, Ealph writes from Chancery Lane : ' Tis an ill time to
put out money for the feare of the Plague makes
many willing to take their' Estates out of the Gold-
smiths' hands, & the King's greate want of money
makes many very unwilling to lend any money to
these that advance greate summs for him. I know
some friends that have 1000/. & 1500Z. a peece that
they cannot dispose of; M r Kempe came to my
Lodging on purpose to desire mee to helpe him to
THE PLAGUE AND THE FIRE 117
dispose 3 or 400/. on good security. . . . Coals are
not only excessive deare, but are not to be had, wee
heare of a hope for greate Fleets hereafter, but we
doubt tis but discourse.' He is thankful to have the
Claydon woods to fall back upon, and must cut
down more timber than he desires. It is a hot and
dry season, and Mun is to see that the young mul-
berry trees are well watered. He complains to
Sir E. Mauleverer that ' Eents were never soe hard
to get in, the noyse that the Bill against bringing in
foreine Cattle is not like to passe the House of Lords
makes all our markets at a Stand, soe that Cowes are
dayly sould for 10, 13 & 15 shillings a peece, as in
former yeares were wont to yeeld four or five times
as much money, & this great deadnesse of Trade
forces me to borrow for my owne occations.'
The plague is spreading ; in June ' tis suspected
to bee at the Black Swan in Holborn where the
Alisbery & other coaches stand ; ' a little later all
the carriers are stopped, ' the sickness is not far from
Lombard St. & if it should visitt the Goldsmiths
twill be hazardous to have too great a stock there.'
Sir Roger Burgoyne, whose children are at Clapham,
is afraid either to leave them there, or to have
them home lest they bring down infection; but
eventually they return to Warwickshire, Sir Ealph
entertaining them by the way ; Sir Eoger has received
them ' safe & sound, but so full of the good dainties
that Claydon afforded, that the best we have at
Wroxall will hardly goe down with them.'
118 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Aunt Isham exhorts Sir Kalph while he is in town
Jnne 19, ' to ware a quill as is filed up with quicsilver and
1665
sealed up with hard waxe & soed up in a silke
thinge with a string to ware about your neck, this is
as sartine as any thinge is to keep one from taking
of the Plage if one is in the house with them ... iff
you let your Horse ware it about his head he will
never have the desese. This is a slite bisnes if itt
does presarve one from this sad desese, as the Lady
Bemone tells me she hath worn it herselfe & intends
to have some for ah 1 her sarvants, & Sir Tho :
Bemone hunted with his nabores Hounes as thare
Horses ware infected & his horse nevor choed
[showed] the desese . . . heare is talkes of one as
came from London within 5 miles is dead of a swelling
June 27, under his yeare.' ' The quicksilver must be corked
1 fifi*i
up fust & then seled, itt tis nitty for one's teth &
eies, so without one is in danger one would not
ware itt.' She recommends him to have ' Lente figges
in a readines if any of your family shoulge have
a swelling, Host some & Mashe them togeather &
then mix some Meatreadat 1 amonst them nothing
will soner brake & hele a sore then this, so thay
keepe them selves warme.'
She has also a cure for the falling sickness given
her by 'Lady Shinjane as a thing as never failed.
Take the misseltoe wh ch growes sometimes upon the
top, & sometimes among the branches of an old
1 Mithridate mustard, Phlaspe arvense.
THE PLAGUE AND THE FIRE 119
oake tree, dry it & beat it to powder & Give as
much of it as will lye upon a sixpence, 3 mornings
together.'
Gary Gardiner has her nostrum, ' a blak meddi-
cin ' so potent she would certainly cure the plague
could she get enough of it. The official remedy is
Garlic with butter and a clove or two ; and for ' the
richer sort,' the Coll: of Physicians prescribe a
costly concoction of ' Powder of hartshorn, pearls,
coral, tormentil, hyacinth-stone, onyx-stone & East
Hunicorne's horn.'
Hampshire is much infected ; the Duke of York's
children are at Wilton, and expect him to join them
there.
The men of Sir Ealph's generation still considered
smoking a nasty habit, and Sir Eoger Burgoyne, in
planning a new wing at Wroxall, designs a door into
the Oval Garden ' to make it serve instead of a
withdrawing room for tobacconists & such good-
fellows & to free the house from all such un-
wellcome parfumes.' But it was rapidly becoming
fashionable, as a preservative against infection,
and the Eton boys were ordered to smoke in school
daily.
Sir Ealph has to confess ' the Sicknesse is
strangely increased & that several houses are shut
upp in Chancery lane & severall neare it, but I
trust God in Mercy will preserve mee & this family
from that violent disease. I have been ill of late, soe
that the Dr. hath purged & blooded me, & now
120 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
I hope to get home within few days.' Hospitable as
he is, he is disinclined to share his home with some
relations for an indefinite period, which rouses
Penelope and Henry to wrath. She protests that
she would be content with ' a thached hous in your
July 4, town.' 'If you had had but a sparke of love for
1665 . ..
me, he writes, 'you would not a putt these greate
inconveniences on mee . . . all people are so feare-
full of the sickness that they will recive non, much
less people thay know not. If my sister Gardiner
considers not our condition noe better then you have
don, then I shall enter your house on our returne
& putt a redd cross on the dore and write & cry
Lord a marcy on us.' Henry's ' errand ' is said to be
to a cocking at Northampton. London became more
and more deserted as the summer advanced, Evelyn
going to the City on business was ' environ'd with
multitudes of poor pestiferous creatures begging
alms, the shops universally shut up, a dreadful
prospect.'
Lady Elmes, always nervous about health, has
fled to Scarborough and thence to Knaresborough
Spa, in company with the Ishams, the Sherards and
' my shee-cousin Danby.' She writes to her brother :
me 4, 'The first inst we arived att the nasty Spaw, and
665
have now began to drinke the horid sulfer watter,
which all thowgh as bad as is posable to be im-
majaned, yet in my judgment plesant, to all the
doings we have within doorse, the house and all that
is in it being horidly nasty and crowded up with all
THE PLAGUE AND THE FIRE 121
sorte of company, which we Eate with in a roome
as the spiders are redy to drope into my mouthe,
and sure hathe nethor been well cleaned nor ared
this doseuen yerese, it makes me much moare sicke
then the nasty water. Did you but see me you
wolde laughe hartily att me but I say little of it to
whot I thinke, then to mend all this, the goe to
supper att halfe an ower after six, soe I save a bitt
and supp bye myselfe 2 owers after them, which is
the plesantest thinge I doe heare. We are 16 of
my uncle and aunts family, and all in pention, att
105. a weeke for owerselves, and 7s. for owr servants
with lodgens in ; I have not hard from you I know
not when, soe in my openyone live heare as if theare
ware nobody Elce in the worlde, but just whot I see
of these bumkins. We met the Lady Comton and
her sister the Lady Ann Comton att Donkister, hoe
asured me the blackimorse head in Chancery laine
was shutt up of the plaige.' The health resorts leave
much to be desired. Lodgings at Astropp Wells
which Lady Elmes also visited were as objection-
able : ' instead of the sweet woodbines and jesamine
att Claydon, I have the stincke of sower whay &
cheese, which is so strong in my chamber I know
not whot to doe . . . not a coale of fyer can I get
to burne one smale bitt of perfewme, fast I must
the night, heare not being athor master or maide
att home, candle there is not a bit, soe I have sent
to borrow one.'
The accommodation at Buxton seems to have been
122 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
no better, the gentry who went to drink the waters
' were crowded into low wooden sheds & regaled
with oatcake & with a viand which the hosts called
mutton, but which the guests strongly suspected to
be dog.' l
June 5, Sir Ealph had been meditating how to give his
ififi*?
sister 'some imployment at Knarsborough-Spa, and
can finde out none but to search for Haire to make
me Wiggs & buy your coach full, if you can, for
all sorts of comodities are cheape in Yorksheire &
generally very good too . . . Peg Gardner saw your
Lord & Master with some gentlemen in the Parke,
where I doubt not your company was much
desired. I am told Sir John Dynham's Lady & fine
Mrs. Middleton are sworne the Queene's Dressers,
if it be soe, she hath six, had you been heare
perhaps you might have been the 7 th ... Give
my Aunt humble thanks for her letter [inviting
Sir Ralph to join them], truly now you are
with her, I thought one of the Brood had been
enough at a time, but if the waters make her soe
well as to support Two, twill bee a very greate re-
covery, that gives both strength to her, & happi-
nesse to me/ Peg can hear of no hair at any
barber's ; she writes from York, lodgings are dearer
than in London, ' this town doth almost swarme, ther
being soldiers, soe men we want not . . . nethor my
aunt nor selfe have had any violent paine in our
heads so I hope the waters have dun us good, but
1 Macaulay's Hist. i. 346.
THE PLAGUE AND THE FIRE 123
now we are beginning our gretist punnishments
which is our phesicke.' Sir Ealph is glad she is ' in Jane 19,
, . , 1665
soe good company at Yorke for it seems there is
greate store of gentlemen there, and we know you
ladies love them, noe lesse then we doe the ladies. . . .
I beleeve you have had abundance of Cherries, Eey-
grasse & all such kinde of Dainties ; much good may
they doe you, but I pray eate sparingly.'
Aunt Isham writes from Stapleford, my Lord
Sherard's house, ' We are as merry heare as one can
be so far from London & the Lady Sherard with
myself hath beaten one Lady Beamon out of the
Pitt att ha'penny Gleeke you may think how itt hath
weared me play this small game.'
The rest of the party are at Thorpe with
Margaret Danby. 1 Her married life does not seem
to have been a happy one, her husband suffered from
the masterful temper against which her mother used
to rebel, and she was constantly at war with her
sister and Mr. Palmes. Lady Elmes complains to
Sir Ealph that when she reached their house ' the July is,
Chiefe Bird was flone 2 dayes befoare, he knowing
of our coming, his brother and sister he tooke away
with him, soe lefte none heare but the childeren, his
wife being with us most of the tune we have been in
these parts. This showse whot good well umored
creturs you men are. . . . This plaise will cost me
som thing, heare being a man Cooke, butler and all
ofisers ansorable.'
1 See vol. iii. p. 323.
124 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Peg went home with Mrs. Sherard to Whitsondine,
passing through York. No inns were considered
safe in the plague time, and ' to lye att Gentlemens
Houses as we go, will cost me I know not whot,'
writes this not very liberal lady. Mrs. Sherard is
said to look seven years younger after her course of
waters.
Betty Adams contributes her tale of the plague
in Essex ; Chelmsford is much to be feared because
of the many ' hecklers ' that come thither from town,
1 my Cusan Pascal saies when aney great sicknes is
at London it is yousaley ther, it is all redy much
visited with the smol pox, that desese has much
rained in this Contri since I cam hether, my next
nebors dau r died of it ... our carier has left going
to London, but the post I thinck goes still.'
Aug. 27, In August, Buckingham ' is soe sorely afflicted
1665
with Small Pox, suspected to be worse for there are
blew spots with it,' that Sir Ealph is advised to trade
only with Bicester Market; Edmund cannot deal
with his butcher at Winslow because the butcher's
servant Hogson comes from an infected house ;
Squire Duncombe ' pensa mourir ce matin, et cette
apres diner il alia au Cabaret se boire bien.' Hog-
son's sister dies, and the plague spreads to their
relations at East Claydon, where Edward Cox and
all his children die of it, the wife alone recovering,
and falling ill later, after the birth of her posthumous
child, of what is again supposed to be the plague.
Edmund remains at his post, and Sir Ealph returns
THE PLAGUE AST) THE FIRE 125
to Claydon as soon as the plague breaks out, that
they may do what they can for the villages; the
plague does not spread in the Claydons, but through
that terrible September when the mortality in
London reached its highest point, there were cases
at Stow, Stony Stratford, Fenny Stratford (where
the market was closed and the highway diverted),
Bletchley, Lavendon (where fifty died in the village),
Winslow, Hard wick, Aylesbury, Wendover, Marlow,,
Wickham, etc. A wandering dog was said to have/
carried the plague from Wendover to Ellesborough,
where the Rector Thomas Emery died of it. A pest-
house was set up in the fields outside Aylesbury,
whose wretched inmates burnt c the sheep-racks &
gates' of the adjoining farm, being forbidden to
wander in search of fuel. The Aylesbury Gaol, ' so
decayed that it was scarce fit for a dog-house,' had
long been a notorious centre of infection ; at this
tune it was full of miserable Quakers and Non-
conformists who had been thrust into it, in the
persecution following the Act of Uniformity.
Men hardly dared to leave their homes for fear
of bringing ' the sickness ' back with them. Thomas
Stafford speaks c of the sad confinement of all fathers
of families in this time of contagion.' In Hampshire,
Gary deplores the fate of a poor family three miles
from her own door, where the plague was brought
down by a brother from London, and all died of it ;
for two months past there have been fifty deaths a
week in Southampton.
126 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Court, Parliament, and the Law fled to Oxford ;
the Chancellor with my Lord Manchester are taking
Sept. 12, orders for the King's accommodation there. Sir
I (*(*K "
Nathaniel Hobart writes to Sir Ealph : ' If the Plague
continue at the rate I feare it will, what a madnes
would it bee to have such a confluence of people as
the Terme must bring into such a place as Oxford,
but in regard we are uncertaine what will bee resolvde
on by them that sit at the Sterne, our humble request
is that you will bee pleased to use your interest to
procure us lodgings, a lower and an upper chamber
would bee sufficient. I confess D r Townsend (who is
sanguine) has w th some confidence undertaken to get
us some accomodation, but I dow not rely upon him
and to say truth S r Eaph Yerneys indeavours (since
I have had the honor to be ownd by him) have ever
bin prefered before the assurances of any other, S r if
they can be had neere the Schooles where they say
the Court will bee kept it will bee the better but
beggars must bee noe chusers.'
Lady Hobart is ready to disregard all sanitary
considerations if she can but be with her 'Nat.'
Sept. 12, ' There goo non but my husband self and Mayd and
man and it may be my boy. One rom for us and a
plas for my hus to sit in, but tou roms shall sarve
all we will mack shift . . . my son dislicks that the
new Colag shall send to ofer him logins for he will
mack no requist to them . . . my husband writ a
leter to docker Bate to see if he cold help him, but
my son says the toun Logins are so dear that thar
THE PLAGUE AND THE FIRE 127
is no deling with them. I hop we shall see you to
morow or the next day for I have no pashans to be
so long from you, I wold be glad to have a Ion rom
for my husband any shall content us.'
Sir Ealph lays the case before his Oxford friends.
The Principal of Brasenose, Dr. Yate, hospitably
responds.
Sir, ' I have had Sr Nath. Hobart's name in my Sept. 21,
list, ever since mr Gary told me your desires for him,
and I hope I shalbe able to serve him as you desire,
with a lodging chamber and another chamber below
staires, if those that now take upon them all power
here doe not attempt to doe more then hithertoo they
have done, Mr Attorney Gen : lies in my lodgings,
and hath desired me to provide for his two sonnes,
(one or both members of Parliament) some where
also in our Coll : I have designed where to lodge
Sr Nath. and I hope I shall hold it, I will not easily
be beaten off, though I had a ticket this morning
from my Lord Chancellor's Secretary to desire I
would provide for 4 knightes but I hope it is but a
thing he assumes, and that it is not by my Lord's
Command. But be assured I will use all the power
and friendes I have, but I will have a lodging such
as you desire for him, but what his servantes will doe
I cannot at present tell you, though I will thinke my
selfe obliged to do all I can in some place or other
to fitt them also. Wee heare the Duke of Yorke
wilbe here to morrow, his children came on Thurs-
day last, and though some cariages of the kinges
128 VERNE y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
are come already to Christ Church, wee are not
assured the king wilbe here on Tuesday next, but
most say that Ev g he wilbe here. The great trouble
Sr Nath. Hobart wilbe put into wilbe for his diet in
a Colledge if his lady comes along with him : other-
wise those that are members of the House have
names in the Booke, and dine and sup in our Hall,
wch they seeme to be pleased with, but wherein I
may serve them therein also I shall, and if Sr Nath.
Hobart could give me notice 2 or 3 dayes before his
coming I might be enabled to serve him the better,
that he might not be to seeke when he comes, as
many maybe, (for the Court hath so enlarged them-
selves having Christ Church, Merton Coll: Corpus
Xti Coll. Pembroke Coll. & Oriol Coll. assigned
wholely and solely for them) that it putts many to
straites and many to seeke, for if I provide for S r Xath
(as I hope to do) in our Coll. I must remove a fellow
and some furniture and they must have some tyme
to doe it. I heare my Lo : Chancelo r wilbe here on
Munday, and in all likelyhood mr Gary may be here
then also and wee will joyne all our force together
to serve you. My Wife presentes her most humble
service and thankes to you, and will not be wanting
in any thing shee is able to serve you herein. And
I take this as a favour from you that you will com-
and Sr Your very humble Servant.
THO: YATE.
Sir Nathaniel writes 'For my diet I shall be
glad to eat in the Hall if that may bee allowed, for
THE PLAGUE AND THE FIRE 129
my wife, though she would be glad to eat with the
Dr's wife, and her mayde at her servants table, yet
least that should be an inconvenience to her, she
saies (and you know she can shift) she will do it
privately in her chamber.'
' I have sent you both this weeks gazettes,' he NOV. 24,
writes again, ' and have nothing to add but a comicall
incounter betwixt my lord of Lyncolne and Secretary
Maurice at the Secretaries owne table, the dispute
grew about the Antiquity of the two Universities.
My Lord of Lincolne (as he had reason) was for
Cambridge, Mr Sec : for Oxford, Sir Eobert Wise-
man who was present protested he thought they
would have gone to Cuffs, certainly it would have
bin an excellent decision of that great controversy
had they engagde and Cambridge in all likelihood
had got the Victory for my Lord, who you know is a
little out of temper by fitts, would have made madd
worke with my little Statesman. I shall now leave
you to your Gazettes in to w h I thought this narrative
noe improper introduction.'
Mrs. Sherard writes from Whitsondine : ' I am Oct. s,
1 *f*K
in a daily fere, we had a market town about 4 miles
of us that bureyed about 9 or 10 in a hut, just
as I cam ought of the North, and wee hoped all
would have bin well, but about 3 wickes since it
brake out in that town affresh and non knows how
it cam. A child of 3 years old dyed first, and 5
more since in that same hous, and it was in one hous
more which sold all sortes of ale ; he conselid his
VOL. IV. K
130 VEKNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
dead wife tow dayes, and ther was 40 in the hous
after shee dyed both Jhentry and others, my L d
Sherard told me that non in his hundred coold say
thay wair free, & severall of that town stole into
our town & brought in ther Goodes in the night.
My hus. hearing of it armd himselfe with his pistoles
& went about 9 at night & saw them all shut up
with thos as resived them ; it is a great blesing that
all plasis air not infeckted considering the carlysness
of the common sort of people.' Six months later the
plague is still in ' the market town ' and likely to last
through another summer, ' the town being full of
poore & very unruly.'
Sir Justinian Isham is driven from home, the
sickness being all round his house in Northampton-
shire.
Betty's fears are confirmed : ' The sickness is at
Chelmsford [in October] a litel mile from me which
coseis me to be veri fearfull, so many of our town goes
that way to Markit, thos which bee shut up would
run About did not sum stand with guns redy to
shoot them if they stur.' By December there are 50
houses infected; she is the 'joyful mother of a fin
girl,' thankful for her recovery * in times when wee
hardly dare visit one another if sick.' As soon as
she can sit up in her bed she writes to Sir Ealph a
list of benefices he might apply for. As Tom had
found balm in the thought that creditors were
not plague-proof ; and Jeffereys, a lad in his teens,
profiting by the havoc the plague had wrought
THE PLAGUE AND THE FIRE 131
among the lawyers, 'put a gown on his back &
began to plead,' before he had been called to the
bar ; so Betty reading with some complacency of the
* many ministers dead in thees times of Mortality,'
thinks it strange indeed if her brother cannot get
them one of the vacant livings ; ' the taxis here is so
hi & the plas so smol that we know not whot to doo,
this with my praiers to God for our hapy meeting
I rest that am
' Y r most affec* Sister & sarvant E. ADAMS.'
Oxford, crowded as it is in every corner, is not
exempt 'the porter of Lincoln is dead of the
plague,' and other cases are mentioned, the Bishop of
Salisbury, the saintly Dr. Earle, is dying in University
College, but of what illness does not appear.
Dr. Yate continues to be overdone with guests ;
in November Major Salway is coming to the College.
The Hobarts seem to have found lodgings in the
town as poor Doll Leeke is with them. Sir Ealph
sends her a bed and bedding from Claydon; and a
warming-pan wrapped up in a feather bed, is to
arrive on horseback. Sir Eoger Burgoyne writes of
a 'man of miracles, the 7 th brother who opens the
eyes of those that have been blind many yeares, and
cures cancers in breast which he seldom failes in,'
but Doll is happily left in peace ; she gets ' some
ingredients for a dyet drink from Mr. Gape, and some
frog water from Oxford.'
Doll returns to her niece, Lady Smith's house at
Kadcliffe in November ; she is still well enough to
132 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Nov. 8, write to Sir Ealph : ' I thank God I got very well
1 cce
home but weary and much worst then when I went,
my pains are like to increas every day, I pray I may
get pacienc to induer and that my time may not be
long. ... I have 3 score of suger for you but can
get no basket to put it in. Sir, so long as I have
ability you shall have a very faithful servant of your
D. Leeke.' A week later she writes again, Sir W.
Smith ' would drive me over to Claydon but I grow
every day more unfit for such a Jorney .... all
that I shall beg of you or any of my friends is to
pray for me that it will pleas God to make me fit for
him, the great blessing I can expect is to dy, that
I wear so happy that the time wear come, but I must
wait his Leasure that must mak me fit for it.' In
Dec. 2, December Sir Ealph writes of ' my deare Cozen
1665 J
Leeke ' to Lady Gawdy who is tenderly anxious
about her ' though she walkes about the house, yet
I may say many and greate Paines and a lingering
Death with a thousand other inconveniences are
visible uppon her. ... I beleeve she conceales the
worst from you, well knowing how sensible your
Ladyshipp would bee of her distresses.'
Sir Ealph and Edmund rode over constantly from
Claydon, and were on the watch to devise any possible
alleviations. Lady Hobart came down again from
town : ' I would render my life to do her good, never
any Sister had such a Los as she will be to me.' Dr.
Denton visits her at intervals and we always see a
crowd of people round her ; Mun goes over with a
THE PLAGUE AND THE FIRE 133
party just before Christmas, ' pour ce qui touche ma
surpassante Cousine Leake, ma plume ne peut vous
racontez sans larmes ceque mes yeux on vu, une
ame si pure et si sainte dans un corps tellement
corrompu.'
A few days later Mun rides over again to Ead-
cliffe and returns by moonlight, deeply impressed
with the ' magnanimity & truly Christian patience '
with which the sufferer bears herself. Sir Ealph
is at Wroxall where Sir Eoger had promised to use
him like a friend ; c Hempen sheets, Bull Beefe &
the worst room in my house shall be all at your
service, my wife will provide the softest cushions she
can get for your lean bones, I know you love an
easy seat as well as hard fare.' He has hurt his shin Jan. 15,
-I (**(*
and tries to ' favour it ' having found ' that rest is a
great advantage to it,' but he is far too active to be
prudent long, and Doll is asking daily for his return.
Sir Ealph does not think her end to be so near as
Lady Hobart does ; ' this terrible disease commonly
takes time & leasure in its execution. You see the
Queen Mother of France lives still, though her very
Doctors have oft expected her departure.' Mr. Butter-
field finds ' Mistress Leake wearing a pace but not so
fast as she desires.' Peg Elmes hopes * God may com-
fort her & keep us from the like,' and deplores in the
same breath the death of Sir Ealph's ass, whose milk
she designed to share with him. She is staying with
Sir Thomas Cave at Stanford, paying for her diet.
Lady Cave dies in February, and there is instantly
134 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
a panic in the country that it is ' the plague, or
Feb. 10, spotted fever at the best.' Lady Elmes and Arabella
ififir
Denton have nursed her to the last, and Sir Thomas
gives them mourning. Sir Ealph says that malignant
fevers are always worse in a time of plague, and
advises his Sister ' to finde out some private place to
air yourself a little to take off all apprehension '
before coming to Claydon, though it seems that the
illness is ' only Scarlet Fever.' ' The Plague is newly
brake out againe at Quainton & 2 more dead of it
already this week ... I pray bee not affrayd, for
feare brings many diseases.' Doll signs a paper on
the 14th of February leaving her little savings to her
Feb. 22, sister, and on the 22nd Sir Ealph, just starting for
JLuDO
the Assizes, writes a hurried line to Henry: 'My
deare Cozen Leake is gon to Heaven, & is, & will
bee very much missed by all that knew her.' ' As
fit for Heaven as Cousin Leake ' became the family
phrase in describing a good woman.
Lady Elmes remains at Stanford helping Sir
Thomas Cave with his motherless children, ' he is
continewally a weeping as if it were all most the
first day he had lost his lady ; ' she cannot but con-
trast his conduct with that of her own Sir Thomas,
'who is displeased att my being here, & trewly
I am confident will bee soe with all I doe or where
ere I am, till he heares I am in my grave, which
newse I hope in God he shall not have a longe time/
Sir Greville Verney is staying in the house, on the
occasion of one of her visits, ' I cannot say he courts
THE PLAGUE AND THE FIRE 135
any here, so as to make me thinke he will make his
choyse here,' she writes to Sir Ealph, ' tho' he doth
make a party color Cortshipp to one moare then the
rest ; which you men are not much to be minded
for.'
Pepys could rejoice with the opening of the New
Year at the plague's decrease in town, shops were
opening, porters bowing and beggars begging and
staring to see a nobleman's coach come to town
again ; but in many parts of the country the sickness
was still raging. In June, 1666, Gary writes that
Winchester was ' never near so bad as now, ther
died 11 in one day, for all the town is emptied so
much into the countary a bout ; poor Milly the
pretty made as sarved my daugter Grove is shut up
and her husband and 3 children, last tusday her
made dying of the plaug, so my littell scolar is like
to continue with mee who presents his humble sarvis
to you tis a sad los of time to him. In Southampton,
I thinke, have died almost 1000.'
Winton College remains closed for above half a
year ; ' so that for that time,' writes John Stewkeley,
' I have been Jack's Tutor ; after Xmas the school
opens again, if the sickness doe not breake out again
which is much feared, by reason that one fell down
dead there last week, as he was going to grinde
mault.'
The bad news of the war with the Dutch con-
tributes to the general depression : ' Hear is nothing June 15,
bot sending soulgars to sea,' Gary writes, ' and lend-
136 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
ing mony to the King, and I wish wee ware in so
good a condistion as that wee could doe it as will as
others to sarve the King. ... I pray God send us a
hapy peace or elc I feare you with y r grassing, and I
am sure us with our farming shall bee in a sad con-
distion espetially our weeke fortune theis times must
crosh very much.'
In July there are riots amongst the plague-
stricken wretches who are shut up in their houses ;
Jnly 23, the plague is still ' so violent in Winton and Peters-
1666
feld and Porchmouth as tis sad to relate, and last
week the sick brok out, not for want, as wee are
told, but to visitt the houses of the better sort and
opened the jale and 17 prisoners escaped, bot 15 are
taken againe, the royal white trained bands ware left
in town and soprist thim with the lose of one man
and 3 hort, of that party as did mutiny, wee are
afrad of all wee meet, thay ramble a bout . . . our
assises is kept next wensday at Andovour so the
Sherrif is come into this sickly countary how long to
stay I know not, I pray God send peac and helth.'
Aug. 13, In August ' Winton is as bad as evar considering
the small nomber remaining in it and so is Peters-
feild, bot Porchmouth though many sick in it tis
not now so mortall, wee take the same way in this
countary as you due by a weeckly tax, and so wee
did last yeare besids what is sent in by privet gentle-
men which hath bin very considerable tho' all to
littell for wee heare thay are in want still.' ' We have
had a year of scarcity.'
THE PLAGUE AND THE FIKE 137
A more terrible blow than any that had yet
fallen was to ' crush the weak fortunes ' of the
Stewkeleys, and of many other members of the
family, whose incomes were derived chiefly from
London property. Lady Hobart in her beautiful
house in Chancery Lane, writes in an agony of fear,
while the Great Fire is blazing, and fresh tidings of
its ravages come hourly to swell the noise and panic
in the streets.
* dear Sir Eaph, I am sory to be the mesinger sept. 3,
of so dismall news, for por London is almost burnt l
down. It began on Saterday night, [she is writing
on Monday] & has burnt ever senc and is at this tim
more fears [fierce] then ever, it did begin in pudding
Ian at a backers, whar a Duch rog [rogue] lay, &
burnt to the bridge & all fish street and all crasus
stret & Lumber Stret and the old exchang & canan
stret & so all that way to the reaver & bilingsgat
sid, & now tis com to chep sid & banescasell [Bay-
nard's Castle to the east of Blackfriars Bridge] & tis
thought net stret will be burnt by tomorow, thar is
nothing left in any hous thar, nor in the Tempell,
thar was never so sad a sight, nor so dolefull a cry
hard, my hart is not abell to expres the tenth nay
the thousenth part of it, thar is all the carts within
ten mils round, & cars & drays run about night &
day, & thousens of men & women earring burdens.
Tis the Duch fire, thar was one tacken in West-
minster seting his outhous on fier & thay have
atempted to fier many plases & thar is a bundanc
138 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
tacken with granades & pouder, Casell yard was
set on fier, i am all most out of my wits, we have
packed up all our goods & cannot get a cart for
money, thay give 5 & 10 pound for carts. I have
sent for carts to my Lady Glaskock if I can get
them, but I fear I shall los all I have and must run
away. pray for us for now the crys macks me I
know what to say, pety me. I will breck open
the closet and look to all your things as well as i
can, I hop if it com to us it will be Thursday but it
runs fearsly, i shall los all i have, we have sent to
se for carts to send to higat [Highgate] & cannot get
one (for) twenty pound to go out of town. Viner
and Backwall have saved all, and so has all Lum-
bert Stret, all Polschurchyard cloth is saved. Mr.
Glaskock is com & says we shall have carts tomorrow,
God bles us & send us a good meting & beleve I am
yours for ever
'A. H.
' September the 3. ten aclock.'
Sept. 5, Two days later she writes again, ' dear Sir, we
IRKS
are all undon, the holl sety is down, my hous is not
yet burnt, but all I have turn'd out, & som saf & the
rest in the felds.' Among the distracting rumours in
the crowd a report ran that the French and Dutch
who had planned the fire would sack the town,
and with this ' dreadful outcry we did look to be
kiled every hour, I have all most lost my wits & my
por gearls. It has cost me 20/. to remove my goods
THE PLAGUE AND THE FIKE 139
in porters & carts if you can sen me som money you
will hyly obleg me, you shall have it again at
Micklmas dear sir send me but WL & love & pety y r
Ser< A. H.'
Lady Hobart has lost her wits in good company,
the Lord Mayor, Sir Thomas Bludworth, running
about * with a handkercher about his neck, cried out
like a fainting woman to the king's message Lord
what can I do, I am spent, people will not obey me,
I have been pulling down houses but the fire over-
takes us faster than we can do it ! ' It was evident
if the fire did not reach Chancery Lane 'before
Thursday ' it would not be thanks to the City
Magnate, who, flurried and worn out by the unwonted
exertion of running about all night, had gone home
'to refresh himself,' leaving London to burn. The
violence with which the fire spread ' bred a kind
of Distraction and stupidity in the Inhabitants
and neighbourhood near it.' The pipes had been
destroyed in a few hours, and the water-supply, such
as it was, failed entirely. Men were clamouring for
Monk, but he was out of town the first days, and the
fire was even more hasty and unreasonable to deal
with than Saints and Levellers. ' Negligence,' says
an old chronicler, ' turned into a Confusion, Consterna-
tion & despair, People chusing rather by flight to
save their own goods, than by a vigorous opposition
to save their houses & the whole City.'
Friends wrote at first to tell each other what
streets were burned down ; then they count up ' those
140 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Sept. 6, that are yet standing.' Dr. Denton writes on the 6th.
1 fifiA
4 Clothworkers' Hall is now on fire but in a fair
way of being stopped. Justice Godfrey behaved
himself so well at the Temple, that the King would
have knighted him, but he refused it, so the King
has ordered a piece of plate of 50/. for him with his
arms upon it & with Exdono &c.' 'Whether this
will find you or noe I know not because I know not
where the carrier doth inne, the fire being now come
as far as Holborn Bridge or near it. The short
account of the fire is that more than the whole city
is in ashes, wherein W. Gape & my selfe have great
shares in St. Sythes Lane, and in Salisbury Court in
reversion & I & wife in possession, & to render our
condition more deplorable, the depopulation is soe
vast that it cannot afford us a livelihood so that I
want the advice of all my friends to advise what I
had best doe. Our persons I thank God & our
moveables are saved but at a vast charge . . . 4. for
every load to Kensington. The frendes in Chancery
Lane are safe, but the fire was neare them behind the
Bowles where it gott a great check soe that we hope
it is stopt, I think they are still in towne. We had
sent away all but my bookes soe that we were fayne
to ly only on blanketts. It came so far as to burn
the King's Bench office & the Alienation Office, but
not so far as Nelly's chambers. Our Navy lies at St.
Ellen's point & the Dutch on the Coast of Bretaigne.
This fire stops all trade & traffique & posts, the sad
consequences of which may easily be ghessed att.
THE PLAGUE AND THE FIRE 141
Since I writ this the fire broke out at the Temple
again next to Nelly's Chambers, & his chamber the
Duke caused to be blown up & it hath burnt now
the Inner Temple Hall & I have not heard how much
further. ... I give you many thanks for your
invitation, but at present am in such a distraction that
I know not how to make use of it, we are neyther
safe here nor you there, for it is generally beleeved,
but not at court, that the Papists have designed this
& more, many & strong presumptions there are for
it, as gunpowder, & balls & wildfire taken about
many of them, that if they destroy them there are
more left behind to doe the business ; send them to
Whitehall they are all dismissed. Here nothing
almost is to be gott that we have not in possession,
bread, bear, meat, all in scarcity & many want it.
The fire broke out vehemently again last night about
Shoe Lane, & as we ghesse about Cripple Gate, but
we ghesse by the smoke that it is well-laid againe. I
wish 2 or 3 trunks with you, but they are at
Kensington & I know not how to convey them. . . .
Just now Dick Parker is come from the Temple &
saies that the Temple Hall is safe & only Tanfield
Court burnt & the Church is safe. Harry went to
looke for the Carrier without my privity, soe I am
goinge myselfe to find him, for I dare not send a man
out of doors for feare of being pressed to work att
the fier, James & Jack were both pressed this
morning.'
' The very very sad misfortune of poor London is
142 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Sept. 8, an unexspressable troble to us all,' writes Lady Elmes
1 ('('(*
from Stanford, ' sure soe sad a sight was nevor seen
be foare as that sitty is now lying in ashes, besides the
unimmajanable loos the hole kingdom receives buy
it.' Her own things have suffered much by being
moved, and those who have paid heavily for having
their goods carried out into the fields, are half
provoked when the fire stops short of their houses.
Aunt Isham is terrified at the stories that reach her
4 that there is dayly taking of Men, & some in
Woman Clothes with fier bals.'
Sir Nathaniel Hobart, when the panic is abating,
feels that after all they have had ' no great share in
Sept. 7, this calamity otherwise than as it becomes Christians
1666
to have a fellow-feeling for one another's miseries,
yet the image of this terrible judgment has made
such an impression in the soules of every one of us,
that it will not be effaced while we live.' They are
unable to accept Sir Kalph's hospitality, ' for the
Term approaches & Parlament claims our atten-
dance. We have the same apprehensions of future
tumults, but we are in the storm & must ride it out,
besides I must keep to my calling, for that you know
keeps me. The Duke of Albemarle came this night
to towne, happily if he had bin heere before the
Towne might have bin saved, but God was not
pleased, & we must submit to his will.' Lady
Hobart adds ' when you com to us you will not know
whar you ar,' so completely had the old familiar land-
THE PLAGUE AND THE FIRE 143
marks disappeared. Houses are at a premium, and
the fire was hardly quenched when his landlord
warned Sir Nathaniel out of his house, ' but I am in Sept. 13,
possession & intend God willing to keep it. ... I
told my wife what he would doe & so was not
deceived, as soone as he shall seale a lease of
Ejectment I will put in a bill in Chancery & get an
injunction ... he is a person so odious that if his
cause were just he would hardly find favour. The
King has forbidden any building till the Parliament
sitts, the rebuilding of the Citty will not bee soe
difficult as the satisfying all interests, there being so
many proprietors. The great streights the Citizens
are in, will not bring them to this end of the Towne.
The Exchange is kept at Gresham College.'
Dr. Denton is much exercised, the City is a
desert, the physicians who practised there are flock-
ing westward, where they find so many more of their
craft bereft of patients, that they fear they shall
be reduced to bleeding one another. Dr. Denton
resolves, however, to bide his time ' & try how
practice will come in,' his wife has lost houses that
brought her in 86/. per an., ' and now she hath had a
little time to recollect herselfe, she cryes all day
longe. I shall take what care I can off her, but all
in my power cannot make it good to her.' By the
irony of fate a deluge of water in the Fens was as
destructive to his property there, as the want of it
had proved in town ; but the pious Doctor ' thanks
144 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
God for what is left, it pleases Him that we should
live in a continual dependance on him, & I hope we
shall do.'
A surveyor's report sent to Sir Ealph states that
the fire burnt from 1 or 2 A.M. on the 2nd of
September until the 6th, consuming 373 acres within
the City walls and 63 acres 3 roods without the
walls ; 89 parish churches besides chapels, & 13,200
houses were destroyed. Aunt Isham writes of a
hurricane near Lincoln in which the wind blew 50
houses over with ' Hay-ricks, Corn-ricks & all trees ;
hailstones fell as big as half-crownes & the inside was
like to Butter vele & one had little things like
maggets, thes be great Judments, the Lord make
every one of us mend one.' After describing the
desolate look of the country with all the trees by the
roots, she says, it was c as naked a place as the Citie
Sept. 26, of London,' a surprising expression until the date
reminds us that the letter was written by an eye-
witness a month after the fire.
Gary is ' so trobled at the sad nuse of the dis-
trocktion of Londone that I could not rit . . .
you know it was all my sone had to depend on and
my girls, so you may esely immagine my consarn,
ther is bot one house left of 18 pound a yeare of all
that nomber.' John Stewkeley writes later: 'In
that sad & universall loss wee had no small share,
but a patient resignation to his will that sent it, is the
best mitigation wee can think of, either in that or
other disappointments or crosses that your sister & I
THE PLAGUE AND THE FIRE 145
have undergone since wee mett together, which are
all lessen'd I thank God, by our mutuall affection
& injoying one of another & our young branches.'
They were not idle words. Mun wrote of Stewkeley
in his old age, ' He is so gay in his humour that
he appears at least 7 years younger then his son
Jack & at least once & Twenty then his son Will,'
whose ' gravity & reservedness ' were of an un-
attractive quality. A family subscription is got
up to rebuild Nelly Denton's chambers in the
Temple, but the confusion left by the fire affects all
trades down to the smallest ; Sir Ealph can scarcely
find a Cradle for an expected arrival at the White
House, ' such things being very deare now, as all
their stores are burnt.' Had the fire reached the
wig-makers, that a change of fashion was announced
that autumn? Moll Gape informs her country
cousins that ' all fals locks & foretops are left off,
nothing but our owne haire worne now by women,
but men will not bee brought to itt as yet.'
' Builders & tenants are to seek,' and by the autumn
of 1667, ' ground goes even a begging, & there is soe
much to be sold that it becomes every day cheaper
than the other ; ' even when tenants are found to
build, they will pay no rent ' till Christmas come
twelvemonth,' and ' Stewkeley must e'en be content
with the loss that dreadful fire brings on him.'
VOL. IV.
146 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
CHAPTER V.
JOHN VERNEY AT ALEPPO.
1662-1674.
1 Learn with the ant in summer to provide ;
Drive with the bee the drone without the hive ;
Build like the swallow in the summer tide ;
Spare not too much, my son, but sparing thrive. 1
WE left John Verney in 1662, preparing to take up
with high hope and courage his post in the factory
at Aleppo. The working partners of the firm were
Gabriel Roberts in London, to whom John is still
apprenticed; and, at Aleppo, his brother William
Roberts, and John Sheppard (related to Jack's old
instructress Luce), a distant cousin of the Verneys.
Sir Thomas Bludworth, now remembered only as
the panic-stricken Lord Mayor of burning London, and
as father-in-law of Judge Jeffries, supplied the capital,
together with Mr. Richard Spencer, Mr. Thomas
Lewis, Mr. Sam Dashwood, and Mr. Jos. Hamond.
' Sir Thomas Bludworth is the great trader of them
all and sends generally above twice as much as any
of the rest, though Mr. Lewis is as rich as any.' The
factory consists of some fifty Englishmen, among
whom is ' cozen Dick Fust,' brother of Jack's school-
JOHN VERNE Y AT ALEPPO 147
chum, and another Buckinghamshire youth, brother
to Sir Thomas Lee of Hartwell.
The English factories were known collectively as
* the nation,' there was an English Consul at Aleppo
who had ' pre-eminence of all other Christian Consuls
Resident,' and a Vice-consul at Scanderoon. The
Levant Company sent out a chaplain ' for the in-
struction of our people in knowledge of religion, and
in reproving and rebuking whatsoever shall deserve
reproof or admonition ; ' a commission which when
too literally interpreted caused ' discontent and dis-
agreement between our Factors and our Chaplain'
to the great surprise of the Company.
At least one distinguished Oxford man held the
post of chaplain at Aleppo for eleven years Dr.
Eobert Huntington, a learned Hebrew scholar, who
enriched the Merton and Bodleian libraries with
Eastern books ; but as John Verney returned home
soon after Huntington's appointment, there is no
evidence of their having met.
The Beaumaris merchant and ship-captain Lewis
Roberts (father of Gabriel and William) has left an
account of the city and its commerce as he knew
them a few years earlier. ' Aleppo,' he says, ' called
in 2 Sam : 8. 3. Aram Zobah, is now the most famous
city in all the grand Seignior's dominions, for the
confluence of merchants of all nations. It is
pleasantly seated upon a plain, in the midst whereof
doth rise a small hill whereupon is built a strong
castle that commands the whole city. It hath in it
L 2
148 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
many Khans for lodgings, and warehouses which
resemble small forts, being shut with iron gates, to
defend the merchants and their goods from wrong.
Their streets are shut % with doors every night at each
end in the manner of Cairo, and thereby each street
becomes defensible by itself.' The chief exports, he
tells us, are ' Cotton and Cotton Wools, Galls for
Dyers, Aniseeds, Cordovants, Wax, Grogram, Yarns,
Chamlets, Carpets, Gems from India, Spices from
Arabia, Mohairs & Kaw Silks brought overland
from Persia, and Goatshair.' The Company's ships
brought in return the famous English cloth from
Suffolk, Essex and Gloucester ; kerseys from Yorkshire
and Hampshire ; English lead and tin, and Indian
spices and indigo which had first gone to London by
the Cape.
There was great variation of climate. ' We lye in
the open air in summer,' writes John, ' on the tops
of our houses, and are often troubled with little flyes
which sting our hands and faces ; ' and for the cold
in winter he wants ' Wash-leather gloves to write in.'
They rejoice when ' frosty and snowy weather ' comes
in October, because it kills the locusts.
The most pressing item in Jack's 'Note of
Necessarys ' is ' a Grey Beaver Hatt not too high
crownd nor sharp crownd but Broad brimmd . . .
for hats of 3. 10s., or 4., are sold for 7. 10., and
as this, so all other necessarys, few or none weare
any but beavers here to save charges, for one good
hatt will last a man 6 or 7 yeares hi this factory.'
JOHN VEENEY AT ALEPPO 149
His wants are generously supplied from home.
Edmund sends him ' strings of all sorts for the Lyro
Violl in 2 round black boxes to the value of 20s.,
besides 5 bridges which cost , J a crowne ; also a
crimson velvet saddle with a cover for it,' and a
complete set of horse trappings ; 4 all as good as
could be got for money.' If John ' can light upon
a well-tempered Turkish or Persian Scymeterre or
Battle Axe, or Persian Bowe & Arrowes or such
like Toyes,' Edmund would like to have them, and
* if the prices be too great for a younger brother to
beare ' he will repay him. He also desires to have
4 some silke waskots & shirts of the sort of linnen
made where you are, a Turkish habit from head to
foot, but not of cloth, because that's too common here.
Let all be neate & hansome, the Turbant cheifly.
I am bigger & taler something then you, therefore
bespeake it accordingly.' The letters are seasoned
with brotherly advice ; ' though your calling be not
such as I did wish you, yet since it was your choice,
swerve not therefrom, but withal remember you are
a, gentleman, and show yourselfe on all occasions to
be a man of worth and courage.'
But John was not long in discovering that some-
thing besides merit was needed to push his fortunes.
His prospects were anything but brilliant. There
was already a race amongst European nations for the
commerce of the East. France was bringing cloth
into the market, in combination with Spain, calling
it Drap de Londres, and marking it, as was said,
150 VERNE V FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
with the names of English makers ; and the Dutch
were as unscrupulous in their rivalry.
4 Our Ambassador at Constantinople,' Mun writes,
May 1663 ' and the rest of our Nation had like to have been
trounced by the Grand Signior, and all this by a
Holland Plott, to destroy the English trading in
those parts, for a man of warr of theirs went into
the Eedd Sea, and hung up English colours, and took
all he could rap and ring from the Turkes wch in-
censed their Emperor highly, but by good fortune
all was timely discovered so there was an end.' The
Turkish Government itself was breaking treaties and
ignoring pledges, as it has continued to do ever
Jan. 16, since. ' Mr. Eobert Frampton, the Eev : minister at
166R
this Factory,' is going to London to inform the
Turkey Co. of these things. ' Our Intrigues now are
with the greatest Courtiers of this Empire, And
notwithstanding our Embassador's power we are
likely to be foiled.'
The foreign competition and Turkish misrule
which affected the general prosperity of * the nation,'
were, however, less injurious to Jack than rivalries
within the factory. Each man in it was playing for
his own hand, and using any influence he could
command in England to have 4 the ventures ' sent
out to his own name, rather than to the firm.
Mr. Eoberts and Mr. Sheppard viewed John with
jealousy as a coming partner, and the only com-
mission allowed him was upon goods which Mr.
Gabriel Eoberts sent out.
JOHN VERNEY AT ALEPPO 151
This was not what Sir Ealph had been led to
expect, when he paid a heavy premium for his son,
and consented to so protracted a separation. Jack's
chances now lay in the interest his father could make
for him in England, and in the money he could send
him, with which to make his own bargains.
John was not a youth to sit still under disappoint-
ment. While he complained bitterly of the small
profits of the work, he carried it on with his usual
ability and diligence. He scrupulously kept to every
rule of the company, allowed himself no ' immoderate
or unseasonable recreation nor suffered his business
ever to be performed by others.' He thus succeeded
in gaining ' Cozen Sheppard's ' respect and good will ;
he would blush to repeat to his father ' those hearty
expressions and praises ' which Sheppard gave him
in his report to Gabriel Roberts.
There was an occasional press of business, but it
was on the whole a monotonous life, varied by the
hundred miles' ride to Scanderoon, when John went
down to meet an incoming ship, or to superintend
the dispatch of the precious bales, brought down by
trains of camels to the sea. A ship's captain or a
traveller with news from home was a welcome guest
at the factory, and in the midst of the exciting
changes that followed the Eestoration, the young
men laid bets on the fate of the fallen. c Pray sir,
when you honour me with a letter,' writes Jack to
his father, ' advise me whether Sir Henry Vane by
his death saved his estate or noe, or whether his
152 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
heirs injoy a half of it, I having a wager of 30. to
my 3. of it.'
In the spring of 1663 Jack had a welcome
distraction : ' On occasion presented in an idle time
to goe to the Holy Land, halfe the factory did doe it,
and among them myself.' Dick Fust wrote home
that John had started ' with about 20 more English-
men on the 19th of March, he took shipping in an
English bottom for Joppa, and from thence to
Jerusalem intending to be back in May.' Dick very
earnestly begged his father ' to furnish him to see the
place also ... it being the custom for most of our
Englishmen that stay any time at Aleppo to see
Jerusalem.' A relic of John's journey still exists at
Claydon, in a parchment signed and sealed by
* Frater Bernardus Betuel . . . Custodies Terras
Sanctse Vicarius ' to testify that he had duly visited
all the Holy Places.
Sir Ralph hears that ' Mr. Nightingale, the great
factor at Aleppo, is coming to England suddenly,
Dec. 11, Mr. Sheppard may be the next Grandee.' Jack
IfifiS
warns his father not to send out money except
through Mr. Gabriel Eoberts. 'Mr. Fane (who
dwells in our house) hath been nipt, his Father
Sir Francis, gave TOO/, to a merchant to be sent
hither . . . but by that time the shipp sett sayle the
merchant broke, a scurvy misfortune for a younger
brother. I have received the periwig you sent me,
and it fitts very well, but I have not had any
occasion of one since its arrival!, my owne haire
JOHN VERNE Y AT ALEPPO 153
(which is extraordinary thick and curling) being now
long enough without.'
He sends home a small sack of melon seeds by
his father's request, but he cannot get any choice
kinds, ' for in this country among these heathens none
are known, here they are not worth 12d a million.'
Later he is able to get some special melon seeds
' of Mesopotamia, where they grow in the sands
of the river Euphrates after the fall of the winter
overflowings, they are here much more esteemed
than the mellons of this country. ... Sir Thomas
Lee of Hartwell hath some of the same sent him
from hence.'
Five years go by of protracted negotiations ;
' there are not three in the nation that spend so
little,' yet John finds he shall be 'but upon a
balance.' He cannot bear to trouble his father
with ' craving petitions,' but he has times of depres-
sion when it is hard not to fancy himself forgotten.
In the summer of 1667 he has been two and a
half years without news, though he gives repeated
and minute directions about his address. Letters
are to be sent ' via Marselia ' and to be given in ' on
a post night at the Outland post-house in the
Poultry, London,' unless sent by private hand, but
every way their delivery is most uncertain. Lady
Elmes hears ' strainge stories of the Jewse & amunge March 24,
1666
the rest that theare is 400 Profits at Alepoe, sure
Jack will turne one, or att least wise send some newse
of them.' Jack takes no interest in the prophets
154 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
and is pre-occupied with the alarming accounts that
had reached Aleppo ' of the late dreadful mortality
in England ; ' he had been ill himself most of the
previous winter, and he longed wearily ' for the very
great comfort ' of a letter from his father ' to be
certified of your and my Belations health.' ' By this
Ship Eobert, I have ordered to be laden a Bagg of
Feb. 20, Excellent Pistaches for my Brother, but she is so
1666 *
little a ship it was with great difficulty I gott Mr.
Nightingale, with whom you are acquainted, to pro-
mise me they should be taken.'
His position has not improved : * Mr. William
Eoberts' pride & a stubborne will of ruleing ' has
made him refuse every scheme proposed to give
John a larger share in the profits. He does not
depend on the ' trade in shipping & Grosse goods . . .
he hath all the yeare long great sums of money
either from Constantinople, Leghorn, or Venice.'
John is entirely dependent upon what his old master
can do for him, ' who if God should take from this
world I must return home, for a farthing more I
should not gett in this Country unlesse I had a good
considerable estate of my owne to improve.' He
hoped that Mun's marriage would enable him to
invest 1,0002. for which John could get him a
good return. When at last a budget of home
letters reaches him, he is delighted to hear of the
birth of an heir at East Claydon, but his father
shows him that no capital is to be hoped for from
thence.
JOHN VERNEY AT ALEPPO 155
At length, in March 1668, John's patience is
rewarded. Gabriel Eoberts, 'the only friend on
whom his hopes depend in a mercantile way,' has
arranged that he shall enter into partnership with
Sheppard, he having four sevenths and John three
sevenths of the profits. By great economy John has
just paid his way, and has kept whatever money
his father has been able to send him l entire ' as
capital to trade with.
The father and brother at Claydon are equally
unhappy at the long gaps in the correspondence ;
two at least of John's letters miscarried; and Sir
Ealph wrote in anger, which was really anxiety,
about his son's neglect. John is grieved to the
heart, he apologises and explains ' pray in your next
casheer these clouds by your act of oblivion for
former manquement.' . . . 4 Last June,' he writes, Jan. is,
6 going to Scanderoon about business & staying there
only 5 days I cacht or rather Scanderoon disease
catcht me & continued upon me for 3 months,
changing the collour of my flesh to that yellownesse,
which is customary for that desease, & seldom ever
after alters, though, thanks be to God, I am not only
perfectly cured but have the same complexion I had
before.'
The year 1669 promised fair, John was full of
eagerness to improve his new partnership, when an
overwhelming calamity fell upon Aleppo. Those
narrow streets with their teeming population were
ravaged by the plague for four months. John could
156 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
A Afi g o 5> write in August that it was. ' now nere over, but it
jLooy
hath swept away in this city 150,000 people, besides
it hath raged in all the towns and villages about us.
Most of our Nation fledd, 6 of us only remained
here, of which 2 died of the infection. I was out of
town a few dayes to despatch some business at
Scanderoon, nere which place died Sir Thos. Lee's
brother of the Plague. I was in the tent with him,
till the day before he died, not till then imagining he
had that disease. I escaped yet more narrowly
another who went out of Aleppo with me, & had the
Plague on him. We did not only travell, Eat &
Drinke but lay together, 2 dayes before he died,
which was under my Tent, I began to mistrust him
and left him when in bedd together. Of the Plague
and that rascally Scanderoon desease which seldom
proves less mortall, are dead 7 of our Factory this
summer, which is twice as many as has died ever
since I came here.'
Sept. 9, The next month John writes sadly : ' We have
1669
buried 5 more of our Nation, one fourth of the
Factory are this summer dead, & most of the living
have been sicke, among which I was a sharer for
about 25 dayes . . . my respects to those of my
relations that have not forgotten me.'
The winter season finds him more cheerful, and
able to think once more of his father's love of
gardening. ' I send you a little sack of Berryes of a
Jan. so, tree of these parts that groweth not in England. Its
1670
leaves are of an admirable green. The Blossoms
JOHN VERXEY AT ALEPPO 157
(which smell rarely) of as good a Blew 'or darkish
Skye collour. Its groth is to the bignesse of an
Elme nere upon, it beareth nothing but these berryes
which drop off in the winter, & are not of any
knowne goodnesse, that its only a delightfull tree to
looke on. If it will growe in our country I cannot
but thinke it worth the having, if so be only for its
rarity. 2 years since I sent you some seeds, if they
produce good mellons I'le get you more from
Mesopotamia whence I brought those, which though
they are incomparably good, yet in 2 or 3 years
groth in other parts change soe much, that they
differ little from Cowcombers, as English Peas are
worth nothing if every year we sow not those that
come from Christendom for to sett them that grow
here though their original be English, & but of two
years planting, yet are they not worth the gather-
ing, such difference there is between the soyles of
Countryes.'
He spent a month in Cyprus in 1670, on the
business of the Company. The following spring he
wrote to his father to introduce to him ' one Thomas
Eowland a ship Chirurgeon, who while he was at Mar. 25,
Aleppo favoured me with his good company in my
house. He is Buckinghamshire born which adds to
the respect I bear any Englishman. It's soe long
since I heard from you that I begin to despaire of
having the happinesse you formerly granted me by
your dear letters. It is all one charge whether they
consist of a whole or a quarter of a sheet of paper.'
158 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
He makes a despairing appeal to Mun for tidings.
* I doe desire to robb you of one mornings pleasure
or buisnesse, and to confine you to your Closet, there
on a sheet or two of paper to muster up an accompt
of all my relations, who and to whom any are
marry ed, what increase there is of our kindsfolke
and what decrease by death ; this with what enlarge-
ment you think fitting ... I assure you will be very
wellcome to one who of so many relations ... in eight
yeares time hath heard but of three or foure.' While
John was eating his heart out with hope deferred,
the packet of home letters which he longed for had
left Claydon many months previously, and had been
returned again from Syria unopened. It should
have reached him the summer of the great plague,
when there could have been but little intercourse
between the ships and the stricken city. We know
not what hindered its delivery; the packet dated
June 26, 1670, found its way back to Claydon, where,
strange to say, it remained with unbroken seal for
200 years. Sir Harry Verney's second son George
(Colonel Lloyd- Verney) found it when cataloguing
some old letters. It was solemnly opened in full
family conclave on October 20, 1865, when the
Claydon news was read at last which John had so
pined to hear.
His own letters fared little better. He found
one mail still at Scanderoon which he had des-
patched two months before : ' Our ships do not
dare to depart for fear of 4 dogereens who lay at
JOHN VERNE Y AT ALEPPO 159
Cyprus threatening them.' The next packet sent by
a French ship never reached Marseilles, being taken
' by the Tunisseens.' From August '68 to November
'71 he has not heard from his father, and he fears
that ' long absence and new kindred might in any
other less generous spirit than yours cause love to
faint and turn into remembrance only.' But John's
place had never been filled at home. His Aunt, Gary
Gardiner, writes ' Dear Nevegh, About All-Hallow- Jan. 10,
Tide I retorned from Claydon wher I injoyed much
comfort in your Father's good company, who I never
saw look better in my life then at that time only you
ware mising to compleat our contint, wher you ware
daly wished for and yr good helth perpetually
dronk though not to yr Father who we did not love
to discourse of you to, finding your absinc was a
treble to him, who I hope you will sodenly come
to see, which I am sure will joy his heart to look
on ... bot I wish you had atained to all thos ad-
vantages that Yr travel can ad to you, that you might
retorn to thos relations that longs to see you.' Peg
Gardiner, his playfellow in childish days, writes him
an affectionate little note. ' Your wife presents her
servis to you, but thinks you a little unkind in stay-
ing from her soe long.'
In 1672 John lost ' Foure hundred & odd pounds'
which Gabriel Eoberts had put out for him, and
during the summer ' wanting business to imploy ' him Dec. 25,
1672
he had been ' voyageing to & fro the Country for
sever all months.'
160 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Sir Ralph became somehow possessed of an idea
which the imagination refuses to associate with John,
that he was neglecting his business at Aleppo for
May 6, amusement. ' Were there any Pleasure in this
1 fi71
country,' John writes, 'I had leasure enough to
enjoy it for of Eleven years I have been in Exile,
full seven of them have not brought me in imploy-
ment enough to reap my Expenses in meat, drink,
and clothing, and for the pleasures I can't think of
any, except riding twice a week (a little before sun-
set in summer) and that too is accompanied with
such feares (and many times intreagues happen on it)
that the edge of delight is quite blunted. Besides
this delight is generall, for t'is taken by the whole
Nation who particularly dare not venture abroad.'
A little later the eldest son of their chief partner Sir
Thomas Bludworth, had ' a miraculous escape ' on
one of these rides ' being about 20 miles from Aleppo,
a Gourdeen amongst the rocks, tho' several servants
were with him, shot a bullet at him, & cut off the
hair off the hinder part of his head.'
May 8, To Mun he writes : l To satisfye you as to my
return home, I hope in 12 months to kiss your hands
in England, where the surest Eemora to stay your
sons is a good inheritance, a thing most of my
degree are by law and custom strangers to.'
On reaching London, John was received with
much cordiality by his old master, now Sir Gabriel
Eoberts, and his wife, and the effect produced upon
him by meeting old friends and relatives was to make
JOHN VERNE Y AT ALEPPO 161
him yearn for a home of his own after his long
banishment. ' If ever I settle in the way of Aug. 1674
marriage,' he writes to his father, ' I am certain the
first proffers are best & at a man's first coming from
Turky, for then estates are least known and rumours
run high.' Sir Ealph agrees with him ' that young
Marchants have the best offers when they first come
over,' and John is soon approached in the City by a
Mr. Edwards who has a marriageable daughter aged
about 19. ' He is a widdower upwards of 60 and
saith will never marry againe, a friend of mine who
hath knowne him many years tells me he is a very
honest man, and that his dau r is a good housewife,
never bred to Playes nor Parkes, but a sober,
discreet & godly young woman. . . . For Mr.
Edwards his birth, I know not what 'tis but a plain
man he is, & his dealing is in Cloth w ch possibly may
be of good advantage to me in his advise and skill
when I buy that commodity, he is no shop-keeper
but lives in a little house in Basinghall St. & will
take a bigger as he finds one commodious for him.
He hath given his son 2,500/. to trade with. By
the fire of London he is the worst by 10,000/. as he
told me, yet he is a rich man computed worth
10,000. so that if I can skrew him up a little higher
I know no reason, if the match be consonant to your
will but that I may have her. One thing more Mr.
Edwards told me that is this, his daughter (he said)
brought in no kindred with her, neither of great
persons to be a charge by way of entertainment, nor
VOL IV. M
162 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
of mean to be a charge by way of charity and their
needyness.'
Mr. Edwards has naturally a good many questions
to put to the ' young Marchant,' but John declines
to enter into any details on his side until he has had
some chance of making acquaintance with l his
Aug. 20, Daughter never by me seen.' Mr. Edwards ' at last
1674 ; .
agreed to walke his daughter the next morning in
Drapers' Garden, where with my master I met them
and continued walkeing together nere two houres,
this was done that I might have a sight of her to see
if I found nothing disgustfull, but we interchang'd
not one word with her, only my Master asked her 3
or 4 questions, for 'twas agreed on, that all should
be as by accident & he s d he would not acquaint her
with the reason of his walking there but we are at
liberty to believe him. Now it remains on my part
to give her a visitt, w ch I intend to do in 2 or 3 days,
to let them see her Eyes have not quite dazzled my
reason, & truly tho' her beauty is not like to preferr
her to the title of a Duchess, yet she is a very
passable woman & well shapt, & shewd herselfe
without any artificiall gracings, save that her Gowne
& petticoates were all new ; but her head was not in
the least adornd for a surprize, w ch I liked ne're the
worse, for in Turky we say, If you want a horse buy
a lean one, & then you'll see what fatness (that
creature's ornament) would have hid from you, but
to leave this ayry way of writing, wch I hope (since
I beg it) you'll pardon the Gentlewoman is a
JOHN VERNEY AT ALEPPO 163
passable handsome woman, & her father able if he
be but willing to give her money enough,'
The ladies of the family, when John puts off his
return to Claydon, at once conclude ' twas courting
some woman hindered him,' and Lady Hobart ' put
her little ingions in the fire to see if she could
discover any such thing,' but John ' stands on his
guard against her Female Politics,' hopes she may
enjoy her own visit to Claydon, and begs his father
to let his guests know that ' our Turky ships from
Smyrna left Leghornethe 23rd of July soe that in 10
dayes (Aug. 30) they may be here, 'tis true I am not
concerned on them but this may serve as a putt off
when anyone talks of my not visiting you.'
Sir Ralph responds affectionately, offers to
relieve Jack of his horse, and reminds him that
Cousin Jefferyes has a daughter whom he might have
inquired about, before concluding the treaty with
Mr. Edwards. He begs him to find means to convey
ten pounds to Tom in Ireland, 'but write not in
your owne hand for he will haunt you eternally
with letters of request if he finds that you have any
hand in it.' ' As to my Coz Jeffereyes daughter, I Sept. 3,
knew not,' Jack replies, c whether there were such a
creature in being . . . but if his friends will propose
certainetyes, lie step downe to see her, I think she
lives with Coz : Will : Sheppard, but I suppose old
fox Dormer (no friend to our family) is the axeltree
on which that fortune depends, and I fear his terms
at first or last by way of settlements will be as hard
M 2
164 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
to me, as his love to my brother.' He has paid one
visit to ' Madam Edwards ' and means at his next ' to
acquaint her with (what she knows) my arrant.' He
has ' verbally agreed ' with her father about her
fortune in great detail, even to the room the old
man is to give them in his house, ' he hath but one
room that he can spare and if his son bring home a
wife then we must jogg out.' ' This is not amiss,' he
concludes, after summing it all up, ' considering
if withall I marry one that hath no father, her cloaths
at wedding, etc. must all be paid out of the portion,
& some people require so much expense in wooing &
treating, carrying up and down to playes, etc. that
tho' they bring more smoake yet (in the end) there
is less roast found.'
John's views of marriage at this time certainly
befitted a man ' newly come out of Turky ; ' and
it is a relief to find that these elaborate bargainings
came to nothing. He had failed to fall in love,
and he fell once more to business ; eight years were
to elapse, till in middle life John met his fate, and
yielded to the spell of a love as true and tender as
Sir Ealph had ever felt for ' that incomparable
person, Dame Mary of blessed memory.'
THE WHITE HOUSE, EAST CLAYDON.
CHAPTER VI.
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON.
1665-1679.
' To what a cumbersome unwieldiness
And burdensome corpulence my Love hath grown.'
' I BEELEEVE you know that Capt: Blarkes is dead.
His company was in Alisbery, & Burnham Hundred,
certainly hee died of Fatt, for hee would not bee per-
swaded to rise early, nor to use much excercise, nor
to drinke any thing but New Beere, soe that hee was
growne very Bigg, & choaked ; the Surgeon assures
me all his parts were very sound, & that hee verily
166 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
beeleeved hee died with Fatt, hee being between
30 & 40 years old. If you know any gentleman
that does the very same thing in all points, I wish
you could prevaile with him to doe otherwise,
least hee kill himselfe by it : ' thus did the anxious
Sir Ealph preface a moral lecture to his eldest son on
his c ill howers, greate Lazinesse and general course
of Liveing.'
The good-humoured and incorrigible Mun was
wont to join a little grimly in the laugh against him-
self ; 1 1 am weary of this deepe Dirty Country life,'
he writes on a wet November day, ' for want of such
a strong Horse as I may depend upon ; yea t'is safer
for mee to foot it, then to Eide any Beast of an
ordinary Strength, Neverthelesse that is More irksome
& dismall to mee, then all the Irish Boggs or Lin-
colnshire Washes, for I can never Walke, but I sinke
so deepe in the Earth, (such a heavy Burthen thereof
am I growne) that it puts mee frequently in mind of
Koran's, Dathan's, & Abiram's Fate : soe that
without the Convenience of a very lusty Good Horse,
I am like to stick fast in this Ugly Clay.'
He is a big, tall man, weighing twenty stone at the
age of thirty-seven and growing heavier, but he has
a certain air of refinement which marks his foreign
training, and a wider acquaintance with the world
than the country squires about him. He drinks
French wines at home, and is not of those who
conclude the evening repast under the table. His
military bearing is giving way to a slouching gait as
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 167
he grows older and stouter, and he can only get on
his heavy boots now with 'much ado & great helpe.'
His tailor is constantly rebuked for not taking suffi-
ciently ample measurements. ' My Coate is too
scanty in the circumference, a fault a man should not
have committed that had ever seen me.' He wears a
large Grey Beaver Hat with a loop and button on one
side, and a knot of ribbons to match the colour of his
suit where the brim is turned up. Mary Verney is
tall too, but very slight ; we hear of a ' black thread
bodice she wears at home ' and of ' ribband Knots
for her head of sky collor, or yallow, to go with it.'
He orders his ' stirrup thredd stockins ' from the
hosier near St. Dunstan's Church ; they are to be of
a ' bignesse & length wch is greater than ordinary.'
When he wishes to pleasure his wife he has a pair
made for her in ' very fine worsted, the colour of
scarlet Bow-dye, as good as can be gott, The Feet
must be very extraordinary smale, but the Leggs
must be very long though very little likewise.' He
also buys her ' a twelve penny Black Orange Neck-
lesse.' He is very particular about his sword and
' his carabine, his pocket-pistols and screwed pistols,'
and has a suit of light armour, tho' the fashion of
wearing it has almost gone out. He plays the lute
and guitar, and has generally a book on hand ; the
story of the Siege of Buda, the last French treatise
on the Art of War, Mr. Dryden's Verses, Sermons,
political squibs and pamphlets, besides the News
Letters which come down by the carrier. On his
168 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
study table there is ' a very little brass mathematicall
instrument about the length of a Pen to draw lines
with ink, & also an Ebeny Euler.' He writes excel-
lent letters, keeps copies of them and dockets those
he receives. But while sharing many of Sir Ealph's
tastes, he fails where his father excels, in the
management of men and in the maintenance of his
personal dignity. His disorderly household is the
constant theme of local gossip. Nurse Curzon, his
head servant, is ' old, crazy and decayed, and hath
more need to have one to look to her, than to look
after others.' The village nursemaid has been chosen,
in Sir Ealph's judgment, 'very unadvisedly, & tis
greate odds his child would be changed for one of the
Nurse's Sister's children.' Every one about him im-
poses upon his good nature ; entangled in a network
of debts which he puts off or ignores, his rents are in
arrears, his horses fall lame, and when the ill-written
letters his man sends out in his name are complained
of, he replies, with a shrug of his broad shoulders,
that it is as impossible to make the man a better
scribe, as to wash a Blackamoor white. The lads in
his employ turn out no better. ' I caused my little boy
Thorn: Warner to be whipped againe this morning for
more ffaults then this sheete will containe viz. Picking
Pockets, opening Boxes that were lockt, Picking
locks, Stealing, Lying, &c.'
Will Stewkeley, the scapegrace of the family,
manages these things better than Mun. ' I wish Will
good luck at Brackley,' writes Sir Ealph, ' & am glad
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 169
hee made soe much advantage of my gelding, Had I
a very good Horse that I loved, I had much rather
sell him to him for 50 Pounds, then to you for 4
score, for he delights in a good Horse, & takes plea-
sure to improve him, by his constant care, and kind-
nesse, and on the other side, you would contrive all
imaginable wayes to spoyle him, by Marketing,
Dungcarting, carrying Double, & w ch is worst of all,
by sending him on Idle Errands, with Idle, ignorant
Fellowes, that have neither care, nor skill to ride him,
tis true you allow him meate enough, if your men
doe not forget to feed him, as they alwaies doe to
shoe, wash, or Dresse him, all this beeing true, (and
a greate deale more) what comfort could I take to
see a poore creature, that I Loved, soe miserably
spoyled, by you that ought to preserve him Enough
of this (and too much too) for I am sure you will
never mend it.'
Some of Mun's household perplexities are very
curious. He has paid Cousin Woodward a visit to
arrange for his wife's confinement : ' touchant une
sage-femme nous parlames de cette demoiselle Kent,
ce Quaker de Eeading, et elle la loue grandement,
d'etre tres habile dans son art et le mesme faisait
aussi la vielle dam eUe Woodward, laquelle fut, il n'y a
gueres, dans un lieu ou ce Quaker exergoit son office,
& elle dit qu'elle n'avoit jamais veue une si cognois-
sante & adroite sage-femme, et que chascun se croit
bien heureux s'il peut 1'avoir, & qu'on luy donne 20.,
WL, et au moindre 5Z., pour sa peine, & que cette
170 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
femme ne veut rien prendre des pareins et mareines,
& qu'elle ne se mesle jamais a parler de religion ases
patientes, qu'elle eust este la sage-femme de la Reine,
& que si elle promets de venir qu'elle est parfaite-
ment fidele a sa parole.' Mun finally decides, how-
ever, on religious grounds, not to engage the clever
Quakeress. Mary is generally better when she has a
baby to look after, and takes pleasure in the adorn-
ment of the cradle and the ' peencushion.' She has
a * white satin Mantle ' for herself for the christening
of her little Ealph, a white satin waistcoat, a white
summer gown lined with white silk and a white mohair
petticoat, all of which Aunt Elmes orders in London ;
there is also a fine white mantle to lay over the head
of the cradle, and a smaller one to match, to wrap
the child in when taken out, or to form a quilt.
These happy days were too soon overclouded, and
Mary's fits of madness made the house at times almost
unbearable, though in her worst attacks she was
more amenable to her husband's influence than to any
other. He was assiduous in his attendance upon her,
and was nervously anxious to conceal her condition
from every outsider. When in health she was gentle
and amiable, and full of sympathy for her poorer
neighbours, and she was still ' my beloved wife,' and
4 my darling Moll ; ' but at other times his bitterness
of soul overflowed in letters to his father. 'Ma
Femme n'est constante que dans ses humeurs et
chimeres opiniatres fantastiques etinconstantes.' . . .
4 Ma Femme est tellement perverse et outrageuse que
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 171
je suis tout a fait las du lieu ou elle est. ! He is up
with her night after night, no soldier in a campaign
gets less sleep, while he complains that he reaps none
of the honour which at least rewards the soldier's toil.
The poor woman takes knives and scissors to bed with
her, and in default of instruments of offence, she
swallows her thimble. She assaults her husband
with blows and kicks and with a torrent of bad
language which hurts him much more ; he is afraid
to leave her with her maids lest she should injure
them, or with any other man lest he should use the
necessary force, with less than the necessary gentle-
ness. When his father implores him ' not to tie
himself to so strict an attendance,' he accepts an
invitation from Sir John Busby to go out hunting
with him, and to dine at Addington. On his return
he finds the house upside down, the maids crying and
screaming, and his wife's hands bleeding from her
successful efforts to break every pane of glass in the
latticed windows. On calmer days Mary haunts the
churches and churchyards, and must have been no
small trial to the preacher on Sundays. When Mun
takes her to the Middle Claydon service, she waxes
restless under the number of headings to which Mr.
Butterfield's texts lend themselves, and goes out of
church, but just as the worthy divine is reaching the
application, she returns again to wander round the
font, and distract the attention of his hearers.
Mun is tormented by the infallible cures recom-
mended for her ; and ' would go from Dan to Beer-
172 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
sheba to get her ease ' though nostrums abound at
his own door. The Tenant of the Lawn Farm,
Widow Scott, boasts of ' a secret powder that sends
people to sleep for 3 or 4 days and nights in suc-
cession, after which they awake cured.' Old Judith
is sent for, and her master conjures her to tell him
' whether she uses any manner of Charmes, Sorceries,
or Magic whatever, ' but she ' giving devout assur-
ances to the contrary,' is allowed to try her experi-
ment ' which is only the head of a Jack Hare, wrapt in
something, & hard bound about the Patient's Head for
3 or 4 days & nights together, and then to be taken
off and put into the feathers of a pillow whereon the
partie grieved must lye as long as they live.' Mun
asks ' What sympatheticall vertue there may be in a
melancholy Hare's Braine to draw away all Melan-
cholic out of that of hayre-brained People ? ' but he
adds l it would be very pretty if so slight a thing
should cure.' The woman desires Mary ' should be
prayed for during six Sundays successively,' and
Mun arranges ' to send bills to some by-church remote
from all her relations, That a Person of condition who
labours sorely under a melancholy distemper desires
the prayers of the congregation,' but so sensitive is
he on this point, that ' the partie ' is to be nameless.
His steward Dover combines many confidential
duties, including a little desultory teaching of the
children, and a Godly discourse on Sunday, when
' he can hold forth powerfully to the people.' The
old Vicar Maurice Griffith is dead, and his sue-
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 173
cessor Hart complains from the pulpit that his
wife beats him, and is so far indisposed that he
has to be revived with brandy. Dover is con-
sidered by the churchwardens to be a valuable
stand-by.
During the first years of their marriage Edmund
hardly ever left his unhappy wife, but as time went
on, her malady seems to have taken a gentler form,
and she was content to remain at East Claydon, while
he spent ' the Terme ' with Sir Ealph in London.
Dover kept him informed of the minutest household
details, and his master writes him long confidential
letters, which he forbids him to show his mother,
4 who is a Sieve.' c There be a Many Cheif in my
family, so you sh ld tell me How many or wch of
them you conceive most lavish, & then I will order
my admonition accordingly with circumspection
that nothing may be ill taken from you.' 'You
must not deny my wife at any time she is well,
such a paltry sum as Is., to play or divert her at
cards.' Dover sends him up snipe and other
game. Edmund desires him to pay for ' a Partridge
8^., Larks & other small birds as Buntings, Field-
fares, Thrushes or Blackbirds (wch I value equally
with Larks) Qd. a doz. & no more, for I can buy
them so here, even multitudes,' though larks some-
times go up to 18d. a dozen. He sends his wife
oysters from London, and returns a cloth ' with
spratts in it for my family.'
A serious household complication arises when
174 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
' a Painter, one Harris,' employed in the White
House, falls in love with Mary's favourite maid
Jane Avery, and ' his Brother a joyner that wain-
scotted Mrs. Verney's Chamber entertaynes the like
Passion for the same Party; the Party hath noe
love for either of the brothers, but they are both
unfeignedly in love with the party.' Edmund,
possibly to make a diversion, asks leave for the
painter to go down to Clay don House, to copy
some of ' the Peeces ' on the walls ; and when Sir
Ralph not unnaturally demurs, Edmund assures him
that he does * not desire that the Painter should
Meddle w tb any of Van Dykes Pictures : But That
you Would Be pleased to Graunt Him Liberty
to Coppy S* John Baptist, Landskips, and Night
Peeces Here, where I'll assure you grand Care shall
Be Taken of Them.' Pretty Jenny finally makes
choice of the genteeler brother, described as ' the
Art Man,' and George Harris carries her off to
Oxford, but a year later her mother is summoned
in haste, her care is unavailing, and Jenny's death
is sincerely mourned at the White House.
Mun has visions of a waiting gentlewoman, who
shall exhibit on the most modest salary, virtues
seldom seen in combination. She must be so well-
bred as to be an acceptable companion to Mary in
health, and to watch over her when she visits her
neighbours, without ever being in the way. When
Mary is capable of giving orders the waiting gentle-
woman is to efface herself, at other times she is to
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 175
curb the domestic expenditure, and guide the unruly
team, without offending either the lawful driver or
the driven. She is to make the master of the
house comfortable according to his own views of
comfort, which differ widely from hers, and she
must neither interfere with his habits nor gossip about
the unhappy secrets under his roof. Such a Phoenix
it would seem existed only in the family crest, but
Mun, and even Sir Ealph, sought for her in this
wicked world with much faith and persistence. A
succession of maiden ladies whose cackling and
fluttering were suggestive of a much homelier fowl,
each tried her hand at the work. The letters
abound with her provocations and good intentions,
and it is hard to say whether she gave more
offence to the master she tried to serve, or to
' Nan Eoades and Betty the Cookmaid ' whose privi-
leges were invaded, including the ' cousins,' who made
themselves much at home round the great open fire-
place in the kitchen. When the gentlewoman's
reforms, upstairs and downstairs, threaten to become
intolerable, she would be summarily dismissed for
what Mun called her plottings and intrigues against
him. But she would not improbably be recalled by
his remorseful good nature towards a poor relation,
when the tears and the quarrellings would begin afresh.
The children who are ' very hopeful ' are their
father's chief consolation, Ealph (b. 1666), Edmund
(b. 1668), and Mary (b. 1675). But as 'the two little
Esquires ' become more and more capable of mischief
176 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
they add heavily to the burdens of the waiting-gentle-
woman, as soon as their father is out of sight. Even
his threat ' to be about their eares when he comes
home,' is not sufficient to enforce his command that
they should not ' stirr abroad without Cosen Bestney's
leave.'
Little Ealph 'is very Briske, Lively, & full of
Mettle,' but at ten years old ' he doth not mind his
book and hath profited nothing since he went to his
Master, tho' the Child hath parts enough to Learne,
he requires more paynes to be taken w th Him then
many & his Master hath such abundance of Scholers
that he hath not Leisure.' ' I know,' writes his
father, ' that Eome was not Built of a Day, yett mee
Thinkes some little Matter might bee done towards it.'
The baby boy, Edmund, draws Cousin Parkhurst's
little girl as his valentine, and she wears his name in
large letters ; Mun is puzzled to know what present
he should give to such a tiny sweetheart.
A sadder widower than Sir Ealph, he has to
supply the place of both parents to his little ones.
April 28, Mis wants a nupper Coate,' his servant writes by
his desire, ' and I have heere Inclosed a measure
taken by a Tayler. She also wants a Petty Coate or
too, and a Copple of frockes, my m r Understands not
the fashones of Coller or stuff Therefore he Leaves
those things to you, but he doth not think Silck so
Proper for soe Little a Child, and therefore is un-
willing to goe to the cost, he soposes Tammy or sum
such kind of stuff most fitt for her and Grenteele, my
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 177
M r desires you to Enquire what sort of Linen Sutes
such Children ware and send him word.' He is very
sensitive to kindness shown his little Molly, she has
an ' historical pack of cards ' sent her as a Christmas
present at the discreet age of four, when Lady
Hobart describes her as ' handsome & witty,' and is
credited with still more severe tastes at seven years
old.
'Madam,' Edmund writes to Aunt Sherard, ' My Dec. 25,
daughter, y r goddaughter, rec d lately a noble present
from you, a payre of sylver candlesticks, a curious
fine Bible, & the whole Deuty of Man as fine, most
Excellent and Best of Bookes, w oh I Have charged
Her to Eeade & studdy carefully & seriously with
a gratefull Eemembrance for ever of yr Ladyship,
whose good and kind Designe for her welbeing in
Giving These Things is apparent as well as yr
generosity and Though she cannot yet write you her
Thanks for Them her selfe, neverthelesse she Doth
it now Here by my Penne, w ch We most humbly
Beseech your Ladyship to accept and Beleive that
She Hath so much of her ffather in Her that she will
bee, as I shall bee while I Breathe, Madam, Yr most
perfect Honorer and humble servant.'
Edmund Verney holds his own Court as Lord of
the Manor of East Claydon, and attends the Sessions
regularly and the Assizes. He has generally a law-
suit in hand about boundaries and rights of way with
the neighbouring Squires, whom he considers * very
malicious & stomachfull,' when they disagree with
VOL. iv. N
178 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
him. To prevent Mr. Chaloner making ' an Inclo-
sure' he buys up half a yard of land in Steeple
Claydon at a high price, and 'the Halfe Cowes
Common,' that he may be able to sell it again very
dearly, if he should hereafter ' find cause to consent
to the enclosure of the Common.' A freeholder has
lately in a similar case received 700/. for 10/. a year ;
the rights of the public to the common are not so
much as mentioned. He is a prominent figure at
militia levies, at county elections and at race-meet-
ings, and when he can find a horse to carry him
in the hunting field. He is a pillar of the Church,
prosecutes poachers, and other dissenters, as in duty
bound, but he signs the Presentment of Papists and
Nonconformists ' very unwillingly, hating to do any-
thing like an Informer tho' never so legally.' He
farms some of his own land at a loss, opposes the
importation of Irish cattle with other squires whose
estates are in ' the breeding counties,' entertains his
neighbours with a lavish hospitality that he can ill
afford, and generally supports the character of a
country gentleman of the period.
Not that his interests are by any means bounded
by his acres : he spends part of the year in London,
and takes the liveliest interest both in home politics
and in the affairs of the Continent. His letters show
a fine blend of topics.
' I have informed y e poore Evill People as much
as I can concerning their being touched : though her
Majestic bee ill, yet she is soe very good, that I am
THE SQUIEE OF EAST CLAYDON 179
confident shee will Live eternally, happen to Her
what can Here an Earth, I wish the Differences among
the Citty Magistrats may end amicably.' He dis-
cusses with Sir Ealph the campaigns of Louis XIV.,
the advance of the Turks against Austria, the politics
of Denmark and Sweden, the articles of peace with
Algiers, the condition of the West Indies, the Levant
trade, and our relations with the Dutch, whom he
detests. Sir Ealph gets him the latest published map
of the seventeen provinces.
Mun had never the strength of will to take his
own line against his father's wishes ; he had been
absolutely dependent on Sir Ealph for money, and he
was such ' an ill husband of his ressources ' that his
marriage with an heiress had not mended matters.
Sir Ealph had never been willing to let him
become a soldier or sailor, or to pay his election
expenses when he might have entered Parliament,
so he had some reason for the complaint he made as
a youth, that his father would have him waste his
life because he considered it a sufficient profession
to be an eldest son.
Mun looked forward vaguely to his succession to
Claydon, as a time when he would pay his debts and
shake off the evil habits that were growing upon him ;
but no one was more truly anxious that his father's
life should be prolonged, or more desperately unhappy
than he was, when Sir Ealph was menaced by any
ailment.
His life, though ill -regulated, was not a useless
N 2
180 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
one ; he was always doing kindnesses, and the nick-
name of ' Noble Soul ' which Nancy Nicholas gave
him was generally current in the family ; but he was
stung at times with a sense that he was fitted for
better things than he either attempted or achieved.
Mun's attention to the older members of the
family made him a favourite with them all. Aunt
Isham, who had played an important part in the
lives of the young Verneys since their grandfather's
days, came to Claydon in the summer of 1667. Her
husband had given up the house at Wheatfield near
Thame, which they rented from the Tippings ; their
only son Tom was at Merton College, and about to be
called to the Bar, and for a time the old couple were
without a home. ' Jugge ' (to use the familiar nick-
name she never lost) was so intent upon ' Pannie's '
health, she took scant notice of her own, but she
was failing fast. Margaret Elmes, who was at
Claydon, nursed her tenderly, and Sir Ealph made
careful lists of her little bequests, which were many.
Her ample pockets abounded with dainty imple-
ments; 'my little silver grater and my silver measure '
are left to Sister Sherard, ' my diamond Bodkin to
Mrs. Elisha Tipping but first put a stone in it,' * To
Mrs. Nancy Tipping my silver forke and my little
gold ring with a posie Ever Constant; To Mrs.
Victoria Tipping my best Peticoate ; To my neece
Nancy Nicholas my Haire Knot made with her
father's and my husband's haire.' Lady Tipping
desires to have her Herbal. There are several
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 181
bequests of plate, and of her 'pictures in little,'
one of Sir Edmund Verney is left to ' Neece Adams,'
and one of Dr. Denton to his wife. The relations are
so distressed about her, they long for letters ' & yet
dread to open the next.' She died at Claydon House Sept. 20,
Ififi7
on September 20. Margaret Sherard, who considers
that next her husband none have so great a loss as
herself, thanks Sir Ealph for his ' great kindness to
hir sister ; she wanted for nothing that either phisi-
tion or friend could assist hir in. ... God I hope
will be a Comfort to her good blind Husband as
she youste to cale him.' Dr. Denton writes ' She lived
& dyed a good Xstian and the best of us can doe
no more.' She was buried in the beautiful Church
at Hillesden where she had worshipped as a child,
and where her Monument may still be seen. ' Pia
Mater ! Certa Arnica ! Optima Conjux ! ' Her
husband survived her but two years and a half, and is
buried at Wheatfield ; her son, who died in 1676, aged
thirty, lies beside her at Hillesden.
The members of a former generation were
falling quickly one after another like a group of
battered elm trees, and the most striking figure
among them was cut off in the spring of 1668.
Dame Ursula Verney belonged to an older world ;
married some seventy years before, while Elizabeth
was on the throne, she retained the grand manner of
her time, and her end would not have been unworthy
of the Tudor queen. Her sharp tongue had kept re-
lations at a respectful distance, and there were times
182 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
when she was abandoned to the society of her
parrots, but her numerous kindred were gathered
Feb. 7, round her death-bed. l Lady Hobart & 2 daughters,
Pen Denton, & Margaret Elmes, Cousin Turvill, Lady
Oakeled, Mrs. Betty Clarke, Lady Knightley & all her
own family.' She had bitter memories of Clay don :
of her strong-willed mother, who had schemed for
her so unhappily ; and of the magnificent Sir Francis
who had married her in childhood, and abandoned
her as soon as they had both reached years of dis-
cretion ; this she marked by not leaving the worth
of a pair of gloves to Sir Ealph or his heir, nor a
penny to the poor of the parishes whence her dowry
had been so long derived. She desired on her death-
bed to alter something in her carefully drawn will,
and in the presence of the awe-struck circle she gave
her commands. The Lawyer, pen in hand, listened
obediently ; her mind was clear, her will imperious,
but the rattling in her throat made her vehement
speech unintelligible, and so she passed away. Sir
Ealph, who as the head of the family had constantly
provided his old kinswoman with venison in obedience
to her commands, was punctiliously anxious under
the circumstances to show respect to her memory.
His horses were ' out of tune,' but Mun provided a
team ; his wife seems to have accompanied them, and
they drove together the long miles to attend Dame
Ursula's funeral at Albury, where so many of their
ancestors were already buried.
The fact that Edmund's house was only two miles
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 183
distant from his father's led to a constant interchange
of civilities which must have laid a heavy tax on the
smaller household. ' This day wee dined with your
Brother,' writes Sir Ealph to John on one of these
occasions, '15 of us at our Table, and 11 servants, in
all 26 persons, and truly wee were very plentifully
provided for, my Cooke did it, and there was noe
want of any thinge.' Nancy Nicholas remarks upon
it. ' I pety y r pore Squire to have 26 persons to din
w* him, you move like one of y r Armis of Caterpilers
& so maney of y ou have such good stomaks y* I
fancy y u devoer all y 1 is set before you.' Nancy,
in spite of her gibes, dearly loved to be included
hi Sir Ealph's large parties. ' The Gallery Chamber,'
he writes to her, ' & the little inward roome to it
(wch were formerly Aunt Ishams quarter) are much
at your service : the little wanscoate next it, is for
another & I hope my friends will bee content to
crowd togeather, both at Bed & Board. Another
time (when fewer meete) they shall lodg with more
conveniency.' There were more chargeable times
still, when friends arrived at Claydon House to find
Sir Ealph absent, and came on ' to the poor Squire '
for a night's entertainment and the loan of his coach
and horses. Sir Eoger acknowledges ' the most easy
conveyance' they gave him to my Lord Saye's.
Another day ' Mr. Thos. Wharton passed by with my
L d Colchester in his Calash drawne by 6 horses, &
my L d Ossory went thro' nobly attended.' 'My
Lord Latimer's trumpeters ' come from Buckingham
184 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
4 on a begging complement,' and sound ' 3 or 4
Levites and as many points of War' in return for
Edmund's largesse. So absolute are the claims of
the most distant cousins to the hospitality of a
country house that when Mun is unwell himself,
and has decided * not to keep Christmas,' he con-
sults his father as to whether there is any polite way
of declining a noisy party of youths, who announce
that they are coming from town, to spend that season
with him. Sir Ealph ponders the question, but writes
to Mun at last, ' How to put off these young men is
utterly unknown to me.'
Of one of the unscrupulous cousins we hear
much. Aunt Abercromby had lately died, and
her son Jaconiah, with the blood of the truculent
Scotch trooper in his veins, was a hard nut for the
family to crack. They desired to pack him off
by subscription to his kindred in Scotland, though
they frankly said Jamaica would be better ; he
had a knack of coming back again from every-
where. Aunt Sherard expressed herself bluntly : ' My
oppinion is y* all is cast away on him : he was a
brewte to his mother and I believe nothing will
thrive with him except he repent of that.' Sir
Ealph and Mun both contributed to a fund from
which Uncle Doctor helped him, keeping a tight
hand on the purse-strings. One summer evening,
Jaconiah took his cousins at East Claydon by sur-
prise, as Mun informs Sir Ealph.
' Vendredy environs dix heures du soir vint icy
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 185
Abercromy avec un Compagnon, qui avait la vraye JuQ e 6,
mine d'un Filou, si jamais j'en vis un ; c'estait un
Noirant environ de 34 ou 35 ans, avec ses cheveux
bien Courts (neammoins sans Peruque quoyqu'il en
avoit une dans sa Pochette, comme il me confessa
apres) et tout le long des deux Costes anterieures de
la Teste jusques k ses oreilles, ses cheveux estoient
rognes avecques siseaux, il toit Homme bien puis-
sant et de plus grande Taille que mon Cousin, et
estoit aussi fort beau & civil en son Deportement, et
resembloit un Gentil-homme beaucoup plusque Luy,
il me dit que son Nom est Alured vulgairement
appele Aldredd, Fils d'un des juges du defeunct Eoy
selon le rapport d' Abercromy, & ils me dirent Tous
deux qu'il vous est cogneu (autrement je ne les
aurois pas loges) et qu'il a este (a scavoir Aluredd)
avec vous, et que vous le priasses en son Eetour de
regarder vos sources k Knowle-Hill, et que vous
m'ekririez ou k Holmes, pour les faire vuider, et puis
luy montrer, car il pretend estre grand Ingenieur, et
qu'il vint de Coventry, ayant este Ik pour voir, s'il
pouvait tirer 1'eau en telle sorte, qu'elle n'incommo-
dera pas ceux, qui travaillent dans la Fosse pour
Charbons. le Barronett Smith luy ayant dit comment
1'eau descoule; il me dit aussi qu'ils venaient de Glo-
cester, et il me racconta outre cela, qu'il avoit este
esleve sur la Mer 18 Ans, et qu'il a este Lieutenant
de Sir Jean Lawson nostre Vice- Admiral, et que son
defeunct Frere aisne estait Gentilhomme de 800
sterlins de Rente en Yorkshire, & qu'il avoit un autre
186 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Frere appartenant k la Loy dans Grays-Inne : mais
pour moy je soubsonne grandement qu'il ment,
nonobstant pour 1'amour de tant de belles Histoires,
le lendemain j 'allay luy montrer vos Fontaines a
Knowle-Hill, desquelles il prit la mesure avec
grand soing, a cequi regarde leur profondeur, pre-
tendant qu'il estait oblige k vous en rendre Conte :
puis le mesme jour estant Samedy dernier environs
5 heures apres Midy, ils s'en allerent de Knowle-
Hill vers Londre : ores je serois bien aise de sca-
voir si la verite de tout cecy vous est cognue.'
Sir Ralph had agreed to their coming, and would
like well to have water brought up to the house for a
' moderate charge,' but cannot find any way how to
secure himself from loss if the engine broke down or
was out of order ' as commonly such engines are ; '
Sir John Winter who is working in the Coventry
coal mines ' is like to lose all his labour & his charges
too.'
The manners of some of the guests are alarmingly
boisterous. l This is no inviting wether to y e Vaill
of Alsbery,' writes Nancy Nicholas on a damp autumn
day, ' I hope y* y r dep cuntry will make you all of a
more paseable temper y n ye have bin at New Market
for there both y e Men among y m selfs & y e women
amoung y m selfs have had great Quarils.' They have
no lack of illustrious examples. ' My lord whorton's
son as maryed my lady rochistars grandchild [Ann
Lee] showed himselfe a gallant of the times at Sals-
bury races, wher hee was more extravagant then most
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 187
of the company and so more noted.' Gary can only
hope that he will bee ' more grave neer homb.' Henry
writes that 'The Kinge is soe delighted with his
jorney to nuemarkett and with the sport a saw there
that a is ressoveld to spend the mounth of March att
that place and for his better incouradgm* divers
persons of quality did make afore their breaking
upp severall maches to bee runn att that time.'
Dr. Denton describes the amusements that had
been so congenial to Eoyalty : ' Neighbour Digby
did uppon a wager of 50/. undertake to walk (not
to run a step) 5 miles on Newmarkett course in
an houre, but he lost it by half a minute, but he had
y e honor of good company y e Kinge & all his
nobles to attend & see him doe it stark naked, (save
for a loin-cloth) & barefoot,' and he adds that ' the Oct. 13,
Queen, for a joke, in a disguise rid behind one to
Newport (I thinke Faire) neare Audley Inne to buy
a paire of stockins for her sweethart ; y e Dutchesse
of Monmouth, S r Barnard Gascoigne & others were
her comrads. Kate Tate is married to a man of
3,000/. pr Ann : Y e Queen sent me word y* she did
it to justify y e Sultan.'
Mun writes : ' The King & the jockeys met at NOV. 23,
supper at Ned Griffin's where were made 6 hare-
matches for 500/. a match, to be run at Newmarket
next meeting.' On another occasion the king 4 has
been hawking in Bucks, but walked soe much, he
took cold thereon, soe that he fell ill that very night Ang. 28,
& was unwilling to be blouded, but severall Pliysi-
188 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
cians coming from town, persuaded him to it & like-
wise to take some Manna . . . the Datchett race
was put off . ^ . he is now said to be pretty well
again, which God grant.'
Mun was abundantly feasted in return for his
hospitalities. He is ' invited to eate Venison at Mr.
Kocheforts, the Parson of Addington,' and he is in
constant request with Sir Eichard Pigott, the
Dormers, the Temples at Stow, Sir William Smith
and Sir Peter Tyrrill. Sir Thos. Lee of Hartwell
is ' a man of great state.' ' We were but 3 at
Table,' Mun writes, 'yet our Treate was to that Degree
of Magnificence that to relate the particulars to any
sick person would be offensive, so I forbeare.' He
also receives ' furious & noble entertainment ' at
Hillesden, where Alexander Denton considers he can
never have sufficient ' lodging guests,' and his beautiful
wife Hester seems to be of the same opinion.
March 16, There is much eating and drinking in Mun's
1675
correspondence. Dr. Denton has a picturesque
banquet : ' All ye gange was here last night drink-
ing Sir Ralph's health & preying on a goodly
formidable beast out of y e Fens called a Bustard,
w h was more then a whole round table & by
standers could devoure, When will Barley yard or
Knowle Hill produce such a Beast ? ' 'I pray bee
carefull of your children and servants,' writes Sir
Ralph anxiously, '& good Mun, keepe goode
Howers, both for eating & sleeping, & bee very
Temperate, for many dye of Pleurisies, after a fit
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 189
of Good fellowship, wee heare of it now more
then formerly, & that the excesses of last Christ-
mas have sent many into another world.' Mun
replies, ' me semble que le Monde dans ce Temps
icy se haste grandement d'aller a 1'Autre,' but does
not mend his ways.
He is severe upon other people's imprudences:
' Lady Hobart might happily spinne out her Thredd
of life a long while yet, if she do not cut it off by
quality & quantity of Dyet.'
Lady Gardiner laments that 'there be such
revellings and gaming in the Inns of Court at Christ-
mas time,' that it is dangerous to allow Jack to
remain in town. Sir John Busby and his lady and
other friends meet at the White House, and after
the early dinner, play cards till midnight. The next
day Edmund takes over his party to dine at
Addington, ' after which we fell to cards and con-
tinued playing till 9 a'clock ' the following morning.
This is his account of a Bucks wedding : ' I Aug.26,
dined at Stow yesterday Nelly Denton & Jack
Stewkeley went w th mee : Wee met S r Harry
Andrewes, & his Lady & Daughter his only Child
There, as also Cosen Eisley & his Lady & Jack
Dodington, & 3 Sisters of Lady Temple, & Mr.
Stanion, Husband to one of them, & Nedd An-
drewes and Grosve his Father in Law, & Thorn.
Temple & an other old Temple with 3 or 4 Very
Drunken Parsons, w ch made up our Company, Lady
Baltinglasse was invited & promised to be there
190 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
but ffayled, Wee saw S r Bichard & his ffine Lady
wedded, & flung the stockin, & then left Them to
Themselves, and soe in this manner was Ended the
celebration of his Marriage k la mode, after that,
wee hadd Musick, Feasting, Drinking, Bevelling,
Dancing & Kissing : it was Two of the Clock this
Morning Before wee Gott Home.'
Sir Ealph exacted in his own house a strictly
modern standard of sobriety, but drinking was so
much a matter of course in other places, that it was
high praise when Lady Gardiner, in giving a ser-
vant's character, said she could not hear that Tom
'was given to drink more then whot natur re-
quiared.' In Mun's household, Nature always made
large demands on the cellar. It must be said how-
ever, that in the country houses where he dined,
though the beef and beer were heavy, the guests
were generally sober enough to ride home in the
small hours of the morning. When John, after his
return from the East, owned land in Berkshire, the
brothers compare notes : Mun writes ' Y r Arrabian
Deserts as you call Them, are much More Cleanely
than our dirty Country, & if you knew our People
here as well as I do, you would ffind Them ffull as
Irreligious & Brutish, as y r People of Wasing, &
perhaps more savage then the wild Heathenish
Indians, For a Tenant of Myne, an old Man, at an
Easter Communion drank up all the wine in the
sylver Callice & swore He would have his Peny
worth out of it : Being he payd for it. By which
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON
191
you may see what manner of Men wee are in these
Parts. I do not Think that among the Infidels, this
story can be Matcht.'
But in spite of times of depression Edmund took
an interest in his country life. He and his wife
rebuilt the village inn, which with its high-pitched
roof is still so picturesque a feature of East Clay don,
having their joint initials and the date over the door.
He has his father's love of planting, and is getting
black cherry stocks from the Chilterns at three half-
pence or twopence apiece to graft choice kinds upon
them, and crabstocks from ' my Lord Scudamore's in
Herefordshire where the best grow.' Vines imported
from Blois produce grapes in Sir Ealph's garden,
and Edmund is laying out ' a Little Viniard about
two single Eowes of an Acres Length by Way of an
Essay, but not to doe as Noah did afterwards ; ' he
192 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
has a small pack of beagles who turn the kitchen
spits when nobler sports fail, and we hear of Phea-
sant-hawking in Runt's Wood. He knows every man
and boy about the place, visits the old women who
are sick, and sees to their funerals.
Like his father he has a great capacity for taking
trouble, and he writes numberless letters to get his
men places, or to help on the village boys. One of
these he has apprenticed, paying 5/. and giving him a
good outfit of clothes. ' Nedd is so thick-sculled a
fellow without any apprehension, & so indoseble, a
cook is the easist trade he can think on for him,'
but he proves ' very wavering,' and Edmund's man
writes to ask Sir Ealph's servant, Grosvenor, to lecture
the boy by his master's desire : ' now that Nedd hath
bin with Fosket he hath a mind to be a barber, then
if he should smell out Will Scott's sweet shopp his
mind will turn to be a perfumer, & so as oft as he
spyes any new trade, whereas God watt his stupiditie
will find it a hard Taske to learn one, therefore seeing
he is such a Nass, he must be drove to understanding
of it & that if he doth not stick to sum thing he will
com to nothing.'
The master cook suggests that if the boy ' can
neither write, read nor cast,' these three things might
be useful to him, and offers to share with the Squire
the cost of having him taught ; meanwhile the boy re-
fusing to scrape trenchers till his articles are signed,
Edmund can only wish that the cook would baste
him soundly with his basting ladle, he must be taught
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDOX 193
something 'be it butcher, cobbler, tincker or gold-
finder, ... if nothing of all this will doe, he must
down in the Gentry & be darned to be a perpetuall
hewer of wood & drawer of water & so ware afoole's
coat & collars if he can yarne it.'
Sir Ealph has a queer story to send : ' My Queen Jan.
1 fi7fi
in Hampshire (that was soe handsome) is newly dead,
and that very strangly; it seems she and another
Lady (a particular friende of hers) agreed that which
of them soever died first, should give notice to the
other of the Time she should Dye. And this friend
of hers died severall yeares past. And about 6 or 8
Weekes since my Queen came to Preshaw, and
stayed a fortnight or 3 weekes there, and was as
merry, and looked as hansomly and as cheerfully as
could bee, and went well away. And 3 dayes after,
on a sudden she cried out that her friend now called
her, and she must dye very soone, uppon which she
immediately fell distracted, and is since Dead, and if
this bee not strange, I know not what is. ... I have
now sent you one Dozen of Lemons, and 3 Dozen of
Oranges in a Basket, covered with Napkin : I pray
send the napkin to Lilly, for I have sent her word
you will send it her, and tell me if she hath sent you
your cloath that came upp with the Turky and Bacon.'
Edmund is not to be outdone : ' The Death of Jan. 10,
the Queene in Hampshire is somewhat strange. We
have as Strange a story of a black- smith of Stratten-
Audley coming well in Health over Brackley Greene
on Horseback : a Dogg with a Paper in his mouth
VOL. IV.
194 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
mett Him, and Leapt up to Him so often, that at
length He tooke the Paper and fflung it away, where-
upon the Dogg Leapt up at Him againe, and pinched
Him by y e shoulder, after which He came Home,
and ffell madd, and so Died, and the paper with
bloody Caracters which no Body could Eead was
found in his Chamber. I humbly thank you for the
Lemons and Orenges you sent me, but the Carryer
left them behind him.'
There are constant jokes at the expense of the
March 5 country cousins. Dr. Denton writes : ' Most excel-
1 f**Q *
lent Clowne, that is glad his well-bred horses can run
noe faster than an ordinary Cow can trott. It were
a good deed to send you noe newes, for that reason,
& because there is little, you shall know but little.
The great debate was yesterday about the Phanaticks
& wonderful tugging there was, the result at last was
that the King should be desired by the H. of C. to
sett out his proclamation for putting the lawes in
execution ag* Papists, Phanaticks, etc. Y r coz. of
Ormond is coming over . . . this is newes enough
for a hob-nail-clowne.' This note is addressed ' For
Calfe Eaph the Cow-house of Claydon.' As a matter
of fact they all come up for ' the Terme,' and Gary
mentions it as a great grievance that her ' young
company have been kept above 3 years out of
London.' Any event of note, at Court or in the City,
finds its way in due time to the White House
accidents apart for the carrier's cart has been
known to break down, benighted in Quainton Marsh,
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 195
when the mail is entirely lost and the whole country-
side is left without public news, as Edmund com-
plains bitterly. Another time the carrier's son, ' that
carelesse, drunken Eogue, dropt his letters about
Acton, & an Alesbury waggoner perceived them in
the cart rout when his wheel was just a going over
them, & brought them hither.' The carrier not
only lost the letters but ' framed a fine Lye into the
bargain ' that Sir Ealph had had no leisure to write,
and would send letters by the Ailesbury coach.
When we turn to the comments Edmund makes
on public affairs, we find his knowledge of them to
be far more intimate than anything Macaulay was
willing to allow to the ' rustic aristocracy.'
Clarendon's name occurs frequently in Mun's
letters, but his fall is referred to with less sympathy
than he had a right to expect from the family of an old
friend and colleague. The younger generation were
more impressed by the Lord Chancellor's haughtiness
than by his high principles. Mun thought his position
unassailable, and that it was rash to show your teeth
to so big a beast, unless you were prepared to bite to
the bone. He always sided with the King whoever
might be against him, and considered a fallen Minister
to be necessarily in the wrong. When, after weary
years of exile, the grand old Cavalier died abroad,
the rancour against him suddenly subsided ; he was
buried in Westminster Abbey, ' Sir Ealph was one Jan>
that held up his Pall, he was met by the Dean (in his 1675
episcopal habit) & Chapter, who sang him to his grave.'
o 2
196 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
When the Cabal Ministry had taken office, Sir
Jan. 1668 Nathaniel writes ' our chief Minister of State has
broken the Peace at home and made a Peace abroad.'
He describes the Duke of Buckingham's duel with
the Earl of Shrewsbury, and the popular but
short-lived Triple Alliance of England and the
Protestant powers against France. 'The Duke's
friends ascribe it to him, some to my Lord Arlington,
but secrecy being so essential to the business, I leave
you to judge ; others that noe man knew of it, but
the King, my L d Keeper & Albemarle, but done it is,
let who will be the author & contriver.' He recounts
the successes of ' Harmon & his Squadron in the
W. Indies, burning Dutch and French ships and
restoring the English to their ancient possessions
there, if this bee true the King may receive a fayre
crop, where he never sowed.'
In 1669 the Grand Duke Cosmo of Tuscany was
magnificently entertained on visiting this country, by
the Dukes of Albemarle and Buckingham. Edmund
remarks that the Italians are very wise, and that they
have 4 far more aptitude for self-government than we
Northerners have ; ' he wishes that the example of
decorum and simplicity set by this great prince
might be taken to heart in England, and most of all
by himself. Mun was elaborately respectful to the
severer virtues, with whom he had only a bowing
acquaintance.
Sept. 7, Dr. Denton gives us one more glimpse of ' la
Eeine Malheureuse,' Henrietta Maria. ' The night
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 197
the Queen Mother died she called for her will, said
she did not like it, tore off the seals, said she would
alter it to-morrow ; she complained much of want of
sleep, so an opiate was ordained her, & her physician
watched with her to give or not to give it to her, he
did not like to give it her, but her impatiency
extorted it from him, & she died that night.'
The year 1670 opened with the death of Monk,
whose name for ten years had been in all men's
mouths as the man to help in any crisis : ' On Moun-
day morning my Lord Generall died,' Sir Ealph Jan> 5>
writes to Mun, < & left 1,200Z. per ann : in land, & 167
18,000 Pounds in Money besides what the Dutches
hath in Plate, Jewellery, & in her Privy Purse, tis
beeleeved she will never come out of her chamber,
being so farre Gon in a consumption. Hee desired
the King to give his sonne after him, the Lord Lieu-
tenancy of Devonsheire, and that hee might bee of
his Majesties in his Eoome, and enjoy his Lodgings at
Whitehall. . . . The King sent a Garter to the
Young Duke, as soone as his Father was dead, and
will burry him at his owne charge, hee is to lie in
State at Somerset House, and there is a committee
appointed to consider of all things for the Funerall
. . . hee was cured of his Dropsie, but had some-
thing like an Anchois growne in one of his Arteries
which stoped the Passage of his Blood, wh: the
Phisitians call soe many hard names, that I can
neither write, nor remember them. Mr. Gape was
present when the Body was opened. . . . My Lord
198 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Craven hath his Eegiment. . . . The King will bee
Generall himselfe, & hee saves hee will not put any
to bee Commissioner of the Treasury in his Eoome,
but take care of it himselfe. The Young Duke
being married on Thursday last to my Lord Ogles
Daughter, & grandchilde to the Duke of Newcastle,
is not like to bee so thrifty as his Father, my Lord
Ogle & Will Pierrepont (who is granfather to y e
young Duches) I heare are Executors. The King,
Queen, Duke, & Dutches, have made theire condoling
visits to the Widdow Dutches.'
Mun writes, 'Nostre generalissime Monk estoit
un homme de bien et brave toutafait, a qui la nation
estoit beaucoup obligee, et ainsi doit faire dueil
comme ayant perdu sa principale gloire.'
Jan. 19, A fortnight later Margaret Elmes died suddenly
1670
at Mr. Gape's house in town. Edmund and Mary
lost in her a warm friend. At Preshaw they ' are all
immersed in tears & sorrow,' and his friends are
anxious about the effect of this shock on Sir Ealph's
health, ' tho' to be unhappy,' Lady Gaudy asserts, ' is
as natural as to be.' Gary writes to her nephew :
4 The death of my deare Sister Elmes hath bin a
great treble to mee and I dar say so it was to y r fathar,
for wee three took most comfort in each othar,
though ther is four besids us, bot I recon now shee is
gone our knot is broken.'
There was a family gathering at Claydon for her
burial, 1 the Eector's fee was ' a gold piece called a
guinea ' then first coming into use.
1 See vol. ii. 389.
THE SQUIKE OF EAST CLAYDON 199
Gary, left executor and residuary legatee, protests
that she loves not to run headlong on her own judg-
ment, and does her best to conciliate the family and
to carry out her sister's wishes ; she divides the
clothes between Peg's maid and her sister Betty
Adams, and behaves most unselfishly, only to find
she has pleased nobody. Mr. Gape's charges for
medical attendance and embalming seem on a scale
more suited to his last great patient, the Duke of
Albemarle, than to so thrifty a subject as Dame
Elmes. Sir Thomas is as unreasonable about her
death as he has been about every action of her life,
and sends Gary a lawyer's letter to assure her that
his late wife had no power to make a will at all. ' I
have rit to my brother Elmes as modaratly as I could
frame my selfe to due, he provoking mee so much
About my poor Sister. Should I have sade les, I be-
leve hee wod think her frinds ware afraid of him and
make him the more backword, bot my opinion is that
he will not pay a peny till he is sued.'
Sir Ealph was due in London for the marriage of Feb. 16,
the son of the Master of the Bolls to ' M r Attorney
General's daughter ; ' he writes to Mun, ' Our great
wedding will bee over to morrow at night, & then I
shall have more leasure. I have been Mounday &
Tuesday at Kensington, & never thinke of Bed till
2 or 3 a clock in the Morning. Tomorrow tis kept
at the Eoles with great magnificence.' He had
sought to be excused, but he was a guest too much
valued to be let off. ' I am glad you were overcome,'
writes Lady Gaudy, ' to be in the company of your
200 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
friends ; Sorrow is too harde for us alone, and your
nature so pensive, and your reason so just, as if you
were left to yourselfe, I feare you would indulge
sadnes too much.'
There were epidemics of persecution against
Nonconformists and Quakers, but the Verneys did
not readily share in the panics due to (what Dr.
Denton styled) ' Chimeras of Phanaticisme.' Sir
June 12, Ealph informs his son that ' The Arch Bishopp
[Sheldon] hath sent letters to all the Bishopps, to
call the Clergy before them, & exhort them to con-
formity, both in reading y e Comon prayer without
addition or omission, & to weare the Church Orna-
ments, & to bee sober and painful in theire calling, &
to use all meanes to regaine the Nonconformists, &
likewise to endeavour the Suppression of Conventicles,
according to Law.'
Sir Ealph wants ' to comprehend soe many Dis-
senters as possible in a Toleration Act.' He writes
Feb. 27, to Mun, ' Wee had need take all manner of Protestants,
1672
against our comon Adversary of Eome, and all little
enough I assure you. I will now make you a present
of 2 excellent Bookes, Dr. Tillotsons Sermon before
the King, and a Seasonable Discourse, for establishing
our Eeligion, in Opposition to Popery, the Author of
it I doe not certainly know, but tis very well writ, &
I thinke unanswerable. The Sermon speakes as a
Divine. The other argues from Eeason, & Pollicy,
and those arguments are alwaies most taking & lesse
disputable.'
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 201
The most interesting event of the year 1670 is the
arrival in England of the fascinating Henrietta,
Duchess of Orleans. Edmund could not estimate, as
we can, the real importance of her visit, or the full
scope of the confidential mission to overthrow the
Triple Alliance, with which she was charged by her
brother-in-law the King of France to her brother the
King of England ; but the fame of her goodness, her
beauty, and her charm of manner, reached to East
Claydon. ' The King,' Sir Ealph writes, ' sent to May 11,
invite his Sister, Madame, to London; but tis im-
possible she should come, for she will not yeild the
Place to y e Dutchesse of Yorke, nor can it bee allowed
that the Dutchesse of Yorke should yeild it unto her.'
This difficulty is solved a few days later in Henrietta's
favour. 'The King & Duke are at Dover with
Madame theire Sister, & this morning the Queen &
Dutchesse goe thetherwards, to Visit her, all the
Towne is gonn, & the Kings Musicke, & Duke's
players, & all the Bravery that could bee got on such
a sudden. The Dutchesse is to give the Place to
Madame in this kingdome, because the Duke of
Orleans alwaies gave it to the Duke of Yorke in
France.' .... 'I heare the King sent the Earle of May 25,
1670
St. Albans to the K. of France, to get leave that his
Sister might stay a few daies longer in England, &
that she might come to London, & I beeleeve tis
granted, & that they will all bee heere from Dover
this Evening or to morrow, for the whole Court is
weary of that place. Heere will bee all the bravery
202 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
& Jollity that England can well afford, & more then
will bee payd for, in hast. Just now a friend came
in, & tells mee all is crossed againe, & that there is
noe leave granted, soe that our Bravery is like to bee
at an End, but tis certaine Lady Castlemaine hath
farre Exceeded all the French Ladies both in Bravery,
& Bewty too.'
Mun writes on hearing of the Duchess's departure,
* Si Madame durant son sejour parmi nous a faict la
Paix entre Tant de Monde icy, sans doutte elle est
retournee du moms avec cette Beatitude, d'avoir
L'honneur d'estre appellee 1'enfant du bon Dieu.'
The country is still under the spell of that gracious
presence when, as Sir Koger expresses it, ' We are
heer all startled at the news of the Dutchess of
June 26, Orleans death.' Mun writes ' Je condole fort la
1670 . . , ,
mort subite et mopmee de Madame, c estoit une
brave Princesse, et tres illustre, je soubsonne beau-
coup qu'elle a estee empoisonnee, et si cela se pouvait
trouver, et que le Eoi fut de mon humeur, il at-
temptera Eevenge. Je me repens a cet heure que
j'ai fait mes habits de couleur, et puisque ce Malheur
devait arriver, je souhaite qu'il fut verm auparavant
que je les eu faits, ou apres qu'ils furent froisses.' It
is a testimony to the general regret felt in England for
the death of the Princess, that Mun should feel it ne-
cessary at East Claydon to put himself into mourning.
In the kingdom of the shades, death allowed
Henrietta Stuart the precedence which had been so
hotly contested in an earthly court, and then Anne
THE SQUIEE OF EAST CLAYDON 203
Hyde also received her summons. Dr. Denton writes :
' The Duchess of Yorke died on Friday, opened on April 6,
Satterday, embalmed on Sunday & buried last night.
I know y u longe to be satisfied whether Pro : or Pa :
v O
of w oh ye towne speakes variously, by ye best &
truest intelligence she did not dy a Papalina, but she
made noe profession or confession eyther way. Her
last acts were these, she dined hartily att Burlington
house on Thursday before, and that night accordinge
to custom she was about f of an houre att her owne
accustomed devotions and at her returne from
Burlington house she called for her Chaplyn Dr.
Turner to pray by her, ye Queen & ye Duke were
private with her an hour or more on friday morninge
& noe Preest, but Father Howard & Fa: Patrick
were attendinge accordinge to theyr duty on ye
Queene in ye next roome. Ye Duke sent for ye Bpp
of Oxon out of ye Chappell, who came, but her
senses were first gone, in ye meane time ye Duke
called " Dame doe ye know me,' 1 twice or thrice, y u
with much strivings she said " I " after a little respite
she took a little courage & with what vehemency &
tenderness she could she said " Duke, Duke, death is
very terrible," which were her last words, I am well
assured that she was never without 3 or 4 of her
women soe that it was impossible a Priest could
come to her.' The Duchess had been nursed with
' extraordinary sedulity ' by a young maid of honour,
Margaret Blagge l (afterwards Mrs. Godolphin) who
1 Life of Mrs. Godolphin, by John Evelyn, ed. Bp. of Oxford, 1847.
204 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
had been from her childhood in the Duchess' service.
She sorrowfully contrasted this scene with her own
mother's devout death, who ' ended her life chearfully,
left her family in order & was much lamented/ ' A
princess honoured in power, with much witt, much
money, much esteeme, was full of unspeakable tortur
& died (poore creature) in doubt of her Eeligion
without the Sacrament or divine by her, like a poore
wretch. The dead Duchess none remembered after
one weeke, none were sorry for her, she was tost &
flung about, & every one did what they would with
that stately carcase.'
NOV. 20, Two years later ' the Duke has gone and many
Popish Lords with him to meet the new Duchesse at
Dover, Crow Bishop of Oxford went to marry them,
they come to Whitehall by water, & so there will be
no show in the city.' Sir Ealph remarks after
Mary of Modena has been a few months in England,
that the new Duchess is better looking than he ever
thought she would be, and Anne Hyde, the mother of
two English Queens, is quite forgotten.
During all these years the old affectionate inter-
course was kept up with the Burgoynes. Sir Eoger
was godfather to Edmund's eldest boy, and Sir
Ealph's visits to Wroxall and Sutton were the events
of the year to his devoted friend. Sir Eoger's old
age was brightened by the love of his second wife,
Anne Eobinson of Dighton, Yorkshire, who brought
him a second family of children. She was a capable
and accomplished w r oman, but no one's opinion
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 205
weighed with Trusty Boger, when Sir Ealph's was to
be had. In his voluminous correspondence, every
detail of his life was submitted to his friend's judg-
ment. The proportions of the new terrace, the
provisions of his will, the colour of a waistcoat and
the filling up of a living wait alike for his decision.
And when Sir Eoger is thrown 'into some small
confusion ' by finding that a guest ' who came un-
expectedly on Saturday with my brother John,
expresses a kindness for my daughter, tho' he hath
not yet spoke with me about it,' he hastens to lay
all the probabilities before his friend. When Mr.
Simmons is accepted, Sir Ealph must pronounce
upon the trousseau, and choose the wedding-clothes
of the whole family. Sir Eoger writes that ' One June 1667
coloured & two black gownes are to be made for the
bride : what kinds of silk and lace should be got for
the best black ? what for the second, as also for the
Couler'd that must beare the name of a wedding one,
though not to be worn till the day after ? what lace
for the best handkerchief, points being out, & what
value? I doubt the old fellow must have a new
vest and tunick for the credit of the lass : if any I
must desire you to provide materialls of all sorts
according to yo r own fancy, and I promise you they
shall be liked provided not too deare: I am for
black : having made me an ordinary stuff one very
lately : I would have one for my sonn if I knew what.
He has a stuff one newly made, but I would have
another against that time, he is now going to
206 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Cambridge : but to return to the wedding. Pardon all
my faults as you love me.' A few days later My wife
as myselfe acknowledges your favours having rec'd
the things you sent, the hatt is very fitt, and my wife
so much approves of the lace as to think it too good
for hir selfe to weare, but I am apt to believe all
women will be soon weaned from such thoughts, only
shee desires to know what it costs.' Lady Burgoyne's
point-lace came to 5/. 12s., and the cuff-lace to 21, 3s.
Sir Ealph was at Wroxall considering the many
questions his host had pigeon-holed in his mind, for
the enjoyment of a personal discussion, when he
heard that Henry was very ill, ' deeply gon in the
Glanders ' as Pen expressed it, as if she were describ-
ing his horse. A few days before he had written to
complain of the condition of a haunch of venison
from Claydon, which though ' my Lady Hobart had
cookt it with vinegar, noe flesh could abide the smell
of, but I & my friends will drinck your health &
make merry with it as much as my health will give
mee leave.' Sir Ealph hurried home ' as fast as his
man's falling sickness would allow,' and there found
Aug. 28, ^e news of Henry's death, which distressed him
extremely. He had left all he had to Pen, and she
wished him buried at Claydon, provided she could
be laid beside him, which Sir Ealph heartily agreed
to. Pen put up a handsome monument to his
memory, which she tried to make Sir Ealph pay for
very shabbily, the relations thought ' but she is mad
and will demand things.'
THE SQUIEE OF EAST CLAYDON 207
Edmund wrote out to John at Aleppo ' For
domestic newes I shall acquaint you that my Uncle
Henry Yerney and my father's Cooke honest Michael
Durant are both lately dead.' The adjective was
reserved for the cook, whom in truth he considered
the more valuable man. ' Misho,' as Claydon called
him, had served his master, man and boy, for about
twenty years, and such was his fame that no wedding
breakfast, or funeral supper, or Christmas feast in the
neighbourhood was felt to be adequately carried out
without his supervision.
The ' loyal & indigent ' Colonel left behind him a
bag of money in the Doctor's care, which the latter
estimated to contain at least 700 guineas, if not 1,000 :
he had remarked genially that there were some gilt
shillings in it. Penelope, who had learnt thrift in a
hard school, took her family by surprise shortly after,
by her marriage with * Sir John Osborn K* of Devon-
shire,' and still more by the announcement that she
was worth 6,000/. ' I never heard of a more Joyed
woman than my Sister Osborne,' writes Gary, ' I feare
her good fortune will make all old women marry.'
'Pen was always a great scraper,' remarked a
relation less happily gifted, ' but I thought she had
not been so great a getter ; S r John is so high already
in her opinion & affection she is like to prove a good
wife to him, however she is for a Sister or an Aunt ; '
and the prediction was verified. Lady Osborne had
apartments ' on the stairs in Whitehall,' frequented
the Court, kept her coach, and lived more than
208 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
twenty years in the enjoyment of this evening sun-
shine, which she thoroughly appreciated.
In 1672 the Dutch War has broken out, and
Edmund is fretted by his own inaction. He had
always been attracted by the Navy, and he seemed
to know by instinct the names and tonnage of our
ships, and their stations. Being very wroth at our
disasters at sea, and at what he deemed the cowardice
and incapacity of our officers, unwieldy as he was,
and more likely to sink a boat than to fight her, he
suddenly resolved to volunteer. He had spoken to
his father on the subject, but he makes an earnest
appeal to him in writing, he feels the war a righteous
one, and he is ashamed to be out of the Fleet now
that the Heir-apparent of the Crown is engaged in it.
' Mon Genie souffre telle Agonie d'estre hors d' Action
dans ce temps belliqueux qu'il rend mon corps aussi
assoupi et languissant qu'un Poisson hors de 1'eau, en
sorte que je ne puis m'empescher sur ce sujetde vous
racconter quelques courtes contemplations de Mon
Ame parmi ma grande abondance .... or touchant
la Malheureuse condition de ma famille je ne desespere
pas de la Providence Divine. . . . Mettant Fiance
entiere dans la Misericorde du bon Dieu.' He re-
members the services of his grandfather and his
glorious end, and that he was pleased to bestow his
own name upon him at his baptism ; he would seek
deliverance in active service from all that he feels
unworthy in his present course of life, and he
earnestly begs his father's assistance in this a
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDOX 209
turning-point in his life. But it was a wild project
at best, an attempt to wrest out of the hand of Time,
the years of youth that had slipped away from him,
and to the reasonable and unwarlike Sir Ealph it
seemed too preposterous a plan for discussion. ' I
pray let me heare noe more of it,' he writes, ' for I May 9,
cannot mention it with patience,' and on receiving
a further letter : ' Mun, I pray say noe more of your
desires to goe into the Fleet, unlesse you have a
minde to render mee & your children miserable.' To
make amends for his curt refusal even to consider
this proposal, he writes Mun a longer letter than
usual, with all the news he specially cares to hear ;
he does not think ' the Hollander soe easy a bit to
swallow ' as some do ; ' the little Victory, a shipp of
38 guns and 250 men was unhappily taken by the
Dutch fleet. Capt. Fletcher commanded her & is
very ill-spoken of, for hee yielded without shooting
one Gunn. Twas a greate mercy that the King had
been at our Fleet for he made them goe out of the
Eiver into the Downes some dayes sooner then they
intended & had they not gon out the Dutch Fleet
had surprized them & might have Fired them, for
such greate Shipps could not be brought to fight in a
Eiver .... The French Fleet are brave vessels &
in a very good equipage to fight, not a caben to be
seen amongst them, but all their decks cleared as if
they were to fight an hour hence. The King gave
money liberally amongst them Tis beeleeved
the Dutch will fight under decks, that is only with
VOL. IV. P
210 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
cannon, for they want men & are affrayd to lose
those they have Seamen & Watermen are
daily impressed, there are 400 Men now sent out of
the Guards, to supply the shipps, till the Irish come
upp, whom we hear are now landed.' There is a
further story of the Kent frigate of 50 guns, ' lost
within 3 leagues of Harwich. The seamen beleeve
she was bewitcht, they tell stories of a crow hoveringe
over them 2 days togeather in stormy weather &c.
only ye captaine & 11 men saved.'
The letters meant to daunt Mun's ambitions,
only roused them the more, but he bows to his father's
will 'je choisirai d'offrir violence a mon genie, et
ainsi passer ma vie comme un Faisneant plus tot
que comme un fils desobeissant ; ' he pours out his
pent-up wrath on Capt. Fletcher, whom he longs to
see shot, and then relapses into the ordinary routine
of his life in the heavy clay of his native county, ' ou
je suis empestre parmi mes yvrongues de Paisans.'
The following spring there is a brief reference to
the break up of a very happy home, in a letter of
Feb. 19, Sir Ralph's to Mun : ' Just now S r Nathaniell Hobart
died, & doubtlesse hee is a Blessed Saint in Heaven.'
Sir Ralph was Lady Hobart's chief stay during her
husband's very painful illness, and in all her mourn-
ing. He writes again : ' Our Deare friend S r
Nathaniell was decently buried on Satterday at 10 in
the night, in the Temple Church, none were invited,
but the houre being knowne, many of his friendes
came to attend him to his grave.'
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 211
Before long he is called upon to comfort one
still dearer to him. 'This morning it pleased July 6,
Almighty God to call to his mercy the soule of my
good Aunt Denton, to the greate griefe of my deare
Uncle D r & all that knew her. Shee died in a good
old Age, without any paine, or sicknesse, & had her
senses to the last or very neare her last.' Catherine
Denton was buried ' in the chancell of St. Margaret's
o
Westminster,' (possibly in a vault belonging to her
first husband's family) where a monument to John
Birt (or Bert) Protonotary of the King's Palace, 1638,
is described by Stow.
The Eev. Edward Butterfield continued his
labours as rector of Middle Claydon, aided in his
declining years by his son William, who, after spend-
ing five years at Oxford, left with an M.A. degree
and was ordained by the Bishop, Dr. Compton, in
1675. On his father's death in 1678, he applied to
Sir Ealph for the living, who returned him a ' doubt-
ful answer,' desiring first to see him married. William
Butterfield was a man singularly amenable to good
advice. Having no preferences, he consulted the
patron as to a suitable partner, and Sir Ealph
recommended Mistress Sarah Lovett, of an old Bucks
family, allied to the Verneys by many ties of friend-
ship ; ' A Person of that Excellent Form, and Wit
and Family as to command the greatest admiration
and esteem.' Edmund Verney, who took a kindly
interest in the young parson, writes : ' Mr. Will : j an . 2,
Butterfield Goes A Woeing Might & Mayne to M" 1679
P "2
212 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Lovet : Hee expects a New Hatt to morrow from
London, soe Hee would have putt of his journey to
His Amata untill that came ; but I offered to Lend
him Myne, for that Delayes were Dangerous, & this
Morn g He intended for Ethrop without a new one,
Myne not fitting him.'
He was tossed about like a shuttlecock, between
Father Lovett who would only promise him his
daughter when he should be Eector of Claydon
and Sir Ealph, who would think about it after, but
not before, his marriage. He was a good deal
bewildered, and never quite understood how he
finally came to acquire both the living and * my
now dear Wife,' but he was clear that, had he followed
his own counsel, he would neither have been ordained
nor married. There is a droll pathos in the situa-
tion ; but William Butterfield fulfilled both vows as
an honourable man, and inherited his father's popu-
larity at Claydon.
There was a good deal of paternal government in
the cottages, carried out by squire and parson, with
a firm but kindly hand. We get glimpses of the
village life in Edmund's letters to Sir Ralph.
Jan. 29, ' Last Satterday Night There Beffell a most sadd
and lamentable Accident unto yr Tenant William
Taylour, His House is Burnt Downe to the Ground
and very little saved that was in it. He Hadd a
Calf and a Cow Burnt, this Mischance Happened
by Heating of their oven as They conceive. I
sent my Man Wood This morning to see in what
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 213
condition They are, and his children have never a
rag to cover them. I sent them in my Cart a ffull
Barrell of Beare & Gave Them my Barrell also.
This misfortune makes me Apprehend some Mischeif
from our Church House, wherein There are ffoure
{families That make ffires without a Chimney against
wattled walls only Daubed over with Mortar, There
is one Common Chimney in the sayd House, but None
of Them will use it, because Every One will Be
private : yet my ffather-in-law Abell made Them use
ffire no where but in their common Chimney, when
There were as many ffamilies in the Churchhouse as
there are now. This Church or Wake House stands
upon Ground Given to y e Church, and there are 4 or
5 Lands in y e fleild without Common Given to repaire
it, Let for about five Nobles a yeare, all w ch is in the
Disposall of the Church Wardens, but I Beleive They
Do misapply that income to save Their Purses so farr
as t'will go from Eeleiving the Poore : and That is
the Eeason that the very House is so much Decayed,
through their willfull Neglect upon that consideration,
whereby They suffer the now Dwellers to Do what
They please to the great Hazard and Danger of
Taking ffire.'
One of Edmund's men sends him 'some very
good lace ' which his daughter has made. He gives
the lace-worker a guinea, Betty 'makes it up into
a cravatt ' of the new mode, and he intends to
' make himself fine with it at Christmasse.'
Edmund rejoices in the detection of the ' Cooper
214 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
who hath stole a greate many of the best Pales from
Sr William Smith's Park, to make Coopery ware,'
and of other sturdy vagabonds, ' who come with
Dogg & Gunne, Perching, Poching & killing
Pheasants in y r Woods & mine.' Sir John Busby
told me How He committed one Smith of Oakely to
the Goale. Twas He that cheated young John Hicks.
He is a Very Eogue I believe but whether any thing
can be proved against Him sufficient to Hang Him
Time must Try, it is sayd That He Hath maliciously
Killed a World of Cattle & perticularily above 100
Cowes in the Oakely Parish where He Dwelt with
one Eustace a Butcher There, who divided the ad-
vantage thereby with Him : it is Eeported He Hath
stollen Horses too.' The rough justice the squires
administered sounds harsh to us, but when a servant
of Edmund's is ill he can always command ' the best
the house can afford ; ' at East Claydon a sick man is
moved into the guest-chamber in order to have a fire.
In London his footboy ' Dick is ffallen sick, and in
all liklyhood will Have the smale Pox, I sent Him
out of this House yesterday in a Chayre, (& that a
Sedan) to a Good Nurse-keeper who Tended my
Lady Gardiner's Children : my uncle Doctor Denton
Hath Been with Him and is his Physitian, if He were
my owne Child I could do no more for Him, He shal
want for Nothing.'
' Your friend Clarendon has lost his key,' Dr.
April 25, Denton tells Sir Ealph ; ' the pretence was that he
struck the guard,' who had denied him admittance
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 215
to a play acted at Court, the house being full.
' Other reasons are guessed,' for ' a L d Chamberlain
was never before turned out for striking a yeoman
of the guard.'
The grand manners of the courtiers are offensive
to the plain country gentlemen, and this little bit of
gossip is much appreciated : ' y e Duke of Somerset
visitinge Ambassador Berkeley, he rec d him w th great
State keepinge his chaire of State w th his hatt on ; y e
Duke in his returne meets w th the Earle of Shrews-
bury, going to Berkley to whom my L d relatinge his
reception said, he w d be even w th him who on ap-
proaching was rec d after y e same manner (viz w th out
calling for a seat or being spoken unto to putt on his
hatt) but he reach't his owne seat, putt on his hat,
& sate close to him, w n he tooke his leave, Berkely
told him he had affronted him. Shrewsbury answered
y* he knew how to treat him in his publiq &
private station, & y fc he might know y* at home, he
was a better man than himself e.' The chief foreign
news is the death of the great French general ' by a Aug. BO,
cannon shot from an ambuscade.' ' The French
King says little but Jesus Maria, & beats his breast,
wch when he observes any to take notice on it, he
then laments the loss of his dear friend Turenne.'
John writes of ' a sad fire at Northampton, not Sept. 23,
40 houses left unburnt.'
Sir Ealph takes a deep interest in his little grand-
sons, and keeps one of Ralph's first letters, endorsed
4 from Little Master with a basket.'
216 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
'Honoured S r , I And my Brother present our
most humble Dutys unto you ; and my Sister presents
Hers allso ; And I have sent you a small present
which I doe humbly beseech you to accept of, which
is A few Puddins .... For S r Ealph Verney K* &
Bart in London.'
Mun consults him about their schooling. Ealph
is at Mr. Blackwell's School at Bicester in 1678.
Feb. is, ' I went unto Water Stratford unto One M r Masons
House the Minister and Schoole Master There, to see
what accommodation There was for my Boy Mun in
case I put Him There to Schoole, my Man Wood's
Mother dwells There at present, and if I send Him
Thither, He is to Lye with Her in a Eoome good
Enough over the Kitchen : all w ch I like very well,
for shee is a good Discreet Woman and says she will
Be mighty Carefull of Him : I like as well M r Mason
Himselfe who seemes to Be a very good conscientious
Man and Scholar Enough, his Termes are but 12 pr
Annum w ch is a 4th part Lesse then M r Blackwells.
But somewhere by the Grace of God I do firmely
Eesolve to put out my Boy Mun to Schoole sometime in
next moneth, and we Have good Schoolemasters
Enough about us, viz. M r Blackwell at Bicester,
[where Ealph was already] M r Eocheford at Adding-
ton, M r Mason at Water Stratford, and M r A maud at
Thorneton who writes an admirable Hand as I am
told, All w ch I Name unto you Desiring yr Opinion
w ch of all These you Like Best and I will put Him
There.'
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 217
Mun is eventually sent to join his brother ; but
the results are not all that coulc^ be wished, Mr.
Blackwell is often ill, when ' the gentleman-boarders
straggle ' at their pleasure, and finally Ealph desires
to come home, as they have measles in the school,
and small-pox in the house next to them. ' Go, tell
my boy Ealph, he should not be afraid, for that's
pusillanimity,' but though Dover carried this tonic
message, Edmund confesses that he cannot keep his
boys ' very long at these schools,' and wishes he had
' the Donation of our Vicarage,' ' to Gratify some Poore
sober young Schollar that would very carefully
Looke to my sonnes, and Industriously instruct Them
in Learning and Yertu.'
Of the public schools he puts Winchester first,
but for its distance from Claydon, Eton next, and
Westminster last, because it is in London. Harrow
is not mentioned, though Dr. Denton's grandson is
there, preparing for Oxford.
' This day dining at my Sister Gardiner's,' Dec. 29,
Sir Ealph writes to his son, 'I met with Mr. ]
Burrell, & Finding him to bee a discret young Man,
about 20 yeares old, I examined him about Eaton
Schole (hee being of the Foundation), if you resolve
to send your Eldest sonn thether, (if Mr. Burrell bee
not sped to Cambridg,) I thinke he is a very fit Man
to take care of your sonn there ; but my oppinion is
to send him into France, (with a sober, discret
Governour,) rather then into any schole in England,
God direct you for the Best. ... I have now sent
218 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
you a Weekes Preparation for the Sacrament tis very
short & very good, I bought Three, one for you,
another for your Brother, & the Third for my selfe.'
Edmund, whose own education had been carried on
in France, Italy, and the Low Countries, considered
that the acquisition of modern languages, and of a
certain polish, were too dearly purchased by giving
up the advantages of educating a boy in England.
Ealph at sixteen is to go to Winchester. He is
to live in the College, the outfit required is large,
and ' Gentlemen Commoners wear very costly gownes ; '
' Kersey's Arithmetic ' is one of his books. Edmund
had settled to take him : ' My Boy Ralph having lost
his ague, keepes a great deale of Begging at me to
go on Horseback, pretending that he is alwaies sick
in a Coach.' So the father and son ride from Clay don
to Winchester with two servants on horseback.
Ealph seems to have been there only two terms,
when his father wrote as follows to his master, whose
name is unfortunately not given on the copy kept
of the letter (September 5, 1682).
' Sir, I Received yr Civill Letter, for w ch I Returne
you my Very Hearty Thankes, as also for yr paynes
about my Sonne & care of Him : I Didd flully Intend
to send Him Back to you (or M r Usher which of you
I know not) But Hearing you Gave a very 111
Character of Him Here before a great deale of Com-
pany at Table openly at London, Since he left
Winchester I Didd not Think it Decent in me to
Trouble so accomplisht a Gentleman as you are nor
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 219
y r Schoole with such a Block Head any more, for I
Know ffull well, that Ex quorvis Ligno non ffit
Mercurius, and am sorry that my Sonne should Be
composed of such substance that nothing can shape
Him for a Schollar. But it is his ffault and None
But His, and the worst wilbe his owne at long Eunne,
for William of Wickham's ffoundation is I Beleive
the Best Nursery of Learning for young Children in
the World, and perhaps never was Better provided
with abler Teachers then now at this present, yr
selfe for a Master, Mr. Home for an Usher and M r
Terry for a Tutor. I Have another Sonne, whom I
Ever Designed for Winchester also. I Do not
Despayre But That He may Eegaine the lost Eeputa-
tion of his Brother, But untill the ill impression w ch
my Eldest Hath Left Behind Him in Winton Be
utterly eraced and Worne out, I am ashamed to send
Him Least the impression should prove a Dis-
advantage to Him in yr Schoole. I understand that
my worthy ffreind D r Sherrock Hath payd All my
Sonne's scores within and without the Colledge in
Winchester. I pray Deliver this Enclosed Letter
from my Sonne to M r Terry his Tutor and you will
oblige yr Humble Servant Edmund Verney. . . .
Things may (I hope) Be so cleared that his Brother
may appeare There with Credit and Honor Hereafter :
if I should send Him.' Ealph's note to his tutor does
not suggest that he considered himself in disgrace,
he writes affably as one gentleman to another, and
makes a present to Mr. Terry of his green carpet.
220 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Mun was probably writing under 'the horrible
smart ' from a bad leg, which tormented him in
later years, for he shows as much irritability to
little Mun, who had just earned for himself the title
of ' as goode a childe as can be' after a visit to his
grandfather.
' Childe, I Eeceived a Letter from yr Master M r
Blackwell, who complaines of you in yr Businesse, &
That you are Idely & Evilly inclined, and particularity
That you jointly with some other, as Badd as yr
selfe, Have lately Mischeifed a Tablet or two of his,
and That you Eise in the Nights which was made to
Eest and Sleepe in ... you Have much Deceived
me, yr ffather, who Blinded with Love to you, Thought
you no lesse then a young Saint, But now to my
Greife perceive, That you are Growing very fast to
Be an old Devill.' He ' designes forthwith to choose
a place for him of extreme severity such as he had
never felt nor seen ; ' a threat which fell harmless on
this hardened offender, who doted upon his father,
and infinitely preferred his wrath and bluster to
Mr. Blackwell's favours.
Mun is anxious to get Molly away from home,
much as he would miss her, and at eight years old
he takes her with him to London. 'Tomorrow I
intend to carry my Girle to Schoole, after I have
showd her Bartholomew Fayre & the Tombs & when
I have visited her & a little wonted her to the place,
I'll come home.' She goes to 'Mrs. Priest's school at
Great Chelsey,' in Mrs. John Verney's chariot with
THE SQUIRE OF EAST CLAYDON 221
her father, aunt and brother. She learns to dance
gracefully ( and c to Japan boxes,' but more solid
acquirements seem to be wholly left to Mrs. Priest's
discretion. To Molly he writes : ' I find you have a
desire to learn to Jappan, as you call it, and I ap-
prove of it ; and so I shall of any thing that is Good.
& Virtuous, therefore learn in God's name all Good
Things, & I will willingly be at the Charge so farr
as I am able tho' They come from Japan & from
never so farr & Looke of an Indian Hue & Odour,,
for I admire all accomplishments that will render
you considerable & Lovely in the sight of God &
man ; & therefore I hope you performe y r Part ac-
cording to y r word & employ y r time well, & so I
pray God blesse you.' To learn this art 'costs a
Guiney entrance & some 40s. more to buy mate-
rials to work upon.' Edmund hopes to put her later
into the household of a lady of quality, paying her
board and giving her a maid, and then to marry
her to a country squire of good character and
moderate income ; and he desires for his little Molly
no happier fate.
222 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
CHAPTER VII.
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH.
1675-1685.
' Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.'
THE reign of Charles II. was pre-eminently an age of
hospitality. It was on the surface at all events a
time of coarse wit and loud laughter, of clever talk,
of dancing, duelling, dining, theatre-going, card-
playing, and horse-racing, and of amusement raised
to the dignity of a fine art.
It has been said that England suffered more from
the King's virtues than from his vices, because his
perfect manners made self-indulgence ' appear a part
of good breeding, and essential to charm.' Not all
the King's lieges stopped short, as he did, of excessive
drinking and ruinous gambling.
A typical figure amongst the young men at
Whitehall is Philip Herbert, ' Beauish Pembroke.'
He succeeded as seventh Earl when just of age, was
made Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire the next year,
and married Henriette de Queroualle, sister of the
Duchess of Portsmouth.
April 20, This is Dr. Denton's account of my Lord of
1 ttrff* **
Pembroke's dinner party : ' James Herbert lost his
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 223
cause. Pembroke treated ye Jury, where every one
was affraid to sitt next to him, but att last S r fir :
Vincent did, my Ld began a small health of 2 bottles,
w cb S r ffr refusinge to pledge, dashed w th a bottle att
his head, & as it is said broke it, they beinge parted
S r ffr was gettinge into a coach & alarm arisinge y*
my Ld was cominge w th his sworde drawne, S r ffr
refused to enter ; sayinge he was never afraid of a
naked sword in his life, & come he did, & at a passe
my Ld brake his sword, att w ch S r ffr Cryed he
scorned to take ye advantage, & then threw away
his owne sword & flew att him furiously, beate him,
threw him downe in ye kennell, nubbled him &
dawb'd him daintily & soe were parted. A footman
of my Lds followed mischeivously S r ffr into a boat
& him S r ffr threw into the Thames, two more were
cominge w th like intentions, but some red coats
knowinge S r ffr., drew in his defence & I heare noe
more of it.' A little later ' My Ld Pembroke being
in a Balcony in the haymarket with other Gent n , some
Blades pass d by and fired at him but mist him &
kill d another.'
Dr. Denton relates a still more outrageous scene Oct. 5,
1 A7A
in the room of a lady of quality. ' Two exchange
women (to whom Lady Mohun owed a bill, and to
whom payment was promised with Michaelmas rents.
w th wch they seemed satisfied,) after drinking brandy,
came with 4 braves to my Lord's lodgings : the
women went up, spit in my lady's face &c. the men
staid below and cried where is my L d &c. My Lord
224 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
at this alarm went upstairs, took his sword & pistol
& one of his men the like, and after some passes,
shot, miss'd the man but shot thro' his hat ; that not
doing shot again, but the pistol would not go off:
the hubbub increasing they retreated, my lord
having rec d a slight wound on his hand ; they were
3 Irish & one life-guardsman.' The guardsman, when
wanted by justice, is screened by his officers, though
perfectly well-known (' one Sutton of Laxington's
family'), and takes occasion to beat Lord Mohun's
footman next time he meets him. My Lord himself
dies of a wound received in a duel the following year.
Sir Ealph rejoices that a tax of twopence a quart
is put on wine to pay the King's debts. ' Twill come
to above a Million ; to the exceeding greate satisfac-
tion of his Ma tie and noe burden to the People, or
theire Lands, for if they have noe Minde to pay this
Tax, let them bee drunke with Ale and strong Beere.
I beeleeve Brandy will be forbid, or soe greate a
Tax Layd on it that none will import it : for since
Labouring men have got a Trick of drinking Brandy,
tis evident it hath hindred the Brewing of many
hundred thousand quarters of Mault in England.'
' The Citizens are most noble f casters.' John
March ii, Verncy describes the * Great Wedding made by y e
Widdow Morisco for her Eldest daughter (who had
10, or 11,000 portion) married to Aid" Fredericks
son & kept at Drapers Hall, the first day there were
600 dishes, & the second & third da} 7 es were alsoe
great feasting at ye same charge, And then S r J no
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 225
frederick entertained them with 400 dishes, And
this day the six Bridemen (for so many there were &
six bridemaydes) Entertaine the company. . . Today
is another great Wedding kept at Coopers hall,
between Kistings son, & Dash wood (the Brewers
daughter) both Anabaptists, I intend to be there in
ye evening.'
Child marriages, with consent of parents, are still
solemnised ; Sir Ralph speaks of ' a young Wedding March is,
1 fWi
between Lady Grace Grenville, & S r George Cart-
wright's Grandson, which was consummated on
Tuesday by the Bishopp of Durham ; she is 6 yeares
old and hee a little above 8 yeares old, therfore
questionlesse they will carry themselves very Gravely
& Love dearly.' . . . * The E. of Litchfield is married
to the Dutchess of Cleveland's daughter, who is 11
years old, & the Earl 12.' Sir Ralph is his trustee,
and is afterwards godfather to his third son ; the
Duke of Southampton and Lady St. John being his
gossips.
Ursula Stewkeley illustrates the manners of a May 4,
fast young lady of the period. Gary writes to Sir
Ralph, her husband being in London. ' I wish he
had stayed at home, Bot yr sex will follow yr
Enclynations w ch is not for women's convenincys. I
should bee more contented if his daughter Ursula
ware not heare, who after 8 months plesure came
homb unsatisfied, declaring Preshaw was never so
irksome to her, & now hath bin at all the Salsbury
rasis, dancing like wild with Mr Clarks whom Jack
VOL. IV. Q
226 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
can give you a carictor of, & came home of a
Saturday night just before our Winton rasis, at neer
12 a clok when my famyly was a bed, with Mr
Charls Torner, a man I know not, Judg Tomer's son,
who was tryed for his life last November for killing
a man, one of the numbar that stils themselves Tiborn
Club, And Mr Clark's brother, who sat up 2 nights
till neer 3 a Clok, & said, shee had never bin in bed
sine shee went a way till 4 in the morning, & danced
some nights till 7 in the Morning. Then shee
borrowed a coach & went to our rasis, & wod have
got dancars if shee could, then brought homb this
crue with her a gaine, & sat up the same time. All
this has sophytiently vexed me. her father was 6
days of this time from home, & lay out 3 nights of it,
& fryday shee was brought home & brought with her
Mr Tomer's linin to be mended & washed heare &
sent after him to London, where he went on Saturday,
to see how his brother Mun is come of his tryall for
killing a man just before the last sircut, And sine
these ware gone I reflecting on thes actions, & shee
declaring she could not be pleased without dancing
12 hours in the 24, & takeing it ill I denied in my
husband's absenc to have 7 ranting fellows come to
Preshaw & bring musick, was very angry & had
ordered wher they should all ly, shee designed mee
to ly with Peg G, & I scaring her, & contrydicting
her, we had a great quorill.'
Mr. Stewkeley was detained at Winchester with
Captain Norton, ' for a gentleman of the B ps came to
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 227
us in our Inne and Invited us to a pasty of venison
w cb stayd us untill past 3 aclock,' but on his return,
' after a long absence the more welcome,' he devises
some private theatricals as a safer outlet for the
girls' energies. He writes to Sir Ealph : ' Wee had
a Diversion here wch was very acceptable to the
Ladyes wee Invited, and after that a Collation : to
morrow Lady Vaughan, Lady Noel and theire
Husbands w th other company will bee here, this is a
much cheaper way than to have theire company
severally, and more obliging, and there were no
fewer than 30 the other day of Gentry ; and the like
number wee expect to morrow, besides attendants.
I did take out of the play what I thought a little
immodest & Impertinent, and the Spectators had
almost putt them out w th commending them so loud,
as they were acting : Carolin being but 14 did
act a prince's part (wch is a very long one about
300 lines) beyond all their expectations, and Gary
and Pen did theire parts very well, and Peg Gardiner
and Ury who acted Harris and Batterson's parts in
that play came off with great applause and all w th as
little prompting as ever I observed at the Theater,
and I think it very unusuall to have it performed in
our family. Yr sister and I are more delighted then
wee would make shew of, for I am sure without
Ingenuity and good memoryes they could not do it
so well.'
The disorderly state of the London streets is
constantly referred to. In the winter of 1670 Dr.
Q2
228 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Denton relates that ' betweene 7 & 8 aclock, 5 or
more horsmen dogd ye Duke of Ormond, who went
home by ye way of Pal-mal & soe up James' Street,
& just as his coach came to ye upper end thereof, on
of them clapt a pistoll to his coachman y* if eyther
he spoke or drove he was a dead man, the rest
alighted & comanded him out of y e coach ; he told
them y* if it were his money they should have it, soe
they puld him out of y e coach, forct him on hors
back behind one of them, & away they carried him,
my L d havinge recollected himself y* he had gone
about 30 paces as he ghessed, (& as he told me
himself for I went yesterday morninge to see him) &
finding he was hinmost, his foreman havinge his
sword & bridle in one hand, & his pistoll in y e other
wrested ye pistoll out of his hand, & threw y e fellow
downe, fell with him & upon him, & gott his sword
& gott loose of them not w th out some other hazards,
one pistoll beinge shott att him & two more fired.
He is bruised in his ey, & a knock over the pate w th
a pistoll as he ghessed, & a small cutt in his head,
after all w ch he is like I thank God to doe well.
This makes all ye towne wonder, if money had beene
their designe they might have had it, if his life, they
might have had y* alsoe. Some think & conjecture
only, y* their malice & spite was such y* they would
have carried him to Tiburne, & have hanged him
there. They cannot Imagine whom to suspect for it.
The horse they left behind. It was a chestnutt,
w th a bald face, & a white spott on his side. He y*
iJutler I2 f f' O<
iJie, erf (j
1.
/rmn a -paLntuiq fiy
V S -/ -S
.
J <7
^JtniAf.
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 229
was dismounted gott off in y e dark & crowd.' Dr.
Denton reminds Sir Kalph, ' if Ormond do chance
to come to you a byled leg of mutton is his
beloved dish for dinner.'
Mr. St. Amand is attacked in his coach be-
tween Knightsbridge and Hyde Park Gate, robbed
of two guineas, some silver and his periwig, and so
much injured that prayers are desired for him in
Co vent Garden Church, where his assailants may well
have formed part of the congregation.
Tom Danby, who had married Margaret Eure, was
killed about this time in a London tavern 'by one
Burrage, an affront at least, if not his death ' being
planned beforehand. Mun Temple in a similar
brawl was knocked on the head with a bottle, and
died of his injuries. Sir Ealph had to use all his
interest to save Will Stewkeley from the consequences
of a drunken quarrel in which a man was murdered,
though not by his hand, and he had to retire to Paris
for a time. Duels are of daily occurrence, John's Aug. so,
1 i*f7K
letters to Mun are full of them. Mr. Scrope, sitting
by Sir Thos. Armstrong at the Duke's playhouse,
struck him over the shins twice ; both men wished to
speak to ' Mrs. Uphill, a player, who came into the
house masked. The gentlemen round made a ring, and
they fought, Sir Thomas killed Scrope at the first
pass ; not the first man he had killed, said the
bystanders.' The sudden quarrels between intimate
friends that end fatally are most startling. Sir NOV.
1 /?QQ
William Kingsmill's cousin, Mr. Hazelwood, ' came
230 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
of a visit to see him, they fell out, & it ended in y e
death of Mr. Hazelwood, nobody was by but only
them two ; tis to be hoped y* his sister being at
Court may help to save his life.'
Oct. 24, Nancy Nicholas relates how three voung men
1681
who were friends ' M r Teret (ye son of a ship captin),
M r Foster, S r Hum: Foster's brother, & M r Coney,
maid an agrement y* w ch ever of y m first maried, shuld
pay to ye other two 200 a pece ; now Teret was
latly maried & these 2 others came for their money,
w ch he would have railed y m out of, but at last it
came to bios, ye seconds was M r O'Brian & M ' Dean,
Teret & Foster both dead upon ye plaice, y e other 4
wounded.'
Lord Cavendish and Mr. Howard disagree about
some proceedings in the House, Lord Cavendish
sends a challenge which Mr. Howard being sick of
the gout cannot take up at once, and my lord posts
him at Whitehall Gate for a coward and a rascal ; it
needed the combined efforts of King, Lords and
Commons to put an end to this absurd quarrel.
Young Lord Gerard, aged fourteen, takes his mother
to see New Bedlam, the drunken porter and his wife
are insolent to him, whereupon the lad draws his
sword and runs the porter into the groin ; ' the
rabble fall upon Lord Gerard and nearly pull him to
pieces, thrust him into prison, and then break the
windows to come at him again. The Lord Mayor
rescues him and shelters him in his house all night.
Meanwhile the Countess of Bath driving past 'has
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 231
her coach broke to bits & her footman knocked
down, being taken for Lord Gerard's Mother.' The
plucky boy rouses one's sympathy, but there are
worse stories than these.
John Yerney writes of Cornet Wroth, who dined
with Sir Eobert Viner at his country-house, ' and after
dinner going an airing with him, drew a pistol on
his host, and having six or eight troopers to assist
him, carried off Miss Hyde in a coach, a wheel broke
and he laid her across a horse, and rode off to Putney
ferry where he had a coach and six ; the country
was roused and the girl was recovered speechless,
but the gallant Cornet escaped.' Some of the doings
are tragic, some merely foolish. John tells Mun
how 4 a Quarrell happened at Islington Wells, and
swords were drawn, but noe blood, & indeed the
falling out between 2 friends was soe silly, that it
lookt like an agreement between 'em beforehand.
I was present at the sport, which happened in a
room where were at least 30 Ladyes very much
frightend & most of 'em underfoote, soe that there
was fine squeeking and squeeling for a minute or two.'
Edmund relates ' a pleasant Passage that Happened
t'other day in Barkshire : viz my Ld. Ch. Just :
Scroggs Being upon the Eoade in his Coach, two
Gentlemen on Horseback overtooke Him, and per-
ceiving Him a sleepe, One of Them sayd to the Other
T will Eowse Him with a Trick : and so Having Such
a Baston in his hand as I use to Eide with, smote
the Toppe of his Coach with it mighty Violently, &
232 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Cryed out with a Loud Voyce A Wake Man severall
Times, and so Galloped away with speed.'
There were problems enough to occupy the
minds of thoughtful men, the price of food was
rising, and the poor were sinking into deeper poverty.
Sir Matthew Hale, amongst others, was occupied
with a scheme for giving work to the unemployed,
when he died on Christmas Day, 1676. Edmund
1677 4 ' wr ites : ' That incomparably Learned & upright Man
& Just, Judge Hales it seems is dead to us, & gone
without question unto a better Place, though He will
be more missed then any man in England except
His Majesty, for he hath not left his fellow behind
him. Therefore I cannot choose, but condole a
Losse so considerable & universall to my Country,
for the Newcastle Duke & Lady Duras & Latimer's
still-born sonne, They are nothing to you or I. or
any Body Else besides a few private friends of their
owne. My Cosen Greenfield of Wotton I heare is
Dying also & that signifies as little, & so the death
of Cuff Emerson is as inconsiderable, he was father
to young Mistress Hide's husband & lately died of
the small-pox.'
Jan. 3, ' Heere are 2 or 3 stories,' Sir Ealph writes, ' about
1 firjn
Judge Hales foretelling the time of his Death; in
the maine, I beeleeve them true, but the circum-
stances are told variously, & are too long for a
letter, . . .' 'I am persuaded,' Mun replies, ' that
such an excellent vertuous Man as Honest Judge
Hales might have the spirit of Prophecie given him,
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 233
to prophecie anything according to the Analogic of
faith.'
Mun was seriously ill in London in the summer
of 1677 ; as soon as he could be moved he went with
Sir Ealph and John to the Stewkeleys.
' Preshaw Ho. puts me in mind of the loaves & Aug. so,
1 fi77
fishes,' writes Dr. Denton, ' it increases & Multiplies
with the company.' Lady Smith had arrived with two
daughters, a chaplain, two maids, three in livery, and
six horses ; ' if rightly informed there was but one
guest-chamber & how to provide roome for 65 is
next to Miracilous. I doubt not of the mirth &
entertainment, but I am sure I could not be con-
tentedly merry in any crowd.' Lady Gardiner is so
happy in the good company of her brother and his
sons, ' which made up a most pleasant harmony,'
that when they leave her, she writes : ' Our naighbours
lament our soden chang, for all heare looks like the
novesis when thay put of ther gorgeous cloths, and
put on ther nun's habits.' Sir Eoger wrote one of
his affectionate letters, inviting Sir Ealph and his sons
' once more to come together & visit poore Wroxall, Aug. 20,
1 fi77
where I think to spend a good part of the next
summer if we are not by some cross providence
prevented ; ' he was staying with Daughter Guyon
at Yeldham on his way to Sutton for the winter.
He is very unhappy at the conduct of public affairs,
which has left ' the enemie at liberty to come &
cut our throats at our very doors.'
Shortly after came a letter to Sir Ealph from Dr. *%$ 25)
234 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Henry Paman of St. John's, Cambridge : ' Sir, you
had rec d from me the sad newes of dear Sir Eoger
Burgoyne's death . . . but I was not very willing to
speake of my owne sorrow for soe great a losse. If
anything could have given him courage enough to
live, it was the seeing of Dr. Denton, who came by
chance, but hee thought him sent immediately from
Heaven & was extremely pleased to see him. He
did very often in his sickness entertain me with
discourse of you, & how excellent a friend he had in
all occasions found you.' Dr. Denton had called in
on his way from Ely, and found his old friend in ' a
world of danger,' ' he is very earnest with me not to
leave him, I told him I durst not for feare you would
never forgive me if I did.' He writes to Sir Ealph
Sept. is, a^ain, that Sir Koger died on the 16th, having taken
1677
to his bed ten days before, ' his first care was that
you might know it & noe man so much in his thoughts
as you, with the kindest expressions & acknowledg-
ments imaginable.' The good old man had long
described himself as ' a Tattered Vessell ; ' his eldest
son had made a happy marriage with Constance
Lucy of Charlecote, his affairs were in order, and in
these last days he spoke of himself as 'Well, very
well, only weak.' ' If I should doubt his happiness,'
the doctor wrote, 'I know not whose I should be
confident of.' The old doctor himself had been
wildly imprudent. His health had not been ' current
of late.' ' I gott noe good att Sturbridge Faire by
oysters, fresh herrings, varieties of wine & beare, the
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 235
same befell Sir Eoger as they say, as likewise to his
father also before him.'
Through all the convulsions of the State Sir
Eoger had kept the even tenor of his way, sympathis-
ing with popular progress, and for himself, content
to do the duty next at hand with all his might. ' I
envye not the highest cedars, but am content to be a
shrubbe, valueing much more safety than the greatest
honour, for cottages may stand when pallases fall.'
Sir Ealph spoke of him as ' the joy and comfort of
his friends and Family, and certainly the best husband,
the best father, and the best friende in the world.'
Sir John Burgoyne begs Sir Ealph to accept of cloth
for a mourning suit, and to order it of Mr. Lovell at
the Cock in Bedford Street. Sir Ealph is not pleased,
' this seemes a little Odd to me, that I must send for
it, certainly the custome is to send it to one's owne
house, or Lodging, I am sure I never knew it other-
wise, nor shall I send for it, nor take any notice of it
in my answere to his letter.'
The last office of friendship which Sir Ealph can
perform for Sir Eoger is to design the monument,
which the widow wishes to put up over the family
pew in Sutton Church. He gives the matter his
most careful attention, and entrusts the work to
Grinling Gibbons, whose signature and seal are
appended to the specification. Sir Peter Lely, Kt.,
and Hugh May, Esquire, are to decide, when the
monument is complete, whether 100/. or 120/. should
be paid for it, but the payment is not in any case to
236 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
exceed the latter sum, ' the overvalue being for the
credit of the said Greenlin Gibbons at his own offer '
which sounds more like the deed of a generous artist
than of a man of business.
In a letter of Sir Ralph's to John there is a touch-
ing reference to the anniversary of the battle of
Edgehill : ' You know that to morrow senite is the
23. October, & how I keepe that day, therfore were you
now heere, I canot begin my Jorney till that day is
over, soe that you need not make over much hast in
your coming downe.'
A new figure appears in the letters this autumn ;
William of Orange arrives in England, and has been
with the King at Newmarket ; and with the Royal-
ties ' incog, to the revels at Lincoln's Inn.' Dr.
?67? 25 ' Denton writes: 'Ye match w th Lady Mary & ye
Prince was Concluded last Sunday night ; on
Munday ye Councill, L d Maior, &c went to con-
gratulate her, & y* night of Bells & Bonfires good
store. . . . D 1 Lloyd of S* Martins goes w th Lady
Mary for some few months to settle her chappell.
A Greeke church hath beene long a buildinge in St.
Giles feilds, it goes on slowly.'
Oct. 25, Lady Hobart writes : ' All the news hear is of
1 Cinri
the Lady Mary's mach ; tis gret joy to ah 1 the sety &
everybody. She and Duck, Duchis and Lady Ann
set and cry 2 or 3 houres together, thay ar loth to
part.' The bells and bonfires were for the betrothal, the
marriage itself took place on the 5th of November ; the
tears shed would have been bitter indeed, could any
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 237
of the family party have foreseen that the bridegroom
would invade his father-in-law's kingdom, on the
anniversary of this joyful wedding day. Guy Fawkes'
day was kept by the Verneys as ' gunpowder Jack's '
birthday.
' We all remember ye date on the 5 th inst.' NOV. 7,
1677
Nancy writes to him, ' our Prince of Oring behaved
himself like a generall as well under his canopy of
peace, as he doeth under y* of war & is an active
dancer on ye ropes, & his prety lady seemeth prety
well plesed. Y e formality of Maridg was per-
formed by y e Bp. of London, Sunday night 9 a clok/ >
The Prince would not submit to the customs then
usual on such occasions, ' & the Duke desired ye
company all to withdraw.' Nancy considers that
' the Prince performed ye part of an able man for the
honnor of the dutchmen,' but he was not popular
in town. Society pronounced him to be ' the plainest
man ever seen & of no fashion at all. 1
In the Verney letters the old jealousy of a stand-
ing army is warmly expressed, yet when troops are
wanted for the war with France in 1678, Edmund
writes : ' The Drums beat up last Saturday at
Alesbury for Volontiers, but not a man came in to Mar. is,
1B78
list, altho' they might have been under Wisedome's
conduct, whereby it playnely appears, the spirit of
the nation is down, or elce we are not the Men we
fancy ourselves to be, for I have heard Many say if
we had war with the French that vast Multitudes
would go against them, but for my part I see no
238 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
such thing, if people in other parts of Eng d are as
backwards as in our Country & Wallingford where
I myself frighted most of the young fry into Holes
& Cellars, with only walking up & down the streets,
being taken for a Presse-Master. If there is a
shower of blood at Orleans, it is a sign of Much
Effusion of Blood in France, those prodigies sent
from Heaven never come in vaine.'
' I think Collonel Legg Hath made a good Choyce
in Craddock the Butcher for a Captaine in his
Eegiment. I know the Man and Have sene Him
flight Prizes, He is a stout Man and a Neat Gamester :
when I am a Collonell I will also Choose my Master
Druse a Gladiator of Alisbery, who Hath ffought
with Cradock and Worsted Him, for one of my
Captains.' He laments that ' the overflowing scum
of our nation is listed ' and that ' the better sort of Men
will not come in voluntarily unless they like their
officers very well. In Northamptonshire men come
in pretty thick to be enrolled under Lords Brian &
Peterborough. Capt. Wisedome can get none at
Ailesbury but " Gaolbirds, thieves & rogues." :
Mun has no doubt that he could raise 'both
Horse & Foot for his majestie's service as good men
number for number as any he hath,' he is willing to
serve ' provided he has his own terms not otherwise.'
When the troops are paid off the following year there
is still more discontent. ' The troopers of Buckingham
were disbanded by Sir John Busby, Sir Harry
1679 Andrws, my old Cozen Stafford & Captain Lovett.
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 239
My L d Latimer was also there & the Troopers were
extremely angry with him & swore they would never
serve under him again, nor fight for King Charles &
a many of them sayd they would robb, for home
they durst not goe. The King & Dukes Guards 15
in number that passed & repassed here the other day
carryed the money to pay them off. Theyr fire
armes are sent up to London by one Webb a caryer.'
The men are selling their ' very good buff belts for
18 d a peece.' 'I never remember this country so
infested with rogues as it is now, last Thursday 3 or
4 of them stood with theire swords drawne in my
Eidge way wch leads to Buck, they were on foot
yet very fine in apparell & had Cloakes . . . they
meant to robb H. Scott's house but the market-folkes
passing theire hearts failed them. ... I Heare Sr
John Busby Doth ffancy Himselfe a great Commander,
Having Gott two smale ffeild peices of about 3 inches
Bore, wch were Sr Anthony Cope's, and are to be
discharged often against Stow & Claydon : These are
Thundering Peeces of Mortality wch Do no wayes
affright, nor can possibly Daunt Yr most affectionate
Kinesman & Servant, Edmund Verney.'
He makes some curious references to the Guards : J ul y
1677
' 1 wonder much How any One can Think, because I
sayd I would Have a sute a la soldate, that conse-
quently I must Be in the Kings Livery, wch He
prescribes his Guardes to weare, for my part if I
were of Them, I should Hardly weare it upon Duty,
unlesse particularly commanded by his Majesty, and
240 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Then I must obey especially if I Take his Pay : for
though I carry a souldiers Mind yet I Hate any
servile Badge, Neither Do I understand the Livery
w ch He makes his peculiar Guardes weare, to Be the
only Patterne Becomming all other Souldiers to
flblow in their Habits, for thats as Every One ffancys,
so That There is no necessity for the Generality of
Martiall Men to flail into such Extremes as to Be in
the Kings Guardes peculiar Livery, if they will weare
a Habit souldier like : and as There are Garbs
particularly adapted unto a Souldiers Genius so like-
wise There are sundry sorts of Habits becomming
Souldiers in particular & sic de simili : But for ffeare
my Taylour should want skill How to distinguish the
severall Differences, I will Direct Him to make me a
Hansom sute fitt for Winter & to Appeare in any
Christian seraglio. I intend to have two Li very s
like yrs, though I shall Travell but w th one, for when
I am Eeturned Home I Eesolve to Bind Nedd Smith
Apprentice, Then I'll Keepe But Two Livery
Servants, w ch to Keepe in different Liverys were
somewhat preposterous.'
The allusion to the Scots Guards is still
Jan. 29, less respectful : ' The D : of Y : Hath Been
Ififtft
Very unhappy to Himself & to These Nations : I
wonder He should Desire the Scotch to Build a
Church, for if I Mistake Them not, They are more
like to Pull Downe Churches then Build any : & I
wonder as much that He should desire a Scotch
Guard for his Person : Hath He ffbrgot How that
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 241
People sold his most Excellent ffather : and if He doth
Eemember that Peece of Judasisme, can He imagine
They will Be Truer to Him, if He do, He Hath a
Better ffaith in Them than I.'
Sir Ealph tells Mun that he thought no gentle-
man would ever wear ' the habit of the Officers of
the Guarde, but now I heare a Baronet of Suffolk
did last week wear it in Whitehall, which made soe
greate a Laughter in the Court & at this End of the
Towne that I beleeve 'twill never bee done againe by
any Man in this age. . . . You shall give me your
picture in a Buff Coate, or in armour with all my
heart, but not in a sute, like the Officers of the
Guard.' ' I do not understand How the Granadiers
can Doe any considerable Execution with fflying
/ / o
Hand Granadoes on Horseback,' his son writes again,
' w ch makes me wonder that his Majesty can Have so
great a ffancy for that sort of souldiery.'
Mun writes that ' The ffrench King Takes upon July so,
Him to Lord it Everywhere, if the States of Holland
Dare not make Alliances without his Approbation,
They are but his Vassals, and not Souveraigne High
and Mighty, as they usually Stile Themselves. I am
sure if They consider their owne safety & the
Interest of the Protestant Eeligion, They cannot Doe
Better then to make a Strickt League with us, and
other Protestant Potentates, and Lay aside theyr
Jealousies and Hatred of the Prince of Orange.' * I
am sorry for the Poore Men that were drowned in y 6
ffrench Man of War that lately Perisht, But I wish
VOL. IV. R
242 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
all this french Kings Ships at the Bottom of the Sea
and Lost for ever.' English feeling had changed
much since the enthusiastic welcome given to
Madame : the country squires were sickened with
the subserviency of the Court to Louis XIV.
Nancy Nicholas tells a queer story as current
about town : ' Our King sent people over to Calais,'
and the King's corncutter went with them ' because
he could speak French, and they bore his charges
and gave him 2 guineas for his reward. So y e
French K satt at Dinner in a great room & y e L d
Sunderland dyned att y e table w th y e K, & ye L d
duras & all Inglish gentillmen satt at a nother table
in y e same room, w th great men of France y* ware to
be to enterten y e beter sort of English ; & y e
ordinery English men ware caried to y e side table
to drinke & all in y e same roome w th y e French K : a
French man began ye K : of France's helth so ye
Corn cutter he swore he would drinke his health for
it was his own master's, for he was K : of En d Fr :
& Scot & lerland, & he spoke it so loud y* y e K :
heard, & asked who it was, & he had his bags on
him & they said it was a buflbn of England, so y n he
took a glas of win & said he would begin a health &
that, he said, was to ye King in france.'
When Sir Ealph heard that the French army
was saved ' from a total rout by the Imperialists,' by
the valour of the English and Scotch in their service,
he could only lament that ' they lost not theire lives
in a cause more pleasing to the generality of theire
owne Nation.'
Q/tfi n c
(I'ilf r/ 'J/ii'iiui.^ <ijt<-rii'(ircs
Irvin a -/intn ttmf I'l/^ir'/'. J/'t<f a/ (yicuj&tm . /(rii
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 243
Sir Ealph's hereditary friendship with the Lees of
Ditchley involved him in a great deal of correspond-
ence. He had known five Sir Henry Lees, and had
been their trustee, guardian, executor, friend,
adviser and referee, and to their widows after them,
their children and grandchildren. He was now busy
winding up his guardianship of the two charming
Lee heiresses, who were nearly of age, Anne Mrs.
Tom Wharton, and Eleanor Lady Norreys, afterwards
Countess of Abingdon. They had been almost like
Sir Ealph's daughters, as their husbands gratefully
recognised. ' My Lord Tirrises son is gon after Mrs.
Lee, but tis said in London, Sir Ealph is resolved L d
Wharton's son shall have her.' Lord Norreys wished
the remembrance of the great services he had done
his wife and her estate could be as firmly entailed on
it, ' as they shall be always faithfully acknowledged
by me.' Old John Gary still transacts the business
of the family ; he writes, when Sir Ealph is invited to
Eycote, ' I pray do not thinke of trouble to my Lord
Norreys, for he will be very glad of your company &
bidd you very wellcom, & so will his good Lady :
You catch me with a why-not still : Indeed my
memory growes bad, very bad, & things go out as
fast as they come into my head now, I am walkeing
(as well as others) apace towards the land of forge tfull-
ness & cannot help it, it must be, Happy are those
who are fit for that day.'
One of the Ditchley ladies, with whom Sir Ealph
constantly corresponded, was Anne St. John, widow
B 2
244 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
of Sir Henry Francis Lee, and after the death of her
second husband he was guardian of her son, the
notorious Lord Eochester. The names read strangely
in conjunction, the grave Sir Ealph with his austere
morality and fastidious tastes, and the handsome
youth with his wild genius, defying all authority
human and divine, ' for five years together con-
tinually drunk,' leading the mad revels at Court, or
practising physic as a mountebank on Tower Hill,
with equal ' exactness & dexterity.' No hen at the
edge of a pond could have been more helpless as a
guardian, and it was only in deference to Lady
Eochester's earnest entreaties that Sir Ealph con-
sented to retain his ungrateful position. But all his
reckless self-indulgence had been unable to quench
Lord Eochester's lovable qualities, and those about
him accepted his repentance with eagerness when
4 he came to himself.'
In June 1680 Lord Eochester is very ill, he is
advised to drink ass's milk, and Sir Ealph is, of
course, to find the ass. Mr. Gary writes feelingly to
Sir Ealph at every stage of his illness. ' I much
feare my Lord Eochester hath not long to live, he is
here at his lodg & his Mother my lady dowager &
his lady are with him, And doctor Short of London
& doctor Eadclifie of Oxon. Himselfe is now very
weake, God Almighty restore him if it be his will,
for he is growne to be the most altered person, the
most devout & pious person as I generally ever
knew, & certainly would make a most worthy brave
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 245
man, if it would please God to spare his life, but I
feare the worst, at present he is very weake & ill.
But what gives us much comfort is we hope he will
be happy in another world, if it please God to take
him hence, And further what is much comfort to my
Lady Dowager & us all in the midst of this sorrow
is, his Lady is returned to her first love the protestant
religion, And on Sunday last received the Sacrament
with her lord, & hath bin at prayer with us, so as
if it might please God to spare & restore him, It
would altogether make upp very great joy to my
lady his mother & us all that love him.'
He reports a fortnight later that ' My lord 1680
Eochester we hope is on the mending hand, but
many changes he meets withall, pretty good dayes
succeed ill nights, which help to keep upp his
spirits, but he is very weake, and expresses hirnselfe
very good, I hope God will spare him for his owne
service for the future.'
On July 18 ' My lord Eochester continues very
weake, he is sometimes a little lively & gives good
hope of his recovery, but anon downe againe, which
makes us much to feare the worst.' On the 26th he
is dead ; his young widow and ' my little Lord,' the
last of his line, follow him to the grave before three
years are out, and Sir Ealph lives to see his very
name granted to another.
In contrast to Eochester's life, even amongst men
of fashion, we have a contemporary description l of
1 Life of Judge Jefferies, by Woolrych.
246 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
an accomplished young man, who afterwards suffered
in Monmouth's rebellion : ' his body made so very
handsome and creditable a tenement for his mind, it
had been pity it should have lived in any other.
All that knew or saw him must own, Mr. Battis-
combe was very much a gentleman. Not that thin
sort of animal that flutters from tavern to playhouse
and back again, all his life made of wig & cravat,
without one dram of thought in his composition
but one who had solid worth.'
It is evident that the average English home
was untouched by the manners of the Court, and
the coarseness of literature and the drama, and
Dr. Chamberlain's account is entirely borne out
by the Yerney letters : ' A Wife in England,' he
writes, ' is de jure but the best of Servants, having
nothing her own in a more proper sense than a child
hath . . . notwithstanding all which, their condition
de facto is the best in the World, for such is the good
nature of Englishmen towards their Wives, such is
their tenderness & respect giving them the upper-
most place at Table & elsewhere, the right hand every-
where, & putting upon them no drudgery & hardship ;
that if there were a Bridge over into England, . . .
it is thought all the Women in Europe would run
thither.' Such a home was John Verney's.
It was natural that John's success in whatever
business he undertook should be more sharply con-
trasted as the years went on with Edmund's slovenly
management of his estate, and growing indebted-
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 247
ness ; but Edmund's affectionate and generous nature
might seem to entitle him to a larger share of
domestic happiness than his colder and more prudent
brother. But it was not so. After long deliberation
and some false starts, John's choice of a wife proved
as superior to Edmund's as his judgment of the
value of any other commodity ; and Mrs. John Verney
is at this time by far the most attractive woman in
the family.
The negotiations preceding John's marriage with
Elizabeth, the eldest child of Ealph Palmer of Little
Chelsea, and of his wife Alice White, are characteristic
of the man. He objects to pay a single guinea that
can be saved on the settlements ; Sir Ealph tells him
that ' Lawyers' clerks on these occasions use to bring
in their bill as Apothecaries doe, but the Drs. are
feed by discreation & soe are Lawiers ; Sir Gabriel
Eoberts can best tell you what young Marchants use
to doe ' . . . ' but in these things there is noe
certainty, some aske more & some lesse according to
the quality of the Client, or their owne greedinesse
& we never use to dispute with them.' Eventually
Sir John Coell refused the five guinea fee which
John ' prest him extreamly to take, saying he owed
Sir E. V. so much he could not but doe anything for
him.'
The difficulties were not on one side only. Mr.
Palmer speaks so high, and makes so many stipula-
tions, that John is at length forbid the house. ' A
little of your advice Pray Sir,' he asks Sir Ealph, ' for
248
we are now on a punctilio of honour.' To his mistress
he writes sadly, yet accepting his dismissal. ' I
suppose your worthy father casts in this bone out of
the abundance of his love towards you, as being un-
willing to part with so beloved a creature. Madam,
my whole life never mett with any Cross that went so
much to my heart as this hath done. I have one
favour to begg of you, that is a lock of your Delicate
haire, who am too wretched I feare to expect a line
from your sweet hand. And now Dearest Madam, I
must (with heart-breaking) bidd you for ever adieu ;
and I pray God that all the felicityes that at any time
attended the happiest of your Sex may be heaped on
you : May you live plentifully many contented yeares
in this world & have Eternall blessings in the next,
these be the hearty prayers of Madam,
Your Ladiship's Passionate Lover & most
unfortunate Servant, JOHN VKR.VKY.
I have no hopes of happiness unless you'le con-
tribute. My father honours you highly and is very
much Yr Servant.'
Nancy Nicholas, in her mocking humour, tries to
cheer him up by the assurance that * E.P. has ferret
eyes, and a thousand pimples,' but John fires up so
fiercely in defence of his lady's complexion, that the
calumny is withdrawn; and peace is concluded on
the understanding that E.P. has but three small spots
on her face, which are common after an ague, ;md
that her eyes are of unusual size and beauty.
When we hear again, John is providing himself
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 249
'with good clothes & store of Trimming to furnish
the Comp y with favours, wch I thinke are 90 odd
knotts on my wedding sute.' He writes to his father
on his wedding day, ' I am this morning going down May 27,
1 I*^A
to Westminster Abby to meet M Eliz. Palmer,
where after prayers we designe to be Married in
Henry 7 th " Cliappell by Dr. Adam Littleton (where
he's .1 prebend) very privately in our old clothes,
none will be at it but her father, mother, brother \
Aunt J. White, from thence we goe to the Rummer
[or Romer] in Soper Lane in the City, whither I
invite them \ Dr. Littleton to dine with me, 1 after
dinner to visit my Lady Gardiner, whence to be
gone about 5 or 6 a Clock, then goe eate a Tart at
the treating house by Knightsbridge & soe goe home
together about 9 at night when all their neighbours
may be within their doors.' It sounds a very tiring
programme for the poor little bride who had not
quite completed her sixteenth year to be driven
1 The bill of John Verney's wedding dinner for seven persons ' at
the Rummer in Queen Street London.' May 4 27th. 1080.
Ueer-jvvle
a
Wine .
11
Orings .
i
A dish of tish
1
i)
2 Geese .
s
6
4 fatt Chikcna
s
Q
' Iv'ibi'ls
...
8
A dish of peese .
.
tf
S htirtev Chokes .
A
A dish of Strabreys
A dish of Choreys
5
(>
8 17
Servants la.
250 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
about all day from the early morning. They paid
Aunt Gardiner their visit, ' leaving her as innocent as
they found her,' ' keeping the news within our own
doors from Thursday to Sunday, when wee shall
owne it publiquely by our clothes in Chelsey Church
and then to be sure all their neighbouring acquaint-
ance of both the Chelseys will come in.' The bride
and bridegroom write a charming little letter to Sir
Ealph with their joint signatures to tell him that
they have now ' performed that grand concern which
entitles us both to be your children.'
They drive ' into London to pay visits,' and John
sends Sir Ealph ' a Paper Box directed to you though
Jane 9, most in it is for my Brother's family : It contains as
followeth, In a paper seal'd a Paire of white Gloves
and a Payre of Collourd Gloves laced with Black
flanders lace, which I desire your acceptance of r
And if ye fingers be too long for you, Thorn : Hobart
sayth he will alter them for you when in towne. All
Genoa Gloves are long finger d. A payre of Green
fringed Gloves for my Brother; White & Collourd
Lace Gloves for my Sister ; Pinke Coulourd trimd
Gloves for Master Kalph; Skye Coulour'd trimd
Gloves for Master Munsey ; White Gloves trimd with
Green &c for my little neece, And one of my wife's
Wedding Garters for Master Ealph as one of her
Bridemen. These tokens of a Wedding I desire them
to weare for my sake.'
Mrs. John Verney is never mentioned in the
letters without some affectionate epithet. Child as
fl/
UNDER THE MEERY MONARCH 251
she was, she at once took the place in the family
which the eldest son's wife had never been able to
fill. She visited the school-boys of the family at
Harrow, and mothered the tall nephews at East
Claydon of her own age, as she did her undergraduate
brother at Oxford, who poured out to her all his
confidences and was proud to entertain her in his
rooms at Trinity College. To her forlorn little niece,
Molly Verney, she was specially kind, sending down
' a Paste-Board Chimney & all the implements with
it, in a box for little Misse,' at seven years old ; and
when she was in her teens, looking after her clothes
and her studies at Mrs. Priest's genteel establishment
for young ladies at Chelsea, where the girl is said to
improve wonderfully.
Her gracious kindness makes her home ( over
against the coffee-house in Hatton St. Hatton Gardens/
a happy meeting place for all the young ones of the
family. She packs her coach to its utmost capacity,
to take the Stewkeley girls to the 'Grand Ball at
Chelsey School,' where Moll Verney and Betty Denton
distinguish themselves as dancers : ' I wish you
could have seen " pretty Miss," ' she writes to the
latter s flighty mother, Hester Denton.
Sir Ealph was her devoted servant, and her
grave and matter-of-fact husband, some twenty-five
years older than herself, never ceased to be her lover
during the six short years of their married life. He
commissioned Sir Peter Lely to paint her portrait.
During their rare separations, their letters reveal
252 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
the depth of tender sentiment which underlay the
cautious reserve of the worldly-wise man of affairs.
He writes to her while she is paying some family
visits in Bucks and he is in charge of the first baby.
'Dearest Deare, I wrote you this morning by the
Sept. 24, Coach Since which I have receaved your pretty lines
under the 22 th and for your tender Expressions there
is nothing but a reciprocall love can make you
returns, and that be confident you have : Pretty
Pretious is grown much, and her nurse to that
degree of bigness that you can't Immagine. ... I
have put up in a paper Box directed to you, your
Black Crape Manto, to dress you in when the
mornings are cold. . . . Make much of your deare
selfe and 'twill doe comfort to me then, to heare of
your wellfare and pleasure. My Mother hath bought
y e Child a Morelly Coate Striped Yellow & Black '
which sounds very unbecoming to a baby's com-
plexion ' and Some lace for Capps, that w ch you left
being, as she thought, too narrow. She hath put
that on under it I thinke. I hope you were made
much of at Hillesden, Kadcliff & Stow, otherwise
the Ladyes there loose there reputation with me.
Pray Send one of yo r Shoes to Alesbury or Buck m
to have a pare of Cloggs fitted to it, that you may
walke about without takeing in Wett at your feet &
what letters you receave from me either burn 'em or
locke 'em up in y e little cabinett : I thanke you for
your ten thousand kisses and wish I had one halfe
dozen from you in y e mean time ; but for this
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 253
vacancy we'll have y e more when I returne to you
whom God preserve. I rest your Truly loveing and
most affectionate Deare J ne VEENEY.
' I have had my hare cutt.'
Mrs. John sends him excellent reports of the
business matters which are referred to her in his
absence ; she is much in request, but refuses invita-
tions, only supping with her husband's old aunts,
who delight in her company ; all pleasure to me I June 25,
find is nothing without you. . . . After church my
cousens Stewkley sent for me to goe to Spring
Gardens, with them & M rs Dickenson, with a consort
of Musick of Jack Stewkley's bringing, I thanked
them but I did not care to goe because of M rs
Dickenson, but if she had not bin there I should not
have gon with so many wild young men as there
was, & had need take care who one gos abroad with
these times. ... I rest your most affectionate but
maloncoly wife till your return E. V.'
' Deare Heart,' he replies, ' I thanke you for your j u ne 28,
newes & for writing a long letter, for I could be all
day reading your lines. . . . Now to employ you.'
Here follows a list of commissions with such minute
directions as Sir Ealph was wont to give Mary
forty years before. His wife is to prepare for a guest.
Nedd, his father's ' under butler & pheasant keeper,'
is coming up from Claydon to fetch John's horses,
and he is to stay three or four days that their man
Eobert may show him the town ; he is not to sleep
with him however, 'first because of Eobert's sore
254 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
throat & 2 Iy because that Bedd is but small & Nedd
is grone bigg, soe it will not hold them ... he is
your acquaintance soe I need not bid you make him
welcome.'
June 28, ' Dearest Joy,' she writes to him when he was
going on from Claydon to look after her farms at
Wasing, ' I hope you will make no long stay, for I
long to se thee, I would not live this life allways
without you for all the world. My duty to Sir
Ealph and tell him I wish myselfe with him.' He
sends her in return ' everything that the Lovingest
of husbands can express to the best of wives, &
love to the little ones not forgetting the kicker in
the dark.'
' Dearest,' he writes again, ' I'me very Sorry John
my Coachman Should be soe greate a Clowne to you
& soe Sullen now I am from home; but t'is the
nature of the Beast. I was so angry about it that I
did presently agree with one here who is not a sightly
fellow, but I thinke he is a better natur'd man then
John, but (doe not speake of it to anybody,) he never
drove a Coach but once, but he is a very good Cart
or Waggon driver & hath of a long time had a mind
to live with me. . . .
4 Pray as often as you see our Excellent Father &
Mother let them have my Duty, with Love & Service
to the rest of that family : & Blessing to my
Children : and for thyself I send thee all the Kind-
ness & Love which can be Expresst by
vour Deare JN. YERNEY.'
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 255
Amongst Sir Ealph's child-friends, John's four
little ones Elizabeth (b. 1681), Mary (b. 1682),
Ealph (b. 1683), and Margaret (b. 1685) held a very
special place in his heart. They were bright, attrac-
tive children, and every incident in their lives was
reported to their grandfather. The eldest girl was
his godchild, the old doctor stood as his proxy, and
wrote to Sir Ealph after the christening : ' As I have
promised & vowed that y r marvellous pretty Girle
" Betty Verney " shall forsake the Divill & all his
works, soe be sure y u take care thereof when I shall
be gathered to my ffathers.' Margaret is named
after her grandmother, Mun and Nancy Nicholas and
Hester Denton are the gossips. Gary wishes her a
boy, ' for I find our sex is not much vallued in our
age, bot before 'tis a woman I hope they will be
better esteemed.'
The father and grandfather were in real distress
when the ' footboy Harry being about the coach with
Ealph who was in it, shut the Coach door upon the
Child's fingers, quite pull'd off one of Ealph's nailes
off of his fingers with some little bruises.' The hero
of this adventure had now reached the mature age of
three, and the family had scarcely recovered the
shock of the death of Ealph, Mun's eldest son, when
little Ealph and his elder sister Mary fell dangerously
ill. John's anxieties were divided between them and
his wife, who was looking sadly thin and worn ; he
tried to persuade her to go to Claydon while he
remained in charge of the little ones. Sir Ealph,
256 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
who was afraid of infection and fatigue for both of
them, wrote urgently to John. ' I wish my Daughter
were here & you with her, for you can do nothing
about your children, 'tis not a Man's employment,
but Woemen's work, & they both understand it &
can performe it much better then any Man can doe.
A good nursekeeper is better then Ten men, there-
fore think uppon it before you resolve to stay with
them, & God direct you for the best.'
' Molly and Ealph continue as they were, very ill
of a feaver & pains with a short Cough very fast,
they will not tell where their paines are, nor will
they take anything but small Beare, nor that if any-
thing be mingled with it, that we have trouble enough.
Those things that they love so very well when in
health as Sugar, Candy, Pruines etc. they will not
now touch, nor will they let the Doctors touch theire
hands, but pray that neither their Unkle Dr. nor Mr.
Gelthorpe the Apothecary may not come to 'em.
God be theire Phisitian,' writes the distracted father,
4 & spare their lives.'
Edmund at Clay don cannot hold out hopes that
they will be ' Cured Hereabouts, for all our most
able & Eminent Doctors of this Vicinage, Have Left
off theyr Practice, & are Growne Vertuous Stoicks.'
The crafty 'Babbies,' who would neither be
' blouded nor vomited,' were perforce left to Nature
and ' small Beare,' and falsified their physicians'
predictions by making a good recovery. Their
mother, whose ailments were less definite, was
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 257
gradually getting weaker, although the loving hearts
about her failed to recognise any danger.
John keeps up his correspondence with the East,
his friend the Pasha of Aleppo is said to have fallen in
a great battle with the Poles.
4 Our Alleppo letters acquaint us of a fire which
hath burnt .3 or 400 shopps & had not abundance of
rain fallen ye same night t' would have done much
more mischiefe. S r Thomas Bludworth's eldest son Feb. 6,
dyed by y e Inward breaking of a Veine : And
Ald n Burdetts second son is alsoe dead by accident,
Thus : Being a Coursing, the Hare refug d in a hole
& he hearing y e hare squeeke & beleiving a Dogg
was gott into y e refuge, & ye hare within reach, put
in his arm, butt something bitt him by the hand,
which payn'd him soe much as to force him out of y e
field, home, where he instantly had y e Doctors &
Surgeons but to little purpose for he dyed at
4 a clock in y e afternoon & was bitt between 8 and 9
the same morning, one or two more are dead of
fluxes, This wee account a greate Mortality to heare
of at once from that healthy plase.'
John has become an important man in the City ;
his prudence carried him through some critical times
when ' so many citizens have failed, that the first Mar. so,
n > 1G7()
question every day asked is, Who is broke to-day e
i The great discourse of the town is of Tompson &
Nelthorpe the bankers who are failed. . . . Hynde
& his partners have refused further payments. . . .
the like is said of some others wch I am glad of, for
VOL. iv. s
258 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
I would have all bankers broke, they ruining the trade
of the whole kingdom.' Besides his shares in the
Levant and East Indian Companies, he is in the
Guinea trade, and when the Royal African Company
' has become as poor as a courtier,' John goes down
to Windsor with Sir Gabriel Eoberts. They have
July 14, 'some discourse with Sec: Sunderland & after-
wards with his Majestic, about the Company's busi-
ness.' They witness 'the Portugal Ambassador's
public audience before the K. and Qu. together, after
morning chapel, & their dinner in public.' The
Company is conducted with old-fashioned honesty ;
' we cannot have l d dividend, but we pay off our
debts that if the Co: be broke nobody may be sufferers
but those that are of it.' John considers that English
commerce is ruined, by politicians meddling in
merchants' affairs, ' for they like a flood break down
all ; ' and in his bitter complaints of the interference
of Parliament and of the favour shown to the Dutch,
he might be in the ' moral meridian ' of Ehodesian
politics to-day. There is some money left in the City
nevertheless, for the people throng and press to see
Nov 3 ' the rich clothes and jewels worn by the Lady
Mayoress,' who has a famous ' collar of pearls, each
as big as the top of one's finger.'
To return to the public events of the time.
Bucks shared with the rest of the Kingdom, the
excitement caused by Titus Gates' pretended dis-
coveries, and an engraved stone at Oatlands that
' Oats shall save this land from destruction ' was
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 259
quoted by Edmund as containing a political prophecy
rather than a simple agricultural fact. Sir Eichard
Temple disbelieved in Gates from the first, and was
called a Jesuit for his pains. Edmund writes from
East Claydon to John in London : ' I perceive by
yours of the 20 th That abundance of Eogues and Oct. 23,
Jades are condemned, and are like to suffer accord-
ing to theyr Demerits : But for ye great Eogues,
Jades and Traytors, w cb Deserve Death Ten
Thousand Times sooner then y e Other, They are like
to escape & be Pardonned, w ch is a most sadd Thing
to Consider upon. Lord Have Mercy upon Us for
I wonder How all This will End, I am affrayd very
ill.' ' Yesterday Gates Preacht in forster lane,' John Oct. 27,
writes, ' where were Greate Crowds of people, more
to see then heare him, for some tell me his perfor-
mance was not Extraordinary.' On November 5 in
this year, besides his brother's health, Edmund
drinks many loyal toasts to the confusion of Con-
spirators and Plotters. The Sessions in London were
heavier than had been known for 40 years, '20 men
& 13 women being condemned to death.'
Nancy writes : ' We had maney bonfiers heare a
boughts & at Tempel bar was burnt ye Lord
Shafstbery & D r Oats, & very unhappily I know not
by what means it hapned but y e mobele was very
rud to y e Dutch Imbasidor & his wife w cb he did not
expect shuld be shewed him on y e 5 : of Nov.' ' The
Pop and S r Edmond Godfery,' Gary writes, ' was NOV. 20,
carryed in greatare triumph then evar, from Whithall
260 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
to Somarset hous on Qu. Elizabeth's coronation day,
though wee all hard the King sent to my lord Maior
to repres it, w h replyed hee could not hope to due it,
the people being fixed to due it, wod bee daingarous
to sopres it ; parsons of quollity went to see it as thay
did my lord Maiors show, bot the pop was burnt at
temple bar, and S r Edmund Godfery only carryed to
Somarset hous, they say ther was 20,000 attended
this show all day and expected to bee soprest by the
gards and declared they wod stand on ther defenc
but all was quiat.' John writes that there were
100,000 spectators, and that the King witnessed the
pageant from a goldsmith's window ; that the devil
appeared attended by boys in surplices, with a train
of bishops, cardinals and friars, with bell, book and
candle, &c. 'On Queen Eliz s birth night S r Eobert
Peyton's Effigy will be burnt with the Pope's By the
Eabble, On fryday y e King walked to Hampton
Court, & Portsmouth rode in her Coach by him.'
* It would Anger One strangely to consider unto
what a ffayre Market of Destruction Wee are
Brought, meerely through the Negligence, ffolly,
unskillfullnesse & Basenesse of our Pilots, who
neither would nor Could save the shipp from sink-
ing and Perishing, notwithstanding They were ad-
monished and Directed How to Do it in Time By the
Voyce of the People.'
This very modern sentiment was Edmund
Verney's comment on the results of the reign that
began with such enthusiasm of popular approval.
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 261
Yet in that age of paradoxes Charles II's personal
popularity was never greater than during the last
few years of his life. The reaction after the frenzied
cruelties with which the Popish plot had been
avenged, rendered vain Shaftesbury's desperate game
to secure the throne for Monmouth ; and strong Protes-
tants, like the Verneys, wholly disapproved of the
Exclusion Bill, while deploring the Duke of York's
conversion to Eome. The King, who stood bravely
by his brother in all his unpopularity, sent him
abroad till the storm abated.
Edmund writes to Sir Ealph in the spring of '79,
* That y r Distemper Should Leave you, & the Duke Mar< 6>
of York, England, much about the same Time, is a 1679
Mercy, w ch makes mee Merrily & Trebly Sing,
Gaudiamus and Haleluia, and I pray that the One
be never suffered to Trouble you more, nor the other
this Nation again, and so God Blesse our good King
Charles, in whom I Hope There is no Guile.' But
the Prince returns sooner than Sir Ealph's distemper :
Cary writes from London, 'In stead of the Duck's
going for Scotland, hee with the doches and daughters
Arived heare last night, Dalavall denton who came O ct. is,
with him told mee when they left flanders all ther
discours was for Scotland, bot whilst the Duck was
coursing on the sees, being tosed with severall
winds about, they met with letters from the King to
give leve to come this way, And you may esely ges
Ingland is more plesent then Scotland, the doches
expreses exterordynary joy, she saith she hath not
262 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
had a happy hour since she went out of England.
But to come to the sad story of the tims, the Duck
of Monmouth came to towne on thursday about one
a clok in the morning, and that night had great
bonfiars for joy, great numbers stoped coaches to get
mony, and hackneys, and maid them fling up ther
hats and say God bles Jaims duck of Monmouth, elc
thay wod afront them.' John tells how he was
stopped in the streets, and when he refused to give
the crowd money to drink Monmouth's health ' they
Deo. i, cried out a Papist, a Papist. The L d Mayor &
Aldermen went to congratulate his Maj ties recovery,
the D. of York was by but they took no notice of
him, wch he resented ; Tis said the K. took my L d
Mayor by the hand & welcomed him, at wch my L d
M. took him by the other hand & shaking both s d I
thank you, I thank you, several times more.' Gary
writes ' this great joy is not at Whit hall bot as much
angar, for the King will not see him [Monmouth] but
in his angar has taken a way all his plases : isterday
tis said hee had 200 visitants a great number of the
nobilyty. my lord Shusbury and lord hollofax I hard
named : tis beleved the great kindness the people
shows him maks the king hate him : and tis beleved
thay that crys him up dus it only in opposition to the
Duck.'
4 1 sent my Girls to court last night to heare
news,' Gary writes again, ' wher ther was the greatest
court on that acount as has bin seen sine the plot
begon, for usually ther is very fue as I am told, but
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 263
iching years carryed many to heare the Duck of
Monmouth's dome, w ch most lamented, and some said
the duck of monmouth wept when he heard the joy
the people exprest, knowing it wod ruing him, the
say in court the King sent to him to bee gone on
tuesday, hot the duck refueses to goe, on whot acount
is severall wayes said : hot the girls tells mee the
King looks so very ill as it greved them to see him,
and came twice in, bot spok to none bot my lord
Fevarsome who came in with him, thay nevar saw
man have more discontent and disordar in the looks
then the King had ; the Queen was brisk and looks
well, the new master of the hors came in playing
before the King.'
The panic of the Popish plot had made Cathe-
rine for a time unpopular. John Stewkeley wrote
in June, when there was even a cry of sending her
to the Tower : ' The Queen is the subject now of
great consultation, whether for Portugal, or a closer
place, or the continued favour of him that fears no
colours nor is sensible of any Danger ; but the Qu.
shows herself in the Park & is very merry.'
' T'is a very Crasy Time everywhere,' Mun Deo. 7,
writes, ' Especially at London. The Duke of Mon-
mouths Comming Back with such generall acclama-
tion and joy & flocking of the People to see &
congratulate Him, will Eouse up His Eoyall High-
nesse to Hasten his Euine, w ch without a Eebellion
can not be prevented in all Likelyhood : for His
Majesty Hath determined y e succession in the Duke
264 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
of York, with much Eeason in my thoughts : I am
concerned to see Things Eun so violently : But God's
will must Be Done.' Amongst Monmouth's personal
friends in Bucks was Sir William Smith, to whom
he gave his picture ; and with whose unstable cha-
racter and ostentatious wavs he had much in
m
common. John writes that ' y e D. of Monmouth was
at S* Martin's Church, when he came in all People
shew'd him much Civility by rising up, and some
Cry'd God blesse y e Duke of Monmouth, I heard say
that he then & there Eeceaved the holy sacrament.'
Dec. 7, 'My lord Gorg the duck of Monmoth's son
1679 . . . n . T _ . . . _ _ .
being sick the King give him leve to goe see him,
and sine his death the duck has leve to be w th the
doches at the Cokpit, so many hops hee will come in
favour againe, because you shall heare the nues of
the towne as well as mee, true or falc, tis said the
duck of monmoth sent to the dochis of porchmouth
to know why shee was his enymy so much, who
answared him shee was so, and wod bee so as long
as hee was an Enymy to the King and her, and that
hee should find she should bee upheld by all the
princes of chrisendome : a brave hicktoring lady ;
tis said the parlament will set up the duck of
Monmoth and will find witnesses to prove his
Mother was maryed to the king, to show you the
probability of this tis said the Bisshop of Winchester
is to bee one of the witnesses, this the Moltytude wod
have, so will talk of it though thay ruing him thay
love by it. The Dochis of porchmouth calls the
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 265
parlament The 500 Clowns ; Nelly dus the Duck of
Monmoth all the Kindness shee can, hot her interest
is nothing.' ' Nell Gwin begg'd hard of his Maj tie to
see him, telling him he was grown pale, wan, lean &
long-visaged merely because he was in disfavour;
but the King bid her be quiet for he w d not see him.'
In the midst of the excitement about the Exclu-
sion Bill, Anne Nicholas writes : ' This day our Oct. 20,
-I QA
Great Duke Yorke, & his Dutches is gone for
Scotland ; last Saturday ye Lord Fairfax, Cousin
Sherard's father in law, was walking in S* Jeames
Park & his hignes did se him & so came to him &
took him by ye hand & said to him, Well my L d I
se you are all com up to doe what you can against
me ; I am ye more sory for y e occasion, replied yt
L d , but we are all resolved to assert y e properties of
our nation & ye Prodistant Eeligion ; & His Eoyal
Higness replyd again, I will give you all y e asshur-
ance you can ask y* I will not disturb y r propertie ;
this I ame shuer is a real truth . . . tis said tonight
y* tis the Dutchis of Porchmouth y* hath sent his
hyness on this errant.' Gary hears that ' the Duck
has a very full and gloryus court in Scotland, the
Duck of Monmouth is at the cokpit, bot his dochis
is ill, and has reson to bee so for her estat is all
drowned by waters in Scotland bot 5000 a yeare,
and all her fortuns sunk heare at present w ch maks
mee pity her exstremly.'
Nancy Nicholas must have a story to tell Sir
Ealph : ' This day in ye house of L ds saith ye L d
266 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Clarindon (by a wae of whisper) to L' 1 Shafstbery
" my L' 1 we can never be well so long as y* ill woman
ye D. of Porch th is w th our K ; so I hope you will
give y r helping hand to remove her ; " " my L d , my
L d ," couth Shafstbery " we are now hunting Tygers
& Bairs & Birds of Prey & now you would a Cony-
Ketching." ; Edmund writes from London on De-
cember 30, of a noble quarry hunted to death by
Shaftesbury, ' my Lord Stafford was beheaded yester-
day & died like a Eoman.'
Monmouth was in Bucks in the summer of 1681.
Sir Ealph and Edmund were in his company at ' the
races on Quainton Meade ' which lasted three days ;
' Sir E. Temple and Mr. Wharton were there, and
many' persons of quality.
Shaftesbury's success in getting up petitions to
the King to allow Parliament to meet, drew forth a
host of counter petitions, expressing abhorrence of
the design to force the King's will. The address of
the town of Wycombe l ' presented by Dr. Lluellyn to
his Maj tie at Windsor upon Bartholomew day 1681,'
is a type of the abject loyalty and the flowery
language of the Bucks Corporations. They speak of
' the late defeated Politicians,' as ' disappointed of
their dark designments by y r Majestie's profound
wisdom & divine prevision,' and protest that ' wee
have alwayes detested & rejected them, togeather
with their now exploded scanty & forsaken abettors.
We have ever incerted o r loyall selves amongst the
1 History of Wycombe, by J. Parker.
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 267
resolute, grave, & deliberate p'sons. And wee doe
most highly applaud the stout fidelios, the strenuous,
brisk & valiant youth of this your now much
undeluded nation. We therefore, Yo r Mat ies most
dutyfull & most devoted subjects entirely p'fesse :
That we will to the utmost stresse of o r sinews,
to the latest gaspe of our lives, & the last solitary
mite in o r coffers adhere to your Ma tie . . . , Many
have out stript us in the wing but none shall exceed
us in theire wishes ; we envye much their more
earley apply, but none shall ever appeare more
faithfull. . . . God preserve yo r Ma tie from all
rebellious Machinacions. Amen.'
The King repaid this adulation by an attack on
the municipal charters, which placed the representa-
tion of the Boroughs in his hands. The names of
the Petitioners and Abhorrers were soon changed
into those party titles, which have lasted to the
present day. Two years later Mun writes : ' Tho : April 16,
1 fift^
Smith went with Cosen Denton to Holson Eace : where
There Happened a Contest Betweene Wigg and Tory,
the Later would not contribute to the Plate in case
the Duke of Monmouth Didd Eunne for it, and the
Wigges offered to Make up the summe for it, in case
the Toreys would not.'
When Shaftesbury is tried, Dr. Denton writes, NOV. 20,
' Our friend S r W. Smith is of this grand jury, where
you know his pregnancy of parts will justly entitle
him to be Dominus fac totum, & I hear they are
finding the K of Poland [Shaftesbury] guilty of high
268 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
treason.' ' I think the Prince [Eupert] was buried
Dec. 4, on Friday night, but it was no hindrance of the
1682 n . - . ,
Court going to see the play.
The City is in an unsettled state, and ' tis a wonder
the Cittizens breake soe fast, being England hath had
almost all the Trade of the World, sine the warrs
have been in Germany.' John writes to Edmund of
a great fire in Constantinople, which has ruined many
English traders there, and of a merchant in the City
of London he had known at Aleppo, who 'is this
weeke broke, and is 2000 worse then nothing ; these
are misfortunes which you Country Gentlemen are
not acquainted with, nor may you ever be, shall be
the hearty prayer of yr most aff : brother.'
The influx of skilled foreign artisans, which
increased immensely after the Eevocation of the
Edict of Nantes in 1685, added to the eventual
prosperity of the country, but for a time disturbed
the labour market; better modes of production
in the silk, ribbon, and stocking trades added to the
discontent. John writes, ' Here hath been mutinous
riseings, by the Weavers on this score, there is of
late found out a loome that ridds worke soe fast,
that one man with it can doe as much as 20 after
the old fashion (by wch meanes all Eibboning would
be much cheaper) this they pretend must of necessity
ruine many familyes amongst them, soe they will
have these new looms burnt, & 2 they served so on
Munday, & on tuesday went about ye same worke,
but he that expected them, being fitted for a defence
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 269
(of his property) kill'd one & wounded two more,
whereat ye rest fledd, but yesterday, they return'd
to him (who was alsoe fledd) & burnt his loonies in
St Geo : fields in Southwarke, these riseings hath
made the Watches be doubled all over the citty,
besides some Comp es of ye Trained bands, who every
night keep guard on y e Eoyall Exchange.' In
contrast to the starving weavers, there is the com-
petition of the rich for the possession of a fashionable
toy : ' The Lord Geo : Berkely's Elephant (who is
5 foot & 4 Inches high) is to be sold by ye Candle
at ye East India house sett up at 1000 & to advance
20 every bidding.' ' When you are all together
at Clay don,' Nancy writes to Sir Ealph from Co vent
Garden, ' you will have no want of the foole of the
play I mean myself but we have a boundance of
Jack-Podings, on our mountybanks staidg in our
Squair every day, I hope the new mountibanke may,
if nothing els will, be an attraction to you.'
' The Pope's Nuncio would not admit that our
Amb r sh d sign the Peace at Nimeguen unless Defender
of the Faith were left out.' Some English & Dutch pni 16 '
ships carryed Corn to Civita Vecchia & according to
custome all the Dutch Comanders had the Pope's
Medalls given to them, but the English Captaines
could not get theirs, though that Custome was prest
on their behalfe to the Pope. But he would not
condescend to^it, hee said they weare of a Nation
that was without Faith without Conscience & without
Law, soe you may see how we stand in his Holiness's
270 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
favour. But noe Pope in Oliver's time durst have
said soe.'
While the long dispute is raging about the suc-
cession, the two childless women, Catherine of
Braganza and Mary of Modena, have their small
?.*fo 29 ' rivalries. 'I heare ye Queen & Dutchess are not
Iboo *
Cater-Cosins,' John writes, 'ye latter having at
Newmarket given ye Country Ladyes leave to come
to her in mantos, her Court was every night full, &
ye Qu : sate alone. So when ye Fire happed, ye
Dutchess & Lady Anne went to ye Queen's doore to
attend her, but she sent them out word she would be
private. Then they went to L d Suffolks whither the
Qu' &c being alsoe to goe, said she should fill ye
house her selfe, soe ye Dutchess &c removed to
Eochester's.'
A little later in the spring Sir Ealph's charming
friend Eleanor Lee, now Countess of Abingdon, is
entertaining the Duke of York with his Duchess and
Lady Anne at Bycote, where ' there are 9 choice
Ko^ 24 ' Cookes to Dresse the Meate.' Mun hears that 'The
Iboo
City of Oxon presented his Highnesse the Duke of
Yorke with a payre of Gloves : and the Earle of
Abingdon writt to Cosen Denton to come & augment
the Splendour of the Cavalcade that accompanied
May 28, the Duke into Oxford Towne : butJHee went not :
1 fift^
The Mayor of Oxon my Cosen Towneshend (Mary
Denton's husband) Didd not Go & wayte upon the
Duke at his Lodging in Christ Church Colledge,
because my Lord Abingdon could not secure Him
*'(. i<i r/' v c
/rent ajpjrrtrai/ &y <yir
n ^/uru<te.
UNDER THE MEERY MONARCH 271
that the Mace Should Be suffered to Be Held upp
when He Entered into Christ Church colledge, wch
it seemes the Bishop would not allow : so he went
not to wayte on Him, my Cosen A. Denton went to
Eicot to Excuse his not wayting upon my Lord when
the Duke made his Entry into Oxford : and Thorn :
Smith went along with Him.'
4 Major Stafford's Eldest Sonne is Dead : and so
is Alderman Backwell, So That old and young Go to
their Earthly Mansion, when Almighty God pleaseth
so to Decree it.'
The unhappy Eye House Plot, discovered in June
1683, again disturbed the peace of the kingdom.
Sir Ealph foresees that 'Those few muskets that
were found packt upp in my Lord Gray's house, will
be reported to be a greate Magazine, & indeed it
was too many for a man in his circumstances that
can expect noe favour.' When Lord Gray was
committed to the Tower, ' he made his escape from June 28,
1 CQQ
the messenger as he was carrying him thither, the
messenger is put in the Dungeon & the king is
extreamly angry w th him, & with the D. of Monmouth
& belives all the Accusation against him.' The plot
costs England two precious lives. On July 20,
close to the lodgings where Betty Adams stays when
she is in town, a scaffold is being erected 'right
against the Marquis of Winchester's House, where
the wrestlings are used to be in Lincoln's Inn fields,'
upon which Lord Eussell must suffer on the morrow.
A.nd so closely do tragedy and comedy jostle
272 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
each other in this unhappy time, that while Algernon
Sidney is being tried for his life, some mad court
NOV. 26, ladies, 'The Lady Mary Gerrard, & others, had a
1683
frolic to putt on men's aparell, & walke the streets
attended with some Gentlemen. In Leicester fields
they mett w th a fidler, & I know n fc on what pro-
vocations, but ye poore man was killed amongst
them, tis said they are in ye Gate house.'
Dec. 6, John writes a few days later : ' Here is no newes
loBo
but that Coll Sidney is to morrow to dye & tis said
ye Whiggs have talkt him out of his life by talking
the plot to be at an end & no more should dye for
it.' He writes again when the fatal deed is done :
4 On Friday Coll Sidney was beheaded on Tower Hill,
he dyed a great hero, shewing all the Indifferency
Immaginable, he made no Speech, but delivered a
paper to Sheriff Daniell (which he hath given to his
Majesty, but tis said twill not be printed), He made
a very short prayer to himselfe, & was beheaded at
one stroke, before the horse Guards came, who were
all with ye foote Guards, ordered to encompass the
scaffold, & I think the foote Guards were but just on
the hill.' ' He met death with an unconcernedness
that became one, who had set up Marcus Brutus for
his pattern.'
While Eachel Lady Eussell wore with so much
dignity a ' sorrow's crown of sorrow ' to the end of
her life, her friend Lady Gardiner, who lost her ex-
cellent husband a few months later, was in danger of
sinking into * an old age of cards.' Preshaw House
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 273
had been bought by Sir Hugh Stewkeley, and John
Stewkeley and his family settled in London, where
his chief relaxation during his last years was playing
at bowls, ' when he meets at least 40 every night of
parsons of good quollity.' After his death in 1684,
they moved into a smaller house. Gary ' wants the
wherewithal to marry her girls,' they must live ' like
nuns,' she says, ' & my son as Jack-a-Fryar (not
virtuous enofe I fear for the company of women) ; '
their small town-house seems dull and narrow after
the cheerful home at Preshaw, and an evening
* abroad ' means play. Sir Eichard Temple's little
daughter Maria is christened on his birthday in the
drawing-room. The baby's mother, and the god-
mothers, Lady Chaworth and Lady Gardiner, are
immersed in cards. They leave off gambling ' for 3
or 4 rounds ' while the service is actually performed,
then fall to it again, oblivious of everything around
them. Not content with risking whatever her own
poverty could scrape together, Lady Gardiner tries
to launch the whole family in fashionable specu-
lations, and to borrow money of her own girls.
Sir Ealph supports them in the difficult virtue of
resisting their mother, and acts as an outside con-
science to Lady Gardiner, though she protests
against his absurd scruples. She is deeply in debt,
and asks him to lend her 100Z.
' Deare Sister,' Sir Ealph replies, 'at the sight of
your letter it is hard to say whether I was more
troubled to read your condition, or to see you insen-
VOL.IV. T
274 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
sible that you are the cause of it. I doe not wonder
that play (which has ruined soe many Families and
soe vast Estates) has reduced you to soe great
Extremitys, as almost to see the destruction of
Youres. You are noe way qualified for a Gamester,
but lie at the mercy of All that play with you.
Having so small a Fortune you engage with others
of great Estates, and will venture to play with them
at a Game too High for you, though not for them !
Pardon me Sister, I must needs tell you with a
Brother's freedom, that you are now come to the
Brincke of the precipice, and nothing cann save you
but a timely Ketreat. . . . And to show you plainly
that I doe not give you this Counsell to save my
Money, I promise you the 100 you desire, soe you
will first send mee a full & faithful promise under
your own hand, to leave off all Gameing and such
continual! & extraordinary Visiting, & also to re-
trench your Household expenses. And if you
refuse to gratify mee in this Eequest, you cannot
expect I should comply with yours. For that would
be but to furnish you for play, like an ill physician
who instead of cureing feedes the Disease.'
Gary waxes fierce under the aggravation of such
March io, excellent advice. ' You are very sevear, and I can-
1 iiotz
not bot say unjust to Accus mee of Whot you due
not know to bee truth, and of whot I can truly take
my oath is falc, and yr Informars divilish lyars that
tell you I have bin such a lusar at play. I know the
originall of all the ill is said of mee, thay goe about
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 275
the earth sekking to mischef me. ... A Church
farissy and an hypocrit may easily ruing any under
my sircomstances, hot as low as I am, I scorn them
and all thay can due to mee, & wod not goe ovar the
thrashold to satisfy yr Informars that has bin so long
hatching this mischef. . . . Whot quollyfications A
gaimster should have I am A strangare to, bot whot
dus becom A gentilwoman as plays only for divartion
I hope I know, and shall nevar due no base thing at
play, nor no othar way. For my high play I am sure
when I play with thos as is of great quollyty, ther is
fore of us joyn as one gang, wch is much loware to my
shar than whot I usd to play at my cossen Nicholasis,
and I nevar played at My Lady Deavonshirs bot thre
times, and then my Lady Seamore and my Lady
met, and Mrs. Vernon went equall shars with me. . .
Tis true I play with my Lady Fits, bot wee often
have sherars, tho I am so Insincsible A creture yet I
know did I find gameing had bin so prediditiall I
had long sine left it, and why you should injoin me
to leve play quite I think is hard, and as hard as I
should not visit, sartainly that cannot ruing mee. I
know my erour and wher I have out lived myselfe,
and that is in hous keeping, and that I confes and will
Amend, and thank you for yr advise tho it extends
to a high severyty.'
' Your letter,' replies her brother, c was sharpe as March 14,
a Dagger whetted for execution. . . . when my
neighbour's house is on fire, I should thank him
kindly that would tell me of it. Friendly cautions
T 2
276 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
are Tokens of Love, whereas Silence in Danger is a
Signe of Indifference. ... I thank you heartily for
your promise to retrench your housekeeping, but
cannot possibly be fully satisfied till you have made
mee another to leave off play.'
March 17, < The wholl Indeavour of my life sine my husband
1686 . .
died,' she writes again, ' has bin to make my children's
lifs comfortable, though things has not sockseeded
to my mind, & am sure now sine this unspeakable
troble of yr ill opinyon of mee, I have hyd it all from
them tho I have lived in sorrow night and day, & had
not the Implyment of my remove divarted mee I
sopos I had bin as ill as my enymis wish mee.'
March 24, Cary cannot bear being called a gamester. * I
have known & so have you, very good women in
yr Acount, as playd at cards more in a yeare than I
doe in seven, wch would have taken it ill to have
that title given them.' Dr. Denton has been harping
on the same string. * Your sister Gardiner is both
Eotterdam & Amsterdam,' he complains, ' for she
doth nothing but scold at me, & swears I am ten
times worse than your worship & then I must needs
be a very pure youth ! ' ' Sartainly,' Gary goes on,
4 1 am not so void of reson at this age bot that I can
refran from duing myself and family any damag by
play beyound A sum of 20 or 30 wch cannot ruing
them.'
'Eestraint from Evill,' her Counsellor replies,
' is neither imprisonment nor confinement, as you
call it, for to govern ourselves well is the truest
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 277
Liberty. . , . if you doe not meane 20 or 30 a
year, or 20 or 30 at a time, but only 20 or 30
in all & to leave off play for Altogether whenever
that is lost, in such a case your solemn and faithful
promise of it, shall end this dispute with your aff ate
brother and servant.'
Gary however finds it inconvenient to be bound by
such definite promises to so precise a person. She
carries the war into the enemy's country. ' Some Mar. si,
barbarous people has raised so great a scandall on
me, I pray God forgive them . . . tis just as the
lady at court [Penelope Osborne] reports, that
nether I nor my daughters are ever at homb, nay,
had the confidenc to tell us so to our faces, when
shee has mist us when we ware at Church. I dare
say no young women in towne, stay more at homb,
nor work harder, nor take less pleasure a broad than
thay due . . . shee ever was unhappy to me,. . . .
I hope brother for the futur you will not credit the
reports ill people rase of mee.'
Sir Ealph dockets this, ' Sister Gardiner's letter
wherin she does not answer my last ; ' she defines her
pledge in a manner worthy of a Stuart King. ' You April 13,
say I speak against myselfe in saying God is pleasd
to accept of a promis without being absolut, I did
say it and think it, wch if hee did not, I feare most
men and women liveing would be found perjured
persons. ... I beg of you that ther may never
any unkind word pass between you and mee on
this account, bot that our severall opinions and
278 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
disputs may only be arguments & leve no unkind-
ness.'
Sir Kalph responds at once to this appeal, he
feels that Eight and Eeason (with big Es) are on his
side, but Love is weary of the discussion, and he
sends Gary the 100/. she asks for. Amicable rela-
tions being thus re-established between them, she
continues her chatty chronicle and her unpleasant
prescriptions. ' My lady Seymore told me the old
Duck of Somerset w ch was her lords brother was very
Inclinable to an apooplex above twenty years before
he dyed, and did often Indanger his life, and after
takeing many things of severall Physitians, was
advised by a frend as had helped many of that
complant, to ware oyld cloth at the bottoms of ther
feet between ther socks and ther feet it might be
next ther skin : and after my Lord wore this, hee
never had any aparplexsicall fit : so I have sent you
down some in case you ware it, tis held A drawing
much from the head w ch is imputed to prevent thes
fits.'
Gary herself complains of shortness of breath but
is very energetic : ' I now rise at five A clok & after
our six A clok prayers, I walk in our quodrangle
or in the Covent Garden wher ther is a freshnes of
Ayre, purer than in St. James' Park, besids I have A
house as is very open backwards wch is comfortable
to me. . . .' The house is in ' James Street wch we
give .60 a year for, redy furnished ... tis neer
the Church wch is the chef advantag of it.' Evelyn
UNDER THE MERRY MONARCH 279
describes this ' new church at S* Jame's,' with its
* garlands about the walls by M r Gibbons in wood,'
and its richly adorned altar. Sir Ealph's contribu-
tion to Gary's furnishing is a rack for plates ; My
Cook-maid taks great delight in it, and so thay due
all and therfore you have many thanks for it from
them all and mine dobly for such a convenyent pece
of houshold stof, for such neet things pleases me
exstremely.' Gary writes after a visit to her brother,
* I have had a world of company with mee daly, bot Dec. 16,
not my lady Ann Grimston for M rs Grimston was not
marayed on monday morning but at night being A
mode Amonxt the great ons and yesterday thay all
dined at my Lord notingams. And for the honnor
of y u wellcome, I am told by all as sees mee, that I
look better sine I was with you, then I have don a
great while so I conclud I should a groun fat, had I
not had great troble to A lay the delight I took in
being with you at sweet Clay don bot my joys has
allways had great A lays w ch is very just I should
have ; ' after the economies of the little house in St.
James', to dine well was to Lady Gardiner a pleasure
second only to winning at cards. John feels much
for her. ' I am sorry to see that Lady that hath kept
soe many Coach horses at once, and 20 servants,
now live without a paire of the first, and onely a girle
of the other, for she takes no servant but frank
Eogers ' on a journey to Baddow.
Her son Jack, who has ' a gentile fancy ' in dress,
and in his disinclination to work, has just won
280 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
' above 1800 at play ; ' his family rejoices, for he is
said to be ' very fair as a Gamester.' To the end of
his life, Gary is appealing to Sir Ealph to get her out
of scrapes, and in 1690 there are lawyer's letters
which he has labelled as referring to ' My Lady
Gardiner's Project with M r Primrose in theRoyall Oake
Lottery, wherein she plunged M r Page, her son-in-
law, & herself, and he cheated her of 600.'
281
CHAPTEE VIII.
SAINT NICHOLAS' CLERKS.
1655-1685.
' 1 think yonder come prancing down the hills from Kingston, a
couple of St. Nicholas' Clerks.'
IT is said that the romance of the road was buried
with Claude Du Val in 1670 ; when having been
' hanged a convenient time,' he was conveyed to his
grave by persons of quality, with a fashionable train
of the weeping fair, and laid under a white marble
stone curiously engraved with the Du Val arms, in
the middle aisle of St. Paul's Church, Covent Garden.
The Verney letters offer little enough of romance
in the life of a gentleman turned highwayman ; and
such a hero was likely to spend more of his days
in dunning his friends from a stifling cell in Newgate,
than in galloping over breezy commons, or lying
in wait for dowagers' coaches in tortuous lanes.
There were doubtless brave spirits among them,
who, in a simpler age, might have ' stopped the
mouths of lions,' or, in our own, would have found
vent for their energies in African deserts, or in
Arctic snows ; but like Dick Hals, weary of risking
282 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
their lives in being defeated by the Dutch, and sick
of waiting for arrears of pay, they threw themselves
into reckless and desperate courses, making war
against a society which had refused to receive them
as allies.
Even the sensible and prosaic John Verney felt
his blood stirred by tales of their valour and re-
source. ' A couple of highwaymen,' he writes in
1679, ' having robbed a countryman & leaving him
his horse, he pursued 'em with hue & cry which
overtook them, but they being very stout fought
their way through Islington & all the road along to
this town's end, where after both their swords were
broke in their hands & they unhorsed, they were
seized & carried to Newgate. Tis great pity such
men should be hanged.'
The Verneys were not behind other persons ol
quality in owning relatives amongst these gentlemen
of the road ; and the correct and austere Sir Ealph
did his best to get his highwaymen cousins out of
scrapes. He gave them money ; lent even his wig,
on occasion, to assist in a disguise and an escape,
and used all his political and social influence to
procure reprieves and pardons. Lady Hobart, living
among the Judges, in the high places of law and
order, threw her sympathies into the same scale,
helping with all her might to baffle justice, and to
promote disorder.
Whatever might be the varying opinions about
the highwayman's career his death, if he were
SAINT NICHOLAS' CLEEKS 283
sentenced by the law, never failed to evoke a burst
of compassion. A rowdy gathering of good fellows
accompanied him to the foot of the gallows, and
laughed at the devil-may-care courage with which he
met his doom; kind women, like Frances Hobart,
shed hot tears of wrath and pity over his execution,
while they prayed Heaven to have mercy upon his
soul.
On less tragic occasions, those who had not them-
selves been robbed or frightened, insisted upon treat-
ing the adventures of their friends as a good joke ;
and a man like Colonel Henry Verney when charged,
half in jest, with an attack made on his old uncle's
coach, was in no hurry to clear himself of an accusa-
tion, conveying such a distinct compliment to his
pluck and horsemanship.
On the other hand men applauded just as heartily,
when a traveller of unwonted courage made a stout
resistance to the gentleman who meant to rob him ;
in short, the risks of the road gave rise to a number
of capital stories which had this spice about them,
that the man who in his armchair laughed at the
highwayman's audacity and the traveller's alarms,
did so with the strong probability of having to
experience both, the next time that his occasions
called him abroad.
1 ' Eichard Dawson, whose family intermarried
with the descendants of Mary Verney and Eobert
1 From the family MSS. of the Rev. C. F. S. Warren's by his kind
permission.
284 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Lloyd, is remembered for the courage with which he
and his servant Christopher Fogwen fought the high-
waymen that infested Kennington Common and the
neighbourhood ; he had many fearful struggles, but
was always victorious. Mr. Dawson and Kit were
famous characters in their day. They would some-
times drive out disguised as harmless old ladies, in
bonnets and veils, and, when attacked, would rush
out at opposite doors, take their assailants in the
rear, handcuff them, put them into the coach, and
drive off in triumph with their captives.'
Mr. Dawson was worth robbing, being as wealthy
as he was capable and determined. He was at the head
of the Vauxhall glass-works, established under the
patronage of the Duke of Buckingham in 1670. A
number of Venetian workmen, sworn to secrecy,
were employed in glass-blowing, and the making of
mirrors, by processes unknown in England ; the
profits were immense, until a disagreement between
masters and men brought the enterprise to an end ;.
perhaps because the Dawsons relied too much, in
struggling with their workmen, upon the sharp and
short methods so effectual in defending their purses
from more direct modes of attack.
In 1657 Dr. Denton's coach was stopped on the
highway ; Dr. Thomas Hyde sends the news to Mun,
' I did light on your Uncle Dr. at dinner yesterday
was sennight, at Whit field : St. Nicolas Clarks' had
met with him some dayes before, & rob'd him and
his Lady.'
SAINT NICHOLAS' CLERKS 285
The whole family cracked their jokes upon the
Doctor ; Lady Hobart hears that ' he has recruted
his self of Hary and others at play ; let him tack
heed he be not met with agan.' ' As for the
Doctor,' writes Sir Eoger Burgoyne, ' I shall pass
him by ; but as for Mistress Denton and her daughter
I am very sensible of their misfortune, and more
troubled for the affright they were I presume put to,
then for their loss though very considerable : My
very humble service to them and tell them from
me, that if they will but undertake a journey to
Wroxall, I will secure them from such kinds of
vermin, and return them laden with thanks into the
bargain.'
' When you see the doctor let him knew, I goo
nowhar but I met with his news,' writes Lady
Hobart, ' and never any man was so lafed at, for ever
body macks mearth at it : tis said he knos the thefs,
and my ant Varney vows Hary Varney one, and
mayd por Pen mad ; let him knou what a repitason
he has with hur. But if doctor dos intend to dou
anything with the country he shold have conseled
the men though he knew them, for they will surely
hang them.' Good Nat is sarcastic. ' You doe well
to make yourself merrie with the storie which goes of
my cosain Hary Yerney ; it seemes he is pleased with
it too, but I am persuaded he would have liked the
money better then the jest.'
Frank Drake is coming to pay Sir Ealph a visit,
and the family joke is too good to be dropped. ' We
286 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
shall take it as a favour if you please to account us
so fair strangers uppon the Way, as to send a Guide
about nine aclock to the George in Alsbury, to
direct us the best way for the coach by my cosen
Winwood's gronds, or any other cleane way to
Claydon, and my wife particularly intreats you if
my cosen Harry Verney be at home that you will
shutt him up, for fear he meet with us as the Dr.
was mett with, for whose Lightnes I am very
sorry/
' Harry is heere,' Sir Ealph replies, ' and I will
shutt him upp for once, but for future Clapps,
looke to yourselves for hee is a dangerous fellow, and
wherever hee thinks any money may bee had, you
know a protection will not be within my power.'
Each neighbourhood had doubtless its own
legends of highway robberies ; Bucks certainly
abounded in them, and Fuller has preserved for us
a proverb of the county, * Here if you beat a bush,
it's odds youl'd start a Thief.' An amusing adventure
in Buckinghamshire lanes befell Sir George Wheler.
He was courting a beautiful young heiress, Hester
Harman, who eventually refused him, and bestowed
her charms upon Alexander Denton with infinitely
tragic results. When Sir George recalled in later
years how he had been saved from the thieves
who sought for him, he never omitted to thank
Heaven with still more fervour, that he had on the
same occasion failed to gain the wife whom he had
sought.
SAINT NICHOLAS' CLEEKS 287
This was however a later development ; at the
time of his ride through Bucks, 1 ' in the summer of
'72 or '73,' he carried about his person a jewel of
great price to be given to the fair Hester ; as well as
a gold watch, 20 golden guineas and some silver ; he
had providently bargained, that if he himself were to
be rejected, the jewel might be returned ; in either
event it was important that he should not be relieved
of it by the way.
Sir George Wheler had spent some days with his
tutor at Lincoln College, Oxford ; and was sensible, he
says, 'of the risque I were Like to Eun in my
Eeturn to London, by reasone of the Jewell and
Watch and money I had with me, which was knowne
by some friends at London at Least, besides Mr.
Pargiter (the jeweller) who was called a Jew.'
' To conceal the Time of my Eeturn I knew was
scarce possible among so much acquaintance ; all
that I could was to conceal the way I designed to
Eeturne which I did, ffor I went downe the town as
to goe by Beconsfield Eoad but as soon as I was out
of East Gate turned Nor' wards, and went to Sr.
Ealfe Yarney his house in Buckinghamshire, where I
was kindly entertained all night. Sir Ealfe Varney
was a worthy and ingenious Gentleman, I came to be
acquainted with him at my Uncle Dentons, where I
frequently met him.
4 The next day Sr. Ealfe obliged me to stay and Dine
with him, and Staying after Diner too long, night
1 The Genealogist, vol. iii. pp. 45, 46.
288 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
overtook me before I could reach Alsbury. Within
a mile or two of this town I came into a deep and
narrow Lane, covered over with the trees in the
hedges, so close that I could see neither way before
me, nor skie above me, nor anything about me.
Having Pistols before me, I drew one and held
it in my hand, So that I could Span it in a moment
for ffear of a surprise. I was not, I suppose, above
half way down tliis Lane but on a suddain two or
three men cald out Stand ! Stand ! ! Stand ! ! ! ffearing
them to be Robbers I Blustered also &c., til we came
to a Parly, and I demanding what they would have,
they told me they were the watch sent to Stop all
Passengers, ffor that there had been Eobberies com-
mitted that Day upon Uxbridge Common ; That
every body had been Robbed that past that way
from nine or ten in the morning til one or two in
the afternoon, which was the time I should have bene
there from Beconsfield had I gone that Road. So I
desired these men to conduct me to the towne and
shew me the best Inne, and I would Reward them.'
Similar adventures are constantly referred to in
John's letters :
April 13, c Last night about 6 miles from London the Dutch
1 fiftfi
mail was robb'd by 2 men, who gott a purchase of
10,000 in gold and Jewells, the letters are allmost
all lost. There was one Passenger rode with the
Post Boy, and a Trooper was so kind as to accompany
them, but not to defend them. Sir Robt. Knightly
and his son in the day time last weeke was robb'd
SAINT NICHOLAS' CLERKS 289
just by his country house, by 3 highway men, who
commanded them out of his Coach: and tooke
neither Eings nor Swords but money, they were very
well mounted. One of his servants, a woman, lookt
on all the while and thought they had been of Sir
Eobert's friends. They calld him by his name, his
and his son's loss was about 5.'
When we turn from highwaymen in general to
the special worthies belonging to the Verney family,
we find two cousins, Hals and Turville, who
earned the crowning distinction of the gallows ; they
were both connected with that strong woman ' ould
Lady Verney,' mother of the Standard-bearer. Her
daughter, by her first marriage with Geoffrey Turville,
married Sir John Leake ; Richard Hals was Lady
Leake's grandson, and nephew therefore to Anne
Hobart and Dorothy Leake.
Unless Lady Verney had a son, not mentioned in
the letters, Fred Turville was styled ' cousin ' at
Claydon simply as a member of her first husband's
family. Sir Ealph writes for him to his trustee
' John Ashburnham to the care of Capt. John Walter- Aug. 23,
house governor of Garnsea Castle,' about some
money Turville wants to spend ' to put him into a
capacity to live. I heare hee hath been represented
unto you under a very ill carracter, & soe hee was
to me, which made mee the more narrowly observe
him, & truly I must needes doe him soe much right
as to assure you, that since I knew him, I could
never justly Tax him with any manner of crime or
VOL. IV. U
290 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
vice, and yet hee hath spent some part of his Time
in my owne house, and my Cozen Nat Hobart's,
& with other of my neare friends, where hee hath
gayned much Love and affection, & had hee mis-
behaved himselfe, I must have heard it.' He did
not justify Sir Ealph's good opinion of him ; just
after the Eestoration, Sir Ralph is concerned to hear
July 23, ' how matters went with Fred Turville at his triall,
for really I should be very much troubled if hee
should suffer, but his own groundlesse confidence
made him too carelesse, & may cost him deare.'
He escapes on that occasion, but we are startled
a few years later by learning his fate, amongst other
sensational items of family news sent by Edmund
from East Claydon to John at Aleppo ; ' Cosen Jack
Temple, Sir R's Brother, was tryed for having fourteen
wives at once, and escaped the gallows. I think I
have sufficiently spoken of marriages. Now for
hanging, which also goes by destiny according to the
opinion of some. My cosen, Fredd Turville was
hanged at Hertford for burglary, and other crimes.
But I'll speak no more of such ignominious ends,
though these ensuing may be as deplorable ; for my
cosen Thorn : Danby was basely murdered in a
tavern in London by one Burrage ; Cosen Reade
killed in France ; Cosen A. Temple, lieutenant in a
ship of war was slayne before Algiers,' etc., etc.
Frances Hobart, who had a special place in her
heart for the black sheep of the family, refers to the
catastrophe in a very different tone. ' These for Sir
SAINT NICHOLAS' CLERKS 291
Ealph Verney at Middle Claydon, present.' ' I receved Aug. 25
a letter from my poor coussin Frederick Turville the
day before he was executed, where he made a request
to me to send you this inclossed which he did
ernestly desire might be conveyed safe to your hands.
I know you have had soe much kindness for hime
that I fear his death has given you some treble, for
though he was guilty of many crimes in his Life, yet
he died as we are informed a very good christion, with
a most undanted corage showd nothing of conserne
at all, but told all thouse persons that where with
hime at the place, which where divers gentlemen of
great quallity, that he did not fear to die, but the
manner of his death trobled hime ; he aded that he
would not treble them with a formal speech only
desired there prayers, and after he hade read some
prayers which he hade in wrighting he weept, and
made noe confestion there, he told them he hade don
that to God, he died a chatholick, he had a priest
with him a weeke, who wrought a great reformation
in him. Noe gentleman was ever more lamented
both by his friends and strangers, only by thouse
barborous unclles that did make it apeere by there
jingling proceedings that they designed his death all
along, which I beleve will light hevie upon them ;
and Walker with his servants declar it was their will
he should die ; and for his sister it ware to tedious
to tell how unnatural! she had bine. Hfe expressed
some troble that in all the time of his affliction she
never once came or sent to him ; it is too late to
292 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
wish, but sertainly had you bine in town I doe
verily beleve he had never come to this, but there
was an ill fate hung over him, for there was many
designes for an escape, but he neglected them. . . .
They did not take any care at all for his buriale, but
that woman that was continually with him till his
death did bury him in the church yard. I know not
what she is, but never any woman had a greater
kindness for any man than she, and has spent all she
has, and sold all to her skin for him. Sir I have
dwelt too long upon this unpleasing subject which I
biceech you pardon.'
Lady Hobart adds her testimony to his merits :
Aug. 15, ' Sir Wilam Olaskock was with him to confes, but he
1666
wold not, he sayd he had lived ill but he wold not
dy lick a knaf nor ruen a family, but he sayd he
shold see he cold dy as unconsarned as he was then,
his unkell Will at last wold have saved him, but he
pretended he cold not, but wold have had his sister
gon to have beged his lif but she wold not, she sayd
let him be hang, I sent him an slugell but I hear he
had not a cofen nor a frind to bery him, the contry
cry out of his onkells, he did expres kindnes to you
and to us and my Ant Vearny.'
Of Dick Hals we know much more, as he lived on
terms of intimacy with his Claydon cousins, specially
with Edmund Verney, who was about his own age.
His father, Captain William Hals, made his will in
1637. Having returned but two years before from a
West Indian voyage of great danger and suffer-
SAINT NICHOLAS' CLERKS 293
ing ] he was ' bound forth ' once more on his perilous
way.
He took with him a good part of his personal
estate 'as an adventure, in hope to improve the
same, having divers debts due to him in the Hands of
the West Indies.' He bequeathed his ' plowland of
Ballymore ' and his lease of ' the two plowlands of
Juthimbathy,' both in the county of Cork, ' and the
stock of some reasonable value thereon,' to his ' deare
and well-beloved wife Bridgett, and that young and
tender child whom it hath pleased God but lately to
bestow upon me.' When we next hear of them, the
sea-captain is dead, the ' well-beloved ' Bridgett has
married again, and the boy is in England for educa-
tion, where Doll Leake, his guardian, lavishes upon
him what little cash she receives as Lady Gawdy's
gentlewoman, and all a maiden aunt's wealth of
devotion. He ingeniously defeats her efforts to
make him work in any profession, but in his 19th
year, she writes triumphantly to Sir Ealph, ' My NOV. 1655
nefew has put on his gowne. I thought it had bin
only discours and not a reall intension.'
He replies, ' Tis true your Nephew hath at last Dec. 3,
put on his gowne, but I beleeve 'twill come off againe
much easier, and in farre lesse Time than twas
coming on, possibly hee may not in seaven or eight
Termes lay it quite aside, if hee follow it soe closely
and soe long as to make any considerable benefit of
it, I am much mistaken in the Humour of the man,
1 See vol. i. p. 201.
294 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
it now may serve him for some shelter, but when-
ever that reason ceaseth, you shall see him quit it by
degrees uppon pretence that either it impaires his
health or some such thing, and soe fall to his old
Trade again, for I verily beeleeve that course of Life
as naturall, and as Gainsfull unto him, as Building is
pleasant and expensive unto me.' Sir Ealph was not
mistaken.
July 2, Doll writes to him six months later : ' My sister
1 fi*5fi
Hobart sends me word you will lay out ten pounds
for Dick if he can get a plas, I give you humble
thanks for it, I shall not fail to pay it ... the pore
boy has been willing to save his Mother's credett,
tho' he has left himselfe in the lurch, and to the
Charity of his frinds hear, He lost his time extremely
while he was with his mother, and spent his twenty
pound a year. The Master that I sent him to, gave
a very good Carractur of him, and sence you are
plesed to take notis of him, I pray obledg me so
much, if you know of any lawer or aturney that
wants such a servant, that you will asist him in the
procuring of it. Eeallie he was a very good con-
ditioned youth, and can write 2 or 3 good hands.'
July so, ' I nn d by my sister you have layed out some
1 ce/
monies for Dick,' she writes again to Sir Ealph ; ' I
shall not fail to see it payed, as sone as I receve it.
I am sorry we should give you such a trouble, but it is
the fate of nedy peopel to opres ther frinds ... it
trebles me very much that Dick can get no prefer-
ment, I cannot endure to think he should goe back
SAINT NICHOLAS' CLERKS 295
to his mother (in Ireland), whear he has lost so much
time allredy, I had rather he wear a souldier, which
is the worst of all professions. I have filled the
paper therefore should think of a conclusion, but I
fancy myself with you all this time and that is so
great a plesur that I forget it is but a fancy.'
In the spring of '63 Aunt Doll comes once more
to the rescue. ' You see the condision of pore Dick Feb. 3,
. . 1663
Hals,' she writes to Sir Ealph, ' if I healp him not his
life may be lost upon that accunt, which wold give
me a very great troble, I fear the parting with this
money may discontent my sister Hobart . . . but
the monney I will have sent ... in a way that it
may pay no det but sew out his pardon.'
A letter to Edmund Verney, signed Gower, is
docketed as being from Dick Hals, and the date
apparently as well as the name is false.
The shiftless boy, who was idling about the Law
Courts in 1656, has taken a long step in his down-
ward career by the time this was written.
4 Sir, Since it was my unhappinesse to returne
into England soe much contrary to your advise, I
was unfortunately betrayed to the Master Keeper of
Newgate and sold for 100 by a tretcherous frind in
February last, where I have ever since remained in
Irons. I cannot expresse with what joy I should
kisse your Hand should you vouchsafe to visit mee.
which if you should please to thinke mee worthy soe
greate a happinesse, you might not bee scene to
come to the prison, but to the Fountayne Taverne by
296 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
St. Sepulchre's Church, and send one of the drawers
to the Keepers, and they will bring mee to you. Sir
herein you would make mee infinite happy. I
knowe not howe it may goe with mee, but my Life is
in much danger, but till I see you I shall be
silent. . . . You may send for mee by the name of
Captain Granger, for loy that name I am known in
prison. I lye on the Master's Side in Newgate.'
May 25, In 1666, Eichard Hals has found an outlet for his
**
energies more worthy of his father's son ; he thanks
Mun Verney for innumerable kindnesses, and tells
him that he is ' once more in a fayre way, eyther to
intreate or force fortune to bee my frinde, I meane I
am gott on board the Eevenge. I have waighted
both on the Duke and Prince. The Duke hath
promised me that the next councell of warr shalbe
for my good. I hope hee wil be his words' master.
Our Flage men doe really beleve that the Dutch will
ingage in the beginninge of June. Pray God send
itt prove true. . . . We shall have but 80 sayle this
summer to fight the Dutch, the rest are designed for
the western station to keepe the French Privaters in
awe. . . . We shall sett sayle for the Downes within
six dayes.'
June 15, In June he gives Edmund an account of their
I
sea-fight with the Dutch, which had lasted from a
Friday to the following Monday night. ' It was
oure fortune att first to be out of the fight, our ship
beinge one of Prince Eupert's squadron and bound
to the Westward ; on Sunday afternoone we came in
SAINT NICHOLAS' CLERKS 297
and did the best we could to se the ende of itt. The
Dutch had notice of our fleetes dividing, by two
dogger boats they keept on the outside of the
Goodwin Sands, our fleete then riding in the Downes,
there could be noe hiding our intentions from them.
The Duke was not above 46 sayle when wee began,
the Dutch were 90 besides 16 fresh shipps that on
Sunday came out of Flushinge. When we joyned
with the Duke he had lost some shipps, the Prince
Eoyall, the Swiftsure, the Essex, the Bull, the Ouver-
ture (?) the Eagle, the Loyall George ; besides many
others that were soe farre disabled in their masts and
rigginge, that they were forced to leave the fight soe
that when the Prince joyned with the Duke, wee
could not make above fiftie sayle, most of them not
fitt to ingage . . . yett did wee continue to doe our
duties to the uttermost of our abillities.'
'The Dutch lost near twenty sayle sunke or
burnt, out of which shipps they landed not above
100 men, and for ought I could see they were
as willinge to leave fightinge as ourselves which
was enough. The gasett will informe you what
commands we have lost, whereof I must needs lament
one, Sir Exgster Mynns, hee dies so much like a man,
that he lyes more the subject of envy then pitty.
Lord Admirall Harman lyves too as much honoured
as the other died.'
The copy of Edmund's reply from East Claydon ?
written on the back of this letter, vividly reflects the
grief and indignation of Englishmen at the unwonted
298 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
July 23, news of naval defeat ; he had begun ' Worthy, 1 but
the adjective hardly seemed suitable, ' Dear Cousin,
I have received divers letters which answer my
request to you concerning maritime Accounts for
which I thank you. . . . Our huge losse both of men
and shipps of such worth, greeves me exceedingly, . .
and I hope there will no more such vast jeofayles l
bee perpetrated where by whole Nations may be put
into great jeopardy, and that our wooden Bulwarks
and Forts (than which we have no other) may no
more be basely and cowardly yeelded up to our
Ennemies, but that some course will be taken to
preserve our ancient Policie, which was (if I am not
mistaken) that all Commanders and souldiers what-
soever of or in any of the King's ships were to perish
in and with them, rather than to let them come into
Ennemies hands ; all which was worthily performed
by Our fore-Fathers. But what foolish transportation
(I wonder) causeth me thus to put away any little
part of my mind in writing, touching such matters,
seing they are none of my businesse (though as an
Englishman I may be concerned therein) ; and seing
we have such wise, intelligent and honest Kulers and
governeurs who understand (I suppose) very well
what they have and ought to doe ; yet if thou wert
Here, (where thou shalt be very welcome to me) I
would peradventure with more confidence utter my
Tittle Tattle before Thee. But if thy Destiny and (I
1 From jeufaUti, as jeopardy is jtu parti, originally terms at
cards.
SAINT NICHOLAS' CLERKS 299
hope) good luck throw Thee againe into the sea,
then I wish thee most particularly, (though unto all
my br-ave countrymen) happy successe and victory,
for the obtayning whereof I make no doubt but wee
shall doe, if wee all seeke God as wee ought before the
next fight,
So farewell, remaining
Your truly loving kinsman and servant
EDMUND VERNEY.'
Dick Hals sends Edmund his journal written
on board the ' Loyall Colchester,' from July 19 to
August 14, 1666. 'I have adventured to send your
worship a breife account of my last viage and ingage-
ment, in the most seamanlike tearmes my small travell
in that art would furnish me with ' it is chiefly a log
of wind and weather.
He has reached London in November, and ac-
knowledges Edmund's letter of Nov. 21, ' in which you
generously condole the losses of our navy by sea, I
hope we shall regaine our lost flags and honours
next springe. ... I am tryeing to gett an imploy.
Pray God send me good lucke. I have lardge premisses
but noe sure ground as yett. I want frends to stirr
a little for me. I have greater reason now to expect
itt then before, since I have sealed my alleagance
with some part of my bloud, though noething of
danger. I pray God the Duke give me not cause to
wish itt had bene more fatall, since all wayes of liveing
but what I place in his noblenesse, are taken from
me.
300 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Dec. 17, Edmund replies, ' I wish I were able to helpe you
1 **
to an employment according to your good deserts, but
in fayth I am but a poore Country Gentleman without
any interest at all in reference to those matters, but
. . . if you please to come and keep Christmas with
me here you shall be very very welcome.'
Dec. 22, 1 find the maine stopp of both my biussnesses,'
ifififi
Dick Hals writes to Sir Ealph, ' to be want of money
to the clarkes att the Navy Office, and to my Lord
Generail's Secretary. I have tryed all meanes and
wayes to gett in my owne wages which amounts to
neare 16, but I find I cannot doe itt till after
Christmasse.' He asks the loan of 3/. till his pay
comes in, which Sir Ealph sends him. ' Eemember
1 was borne,' he says, ' a trouble to my friends.'
Without pay or employment poor Dick could not
long keep out of mischief on shore, and there is an
urgent note from Lady Hobart to Sir Ealph, ' As you
love me let me have one of your whitist wigs and you
shall have a new one for it. It 'tis to help away a
frind. You shall know all hereafter. Fail not to
send it, and let it be that that is lest curled. Fear
not for hansomnes. Pray send this by the gearll, but
tell hur I must mack you one. If you have an old
one, let us have it too, you shall have the best can
be for it.'
In February '67 Eichard Hals is choosing some
armour for his cousin in London ; he has tested it
' with as much powder as will cover the bullet in the
palme of your hand ; ' Mun wants to test it again,
SAINT NICHOLAS' CLERKS 301
which the armourer objects to, as ' it is not the
custome of workmen to try their armor after it is
faced and filled. ... As for tasles noe horseman in
England weares them and as for a quilted gorgett,'
but here a mouse intervening the postscript alone
remains. ' I have seene all the best armors in the
gards, but can see none such as yours are, my Lord
Gerard's except ed.' Lord Gerard commanded the
eighty gentlemen of the King's Life Guards. Charles
had knighted the Commissioners sent by the city to
greet him on arrival, with Lord Gerard's sword.
Edmund's armour sent down by Plaisto, the carrier,
was valued at 14/. 2s. &d., the box and cord at 2s. Qd.
i The Armour fits well enough, only the man did
cut away to much just under the Arme pit both of
back and breast ; but for the head-piece, it is some-
thing heavy, yet I think it well enough if it did not
come downe so low upon my forhead, as to cover
all my eyes and offend my Nose, when I put my head
backwards to look upwards.'
Dick congratulates Edmund on the birth of his
eldest son, ' God make him a better man than his
father ; that's blessing enough.'
In 1669 ' divers Highwaymen are taken and had Dec. 23,
not Dick Hals leaped out of a window 2 storeys high
leaving his horse and his cloathes behind he had
been taken. Warrants are out for him and many
more, the King will pardon none but such as come
in and discover and convict their fellows.'
In 70 ' Cousin Dick says he is married to a sailor's
302 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Feb. is, wife at Wapping.' In '71 he writes to Sir Ealph and
Edmund from Exeter gaol, ' I, the most unfortunate
amoungest men, am now forced to act a strange part
in this westerne stage of our English world, im-
prisoned for noe offence. . . . Whether Hive or die,
is not much matter, itt not beinge the part of a man
to testifie too much fearefulnesse of that which of
necessitie will come one time or other, besides I doe
not beleve itt ever lay in my power to prevent the
stroke of my dertenie. I have written to my cossen,
your brave sonn, for a whindinge sheete, that in itt I
may with my boddy winde in the eternall remem-
brance of his aboundinge spiritt.'
Feb. 19, ' Your pardon I beg,' he writes to Edmund, ' as
1 fi71
beinge the person to whom I am most obliedged of
mankind, nor may you justly deny itt, iff you con-
sider you give itt not now to the liveinge but to the
dyeinge admirer of your person. Thet over-rulling
hand of fate nic't me in the bud, when I least thought
of harme, and in a place where I never did any, soe
that lyeinge in gayle onely for want of bayle for the
peace, I am like to be made knowne for what in
truth I have bene. ... I am att present in St. Thomas'
ward Exon, and, Sir, would bee much att peace
could I see three lines under your hand. My Aunt
Hobart will send itt to mee. My thoughts are
unsettled, and sometimes unwillinge to leave this
world, but when I think of my misserable life past, I
againe recover, and possest with thoughtes becominge
a soldier I passe by all concerns.'
SAINT NICHOLAS' CLERKS 303
Dick Hals might abuse himself but he allowed no
one else to do so. He writes indignantly ' to Mrs.
Hannah Baker, in Chancery Lane at Sir Nathaniel
Hobart's,' ' Because I am att present sunck by the
hand of the most powerful God, you amoungest the
rest make me your scorne.'
Next comes a melancholy letter to Edmund from
Newgate, ' I have made a hard shift to hould out April so,
three or fower yearres in a bad kinde of life, I meane,
the highway, for which I am att last condemned to
die, justly as to the law, though by the unjustnesse
of a falce frende, who fainte-harted, swore against
fower of us, to save his owne life. But, Sir, his
Majestie, out of his infinite mercy, hath bene pleased
to save our forfeited lives by his royall repreeve.
My Aunt Hobart was the maine instrument, under
God, who proved herselfe a mother and an aunt
both in this aflayre. That verry day I was taken in
my bed by 4 in the morninge. They then robbed
mee of every pennysworth of my ill-gotten goodes,
and enclosed mee in a dungion, where I was keept
without candle, fire, pen, inke or paper or frende, till
they brought me before the Judges. Neyther could
they then have done me any hurt, had not Judge
Morton, by his insinuatinge facultie, over perswaded
one William Ward to confesse, and to appeach
Andrew Palmer, John Britton, James Slaughter and
myselfe, which he impudently did, and, by his
evidence alone, was we convicted. I have not
wherewithall to subsist but what I have from the
304 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
charitie of my frendes, for truly, Sir, they left me
not worth one farthinge, when I was taken. God
deliver me out of there handes and send me on board
some shipp in the fleete, fireshipp or other.' Mun
agrees that it would be better ' de hazarder sa vie
plus honorablement, que de la perdre sur un gibbet
pour meschancetez.'
A few days later Hals appeals to Sir Ealph.
May 2, ' The Kinge goes out of towne to see the French
1672
Fleete, as wee heard this verry day, soe that we
shalbe left in danger of Judge Morton's ffury, which
is implackable, especially to me, for goeinge by his
name, as hee is informed. Now if I could possibly
make the Eecorder my frende, he is able to ballance
Judge Morton, and overway him on the Bench, which
is not to bee done but by his clarke, Mr. Eumsey.
It appeares that my Aunt Hobart did promise him a
gratuitie, for the non-performance of which, hee did,
in plaine termes, threaten my life in the gayle by
insencinge his unckle, the Recorder against mee, and
itt's verry probable may doe me some greate injury,
if not prevented in tyme by sattisfation. The other
three that were condemned with mee gave him 5
each man, and soe would I but that I cannot as yett
gett in money which I have in hands abroade. They
tell us heare in Newgate that we may be endited
uppon other Enditements next Sessiones, which, if
soe, our lives will againe lye on the Recorder's good
report to the Kinge. I beseech you, honnoured Sir,
aske advice on this poynte and let Mr. Fall resoulve
SAINT NICHOLAS' CLERKS 305
me, and out of your aboundant charitie be pleased
to assiste the most unfortunate of your honner's
captivated kinsmen.'
He writes again, ' The Kinge crost us out of the May 16,
1672
generall pardon and to what intent I know not ; some
say to goe to Tangere, but I beleve to be hanged,
which I am sure stands with most reason. They
intend to endight us againe as I heare, which if they
do I am resolved to pleade guilty to all, if there
comes a thousand pardons still keepe me to the
Kinge's mercy, except you send me other advice.'
He encloses a letter to Sir Eichard Temple, which he
begs Sir Ealph ' to second and so help to save his
life.'
Two months later he thanks Edmund for his
great kindness, and wishes him ' a merry buck July n,
J 1672
season.' ' Were I in any other gaole then Newgate,
I would venter a tryall of skill to see you, but this
place is made past all hope.' . . . ' Tomorrow beinge Sept. 14,
1672
Wednesday, I and the rest of my fraternitie are to
pleade a pardon of transportation, some say for the
Tangeir Gallies, and others, more moderate, tell us
for Virginia.'
It would have been worse than death for a naval
officer, who had served with distinction in action, to
be sent to the galleys ; but Hals was not without old
shipmates, who remembered his better days. ' Capt.
Thomas Elliot my former Capt. att sea, attended the
Duke of Yorke in this Citty, in order to his Knight-
hood for his service done in this and the former
VOL. IV. X
306 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
warr; and hearinge by a friende of mine, that I
have neade of his assistance, gave me a vissitt the
second day of his arrivall; hath promised to begg
on his knees for my releasement ; will to my ad-
vantage declare my service under his command in
the last Dutch warr, will engage for my future
Deportment (which is much) and carry me with him
to sea in this present expedition to the streights.
Soe God seemes att last to bee passified.'
Probably Captain Elliott's intercession was un-
availing, as Dick refers next spring to his recent
'happy escape out of prison,' and laments his in-
gratitude 'to soe deare a frende as Mr. Palmer,
which he can ' never sufficiently repent of.' For
Doll's sake he is being nobly entertained at Ooweshall
' and indeed above the merrits of any kinsman though
more happy and fortunate than myself.' . . . ' And
on my yet inviolate faith I protest, I would hast to
the place I am ordered to ; ' he sends his ' harty
acknowledgments to Sir Chas. Gawdy & that in-
comparable lady his Mother, that if I die in this
expedition my Goast may not be troubled to cross
the seas to do it. ... I am not sent away naked,
but with Sword, Clothes, and Money, and to Eternize
the obligation, all w th so free & generus a soule,
that I some times beleve y* I can bee nothinge lesse
then a sonn to the one, or a brother to the other.'
Sir Ralph has again given efficient help, 'for
nothing can miscarry, where so much generositie
1673 leads the van,' ' And,' Dick writes to Mun, ' I am to
SAINT NICHOLAS' CLERKS 307
goe on pilgrimage to the next Campaigne in Holland
there to pay those vowes I never made, to serve the
French Kinge against the Dutch ; but since nothing
else but a bad cause can Expiate crime like mine, I
submitt to my desteney and resoulve to fight for
pistolls, and leave conscience att home, my religion
beinge yett to chuse. I hope you will not feare my
beinge Converted by the Jesuits, but be I, or be I
not, I will rather turne Infidell then ever subscribe
to any other bible then
Your most oblidged & most Affect : Coss :
& humble Serv* EICH : HALS.'
He assures his devoted Aunt Hobart that he
hopes, in the Low Countries, l to acquire honour or
a grave or both.' Having failed to get either, he
finds himself next in Chelmsford gaol, ready to reveal
anything or betray anybody. 'Shame keept me Feb. 8,
from writing before,' he confesses to Sir Ealph, ' but
now beinge absolutely resoulved to hate for ever
the company and name of a thiefe, the Clergy of
Essex, who have bene dayly laboringe with me to
cleare my conscience before I die, have prevayled
with mee to make this discovery.'
The ' Clergy of Essex ' were scarcely to be con-
gratulated on their penitent who had stooped to this
last baseness ' to win his salvation.'
'My Cossen Frances receaved a note from me,' Feb. 8,
he writes to Sir Ealph, ' wherein was a full discovery
of all persones I did or doe knowe that use the pad,
but my keeper haveinge bene att London finds
x 2
308 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
thinges, I judge, worse than he thought . . . my
discovery was made the 21st. of the Last mounth, to
Sir Edward Smyth att Woodford, and to Mr. Justice
Maineard, who committed me, with Matt Koberts,
Toby Burke alias Faulkner, Thomas Dwite alias
White, and Harris, which Harris and Burke or
Faulkner are taken and in the Gatehouse. Sir
Edward Smyth may easely sattisfie himselfe by
seeinge Harris, for he tooke him by the bridle first.
The Kinge's proclamation acquits the first discoverer,
and soe will the Judge, iff Captain Eichardson doe
not prevayle to the contrary. I humbly beseech
you to use your interest with Judge Twisden to this
effect. Serjant Bramston, Sir Mundivile Bramston
and Sir John Bramston are powerful! men with my
Lord Twisden.'
The wretched man's confessions were not yet full
Feb. 26, enough. Sir Charles Gandy writes to him, 'This
impeaching will not serve the turne, for you must
sett down the particular robberys, who was with
you, and their lodginges and places where they may
now be found, the party's name whome you robbed,
when and where it was done, and the Judges expect
to knowe who harboured you before and after the
robbery, or bought any of the stolen goodes, and
unless this be soe fully and clearly done that the
sever all offendours may be taken, there will be one
hope of mercy for you in this world.'
June 22, Dick Hals gave abjectly all the information
asked for. ' When I came into this gaole,' he writes
SAINT NICHOLAS' CLERKS 309
from Chelmsford, 1 1 was resoulved to die unknowne
to my frendes, but Providence orderinge itt other-
wayes, to my greate advantage, for althowe I am to
be banished, itt is but what I should have courted
iff left to my owne dispose, being assured that
England, Ireland or Scotland are not places for me
to rayse my fortune in, soe that to be sent, as I am
promised, by that noble gentleman, Esquire Cheeke,
into Flanders, Holland, France or Spaine, is the
compleate sume of my desires or ambition.' But his
fate is yet uncertain ; he despairs again. ' The tyme
drawers neare. I am yett a lost man, sure, sure,
sure.'
Hals writes again the next day, 'That I am a July?,
Ifi74
deade man is most certeyne. I knowe itt from too
good a hand to doubt itt. I had itt from Esquire
Cheeke, who loves me more than I deserve, and
promised yet once more to try the Judge.' He asks
for a little money. Sir John Bramston would bring
it, or the post, and then ' Dick will once more try
his skill.'
The path of the informer is thorny. Dick feels July 26,
that he has sold himself to the devil, without getting
his wages. ' All the miseries which attend humanity
have fallen on my head. . . . This onely must
afflycte me, that I was soe weake, on promise of life,
to discover others, and yett by the severitie of my
new masters, the Judges, to be tyed up for my good
service. Besides this, all the gentlemen and Justices
of the Peace in this county of Essex have bene made
310 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
staulkinge horses. The noble Sarjant and his ffamily
to come severall tymes to take my examination, and
to retorne itt to London, and then Judge Whindam
himselfe to promise life on the tearmes aforesaid,
yett all these poyntes in controversy to be throwne
aside and nothinge but death thought on this is
Justice when the Devill shalbe Judge ! Could they
not as well have pressed me or hanged in my state of
inocency, I meane, while I was a pure theife, without
blott or blemish, as to make me stincke in the
nostrills of my ould assosiates, and then out of love
to hange me for my new service to my new masters.'
He makes one more despairing appeal to Sir
Ealph from Chelmsford Gaol, on August 11. 'I am
ashamed to discover my weakenesse unto you, but
I must. The sight of the executioner, who is still
keept in the house in expectation of my execution
on Monday next, is the greatest torment to me in the
world, worse then death itself e.'
NOV. a, But Dick was to have another chance. ' I have,
167
I thanke God and good frendes, got the weather
gage of ill fortune. . . . That most worthy and
generous gentleman, Capt. Collins, into whose hands
I putt myselfe after my escape out of gayle, will
give an account for his fidellitie eyther here or
hereafter.' Sir Ealph has sent him a welcome gift of
twenty shillings by his laundress.
Feb. 20, But in the spring of '75 he is back in Chelmsford
107 ; >
gaol, and in mortal fear of the associates he had
betrayed who have come from France to witness
SAINT NICHOLAS' CLERKS 311
against him. ' Iff thinges had not bene soe privatly
carried,' he writes to Sir Ealph, ' I should not now
have troubled all my noble kinsmen and frendes.
How they will deale by me this Assisses, I know not
nor can I learne of anyboddy what is done for me . .
onely a she frende, wife to Carew writ me downe
word (ould love will not be forgotten) that her
husband, and Stanley and Palmer and the rest have
layed their heades togeather to cutt me off, the way
they intende to goe to worke she could not informe
me, but soe soone as she knowes she will. Least I
doe not live to write more unto you pray Sir ...
present my respects and service to my generous
cossen Yerney . . . and with my soule I wish I had
taken his counsell when tyme was. ... Iff I am
not hanged, I shall goe, like Mounseir Le Gue,
without a shirt. My Aunt hath promissed me an
ould one a longe tyme, but her many troubles makes
her forgett me.' There is a Postmark on the letter,
' Essex Post goes and corns every day.'
Two days later he writes again, 'Had not the Feb. 22,
*
commands of that noble gentleman, Sir Moundeford
Bramston, and my faythfull promise to him made,
keept me prisner, more then my gayle and chaines,
I would longe since have given you all a visitt att
London, but now I will abide the worst, yett itt
were good, iff the Judge be morose, to send downe
my last reprive, which came when I was from home
takeing the ayre. Who brought itt I know not, but
I was tould by the gaylour and several! others that
312
itt cam durante bene placito Regis. Iff soe, itt will
still save my bacon.'
March is, Dick Hals' next letter is to Lady Hobart. ' What
"
will become of me I know not in this miserable
place. Were I a ship board to be transported to
any place, (Tangiers excepted) I would be well
content. The truth is I have deserved the worst
that can bee, but God will not allowe each man his
desserts, least more perrish than hee is willinge to
loose. Sir John Bramston wrote me word before the
Assiyes that he had written to a very good frende of
mine att London, I knew he meant one of his generous
brothers, to insert me in the Newgate pardon. Iff
soe I must be removed by Habeas Corpus to London
to pleade itt. ... Sir John Howell, the Eecorder,
was very briske with me, I beleve he remembred
ould stories. Iff my noble Cossen Edmond knew my
condition, I doe verryly beleve he would doe more
for me then all my new frendes. My most Excellent
wife beleves mee past further service, in England,
therefore neyther comes, nor sends to mee. I am
not sorry for itt, but on the other side glad, however
she is indebted to mee, if ever I gett out, more then
she will willingly pay mee. Iff Sir Ealph will put
the Noble brothers in minde of my businesse I may
gett out the next Assisses of this place, but iff
neyther hee, nor they doe acte, I am sure to lye till
I rot, which will not be longe, for the ould distemper
is not cured. My humble service to generus Sir
Ralph Verney, Madam Cornewallis, Madam Gibbon
SAINT NICHOLAS' CLERKS 313
and her sister, Sir Tory Smith and his Lady and
those deare children ; my deare Cossen Anne and my
noble Cossen Edmond Verney when you write to
Olaydon, I most humbly subscribe most Honored
Aunt Your for ever obleidged kinsman and servant,
' EICHARD HALS.'
A note received by Sir Ralph in Chancery Lane
in November '75 is docketed from ' Dick Halse,
a Highwayman since hanged.' 'I am in greate
want, this cold winter will kill me outright. The
bearer sits on horsebacke while I write.'
The charity of Dick's relations was not exhausted,
and he writes a gushing letter of thanks addressed to
Sir Ralph 'next dore to the Black Balcony in Feb. 15,
1 finfi
Lincolln's-Inn Feilds in Holburne Row.' ' I wish my
gratfull soule were not confined within the narrow
limmitts of a foole's brest. ... I dare say you
beleve I pray for you, and wish you all prosperitie,
and that I have just cause to admire and adore that
providence, whose carefull eye amoungest soe many
greate men, my frends, pitched upon yourselfe to
preserve me.'
But neither God nor 'great men' could long
help poor Dick against himself; a piteous line
reaches Sir Ralph in June 76, written apparently
from London. ' I am now arrived at the worst
place in England, where sinne and vice abound to
an infinite. I trust my newborne grace will defende
me and ittselfe from participating this sinck of
humers and disorders.'
314 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Three years later Sir Ealph writes to John ; Lady
Aug. is, Hobart is at Claydon ' well, but somewhat weake of
Ibit/
her leggs she brought downe her daughter, her two
Maydes & little Will And least they should bee too
few she invited Dick Hals too, & never acquainted
me with it. He came downe in a cart with her
Cooke mayd, but he is at your Brother's house.'
NOV. 23, After this he gets an appointment : ' Dick Hals is
1679
a Baly but dos not dou no duty,' Lady Hobart writes,
' he has tou men but he is to over se all the balys,
for they have cheted hyly ; he receives all the mony
of the cort, and has rased it much senc he cam in, he
is very hones, and 1 hop will kep so, my stomack is
not so good as it was at cladon, I mis your good bear,
I find the ale mor havey.'
Dick turns up again in unwonted surroundings.
His cousin, Doll Smith, Anne Hobart's grandchild, is
to be married at Eadcliffe to Mr. Wythers, and these
warm-hearted relations, who have stood by Dick in
his darkest days, have bidden him to the wedding.
Edmund Verney, who had been looking after his
hay-makers through the long July day, watched from
his garden gate the smart cavalcade as it passed
through East Claydon in the evening. The great
Sir William Smith, with his usual taste for splendour,
drove the bridegroom's family down in his coach,
with eight men on horseback in attendance. Dick
Hals, riding with the other wedding guests, turned
into the White House, to greet his old friend as he
went by. ' He sent over the next day,' Mun writes,
SAINT N[CHOLAS' CLERKS 315
' by a Messenger-expresse for a Plaister for his side, July 3,
from my Chirurgeon, & withall sent word that
to-morrow is the wedding-day, so Pegg must dance
barefoot, otherwise Thorn. Smith, M r Wythers, M r
King & Dick Hals were to have dined with me, but
when people marry wives, they cannot come.' There
was much merry making at the wedding, ' ten
shillings were given to the Eingers at Buckingham,
the fiddlers of Gawcott were sent for.' Hester Denton
drove over from Hillesden in her coach ; and Parson
King made love to Pegg, the bride's lively little
sister, in such wise, that the aunts and cousins
gossiped pleasantly of another festive gathering to be
held ere long. The grim highwayman must have
been a tragic figure in the peaceful old grey church,
and amid the village festivities, the music and
dancing, the sunshine and the roses. But Dick
could be a gentleman when he chose, and perchance
the stories darkly hinted at, concerning this strange
relation, whose long absences and sudden returns
were alike unaccounted for, gave him a romantic
interest in the eyes of the bride and her maidens. A
few months later he is going about Buckingham with
Tom Smith drinking at several houses, ' to make
interest for Sir William Smith against a new
Parliament,' and most successful in capturing votes
instead of purses.
These were the last gleams of light in a stormy
day. Hals soon resumed his desperate courses ;
his one remaining link with better things being his
316 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
love for his child, whom he could seldom see. To
April 20, his faithful friend, Edmund Verney, he writes ' After
1683 J
30 yeares service I feare I am lost, left to the wide
world, but bee itt how itt will, whielst the Emperor
and Turke are at variance, I will not want. All
that troubles me is my little boy, but God is able to
provide for him. I would if I could.'
Two years more elapse of ignoble stratagems and
hairbreadth escapes. The perils of the road are
notorious. In 1685 the Banbury coach is attacked
' going upp with a woman and a man riding by it
for protection, 2 Horsemen met it & rob'd them all
upon Grendon Common, & the Eogues are not
taken.' Public feeling was exasperated, and the
gentlemen of the road when caught could expect no
more mercy. Judge Holt about this time, visiting
an old friend in prison, whom he had just sentenced,
asked after their college chums. The answer was,
1 Ah my Lord they are all hanged now but myself &
your Lordship.'
April 27, ' I have noe great news,' writes Dick Hals to Sir
1 ( ' 8 '">
Ralph, with a dash of his old cheerful courage, 'but
only that I thinke to die next weeke. I can doe
more then David, for I can number my dayes,
haveinge, as I judge, 10 to live from the date hereof,
nor doth the law take away my life, but the mallice
of Goaler and overheate of a Chiefe Justice, who
rubbs too hard upon my ould sores.' He is grateful
to Sir Ralph and Edmund for all their past kind-
nesses ; no one would have been so ready to serve
SAINT NICHOLAS' CLERKS 317
them ' had my starrs bene soe kinde to have called
me to itt.' i My tryall comes on the 29th of this
mounth, and that day sennight, if not before, wee
die. . . . We expected a proclamation or gaole
delivery, but that's past hope.'
On May 4, John hears that ' at the Old Baily
23 were condemned to die amongst wch is Dick
Halsey ; ' further efforts to save him were felt to be
in vain.
Will Hals, the brave and pious sea-captain,
praised God with joy for the birth of his only son,
and now this son was to be hung at Tyburn. Doll
Leake who had so often helped and forgiven the
wayward boy, had passed beyond the reach of evil
tidings ; Anne Hobart had long ago spent her
influence and exhausted her resources.
Sir Ralph was in the midst of his troubled
election at Buckingham ; ' I am sorry for Dick Hals,'
he writes, ' and wish he might have been transported,
I trust God will forgive him, and keep us from such
sad ends.'
There is no doubt of his fate this time, for John
Verney has seen him ' in the cart ; ' Edmund, who
has always done justice to the ' few virtues' he had
' among many vices ' has a last kind word to say of
him ' Cozen Dick is among the number executed, I
am sorry for it, I wish I could have saved him. But
if he be gone, I pray God rest his soule in Heaven.'
318 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
CHAPTER IX.
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OP 1685.
' Long experience has found it true of the unthinking mobile, that
the closer they shut their eyes, the wider they open their hands.'
SOUTH.
THE sorrow for Charles the Second's death was very
genuine ; a long-suffering nation seemed to feel they
Feb. s, could have c better spared a better man.' ' Every-
1685 . . J
body is in a great damp since they have hard the
doolfall news,' writes Sir Ealph's housekeeper on the
succeeding Sunday, ' Mr. Butterfield is not well, so
wee had neither praiers nor sarmon today at Middle
Cladon.'
Alexander Denton sends up a messenger from
Hillesden in great haste to ask Sir Ralph's good
less 9> coun s e l- ' The King's death is a great trouble to all
his good subjects in the Country. ... I believe
never a better prince or man lived in the world or
will be more missed than he, but beeing God Almighty
was soe pleased to take him to himselfe, & rob
this nation of soe great a blessing .... give me
leave to aske whether it be my duty for to goe into
mourning. . . . being in the Country, or if it be
necessary for me, then whether my wife must doe the
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 319
like, & whether it must be black cloth or Crape. I
would not be singular.' He finally decides that a
country squire may save the cost of ' blacks ' by
keeping much at home, as he hears the Coronation
will be shortly, ' when everybody may be out of it
againe.' Lady Gawdy writes, ' The generall calamety
by the lose of our good King dus deepely strike my
harte & and makes my famely concerns but an
attendant to the morning for him, but our new King
has offered all the consolation wee could hope, by
his gracious declarations ; longe may hee live to be a
new nursing father to the Church & his people as hee
has promised.'
' My sonn is returned in helth to his own home,
but the loss of the late King has put new sadnes all
over him, which I cannot but love him all the better
for. . . .he is mine both by love and nature. Your
complement to him is so pleasing a deceipt to me, as
I willingly receive it as you designed me, a Joy
which I have no need to put a barr against.'
Sir Ealph tells her that ' great application will be
made to fill up all vacant places,' and advises Sir
Charles Gawdy to come to town at once, for ' there
are certaine Criticall Moments when men that observe
them may build their Fortunes.'
His wife, Lady Mary, is too anxious about her
father's health to enter into such schemes ; Lord
Denbigh is in Oxford for advice, and as Sir Ralph
'lives so near & knows all the eminent doctors
there, shee longs to hear how eminent one Dr.
320 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Eatclife is.' Sir Ealph assures her ' that Dr. Eat-
cliffe is generally esteemed for skill & practice one
of the most eminent doctors in Oxford, & most con-
stantly employ 'd by all persons of Quality both in
that country & at Astrop Wells.' Other members
of the family were not of Sir Ealph's opinion. John
Verney writes [May 1, 1682], 'Every one that
hears of Dr. Eatcliff admires that Coz. Denton would
send a 2 nd time to so careless a physician, for cer-
tainly if no other Dr. in Oxford could please him, he
had better send to London than to be valued under a
bottle of wine or the seeing of a horse run . . .
Dr. Eatcliff I hear intends to set up in London after
he has taken his degree at Oxford.'
His skill did not avail to prolong the earl's life
beyond the summer.
Sir Charles Gawdy has a strange ' little gift ' to
ask of the new King, ' A country-man a mile off his
house hanged himself, his personal estate was worth
150,' the King granted it him, but 'my Lord
Castlehaven & severall others .... tho' the advan-
tage was but small .... so prest & re-begged it of
the King ' that Sir Charles fears his first promise will
not hold. Sir Ealph recommends him as ' a most
accomplisht Gentleman, extreamly civil obligeing
in all his expressions, & well worthy of his Maj fcy>s
favour.'
John Verney was at Eeading when King James
was proclaimed, and the people * made Bonfires and
rang the Bells.' The satisfaction was short lived ;
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 321
the town had not done gossiping about the poverty
of Charles's burial and the misfit of the coffin, when
it was rumoured that ' three Scotchmen were clapt
up in prison for treason, for saying a papist King
should not raine long,' and it became apparent that
the King's actions did not bear out his first judicious
words. During the next three months the country
was violently excited over the elections.
Since the Parliament summoned to Oxford in
March 1681 and dissolved within eight days, the
faithful Commons had never met, and as the time
went on, it was evident that the Court party were
prepared to use violent measures to secure a com-
pliant majority. The boroughs had been attacked
in the previous reign, charters had been forfeited,
and when new ones were granted 'the election of
members were taken out of the hands of the in-
habitants, and restrained to the corporation men '
(Burnet). Buckingham had received such a charter
in the previous July, the two borough members were
elected by the Mayor and twelve Aldermen, a state
of things which continued down to the Eeform Bill of
1832.
The new Mayors and Sheriffs were all in the
Government interest; the excitement was great in
the country, and there was an unusual number of
candidates. The Whigs by their ready belief in the
calumnies of Titus Gates, and their cruel persecution
of the Papists, had brought about a reaction against
themselves. With a discredited and disheartened
VOL. IV. T
322 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
opposition the country seemed in danger of losing
some of its hardly won liberties, for want of leaders
in the impending struggle. Sir Ealph in his 73rd
year, with the increasing conservatism of age, and
a sobering experience of civil war and anarchy, such
as none of the younger generation possessed, was
inclined to trust the new King, and was unwilling to
stand against the Government. But the electioneering
tactics employed on the King's side, roused the best
instincts of the old Parliament man, and a more
personal motive may have quickened his decision,
It was rumoured that the young Squire of Hillesden
was eager to come forward, if Sir Ealph pronounced
himself too infirm to stand again. The older members
of the family were aghast at the presumption of a
youth whose grandfather had sat with Sir Ealph in
the Long Parliament. Sir Ealph straightened his
bent back, took posset for his cough, felt that he
was not as old as he had imagined, and forthwith
accepted the invitation from Buckingham.
Alexander Denton was in fact thirty years of age
and the father of several children, but he understood
the situation, anxiously cleared himself from any
suspicion of disloyalty to his godfather and oldest
friend, his only thought had been ' to keep out a
stranger, thinking it as fit for me, as any such body,'
and he now put his ' small interest ' entirely at Sir
Ealph's disposal.
Sir Ealph Verney therefore and his cousin of
Stow, who had won the Buckingham Borough seats
for the Whigs in 1681, were to contest them again.
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 323
Sir Richard Temple was not popular with his relatives
at Claydon or at Hillesden a busy schemer ' making
all things secret, and keeping nothing secret' but he
was too influential a person to be overlooked; he
had a following of moderate men of both parties,
and protested moreover that he would rather stand
with his old colleague and kinsman ' than all mankind
besides.' The Tory candidates were Lord Latimer
and Sir John Busby of Addington (the lawyer whom
Mary Verney had seen during the troubles waxing
rich when other people grew poor), now a county
magistrate of some local importance. Two years before
Edmund Verney had been concerned with the politics
of the borough, and wrote to John about them : ' I May 7,
mett Sr Eichard Temple at my ffathers, and at his
Request I went with Him to Buckingham to Retreive
a lost Game, about choosing a new Bayly, wch Wee
Didd Effect, with much adoe, The Consequence of
this Businesse Hadd Been, That if the adverse Party
There Had Gayned that Point of Choosing a Bayly
among their owne Creatures, Sr Richard Temple
Hadd never Been Chosen Member of Parliament at
Buckingham more while Hee Lived in all Human
probability, Lett Sr Richard ffancye to Himselfe what
He will to the Contrary : & I Think I Didd Him no
smale service There, for Hadd I not Been with Him
at that Time I may asseure you without Vanity That
Sr Richard's greatest Ennemy Robinson Hadd Been
Bayly: Whereof now Mr Hillesdon Sr Richard's
ffreind is Bayly. . . .
324 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
'It was much discoursed of to Sr Kichard's
dishonnor to sneake downe in his arch Ennemy
Robinson's Coach, tho' Sr Richard vindicates Himself
by saying He didd it to oblige Buckingham, yet no
Body There understands it, But Reckons it an in-
comparable meanenesse of spirit in Sr Richard to
stoope on yt fashion to Robinson on purpose as is
said to sweeten the Bitternesse of his Enemy, for you
must Know that this Robinson is a Lace Buyer and
Hath sett up a fflying Coach betweene London and
Buckingham : and this insolent ffellow at a fiayre at
Bristol in a dispute betweene Him and one Hartly,
another Lace Buyer and Burghesse of Bucks, pub-
lickly called Sr Richard Temple Rogue & Rascall
and Knave &c.'
Sir Ralph's electioneering morality was at least
two centuries in advance of his time. He was
' content to entertain the Mayor and Aldermen
before the election in a reasonable manner, to join
Sir Richard in giving 10 or 20 a piece to the
poor, to pay all charges on the day, and, after it, to
treate the Mayor & Aldermen & their Wifes at a
Dinner, at as high a value as Sir Richard thinks fit,
by way of thanks to them for their love & kindness.
But to treat the Mobile at all the Alehouses in the
Parish & to make them Drunke, perhapps a Month
beforehand, as is usual in too many places uppon
such occasions, I shall not joyne in that Expence, I
had rather sit still, than gaine a place in Parliament
by soe much debauchery.' Alexander Denton was
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 325
* clearly of Sir Ealph's opinion against barrels of ale,'
holding ' that a man makes himself a slave that is
chosen after that manner,' but with him it was
merely a pious opinion that did not interfere with
his habits, whereas Sir Ealph's principles and practice
were alike the despair of his supporters.
Mun, who is in town with his father, precedes
him to Clay don. Sir Eichard has the writ brought
to him at Uxbridge ; he gave a crown to the bearer
and Mun gave him another, ' & five guineas more to
Mr. Barnewell at Aylesbury.' Sir Eichard put the
writ in his pocket till the moment should be pro-
pitious for delivering it. Mun entertains him at the
White House, whence he writes to his father, '. . . I
come newly from wishing Sir Eichard good night, he
lyeth in my great Parlor Chamber ; the Clock hath
just struck one, & I begin to be sleepy, so I will to
Bedd, but first say my Prayers for your good Health
& prosperous voyage.'
They meet again for the Assizes at Aylesbury,
' being the wettest & the windiest day that I have
seene,' Sir Ealph writes to John. ' Tis a Mayden March 10,
1 QK
Assise, for none will bee hanged, but 3 or 4 small
offenders are Burnt in the Hand. Your brother was
of the Grand Jury, & soe was my Cozen Denton.
The Sheriffe kept a noble shrevalty, Mr. Wood a
Turky Marchant is heere, I think he married one of
the Sheriffs Daughters. Sir Tho Tyrrill's Butler that
killed a Deerstealer that was stealing Eabets in
Thornton Parke is found guilty of Manslaughter.
326 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Will Chaloner indited one that lopped the Trees
about the Schole house at Steeple Claydon, but the
Grand Jury would not finde the Bill.'
Nothing is talked of in the coaches, and at the
inns, but the contests. The Whig candidates for the
Borough of Aylesbury are quarrelling amongst
themselves. Sir Ealph arriving at Amersham finds
March is, ' the Towne full of Ale & Noyse & Tobacco, being
1685 . J t
the Election day,' and late as it is, he drives on to
Missenden for quiet. 'A Passenger says, Lee &
Ingoldsby are like to carry it at Aylesbury,' he writes,
' noe body can yet determine it. My Cough & Cold
is badd enough, God helpe me.' Sir Ealph's boastful
neighbour, Cousin Smith of Eadcliffe, has gone up to
contest the Shire of Middlesex. John Stewkeley is
his agent, and writes to Sir Ealph of the polling.
March 19 The candidates were Sir Wm. Smith, Sir Charles
1 Q
Gerard, Sir Hugh Middleton, Mr. Hawtry, Mr.
Eanton & Mr. Johnson of Mile End. Sir W. Smith
came into the field attended with about 200 men,
most on horseback, but tis thought not neare halphe
of them had votes. He finding his party so in-
considerable in respect of the rest, desisted, & gave
all his votes to Sir Hugh Middleton but he lost it by
a 150 votes at least, & Sir C. Gerard & Mr. Hawtry
who joyned interest carried it. They were both of
them thought to be very honest gentlemen, this is
the 3 rd time Sir Hugh Middleton hath stood & spent
a great deal of money & missed it.'
By the end of March Mun has delivered 'the
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 327
Precept to the Mayor of Buck m , so hee may go to March 30,
Election when hee pleaseth. My father,' he writes
to John, ' hath 7 of the 13 electors pretty firme to
Him, so that if the Mayor doe not trick us by going
to choose when some of our party are abroade upon
their businesses, my father must needes carry it tho*
I perceive Hee would willingly decline it. I am just
going to Buckingham with my father soe I must put
a period to this. Sir Richard Pigott is dead.' Lady
Gardiner writes, ' I cannot bot lament Sir Richard Apra i,
I f*QC
Pigit, being a good man and an exellent old fation
hous-Keeper, bot he was old & I pray God bles you
with eas & happyness to his age & as many more
years as God pleases.' Sir Ralph tells John how
deeply he feels the death of this ' good old friend &
neighbour, his Lady is very ill & my cousin Tom
Pigot who is now heire to his uncle is somewhat
amiss too & also severall of the servants, & all from
colds, I pray God fit us all for Heaven.'
It was in the very crisis of the election contests,
that friends and rivals met over the old knight's
grave. ' Sir Richard Pigott was buried very April 5,
1685
honorably,' writes Sir Ralph to John, ' & at a con-
siderable charge, with 2 new Mourning Coaches & a
Hearse, one of which Coaches & the Hearse had 6
Horses apiece. Wee that bore up the pall had
Rings, Scarfs, Hat-bands, Shammee Gloves of the
best fashion and Sarsanet Escutcheons delivered to
us ; the rest of the Gentry had Rings, all the servants
gloves. Wee had burnt wine & Biscuits in great
328 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
plenty, all the very servants had burnt wine &
Biscuit. I thank God my Cough is something better.
I had forgotten to tell you that there were abundance
of Escutcheons & all Sir Eichard's servants were in
mourning.'
Buckingham was now the scene of plots and
counterplots and petty intrigues which lasted for
many weary weeks. Sir Ealph's sons worked
devotedly for him, each after his manner ; Mun
gouty, cordial and lavishly hospitable, freely
sacrificed his digestion to his principles, and by
constant carouses with the Buckingham electors,
sought to counteract the ill effect of his father's
austerity. He tells John ' as a very pleasant jest
under the rose,' how after one of these feasts, ' Sir
E. Temple & his man Monsieur Bennett, upon
falling out, did exchange Dry Blows with one
another,' as they drove back to Stow at night in Sir
E. Temple's coach.
The White House, lying as it did on the high
road between Aylesbury and Buckingham, lacked
not picturesque gatherings of county worthies booted
and spurred, riding to and fro between these centres
of political activity ; such guests were sure of a
hearty welcome and a potent stirrup-cup, in return
for the last bit of election gossip. Sir Ealph sends
Mun a fresh supply of sherry-sack and advises him
to keep c sugar ready and the nutmeg cut but not
grated, for I see the Philistines are coming upon
you.' ' Mr. Harry Wharton,' Mun writes, ' Sir Peter
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 329
Tyrill & Captain Lile, Mr. Knowles & Mr. Haynes
&c., called & drank at my Gates without alighting,
& while they were there comes Sir Kichard Temple,
Sir Francis Leigh, Mr. Chesney, Mr. Anderson &c.,
& came all into my yard & drank ; then our 5 Alder-
men that were alighted at my house, remounted &
waited on Sir E. T. to Buck m . A little after he went
away, my Lord Latimer went by in a Coach & six
Horses, & about 14 Horse with him besides. My
cosen Eobin Dormer called in here, & says that he
came from Addington & that Sir J. Busby is become
a most mighty Tory.'
John, on the other hand, with his clear head and
business capacity, obtained legal opinions on disputed
questions, and bestirred himself amongst his town
friends, whether lawyers, city merchants or court
ladies, to defeat local wire-pullers by using tactics
in higher circles not unlike their own. The brothers
took counsel together upon every detail that might
help or hinder their father's return to Parliament.
Mun reports that ' if my Lord Latimer will lay
downe 300 for building the Townehall, He may
prevayle to make his election sure.' This offer
repeated at intervals, ' much balances with mercenary
spirits, and My Lord puts in hard to be chosen.' . . .
' There are 3 inveterate against us, Mr. Hugh
Ethersey, Mayor, Mr. Hartley & one Alderman
Atterbury, but I hope we shall get 7 on our side
& then it is not much matter for the rest. Mr.
Mayor hath all along done all he can against my
330 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
father .... tomorrow morning I shall be going
early to Buck m . ad explorandum Hostem.' If a
voter declined to be bribed, at least he might be
kidnapped, and Henry Hayward, a disreputable
Buckingham barber, was suddenly arrested for
debt. As he was wont to shave the Verneys, Edmund
concluded that ' my barber ' was a safe vote. Great
efforts were accordingly made to pay his debts, and
to get him out of the Fleet. When this was done,
Hayward ' coacht it down to Buckingham with his
daughter,' in great state ; but knowing his value
: my barber ' treated his patron with distant polite-
ness, and did not wish to entangle himself with any
pledges or, as local opinion expressed it, ' the gaol
bird has flown clear of them all.'
John Coleman and the rest of Sir Ealph's people
are working hard for him in the borough, the Cook
Nicholas is doing some efficient canvassing on his
own account. ' The popular are resolved to set up
two against the Bayliffe & Burgesses, & they that the
Bayliffe and Burgesses chuse, the popular will not
.... only the Cook thinks that one of the Con-
stables being Sir Ealph's Saddler may be persuaded/
The Addington carriages and horses are con-
stantly seen in Buckingham ; * Sir John Busby rode
through it twice, going and coming from Maydes
Morton, and each time he alighted at the Mayor's
house.' He is also paying court to the village of
1 Leathenborough.'
Sir Ealph can hardly hope to overtake his civi-
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 331
lities, Lord Latimer's men are making their last efforts,
but 4 my Lord will not come from town unless he March 23,
1685
can get 7 of the 13 to subscribe for him.'
John sends a bit of gossip on the all-absorbing
topic of the seven Buckingham votes. 'Being AprU2,
yesterday at Nancy Nicholas' she pulled out a letter,
tore out the name & bad me read it, twas I saw a
Clerk's hand & began Sir.' Then the story of these
infinitely petty intrigues is told again, how there are
six votes for Sir Ralph and six for Lord Latimer, how
' a Draper being incognito had declared for Sir Ralph,
but that this should prove of no avail.' Nancy left
the room, and John, determined to discover the writer,
flew to the place ' where the crumpled paper lay she
had flung into the fire, but lighting on a Scotch coale
it tumbled off into the Chimney, so I took it up &
opened it and found the name to be Wm. Baker, he
that married Mr. Ethersey's daughter.' Sir Ralph
replies that Mr. Ethersey, the mayor, 'is wholly
governed by my Lord Chief Justice . . . his sisters
are heartily for me & cry & speak openly how much
they are ashamed of their Brother. ... I wish I had
never been concerned in the business, for tis very
Chargeable and woonderful Troublesome.' Jack
Ethersey the Attorney is busy at Buckingham with
his brother the mayor ; ' Chaque Diable a son tour,'
writes Jack Verney, ' once I was desired to be his
friend when he putt in for a place in the Citty & I
recommended him to some of the Chief Grocers for
to be a Clark of their hall, & it may be in my power
332 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
again (before he be a Judge) to doe him an other
kindness or its contrary, which of 'em he may expect
will be according to his carriage to you. . . . Lady
Osborne told me my L d of Devonshire] rails exceed-
ingly at Sir E. T. and saith he will bring him on his
knees in the house for keeping the precept 6 weeks
after he had it, before delivered, and much such
stuff. . . .'
Sir Ealph replies, ' Lord Latimer kept the precept
5 weeks when it was noe crime & tis usually donn
in very many places. ... Sir Eich. kept it but 17
dayes after hee first had it, many persons keep it
much longer, therefore I beleeve Ly. Osborne under-
stands not what she says about it.'
Stewkeley writes that 'L'Estrange & one Mr.
Chaney, a very young man he is of y r Winslo, & a
mighty favouritt of the L d Ch : Just. Jeff :'s are chosen
for Winton.'
John has been running after Mr. Fall, a London
solicitor known to the Aldermen at Buckingham, who
might help if he could go down to work for Sir Ealph,
but he finds him ' tyed by the leg to the Treasury
ofiice.' ' Dr. Denton says,' John continues, ' that the
towne of Buck m was anciently against our family.
My Grandfather having gotten the Assizes from
Buck m to Wickham, & that you had angered them
in a piece of Justice. But the Dr. being just then
going into the Lady Sherard's door, I had not time
to know of him in what, or to pump out whether he
said this of his own knowledge or had it from your
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 333
good friend in a corner A. D[enton].' In 1679 ' the
king promised L d Latimer that the Assizes should be
at Buck m , but Sir Thos. Lee got Monmouth to beg
they should be at Aylesbury, which was granted.'
History repeats itself ; some two hundred years later,
Sir Harry Verney, when candidate for the same seat,
was reproached with having removed the Quarter
sessions from Buckingham to Aylesbury.
Sir Ealph was going about in Buckingham,
coughing in the cold March winds, longing to be out
of the ale and the noise, and peremptorily sent for to
return, whenever he sought a little rest at Claydon.
There was always a special reason. He must not be
absent on market days ; the mayor had complained
that he had not called upon him of late ; my Lord
Latimer's man had given the wives and daughters of
the burgesses a treat very recently, and Sir Ealph
should do the same, and so on. Cook Nicholas felt
sadly that his artistic cold collations were thrown
away upon the thirsty Alderman. ' Wine is the most
acceptable treate for them, with Anchois or such like
thing, to draw downe Liquor.'
' I wish Buckingham election were over,' writes April i,
1 ooe
Lady Gardiner, ' and that you might have time to
mend your health, which is of chifest moment to me,
not bot I hope all will goe as I wod have it ...
there is like to be a good time for blistering, warm
whether being best for that, & I am shur if you due
not begin to take the asses milk quickly, you will
have bot a short tim to take it.'
334 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
John was also urgent with his father to be blistered,
but Sir Ealph felt that he could not stand any more
worries till after the polling day. His chief solace
was an aromatic ' dish ' which he made for himself at
night ; ' a noble fuddler of coffee,' Dr. Denton called
him. He had laid in a frugal provision of two half-
pound packets of coffee at 3s. a lb., which he hoped
would carry him through his fatigues ; but he was
far from being at the end of them. It was now
known that the polling for Buckingham would be
delayed until after the Knights for the Shire had
been chosen.
So far the Whigs had done well in the Bucks
boroughs, but the great county struggle was yet to
come. Dr. Denton reports 'mad work in many
elections the Lord Chief Justice [Jeffreys] behaves
himself bravely in all his circuit,' which he made into
an electioneering tour ; he was then detained in Essex,
his temper being further soured by c a fit of the stone. 1
Jeffreys was known to the Verneys, Mun had dined
with him in town, and he owned a house in the county
at which Charles II. visited him in 1678, ' & causing
Sir George Jeffreys to sit down at table with him, he
drank to him seven times.' His favour at Court was
still in the ascendant, and he was already famous for
the violence and brutality of his temper. He was
resolved to bring the terrible power of his personal
influence to bear, in order to overawe the electors at
Aylesbury. This contest was felt to be a crucial one.
The candidates were Lord Brackley, Mr. Wharton,
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 335
and Mr. Hackett. Lord Brackley, by his own merit,
and as son of the Lord Lieutenant, Lord Bridgewater,
had won the support not only of the Whigs but of
most of the moderate Tories of the county. His
mother, Lady Elizabeth Cavendish, was famous for
*her winning behaviour and most obliging conver-
sation,' her beauty, wit and piety, and Lord Brackley
seems to have inherited something of her charm.
Thomas, eldest son of Philip Lord Wharton, was a
man of a very different type ; he had a great reputa-
tion for wealth and extravagance. A popular sports-
man, he had just been thrown by a rearing horse at
Newport races, but recovered in time to rally his
friends for a still more exciting contest. Able and
unscrupulous, he represented a powerful Whig family
living close to Aylesbury ; he was personally ob-
noxious to King James, as having brought up the
Exclusion Bill from the House of Commons to the
Bar of the House of Lords.
Mr. Hackett, the Tory candidate, ' an unknown
young gentleman of the neighbourhood of Newport
Pagnell,' was Jeffreys' tool in his stubborn resolution,
at all costs to keep out Wharton. In case this
should fail, it was reported that the Lord Chief
Justice ' with the rest of his gang, would at the last
promote Hackett's election for Buckingham.'
Sir Ealph sent word to his agent to work up the
tenants, and peremptorily desired Mr. Butterfield to
exert himself in Mr. Wharton's interest ' among his
brethren.' The rector, usually so compliant, returned
336 VEKNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
an evasive answer ; he would see which side would
most benefit the church ; meanwhile he and Mr.
Townshend were reported to be very busy ; it was
evident that the clergy would vote Tory. Persons
of quality are bestirring themselves all over the
county ; ' my Lady Peter Tyrrill,' Sir Walter Ealeigh's
granddaughter, has been met ' in her coach & 4,
driving furiously ' to London ; and Sir Thomas
Bludworth has been heard to say that ' his brother
the L d Ch : Just : Jefferys will be at the Election of
Knights of the Shire.'
Whatever weariness Sir Ealph confessed to in
private, he was at his post when the great struggle
commenced; his letter describes the unscrupulous
tactics the Lord Chief Justice was prepared to
employ.
4 Alisbery, Thursday night.
' April 9, 1685. On Tuesday night I came heather,
I thought the Pole would have been continued here
till the Election had been ended, but some say Mr.
Wharton having many more voices than Mr. Hackett,
my L d , Ch. Justice got the Sheriff to adjourn the
Poll to Newport (which is 15 very long miles from
hence) in the heart of Mr. Hackett's friends, & tis
thought it will be adjourned on Sat. morn g . from
thence to Buckingham where Mr. Hackett has a
good many friends, because next Sat. is Newport
Fayre, & it would be inconvenient to have the Fayre
& the pole together. Most are of opinion that this
adjournment will lose my L d . Brackley 2 or 300
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 337
voyces, that cannot goe soe farre. Therefore my
L d Brackley was against it, but my IA Chief Justice
like a Torrent carryes all before him. Some say
that if Mr. Hacket is worsted in these parts then my
Lord will get the Sheriffs to adjourn it to Beconsfield,
where my L d Chief Justice has an Interest, being not
farre from his House, but this is but a conjecture.
Some things have happened here which are not fit to
be put into a letter. ... I have sent for my Coach &
Horses to be here very early for I cannot goe soe farre
as Newport, but I intend to go to Buck m . on Saturday
if the poll be adjourned thither.'
Lord Macaulay has related the sequel, how Tom
Wharton's friends reached Newport, only to find
every available lodging engaged, and provender for
man and beast already bought up ; ' the Whig free-
holders were compelled to tie their horses to the
hedges & to sleep under the open sky, in the meadows
which surround the little town.' But Jeffreys had
misjudged his men ; Wharton was full of pluck and
was ready to spend 1,500/. a day; the result of the
first day's polling was that ' my Lord Brackley had
2,430 voices & odd, Mr. Wharton had 1,804 with
many hundreds yet to poll & Mr. Hackett had 1,207
& noe more to poll ; ' and so the two first were
declared at Newport to be duly elected, and Jeffreys'
further schemes fell through. More even than
against the triumphant Wharton, the Lord Chief
Justice's rage was directed against the frail figure of
the old man who spoke and wrote so temperately,
VOL. IV. Z
338 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
but whose very presence at Aylesbury reminded the
Bucks electors of the traditions of their best days.
To have known and followed Hampden was the best
support to men who might have quailed under
Jeffreys' curses, ' this demi-fiend, this hurricane of
man,' as the ballad-makers called him. Sir Ealph's
friends had only one regret, that he had missed the
final triumph at Newport ; but he failed not to hear
of ' the greate griefe of my L d . Ch Justice who in his
passion fell upon many of the gentry, but most upon
me, tho' I was not there, I was a Trimmer & soe he
would tell my IA Keeper who was my friend.' 1 A
few days later Wharton, the hero of the hour, won
4 the four score pounds plate at Brackley races, T'was
a gold tumbler, a fork & a handle for a knife. Sir
Charles Shugburgh & Mr. Griffith ran against him.'
Gary Gardiner is jubilant, and only longs to have
a war of wits with the terrible Lord Chief Justice.
April 15, ' I wish I could come in company with that mighty
man, that spits his venham in every place at you,'
she writes to her brother ; * I long to see him bot
not out of love, bot fancy I could hit him more homb
then hee can you, & wod due & mildly too; hee
deserves to bee told his erour tho' not afronted for
his Master's sake, who I think hee dus great predygys
to instead of sarving ; and fancy it will be thought
so in time, raling not becomeing his grandeure. I
would goe forty miles to meet him amonxt parsons
1 ' Guildford was treated by Jeffreys with marked incivility, and
the surest way to propitiate the Ld. Ch. Just : was to treat the Ld.
Keeper with disrespect.' Macaulay, Hist. Eng., i. p. 454.
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 339
of quollity, as for the Maior he is a pityfull fellow . . .
old as I am I hope I shall see them both under other
sircumstances. I wish them better before death
seizes them.'
' I hear many accusations against you my Lord Apra 12,
Chief Justice maks, bot I bileve only whot I think,
not pinning my faith to his girdle, I pray God he
may not use any ill courses to set you a side the
election. ... I hate the world every day more &
more, & find most falchod in church, pretending to
religion.' Mun ' sate up all night in Buckingham
drinking with the High Sheriff, Sir E. T. & Mr.
Mayor,' after the county victory, and Captain Pigott
4 lay ill at Aylesbury after drinking too hard all
through the election.' ' Sir Samuel Grimston hath
lost his election at St. Albans, but he carried it very
indiscreetly, soe that he hath scarce a pretence to
petition the House.' The Eure heiresses, both now
married, have rival candidates for their borough of
Maiden; Captain Fairfax is returned, and not Mr.
Wortley, by which it appears that ' Cousin Danby
has got the victory over Cousin Palmes.'
Public attention was for the moment withdrawn
from the contests, and fixed upon the great prepara-
tions made for King James's coronation on St. April 23,
1685
George's Day. The Duke of Ormond has arrived,
' many persons of Quality attended him into town,
there were about 40 coaches.'
' His Maj tie dined by invitation on board the
Loyall James an East India Shipp, but the Entertain-
z 2
340 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
ment was extremely mean & Bread & Cheese both
wanting, as the report goeth.'
Penelope Osborne has ordered a new chariot on
which her father's arms are to be painted, and her
horses at Claydon are to be fetched up from grass
and put ' in flesh ' as fast as possible that they ' may
be no discredit to the Coach.' She needs it urgently as
she has a swelling on one foot ' as bigg as a Walnut /
Lame and withered as she is she begs Sir Ealph
specially to remember her ' Beauty Water.' Penelope
has crowds of callers, ladies of the highest fashion
having suddenly remembered her existence, as she is
1 known to have a good interest ' with Henry's old
friend ' the Earl of Peterborough, father in law to my
Lord Marshall,' who has seats to assign for the
coronation. Penelope is not nice in these matters,
and enjoys the situation. Young Ealph and his
brother Edmund, with Denton Nicholas and a number
of undergraduate friends, are posting up to town,
where the Verney lads are hospitably entertained by
Aunt Gardiner.
' I think if both the brothers come,' she writes,
4 they must ly in my back rome, they will not be
with us before 5 a'clok in the morning ; my neveugh
Ealph must bring his best cloths, none must bee
ther in blak, that is forbid in print by my Lord
Martiall. All the scafolds are lined & canopys over
them to keep of rain, so all is very fine, all parsons
visits the places of show to see the manner of it &
many as will not be ther that day gos now. . . . My
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 341
Oossin Georg Nicholas has been to see the prepara-
tions, & says tis not so fue as 100,000 people may
stand to see it on the scaffolds in West r Hall & the
Pallis yard & in all the Church-yard of St. Margaret's
at West r & all the hustings along & many comes
from beyound sea to see it, which you may guess the
reson of.'
'Your grandsons shall be with me,' she writes
again to Sir Ealph, ' wher my Lady Anne Grimston
& her daufters are, & Mrs Bartley & Lady Tichborn
& her daufters with more of my frinds, whom I am
to condoct tomorrow to the place of standing wher
we sit up all night, chusing it as the less disorder,
becaus after 5 a clok on thursday morning no coach
shall be soffered to pass Whithall & tis bilieved no
coach shall pass after wensday night, & to avoid ill
crouds we intend to sit up, & your grandsons shall
have their sleep out beefore they goe. My Lady
Warick saw the quens crown isterday, & ther is to
the vallew of neer 200,000 uppon it, & shee will
bee all over Jewels besids ; never any quen was so
richly decked, all conclude by many thousands, a
world of Jewels shee borrows, a fair day is now
chiny wisht for. On Saturday the king was pleasd
to send to my Lord Pois to let him know he had the
sword the pope sent King Hary the eight, and that
he should have the honour to carry it beefore him
on ister day, for the sord as was Carry ed before the
late king is layd Aside, Heare is nothing bot great
& gloryous things publickly talked of, bot I doubt
342 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
not bot ther is thousands as prays only for Immortall
glory wch in god's good time grant to you & all
yours & me & all mine wch shall conclud this from
yr. affec. sister & sarvant Gary Gardiner. Sent this
tuesday morning expecting a croud of people this
day & tomorrow.' The weather was dry and un-
usually hot for April, propitious for a function. ' Tis
said the King will walk to his Parliament thorow
King St. in his Parliament Eobes & that all the
Peeres shall be the same with their coronets, purposely
to gratifye his people that they may see a splendid
show.' ' Profuse where he ought to have been
frugal & niggardly where he might pardonably have
been profuse,' J the procession from the Tower was
omitted by James on account of expense, while he
lavished double the money on the Queen's trinkets.
On Easter Sunday ' the rites of the Church of Eome
were once more after an interval of 127 years per-
formed at Westminster with regal splendour.' The
streets swarmed with priests, while the Lord Mayor,
who applied for the ancient right of representing the
City as cupbearer at the coronation, 'was told by
the Lord Keeper the claim was not good now the
charter is forfeited.' The reception of the special
Embassy from Holland was dreadfully bungled.
' As they came up the Eiver,' John writes, ' they
lowered their fflagg to the King's Castles, but put it
up againe, on wch the then Gov r fired 2 bullets one
a head tother astern, but they not taking on't downe
1 Macaulay, History of England, i. 472.
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 343
he fired soe again. Then the Embassadors (pretend-
ing whilst they are on board tis not usuall to take it
quite downe) came on shoare and twas taken downe
presently. . . . Van Sitters here joynd with the two
Dutch Embassadors that came over ; they are in great
state, having each 6 Pages, 10 footmen & other Eetinue
answerable, & have taken a great house in St. James'
Square but a publique entry is not granted them.'
' I am glad the Elections & Coronation is over,'
murmurs old Betty Adams, ' ther was so much
discors about them that one would thinck that thay
forgot to tolck of aney thing els, but nothing can
make me forget my soroes.'
Sir Ealph could not yet put elections aside, the
Borough had still to be won, and Jack Stewkeley
writes of the ' foul play played Sir Ealph at Buck m .
by staving off the election and not allowing him to
know the probable date of it.' 'All imaginable
endeavours have been used to get over any one of his
seven Yoyces, but they are as firm to us as rocks,'
Mun writes, 'but we know what tricks they may
play us, & then there is no fence for a flaile but a
Barne Door.' It soon appeared that a formidable
plot was brewing ; the Mayor threatened to report
one of the Whig Aldermen, Dancer, a tanner, to the
King for words against the Government ; if Dancer
could be summoned to London on however trumpery
a charge, the election could be held in his absence and
Sir Ealph would lose the seat. The only hope of
defeating this trick was by making it public, and
344 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Sir Ealph, on behalf of himself, his colleague and his
party, desired his son John to wait upon the Lord
Chief Justice, to offer bail for Dancer's appearance
as soon as the election should be over, but to protest
against any of the aldermen being forced to absent
themselves before that day. Jack hears that
' Carter a tipstaffe has gone to Buck m . to bring up
Dancer,' he has been talking over the matter with
Ethersay the attorney. 'I find him a Eude,
Passionate fellow, & Sir Eichard tells me his brother
the Mayor is ten times more passionate than he, I
wonder how Sir Eich. who is boy ling water & the
Mayor doe, to set their horses together . . . hot-
headed people that can't speak sense, hate to heare
it.' ' Ethersay saith you called the town of Bucking-
ham a nest of Bastards & Beggars I told him I
could not believe a man of your wisdom should speak
such ill words . . . then he said you never spent 20
shillings in Buck m . in 20 years but I found he
meant in Ale, & truly I doe believe it, but my Lady
Gardiner told him that he knew you hated to goe to
any alehouse. He stands much upon the honour of
his family & saith 'twas formerly the best in that
town, except Sir Eichardson, I fancy his ancestors
came out of Wales, & he retains still some Welsh
hott blood in him.' Sir Ealph replies that the
absurd stories of his being ' against Buck m . are some
11 years, & the latest 6 yeares, old . . . tis true I
have not spent 20 shillings in Ale (except on the
occasion of this and my former election), nor shall I
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 345
doe it if I live 20 yeares longer, but I am sure the
men of Buck m . have had several <20 of me for Work,
& for things that I have bought of them. ... I
found Sir E. T. in a calmer humour then when he
writ me an angry peevish letter about Mr. Dancer's
being put out of the Commission of the peace. . . .
I am noe way fond of this imployment, beleeve me
those that are out of the House are much happier
then those that are in ; & within few months you
will bee of my mind I'le warrant you.' Gary hears
that Sir Ealph's name has been brought up at the
Council table, and that Sir E. Temple complains
passionately that by his friendship with him he has
lost the King's favour. The plot against Dancer
goes on, and he and another alderman are to be
turned out of the Commission of the Peace.
Sir Ealph and Sir Eichard Temple desired John to
get counsel's opinion about the Buckingham Charter
and to give a guinea or two for it. He went first to
Henry Pollexfen, but that wise man would not
meddle with the case, as soon as he had looked into
it. ' In vain,' John says, ' I played with the gold in May 5,
my fingers ; ' he protested that ' now Eeason signifies
nothing he will have nothing to do with such matters.'
Pollexfen had shown considerable courage in de-
fending the City Charter, he was afterwards the cham-
pion both of the Seven Bishops and of Baxter the
nonconformist, and was accounted ' a thorough-stitch
enemy to the crown,' but he had reasons of his own
for not meddling with an election in which Jeffreys
346 VEKNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
was so much interested, and before the end of the
summer he was employed by the Lord Chief Justice,
in whose hands all legal patronage was now vested, to
conduct the prosecutions after Monmouth's rebellion.
Baffled here, John turned to another eminent
man, John Holt, son of the recorder of Abingdon,
and educated in the Free School there, whom Sir
Ealph must have known well. He was famous for
his integrity and his knowledge of the law, but he
too was looking to Jeffreys for promotion. He
listened coldly, and scratched his head, but was
persuaded to read the papers ' & said sure the man
(Ethersay) was madd for an Alderman to talk soe,
this he repeated 2 or 3 times,' but when pressed to
say whether he would give an opinion, he doubted
whether he had the time, remembered that ' it was
the last day of Terme & that he must go visit the
Judges.' John left the papers with him that he
might consider them at leisure. But when he called
again, Holt ' seemed rather more cold, & said he
would not give anything under his hand or have to
doe in the case.' John's labours were not yet over,
some affidavits were required from the Lord Keeper's
Office ; ' I went 10 times for a copy of 'em, still
could not have it, one Secretary had 'em not, another
was gone out to Whitehall, I came againe & he was
at a Taverne where at last I found him ; they cost 6
shillings, that is 5 s to y e Secretary & 1* to the Porter.'
Serjeant Leake, whom John caught at last, and
persuaded to look into the case, was most discou-
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 347
raging. He said, ' 'twas nothing now to turn out men,
many in a day, to disfranchize 'em, and then there's
no remedy but by a writt of mandamus, which before
that can restore them, the Election will be over &
the turn served.'
Holt was soon after made Eecorder of London ;
both he and Pollexfen sat with Sir Ealph in the
Convention Parliament, and became distinguished
judges. But though even the great Whig lawyers
declined to help them, the Corporation of Bucking-
ham proved less compliant than the Government
expected, and refused to join 'in soe foule a practice
against 2 of their brethren.'
The resistance to Sir Ealph suddenly collapsed ;
Sir John Busby seems to have been thrown over by
his own party, and the defeated county candidate,
Mr. Hackett, never appeared. Sir Ealph writes to
John at the end of the long day, having got back to
Claydon at ten o'clock : ' This morning Sir E. T. & f 6 * y 5 15 '
myself were elected at Buck m without any noyse or
trouble. Mr. Atterbury was not there, nor did my
Lord Latimer come down, so the whole 12 Electors
signed the book for Sir E. T. & 7 signed for me,
after which the Mayor sent for us upp into the
Towne Hall, & declared the Election & sealed the
Indenture or Eeturne with the Towne Seale & then
all the 12 Electors put their hands to it, & delivered
it to one to carry to the Sheriffs tomorrow morning.
The Populace went to the Towne Hall & civilly
demanded the Pole for my L d Latimer & my Cozen
348 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Greenfield of Foscut, but the Mayor told them hee
could not grant it, soe they went away & poled a little
while & then seperated without noyse or tumult.'
When the same members were returned for
Buckingham in 1681, they were expected to give ' to
each clerk that took the poll, being foure, a guinea,'
' to the men that got superscriptions for them, the like,
being 3 or 4 & also to pay for drawing the intentions
and the exposition all the day of the Election,'
besides their agents' expenses l in riding about &
paying of messengers,' upon which Colman expressed
his opinion that ' tis a great charge to be chosen a
Parliament man.' On May 21, Sir Ralph has taken
his seat, and has forgotten his ailments in the interest
of resuming his House of Commons work. He is
sitting by Sir Charles Gawdy and other old friends ;
and goes down to Westminster so early, that those
who want to see him must call before 8 o'clock in
the morning. He is lodging at ' Capt. Paulden's
house, over against the Crosse Walke in Holborn
Eow in Lincoln's Inn feilds.' The Commons are
May 26, agitated with questions of orthodoxy, ' the Grand
Committee for Eeligion have voted, that the House
should address a Eemonstrance to the King to desire
that a proclamation might issue out to put the Lawes
in Execution against all dissenters from the Ch. of
England whatsoever. . . . The House sitts not this
May 28, day being Holy Thursday, nor tomorrow being the
29th of May.' Their proceedings are watched with
sanguine expectations in the country.
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 349
4 Will you be in London,' Sir William Petty writes
to a friend, ' when the Parliament sits, & help to do
such things for the common good that no King since
the Conquest, besides his present Majesty can so
easily effect ? '
John is chiefly anxious that his father should not
be over tired ; he has ' little stomach to his food.' 'I
would not have you goe soe much on foot . . . walk-
ing in London differs much from doeing so in the
Country open aire. In London the roughness of the
treading, the rubbing by the people, & the bustle of
'em, wearies the body, & giddyes & dozeth the head ;
and if you must walke, why should you not goe in
your Coach to Hampstead, Highgate or any other
way & there alight & walke for such a convenient
time as you shall judge fitt & soe home againe with
some friend to bear you company & talke to, but
really, to walke about the streets I cannot think it
wholesome for you at all.'
' Childe,' replies Sir Ealph, ' I thank you kindly
for your care of my Health, but the bustle of a
parliament will not suffer me to take the aire at such
a distance, & especially at first when we are gene-
rally tyed to more constant attendance, either on the
House or his Maj ties person. I goe not on foote but
when the weather is faire & coole, & then I doe well
to favour my Horses & to save my Coach, which is
more prejudiced by one day here, than it probably can
in Tenn in the Country, the Stones being ready to
shake it in pieces. I have now sent you the King's
350 VEKNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Speech, the same day we voted him for his Life, all
the Ee venue that was settled upon his Brother for
his life . . . divers petitions against Elections were
brought in my cousin Palmes brought in one for
Malton & my L d Latimer & my Cousin Greenfield
brought in another against Sir E. T. & mee for
Buck m .'
The laws which the House of Commons was
anxious to put in force against Papists were a
formidable weapon against Protestant dissenters of
Whig proclivities. After Monmouth's rebellion
Jane 25, ' Noncon : Ministers ' were more than ever perse-
1 CQ<
cuted ; Lord Abingdon, the Lord Lieutenant of
Oxfordshire, writes to Lord Clarendon : ' I am
endeavouring as fast as I can, to pick up the worst
men about the country, but cannot yet meet with
one Nonconformist parson, having taken some pains
heretofore to ferret them out.' A manifesto was
issued at the Devon Quarter Sessions in October '85,
offering 3/. to any one who should apprehend one,
and stating that ' considerable numbers of them were
actually in the late Eebellion, fit Chaplains indeed
for such a Mushroom King & fit Spiritual Guides for
such lewd Eebels.' A distressed appeal reaches Sir
Ealph from ' Samuel Clarke a Non : Con : ' whose
career might stand as an epitome of the changes
which England had passed through in the life of one
generation. A highly educated Cambridge man ' of
great moderation,' he had lost his fellowship at
Pembroke Hall by refusing to sign the engagement
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 351
under the Long Parliament. During the Protectorate,
he was presented to the rectory of Grendon Under-
wood by Squire Pigott of Doddershall, in succession
to old Thomas Howe. He had the reputation of
being an excellent preacher and a learned Biblical
scholar ; he was so much opposed to the high-handed
action of the Church of England after the Eestora-
tion, that he and his two sons gave up their livings
in 1662. Philip, Lord Wharton, protected him at
Winchendon 'from the face of the spoiler.' Persecu-
tion drove him further and further from Episcopacy,
but he devoted his blameless old age to compiling a
Bible Concordance and other works ; he founded
what in Puritan phrase was called ' a gathered
Church ' in his own house at Wycombe, and died
suddenly while conducting the devotional exercises
of his people in 1701. Being held by this time c in
much esteem,' the Church, so unkind a stepmother
to Clarke in life, received him back in death, and he
was buried in the chancel of the parish church at
Wycombe. 1 But when he wrote to Sir Ealph in
1685, the days of toleration were not yet, and he had
just been seized in the parish of his old patron at
Doddershall. ' 3 Troopers of my L d Brackly's
Troop, brought a warrant signed by 6 Dep :
Lieftenants,' Sir John Busby being of the number . . .
' to secure Mr. Kent (one of the obnoxious Aldermen
who had voted for Sir Ealph) Mr. Nit, (who is Mr.
1 Gibbs' Worthies of BttcTes, p. 103 ; Parker's History
Wycombe, p, 162.
352 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Hampden's chaplain) & myself.' They were detained
at the Eed Lion Inn at Aylesbury, and could find no
magistrate to whom they could appeal to be tried or
released. Clarke having been known to Sir Kalph a
great while, and never having given cause for ' the
least umbrage of suspition,' begs him to intercede for
them with the Lord Lieutenant. ' Tis true our con-
finement is not strict & we are treated with all
manner of civility by the officers here, yet not being
conscious of having ever either don or spoken any-
thing which may deserve so much, I doe humbly sue
for a discharge.'
The magistrate and the dissenter found the rigour
of their natural relations to each other much softened
by the gardening tastes they had in common ; it was
not the first time that Sir Ralph had saved the Non.
Con. from the persecutions of the law, and the latter
while deploring his prelatical leanings, allowed that
Sir Ralph was an accomplished grower of grapes.
As David had accepted the protection of Achish,
King of Gath, the Elect in these evil days might do
well to propitiate so kindly a Philistine, and accord-
ingly some choice vines reached Claydon from Win-
chendon, that Mr. Clarke considered to be ' exactly
season'd & suited to Sir Ralph's palate,' and which he
begged him to accept from ' A real Honourer of
your worth & your highly lowly servant.'
Sir Ralph's ' rarities ' in his house and garden
have more than a local reputation ; he writes to
John (in 1681) :
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 353
' When your Brother & I were gon to Eadcliffe
about 12 o'clock, there came hether a very handsome
young and gentile person, with a Gentleman and 3
more servants in livery ; all extreamly well Horsed,
& armed with Pistolls, & Carbines ; & desired to see
the House, the Church, Gardens, & Parke ; & went
all over the Eoomes, & other places, and told my
Bucks, & would goe to the Hay Eicks, to see how I
had contrived it that the younger & weaker Deere
might come in ; & sayd hee knew mee very well, &
spake of mee & my Election at Buckingham, very
perticulerly ; but neither Hee nor any of his 4
servants would tell his name, nor discover who hee
was, though they were severally asked, but hee still
replied, " Doe not you know mee ? Sure you doe."
They Dranke a Bottle of sack, very civilly & went
away, & noe body knowes either who hee was, or
whence hee came, or wether hee went.'
John Verney and his wife at Eusthall, Tunbridge
Wells, met the impetuous Whartons again : ' Tester- Aug. 16,
I QK
day morning Capt. Henry Wharton comeing to the
Wells, bade a Coachman drive out of the way for
the D. of Norfolk was comeing, but the coachman
haveing broke some harness, said the D. of N. must
waite if he came, or words to that effect, on which
Harry W. Knockt him downe, then Dr. Jefferyes
(Broth: to the L d Ch. J.) lookt out of the Coach &
askt the reason of the action ; the Captaine bade
him come out of the Coach, & he would serve him
soe too : this hath angered his Lordshipp, but I
VOL. IT. A A
354 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
presume (for the Duke's sake) tis husht up. Thorn.
Wharton is here. . . . This Place is very full of
company, soe that lodgeings are very hard to be
gotten & consequently deare, as are all provisions
here. The Prince hath returned to the Court but
the Princess is still here.'
Ang. 23, Sir Ealph replies from Claydon : ' The rashness
of Capt. Harry Wharton brings him into more
disputes & troubles then can bee expressed, as hee
growes older I hope hee will bee every day more
weary of such Brangline Broyles. On Thursday
next is the race at Quainton Meadow then his brother
Tom, & perhaps Harry Wharton too may probably
be there.'
* Our country talk,' writes Mun a little later,
* is that my Lord Scaresdale, L d Spencer, M r . Tho :
Wharton & his brother Harry went to Ethrop, &
whipped the Earle of Carnarvan in his owne house &
didd some other Peccadillios in his Castle besides. . .
Capt. Bertie was sent for to reliefe the Castle & I
hear he did come accordingly, but the Bravos were
all gone first.'
Sir Ralph's own life was saddened by the loss of
a friendship that could never be replaced. ' Sir,'
wrote John Stewkeley, 'the good Lady Gawdy is
dead.'
Their correspondence had continued till within a
few days of her death : ' The honour you allow me of
your friendship,' she writes, 'gives me this liberty
thus to follow you into all places where you reside
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 355
to make my acknowledgments of your favours, & to
lay my thankes at your feete, I am hopeless Sir, ever
to sarve you, but to bee found in the traine of your
obleged is A pleasur I will never mis by my neglect.'
Lady Gawdy had been very suffering and sleepless,
but she wrote bravely asking her old friend's help,
to wind up some money matters which concerned
her younger children, that her eldest son and
executor ' may have his sorrow & debts for me made
as easy as I can to him/ . . . ' Your obleging letter
makes my spirit diligent to pass out at all ports,
to meete you with the most grateful reception.'
Twenty years before Sir Ealph had said of her that
she managed her affairs with ' temper, justice &
moderation even beyond his expectation in all the
wayes of kindnesse & friendship.' She now com-
mended her children and grandchildren to his care,
thanked him once more for his counsel and kindness
during her thirty-five years of widowhood, and
begged him to burn her letters, that 'no stranger
eye may censure them hereafter,' she had burnt all
his, for this reason. Sir Ealph evaded a promise ;
' My Eespects like Eivers pay tribute to the Ocean
of your Favours,' he writes, but he was then in town,
and the letters were in the country treasured as his
most precious possessions. In their faithful and
noble friendship there had been nothing to conceal ;
this was the only request of hers which he did not
feel bound to grant ; at least the letters are at
Claydon still.
A A 2
356 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Lady Vere Grawdy 'was four days a dying,' in
grievous pain, but mistress of herself to the end.
July 21, Sir Charles informs Sir Ealph that ' she left this
1685
world on Monday morning, & this poor family
miserable in the want of her. . . . Upon my returne
from London I found my Deare Mother so apparently
mending for the first two days, as truly I thought I
had ground for those hopes, which God knows the
zeal of my soul formed into wishes for her recovery.
Butt after that little intermission, the assaults of her
diseas grew furious & such a contest between her
payne & her cheerfulness, as I beleeve you scarse
ever saw. Her patience & devotion are impressions
upon me nothing can eradicate, her tenderness &
care for every one, nay her abilitie, lasted as longe
as her sences & they parted not from her till her life.
She had in her muf, which shee always wore when
out of her bed, a letter of yours & one of mine.'
The spring of 1685 had been hot and dry ; no
rain fell at Claydon for many weeks ; Sir Ealph's
gardener, Henry Teem, was weary of watering ; the
strawberries were fading and the peas would hardly
keep for his worship's return. Mistress Anne Wood-
ward, one of the Denton sisters, who was accustomed
to distil ' the Cordyall Water ' for Sir Ealph, that he
would not willingly be without, mourns over her
withered herbs ' which have little or no goodness in
them,' and the ' rosemary which is quite gone out
of our country, that will be much missed in the
Water.'
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 357
In the sultry days of this parched June, the
terrible tragedy of Monmouth's landing, his brief
success, and crushing defeat, was being enacted in
the west of England. The home counties shared in
the excitement ; Betty Adams writes that Baddow is
full of soldiers, ' our malisha being all in arms.'
Parliament was suddenly prorogued in July, and
Sir Ralph went down at once into the country. On
revisiting Buckingham he was escorted back to
Claydon with torches, and caught cold, as his family
remarked with severity, because he would not suffer
the glasses of his coach to be put up.
Mun, suffering and depressed, with gout hi the
eyes and a terribly ulcerated leg, remained behind in
the doctor's hands : ' Mee thinkes this place is very jui y
uncouth to me now you are gone out of it,' he writes
to his father, ' & my Heart feels a kind of Horror of
it, for want of the usual & dayly enjoyment of your
delightful Company, which it Loves beyound expres-
sion & ever will. . . . My eyes continue bad enough
still, I have clapt a plaister of Bergamo Pitch on the
Pole of my Neck, which I think hath done me some
good tho' not much.' John writes on the 15th:
' Yesterday the late Duke of Monmouth, & the late
Lord Gray & the German were brought Pinnioned
Prisoners in 2 Coaches (by my Lord Lumley) to Fox
Hall, thence by L d . Dartmouth in Barges to Whitehall,
& after some stay there in the Barges to the Tower.'
The next letters are full of the horror of Monmouth's
end, ' on the weeping Saint's day,' as Lady Gardiner
358 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
July K>, says. ' After begging mercy of His Majesty in terms
OOO
very abject,' he had roused himself on the fatal
morning to meet death with dignity. On July 15,
4 between 10 & 11 in the morning, he was executed
on Tower Hill. On the Scaffold there were 4 divines,
the Bps. of Ely, Bath & Wells, Dr. Tenison, & Dr.
Hooper, he said little but answers, & did sometimes
turn from them when they asked him Severall
Quest 118 , one after another ; but he dyed very re-
solutely, neither with Affectation nor dejectedness,
but with a courageous moderation. The Executioner
had 5 blowes at him, after the first he lookt up, &
after the third he put his Leggs a Cross, & the
Hangman flung away his Axe, but being chidd tooke
it againe & gave him tother two strokes ; and severed
not his Head from his body till he cut it off with his
Knife. This Joseph told me,' Mun writes, ' (who
once served my Lady Gardiner), I mett him coming
from Tower Hill, where he saw the Execution
done.'
With advancing years, Sir Ealph finds town life
more and more trying to him ; ' Whether or noe you
drink Asses' Milke you must expect to cough, when
you come to London,' is Dr. Denton's cheerful com-
ment upon one of his many colds. He complains
that he cannot drink Asses' milk at all in town,
' for the D re (and perticulerly D r Tower) tell theire
patients, that tis soe foul with sutt, smoke, & Dust,
that it hath very little Vertue in it ' He returns to
Clay don in the spring of 1686, and writes thence to
SOME BUCKS ELECTIONS OF 1685 359
John, who has exhorted him to keep 'within &
warme.'
' Childe, I prayse God wee came well home Feb. 28,
1 fiftfi
about 5 a'clock on Friday, but my Coach was stuck
in my coz : Winwood's Lane (called Stirke Lane)
that I was forced to bee drawne out with a Teeme .
. . . My Lord Wenman I heare is very ill, soe that
he hath 2 Drs. with him from Oxford, therefore he
must needes bee in greate danger. To humour you
I have stayed within dores ever since I came home,
only I was at Church this day, but have not yet
been in my Parke, Gravell Walke, nor Elme Grove,
yet this day I am growne Hoarse & finde noe abate-
ment of my cough but I am sure that staying within
Dores is very unusnal to me, & much against my
owne inclinations and indeed very Tiresome to
< Your afl 6 father, E. V.'
Dr. Denton writes : ' I am sensible of our neigh-
bour Lord Wenman's dying, and would help all if I
could, but we strive against an Act of Parlt. made
in Heaven, & must submitt. My Lord Wenman,
my old schoolfellow and friend, is 4 or 5 yeares
younger then I, wch gives me fresh occasion to bless
God for my great share of health in my olde daies.
I pray God I may make good use of it . . . .1 could
wish you would take sugar of roses with yr. asses'
milke.'
Sir Ealph was apt to do a little doctoring of his
own behind the good physician's back. ' In my Marc h 7i
Pocket,' he writes to John, 'I found this Dirty 1686
360 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Printed Paper, you know I love a mountebanke
therefore at your owne leasure buy me a Role of
Extract of Licoris ; 'tis but a shilling & lay up
thes paper that if I send for more you may know
where to find it.'
May i, Edmund writes a few weeks later : ' My old
Lord Wenman is dead & now there is a great wind-
fall at Twyford, come to Dr. Adams Eector of
Lincoln Coll : in Oxford, who I ghuesse will have the
discretion to make the best of it.' Two hundred
years later Lord Wenman's land figured in a Bucks
Election, when the men of Twyford, desiring in their
turn ' to make the best of it,' applied to Lincoln
College to let it to them ; it furnished a topic hotly
discussed by the local politicians on both sides, and
the Twyford allotments case attained to a more than
local notoriety.
361
CHAPTEE X.
AN OXFOED UNDERGRADUATE IN THE REIGN OF JAMES II.
1685-1688.
' Some to the learned Universities.'
* I DESIGN E you for the Universitie, if you are fit NOV. 26,
for it, for I hope in God you will take to some
honourable profession of your own accord, if not I
am resolved you shalbe of a meane one for of some
Profession, High or Low, I will make you, for I abhor
you should go sauntering up & down like an idle
lazy Fellow, and soe God blesse you.'
The boy thus admonished was Edmund Verney,
second son of Edmund Verney and Mary Abell of
East Clay don ; he was sixteen, and a few months
later his father entered him as a ' fellow-commoner ' Jan.,
at Trinity College, Oxford.
Sir Ealph had been brought up at Magdalen Hall ;
but Sir Francis Verney, of the former generation, had
been at Trinity, and several of the boy's friends were
already there. Philip Bertie, son of Eobert Earl of
Lindsay, whose father had been Mr. Cordell's pupil
when Sir Ealph lived at Blois, was admitted in
February 1683, aged eighteen. Denton Nicholas,
Dr. Denton's grandson, went to Trinity in 1681, aged
362 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
sixteen, and was now about to take his degree.
Ealph Palmer, only brother of Mrs. John Verney,
had been there nearly a year. John Butterfield and
Simon Aris, probably relatives of the present and
the former rectors of Claydon, were Trinity under-
graduates about this time. Josias Howe, a famous
royalist divine (son of Sir Kalph's old neighbour, for
more than fifty years Eector of Grendon Underwood),
was one of the lights of Trinity ; he had been deprived
of his fellowship by the Parliamentary Visitors in
] 648, but it was restored to him by Charles II., and
he resided in the CoUege till his death in 1701.
There was a great deal of bustle and excitement
in getting the boy's outfit together. He noted with
pride his ' new sylver hilted sword, his new striped
Morning gown,' and his ' 6 new laced Bands whereof
one is of Point de Loraine.' l
1 He is thus entered in the Trinity College Admission Register :
Ego Edmundus Verney filius Edmundi Verney Armigeri de East
Claydon in Com : Bucks : natus ibidem Annorum circiter 16,
Admissus sum Primi ordinis Commensalis Mense Januarii 168| sub
tutamine magistri Sykes.
And the following fees were paid :
Jan 23. 168f ^
Received then of Mr. Edmund Verney. Ten s. d.
pounds being Caution money laid into Trinity f
College, Oxon : I say, Received by me.
JOHN CUDWORTH BUES K
Received also one pound ten shillings for utensils.
Item, for the New Building 15
Item, for the C onion room 2
Jan : 23. 168| ^
Received then of Mr. Edmund Verney the sum t _- d
of one pound and eight shillings to be payd to VI 8^0
the CoUege servants for his admission into
Trinity College Oxon : I say received by me. '
THO: SYKES.
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 363
Stephen Penton, chaplain to the Earl of Ayles-
bury, has left us a quaint account of his parting with
a son, whom he took up to the University about the
same time. Father, mother, and sisters accompanied
the lad to Oxford, and received his tutor at an inn,
where that learned person delivered a discourse to
the family council, of so alarming a nature on all that
the undergraduate was and was not to do, that as
soon as he had left the room * the boy clung about
his mother and cry'd to go home again, and she had
no more wit than to be of the same mind; she
thought him too weakly to undergo so much hard-
ship as she foresaw was to be expected. My daugh-
ters (who instead of Catechism and Lady's Calling)
had been used to reade nothing but speeches in
romances, hearing nothing of Love and Honour in
all the talk, fell into downright scolding at him,
call'd him the merest scholar and if this were your
Oxford breeding, they had rather he should go to
Constantinople to learn manners. But I who was
older and understood the language call'd them all
great fools.' 1
Edmund was spared any such scene, as his father
allowed him to go to Oxford alone. The last day
had been occupied with the packing and making lists
(such was the orderly family usage) of the clothes,
bed-linen, and table-linen with which his father sup-
plied him. On January 21, 1685, he left home, and
1 Reminiscences of Oxford by Oxford Men. By Lilian Quiller
Couch, p. 49 (Oxford Hist. Soc.).
364 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
on the 22nd his father wrote him the first of a long
series of affectionate letters in which he followed
every detail of his son's college career.
' For Mr. Edmund Verney at his chamber in
Trinity College in Oxford, or at Mr. Thomas Sykes
his Tutor's Chamber in the same College. With a
Box And a Trunk.
London, ' Child, I shalbee very joyfull to Heare of yr
less safe Arrivail at Oxford, according to my kind Wishes
wch. attended you all the Way for yr prosperous
journey.
' I Have this Day sent you (By Thomas Moore ye
Oxon Carry er) All yr things mentioned in this
enclosed Note, except yr old Camelote Coate, wch.
I Didd not think you would need nor worth sending :
yr old Hatt I Didd not send neither, for it was soe
Badd that I was ashamed of it. All yr new Things I
Bought you I Put into a new Box Lockt up, and well
Corded up, and the Key of this Box I Have also
Here-enclosed for you : but for the Key of yr Trunk
I could not find it, and its no matter, for that Lock
is nothing worth : and Thorn : made a shift to Lock
it wth. a Key of myne : and it is well Corded besides :
In yr. old Breeches wch. are in yr new Box, you
will find yr five Laced-Bands (the sixt you Carryed
with you) and a new pay re of Laced Cuffes : And
yr two Guinnies in yr fobb, and a new Knife and
forke in yr. great Pocket. And so God Blesse you,
and send you Well to Do. I am yr. Loving father
Edmund Verney.'
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 365
' In yr. trunk I Have putt for you
18 Sevill Oranges
6 Malaga Lemons
3 pounds of Brown sugar
1 pound of white poudered sugar made up in
quarters
1 Ib of Brown sugar Candy
J of a Ib of white sugar candy
1 Ib of pickt Eaisons, good for a Cough
4 Nutmeggs.'
A week passed without any reply from the boy,
and his father wrote again.
' Child, When I take any Journey I always Jan. 29,
I CQK
write unto my father By every opportunity a perfect
Diurnall of my Voyage, and what else occurs worthy
of Eemarq : I writt to you a Letter this Day seven-
night when I sent you yr Trunk and Box But
never Hadd any answer nor account from you since :
wch. is such a peece of Omission in you, to say no
worse, that I Believe neither Oxford nor Cambridge
can Paralell. For why I should Bee thus Neglected
By my sonne I cannot imagine : indeed I looke upon
it as an ill Omen, that you should committ such a
grosse solecisme at yr first Entrance into the
University against yr Loving father Edmund
Verney.'
Letters from Oxford to London are from three to
five days on the road, and one from young Edmund
had miscarried.
The answer when it came showed all a fresh-
366 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
man's nervous anxiety to do the correct thing. The
outfit which had looked so handsome at home, seems
inadequate and rustic now, and in his self-conscious
shyness young Edmund imagines that all Oxford is
laughing at him.
Oxon. ' Most Honoured Father, I want a Hatt, and a
1685 2> payre of Fringed Gloves very much, and I Desire
you to send me them if you can possibly before
Sunday next, for as I Come from Church Every
body Gazeth upon me and asketh who I am. This I
was Told by a friend of Myne, who was asked by
Two or Three who I was.'
London, ' Child, .... I ffind you Have Payd the Taylor
!685 ' for making yr Gowne and Cappe : But that you can-
not Bee Matriculated these 3 weekes yet, untill you
are Better skilled in the Orders or Statutes of yr
College or University : therefore I Pray Learne them
as soone as you Can.
* I will send you yr Bible wth yr Hatt &c : And
so I Conclude Beseeching Almighty God to Have you
in his Keeping.'
Feb. 16, ' Most Honoured Father, I ffind by your letter
that you could not bye me any Fringed Gloves, untill
you knew what is generally worne in the university
by reason of the Death of our most excellent King
Charles the Second. I cannot ffully certifie as yet in
this matter, But there are two or three ffellow
Commoners of our House of wch. Mr. Palmer is one,
that have bought their Black Cloathes, and Plain
Muzeline Bands, and Cloath Shooes, and are now
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 367
in very strict morning : and others are Preparing
for it, so that within this weeke I suppose the
greater Part, if not all, of the university will be in
morning.'
'Child, Last Tusday night about 11 or 12 a Feb. 19,
Clock, yrs. of the 16th came to my Hands. I Have l
now sent you a new black Beaver with a Eubber and
yr Handkercher in the Crowne of it, all within a
pastboard Hatcase : I Have Bought you a new
Sylver seale, but it is not yet Engraved wth yr
Coate, so I could not send it you this Bout, but it is
a Doing, you suppose That within a weeke, the
Greater part of the University if not all, wil be in
mourning : But I Ghuesse you are in a mistake, for I
met with Dr. Say the Provost of Oriall, and askt
Him about it, and Hee answered mee that There
would Bee noe such thing as to the Generallity, Here
& There some particular Persons might goe into
mourning, and That would Bee all ; for one swallow
or two or 3 makes no Summer. Since I writt This,
yr sylver Seale is Come soe I Have put it within yr
Handkercher tyed up in great Hast.'
The boy writes later that mourning is worn only
by families connected with the Court.
' Child, I Heare my Cosen Denton Nicholas is June,
come to Towne : Home to his fiather and Mother.
You say Hee Hath bespoke a new Table and Cane
chayres, wch. will amount to 3 a peece between
you, But I Do not understand why you should Bee
at that unnecessary Charge, as long as you Have
368 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
that wch. will serve yr turne, neither Do I like the
Vanity. You do not tell me whether you are ma-
triculated yet or noe, and I am impatient till I know
Thats done. You say you want money, wch. I will
supply you with very shortly, but not to Lay out in
Vaine moveables, and so God Blesse you.'
' Why, what's a moveable ? ' we are tempted to
ask with Petruchio. * A joint stool,' Kate replies ;
Denton Nicholas and his cousin were intent upon a
little more comfort than this, though they were far
from having ' three elegant & well-furnished rooms '
such as Gibbon occupied at Magdalen seventy years
later.
Edmund had come to Oxford in stirring times ;
Town and Gown were alike excited about Monmouth's
rebellion ; the Lord Lieutenant and other gentlemen
of the county were calling out the trained bands,
and we hear of the Dean of Christ Church haranguing
the students and using all endeavours to make them
fight for the Crown. A bill of Mun's, ' for ye
mending of my Sword,' suggests the exercises most
in favour with undergraduates ; small bodies of
volunteers are enrolled at each college, and an
enthusiastic lad at St. Mary's Hall pays three pence
for Monmouth's speech. 1 It was a disappointment
to many ardent spirits that the fighting was so soon
over without giving them the chance of striking a
blow for the King ; the men consoled themselves with
1 Account Boole of an Oxford Undergraduate, ed. bj- E. J. Duff.
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 369
bonfires in the quads, a review on Port Meadow, and
uproarious drinking of toasts. That hot summer
was a sickly time in Oxford, and Mun was ill with
a feverish rash very prevalent there.
In July he wants ' money To Pay for my Battles
for Last quarter, which Comes To 06-00-09 and to
pay my Tutor's Quarterage, and some other odd
Businesses.'
The tutor who had so much alarmed young
Penton, laid down the law ' that he write no letter to
come home for the first whole year.' He considered
it to be 'a common and a very great inconvenience,
that soon after a young gentleman is settled, and but
beginning to begin to study, we have a tedious ill
spell'd letter from a dear sister, who languishes and
longs to see him . . . this softens the lazy youth
into a fond desire of seeing them too. Then all on
the sudden up posts the livery-man and the led
horse, enquires for the college where the young
squire lives, finds my young master with his boots
and spurs on beforehand, quarrelling the poor man
for not coming sooner. The next news of him is at
home ; within a day or two he is invited to a hunting
match, and the sickly youth, who was scarce able to
rise to prayers, can now rise at four of the clock to
a fox-chase ; then must he be treated at an ale-house
with a rump of beef seven miles from home, hear an
uncle, cousin, or neighbour rant and swear; and
after such a sort of education for six or eight weeks,
full of tears and melancholy, the sad soul returns to
VOL. IV. B B
370 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Oxford ; his brains have been so shogged, he cannot
think in a fortnight ; and after all this, if the young
man prove debauch'd, the University must be blam'd.'
Either Mr. Sykes was more lenient, or Claydon
was too near Oxford for ' the dear sister ' to be
easily suppressed. Mun goes home, but the vacation
is not apparently to last much more than a fortnight.
Sept 16, ' Child, I Have now sent my Man Nedd for you,
Dont you make Him stay to long : I would Have
ffetcht you my selfe, But that I am Hindered By an
Erysipulus, wch. Troubles me so, that I cannot Eide
so farr, at present. ... I make Account you shall
Eeturne to Oxford Time enough to Bee There against
ye Terme, wch. I suppose is a little after Michael-
masse for you shall never miss a Terme while you
stay in Oxon if I can Helpe it, Therefore Bee sure
you Bring mee word Exactly, when the Terme Begins
There.'
Mun found the serenity of the domestic circle
at East Claydon somewhat disturbed. His brother
Ralph was desirous to marry ' so he might be free
like other men,' and had asked his great-aunt, Lady
Gardiner, to introduce him to some of her friends.
She entered into his wishes with hearty goodwill, and
felt no difficulty about arranging a match for him, if
his father would give him an allowance. Edmund,
beset with debts and difficulties of all kinds, tortured
by the caustic applied to his leg, and with all the
complications which his wife's madness entailed,
looked forward to clearing off his obligations when he
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 371
should inherit Claydon, and thought not unnaturally
that a boy of nineteen might wait a few years.
Sir Ralph, though fond of his namesake, and
deeply interested in the question of his making a
suitable marriage, considered that his son had a
sufficient income to do his share, and did not offer to
make any provision for young Ealph. Lady Gardiner
complained bitterly that the father would ' part from
nothing that can give Incouragement to trit with
persons of quollyty,' but to keep her promise to the
lad, she writes to his grandfather about a little
heiress ' which I fancy you may make yr one terms
with shee is about 19 or 20 years of age, full out
as hansome as my cossin Denton's wife of Hilsdon
& as gentill, & of a much better birth, inclinable
to bee fat, sings pretyly. Her father will give her
3000 in present, & settell on her as much land as
cost him 4000 w ch he has improved & is very
improvable, & a prety house on it. This after his
death w ch is 67 years of age & tis said he has
3000 more in mony w ch he reserves to himselfe. Hee
has a second wife an old woman as is very cross,
shee is 72 years of age, something he is to leve her
for life in mony I am told. Hee was a York slier
gentelman, his name is Key a youngare brother.
... I saw the young lady, w ch is hansome enough
to be wife to any man. Mr Key desires to match
her as neer him as he can, he lives within five
miles of Mr Gary A man as you can order as you
will. If this suts not with your mind then pray
B B 2
372 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
conseal her, I only offer to yr own choyce, desiring
to get a wife for the young man to yr minds, &
consider ther is no treting with great persons for
him, but I dare say this may be had. Littell things
will serve her being low bred, 1 fancy they will lip
[leap] at it, & in the end twill be good.'
Fresh difficulties seem to have arisen, and Aunt
Gardiner can only beg Sir Ealph to do all in his
power ' to lesson the misfortune of your young son,
who I feare must not marry, nether to high nor low,
young nor old, rich nor poore, I hope you did not
mention mee : w ch I ometed to desiare you not to
due ; I know the fortune is not great, and I trost in
God my nevegh Ralphs estate will be keept from
him many yeares by you and his father ; I could fill
twic this paper with arguments on the sons side, but
am unwilling, sine they must reflect on him I love
better than his son, so will be silent only beg of you
to find out A match for him ; and press it so hard as
not to be denyed ; Least you spedyly see some mis-
fortune befall the young man when tis too Late to
help it. I know should your son know I pres this so
much, hee would never forgive mee bot you are so
wise as not to widen any brech betwen us.'
Edmund was an autocrat with his sons, as his
father had been before him. ' I heare you hate learn-
ing & your mind hankers after travelling,' he wrote
to Ralph when the boy had previously wished to have
a voice in his own plans ; ' I will not bee taught by
my Cradle how to Breede it up 'tis Insolence & Im-
pudence in any Child to presume so much as to offer
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 373
it.' No doubt Ealph poured out his grievances to
his brother, but their father was too good-natured a
man for the boys to be long enfroid with him.
John Yerney with his wife and children were at
Claydon, and paid the lads a visit at Oxford after
their return, which Ealph Palmer acknowledges in a
grateful letter to his sister. Edmund desires to
spend Christmas in town with his grandfather, father,
and brother.
' With All my Heart,' Edmund senior replies, ' for Nov 2 4,
you shalbee most welcome to mee. Bring along wth l
you (I do not meane in the Coach But) By the
Carry er yr Best Waring Things, To make as good an
appearance Here as you can. You shall Lye in my
Chamber.'
Young Edmund is back again at Trinity College
in the beginning of January 1686.
' I have payd all my debts besides my Booksellers,
to whom I owed 2 9 s 6 d , and out of the whole
18 4 s 6 d , their is but 2 1 s O d remaining, Therefore
before I Can Pay my Bookseller, I must heare from
you again.'
When the father replied, he was in great anxiety,
owing to the sudden illness of his eldest son Ralph,
who was with him in town.
' Child, I would Have answered yr ffirst Letter Feb. 6,
1 CQC
sooner, But that yr Brother Sell sick last Tusday
and continues very ill still of this Towne ffeavor, I
am glad you are out of it, my uncle Dr. Denton is
his Physitian, and Mr. St Amand is his Apothecary.
He Remembers his Love to you ; . . . I would Have
374 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
you Pay yr Bookseller, and gett Him to Abate what
you Can, And then all you owe in Oxford is Payd and
Cleered. ... I Am soe perplexed about yr Brother,
that I can write no more.'
Feb. 11, < My dearly beloved son Ralph departed this
transitory Life yesterday morning about 11 a Clock
.... my Heart is so incurably pierced with grief
for the loss of my dear child that I can no more be
comforted then Eachel was who wept for her children
.... My poor son is this day to be put up into 3
coffins, 2 of wood & 1 of lead & is to be drawn to
his dormitory in my father's vault in Middle Clay don,
I shall not stir out of doors till he is gone. He is to
be drawn in a Herse with 6 Horses & scutcheons &
one Coach more with 6 Horses accompanies him, my
brother & Jack Stewkeley goe down in it as chief
Mourners, & 4 men in mourning ride by on horseback
along with the body all the way.' Edmund was too
ill himself to go down to Clay don for the funeral.
Feb. 16, Child, You and yr sister are now my only
Relicts of my Deare Wife yr Mother .... My
Deare Sonne Ralph yr Brother .... Lived Virtu-
ously and Dyed Penitently : soe I Do Verily Believe
That He is a glorious Saint in Heaven. Now upon
this sadd Occasion, I who Am yr true Loving ffather
Do Take upon mee to Advise, Councell, and exhort
you, to Bee wholly Ruled and Guided By me, and
to Bee perfectly obedient to mee in all Things,
according to yr Bounden Deuty, and Likewise to
Behave yr selfe alwayes Respectfully towards mee
AN OXFOKD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 375
and towards yr Mother, and to Honor us, That thy
Dayes may Bee Long in the Land, wch the Lord thy
God Giveth Thee : ffor should you Doe otherwise
and contrary in ye Least, unto this my Advice,
Injunction, and Exhortation to you, I am affray ed
That you wilbee in that evill circumstance Snatcht
away By Death in your youth, as yr poore Brother
was last weeke : Therefore Thou my Sonne and
Name Sake, Hearken unto my Voyce, who Doe
Give Thee my Blessing : and who Am
' Thy most affectionate ffather and Best ffriend
'EDMUND YERNEY.
' I have Drawne affresh Bill Here enclosed upon
Alderman Towneshend for 5, to Buy you a black
Cloth sute. And I Have a new black Beavor Hatt
for you, wch. I will send you next Thursday in a
little deale Box, with a black Crape Hatband, Black
mourning Gloves, and Stockings and shoe Buckles,
and 3 Payres of black Buttons for wrist and neck :
And I Have also sent you a new ffrench cordebeck
Hatt to save yr Beavor, the Box is to Keepe yr
Beavor in : no Body useth Hatcases now.'
4 Most Honoured Father, I Eeceived Both yrs. Feb. 23,
1686
that of the 16th and that of 18th, and by the former
I understand, that it was the pleasure of Almighty
God to take unto himselfe the soule of my dearest
and only Brother, But I hope the Thoughts of the
happyness, which he enjoyes in Heaven, will in a
great measure lessen the sorrow, which I undergo by
loosing so near and so dear a Relation.
376 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
seeing it has pleased Almighty God to
make me acquainted with the sorrows and Afflictions
of this world, by taking from me my only Brother, I
hope it will be a means to make me fear God, and
Honour you and my Mother, and by so doing I
hope I shall render both you and my selfe Happy.
' I Have made me a new Black cloth suit, and a
new black morning Gown, which with new muzeline
Bands and Cloth shooes will stand me in very near
ten pounds. . . .
' I present my Duty to you and my Grandfather
and my love to my Dear Sister, and so I subscribe
myselfe Yr most dutyfull Sonn <-,-, TT ,
J J 'EDMUND VERNEY.
The next letter is from Ealph Palmer to Mrs. John
Verney about his own private sorrows.
Mar. 6, ' Dear Sister, I hope all yours are well and free
from losses, which I am not, for my horse is dead.
Ye circumstances you will hear from my Father soe
that my saddle is useless. Mr. Mun Bears ye loss of
his Brother, better than I do ye death of my horse.
I have nothing more but to beg yr acceptance of
this scrible from your most Affectionate but unlucky
Brother.'
Palme Child,' Edmund writes from East Claydon, ' I
Sunday,
Mar. 23, made account to Bee with you before now, But my
1 / Qf ** *
first weeke in ye Country was Taken up at Alesbury
Assizes, and the 2nd Eesting myselfe at Home and
now in the Third, I have a cold and a sore Throat, so
that I Dare not Venture soe ffarr yet, Being the
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 377
weather is so very Cold wett and Boysterous. There-
fore I Have sent my Man Nedd with this Letter, and
five pounds for you to Pay off yr scores .... When
the Weather comes in warmer, I will goe over to
Oxford : In the meane while if you Have a great
Desire to Bee Here this Easter, and that yr Tutor
Mr. Sykes approve of it, not Elce, and That other
Gentlemen Go see their ffriends generally about this
Time, and that it is not Terme Time wth you, Then
if you write mee word of yr Desire, I will send for you
next Wednesday, and so you may Prepare yr selfe
accordingly ; But the Truth is our Parts are Crazy
Here at present, wch makes mee something unwilling
to Have you Come, ffor ffeare you should Catch Harme
By yr Comming.
* I have sent a Ib of Chocolate to my Cosen Denton
Nicholas, wch came from his mother for Him, And
so my service to Him and to Mr. Palmer.'
Edmund being now heir to Claydon, and to his
mother's property, became more than ever an object
of solicitude to his father and grandfather. The
children inherited a delicate constitution from their
mother ; and any ailment or tendency to low spirits
naturally caused their father the gravest anxiety:
no expense was to be spared when Edmund's health
was concerned, but he was not to incur any un-
necessary outlay in dress or in the furnishing of his
rooms.
' Child, There Bee many scurvy ffeavers Here in London,
Towne, So that I Do not Hold it fitt that you should IGSG
378 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Bee Here at this ffeaverish hott Time of ye yeare by
noe meanes. My Cosen Nicholas Comming to this
Towne is no Eule to mee, for Hee is Both Pox and
ffeaver Proofe wch you are not. Pray Lett me
Desire you not to goe into the water till I give you
Leave, for ffeare of catching Harme. Present my
service to Sr. William Dormer, And as to yr Versi-
fying Dialogue with Him, I Like it very well, if you
make it yr selves not elce, But as to That wee shall
Talke more of, I Hope, if I live to meete you. You
Hadd Best Bee very wary of all yr words and Actions :
It is sayd Here you are Growne very melancholy,
when I was Told it, I made Them a smart answer
on yr Behalfe : So that if you Bee serious, sober
and Discreet, Thats Interpreted melancholy to yr
disadvantage, But should you Bee indeed to Blame in
any Thing, then yr Back ffriends would sett you
out to some Purpose, Therefore Cave mi ffiili, Dimi-
dium verbi Sapienti Sat Est et Spero Te Talem Esse
et futurum Vale.'
To the charge of being melancholy the lad replies,
4 1 was never inclined that way in my life any further
than to be somewhat concerned at my own misfor-
tunes, and besides you may assure yr selfe, that my
tutor or the president Doctor Bathurst, if there Hadd
been any such thing in the least, would have been so
Just Both to you and me as to have presently
informed you of it.'
His friend, Sir William Dormer, of Lee Grange,
Bucks, had just been admitted to Trinity in the
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 379
April of this year, 1686, aged 16, and he and Edmund
were ambitious of distinguishing themselves at what
we should now call Commemoration.
' Most Honoured Father, I hope when my June 6,
Grandfather is perfectly recovered, you will consider
of chiefest Business now in hand, and that is my
speaking Verses in the Theatre next Act : which as
we here esteem it, is one of the noblest and most
Honourable things a gentleman can doe, while he
stayes in the university. Therefore seeing the time
now drawes near, I desire you would Bye me a good
new periwigg, and send me as much as will bye a new
Sute of Black Clothes, and the rest of the charges and
fees will not amount to above ten pounds at most.'
' Child, I would have answered yours with j un e u,
1 AftA
my own hand, but that it shakes much by Eeason
of sickness that seized upon me last weeke. I refused
to be lett Blood because its observed that those that
are lett Blood here of pestilentiall Fevers, seldom or
never are Knowne to escape. My Cousin Alexander
Denton the Lawyer dyed here last weeke of this
Feaver, having beene lett Blood to a considerable
quantity, and was gone in 3 dayes.
' Pray be carefull of your selfe for fevers are very
frequent and Dangerous, but when they doe happen
the spirits must be kept up with Cordialls, I do not
mean Strong waters, And I hear Oxford is sickly
And therefore you should have sent more word of it,
and that Sr. William Dormer was gone home to Lee,
and was sick of a Feaver, For which Eeason I cannot
380 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
believe he will be able to repeat his verses in the
Theatre with you.
' As to your periwig I gave Order for one and
the party forgot it, but I will be sure to buy one
for you and send it downe to you in good time.
'And now I must Conclude in exceeding great
payne with my leg, yr most affectionate father
'EDMUND VERNEY.
' My Deare Have a Care of yr Health I pray.'
London ' Child, I receavcd yours, and have taken all the
1686 care In the miserable Condition that I am in, as I
can of what you wrote to me about. I Keep my
bed, and am in continuall pain with my Legg. I am
under one Mr. Hobbs a Chirurgeons hands soe that
Doctors, Apothecaryes and Surgeons are my chief
in converse. Your Grandfather went home last
Thursday finely recovered, God be thanked.
'I have appointed Nedd to goe to Oxford and
carry you Money, Stockings and Handkerchiefs. A
Periwigg I will certainly send you, I hear 'tis allmost
made. I am not in a Condition to buy anything else
here or mind anything. My Cousin Nicholas had a
letter from her son, he told her the Small Pox was
very reef in Oxford, and particularly in your Colledge,
of which I wonder that you take noe notice. If this
be soe I would have you leave Oxford and goe keep
your Grandfather Company at Midd : Claydon, as
soon as I heare from you on this Subject, I'le order
Horses to fetch you away. I would have you preferr
your wellfare and health before the honour of speak-
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 381
ing in the Theatre, and soe God bless you and be
carefull of your self. Pray give a true account of
this business.'
The next letter was written in bed with evident
pain and difficulty, Edmund having no one in his
suffering and loneliness but ' the Cooke-maid Dorothy '
who had 'just now come' from East Claydon to
nurse him.
' Child, I pray when you speak in the Theatre June 24,
doe not speak like a mouse in a chees for that will
be a great shame instead of an honour, but speak
out your words boldly and distinctly and with a
grave confidence, and be sure to articulate your
words out of yr mouth soe that every body may heare
them playnly.'
' Child, I heard that the players are gon down July 6,
to Oxford, but I am unwilling that you should go to
see them act, for fear on your coming out of the hot
play house into the cold ayer, you should catch harm,
for as I did once coming out of the Theatre at a
publick Act when it was very full and stiaminghot,and
walkin a Broad in the cold, and gave me sutch a
cold that it had Likt to a cost me my Life. Your
best way in Sutch a cold is to go horn to your one
Chamber directly from the play house, and drink a
glass of Sack, therefour Be sure you send your
Servant At your hand for a bottle of the Best Canary
and Keep it in your chamber for that purpose. Be
sure you drink no Kooleing tankord nor no Cooling
drinks what so ever . . harkon Thou unto the
382 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
voyce & Advise of mee Thy ffather, Loving Thee
Better then him selfe, , EDMUND
It is hard to imagine undergraduate Oxford with-
out cricket or boating, but this allusion to the
players is one of the few references to amusements
that we have in the corrrespondence. In Wilding's
account-book are the entries l Michaelmas Term,
spent in coursing Is. %d, and in the Winter Term
At ye Musick night 2s. 6d. ; ' it was also open to the
curious in 1686, to pay 2d. 'For seing ye Ehino-
ceros ; ' as Wilding did, and to view ' the rarities in
the Physick School, the skin of a jackall, a rarely
coloured jacatoo or prodigious large parrot and 2
humming birds, not much bigger than our humble
bee.'
There was ' swimming in Merton Pool & Scholars'
Pool, some tumbling in the hay, leaping, wrestling,
playing at quoits and fishing.' Laud had put an
end to the popular exercise at Oxford of learning
* to ride the great horse,' as he found in the riding
school where one scholar learns, 20 or 40 look on
& there lose their time,' so that the place was fuller
of scholars than either schools or library ; nor would
he ' suffer scholars to fall into the old humour of
going up & down in boots & spurs with the ready
excuse that they were going to the riding house.'
But neither Archbishop nor Puritan reformer could
keep English lads and their horses long apart, and
many a ' fine padd ' was kept ' for health's sake ' at
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 383
one of the 370 Oxford ale-houses ; and the more
zealous tutors complained of the time spent by the
scholar, who must needs go once every day to see
that his horse eats his oats, and ' the horse growing
resty if he be not used often, he must have leave to
ride to Abingdon once every week, to look out of
the tavern window & see the maids sell turnips.'
The same authorities viewed with displeasure the
bowling-green and the racket-court, as they were
public places resorted to by ' promiscuous company,'
and such violent games tended, it was said, ' to fire
the blood by a fever.'
The Verneys, who were not much of theatre-goers,
had always taken dancing seriously, as part of the
training of a gentleman. Sir Eoger once entreated
Sir Ealph's good counsel for his son Jack, lest in
following this art he should ' make choice of some
pedantic master, which will doe him more hurt than
good, most of the dancing-masters teach them such
affected gates and carriage as is conceited and ridi-
culous. Advise him to the Best, though he payes 3
times as much fqr it.' ' The best ' were indeed so
well-paid at Oxford that ' an honest tutor sold his
hours cheaper than the fencer or dancing-master,'
and it was a common complaint of sober people
that ' Taylors, Dancing -Masters & such trifling
fellows arrive to that Eiches & pride as to ride in
their Coaches, keep their Summer Houses & to be
served in Plate, etc. etc. an insolence insupportable
in other well-governed Nations.' There were dancing
384 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
and vaulting schools at Oxford, but fencing was
probably the form of exercise viewed with least
disfavour by the learned, and Mun pursued it with
ardour. His hopes of distinction as a reciter were
doomed to disappointment.
July 23, 'Most Honoured Father, Our Act was put off
1 f'O|
this year by reason of the Death of the Bishop [Fell],
which hindered us of speaking verses in the Theatre,
But the Priveleages and charges are the same now
as if we had spoke our verses, Though I think we
have quite lost the Honour of it.
' I have bought me a new sute of mourning and
by reason of the excessive heat of the summer I was
forced to Buy a new crape gown, which will stand
me in 02 10 s 00 d , but I have not yet payed for my
gown. I want new shirts very much.'
London, ' Child, I Eeceived a Letter lately from Mr.
1686 ' Sykes yr Tutor, unto whom you are very much
obliged. Take my word for it, Albeit Hee makes a
complaint of you, for not frequenting a certain after-
noone Lecture as you were wont to Doe, yet other-
wise Hee Speakes very Hansomly of you, wch
Eejoyces my Heart, ffor I Take Him to Bee a plaine
Dealer, and an Honest Gentleman, and I Hope you
will Deserve those many good commendations Hee
Hath Given me of you.
' It seems you Tell Him, That you Have par-
ticular Eeasons, That you cannot Discover, why you
come not to those Lectures. This may possibly Bee,
as to Him and others, But as to mee who am yr
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 385
ffather, There can Bee None, Therefore Pray Lett me
Know By the next Post, those particular Eeasons,
And if I Like Them, I will Doe what I can with
civility to Gett you excused : For Looke you Child,
any one may Pretend particular Eeasons, which one
cannot discover, for not Doing what one ought to Do,
or for Doing what one ought not to Doe : But That
Shamme will not Passe among Wise Men : ffor such
Pretences to Avoyd ones Deuty, are allwayes (wth
Justice) Interpreted in ill sence, and I should Bee
very sorry any such Eeflections should flail upon
you : you are under Government, as all subjects
are in severall Kinds, and therefore are Bound By
Laws and Eules and Precepts Divine to obey :
Besides it is a wrong to the Society not to Come to
Lectures, ffor if all others should fforbeare Comming
to them as you Doe, the Lectures must ffall, wch
are a support to a College, and so By Degrees Arts
and Sciences, and Learned Societies must Dwindle
away and Dissolve to nothing : But I Hope none of
my Posterity will ever Bee the primum mobile
of such a mischief to Learning : And so I shall close
up my Discourse about this Businesse for this time
and Longing for yr Answer about it.'
Meanwhile young Edmund had got into a more
serious scrape at Oxford, and was in danger of being
sent down, but the following letter from his tutor
was accidentally delayed, and before it reached his
father at East Claydon, the undergraduates were all
scattered by an alarming outbreak of smallpox.
VOL. iv. c c
386 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Oct. i, * To the much Honoured Edmund Verneii Esqre
1 tf*ftfi
at Clay don in Bucks.
1 Sir, Since my last there are arisen new troubles,
not about the Lecture mentioned in my former
Letter, for I suppose that is at an end according to
your Letter to me, But about other matters.
' It so happened that Mr. Verney Lay out of
the College on Wednesday night Last with another or
two of our College, and that with some other
Provocations hath occasioned Mr. Vicepresident to
Cross his name with the others. I suppose he will
give you an Account where he was, he is unwilling
to do it here, and that makes the business So much
the worse. I suppose he will scarce ask for his
name againe, and I presume the Vicepresident will
not give it him of his owne accord, and so what will
be the issue of it I Know not. He speaks of remov-
ing of himself to some other College, but I much
question whether that will be for his advantage or
not. If he is unwilling to stay here perhaps Sir its
better to remove him from the university but I leave
it to you Sir to judg what is best to be done ; I
canot help this and I hope he will not deny but that
I have behaved myself to him in all things as a tutor
ought to do, and been civil to him as far as I could,
but as to this business I can only be sorry for this,
but canot remedy it. It is directly against both the
discipline of our College and ye University in
General to Ly out a nights, And I finde I canot prevail
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 387
with the Vicepresident to take off the Cross unless
your Sonn will acknowledg his fault and promise
not to be faulty any more in that Kinde.
4 1 humbly beg pardon for this trouble and give
you my most hearty thankes for all your kindness to
Hon** 1 Sir, your most humble and obliged Servant
<THO: SYKES.'
Mun goes down with the rest of the under-
graduates. 'Deare Brother,' Edmund writes to NOV. s,
1 fiftfi
John : ' My sonne & I, & Grosvenor, & M r Butter-
field and Dover, Have all Eead yr Booke of the Seige
of Buda, soe I Have sent it Back to you, w th my
Thankes, and a Cheese, w ch I Hope will prove Good,
if a Mouse's judgement may Bee Credited, you will
find it soe. I Heare the small Pox Eages mightily
in Trinity College in Oxon, as the Great one doth in
London, so that Eight went out lately sick of them
from that College, wch makes me afrayed to send
my sonne Thither till albee well again. Sir William
Dormer is kept still at Lee upon the same account.'
Two more fellow commoners of Trinity, ' Mr.
Chambers and one Mr. Knopher,' have fallen sick.
The small-pox had done young Mun at any rate
a good turn ; his indiscretions were forgotten, while
the authorities were gathering together their scat-
tered and diminished flocks, and he never got into
trouble again.
' Sir,' writes Dr. Sykes to Edmund Verney, * The Dec. 16,
1 fiftA
small pox were in Oxford before your Sonn Left this
place, and since that time we have had Several Sick
c c 2
388 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
of that disease, but at present we are all well in our
College, but there are some still sick of other
Colleges : Since the begining of May last we have
had (if I reckon right) sixteen or seventeen that
have had this distemper in our College, and every
one of them did well, and very few have miscarryd
in the whole University, but however there is a
danger in the Disease, and its very chargable being
sick here, and that was the reason why I have not
desird your Sonn's Company sooner. I hope the
disease is now going off, at leastwise that it will be
in a manner quite gon by that time Christmas is
over, and then you shall againe heare from me. In
the meane I wish you a merry Chrismas and a good
journey to London whensoever you goe : And the
Sooner your Sonn Eeturnes to me the more welcome
he will be to
' S ir Your most humble and obliged Servant
<THO: SYKES.'
Feb. 17, ' Sir,' replies Edmund from London, ' I Thank
1fift7
you for yr Last : I was very gladd to Eeade that
Oxford is so well cleared of the Small Pox, So now
God willing my Sonne shall Eeturne to you next
weeke. In the meantime I must Tell you that about
3 weekes or a month agoe, yours of the first of
October last, came to my Hands by an unexpected
Accident. I was surprised at it, and that I Had it
not before : But Being through Length of Time
Growne obsolete, my only answer to That shalbee
my Eeiterated Thankes to you for it, and so Am
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 389
willing to Passe By all Things amisse in my sonne
with the last yeare past, in Hopes that all wilbe well
this new yeare for the Time to Come : I Have
Discoursed some Part of these matters with Him :
But I will say no more to you now but that I am Sr.
yr obliged friend and humble ServV
The extravagant joy felt at the Eestoration had
nowhere been more loudly expressed than in loyal
Oxford ; discipline for some years was very lax, as
Aunt Isham complained when her son was at Merton.
' I heare as Tome will drinke more then his share Oct. 16,
1 CQ/*
.... he hath an ingenus tuter & if I give him an
hinte of itt he will brake him of itt, but that Colige
he was put in for beinge one of the sivelest itt is far
from that, for all hours of the nite one maye goe out
as Tome did tell me, for the felowes be out so much
a nites as the gates be most an end open.' ' They
were not only like them that dream,' writes an
Oxford man, ' but like them who are out of their
wits, mad, stark, staring mad. To study was
fanaticism, to be moderate was downright rebellion,
and thus it continued for a twelvemonth ; and thus
it would have continued if it had not pleased God to
raise up some Vice-Chancellours who stemmed the
torrent, and in defiance of the loyal zeal of the
learned, the drunken zeal of dunces, and the great
amazement of young gentlemen who really knew not
what they would have, but yet made the greatest
noise, reduced the University to that temperament
that a man might study and not be thought a dullard,
390 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
might be sober and yet a conformist, a scholar and
yet a Church of Englandman.'
Edmund Verney had gone up while the zeal
which had carried these reforms was not yet spent.
The strictness of the college discipline in his time is
in striking contrast to the experience of an under-
graduate in the next century when authority was
nodding again. Edmund Verney could not sleep
out one night without incurring the risk of being
sent down. Edward Gibbon relates his 'notorious
absences.' ' A tour in Buckinghamshire, an excursion
to Bath, 4 excursions to London, were costly and
dangerous follies, and my childish years might have
justified a more than ordinary restraint. Yet I
eloped from Oxford, I returned, I again eloped in a
few days, as if I had been an independent stranger
in a hired lodging, never once hearing the voice of
admonition, or once feeling the hand of controul.' l
In Edmund's carefully kept accounts, very little
is spent for wine, the heaviest charge is for ' 3 Quart
Bottles of Sack, 2 of White Wine & 4 of Claret,'
amounting to 12s. ; there are frequently small entries
for * Oranges, Apples, Sugar Plums & Spice, for Tuk
Is., for Oysters Is. 6c?., for De Yries' Logic 2s., for
wood as billet & faggots 14s. Qd.' In the quarter
ending Lady Day 1688, while he pays only 31. 4s. Qd.
to his tutor and 9s. 3d. to his bookseller, 'a long
wigg ' costs him 21. 5s.
He is settled again at Trinity College, and his-
1 Autobiographies of Ed. Gibbon. Murray, 1896, p. 227.
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 391
father resumes the correspondence ; he has desired
Alderman Townshend to pay Mun six guineas in
gold and ten pounds in silver, and in the breeches,
packed with his new clothes, ' within one of the little
Pockets buttoned ' he is to find ' 3 Guinnys done up
in Paper.' ' I durst send you no Lemons nor oranges
for feare of stayning your Clothes. I hope you tooke
care to have your Bedd well ayred & warmed.'
' Child, I am very Gladd to see that you Got safe Mar. i,
1 fiftT
and well to Oxford and That you Have yr Name
againe given you By Mr. President and That he was
so Civill to you, and That you stand Eectus in Curia
quo ad Collegium Tuum again : Pray Have a Care
of a Eelapse, Least it prove a worse Disgrace to you
(to say no more) then it was at first ; And never
Keepe such Darned Company for the Time to Come,
whose evil communications (tho' witty) corrupt good
manners, and strike at {fundamental obedience as
Honesty, and Eeligion, and in Lieu of them Plant in
Mens Hearts and minds Hyppocrisie. and Knavery,
and Impiety. And so make People grow only ffitt
for Hell and the Devill : And Pray no more journeys
nor Lying out of yr College without yr Tutor's
Leave or myne : my sonne mark well my words who
am thy ffather, And Lett Them Take Deepe Eoote
in Thee, and Thou shalt find Benefit By observing
Them.'
The next letter might have been written by Sir
Ealph to Edmund senior, so much does it recall the
latter's boyish carelessness and his father's precision.
392 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Mar. 4, ' Child, I Eeceived yrs of ye 1 st. wth an Enclosed
wch you say my Cosen Towneshend Gave you, and it
expresses to Pay Sixteene Pounds Nine shillings unto
Mr. Thomas Gett in Woodstreet for the use of One
Mrs. Mary Longford : But to this Note my Cosen's
Name was not put, Neither Hadd you Eeceived the
money : So I was vexed to see you soe simple as to
send me such a strange Note unsigned before you
Hadd the money: and yet I went yesterday and
Payd ye sixteene pounds nine shillings my selfe unto
Mr. Gett According to that order, Tho He Hadd no
advice of it : so I Keepe his acquittance for my
owne security, till I Heare you Have ye money : But
if ever you are soe foolish again to send me such an
imperfect Note for money without the Name Signed
By Him that Doth appoint the Payment, or That
you Have not ye money ffirst before you send yr
Bill of exchange, in These two Cases I Tell you
positively, I will not Pay any more money for the
Time to Come, till I know that you Have the money
ffirst, and the Name of the Eeturner Bee put to the
Note or Bill.'
Mar. 10, Child . . I saw Thorn : Smith Here last night
1 fifcft
as plaine as a Pike staff in Cloaths, but They Looked
very Gentile upon Him, Being cleane & Neate.
'Why Did you not write me word that your
Chumme was made Master of Arts ? '
April 6, To Dr. Thomas Sykes he writes : ' This day
about noone yr Messenger Brought me the ill newse
of my Sonnes unlucky accident last Munday. I am
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 393
very sorry for it : But am extremely joyfull to under-
stand by you that the worst is past with this and
that He is in so fayre a way of amendment soe I
Hope There is noe Danger in a dislocation of an
Elbow, where such excellent Chirurgions and Bone
setters are at Hand, and Physitians if occasion Be : I
Ohuesse This was done a wrestling and the Place was
very ill chosen for such an exercise : But since it is
Done, all the Helpe for Him and care of Him must
Be Hadd as can possibly Bee. And so I Hope it
wilbee a warning to Him to Be more carefull of
Himselfe Hereafter.
' I am infinitely obliged to you for yr great care of
Him and the Advice you gave me of his ill accident
and his present condition, and Eeturne you Millies
Millena Millia of Thankes for it : if I finde myselfe
any wayes able, & that the weather Be ffayre, I wilbe
wth Him tomorrow, However I will send to Him in
case I cannot come, and in the meane while I now
send Him my Blessing and Heartily pray for his
Speedy Eecovery and Happinesse, wch I desire you
to Tell Him from me.'
' Child, Nedd Brought me last ffryday yrs of the April 29,
22nd And last Night late I Eeceived yrs of the same
date wch came by the Post : But send to me no
more that way for it is the worst way, and almost
-as Deare as if you Hyred a foote messenger on
purpose.
' There is a Bisseter Carryer Called my Lord Ellis
who comes and goes 4 times a weeke betweene
394 VERNE 1* FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Oxford and Bisseter, so when you write to me you
may direct yr Letters to me To Be Left with Mr.
John Burghnesse a mercer at Bisseter, who will give
it to one Mr. Wawy who Keepes Winslow Market,
and so I may get a Letter from you any Thursday.
' I Believe it is Good to exercise yr arme mode-
rately, that the sinues may Be stretcht by Degrees
unto their pristine Length, But you must Be vastly
Carefull in the Doing it, Least yr Elbo slippe out
again, and then it wilbe exceeding Difficult ever to
make it stay in the right Place : are you sure it is
right sett, for my Man Tells me that you can Hardly
Bring it to yr mouth so that if it should Be wrong
set, the Chirurgion wilbe apt to Lay the ffault upon
the shrinking of the sinues, and throw it off of
Himselfe, for tho' without all Doubt Mr. Poniter is
an excellent Chirurgion and I Believe a very carefull
Honest man, yet I know not whether He Be so good
a Bone Setter, tho' He may Bee Both.'
In May Edmund sends ' his Bay Pacer because he
is a very easy goer,' with two servants on horseback
to fetch his son home, being still anxious about his
arm. He is to bring his new gloves and to ride
carefully.
The Oxford surgeon is to have three guineas for
his attendance ; he came to Mun every day for about
a fortnight, ' and applyed several Poultesses and
Oyntments to the elbow.'
His tutor writes to Edmund :
May 14, ' S r , I send this with your Sonn to give you
1687
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 395
thankes for all Kindnesses which I have Eeceived of
you and acquaint you with his condition. His arme is
free from paine, but he hath not yet the right use of
it, And upon that Account as soon as I was fearfull
that all was not right, I would have had him gone
home to you in order to his consulting some very
skilfull Chirurgion, and particularly advised him to
one Mr. Freeman who lives near Daventry in
Northamptonshire, and is every market Day Here at
the Wheatsheaf. This man here is look'd upon by
Physitians and others as the most skilfull Bone
setter in all England, And therefore I had a desire
that your Sonn should have his opinion ; But this I
thought could not be conveniently done unless he
first came to you, that he might have had the
convenience of your horses, and ye attendance of one
of your servants, Besides the Chirurgion here all
along hath been confident in asserting that the bones
o o
are in their right place, and stands to it still, which
made him less careful to consult another. His lame-
ness or one thing other hath so troubled him since
his last Eeturne that he hath not minded hi&
business so well as otherwise he might have done,
And when he is well he does not love to rise in a
morning, and therefore looses part of the College
exercise, but I hope these things will be mended if
he Eeturne againe perfectly well ; which I most
heartily wish and am,
' Your most humble and obedient Servant
'Tno: SYKES.'
396 VEKNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Edmund took Mr. Sykes' advice, and writes to
John of their visit to Daventry :
May 22, ' The famous Bone setter Mr. ffreeman Lookt upon
the arm and ffelt it, and sayd it is right sett, and
nothing out, but That the sinues are shrunk wch
makes Him That Hee cannot Hold his Arme streight :
But Mr. ffreeman sayes his Arme will Do well : and
Be as streight as ever, if Hee Doth use it and
exercise it with care : and ffollow his directions and
prescriptions.
' I Lay at the Wheate Sheafe in Daventry, and
met wth Dr. Skinner There, who is very well : I
saw also my old ffriend Nan Birt now Arnold, and
her Husband : so on the next morning I Eidd with
my Sonne to Northampton to show Him that pretty
Towne ; where wee Dined at the George Inne : And
I sent for one Mr. Dover the Town Clark and my
man Dover's Brother, and one Mr. Stone a Trooper
in Captain Lumley's Troope whom I Knew, to Dine
with mee, and wee saw all and were very civilly
merry and so wee Came Home, I Thank God very
safe and well.
' The Trooper Told me that t'other Day two
Troopers ffell out about a Horse shoe, and went out
and Sought, and one shot the other in the Head, and
Killed Him dead upon the Spott and He that Killed
Him was shot in the shoulder Himselfe, But Hee
Gott his wound Dressed and ffledd : There be 3
Troopes quartered in Northampton : '
1 Child, I Eeceived yrs of ye 24th. And you can
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 397
Hardly imagine How joyfull I Ain, that you are well, London,
I need not Tell you that I wish you a long con-
tinuance of Health, when I Do Assure you that I
Eeckon it my Chiefest ffeelicity in this world :
Therefore I Leave it to you to Come to mee when
the Doctor and yr selfe Doe Think ffitt, only Bee
carefull of yr selfe by the way, and Lett me Know
the Day beforehand. I Have writt very Earnestly
for new shirts for you, and I Do Hope to Eeceive
some Here tomorrow by Franc Hall my Carryer, if
my ffolke send none I shalbee very angry.
' I Do Keepe my Charrett in Towne, But my
Charrettier Nedd Smith is as inexpert a Driver as
Phaeton was, neverthelesse I Doe venture my selfe
now and then with Him.'
In the summer of '87 Edmund has a house-full
of guests at East Claydon ; Mun is at home and
helping to entertain the good company. ' Sir Eichard
Temple drank here on his way to the Aylesbury
sessions and his two sonnes eate a neates Toungue
with me yesterday, and I Gave Them a Bottle of
wine as They came from Eaton Schoole to go Home
to Stow.' Lady Gardiner and her son Jack are
expected, the Hillesden family come over to dinner.
Edmund has ordered a new chariot from Stone, a
London coach-builder. ' I find you are very
Satyricall upon S r ffleetwood Dormers Chariot,' he
writes to John, ' I am afirayd you will Dislike myne
and Think it ridiculous, for it is not very modish but
I Think it is convenient, pray Tell me yr opinion
398 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
before it Be made up : I remember I saw S r
ffleetwoods and wondered at it, and Did not
Like it.'
Aug. 17, Mun asks his uncle John to buy him ' a Cravat
Eibbon of any modest colour, and as much as will
make a hatband of the same, all made up according
to the mode ' in London. The news at Clay don is
that ' old Mrs. Eoades of Ffynmore is dead.'
There is a constant interchange of hospitality
between the two family houses, a note of Mun's to his
grandfather has survived.
' Sir My ffather is under the Easor : Therefore He
has commanded me to present his humble duty to
you, and to Let you Know that he will waite on you
at dinner and so will also, Your most Dutyfull
Grandson and humble Servant
'EDMUND VERNE Y.'
He is back at Oxford for the winter term, and his
father writes :
Dec. 11, ' Child, I Have not Heard from you since I saw
1 fiftT
you. And I intend for London (God Willing) some
Time this weeke with yr Grandfather, I shalbe very
Gladd to Heare by my man tomorrow, That you
are well, and particularly yr fface and Arme, and
what Physick you Have Taken Since, and How it
agreed with you, Bee sure as Nothing Bee Done to
Strike in that Humeor : you may write to mee a
ffurther account of yr selfe, Directed unto Captain
Pauldens House in Lincolnes Inne ffields at London.'
Jan. 3, ' Child, I shall expect you on Satterday next and
1688
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 399
Bidd you very welcome, in the meane while I wish
you a prosperous journey.
' I was sorry for the sadd accident that Happened
betweene the two Brothers Treavers, but Evill Acci-
dents Happen Here alas, for Count la Coste a ffrench
man, and Nephew to my Lord ff'ersham was Killed
t'other day in St. James Square By one Mr. Grymes.
'I Have a new shirt Here Eeady for you, and shall
Buy Muzeline Cravats and Euffles, against you come
to me. Yr most affectionate fiather
'EDMUND VERXEY.'
' Child, I am gladd to heare that the redness of Feb.
your fiace is all most vanished so as hardly to be per-
ceived, and I hope you finde yourselfe in health
other ways, and if you do, don't you give your Body
to physick, for the sound need no physision and so
that he that lives physically lives miserable. I would
have you exercise your Body with Mr. Sionge and
your minde with Mr. Sikse, and Keep good Hours
and a seperat holesum diet and have a care of over
heating your selfe and catching cold, then I hope
you will enjoy Long health, for that is the way and
so I pray God Bless you and do you Be sure to
Eemember thy Creator in the dayse of thy youth. . . .
' My Cosen Ann Hobart's Maid Nan Eogers is to
Be maried next Tursday to one Berger a french
Barber, an unfortunate Protestant, to avoyd Sulla
in his own country comes Heare into ours, and is
Like to Sail very suddenly into Charibdis thro' so
flfoolish a choise.'
400 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATIONS 7
' You might Have Written me newse of Magdelin
College without Eeflexions, and then there can come
no Harme of it, for those are not state affaires.'
' Let no Body see my Letters to you.'
London, ' Child, I am often askt How you do by some
less 19> Persons that I Ghuesse Do not aske out of true
Kindnesse, but wishing at the same time that you
were otherwise, as old Th : Stephens used to aske
often How his mother Didd, Hoping for her Death,
and when He was Answered that his mother was
well, He went away sorrowfull and sayd that They
Lived Long at East-Claydon. You write with such
pittifull Pale Ink that by the time your Letter Comes
Hether it is scearce Legible.'
Edmund has got down to the parlour, wearing
a ' slitt shoe ; ' Mun junior has paid 10s. entrance
money for his fencing-lessons.
London, ' Child, I Like well what I perceive by y 1 " 3 of the
March IT, -j^ t h ^hat you Learnc to exercise the Pike and Musquet
as well as ffence of Mons r New-house, But to send
you any of my Carabines from Home, I shall not, for
I Am very Nice in my owne Armes, especially when
I know you Have Been negligent or Heedlesse in
Losing a sword Already. I Hadd rather Go to the
Mineries and Buy a little Gunne with a match Lock,
w cb I Believe I can Have for 10 or 12 shillings, for
you, I was once a Buying one of that Price for my
selfe of Mr. Norman, deceased, but wee disagreed
about 2 or 3 shilling so I Had it not : But I Ghuesse
you may for a shilling or 18 pence Have a little
'AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 401
Gunne & a fflask Sent you from any Gunsmith in
Oxford Good enough for to serve yr Turne for such
a purpose.' Edmund had just paid 4/. 15s. for
a gun for his own use.
* Tho : Gardiner was Here this morning, He Hath
Been the Circuit as ffar as Bedford and Huntington
& was Eetained in Several causes, w ch was very
much to his Credit, being the first Circuit that Ever
Hee went: you say you care not How plaine yr
Cloathes Bee provided yr Linnen and Trimming Bee
good, I see you affect finery but you are under a
grand mistake for the best Gentlemen and noblemen
that are Belonging to the Army, Go exceeding
plaine in Both cloathes and Trimming, for to go
otherwise Habited is Like Bestowing nine pence in
sauce to make a Dish of Meate worth Three pence :
& so God in Heaven Blesse you.
' Child, I shall send you two pounds of the best London,
Chocolate upon next Munday by the Carryer, better ^Q Ch 24 '
than any that can be had in Oxford or Cambridge.
But it is Like casting Pearle afore Swine, that under-
stand not the Value of it, as I Do that saw it
made.
' Yr Grandfather was Taken ill last Tusday, But
I Thank God is finely Well Eecovered, so There is a
good subject for yr Pen to write a congratulous
Letter thereupon.
' Why Didd you not Tell me that yr Bishop of
Oxford [Fell] was Dead, such Eemarquable occur-
rences you should Impart that Happen Neare you, or
VOL. IV D D
402 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
elce writing will signify nothing more then I Am well
as I Hope you are, & my scribling is Done.'
Mun writes, as his father suggests, a careful letter
on large paper and with an ample margin, in which
after many carefully turned phrases of inquiry after
his grandfather's health he sends him the University
news.
Oxford, t Most Honoured Grandfather, Doctor Lamphier,
less ' Head of Heart Hall died last Friday, and one Mr.
Thornton a fellow of Waddam Colledge has a great
friend the Chancellor for the headship of the said
hall. This Doctor Lamphier was likewise History
Professor to the university, and now there are
three Persons stand for that Place, one Doctor
Alldworth lately a fellow of Magdalen Colledge, and
Mr. Finch, Warden of all souls Colledge and one Mr.
Dodwell a forreiner but with all a very learned man,
and of an extraordinery Good Character. The Election
will be made to-morrow by convocation, and it is
thought Mr. Dodwell will carry it.
4 1 Present my humble duty to you, and my Father,
and my love to my Sister ; and this is All at Present
ffrom me, Who am your most Dutyfull Grandson
'EDMUND VERNE Y.'
London, ' Child, I Received y of the 3 d And Am Gladd
less ' you Like the Chocolate & Bicinelli I sent you. I
Am sure They were as good as could Bee in their
Kind, the King God Blesse Him cannot ate Better.
1 Yr Grandfather shewed mee the Letter you wrote
to Him t'other Day to congratulate his Eecovery,
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 403
w ch I Bead and like very well, . . . my Lady
Gardiner Having finisht her AfFayres with Mr. Thomas
Gardiner, He went yesterday to Cambridge to Beside
There at his ^fellowship in PeterHouse till next
Terme, where He is to exercise the office of a Deane,
w ch is properly censor morum.
1 You write to me to Buy you a new Sute of
Cloathes against Easter w ch I Do not Think fitt to
Bee Bought so soone, because I intend only to Buy
you a Campagne Sute this Summer, w ch I would
Have you Have ffresh to Appeare with me at the
Camp, w ch I Have some Thoughts of shewing you if
I Live & am well and able.'
' Child, I would Have you Go as soone as may London,
Bee unto One Mr. Tho : "Wrenches at Paradise jjsg '
Garden in Oxon, And see and examine what Eight
Dutch Artichoakes, True in the Kinds without
Mixture, and Qs. &d. pr Cent Hee Hath, And send
mee a full account Thereof by the next Post, because
your Grandfather and I Both would Have some
from Thence if wee Like yr description of Them
and their Prices And withall word, when the Prime
Time is for to Slippe Them.
'I Bidd you Bee ffrugall, for my unfortunate
Circumstances will not Allow mee to supply you at
that Eate throughout, Tho' were I Able you should
Have it with a greater ffranckness then yr owne
Heart can Bestow upon yr selfe, and since wee must
all yield to Necessity, Pray Bee a Better Husband
for the time to come.'
D D 2
404 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
1 Send me word whether Colly flower Plants may Be
Hadd at Oxford and at what Eates by the Hundred.'
Mun writes that Artichokes cost 10s. per
hundred and that ' Collyflowers may be had of
several nurserymen in Oxford from 2s. to 5s. and 6s.
May 5, a hundred,' but his father and Sir Ealph ' will Have
1 coo
no more to say to Them at those Eates, But Then/
they ask, ' why Didd Mr. Th : Wrenches sett out in the
Gazette by way of advertisement that Hee would sell
the right Dutch Artichoakes without mixture at a
Noble, wch is 6 shill : 8 pence the Hundred ? '
May s, ' Most Honoured Father, I understand that mine
1 fiftft
of the 29th. last Post did not thoroughly satisfy you
concerning iny debts of the last quarter due at our
Lady Day last, and particularly concerning that
which I owe to the Colledge which is 09 10 s 07 d
because I did not particularize for what, and I
Perceive yoi> Think that this colledge debt is only for
bare meate and drink together with my chamber
rent which is not so, for we gentlemen do maintain
all the colledge servants and serviters, and something
we pay quarterly for university dues, and there are
severall other expences which at present I cannot
think on that are Eeckoned in for Battles : But as
for my Bedmaker, Landresse, and Barber, which you
supposed to be appendants to the College they are
not payd by the Burser but by me, so they are not
Put down in the Burser's Booke amongst my Battles :
neither Did I put them down in the account of my
debts, because I have them allready.
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 405
4 1 Perceive you think my expences very great,
but I am sure if you rightly understood the necessity
of them you could not chuse but think them very
reasonable and me very frugall I did not long
since design to go through a course of Chymistry, the
expences of which would amount to 3 pounds and
upwards, but thinking it a charge not absolutely
necessary I have desisted in my designs, and Let
slipp a very Good opportunity. . . .'
Natural Science had been dabbled in by the
Oxford dons for many years, but it was a new sub-
ject with the undergraduates, and the distinction
between chemistry and alchemy was not clear to the
mind of the country squire.
4 1 am gladd,' Edmund writes, ' you Didd not May 19,
Goe thorough with a Course of Chymistry, That sort
of Learning I Do not approve of for you, it is only
usefull unto Physitians and it impoverisheth often
those that study it, and Brings constantly a Trayne
of Beggars Along with it. . . .'
' Most Honoured Father, I writt to you before May 22,
1688
last Easter for new Cloathes, for the truth of it is,
mine do begin to be so bad, that I am almost ashamed
to weare them. . . .'
' Child, I Have Bought Cloth for my selfe and May 26,
for you to make new Cloathes, wch is now in the
Taylours Hands to Be made up, And I Gave Him
great Charge to make yr Cloathes Gentill and Modish
as can Bee. Yr Cloth is something Lighter than
myne.
406 VERNEY FAMILY FEOM THE RESTORATION
' My Cosen Nicholas Tells me that Mr. Newhouse
is Turned Trooper, and that He did it for a subsist-
ence ; I am very sorry that a man of his Parts and
ingenuity could not maintaine Himselfe without
Turning Souldier, for tho' the Profession is Honorable,
yet There is alwayes abundance of Badd Company
attends it, wch makes mee not so ffond of yr continu-
ing to Bee his Schollar as I was Before. My father's
coachman Nedd, is so troubled with fflatus Hyppo-
condriacus that he cannot drive my father, and the
dogs in our Country are much subject to Madnesse
this yeare : therefore Have a care of Them, and
Don't Play with Them.'
May 29, Mun wishes he had been consulted before his
Ififtft
suit had been ordered ; he believes that ' stuff will be
more modish than cloth this summer, and that most
people will weare it. But however seeing you have
Bought cloth already I am very well contented with
a cloth sute; I hope you will consider to buy me
some good shirts or elce some sort of wastcoat
sutable for Summer ffor it is not fashionable for any
Gentleman to go Buttened up either summer or
winter but especially summer. I shah 1 likewise want
new stockings and lased ruffles to weare with my
new clothes.
' My Month ended yesterday with Mr. Newhouse,
and I do designe to pay him the 15s. next time I see
him : it is true that he rides in a troope, but he tells
his schollars that he only rides as a reformado in
hopes of getting a commission for a Cornets place,
AN OXFORD UNDERGRADUATE IN 1685-8 407
and that the Coronel has promised to free him
whensoever he pleases.'
Edmund's corpulence and his sufferings increase,
he has gained 20 Ibs. in weight in a few months, he
is going to law with his man, Dick Lonsdale, at the
Assizes, and is retaining Sir John Holt. Mun begs
to be allowed to come and nurse him ; he could be
with him ' at one day's warning by the flying coach,'
but his father, though alone in town, will not hear of June 12,
1 / QQ
his coming up to ' such a sickly place.' Mr. Dun-
combe and Mr. Butterfield have been to see Mun in
Oxford.
6 Child, I perceive you Think yr new Cloathes June so,
too warme for the Summer, But I Do not, if it Bee a
ffault, I am sure it is a good one : Then you wonder
why I made it a halfe mourning sute, and that you
Hoped that none of our Eelations are Dead : to which
I answer wee Have lately Lost one of our neare
Eelations, my Cosen Pegg Danby, a Person of great
quality, who is Dead and Buryed Here in St.
Martins : And I Have made my selfe a halfe mourning
Sute, And Declare I mourne for Her. My cosen
Winwood is also Deade. But However halfe mourn-
ing Sutes are as much worne, and are as modish as
any Thing out of mourning: I see no Body weare
Eich Sutes But Souldiers, and mercantile ffellows,
that covet to appeare very Brave and Gentlemen
Like, when They are not soe : as for another payre
of Breeches if you desire Them I shall Buy you a
payre tho' it Bee Needelesse : You say you Have
408 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Been wonderful! ffrugall, if I ffind it so, I shall
commend you extremely : My unhealthy condition
makes me spend more then I would Do in spight of
my self. . . . Next Munday I am to Bee of a Jury
at the Kings Bench, in a Tryall betweene the Lord
Chancellour and one Mrs. Herbert of our Country :
And I will Be There if I am well : And so God
Blesse you, and send us a happy meeting.'
He encloses three patterns of striped cloth, but
Mun desires that ' for variety's sake his next pair of
breeches be made of silke.'
4 Mr. Hunt, one of the fellowes of our colledge,
and a little suspected in his religion, is lately pre-
ferred to the chaplain to the tower.'
The good father, sick as he is, orders Mun a pair
July 12, ' of Damask Silke Breeches, as Gentile as any Body
1688
weares Them,' and has ' them up in a little Deale
Box with a payre of modish shoes Buckles.'
Mun's undergraduate friend Sir William Dormer,
who was to have shared with him the honour ' of
speaking verses in the Theatre,' 'is in Eebellion
against his Tutor & Grandmother, And is resolved to
bee Master over Himselfe, he hath taken a Eamble
some say to see the Camp ; ' but Mun is much more
dutiful and diligent. We leave him now in the
careless enjoyment of his Oxford life, unconscious of
the great changes which were to befall the kingdom,
and of the heavy burdens to be laid on his own young
shoulders before this fateful year 1688 had run its
course.
409
CHAPTEE XI.
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE.
1686-1689.
' Why masters, my good friends, mine honest neighbours,
Will you undo yourselves ? '
' We cannot, Sir, we are undone already.'
IN the little world represented by the Verney letters
there was so great a dread of civil war and so firm a
determination to believe the best and to make the
best of the King, that it seemed impossible for
James II. to alienate the loyal hearts that surrounded
him. The journal to which Mr. Butterfield confided
his thoughts gives us a fair and temperate retrospect
of the changes wrought in the opinions of the country
clergy during the three years of James's reign.
In the Bucks elections following King Charles's
death, the rector of Claydon, with all his respect and
affection for Sir Ealph, bestirred himself, in strong
opposition to his wishes, for the return of Judge
Jeffreys' candidates. ' I entered upon the Ministerial
function very young,' he says of himself, ' in the
latter end of the loose Eeign of K. Ch : 2 nd , when
Eeformation was at an Ebb & Toryism & Bigotry, or
the Arbitrary Power of the Prince, & the Authority
410 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
of Mother Ch : ran high. Passiev Obed : & Non
Eesistance, & no Salvation out of the Episcopal
Comunion, were the common Topicks of the Court,
& Popular Sermons ; the Test of Loyalty, & good
affection to the Church of England & the high Eoad
to Perferment. I being then, as now, settled in a
low Station & not affecting greater, had little occasion
or concern to enquire nicely into those controversial
matters which exercised these learned & dignified
men; being then as now, hasty in my Judgmts, a
thorough conformist. So taking things according to
the ancient fame & approbation, I rather inclined
to the Part of the Government than its opposers :
But the latter end of K. James' Eeign, when the Public
Danger from Popery & arbitrary Power in the
Prince began to show its effects on the Constitution,
the Liberties & Properties of Particular Persons, &
brought the matter home to me & every one, & the
Danger grew still more palpable & imminent, I then
began more seriously, & distinctly & impartially to
consider the nature of Governm* & the Constitution
of the Church & was soon determined with the rest
of the Clergy to give up Non Eesistance, & resolved
that no Authority is Sacred nor claims Submission
but Legal; & consequently that if those in whose
Hands the Legislative Power is lodged do employ
it to the manifest Destruction of the Community, for
whose sake & Benefit it was committed to them, they
may be resisted & deposed & the sword wrested out
of their Hands by the People. Upon this Principle I
411
resisted reading K. James's Declaration, wishd well
to the Prince of Orange's Expedition, submitted to
him (as the Clergy generally did) when K. J. abdicated,
& he succeeded to him ; & when the Convention of
the States of the Kdom had invested him & his
Consort Q.M. with the Eegalities, I swore Allegiance
to him consideratly & freely, tho' not hastily, & he
having approved himself thro' the Course of his Eeign
a true Father of his Country, the most Legal Governor
in Ch : & State as well as generous Deliverer of these
Nations & of all Europe from Popery and Slavery ;
I payd him the most hearty Love & Obedience, as I
do now the greatest venerat" to his memory. Haveing
discharged my mind from those slavish Principles of
Governm* in the State, with equal freedom I weighed
the controverted Points of Eeligion, & came to this
Resolution, that the more fundamental & essential
Doctrines of Faith & good life being first secured,
matters of opinion, & externals, modes & forms of
Worship & Discipline are not to be impos'd or urg'd
farther than is consistent with Peace & Charity.'
For such results no price might seem too high to
pay; but at the period we have reached, opinions
like these were still in the melting pot.
During the year 1686 indignation was strongly
aroused at the religious persecutions in France.
' The Pope himself, tis said, is very Compasinat to
the poor protestants beyond sea, and has rit to his
Nuntia Fr. Lenenya to receve all as corns and give
them protection, and will send all provisions as fast
412 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
as hee can to them, Ittyly cannot furnish them so
hee will order provisions out of Millan, hee is much
ther frend and tis beleved will excomunycate the
King of franc if he stops not his fury.'
In March John writes : c The brif is red in
severall churches for the protistants, hot many not
satisfyed through whot hands the money shall goe,
till it be ordered in hands to the minds of the publick,
ther will not be much given.' Later on we hear of
large sums subscribed by the City, and of collections
made in private houses 'to the French Protestant
Breife.' 'Dr. Lower hath given 100, my Ld. of
Bedford 100, & people in his house 3 Os. more ;
Col : Eussell 10, Wiseman the Surgeon 5. Three
Merchants' houses in Basinghall St. have given 100
or thereabouts, one of 'em Sir Peter Yandgrat 20
himselfe, his 4 little children each a guiny, his Lady
& Servants 4 or 5 more ; another was Sir Jeremy
Tambrooke, the third one Col : Grey and his partner
both Barbadoes merchants.' In the teeth of this
feeling, the King exasperated the City by authorising
the building of Eoman Catholic chapels against the
law, while he attacked the privileges of the City
companies in other ways, for which no pleas of
conscience could be advanced. King James has
turned out ' many learned men of the Law,' and
made 10 new Sergeants ; ' it was strongly reported
that Williams or North should be Attorney General,
since that honorable & worthy gentleman Mr. Finch
is put out, and Sir Thos. Power is to be Solicitor
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE 413
Gen : ' The French are threatening Lisbon and
fortifying themselves in the West Indies.
Mun gives voice to the savage hatred of Louis XIV.
that was growing amongst the country squires. It
is startling to hear so good-natured a man rejoicing
brutally over the terrible details of the King's illness ;
no punishment is adequate 'for his unparalelled
cruelties to his Protestant subjects.' ' The French
King demands money now of Portugall. He will
never be done, Demanding & Claiming & Destroying, 1
and Taking forcibly until the Devill hath him. In
the Interim I heare he stincks Alive, & his Carkass
will stinck worse when he is dead, & so will his
memory to all eternity. I am a most grievous &
wicked sinner, yet I will not change my Condition
with him if I mought to have his Kingdom.'
The crowd show their Protestant sympathies in a
manner congenial to them, and there are free fights
between the City apprentices and the trained bands.
' On Sunday some boys and rabble were very rude in
Lime Street, at the residence of the Prince Palatine,
where the priests were at their devotions ; one had
his head broke, but by the help of constables and my
Lord Mayor the rabble were dispersed, and some
taken and committed ; ' on the Sunday following the
same scene is repeated.
Lord Powis, as a Eoman Catholic Peer, was very
unpopular. He had just built a grand house in
Lincoln's Inn Fields and was known to be much
trusted by the King. Mun writes how ' Mrs. Powis
414 VERNE y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
[his next-door neighbour] Lyeth now sick of the
small Pox, in her fine new Dampe House, with her
fresco shash windows & coole guilt leather & smelling
Paint, & they say shee is with child, so it may goe
hard with Her.' Penelope hears the Duchess of
Grafton lament to the Queen c that her father dyed
a papist, but lately turned ; she exprest much treble,
twas not thought wisely don to show it at court.'
( The D. of Albemarle has laid down all his com 118 on
my L d Feversham being made Lieut. Gen 1 .'
July 7, John tells Sir Ealph ' that Mr. Lee [Lord Lich-
1 fiftfi
field's brother] is said to be married to one Mr.
Williamson, a sergeant-at-arms' daughter, that lies at
Westminster ; it seems she and her sister used to
come to the confectioner's where he lodged. I have
seen and talkt to 'em ; she is not a beauty, but her
portion is 1,000.' ' Lady Henrietta Wentworth is
dead & hath given all her Estate to her mother for
life, & then to my Lord Lovelace, so shee will bee a
brave match for Sir William Smith.' The latter
had recently lost his wife, Doll Hobart, with less
regret than the family felt to be her due. 'My
Lord Chancellor's brother, Mr. Jeffereyes, lately
consul at Alicant, hath received the honour of knight-
hood.'
The King is making a real effort to improve the
efficiency of the army ; he reviews single regiments
in Hyde Park, and compliments Lord Lichfield on the
smartness of his men ; he is accessible to any private
who can give him information. ' As the King came
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE 415
from Councell 7 or 8 Souldiers Scotch & Irish
Presented themselves to him, who came from the
Buss in Holland, his.Maj : tooke one of their Musquetts
in his hands & vewing it found it to be of a size
longer then those his souldiers use : after discoursing
them, he Ordered they should be provided for. . . .
Abundance of people go out of town, to see the
gallantry of the camp at Hounslow Heath, where it's
said the officers will be extremely fine.'
The popularity of the camp is, however, en-
dangered by the outrages the soldiers commit on the
civil population ; discipline must have been difficult
indeed to maintain, when the officers were constantly
engaged in fighting one another. 'Mr. Culpepper
brother & heir to my L a Culpepper shoots with a
blunderbuss one M r Minshull of the Guards, brother
to him of Borton by Buckingham ; Sir Eichard
Temple calls him cousin and says he was not dead
on Saturday.' ' One Mr. Ash (whose mother was Aug. 3,
Nancy Harrington's eldest sister) being a small officer
in the camp, was killed by Capt. Cooke (who bought
Skipwith's command), who darted his sword at Ash
and killed him, for which he is at present withdrawn.
Capt. William Freeman, who killed Mr. Kalph
Freeman, of Surrey, at Epsom, is at Calais, and some
say Lord Dartmouth hath obtained his pardon of his
Majesty.' ' Capt. Bellinger and Capt. Pack fought in
Leicester Fields, the former was wounded, but parted
by Harry Wharton and Mr. Smith.' ' The small
officers' are amply warranted by the behaviour of
416 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Dec. 2, their seniors. ' Admiral Herbert coming with Colonel
I / QC
Kirk from dining in the City to the Play House, cut
(on what provocation I know not) Lord Devonshire's
coachman ; on which his Lordship said nobody
should correct his servant but himself. I heard they
were to fight, four against four. But his Majesty
hath been pleased to prevent it.' ' A soldier pistoll'd
a watchman in Southampton Buildings, saying, some
time before, he had been affronted by a watchman
there, of which he was resolved to be revenged, and
therefore went to them and killed one, whether he
that affronted him or another it mattered not.'
Murders are too common to excite much comment,
but the civil worm turns at last when 'Six or 8
souldiers goe from the Camp to Eobb an Orchard.
The Provo's seized them, & bringing 'Em near their
own Regiment, about 200 men with drawn swords
Eescued 'em, & the Provo's made their Escapes into
the Officers Tents, who protected 'em untill the
Generalls came who appeazed 'em, yet 2 or 3 were
Kill'd in the fray.' The sacred rights of property
being thus threatened, ' His Majesty came himself to
the Camp ' to avenge the sack of the orchard, ' &
drew out the Army, where some of the Mutiniers
were Punished.'
What with brawls and accidents, Sir Ealph's
town correspondents have plenty of news for their
letters :
'On Sunday, July 24, the rabble got together
July, 168? again about the Welsh Camp (as they call the fields
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE 417
about the Cow-keeper Griffith's house) where with
brickbates, which they had from a Brickill near at
hand, and which they conveyed about with 'em in
wheelbarrows, they pelted the Train-bands, but they
did not any great hurt nor received any, only 'tis
reported that handsome Fielding with his naked
sword scower'd amongst 'em and wounded some of
the rabble, and one of the Militia shot a maid dead
(in the breast) ; she only came to see fashions. . . .
At Evesham (vulgarly Epsom) two women were killed
by the overthrow of a coach in which they were.'
' 'Tis said that Capt. Swifnix, who in Ireland would
not deliver his commission to the Lord-General, is in
that kingdom by 15 or 16 men cut to pieces; he
was formerly a highwayman in England.
' Some days past, a barge or pleasure boat going j u iy 1687
up the river, with four young women and a blackmore,
were all drowned on their way to the Camp about
Twittenham, by the barge's oversetting, but all
watermen were saved ; they were young Greenwich
ladies, two of them great beauties, a third very
handsome, the fourth plain ; the eldest of them about
22 years, the beauties 15, and one of them an only
child. On Sunday the 30th. of July the rabble were
again disorderly in Lambs Conduit Fields, and pulled
down a Music-house Booth, making merry with the
wine and other liquors, and the brickbats did also
fly about, but there was no mischief done, only one
citizen (a scrivener, I think), coming thither to see
fashions,' evidently a very dangerous amusement,
VOL IV. E E
418 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
' was shot thro' the leg, and so was carried off, and
one of his legs is since cut off.' There was the
further excitement of ' a whale who came up as high
as Woolwich, and was hunted and shot at and much
wounded, but she made towards Gravesend, so I
suppose she is got to sea again,' having had quite
enough of the turbulent City. Dr. Paman writes
Nov. 21, that ' One in a cofiee-house looked so earnestly
1687
upon Sir K. Le Strange, that he must ask what he
meant he said he took him for the observator
" Well, what then, said Sir E. ? " saith the other. " I
find you play very well upon the trump marine, who
can vary so many several notes upon one single
string ; & besides they say you writ the Letter to the
Dissenter." "You are mistaken, I answered it."
" Nay then," saith the other, " you are mistaken you
published it, but you did not answer it." An answer
to the answerers of the Letter is come out, which
hath wit in it/
At Clay don, the joy felt at Sir Ealph's return to
the House of Commons in May 1685 was damped by
the prorogation of the Parliament in December,
and also by a grievous private calamity the loss of
John Verney's young wife.
Her life came gently but swiftly to a close ; the
responsibilities of a wife and mother had been laid
too soon on girlish shoulders, and though she carried
them bravely, her strength was not equal to her
courage and capacity. Elizabeth Verney died in
London, May 20, 1686, in the twenty-second year of
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE 419
her age. When John buried his 'Dearest Joy' in
the vault at Middle Claydon, he buried with her the
happiest chapter of his life. There was no break in
the outward activities of his career ; he was not a
man to trouble others with his sorrows ; to them he
E E 2
420 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
was the efficient, successful, rather cold, man of
affairs he had always been, but
' God be thanked, the meanest of His creatures
Boasts two soul-sides one to face the world with,
One to show a woman when he loves her ! '
Sir Ealph was extremely unwell at the time of
Mrs. John Verney's death, and the Claydon people,
who are ' heartily sorry ' to hear of it, are yet more
anxious about their kind old landlord. Dr. Denton
is pining ' to let blood under his tongue,' which Sir
Ealph 'has noe minde to.' Coleman, the steward,
May 24, writes : ' I am soe concerned to hear your illness to
1686
continue, that I am not able at present to wright to
you about any businesse for teares ; my prayers I am
sure & some hundreds in the County about you, are
for your long life & health, both amongst us your
Servants & them your neighbours .... I will to
the best of my power bee careful of all your businesse
I am imployed in, & observe all your commands
about Mrs. Verney's comeing downe to be buryed.'
John is attending to every detail of the funeral,
and of the mourning for the motherless babies ; they
are to wear crape at Yld. a yard, Sir Ealph's cloth-
crape costs but 14e?. The portly coachman, Philip
Buckley, is to have two specially large dimity waist-
coats at 10. and ' a Pair of mild Serge breeches at
lls. Mrs. Lillie, the housekeeper, sends up ' a bitt
of silk for a pattern of the church cushings,' which
are evidently to be also garbed in black.
Coleman writes again, ' Here are people daily to
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE 421
inquire of your good health. . . . most that know May 29,
IfiSfi
your Worship doe pray for your health, Mr. Butter-
field last Tewsday praid for you in the Church & I
hope it will please God to heare our prayers, it being
I am sure from mee with an humble heart. M r
Fall & M r Eutherford of Eoxton was here at M rs
Verney's buriall, but did not stay to supp here, M r
White & his daughters & M r Jos : Churchill & his
wife & 3 children stay'd supper.' Mun, who is
deeply grieved for his brother's loss, is at his wit's
end to devise more remedies for Sir Ealph, as ' he
hath been Blooded, Vomited, Blistered, Cupt &
Scarifyed, & hath 3 Physicians with him, besides
Apothecary & Chirurgien ; ' strange to say, ' hee con-
tinues still very weak.' Mun himself takes ' Venice
Treacle every night & many other nasty Apothecarys
things.' He is recommended Islington, Epsom, or
Tonbridge waters. Grosvenor believes that the waters
of Astrop, which he might drink at home, are ' as sana-
tive as the waters about London, which are so charge-
able they resemble those of Bethesda, which had noe
virtew till an Angell had stirr'd them.' The invalids
send their condolences to each other. 'I see you
are weary,' Sir Ealph writes, 'of taking any more
physicall things, but those that are either old or
infirm must be content to doe it some Times.' Gary
Stewkeley is in charge of Mun's household, a persona
grata with him and with Mistress Molly, who has
now returned from school.
There is another family funeral this summer;
422 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Alexander Denton (senior), of the Middle Temple, died
June 8, 1686 ; the steward's bill for his burial at
Hillesden, * just by the old tower in the Chancel,' is
45/. 135. 2d., including 11. 10s. ' for gold rings for D r
Sharpe & D r Sherlock that gave my Master the
Sacrament & prayed for him in his last illness.'
We have glimpses from time to time of the
beautiful mistress of Hillesden; she is fond of her
embroidery ; Sir Kalph matches her silks in town,
and she writes affectionately of her children. Sud-
denly a calamity falls on Hillesden House far more
bitter to the family than aught that fire and the
sword had wrought there during the Civil War.
Alexander Denton and Hester Harman were
' married in 1673 in Middleton Stony Church in Oxon
by Mr. Banks;' the rest is told in John Verney's
pocket-book. 'After she had had 7 children, on
Thursday 29th March 1688, she left his house &
him, & Monday Sept. 17, 1688, she was delivered
of a girle, w ch he w d not own, named Eliz. who soon
died. This his wife Hester died in Aug. 1691 about
Spittlefields & was buryed in Stepney Ch. meanely.'
There was a painful trial, in which it was held that
as the unhappy woman had carried off with her a
sum of 500/., she had forfeited all claim on her
husband for support ; her own fortune he had long
ago squandered. Sir Ealph wrote once to let
Alexander know that he had heard of Hester in
London; he only replied that he wished her at
Jamaica, and her name drops out of the family life.
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE 423
In the spring of 1687 Nancy Nicholas is 'dis- April IB,
posing ' of her only daughter Jenny ' in the wae of
matrimony : ' ' tis to one Sir John Abdy a Bart, of
Albins in Essex, his estate is 1500, the house very
well furnished thorow out, the joynter 600, no
father nor mother, a debt of some 1400 that I hope
they will wether out prety esily . . . heare are many
qualifycations for making a wife happy.' The younger
members of the family did not approve the match,
and the mother allows that ' he is no babv, nor so April 26,
fine a bred man as Sir Ealf Verney,' ' truly he bareth
as various carectors as any man in England can doe
. . . the sober prudint persons such as Sir Thos.
Dike, Sir John Bramston & your once a quaintans
M r Garvis who has been 3 weeks in his house, says
he was never drunk in his life, that he never gaimes,
that he has not Sir E. V's parts, yet he understands
his busines very well ... he is good humoured,
frank, and for entertainments in his house.' On the
other hand he bore an ' ill carector in the titell tatell '
of society, and among 'the sparks of the town &
gentlemen that sett their cravat strings & periwigs
well.' Jenny leant to their opinion, though her
elderly suitor expressed himself as ' much pleased
with her ; ' by the end of a fortnight her mother
reported that the match was off, yet ' he importunes
her every day to come on again, how her good natuer
will work I know not for she is perfectly left to her-
self tis she must live with him.'
The girl was just of age ; the good-natured Mun
424 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
May i, sympathised with her reluctance. ' Cosen Jinny
Nicholas Cannot Love an old Man, and I cannot
Blame Her, for old Age is very disagreable unto
youth : and I presume her ffather and Mother Have
to much Kindnesse for Her then to fforce her. Cosen
Doll : Wythers cast off this old Gallant formerly.'
Whatever Nancy's theories might be, she was too
benevolent a despot to be really neutral, and but
ten days after this letter Mun hears from Oxford
that his son's chum, Denton Nicholas, has gone up
with his father, mother, grandfather and brother to
attend Sister Jenny's marriage. ' I find that Jinny
Nicholas,' Edmund writes, ' is now my Lady Abdy :
and plentifully marryed : Hath a brave House and
Land and Great store of good Goods, Besides Honor,
of all wch I wish her much joy.' The good wishes
were realised ; we hear the next spring ' that my
April 7, Lady Abdy Doth Lye in of a Boy : to the great Joy
of that ffamily ; ' and the child grows ' soe very
sensible beyond his age that they fear for him.' It
was Lady Abdy's delight to receive her father and
mother and her grandfather at her country home,
and the numerous Stewkeley and Adams girls were
not forgotten. In September 'The Piazza family
have gone to bury old Lady Nicholas at Horsely.'
The doctor is much at home at Albyns ; he speaks of
himself sarcastically as ' lolling on bed or couch,'
of no more use in the world, though he can get no
one else to think so. Any ailments in the family,
however, speedily make him forget his own, and he
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE 425
prescribes energetically for Sir Ralph ' a syrup of
Scabious, with whey, or gorse boiled with Damask
roses,' which sounds delicious.
Meanwhile, in the great world outside, James n.
was fast alienating his best friends. Dr. Paman
describes how the Nuncio was received at Windsor : July 5,
1 fift*7
* the King spoke to the D. of Somerset to receive
him, but he refused, for by the law yet in force it
was treason. ... About 16 coaches attended the
Nuncio ; when he appeared he made 3 obeisances,
the King & the Queen as often rose up. The D. of
Grafton introduced him.' It is not surprising to
hear after this c that his Majestic is but slenderly met Ang. 21,
in his progress by the Nobility & Gentry of the
Counties as he passes.' He is soon busy turning out
Magistrates from their commissions and officers from
their commands, and a commission is going to Oxford
'with large powers of suspending, expelling, etc.'
He had offended both counties by dismissing their
popular and capable lord lieutenants, the Earl of
Abingdon and the Earl of Bridgwater, who, as Lord
Brackley, had won the famous Bucks election of
1685. Sir Ealph hears from John that he and 'S r Dec. 5,
Tho Tirrell & S r Tho : Lee are left out of the Com- l
mission of y e peace, I doe not doubt but what ever is
meant by it is however to you a kindnesse, by dis-
charging you of soe greate a trouble & charge too,
But 1 feare the Country will miss you.' The political
animus of the transaction is shown by Sir J. Busby
being retained. The time was gone by when Sir
426 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Ealph might have been fretted by so ungracious an
action ; he replies with great serenity : ' If I am left
out of the Comission of the Peace I shall have the
less trouble, & my yeares require a Writ of Ease,
& I shall bee very willing to sit still.' 'Tho' you
care not for it,' Dr. Denton writes, 'yet I believe
y r neighbours will/
The college with which the Verneys were con-
nected by so many old ties is next attacked. Lord
Abingdon, who had stood by the King so stoutly
during Monmouth's rebellion, ' sent to y e fellowes of
Magdalen wishing he had preferments for 'em all,
but since he had not, that they should be wellcome
at his house to Beef & Mutton for which he had a
reprimand from his Maj te for being soe kind to those
that had been the Insolent oposers of his Maj ties
Comands, or words to that purpose.' At the same
time it is rumoured, on the death of the great head-
master of Westminster, ' that one Poulton, a Jesuit,
who was Schoolmaster at the Savoy, is to succeed
Dr. Busby. The Doctor has left nothing to Sir J.
Busby or his children, but ah 1 to pious uses.'
When James desired the clergy to read the
Declaration of Indulgence from the pulpit, the Eector
of Claydon, as we know, refused to do so ; indeed Sir
Ealph can hear of ' none about us that read it, but
2 very ordinary persons, having but poor livings.'
Anne Nicholas, writing from her daughter's home in
Essex, makes merry over the way in which another
clergyman endeavoured to neutralise the ill effect of
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE 427
his compliance 'We have no news hear but of a A g-i-
1 (* ><^
Rector in this Cuntry, y* when y e declaration was to
be Eed, they gave it him up as he was going into y e
church to read, & he knew not what y e paper was, &
read it when he had don, " Beloved," sais he, " Hur
has read you a paper y fc has nothing in it good for
Body or sole, but Her will goe in to y e Pulpit &
preach that to you w ch shall be good for Body & sol,
& so Her did Make a Prechment to y m ." '
Nancy feels proudly that she has picked up
another gem i ye newest in Land news I have is of Sept. n,,
1688
the Mayor of Scarborough, who came up to the K &
profest if he might be maid Mair, he w ld doe great
things, in particular have the Declaration red ; so
he was put into his desired offes & afterward sent
for ye Minister & gave him ye Decl", but when ye
tune came he did not read it ; & ye Mair maid him
be puled out of his Pulpit & had another thair to
read it ; ye congregation sang Psalmes & a great
bussel there was in ye church ; & when church was
dun, ye soldears stood Eedy & caut up ye Maior &
tossened him in a blanket. The Mair is now in
town, come up to complain of ye solders, ye chef
effiser their was our cousen Ously.' Capt. Osley
(as he is called elsewhere) being ' wanted ' retires to
Holland.
When there is a question of prosecuting the con-
tumacious clergy, the Bishop of Eochester in a manly
letter gives up his seat on the Ecclesiastical Com- Aug. 22,
mission, ' Importing that tho' by his Conf he cou'd
428 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Eead y e Dec n yet he suppos'd others that refused it
did soe by their Consciences, & therefore he could
not in Con ce Punish 'em, knoweing 'Em to be a wise,
Eeligious Clergy, & therefore he thought it more
hon ble to suffer with 'em, then to make them suffer,
Or words to that purpose, & withall he desir'd to be
dismist from farther attendance.'
Private patrons are anxious about their livings.
Aug. 14, Dr. Denton hears that ' Pigott hath endowed
1688
Ditton Chapel with 50 pr. an : as a Donative, that
it may not be subject to any ecclesiastical juris-
diction, his wife with 4 others to present but
negatively noe nonconformist, his Almeshouse 2 s a
week apiece & 20 s for a gowne.' ' The L d Tirconnell
& the Titular primate of Ireland have had some
words, the former desiring him not to Ordaine soe
many Ignorant, Dull, Priests as he did, for Ireland,
he said, did already swarm with them ; whereat the
Primate was soe angry that he is come into Eng d to
make his complaints.'
As if to prove that no good gift of fortune could
benefit the Stuart dynasty, the arrival of the long
desired heir to the throne coincided with the most
unpopular act of James's reign. The child was born
on Sunday the 10th of June ; on the Friday following
the seven Bishops appeared before the King and the
Privy Council, and were sent to the Tower ; and
there, writes Dr. Denton, * they are most mightily
visited, courted highly by the multitude at Whitehall
craving their benediction, as they took water, and
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE 429
so again as they landed at the Tower so that they
could scarce get into the Tower.' Sir Ealph ' longs
to heare how the Bishops are treated, I pray God to
make them ffirm to doe that wch may most conduce
to his Glory & the good security of the Ch. of
England.'
4 On fry day the 29 th The Bishops were tryed, July
Theire Jury were the twelve first returnd Excepting
S r John Bury & M r Hewers w cb two did not appeare.
The Lawyers Argued on 4 Points in Each of w b
Holloway & Powell differed from Wright & Alibone,
for the K : Were the Atturney & Solicitor Serg*
Trindar, S r Bar-Shores, Balouck, Wright, for the
Bishops were flinch, Pemerton, Polixfen, Sawyer &
Ireby, Summers & one other who outdid themselves,
after about 9 howres the Jury had a Glass of wine &
a Crust of Bread at the Barr & then went to the
affaire wherein thay came not to a finall Agreement
untill Satturday morning, when they came into Court
& their Verdict was Not Guilty : at w cb there was a
greate huzza in the hall : tis said some of the Jury
were very froward most of the night for a Contrary
Verdict, & some presume to name them. Williams
was twice hisst at the Tryall : The Councill Were 7 on
Each side, There were about 36 Peeres present, &
some observed when the L d P* came into Court to
give his Evidence that the Peeres did then put on
their hatts, those that were uncovered, Alsoe when
finch was arguyng a Point wherein he said the
K : Lords & Comons assembled in Parliam* : (It
430 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
being about the Lawes) the Nobility bowed to him
Uncoverd as a Testimony of their thanks. Powell
spoke soe much that some askt if he were Advocate
for the Bishops.'
The bonfires that were lit in honour of the Prince
of Wales paled before those that blazed forth, when
the acquittal and release of the Bishops became
known, and the fact that these latter were strictly
forbidden only made them burn the more fiercely.
Even loyal Oxford makes no sign when the news of
the Prince's birth arrives ; c there was a bonfire at
Magdalen, but at no other College.'
4 Judge Both speaking of the Bishops said they
were Blockheads, noe Grammariams & that they
wrote false English in their Petition & much more
such stuff.'
Aug. s, ' Judge Heath that came to Northampton and
-| CQQ
Leicester,' writes Pen Stewkeley, ' gave in his charge
that all that made Bonefiers for y e Bushops being
freed, shoud bee indited, for hee said it was a riat,
& that they did not show themselves good subjects
to theare King, but did it on purpos to Affront his
magistey, & many such like things hee speakes. The
Maior of Norhampton has killed a wagoner, y* would
not goe out of y e roade his wagon being loaded, &
theare ware 3 condemed for mordering an inkeeper,
and proved plain against them, but its said y e have
presented Father Petters w tb 500, and y e have a
repreive, & its said none shall soffer, but those y*
made y e bonefiers shall smart.'
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE 431
In London ' Tis said that Sir N. B. came out of
1 fiftft
his house with sword in hand to suppress the Boyes
that made Bonfires but they call'd him Quack &
made him glad to take shelter againe.' ' At Buck m
there were a great many Bonfires for the ^Enlargement
of the Bishops & great Acclamations of the people
but without any tumult.'
. ' A Knight at Epsom that had spoak very reflect- July 13,
ingly of the Bishopps before their Tryall, when
newes came that they were acquitted, severall
Gentlemen went to him & accusd him of it, for
which they said they would Toss him in a Blankett,
But he profest his greate respect for those prelates,
& that they were mistaken, for he onely told people
what some Irishmen said of the Bishops ; soe they
seemd sattisfyed, but this comeing to some Irishmen's
Eares, they to Justifye their Country came to the
Knight, & told him for the falsity laid on their
Country-men, unless he produced them, they would
toss him in a Blanket publiquely, and twas with
greate difficulty & shame that he Escaped.'
In London the rejoicings for the Prince of Wales
began during a heavy storm of thunder and lightning,
that put all puny fireworks to shame, but John con-
sidered that they made a good show on the Thames,
' & after them the Greate Guns fired at the Tower
& alsoe several vollyes of small shott at the Camp,
which I could plainly heare on the Water.' The
sound of the guns has hardly died away when ' The
Lady Ash is confined to her house for speaking
432 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Scandalously of the P : of W : ' and other persons
' are seized for talking of him.' It was a strange
fate for the lawful heir to the British Crown to be
dubbed ' the Pretender ' from his cradle to his grave.
Jane 21, ' Kneller the painter has drawn the Prince ' at about
1688 r
a week old, ' & 20 copies are already bespoken of
him. Tis said the D ss of Monmouth is often at Court
& the K. is kind to her children.'
' The Prince was severall times before his goeing
to Eichmond Carryed by his Lady Governess [Lady
Powis] into the King's Garden at S. James's to take
the Ayre. A Bedd is sett up at Eichmond for the
Queen's Majestye to lye there sometimes when she
comes to see the Prince. The King and Queen are
at Windsor. . . . The Queen Dowager hath layd
asside her thoughts of buying the Earl of Devonshire's
house in Darbyshire, & his Majesty hath perswaded
her to settle nearer London.'
' At Whitehall the Fine Cristall Glass was taken
out of the D. of Portsmouth's windows since she
went away, & the holes stoppt up with straw very
scandalously.'
John writes in August ' Eeports are soe false
soe different and soe many that noe true conjecture
can be made, onely that wee seem to be Extreamly
allarm'd, and worke hard as well Sunday as Worky-
dayes to gett out a ffleet, and the Dragoones are gone
to the Sea Coasts, as well as other Eegiments.'
6 Drums are beating up about Wapping for seamen,
but few come in.'
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE 433
Amongst these reports is one that ' The Prince is Aug. 9,
1 CQQ
Indisposed, having been fed on barley gruel with
currants in it, 'twas thought fitt that he should suck,
& a Plaisterer or Tylers wife was made Choice of,
on whom some say the King hath been pleased to
settle a Considerable pension for her & her husband's
life Whether the Prince live or dye, & he is sent in
some Comand into the ffleet, & some say he was
Knighted before hee went.' Not only is this illus-
trious individual sent to strengthen our defective
Navy, but the Baby is formally made an Admiral.
' Abbot Barberini is to bring the consecrated
clouts to England ; they are 3 suits richly em-
broidered with gold.' The Prince was christened
James Francis Edward ; ' the Pope and the Qu.
Dow r Catherine of Braganza being gossips ; ' they
could not have been better chosen, if the King's aim
had been to alienate the sympathy of his subjects.
Ormond, the last survivor of the devoted King's Aug. 3,
1688
Men of a nobler time, is taken away from the evil to
come, and the young Duke appears at Windsor to
' deliver to his Majestye his Deceased Grandfather
George & Garter. The late Duke's White Staff will
not be disposed of until after the solemnizeing of the
funerall, where some say it shall be broke over the
Coffin.'
To emphasize the contrast between his father's
servants and his own, we hear constantly of the
favours King James showered on Jeffreys. His eldest
son has just made a brilliant alliance.
VOL. iv. f F
434 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
'On Tewsday the 17 th at Bulstrode the Lord
Chanc lors Son (aged 15 very low of stature but a fine
Schollar) was married to the Daughter of y e Last
Earl of Pembroke by Portsmouth's Sister, & some say
they were Againe Married after the Bomish Manner
the latter End of the weeke, very lately there was a
Decree passed in the young Ladyes favour, she is
13 yeares of Age & taller then her husband. The
July 2fi, King was pleased to Weare a Wedding favour of the
Lord Chancellours Sonns, and all the Privy Coun-
cellours had alsoe favours given them.' Soon after
the audience granted to young Ormond, the King
and the Queen go down to Bulstrode to dine with
the Lord Chancellor and enjoy his refined society.
John is entertaining some of his wife's family in
August, who are staying with him in town ' to see
Bartholemew Faire.'
The officers who have been cashiered for refusing
to admit Irish Boman Catholics into their regiments
' behave themselves resolutely when tried,' and John
believes their pictures will be sold * as 'twas done for
the 7 Bishops,' so great is their popularity. Much
had been done to disoblige the army ; the previous
year Sir B. Temple is horrified that the King has
turned ' Ch : Just : Harbert's elder brother out of a
company bought for 800 guinyes, for refusing to
repeat the Test, & the E. of Worcester out of a reg*
on the same ace 4 who is succeeded by my L d Powis'
sonne.'
Mun reports the Claydon news in return : ' I
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE 435
believe the match between M r Duncombe and M rs Kitty Aug. n,
1688
Busby is quite off again, & if she is to have 3000
pounds as I heare she is, T would not wish her such a
monstrous clown for I think she deserves a much
better.' The Duncombes were thrown into ' a great
bustle,' the old man haggling much about settle-
ments ; there are even better jokes about the girl's
father. ' Sir John Busby seeing his Lady's hoggs,
wch I might say were his owne, muzeling some offal
Corne by his Barne door, in a great fury charg'd his
gun with great shott, fired & missed their bodies
filthily,' but hit their legs, Lady Busby cries, and pays
secretly for them to be doctored, being valuable beasts
worth each 40s. When they recover, Sir John, as
blind to his own interests as the King, shoots at them
again, with less murderous results than the weeping
lady fears ; one hog falls, the rest grunt, squeal and
disappear. Mun is greatly entertained by the vagaries
of his hot-tempered neighbour, ' Sir Tarbox Busby,'
as he is called in the squibs of the time.
On September 3, 1688, Edmund wrote from East
Claydon another of his chatty letters to John in
London. ' Deare Brother, I Received yours of the
29 th last past, and understanding from my Cosen Natt
Hobart and my Sonne what good sport There was at
Quainton Eace the first day where Chesney the Horse
Courser made Thousands of Men Eunne after Him
with their Swords Drawne, He shott his Pistol at Sir
Thomas Lees man Mr Cull, and overthrew Him and
his Horse together, and swore Like any Lover that
F F 2
436 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Hee would Have the other Pluck at Mrs. Hortons
5,000 still, so the next Day I went my selfe to
the Kace, & Carryed my Cosen Gary and my
Daughter in Hopes to meete with the Like diversion,
But He was not so obliging to the Company as to
Give them the same Pastime, so my Cosen Dentons
man Valentine Budd Kidd for the Plate & wonne it,
it was a Sylver server, his Horse that wonne it was a
grey, There was a Child ridd over and almost Killed,
& old Claver of Weeden ffell off from his Horse
Being very Drunk, I saw my Cosen Charles Stafford
there, & severall Ladys and Gentlemen But not
T : S, nor S r E.T. nor S r J.B. who is gone away no
Body Knows where, nor no Body Knows when He
will returne. S r W. D[ormer] never came to the
Eace, w ch troubles his Granddam Extremely, I Have
a Storry to Tell in the next Sheet, that will fill it
up & so I shall conclude This who am your most
loving Brother & sarvent EDMUND VERNEY.'
The ' story ' was never told. The next morning,
hearing nothing till 8 o'clock, his servants went into
his room, and sent a terrified message to Middle
Claydon, that their master was sleeping so heavily
they knew not what to fear. Sir Ealph arrived
in his coach before nine, a surgeon was sent for,
who bled him, 4 the Queene of Hungary's water
& severall other things were applyed to him, nothing
would recall him.' At ten it was all over, and Sir
Ealph sat down in the desolate house, and sent an
urgent appeal to John to make instant preparations
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE 437
for the funeral, concluding in a very shaky hand,
'God in mercy fit us all for Heaven, Your un-
fortunate father EAPHE VERNEY.'
He encloses a list of Mun's household for whom
mourning will be required. ' Dover his confidential
servant, Harry the Coachman, Ned Smith the Groom,
THE WHITE HOUSE, EAST CLAYDON
Thomas Very the Carter, Tom Butcher a Footman,
Jacob Golding a Footboy, & little Jacob Hughes
about 9 yeares old taken out of Charity. Your
Brother's Wife, your Brother's Daughter, Gary
Stewkeley, Mrs. Curzon, Two Chambermaids that
attend on his wife's person, Doll the Cooke, Anne the
Dayry Mayd.' The names are written on the back
438 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
and front of an old playing-card, another hint of the
untidy condition of the house, where the kind-hearted,
careless master had scarcely breathed his last, before
it seemed as if everyone had a debt to claim, or a
story to tell against him. Lady Gardiner describes
Edmund's death as being to himself, ' sudden, rather
than unexpected ; hee severall times told mee he was
confidint hee was neere his end, & so thought all
as knew him . . he had many virtues more than
most men have.' His intercourse with his father
had been specially affectionate and intimate during
his last years, and he taught his children to
look up to their grandfather in everything. His
debts were no new thing. ' You will not pay them,'
Sir Ealph had said, ' in ten years after I am dead.'
Edmund would never suffer such an allusion ; * I
desire not only the Honor to Bee (as I have been)
y r fellow Traveller in this World,' he wrote, 'but
shall Bee Extremely well satisfyed & pleased to
wayte upon you into the next, whenever it shall
Please God to Summon you.'
The young heir was still at College ; neither the
widow, though just then in her right mind, nor the
little terrified daughter could render Sir Ealph any
assistance, and in those first miserable hours, when
the old man was left alone in the deserted study to
look through a mass of bills and papers, a great wave
of bitterness swept over him, and he judged his dead
son very hardly.
The money lent Edmund on bond, by the first
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE 439
rough computation, amounted to some 4,500/. I
finde yr Brother died very much in debt,' Sir Ealph
writes again to John, ' but as yet I cannot say how
much, therefore in my opinion it will be the best
way to bury him privately in the night-time, without
Escutcheons, or inviting of Neighbours to attend
with their Coaches, which is very troublesome &
signifies nothing.'
He is at no pains to conceal his mortification. To
Sir William Smith he writes : t You oblige me much
by appearing sensible of the loss of my Sonne & if
you knew in what a miserable condition he hath left
his estate & Family, you would woonder at it, and
hardly believe it ; for its ill beyond Expression.'
Many relations who have always loved Mun write with
real affection, yet their chief anxiety is lest this
should prove to Sir Ealph l More affliction than his
age can well bear.' Pen Stewkeley writes : ' I pray
God my Uncle may not lay this too neare him, but
bare it like himselfe.' She must buy fresh mourning,
hers is all worn out, ' having been a long time
together in that dismal habit.' Dr. Denton finds a
strictly professional ground for consolation, in that
Sir Ealph had providentially taken his vomit just
before hearing the news, and reminds him that Mun
* hath left a hopefull young son, who will contribute
much to put the estate into a good condition again.
We all wish ourselves w tb you to have the comfort of
one another.'
The elaborate mourning required keeps all the
440 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
women of the family busy, Gary Stewkeley goes
about with the steward and the carpenter, measuring
the bed and all the furniture in the widow's chamber
which is to be entirely covered with black, and
makes out lists for Sir Ealph, while doing her best
to soothe and comfort Mrs, Verney and Molly. But
it is upon the son of the house that the heaviest
burden falls. Summoned hastily from his happy
careless life at Oxford, the boy of nineteen finds his
home, so to speak, in ruins, and the father who had
always been so good to him beggared at once of life
and of reputation. Gary sums up what the family
expect from the hope of Claydon, that he should do
nothing ' to the prodigys of his helth,' and confide
absolutely in his grandfather. Young Edmund
shows good sense and feeling beyond his age. The
situation is difficult enough ; his mother's affairs and
his own are in Chancery, and he feels himself, ' but
as it were a steward to my Father's creditors.' He
is surrounded by old servants and retainers, who
have large expectations from the heir, which he is
quite unable to fulfil ; he is trying to get the
superfluous men-servants into places, but they are
not at all keen to go. His father's ' 2 great Horses
eat up a deal of horsemeate, the Coach Mares do noe
work, & the Greate Barne is so full of ratts, the
wheat will soon be eat up & spoiled.' He tries to
get in some arrears of rent, but his mother's tenants
are clamorous in their requests, and with good
reason ; ' most of them assure me that my father
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE 441
promised them such & such repairs, others say their
Houses were begun in my father's time & I cannot
tell what answer to make them.' One old man's
* actions,' Gary reports, ' is the wonder of markits as
well as this towne, being called one of the Old Lords
of Claydon ; bot Harry Honnour has bin an old sar-
vant and so has his wife Doll, and both fixed heare,.
and therfore I wish them well setled, for I pitty every
poor creature that has no shelter from wind and
weather therfore care to say no more of him.' Mun
dares not sell a horse because there are endless delays
in making out the valuation, and he cannot even get
in the undertaker's bill for his father's funeral ; ' he
is allwayes a burying somebody or other they tell me
at his house when I call.' The garden alone seems
to be in good order, ' very pleasant to walk in & the
frute is as it should be.'
It is a solitary time at Claydon, for Sir Ealph and
John are in town in October, but the lad writes them
admirable business letters, and they write to him
as regularly as they had written to his father. He is
trying to disentangle the Estate accounts, and to
make out the c rent- services, freehold rents & quitt
Kents, which did use to be mingled in the Kent-roll,
with the other rents,' and to settle with a tenant
whose sheep ' have flayed the fields.'
Sir Ealph sends ' Munsey ' excellent advice, ' Be
sure to give your mother's tenants good words but
make none of them any promise for repairs, only that
you will consider of it, & acquaint me with it when
442 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
I come, tis not a time of year for building, for the
frost will fetch the mud walls whilst they are green
& the days are growing so short that workmen
cannot do a good day's work.' He recommends a
ratcatcher, and warns him against being enrolled in
the Militia in these unsettled times ; he must plead
youth. Sir Ealph breaks off abruptly, ' to write
news is the way to have this letter stopped therefore
tis best to leave all alone.' The lad has no wish to
keep up the convivial reputation of the White House,
but Cousin Denton is going to visit him and will
expect Claret, can Sir Ealph furnish him ? ' There is
white wine, Sack & Ehenish in the house, but were
I not sometimes bound in civility I should never care
to drink a glass of wine as long as I live.'
John has got for his nephew ' a gentile &
fashionable mourning sword for 7/6.' Cary Stew-
keley rejoices that Mary Verney has been able to
dine with them these four days, ' she is one I love
extremely.' Later on Lady Gardiner visits the
White House, and gratifies the poor widow by taking
her constantly to Middle Claydon Church ; though
the elder lady feels the two miles troublesome to her,
* & the more because I walk in patings.' ' All the
congregation sems to rejoic to see her ; good woman
shee is very kind to mee, and Indeed I pleas her all
I can.' When she is well ' she works from six to
six,' but she usually spends much of her day in bed,
and the watchman on his rounds hears her crying out
for her maids in the night.
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE 443
Lady Gardiner's account of Moll's wardrobe is
tragic if somewhat mysterious. ' She is forst to ware
her blak coat under her whit fustion, & tis a ridicules
sit to see her whit coat next her cloth crape coat for
A father ; she must have stoff to make her a petycoat
to her night gownd, her old callowco petycoat I shall
leve as far as it will goo & she must have 5 or 7 of
the narrow lases wch Bell has on hers & blk silke to
make it up ; she must have 3 yds of any blk cloth
crape to peas out her crape coat wch is to short to
ware for shee is much growne. Bell must bespeak a
pare of blak leather shus for her & charge the woman
to make them strong, the very sols of her shus is
worn off, she w d have them hansome as well as strong.
She rons much A bout, & tis better to ware out her
cloths then be sickly ; she wants 2 blk top knots of
tafety, a pare of blk leather glovs & some blk pins
wch things if she could be without them I wod not
rit for them.'
The attention of the relations has been concen-
trated on East Claydon, but public events are now
too grave to be ignored. ' War is in the air,' and
such of the family as are living in London have the
cheering conviction that the Metropolis will be the
Seat of War. Eiots increase ; ' all meat risis in
town & everything is snatched up, fearing the prince
of orange sh d stop provisions comeing to this toune.'
' The rabble very rudely went to Barge Yard, defaced NOV. n,
the Popish Chapel, breaking the windows, drinking
up the Priest's liquors both wyne & beare, carrying
444 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
out what portable, to make a bonfire in the Market-
place, L d Mayor's show was very poor this year.'
Oct. 29, Young Edmund had seen some of the dreaded
1688
Irish troops at East Claydon. ' This day passed by
here 500 Irish ffoot souldiers in their march to
London, & just at the townes end they quarrel'd
amongst themselves about going over a stile in
Newfield, and one of them was knock'd down & his-
scull much broken & he now layes insensible at
Thomas Millers, 'tis thought he will dye very shortly
if he is not dead allready.'
Sir Ealph, on his return home in November, is
roused up at two o'clock in the morning to send men
and horses for the Militia levies at Stony Stratford
within twelve hours, ' all the Buck m trained bands are
gon with thos forces as is to march against the
Prince.' On the whole there is a strong feeling that
' the King will put all to a push & fight,' and this-
in spite of the desertions to the Prince of Orange,
and the Princess Anne's ' prank, wch dus not a littell
Dec 5 disples the King.' Gary Gardiner reports the town
talk, ' that ther is grat hops of a hapy Settillment in
fue months, all the protistants being in most things-
of a mind, & believed no blod will bee shed in warr,
& that our King will rain more happily than he has
dun, only thar is great doubts maid how the title of
the P. of Wails [no bad name for that luckless infant]
will be desided. . . . The Princ marchis slow his
resons is not known.' Lord Abingdon and Tom
Wharton were amongst the first to join his standard.
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE 445
The story Lord Macaulay has told once for all need
not be repeated here, but after reading in the letters
day by day of the contradictory rumours that keep
up the tension of suspense in London, one feels that
Oary sums up the situation admirably to Sir Ralph,
who is awaiting events at Claydon : ' You will Dec. 12,
1 fiftft
wonder at nothing now. Sertanly no Cronacill can
paralell whot has bin produced in a fue weeks time
to have A King & Prince of Wales & A Queene fly
from an Invader without A blow. . . . Ther is so
many gon in A Weeks time as wod A mase you ;
night & day the water is full of barges. . . . Sir
R. Temple is this day gon to the Princ, but thos as
gos in now signifys Littell bot are rather laughed at. . .
We expect the Princ here, in the mean time the
moboly will pull downe all the chapels as is nuw set up.
Skilton is fled & the City has seased the Tower . . .
I thank you for your fat plovers & so conclud.'
Dr. Denton writes ' We are all in a strange confusion,
abandoned by K, Qu. & Pr. all gone cum pannis,
confounded be all they y* worship graven Images &
boast themselves of idols. ... Its said y* my L d
Chan r is gon along with them & consequently ye
Seales, & a world more gone or goinge.'
There is great excitement in Buckingham when
* a calash dashes thro' with 2 gentlemen attended by
26 horsemen well armed & mounted,' whose blue
coats are lined with orange serge a new colour in
English politics ; great ladies are lining their petti-
coats with orange silk.
446 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
When Jeffreys abused Sir Ealph so bitterly after
the famous Bucks Elections, Gary wished to see him
a changed man before he died; his worst enemy
must have been satisfied. John's letters in a crisis
are as calm as a bill of lading, but the plain facts are
too dramatic to need any dressing up ; ' the L (l
Chancellor yesterday morn goeing a long in a sea-
man's habit in Anchor Alley in Wapping was dis-
cover'd, his Lordship presently told the discoverer he
would goe along with him but desir'd him to keep
it private for fear of the people soe they went into an
Ale house by & sent for a Constable, who with a
Guard brought him to Town, all the people hurray-
ing, & with difficulty did his guard keep him from
the Babble, nay one did strike at him, he was
brought in to the Lord Mayors just at dinner time
who when he saw ye L d Chan : thro' feare fell a
Cryeing then into a fitt, for which he was blouded
& put to Bed, soe the Lord Mayor being ill he coud
not sign any warrant, the L. Chanc : satt downe &
Eate heartily, but turning about he saw S r Bob 1
JefFeryes Late Mayor who cryed & came to kiss his
hand & then the L : Chan : alsoe cryed, he said what
have I done that people are soe violent ag 81 me, one
answ d : Eemember Cornish, he said he would have
sav'd him, but when he coud not he savd his
Estate, & had not a penny for't, at length My Lord
Lucas took charge of him & convey'd him to the
Tower, he design'd for Hambrow & the Vessell \\ as
fitting with all Expedition wh : created some jealousy
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE 447
that some greate person was to goe off in that ship.'
John had dined with the Lord Chancellor some six
months before, ' being feasted by him as being one
of his Jury.'
London went through a short but anxious crisis. Dec. 13,
John describes the sacking of the Spanish Am-
bassador's house, and how ' The Mobb ' [an abbrevia-
tion of Mobile vulgus now first coming into use] carried
away the very boards and rafters.' ' The Amb r valued
his library at 15,000, the Plate, Jewells, Clothes,
etc., were of vast value and Papists had carried all
their best things thither presuming they would be
safe. Ld. Powis has removed his things & my Lady
lyeth at a neighbour's for fear they sh d come thither.'
John's friend Mr. Fall ' is a great sufferer, his windows
are all beaten down & his house defaced.' ' Sir Henry
Bond's fine house at Peckham ' is threatened. The
terror of the Irish night is still upon him as he
writes : ' Last night twixt 1 & 2 we were all alarm'd
by Drums & Bells that the whole Citty and sub-
burbs were up, upon a Eeport that the Irish were
assaulting houses & killing people near the townes
End, all men gott to theire arms & lighted Candles
in all theire Windowes & at their doores, but about
4 or a little after we began to be undeceiv'd & soe
went to bed again leaving one or two in a house up :
my Aunt Adams heard nothing of this for I sent to
Co vent Garden this morning to knowe how they all
doe ; In James Street & in the Piazza they were up
upon the alarm.' Lady Abdy writes that the panic
448 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
spread over ' most parts near London but the Irish
did no harm but by their big words.' The best
news John can send is that the King has gone off
for the last time escorted by the Prince's Guards ;
'tis said he wept as he left Whitehall, the P. of
Orange is at St. James'.' ' His Majestie's going away
is of great consequence higher than I can under-
stand,' writes the prudent Mr. Gary, but to most
people it meant that the game was up ; the strong
hands that now grasped the reins were not likely to
drop them.
Sir Ealph and Sir E. Temple represented Buck
once more in the Convention Parliament that sat
from January 1689 to Feburary 1690, and did such
memorable work for England. There is great joy in
Bucks ; Lord Bridgwater is reinstated, and old Dr.
Townsend, who has only just done preaching obedience
to Nero, beseeches Sir Ealph to get his son made
' Muster Master for the Train bands of the County,'
under the new King.
April 14, ' Sir E. Temple has his custom hous place again.
1 fiftQ
I find he will be Vickor of Bray still, let who will raing,
& tho' all hats him yet hee gets whot he aims at.'
Mun has been over to Oxford to pay up his bills,
and 4 has given a Treate to his Acquaintance in
Trinity College.' His sister is anxious to join him in
London for ' the Crownenasion, and I want clothes so
mitily that I doe not know what to do, they will scarse
hang on my back.' A tailor's bill for ' a close fitting
Taby jacket ' seems to prove that Molly had her wish.
THE REVOLUTION AND ITS PROLOGUE 449
The oppressor being defeated, men are now free
to pity him, and to find fault with their deliverer.
Gary writes to Sir Ealph : * I hear the K is bying
the E. of Notingham's hous at Kensington & implys
700 men in fitting Hamton Court for him, & the coro-
nation I heare is talkt of, all th'es things requires
great sums of money : I confes popery wod A bin
much wors for that wod A destroyed thousands of
bodies & souls & estates in A short time; bot I
heare there is great discontents now. I have sent
you the K's speech wch I liked & disliked, hee being-
subject to sinsures as well as his meanest subjects.
' I was apt to beeleve King James was dead, not
for the report of it, but because I think hee has a
load heavigh enoufgh on him to waigh downe the
greatest speryted man in the world : and ware hee
the bitterest enymy to mee I could not but pity him.
and bee glad to heare he had dyed a naturall death,
afflictions causing too often great sperits to mak them
selvs a way, w ch I pray God presarve all Christians
from ; I am satisfied by him and others that grif kils
none ; but God knows what is fitest for all, and
therefore best to soffar patiently and wait till ther
chang cometh.' There is still a ground swell after
the storm, and Gary continues, ' I cannot bot put the
present differences of thos as sits at the Helm amonxt
my own afflictions, I feare a cevell worr, sine both
Ch : & Laety are so divided, & poor lorland Lys a
bleding.'
VOL. IV. G &
450 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION*
CHAPTER XII.
EXEUNT SEVERALLY.
1689-1696.
' No epilogue I pray you, your play needs no excuse ; for when the
players are all dead there need none to be blamed.'
As the eventful seventeenth century draws to its close,
those who have played their parts with Sir Ralph
in the Claydon drama are gradually leaving the
stage. Before their places are filled by a younger
generation of actors, a word may be said concerning
the exits of some old friends.
To begin with the elder generation ; the evergreen
and incorrigible Tom claims the first place. He is
still liable to sudden and unaccountable changes of
abode, and his ' quarteridge ' has of late been claimed
from Welsh villages, whose many syllabled names
have the desired flavour of remoteness. He was
unreasonably abusive of a world in which he found
so many kindly dupes, and flourished unabashed
till 1707, when he was well over ninety. He then
died c merely of old age, his speech and memory
perfect to the last.' Richard Seys of Boverton,
April i, Cardiff, writes to inform John Verney that ' ye old
1707 *
gent : y r uncle has at last gone to his long home, I
EXEUNT SEVERALLY 451
find his late quarterly Kevenue (like many of ye
former) was in a great measure Anticipated, but J n
Deere by keeping him for some time to a weekly
allowance has cleared all his old scores.' He died
possessed of 22 s & l d and John asks Mr. Deere
whether he had not ' some goods, as Books, Clothes,
Plate, etc. wch being disposed of w d suffice for his
burial, without either you or I being out of pocket
for your old acquaintance & my relation, whom I
never saw in my life, tho' he hath had many a pound
from me.' The venerable Tom's personalty con-
sisted of ' a Bible & a Treatise of piety,' but he was
' very decently interred ' at his nephew's expense, 1
being spent in distributing bread to the poor ' by his
own desire,' and he was ' attended to his grave by a
numerous company of the Neighbourhood,' the bell-
ringers were properly fee'd, and the genteeler guests
provided with wine, so that there is room for hope
that Tom may have been satisfied at last !
Penelope was made to be a spinster, and though
she twice attempted to frustrate Nature's design,
her temperament was never really affected by
marriage. She soon tired of Sir John Osborne's
society, and was not more afflicted than good
manners required, when she was again left a widow.
But as the infirmities of age increased, her thoughts
reverted with some autumnal gleam of tenderness to
the baby-girl she had lost forty years agone. ' After
driving up & down in the streets in my Coch, by
6 or 7 of ye clocke I am at home ; & do find ye
G a 2
452 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
nights so long,' but when she adds ' had God blest
me with a Dau r I had not kept a maid,' her theory
of the uses of a daughter explains the reluctance
with which her niece and namesake accepted Dame
Penelope's invitations. * My lady only wants me
to wash up her old crape and such like work,' Pen
Stewkeley declared. It was Lady Osborne's boast
that she ' had lived a Laborious Life to make a fine
shoe to the world, never to wayst one shilling to giv
my selfe plesur,' and that was not the kind of house-
keeping to make a young relation very comfortable.
Like her sisters, she was skilled in domestic
medicine ; for a cold in the head she mixes ' a like
quantity of White Hellebore root, & nutmeg grated,
to take as you do snuff, it clears the brain ; & bind
conserve of Eeddrosis upon y r eyes layd upon a
cloth prity thick ; ' at other times she recommends
white rose water for the eyes, and a syrup of gilly-
flower cordial. Dame Penelope was 'at home on
Mondays to receive visits & they that please may
play at cards.' The genteel persons who found
their way to her rooms ' on the stairs at Whitehall '
gossiped familiarly about the King and the Queen,
in a way that would have delighted the Cranford
ladies. But some of her grand friends are in queer
straits. ' Her favourite L d Peterboro' [on the brink
of an impeachment] has removed all his things from
his house in the country, even sold all Iron off his
very gates, & puld down his wainscot, & sold it,
nothing remains but the bare walls & windows/
EXEUNT SEVERALLY 453
He, like many others of Penelope's acquaintance,
had followed King James's change of faith, and Nancy
Nicholas writes to Sir Ealph of a curious scene in
Lady Osborne's death chamber. To the consternation
of her relations, the dying woman desired the Coun-
tess of Lindsay, who was standing by the bed, to
get her a priest, and ' for fear of the worst ' Nancy
undertook ' to write afterwards to her Lady p .' ' I
know she is yr particular frend,' she tells Sir Ealph,
* & so I would not willingly disoblidg her, but in
matters of this concern, we cannot be too cautious
wheir soles air concerned.' The letter is curious
enough to be quoted :
' Anne Nicholas to the Countess of Lindsay : ' ' Yr
La p may well wonder at yr receiving these lines from
me, being a quit stranger to you, but this corns in
ye first place to give yr La p thankes for yr great cair
& Kindnes to my neare relation ye La' Osborn,
who I heare in lightheartednes last night desired
yr Lad p to bring her a Prest ; I besech yr Lad p not
to gratify her in this request, not yt I thinke her
capable now to make any judgment of any religion,
but S r Ealph is of a great adg, & I feare such a
shok now might hasten his end. I would have
wated on yr Honnor, w n you had bin at ye Lady
Osborn's but yt my breth wont lett me goe upstairs
& would have told you yt she hasn't nor won't want
ye atendance of ye devins of our Church, for M r
Lankister & one in her own neygborhood doth &
-will atend her.'
454 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Penelope died on the 20th of August 1695, aged
73. Her will is full of bequests to the great ladies
it was her happiness to know ; ' The C tess of Lynsey '
has a silver scollop cup and grater, 'The C tess of
Plymouth a serpentine cup with a silver cover, the
Qtess o f Carnarvon a Silver Toster to toast bread on,
Lady Temple, a Bible with silver clasps & a candle-
stick, Lady Anne Walpole a cup, &c. &c.,' 5/. is
left ' to a schollar from Oxford to preach her funerall
sermon, 1 to the Parson that buries her, 300 to
ye town of Buck the Interest of it for 6 Poore men,
who are to have Green Gownes once in two yeares
with a Badge of her father's Armes, S r E. T. to name
them during his life, & afterwards the Bailiff of
Buck to fill up the Vacancies for Ever.'
All her nieces are remembered, Pen Stewkeley is
appropriately left the clothes she had often helped
to mend ; but the legacies are carefully graduated.
She felt that her silver plate and valuables could
only be given to rich people who would take care of
them ; a pewter vessel, a brass chafing-dish, or a
wooden table were bequests more suited to needy
relatives, and when the poor parson's widow, Betty
Adams, was reached, Nancy tells Sir Ealph that she
is left ' Y r picture & much lumber.' c She died as she
lived, I will say no more.'
One person alone had seen a more genial side
of her character ; Penelope wrote in old age,
' from my childhood I have loved my Brother Harry
Verney, out of my narrow fortun I supplied him w th
EXEUNT SEVERALLY
455
money & wanted myselfe ; severall yers before he
died I was his nurs, & this return he maid me that
(if 'Son of5lEDMUND\
K -Stanclarel Beam: at EJge hiflLBatteU)
vho fait HfuUy jSi rved KD*T CHAJU "
tnm wri aeparted this life, tnj
ycart of Ku age. of our f
To wkpfe memory lliu Monument
Ere ctt d aty cha^je of hu Lovajj- ^Slftc
fiirty wif of IOHN DENTON of FAS
m OXFORD-IHE EKf}by wfcom She Kd
one ion JC two daugjiters. who all dyi '
K&KEi^We of jS*loHN OsKJRNLlV^a
^Sbnof ^RICHARD OSBORNE KK Bnron?o
Knocumone Qftle inyGnty of \Xtterfcri
tn y Ktnoaome of Irelind
_ j 20* day of ^
Ayd 73 years
he truly loved me ... I dare say no more upon
this subject. I find it puts me to a sort of illness. . . .
456 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
To my Deare brother's memory I have maid this
thome ... & all thorns dos make appere ye honer
of our family & Adorns ye Church.' She was laid
beside him in the vault at Middle Claydon, and her
name added to c the An scription ' on the monu-
ment. Her arms occupy the centre of the shield,
and those of her two husbands are in subordinate
places ; typical of the lady who, though she kindly
consented to bear the names of Denton and Osborne,
was first and last and always a Verney of Claydon.
Cary Lady Gardiner, quick-witted and warm-
hearted, was no one's enemy but her own, and if
she lost money as fast as her sister hoarded it, she
was rich in the affection that Penelope had never
known how to win. At Claydon she and her girls
were special favourites. Penelope (Viccors) and
Kitty (Ogle) were married. Her blind daughter
Margaret Gardiner lived with her, ' very sad to be
quite dark.' Cary lived chiefly at East Claydon,
Carolina and Isabella w r ere at home. Her step-
daughter Ursula, with all her madcap friends never
seems to have found a mate. Cary Gardiner died
at Islington, September 2, 1704, and was buried
* at Bray in Berks in a vault by her last husband.'
Of Sir Ealph's younger sister, Mary Lloyd, very
little has come down to us, though the fact of her
monument being in Chester Cathedral seems to
imply that she was in easier circumstances in her
latter years. From John Verney 's pocket-book we
learn that her children were Humphrey (b. 1657,
EXEUNT SEVERALLY 457
d. 1715), Verney (b. 1670), Mary (b. 1666), and
Ruth (b. , d. 1725). Mary Lloyd died in 1684 ; her
husband survived till 1695. There is a letter to
Lady Gardiner from ' Ensign Verney Lloyd in Col.
Beaumont's Keg* at M r James, at The Three Herrings
in little Lombard Street London.' He is twenty-two
years of age, and has been serving ' under the D.
of Leinster's command in Flanders, fortifying
Dixmunde ; the King has called us over to England,
where we expect (as the Eldest Reg*) to do duty in
the Tower. 'Tis thought that 10 companies belonging
to our Reg* is cast away in the last great storme. . . .
Had I Sir Ralphe's Countenance I neede not question
a Company, for I daily see it that nothing but friends
does the businesse, and upon the least Countenance
in the world I should be advanced, for the colonell
hath a great kindness for me.' Col. Beaumont is
Governor of Dover ; John Verney meets him at Sir
Francis Lawley's.
Sir Ralph was glad to use his influence for a
nephew who did him so much credit, and his
letters show that Capt. Verney Lloyd kept up in-
timate relations with his mother's family. In 1704
Ruth Lloyd has taken a place as a waiting-gentle-
woman, ' but has hir health so ill in sarves ' that
unless both her brothers help her, ' she cannot tell
how to live.' Her sister Mary visits at Claydon in
1706, and is a friend of John's daughters. Capt.
Verney Lloyd married Anne Gery, his daughter
Elizabeth Lloyd married John Jackson, a solicitor, the
458 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
secretary and intimate friend of the 4th Duke of Leeds.
Many of his descendants were distinguished in the
Church, and in various branches of the public service,
and several members of the Jackson and Warren fami-
lies still trace their descent from Sir Edmund Verney
the Standard-bearer, through his daughter Mary
Lloyd.
Elizabeth Adams, after the death of the Eev d
Charles Adams in 1683, ' seeking sum good plas to
lay my grey head in,' settles herself in London ; her
daughters Margaret and Isabella are more popular
than Betty had been as a girl, and are in great
request. Betty still enjoys a good grumble ; ' old &
poor peopell,' she says, ' must expect slits from all
sorts,' and she fails not to look out for them. She
died December 27, 1721.
Dr. Denton's life, prolonged to the age of eighty-
six, was vigorous and fruitful to the end. In
middle life he had been more of a Eoyalist than
Sir Ealph ever was, but so heartily did he approve
of the Eevolution, that one of his last literary
efforts was a work, 'Jus Eegiminis,' dedicated to
William III., vindicating the King's position and the
May 9, action of the English people. In 1691 Sir Ealph
hurried up from Claydon on the news of the doctor's
illness, and as they were together we have no account
of his last hours only a crumb of gossip that Sir
Eichard Temple failed to appear after his cousin's
death, in all the ' blacks ' he was in duty bound to
wear. The doctor himself would have justified Sir
EXEUNT SEVERALLY 459
Eichard. His very epitaph in Hillesden Church has
the joyful note which was so conspicuous in his life :
4 He was blessed with that happy composition of Body
& mind that preserved him chearfull, easy & agreeable
to the last, & endeared him to all that knew him.'
When we return to the White House there are
great reforms ; young Edmund, with Sir Ealph's
advice, is getting the estate into order, and making
a happy home for Molly. The brother and sister
are very attractive figures ; they are much attached
to each other, and full of promise, when in the spring
of 1690, Edmund sickened of a fever in town, and
though devotedly nursed by Lady Gardiner and her
daughters, and attended by a crowd of eminent
doctors, ' as industrious to save him, as if he were a
king,' he succumbed to it in a few days, before he
had completed his twenty-second year. Life was
very bright to him, full of hopes and ambitions, and
he wanted to live, but to the comfort of his family
he made a pious end, praying for his grandfather,
and grateful for all the love that surrounded him,
' and many good things he said, but tis no wonder to
see a man as has lived well, dy well.'
Once more a little fatherless girl is the heiress of
the White House and of the manor of East Claydon.
Molly's trouble is so great that Lady Gardiner is
quite anxious about her; she thinks much of her
father, who was * most tender & loving to me & I
being grown up to be A companyon to my last
brother makes his loss very bitter to me.' She is a
460 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
tall slight girl of fifteen, and the sense she has sud-
denly acquired of being ' grown up,' makes her resent
her grandfather's orders that her mourning should
be ' as little & as cheap as possible, seeing she grows
apace.' She writes her own protest to Sir Ealph ;
she would have a cloth gown as Mrs. Mary Gardiner
March 4, h as for her sister. ' I know my morning will cost a
1690 J
good deall of mony, but I beleve you wod have me
morn hansomly for so deare a brother, and since
ther is none left but myself to morn for him, and I
beg that I may have a tipit bought me, since every
gentellwoman has one as makes any show in the
world, it will cost 5 at least and my lady Gardiner
is unwilling to by it till she has orders from you, but
I hope if I do gett one you will not be angery.'
Sir Ealph is touched by the child's sorrow and
sudden assertion of dignity, and replies very kindly :
March 9, ' I cannot blame you for being so much concerned
1690
for the death of soe good a Brother, the loss being
Generally great to all his ffriends & Eelations, I
pray God to Sanctify this Affliction to us, that wee
may make good use of it. Since you desire Cloth
for Mourning, I will not be against it, And I hope
you will weare it with the more care & make it last
the handsomer & the longer. I perceive you are
very desirous to have a Tippet, though it will cost
Five pounds, I am contented that you should have a
very good one, though it should cost Five or Six
pounds, and I pray tell my sister Gardiner soe : Child
you see how desirous I am to please you, and I doubt
EXEUNT SEVERALLY 461
not but you will be as willing to please mee in all
things which I shall desire of you, which will be a
great satisfaction and comfort to me.' The tippet is
highly approved of, and Lady Gardiner is doing her
best to persuade Molly to eat, ' for her dyat is not as
others ; I take all the care I can of her, as the only
relleck of yr eldest son.'
When she is settled again at East Claydon, the
girl finds her home dull and sad, and the great
difference in age between herself and Gary Stewkeley
makes Gary, after Mun's death, the duenna rather
than the companion of her young cousin. Molly
longs for London, where a happy part of her child-
hood was spent, but Sir Ealph dreads for her the
chances of infection, which have proved fatal to both
her brothers. The lonely girl's chief confidante is a
waiting-maid of her mother's, of doubtful discretion.
Sir Ealph hears a report that ' Mr. Dingley, a Divine,
under pretence of wooing the waiting-maid, Kate
Bromfield, carries down a younger brother of quality
with designs on M rs Molly Verney,' and that they are
lying at the lonely old house of Dorton, ' with design
to ride over to East Claydon.' Instead of getting
Molly to stay with him in town, where she might
enjoy the companionship of girls of her own degree,
and quietly dismissing the maid (as a woman would
have done), Sir Ealph, in great anxiety, writes to his
steward Coleman to intervene at this delicate crisis.
The man of affairs accordingly arrives at the
White House, desires the attendance of the ladies,
462 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
unfolds his story, and conveys to them Sir Ealph's
commands that no such guests be received on any
pretext, and that 'Mistress Molly pretend some
excuse & keep her chamber.' Mrs. Gary desired a
copy of the letter ; Mrs. Molly expressed no opinion,
1 only read it & gave it me again & went away.'
But Coleman had an uneasy feeling that he had not
got to the bottom of the matter, for the young lady
' was seen A crying, & I fear by what I can under-
stand that Mrs. Mary Verney may have too much
kindness for M re Brumfield.'
Mary, who is quite capable of ' pretending an
excuse ' when it suits her, without the help of Sir
Ealph or his agent, keeps her own counsel, but a
little later she is much vexed that Sir Ealph will not
allow her to bring Mrs. Bromfield to London as her
attendant. She shall be provided with a maid, and
Mrs. Verney must not be left without Kitty Brom-
field's care ; to which Molly replies promptly that
her former maid Mrs. Norman is now out of place,
and will take care of her mother, to their mutual
satisfaction ; and she thinks her grandfather cannot
be ' unsenceable ' that she would prefer a maid ' that
is used to me, & knows all my ways then any stranger.'
She writes respectfully, but very warmly on the
Jan. 19, subject, excusing her bad writing ' for they are at
Cards about my ears being my birthday, that I can
scare tell what I writ,' a fact proved by her signing
herself ' Yr most dutyfull and obedient Granfather to
command, Mary Verney.'
EXEUNT SEVERALLY 463
After this her marriage becomes a pressing con-
sideration, and as if hearts, like houses, could be let
unfurnished, Sir Ralph is in treaty for her with Mr.
Dormer, a family whose former relations with her
father had never been friendly. Molly submits for
a time, but with increasing distaste ; she complains
equally of Mr. Dormer's attentions, and of the lack
of them. She had seen the ignominious downfall of
passive obedience, the right of private judgment was
in the air, and when authority wished to give her a
lord and master she had grown to detest, she managed
with skill and dexterity a revolution on her own
account. Happily, the man to whom she gave
herself away proved not unworthy, though he came
by his authority in an unconstitutional manner.
Mary disappeared one summer's day from her June 16,
uncle John's house, leaving a startling note behind
her, ' Sir, I have bin for some time marryed to M r
Kelynge & upon his desires am now gone to live with
him att his Mother's (in Fisher St. in Red Lyon Square),
I hope you will excuse my not giveing you notice of
this before as well as my abrupt leaving of your
house, I was in fear of putting you in a passion the
sight of which my temper cannot very well bare.'
The secret had been kept a week. Mary writes more
fully to her grandfather to forgive her for having
' marryed the only parson in the world I thought
capable of making me happy.' He is her equal in
every respect but 'in point of fortune,' and she is
confident 'his personal merits will atone for that
464 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
defect.' Her husband also writes a full account of
himself, with many protestations of his devotion, and
anxiously clears himself of any interested motives in
his clandestine marriage with an heiress under age.
Sir Ealph's indignation is not difficult to realise.
Lady Gardiner, who loved her dearly, writes to
him of Molly's first reappearance in the family after
June 20, her ' stolen maching.' ' Deare Brother, Isterday Mr.
Keeling brought y r grandaughter to mee, wch I
confes was the sadest meeting I ever had with her,
& maid my children stand like mutes being so full of
grife. Bot I told my mind to him fust ; & at last
took corage to spake to her wch I find is highly
afflicted for offending you & begs you will give her
leve to beg her pardon on her knees of you for
marying without yr consent ; ' but the little bride feels
the joy of having jilted Mr. Dormer to be very
supporting nevertheless.
Sir Ealph was not easily appeased. He had
been kind and generous to his granddaughter, and
could not understand how much courage the girl
needed to be frank with him. Her uncle John
interceded for her, and Eachel Lady Eussell, now
rapidly becoming ' stark blind,' longed to make peace
for little Molly, when her friend, Lady Gardiner, told
her all about it. The latter writes to Sir Ealph :
June is, ' My Lady Eossel told me isterday that my Lord
Soffolks daughter was lately marryed much wors,
for she has marryed A vally de shamber, so said, yr
grandaughter had not dishonrd herselfe only brought
EXEUNT SEVERALLY 465
herself to live meanly, therefore hoped you wod
pardon her, & not make it so great a Consarn to you
as to predygiss yr helth & much more to this purpos.
And I beg of you to take this advice from her as
well as from mee, to make the best of what is past
recovery, & wish I could heare shee had bin to beg
yr pardon, who I dare say cannot think herselfe
hapy till shee has it, but know her temper is so shy,
as that shee never could speak her mind to you, wch
has bin one of her great failings.'
Sir Ealph held out even against Lady Eussell's
advice, but he was pursued by affectionate letters
from the culprits. If he had a cold, Mr. Keeling's
servant appeared with letters of respectful inquiry ;
as soon as he was said to be better, they each wrote
to congratulate him. The bride appealed to him ' to
recall your wonted affection towards me, & S r lett it
not offend you that nothing but the want of your
blessing can make me uneasie for otherwise I am
perfectly happy.' Her husband was a gentleman by
birth and breeding; he 'was the son of Sir John
Kelyng Serg* at Law/ and grandson of Sir John
Keeling, Chief Justice of the King's Bench, who died in
1671. His sister Martha was the second wife of Sir
John Osborne of Chicksands, Dorothy Osborne's
brother; and Mary Keeling and her husband pay
long visits to ' Brother & Sister Osborne ' in the
home so well known to us from Dorothy's letters.
Another time John Keeling is carrying his wife
down to Knebworth to his brother-in-law Sir Win.
VOL. IV. H H
466
Lytton's, where they stay a fortnight, and Mary is
July 19, ' very well and Merry,' she writes to Sir Ealph. ' I
1693 .
have been received with the greatest civility by all
my husband's relations imaginable & he, except in
fortune, hath all the good qualifications you could
have wished for me in a husband to render me
completely happy. ... I cannot live in your dis-
pleasure & unless you design the breaking of my
heart for an atonement I beg of you Sir no longer to
defer your blessing.' John Keeling's ' endeavours
for a reconciliation ' continue to be ' restless in pursuit
of it.' Sir Ealph yields at last, and Mary's short mar-
ried life seems to have been very happy. They visit
some of her old neighbours in 1695, Mrs. Duncombe
at East Clay don and Mrs. Butterfield at the Eectory,
travelling with a man and maid, ' on single horses.'
Feb. 10, Mary Keeling died in the spring of 1696, after
giving birth to a daughter, also christened Mary, to
whom Sir Ealph was godfather. For some weeks it
seemed as if the baby would be spared, but ' Miss
Keeling,' as the little mite is styled in the letters,
died in May the last of her race. Mary Verney,
the widow, was in one of the long silent fits
which often succeeded her hysterical attacks, when
Gary Stewkeley told her of the death of ' Miss ' as
she always called her daughter. ' She said not a
word, but her eyes filled with tears, & I think that
she understood.' At times her mind seemed to wake
up again; she would ask for needlework, and be
very busy over it ; she would send her love and duty
EXEUNT SEVERALLY 467
to Sir Ralph, and thanks for the improvements he
had been making in her garden.
Mary Verney lived on till 1715, having survived
all her descendants, and her faithful steward
* Anthony Dover, Batchelor,' whose whole life was
devoted to her service. The poor people of the
village, whom she loved, continued to cherish her
memory. In the Parish books of East Clay don it is
recorded that 20s. a year are given away ' on the
5th of June being the day of the death of Mrs. Mary
Abell alias Verney, the Great Bell tolling whylst the
money is distributing. . . . She was the Relict of
Edmund Yerney Esq re . . . who for several years,
XXX, was very Melancholy, during her husband's
life ... & continued soe 27 years after his decease,
Lady of this Manor ; and notwithstanding her lunacy
shee was a Woman of Extraordinary Goodness,
Piety & Devotion. She departed this life in the 74th
year of her age.'
Her property, which had been the subject of so
much scheming, reverted to the Abel family, but
in 1726 William Abel sold it to Ralph Verney, 2nd
Vise* Fermanagh, for 25,800
In 1692 John Verney makes his family very
happy by his second marriage with ' Mary, one of the
daughters of the Hon ble Sir Francis Lawley, Baronet,
of St. Powell, Shropshire, Master of H. M. Jewel-
office,' and of Anne Whitmore his wife. Mary
was a tall, dignified woman, aged thirty-one, of a
gracious presence, and the mode in which her
H H 2
468 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
black hair towered above her forehead made her
statelier still. John presents her with a breast jewel
worth about 100Z. : ' Diamonds are cheaper than
they were a dozen years ago, I design to buy her
another toy of 50 after marriage in what she likes
best.' He gives her a set of ' Dressing table plate,
& brushes & a looking glass ; she said her Mother
designed her such a thing but now she would have
it in somewhat else. ... I have put side glasses to
my Coach, & taken off the redd Tassels from my
harnesss & put on White ones & also white trappings
on ye bridles & made new Liveries for my Serv ts , the
Arms I will alter shortly by putting her Coate with
mine.' It is suggested that they should be married
privately at the Abbey ' after Morning service on
Sunday wch ends at 11 a'clock ; her mother saith
that as the Quire is the publickest so it is the
privatest place ; but as the Doores are all of open
wainscote soe that people may look in at any time,
& you know it is a thorowfare, I do not admire my
Ly. Lawley's contrivance of privacy, but I said
nothing.'
July 13, ' As to my marriage,' he writes again to his
1692 .
father, ' Sunday being a Sacrament Day it seems it
could not be at St. James', unless we could have come
by 6 in the morn g , for there being Prayers at 7, some
are allways from that time in the Chappell, & there-
fore wee were marryed at West r in Harry the 7 th 's
Chap 1 . . . my Wife desires her humble duty to
you, if she were here she w d write to you herself . . .
'i /< < '
'/
EXEUNT SEVERALLY 469
for she is an Extraordinary sweet natured woman.'
The letters of congratulation are pleasant reading.
The bride's aunt, Lady Whitinore, is ' shure, if M.
Verney be not happie in a Wife, I shall beleeve it
his fault & so I shall tell him when I am Aquanted
with him, as I now desire to be, he being yours ; '
her brother, Tom Lawley, writes to her with extreme
affection ; and the Palmers put sad memories aside,
to give John's wife a kindly welcome.
Dame Penelope prides herself that she made ' the Jaiy 19,
1692
first motion of this marrig, I dare answer for the
Bride y* she will be very kind to the childering for
that I have always told her.' ' Ye more I se y r
daughter so much ye more I like her,' Nancy writes
to Sir Ealph, ' & insted of my advising of her I thinke
myself fitt to receve advis from her ; w n all y e family
did din w th us & we again at Whit Hall we wanted
nothing nor nobody but y r self to complet y e Weding
solemnity, but we often drank y r health & hartily
wished you w th us.'
There is much interchange of hospitalities, and it
is the wonder of both families how with so small a
park Sir Ealph can furnish them all with so much
venison.
John has a negro page, who waits upon his wife ;
he is described, when he is first brought to Middle
Claydon, as ' a Moor of Guinea of about six years
of age.' His baptism (October 6, 1689) is entered
in the Parish Eegister ; the little black boy's gossips
were 'his Master M r John Verney,' and the party
470 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
from the White House, ' Edmund and Molly Verney
& Gary Stewkeley ; ' he was named Peregrine Tyam.
He appears in the background of Mrs. John Yerney's
picture, and on September 14, 1707, there is an entry
of his burial at Claydon. My Lady Latimer has
' a dwarf ' in her household at this time ; it was one
of the fashions of the day that fair Englishwomen
should be served by such uncouth pages.
Sept. 20, There is a bright little letter from Mrs. John
1693
Verney to Sir Ealph, thanking him for a happy visit
with her husband and his children to Claydon ; ' My
father and mother send thare sarves, they have bin
to give joy to Sir Marten Beckman y* is new maried,
he is 67 & his bride 60, this increases my feare of
a mother in law, but nothing shall make me remane
les then
1 Yr ever Dutyfull & obedint Dau r & sarvant,
' MARY VERNEY.'
She writes to John at Wasing that ' Bro. Palmer '
has dined with her, ' Cousin Kellin & Cousen Denton '
are with her ; she nurses little Ealph very kindly in
a fever, and wins all hearts in the family circle.
Oct. 1693 John's happiness seems complete when a son is born
to them, to whom his grandfathers and Lady
Whitmore stand sponsors, and then the child dies,
and Mary falls a victim to smallpox when she is
expecting for the second time to become a mother.
Her husband sums up the story on her monument.
' She had one son named John who dyed within the
year, and lyeth with her in the vault within the
EXEUNT SEVERALLY 471
Chancell [at Middle Claydon]. She departed this
life on the 24th Aug. 1694 aged 33 years.'
John succeeded as second Baronet, and was raised
to the peerage of Ireland in 1703 as Baron Verney
of Belturbet and Viscount Fermanagh. His children
by Elizabeth Palmer all lived to maturity. Ealph
his heir was created Earl Verney in 1742, & married
Catherine Paschall; his eldest son John married
Mary Nicholson and died in his father's lifetime,
leaving a posthumous daughter Mary ; his second
son Ealph succeeded as second Earl Verney, married
Mary Herring, built the large rooms and the stair-
case at Claydon and died childless ; his niece Mary
succeeded him, was created Baroness Fermanagh,
died unmarried and left her estates to her half sister,
Catherine Nicholson, who took the name of Verney
and bequeathed Claydon in 1827 to her cousin, Sir
Harry Calvert, Bart., who in his turn assumed the
old family name of Verney. John Verney's eldest
daughter Elizabeth died unmarried, leaving a chari-
table endowment, still benefiting the Claydon villages
under a new scheme. Mary married Col. John
Lovett ; her children died without issue. Margaret
married Sir Thomas Cave ; her great-granddaughter,
Sarah Otway Cave, established her claim to the
dormant Barony of Bray, which had passed to the
Verneys by the marriage of Elizabeth Bray to Sir
Ealph Verney in the time of Henry VIII. The
present Lord Bray, fifth Baron, is therefore Sir Ealph
Verney's lineal descendant.
472 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
It will be seen by this review of the family
history, that Sir Ralph was paying the penalty of
protracted life ; he had outlived almost all his con-
temporaries. Two infirm widows, Gary Gardiner
and Betty Adams, alone remained of the large circle
of brothers and sisters except Tom, who could
scarcely be said to belong to it. His old friends and
correspondents, Dr. Denton and Sir Eoger Burgoyne,
Sir Nathaniel and Lady Hobart, Doll Leeke and Dame
Vere Gawdy, had entered into rest. The Great
Rebellion, the Restoration, the Revolution, in all of
which he had played his part, had become matters
of history. Having thrown himself with much zest
into the work of the Convention Parliament, he
expected to be re-elected for Buckingham in February
1690, but that inveterate schemer Sir Richard Temple
had secretly taken measures to secure the two seats
for himself and for Alexander Denton, whose share
in the transaction was as little creditable. There
was an outburst of indignation in the family, but Sir
Ralph saved the situation by his magnanimity.
With gentle dignity he reminded his godson and his
old colleague that it was needless to intrigue against
a man who had no private interests to serve, and
was ready to retire whenever the borough found a
worthier representative. He had the satisfaction of
feeling that he had left Buckingham the better for
his long political connection with it. He had, as
Mr. Butterfield writes, ' erected a lasting monument
of his munificence ' in the town hall (often promised
EXEUNT SEVEEALLY 473
by rival candidates, and forgotten when the elections
were over), c built about 1685 at the expense of Sir
Ealph Verney.' The borough was in good humour, for July 17,
1692
the long vexed question of the locality of the Assizes
had been settled in its favour. 'The Bailifle & 2
Burgesses of Buckingham have been att London to
give the Queene thankes for the Assizes, & have kist
her Majestie's hand, & are come down with great
joy beyond expression.'
Sir Ealph keeps up his interest in public affairs,
and rejoices at the victorious conclusion of King
William's Irish campaigns. ' Such joy was never Oct. is,
seen in town since K. Charles came in, for in all
streets & alleys it was so light that you might have
pickt up a pin in the streets, with bonfires & lights
in rows in the windows as was set as thick as they
could stand.' Sir Ealph finds ample occupation in
his retirement, and is as hospitable as ever. 'No
doubt but you are always full of companey,' writes
a grateful relation. 'Who would not be glad to
come to Middle Claydon when Sir Eaph Verney is
there ? We would make the Kingdom happy if we
could plant persons of y r compassionate humor to
help us poor mortals, y* cannot help ourselves.'
Sir Ealph spent the spring of 1696 in town; he
was racked with a cough, which the east winds
increased even when he kept ' close at home,' and
the ' dryed walnuts,' which he took medicinally, do
not sound like a comforting remedy.
His lean figure was worn to a shadow, and he
474 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
suffered from many infirmities of old age without
being mastered by them ; the letters he dictated
were clear and precise as of old ; his head was as
sound and his heart as kind as ever.
In the early summer Sir Ealph made the last of
his many journeys from London to Claydon. It was
an inclement season, 'the ordinary sort of people
find it as cold as in winter,' yet the relations hear
with horror that Sir Ealph has had made for himself
' a bathing tob.' He revives a little with the satisfac-
tion of finding himself at home again, he gets into
the Fir Tree Walk in the warmest hours of the day,
and 4 on all faire days he goes out in the Coach to
take the aire.'
The faithful old sisters, who are in ' drooping
spirits,' long to nurse him, but do not like to propose
a visit unasked ; Sir Ealph is never lonely at Claydon,
he sees Coleman daily about the farms, and keeps up
a brave show of transacting his ordinary business.
It is suggested to him, however, that a favourite
niece, Margaret Adams, has been ill, and would be
benefited by country air ; Sir Ealph gladly asks her
to Claydon, and she never leaves him again. His
other niece, Cary Stewkeley, is still living at the
White House, having been asked by the Abells to
continue her care of Mary Verney, and so the cousins
meet daily.
The gentle maiden ladies, who had already reached
middle life, were welcomed as young girls in so
venerable a household, and got on admirably with
stivn, a, Aeun/J ng ftS
' ' &
EXEUNT SEVERALLY 475
Sir Ealph and his old servants. They shared in
Mrs. Lillie's disappointment when her master sent
down her savoury meats untasted; they did their
best to help the faithful Hodges when he strove to
confine Sir Ealph within the paths of prudence, and
kept John Verney constantly informed of his father's
condition.
The twice widowed John, Sir Ealph's heir, was
again courting a wife, Elizabeth Baker, the daughter
of one of his rich City friends. Her good sense and
sweet temper had made a pleasant impression on the
older members of the family. Less well-born and well-
bred than Mary Lawley, she had stronger health and
she proved herself a good wife and kind stepmother
in later years. John came down to Claydon at
intervals with ' Little Master ; ' ' the sight of you &
your child did much to revive Sir Ealph,' the cousins
write, but John was busy with the settlements, meet-
ing Alderman Baker, and attending upon ' the young
gentlewoman,' who sent Sir Ealph her humble service.
Sir Ealph, unselfish as ever, would not hear of John's
leaving 'his mistresse till your occasions which I
know are great be over.' He writes in much detail
about his son's marriage, corresponds with John's
little daughter Mary, and only makes the briefest
allusions to his own failing health. Gary Gardiner
recommends many herbs and drugs, and prescribes
fomentations for his swollen leg, but Sir Ealph does
not wish to be fussed over. When Peg Adams wants
him to leave off his asses' milk, he only retorts upon
476 VERNE? FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
his nurse that she herself drinks much more whey than
is good for her.
Betty Adams, old before her time, yet performs
his commissions with alacrity. ' I am glad you lick
your speting-pot,' she writes, * it is the hansomest I
could get. I shall obey your orders about the
Hucaback.' Sir Ealph continues to send up his
welcome hampers of Claydon delicacies, and desires
the cloths to be returned to him. ' The pig was as
good as one could eat,' writes the grateful Gary.
He still gets to church, though he feels ' as weak
as a two year old child,' and on a Sunday in August
Aug. 11, he has to go out in the midst of Mr. Butterfield's
Ifi96
sermon, forbidding the ladies to disturb themselves.
When they rejoined him he was looking ' most
lamentably,' and they persuaded him to be carried
up to his room in a chair. ' Mrs. Lillie is extream
carfull of him, and gets all those things for him,
which he used to love and will take/
Gary Stewkeley would often bring * her night-
clothes in her pockett,' when her cousin was more
than usually anxious, but Sir Ealph never saw any
reason for her to remain, and was afraid she might
be censured for neglecting her proper charge.
So she returned that Sunday night with a heavy
heart to East Claydon; but when she got back in
the morning Sir Ealph had revived, and the next day
was one to be long and lovingly remembered. Both
ladies wrote a full account of it to John.
' Cousin Denton, Cousin Drake, Mun Woodward,
EXEUNT SEVERALLY 477
and one Mr. Lewsis ' (Lucy ?) had come over to
inquire, and the hospitable old man was delighted to
see them. Peg Adams persuaded him to stay up-
stairs, and the whole company assembled in his
dressing-room. ' He dined at table with us,' Gary
writes, ' and I thought for him he eat a very good
dinner, and he spock as harty as he has done this
twellmonth.' ' Dr. Blackmore desires him to forbear
beer,' writes Peg, and the gentlemen came to her aid
by assuring him ' that wine and water was propperer
for him,' and ' very cheerfully he talked with- them.
He so often changes that I am unwilling to please
myself too much with his amendment, he knows not
of my writing, but told me last night that he would
by no means have you come, until you had Leasure
. . . with much adoe we have got him to have a
little hartening broth made for him,' and he will
sometimes take ' half his porringer full of jelly.'
Sir Ealph has given Hodges some venison for his
friends, which John is asked to send ' to Mr Lovet
Linen Draper at the White Bear in Cornhill, a little
beyond the Exchange ; ' he writes anxiously, ' Sir
my Master I think growes weaker & weaker, & eates
very little at dinner, hee keepes his chamber & lyes
down on his bed a little after his diner, till about six
that he rises to prayer, he gets little sleep in the
night. I watched last night with him & I thought
him fine & pert in the morning, but hee fell off again
in the afternoone as hee doth most Daies.'
There is a break in the letters when John is at
478 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
Claydon ; by the middle of September he is back in
Hatton Gardens, and on the 20th Sir Ealph sends
Sept. 20, him up a hamper, and dictates an admirable business
1 1 ' ' U*
letter. He has sent to Mr. Busby about ' Son
Reeling's bill in Chancery ; ' he acknowledges the
return of ' the Cloth your pigg went in,' and concludes
' for my owne health, I still grow weaker, pray God
bless you and yours.'
It was almost the last effort of the brave spirit
and the failing body, ' he lyes in his bed all the
morning, and upon it all the afternoon,' and ' dus
not now rise from it at night to eat his supper nor
say his prayers.'
Sir Eichard Temple comes over to dine with his
old House of Commons colleague, but finding Sir
Ealph in bed, he goes on to London. Gary Gardiner
prays for him many times a day on her knees, and
her friend, the saintly Lady Eussell, sends him an
affectionate message that she makes it her daily
petition that he may recover. But the prayers of
devout women were no longer to keep the tired old
man from his rest. On the morning of the 24th
Gary Stewkeley found on her arrival that the master
of the house knew not whether she went or stayed,
so to her cousin's great relief she settled herself at
Claydon House and took her share in watching by
the bedside, and in writing the detailed accounts
sent daily to John.
'He lays pretty quiet, but says nothing but
rambling discours nor knows nobody now.' ' All
EXEUNT SEVERALLY 479
his servants are as diligent and careful as possible,
two have watched with him every night.' i Some-
times I think lie may live 2 or 3 days then I think
not so long, God knows all we have now to lose in
him good man, I do so pray for his happy passage
out of this world. I am in so great a consarn I can
hardly tell what I say or do.'
Mr. Butterfield was sent for to recommend his
soul to God.
There was a solemn pause of some hours, and
then a horse was saddled in haste to carry letters to
town. 'My dear Uncle, your good father,' Gary
writes, ' dyed at 12 o'clock this night.' Both ladies
address their letters to Sir John Verney, Baronet,
and while praying that he may bear his loss with
resignation, wish him joy in the same breath of his
new estate and honours.
John sends down orders immediately to Coleman Sept. 26,
about ' the next duty and service that can be per-
formed for my father, which is to have him laid
where he commanded. . . . His body is to be em-
balmed. ... I had thought to invite the neigh-
bouring Gentry to the funerall which I computed to
be about 40 or 50, but this afternoon meeting with
some near relations and opening my Father's sealed-
up will, wee find that he orders to be burried as
privately and with as little pomp as may be, these are
his very words,' and John ' not being able to find a
medium (without giving offence) betwixt a private
burriall and inviting all the neighbouring gentry,'
480 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
decides upon the former and desires his letter to be
read out to the ladies and to Mrs. Lillie. ' Pray give
my service to my kindred and to my friends,' he
writes, ' and have a care of my Deare Father's body.'
He desires that the Hall should be hung with black
baize, ' the entry from the Hall door to the Spicery
door, and the best Court Porch, likewise the Brick
Parlour from top to bottom,' where a dozen chairs
are to be covered with black and the three great
tables.
John's decision was not approved of ; Peg Adams
expressed the general opinion of Claydon when she
wrote, ' I should have thought that a man so generally
known to be loved in the country, it would have
been very decent to have some of the gentry carry
him to his grave,' and Gary Gardiner in her bed ' told
all the clocks from one to six' thinking over her
nephew's interpretation of his father's will ; ' to have
no pomp,' she writes, ' may relate to straingers. . . .
I confes on serious thoughts I think tis best to bury
him publickly, without thos lengths as my brother
may mean pomp.'
Her daughter Gary had remained on a few days
at Claydon House, that she and her cousin might
receive the Sacrament together, on that first Sunday
when they had leisure to realise the greatness of their
loss. She now wrote from East Claydon : ' Let me
know when my deare Uncle is beried that I may
steall out to waight on his body to the grave since
it is so privat.' But all the relations acknowledged
EXEUNT SEVERALLY 481
that there was no want of affection on John's part,
1 no child dus more lament for a father than he does,'
and when ' he went out of town to attend his father
to his grave with all the children,' Gary Gardiner
had no other regret than that she was ' too infirm
to pay him that last love and service, who loved him
as the best of brothers ought to be loved . . . and
that must shortly go to him that I beeleave a blest
Saint in Heaven.'
It was a cold, wet autumn' day when the family
gathered round the vault in Middle Claydon Church ;
the neighbours, rich and poor, waited not for an
invitation to show respect to their old friend. ' The
rooms looked very handsomly, though the Heavens
wept with all his relations at his funeral.' ' You had Oct. 13,
1696
so much mob,' writes Nancy Nicholas, ' what would
it have been had it been otherwais, [than private]
Ye King was last Sunday at Whitehall Chapl, tis the
first time since the Queen dyed, and I was told by
one that was their he looked full of trouble and
concern.'
' I thank God that we all got home without any Oct 12,
accident,' writes Gary to John from East Claydon
after the funeral, ' but all one side of me was as wet
as if I had been abroad, for it was so dark we durst
not put up the glass, and the wind and the rain did
beat so in, and indeed I have taken a cold and have
been ill ever since.'
******
VOL. IV. I I
482 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
When, in after years, a master-hand drew the
picture of an old English squire, the 4 Co verley Papers '
furnished ' so living a likeness of the man, and en-
deared him to their readers to such a point, that his
death had at last to be announced with all the circum-
stances of an overpowering affliction. " I question
not," says Addison, " but that my readers themselves
will be troubled at the hearing of it." :
After sharing the vicissitudes of Sir Ealph's long
life, in the ' Verney Letters,' it is impossible to stand
by his grave without a kindred feeling of regret.
Two hundred years have elapsed since that stormy
October day when he was laid to rest, but Claydon
still has kept his memory green, and we would part
from him with some comfortable words, written
while Sir Ealph Verney was yet a boy :
4 But above all, beleeve it, the sweetest Canticle
is, Nunc dimittis, when a Man hath obtained worthy
Ends. . . . Death has this also, That it openeth the
Gate to good Fame.'
INDEX OF NAMES
ABDY, Sir John, 2nd Bart., of
Albins, 110, 423
Abdy, Jane (Nicholas), wife of
Sir John, 110, 423-24, 447
Abdy, Sir Robert, 3rd Bart., 110
Abell, Anne (Wakering), Mrs., 2
Abell, Mary, Mrs., 4, 17-18, 29,
43, 47, 51, 64, 81
Abell, Richard, 14, 16, 474
Abell, Thomas, 2
Abell, William, Master of the
Vintners' Company, 1, 5
Abell, William, junior, 1-6, 14, 16,
213
Abell, William, 467
Abercrombie, Jaconiah, 184-86
Abercrombie, Susan (Denton),
Mrs., 91, 109, 184
Abingdon, Eleanor (Lee), 1st wife
of 1st Earl of, 243, 270
Abingdon, James Bertie, Baron
Norreys and 1st Earl of, 243,
270, 350, 425-26, 444
Adams, Rev. Charles, Rector of
Great Baddow, 34, 37, 98, 131,
458
Adams, Elizabeth (Verney), wife
of Rev. Charles, destitute of a
habitation, 19; deeply in debt,
19 ; at Mrs. Henderson's school,
20-21 ; in need of a husband,
20 ; inability to dress her hair,
20; settles in London, 21-22;
her ' stolen matching,' 33 ;
family indignation, 34 ; ' Adam
and Eve ' in search of a living,
38, 98 ; has a child, 98 ; de-
scribes the Plague, 124, 130;
settles in London, poor and a
widow, 343, 454, 458, 472, 476 ;
her daughters, and her death,
181, 458
Adams, children of Charles and
Elizabeth
Infant boy, 98
Margaret, 130, 424, 458, 474-75,
477, 480
Isabella, 424, 458
Adams, Rev. Dr., of Lincoln Col-
lege, 360
Albemarle, George Monk, 1st
Duke of, 140-42, 196-98
Albemarle (Anne Clarges), wife
of 1st Duke of, 198
Albemarle, Christopher Monk, 2nd
Duke of, 197-98, 414
Albemarle (Lady Elizabeth Caven-
dish), wife of 2nd Duke of, 198
Aldredd, or Alured, Lieut., 185-
86
Aldworth, Rev. Dr., 402
Aleppo, ch. v.; 23, 146-60, 257,
268
Allibone, Sir Richard, judge, 429
Almond, Rev. Charles, Rector of
Thornton, 216
Almont, Roger, Vice-President of
Trinity College, Oxford, 386-87
Alstone, Sir Edward, 12
Anderson, ' Mr.,' 329
Andrewes, ' Ned,' 189
Andrews, Sir Henry, Bart., of
Lathbury, 189, 238
Anne, Princess, afterwards Queen,
236, 261, 270, 444
Aris, Simon, 362
II 2
484 VEKNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
AEL
Arlington, Henry Bennett, Earl of,
196
Armstrong, Sir Thomas, 229
Arnold, Anne (Birt), Mrs., 396
Ash, an officer, 415
Ash, Lady, nee Harrington, 415,
431
Ashburnham, John, 289
Atkyns, Sir Edward, Chief Baron,
29
Atterbury, Alderman, 329, 347
Aylesbury, 5, 125, 195,237-38,252,
288, 325-26, 328, 333-37, 339,
352, 397
Ayscough, Sir "William, Bart., 7 n.
pACKHOUSE, John, 12
_D Backwell, Alderman, 271
Baker, Alderman Daniel, 475
Baker, Mrs. Hannah, 303
Baker^ Wm., 831
Ball, Mr., a nurseryman, 76
Balouck, a barrister, 429
Baltinglass, Anne (Temple) , widow
of T. Roper, Viscount, 189
Banks, Rev., 422
Barberini, Abbot, 433
Barnwell, Mr., of Aylesbury, 325
Bartley, Lady, 40
Bartley, Mrs., 341
Bate, Rev. Dr., 7
Bates, Dr. George, M.D., 54-56,
61-62
Bath, Joan (Wych), wife of J.
GranviUe, 1st Earl of, 230
Bath and Wells, Thomas Ken,
Bishop of, 358
Bathurst, Ralph D. M., President
of Trinity CoUege, Oxford, 378,
391
Battiscombe, Mr., 246
Baxter, Richard, a nonconformist,
345
Beaumont, Colonel, 457
Beaumont, Sir Thomas, 118
Beaumont, Lady, 118, 123
Beckman, Sir Martin, Kt., 470
Beckman (Mrs. Ruth Mudd,
widow), wife of Sir Martin, 470
Bedford, William Russell, 5th Earl,
afterwards 1st Duke of, 412
Bellinger, Captain, 415
Bennett, Sir Humphrey, 84
Bennett, Monsieur, servant to Sir
Richard Temple, 328
Berger, , a French barber,
399
Berkeley, Lord George, 269
Berkeley, Sir William, 33, 215
Bertie, Captain, 354
Bertie, Honble. Philip, son of
Robert, Earl of Lindsay, 361
Bess, a maid, 60, 63, 70
Bestney, Cousin, 176
Betuel, Frater Bernardtis, 152
Bird, Sir Thomas, 30
Birt, John, 211
Bishop, Mrs. (Backhouse), 12, 14
Bishops, the Seven, 345. 428-31
Blackmore, , M.D., 477
Blackwell, Rev. Samuel, Vicar of
Bicester, 216-17, 220
Blagrave, Mr., 20
Blarkes, Captain, 165
Bludworth, Sir Thomas, 139, 146,
257, 336
Bludworth, son of Sir Thomas,
160, 257
Bolton, Frances, 21
Bond, Sir Henry, 447
Brackley, Viscount; sec Bridge -
water, 3rd Earl of
Bramston, Francis. Serjeant,
afterwards Judge, 308
Bramston, Sir John, 308-309, 312,
423
Bramston, Sir Mandivile, 308
Bramston, Sir Moundeford, 311
Bray, Sarah Otway - Cave,
Baroness, 471
Bray, Alfred T. T. Verney-Cave,
5th Baron, 471
Brian, Lord, 238
Bridgeman, Sir Orlando, Bart.,
Lord Keeper, 14
Bridgewater, John Egerton, 2nd
Earl of, 335
Bridgewater, Lady Elizabeth
(Cavendish), wife of 2nd Earl
of, 335
Bridgewater, John Egerton, Vis-
count Brackley, 3rd Earl of,
334, 336-37, 351, 425, 448
INDEX OF NAMES
485
BRI
Britton, John, 303
Bromfield, Kate, a waiting-maid,
461-62
Brown, Miss, 20
Buckingham, George Villiers, 2nd
Duke of, 196, 284
Buckingham, town of, 2, 14, 30,
124, 183, 238, 252, 315, 321-24,
327, 328, 332, 334, 335-37, 339,
343-45, 347-48, 353-57, 431,
445, 454, 472-73
Buckley, Philip, a coachman, 420
Budd, Valentine, a servant, 286-
87, 436
Burdett, Alderman, 2nd son of,
257
Burghness, John, 394
Burgoyne, Sir Roger, 2nd Bart.,
30, 117, 119, 131, 133, 183,204-
206, 233-35, 285, 383, 472
Burgoyne, Anne Robinson, 2nd
wife of Sir Roger, 204, 206, 235
Burgoyne, John, Sir Roger's
brother, 205
Burgoyne, Sir John, 3rd Bart.,
234-35, 383
Burgoyne, Constance (Lucy of
Charlecote), wife of Sir John,
234
Burke, Toby, alias Faulkner, 308
Burrage, 229, 290
Burrell, Mr., 217
Bury, Sir John, 429
Busby, Sir John, Kt., of Adding-
ton, 75-76, 81, 171, 189, 214,
238-39, 323, 329-30, 347, -351,
425-26, 435-36
Busby, Mary (Dormer), 2nd
wife of Sir John, 81, 189, 435
Busby, Katherine, 435
Busby, ' Mr.,' 478
Busby, Richard, D.D., 426
Busby, Miss, daughter of Joseph,
23
Busby, Abigail (Gore, wife of
Robert), 80
Busby, Miss (of Hogston), 81
Butcher, Tom, a servant, 437
Butterfield, Rev. Ed., Rector of
Middle Claydon, 5, 15, 17-18,
22-28, 34, 37, 43-44, 50, 85,
93, 133, 171, 211
CHE
Butterfield, John, 362
Butterfield, Miss, daughter of
Rev. Ed., 81
Butterfield, Rev. William, Rector
of Middle Claydon, 211-12,
318, 335, 387, 407, 409, 421, 472,
476, 479
Butterfield, Sarah (Lovett), wife
of Rev. William, 211-12, 466
CAREW, wife of, 311
Carnarvon, Charles Dormer,
2nd Earl of, 354
Carnarvon (Lady Marie Bertie),
2nd wife of 2nd Earl of, 454
Carter, a tipstaff, 344
Cartwright, grandson of Sir
George, 225
Cartwright, Lady Grace (Gren-
ville), his wife, 225
Gary, John, 127-28, 243-45, 371,
448
Castlehaven, Lord, 320
Castlemaine, Lady, 202
Catherine of Braganza, Queen,
13, 32, 187, 258, 263, 270, 432-
33
Cave, Sir Thomas, 3rd Bart.,
133-34, 471
Cave, Margaret (Verney), wife of
Sir Thomas, 133-34, 471
Cave, Sarah, Mrs. Otway ; see
Bray
Cavendish, Lord ; see Devonshire
Chaloner, Mr. Edward, 80, 178
Chaloner, William, 326
Chamberlayne, Dr., 246
Chambers, Mr., 387
Charles I., 1, 241
Charles II., 5, 6, 9, 10, 31-32, 84,
116, 126, 128, 136, 187, 194,
196, 201, 222, 239, 241, 258, 261,
263, 265-67, 301, 305, 318, 321,
334, 366, 409, 473
Chaworth, Lady Grace (daughter
of Earl of Rutland), wife of 3rd
Viscount, 273
Cheeke, Esq., 309
Chesney, Mr., 329, 332
Chesney, ' the Horse Courser,'
435
486 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
CHO
Choke, Stephen, 17
Churchill, Mr. Joseph, 421
Clarendon, Edward Hyde, 1st
Earl of, 84, 195
Clarendon, Henry Hyde, 2nd
Earl of, 214, 266, 350
Clarke, Mrs., a medicine woman,
65
Clarke, Mrs. Betty, 182
Clarke, Samuel, a nonconformist,
35052
Clarks, Mr., 225, 226
Claver, Mr., of Weedon, 436
Cleveland, Duchess of, 225
Coel, Sir John, 247
Colchester, Lord (Thomas Sav-
age, son of 3rd Earl Rivers), 183
Coleman, John, a steward, 330,
348, 420, 461-62, 474, 479
Colepepper, Thomas, 2nd Baron,
415
Colepepper, Honble. John, after-
wards 3rd Baron, 415
Coleraine, Lord, 12
CoUadon, Dr., 58, 61
Colladon, Sir John, 100-102
Collins, Captain, 310
Compton, Lady Anne, daughter
of 2nd Earl of Northampton, 121
Compton, Lady, daughter-in-law
of 2nd Earl of Northampton, 121
Coney, Mr., 230
Cooke, Captain, 415
Cope, Sir Anthony, 239
Cordell, Thomas, 361
Cornish, Henry, 446
Cornwallis, Sir Frederick, Bart.,
afterwards 1st Baron, 10
Cornwallis, Madam, 312
Cosmo, Grand Duke of Tuscany,
196
Cox, Edward, 124
Cradock, 238
Crisp, Mr., 74
Cull, ' Mr., 1 435
Curzon, Nurse, 168, 437
DANBY, Thomas, 123, 229,
290
Danby, Hon. Margaret (Eure),
DIG
wife of Thomas, 120, 123, 229,
339, 407
Dancer, Alderman, a tanner,
343-45
Daniel, Sheriff, 272
Dartmouth, George Legge, Lord,
357, 415
Dashwood, Samuel, 146, 225
Dawson, Richard, 283-84
Dean, Mr., 230
Deere, John, 451
Denbigh, William Feilding, 1st
Earl of, 319-20
Denton, Alexander, senior, Middle
Temple, 379, 422
Denton, Alexander, of Hillesden,
78, 140-41, 145, 188-89, 267,
270-71, 286, 318, 320, 322,
324-25, 422, 436, 442, 472, 476
Denton, Hester (Harman), wife
of Alexander, 188, 251, 255,
286-87, 315, 318, 371, 422, 470
Denton, Anne, 285
Denton, Arabella, 134
Denton, Delaval, 268
Denton, Dorothy, 94
Denton, Elizabeth, daughter of
Alexander, 251
Denton, John, Squire of Fawler,
30-33, 86
Denton, Penelope (Verney), wife
of John, 30-31, 68, 84, 86-87,
120, 182, 206, 285 ; see Osborne
Denton, William, brother of
John, 31-32
Denton, William, M.D., 7, 37, 40-
42, 51-52, 54, 57-63,92, 104-12,
115, 140, 143, 184, 187, 194, 196,
207, 211, 214, 222, 228-29, 233-
34, 236, 256, 267, 276, 284-86,
332, 334, 359, 361, 373, 424,
428, 439, 445, 458-59, 472
Denton, Katherine, wife of Dr.
William, 109, 211, 285
Desborough, John, Colonel, 4
Devonshire, William Cavendish,
4th Earl, afterwards 1st Duke
of, 230, 332, 416
Devonshire, Lady Mary (Butler) ,
wife of 4th Earl of, 275
Dick, a servant, 63, 214
Dickenson, Mrs., 253
INDEX OF NAMES
487
DIG
Digby, ' Mr. Kenelm,' 8, 432
Digby, (probably) John, of Got-
hurst, Bucks, son of Sir
Kenelm, 187
Dingley, Rev. , 461
Dodd, ' Parson,' 111
Dodington, Jack, 189
Dodwell, Monsieur, 402
Dormer, ' Mr.,' 463-64
Dormer, Kobert, 329
Dormer, Sir Fleetwood, 397-98
Dormer, Sir John, 1st Bart., of
Lee Grange, 69, 72, 163, 188
Dormer, Katherine (Woodward),
mother of Sir John, 408, 436
Dormer, Sir William, 2nd Bart.,
378-79, 387, 408, 436
Dorothy, ' the cook maid,' 381,
437
Dover, Anthony, steward, 172, 173,
217, 387-96, 437, 467
Dover, , Anthony's brother, 396
Drake, Frank, 285, 476
Drake, Mrs., 87
Druse, ' a gladiator,' 238
Dryden, John, 167
Duncombe, Squire, 23, 81, 124,
407, 435
Duncombe, Mrs., 466
Durant, Michael, 74, 207
Duras, Lady ; see Feversham
Durham, Bishop of, John Cosin,
10
Durham, Nathaniel, Lord Crewe,
225
Du Val, Claude, 281
Dwite, alias White, 308
Dyke, Sir Thomas, 423
Dynham, Lady (wife of Sir John),
122
T1DWARDS, a merchant, 161-64
J_J Edwards, , his daughter,
161-64
Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of
Bohemia, 13
Elliott, Captain Thomas, 89, 305-
306
Elmes, Humphrey, 90
Elmes, Sir Thomas, 89-95, 170,
199
FOG
Elmes, Margaret (Verney), wife
of Sir Thomas, 30, 34-35, 40, 44,
61, 71-72, 89-95, 114, 120-24,
133-34, 142, 153, 170
Ely, Francis Turner, Bishop of,
358
Emerson, ' Cuff,' 232
Emery, Rev. Thomas, 125
Ent, Sir George, M.D., 42, 62
Ethersay, Hugh, Mayor of Buck-
ingham, 329, 331, 339, 342, 344,
346-48
Ethersay, his daughter, 331
Ethersay, Jack, an attorney, 331
Eure, Honble. Margaret ; see
Danby
Eure, Honble. Mary ; see Palmes
Eustace, a butcher, 214
Evelyn, John, 120
Everard, , Bart., 3
Exeter, John Cecil, 4th Earl of,
11
FAIRFAX, Captain, 339
Fairfax, Lord, 265
Fall, John, a solicitor, 304, 332,
421, 447
Fane, Sir Francis, K.B., son of
the 1st Earl of Westmoreland,
152
Fane, , his son, 152
Farmer, George, protonotary of
the King's Bench, 39
Fawkes, Guy, 237
Felton, Mrs., 73, 74
Feversham, Louis de Duras, Baron
Duras, 2nd Earl of, 263, 399,
414
Feversham, Lady Mary (Sondes),
wife of 2nd Earl of, 232
Finch, Honble. Leopold William,
son of Earl of Winchelsea,
Warden of All Souls, 402
Finch,Heneage, Solicitor-General,
afterwards Earl of Aylesford,
412, 429
' Fits,' Lady, 275
Fletcher, Captain, R.N., 209, 210
Flower, Sir William, 104
Fogwen, Christopher, a servant,
284
488 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
FOE
Ford, Mr., 105
Fosket, a barber, 192
Foster, Mr., brother of Sir Hum-
phrey, 230
Foulkes, , 101
Frampton, Rev. Robert, 150
Frederick, Thomas, son of a former
Lord Mayor, 224
Frederick, Leonora (Morisco or
Maresco), wife of Thomas, 224
Freeman, Captain William, 415
Freeman, Ralph, 415
Freeman, a bone-setter, 395, 396
Fuller, Mr. and Mrs., 61
Fuller, Thomas, D.D., 286
Fust, Richard, son of Sir Edward,
1st Bart., 82, 146, 152
Fytche, Mary, Mrs., 4 n.
GALE (or Gael), 16, 18-19, 23,
28, 63, 65, 72, 80
Gape, William, apothecary, 31-32,
84, 131, 140, 197, 198, 199
Gape, Mary (Birt) , wife of William,
145
Gardiner, Gary (Verney), wife of
John Stewkeley, her children
and her step-children, 95-97 ;
her remedies for the Plague,
119 ; describes the Plague in
Hampshire, 135-36 ; loses pro-
perty in the Fire of London,
144 ; loses her husband, 273 ;
settles in London, 273 ; much
visiting and card-playing, 273-
80 ; entertains the Verney lads
for James II.'s coronation, 340 ;
tries to arrange a marriage for
young Ralph Verney, 370-72 ;
writes about Edmund's death,
437; visits the White House,
442-43 ; reflections on James II.,
445, 449 ; nurses young Edmund
Verney, 459 ; her tender care of
Molly Verney, and excuses for
her marriage, 461, 464-65 ; her
prayers and prescriptions for
Sir Ralph, 475, 478; mourns
his loss, 480-81; her death,
456
GRA
Gardiner, Margaret, daughter of
Gary by Sir Thomas Gardiner,
96-97, 122, 159, 226-27, 456
Gardiner, Mary, afterwards mar-
ried to Thomas Saunders, of
Haddenham, Bucks, 460
Gardiner, Thomas, a barrister,
401, 403
Garvis, Mr., 423
Gascoigne, Sir Barnard, 187
Gawdy, Sir Charles, Bart., 113,
306, 308, 319, 320, 348, 356
Gawdy, Lady Mary (Feilding),
wife of Sir Charles, 319
Gawdy, Vere (Cooke), Lady, 44,
48, 66, 113, 132, 198-99, 293,
306, 319, 351-56, 472
Gawdy, ' little Vere,' daughter of
Sir Charles, 66
Gelthorpe, Mr., an apothecary,
256
Gerard, Charles, 4th Baron, 301
Gerard, Digby Gerard, 5th Baron,
230
Gerard, Jane (Digby), widow of
4th Baron,
Gerard, Sir Charles, 3rd Bart.,
326
Gerard, Lady Mary, 272
Gett, Thomas, 392
Gibbon, Edward, 368, 390
Gibbon, Madam, 312
Gibbons, Grinling, 235-36, 279
Glascock, Sir William, of Wormsly,
Herts, 292
Glascock, Lady and Mr., 138
Glascock, Mr. (probably William,
a Master in Chancery), 138
Gloucester, Prince Henry, Duke
of, 6
Godfrey, Sir Edmondsbury, 140,
259, 260
Godolphin,Mrs. Margaret(Blagge),
203
Goffe, Mrs., 17
Golding, Jacob, a footboy, 437
Gore, Sir John, 80
Gore, Richard, his son, 81
Grafton, Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke
of, 425
Grafton, Lady Isabella (Bennett).
wife of 1st Duke of, 414
INDEX OF NAMES
-189
GRA
Granger, Captain, alias for Dick
Hals, 296
Gray, Lord, 271, 357
Greenfield, ' Cousin,' 232, 348,
350
Grey, Colonel, 412
Griffin, Ned, 187
Griffith, Eev. Maurice, Vicar of
East Claydon, 3 n., 15, 172
Griffith, Mr.,' 338
Griffith, , a cowkeeper in Lon-
don, 417
Grimston, Sir Samuel, 3rd Bart.,
339
Grimston, Lady Anne (daughter
of 2nd Earl of Thanet), wife of
Sir Samuel, 279, 341
Grimston, ' Mrs.' Elizabeth,
daughter of Sir Samuel, mar-
ried 2nd Marquis of Halifax,
279
Grosvenor, B., a servant, 192,
387, 421
Grove, Anne (Stewkeley), Mrs.,
135
Grove, Mr., 189
Grymes, Mr., 399
Guildford, Lord Keeper, 338, 342,
346
Gutteridge, a labourer, 72
Guy on, Mary (Burgoyne), Mrs.,
233
Gwin, ' Nell,' 265
TTACKETT, Mrs., 334-37, 347
XI Hale, Sir Matthew, Lord
Chief Justice, 232
Halifax, Lord, 262
Hall, Frank, a carrier, 397
Hals, Captain William, 292-93,
317
Hals, Bridget (daughter of Sir
John Leeke), wife of William,
293, 295
Hals, Richard, son of William,
281, 289, 292-317
Hamilton, Sir George, 103, 104
Hammond, Joseph, 146
Hampden, John, 338
Harman, Lord Admiral, 297
Harrington, ' Nancy,' 415
HOB
Harris, a highwayman, 308
Harris, George, a painter, 174
Harris, Jane (Avery), 54, 56-58,
61, 174
Harris, Mr., 326
Harry, a coachman, 437
Harry, a footboy, 255
Hart, Eev. Hugh, Vicar of East
Claydon, 173
Hartley, Mr., 324, 329
Hawkins, Mercy, 3
Hawtry, Edward, 326
Haynes, Mr., 329
Hayward, Henry, a Buckingham
barber, 330
Hazlewood, Mr., 229, 230
Heath, Sir Richard, judge, 430
Henderson, Rev. Dr., 20
Henderson, Mrs., 20, 21
Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans, 201
Henrietta Maria, Queen, 32, 133,
196, 197
Henry VIII., 341
Herbert, Sir Edward, Lord Chief
Justice, 434
Herbert, Admiral, son of Sir
Edward, Lord Keeper, 416
Herbert, Charles, his brother, 434
Herbert, James, 222
Herbert, Mrs., 408
Heron, John, a servant, 7
Hewers, ' Mr.,' 429
Hewett, Arabella, married to Sir
William Wiseman, 66
Hewett, or Hewytt, Sir Thomas,
of Pishobury, 70
Hewett, Margaret (Lytton), wife
to Sir Thomas, 70
Hewitt, Rev. Dr. John, 35
Hewitt, Lady Mary (Bertie), wife
of John, 35
Hicks, John, 214
Hillesden, Mr., 323
Hobart, Sir Nathaniel, Master in
Chancery, 28, 30, 39, 40, 49, 52,
126-29, 142-43, 196, 210, 236,
285, 290, 303, 435, 472
Hobart, Anne (Leeke), Lady, 12,
13, 28, 30, 39-42, 44, 45, 48-49,
53-71, 86, 126-29, 132-33,
137-45, 163, 177, 182, 189,
206, 210, 236, 282, 285, 289,
490 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
HOB
292, 294-95, 300, 303-304, 307,
312, 313-14, 317, 399, 472
Hobart, children of Sir Nathaniel :
Edmund, 30
Nathaniel, 126, 435
Anne, 41, 51, 69
Dorothy ; see Smith
Frances, 41, 51, 69, 283, 290,
307
Hobart, Thomas, a glover, 250
Hobbs, a surgeon, 380
Hodges, a servant, 475, 477
Hogson, a servant, 124
Holloway, Sir Richard, judge,
429
Holt, Sir John, afterwards
Recorder of London and Chief
Justice, 316, 346, 347, 407
Home, Mr., 219
Honnour, Harry, a coachman,
437, 441
Honnour, Dorothy, his wife, 441
Hooper, Rev. Dr., 358
Horton, Mrs., 436
Howard, ' Father,' 203
Howard, ' Mr.,' (one of the many
Howards in the House of
Commons in 1675), 230
Howe, Rev. Josias, 362
Howe, Thomas, 351
Howell, Sir John, Recorder of
London, 304, 312
Hughes, Jacob, a footboy, 437
Hunt, Fellow of Magdalen
College, 408
Huntingdon, Robert, D.D., 147
Hyde, Lady Anne ; see York,
Duchess of
Hyde, ' Mistress,' 232
Hyde, Miss, 231
Hyde, Dr. Thomas, 7, 16, 19,
284
Hynde, Messrs., bankers, 257
INGOLDSBY, Sir Richard, 326
Ireby (misprint ; see Treby)
Isham, Sir Justman, 2nd Bart.,
130
Isham, Elizabeth (Denton), Mrs.,
wife of Thomas, 20, 30, 33-34,
KIN
42, 107, 118, 120, 123, 142, 144,
180-81, 183, 389
Isham, Thomas, of Pytchley, 120,
180, 389
Isham, Thomas, junior, 180-81
JACKSON, John, 457, 458
tl Jackson, Elizabeth (Lloyd),
wife of John, 457
Jamaica, 99
James II., 320, 335, 339, 341,
342, 343, 409-12, 414-16, 425,
428, 432-33, 434, 443-45, 448-
49, 453
James, Francis, Prince of Wales,
428, 430, 431, 432, 433, 444, 445
James, Mr., 457
Jeffreys, Dr., brother to Lord
Chief Justice, 353, 414
Jeffreys, Sir George, 1st Baron,
Lord Chancellor, 130, 146, 332,
334-39, 344, 346, 408, 409, 433-
34, 444, 445, 446-47
Jeffreys, John, 2nd Baron, 433,
434
Jeffreys, Lady (Charlotte Herbert),
wife of 2nd Baron, 433-34
Jeffreys, ' Cousin,' 163
Jeffreys, Sir Robert, Lord Mayor
of London, 446
John, a coachman, 254
Johnson, Mrs., of Mile End, 326
TZEELING, or Kelynge, Sir
J\. John, Chief Justice, 465
Keeling, Sir John, Serjeant-at-
Law, 465
Keeling, John, son of Sir John,
463-66, 478
Keeling, Mary (Verney), 436-38,
440, 443, 448, 459, 463-66, 470
Keeling, Miss, 466
Kempe, Mr., 116
Kent, Mr., 351
Kersey, Mr., 218
Key, , Esq., 371
King, Bess, a maid, 45, 46
King, Mr., 315
King, Tom (the shepherd), 88
Kingsmill, Sir William, 229
INDEX OF NAMES
491
KIR
Kirk, Colonel, 416
Kisting, Mr., 225
Kneller, Sir Godfrey, 432
Knightley, ' Sir Eobert ' (?) (pro-
bably Sir Eichard), and his son,
90, 288-89
Knightley, Elizabeth (Hampden),
wife of Sir Eichard, 182
Knopher, Mr., 387
Knowles, Mr., 329
LA COSTE, , Count, 399
Lampier, , D.D., 402
Lancaster, Kev. , 453
Latimer, Edward Osborne, Vis-
count, eldest son of 1st Duke
of Leeds, 183, 232, 239, 323,329-
33, 347, 350, 356
Latimer, Lady, wife of Viscount,
470
Laud, William, Archbishop, 382
Lawley, Sir Francis, Bart., 457,
467
Lawley, Anne (Whitmore), wife
of Sir Francis, 467, 468
Lawley, Thomas, their son, 469
Lawson, Sir John, 185
Laxington, family of, 224
Lea, William, 17
Lee, ,414
Lee family, of Ditchley, 243
Lee, Sir Thomas, 1st Bart., of
Hartwell, 147, 153, 188, 326,
333, 425, 435
Lee, brother of Sir Thomas,
156
Leech, Sir Edward, 39
Leeke, or Leake, Sir John, 289
Leeke, Lady (Turville), wife of
Sir John, 289
Leeke, Dorothy, 10-11, 30, 39,
44, 49-50, 66-67, 71, 113, 115,
181, 289, 292, 294-95, 306, 317,
472
Leeke, Serjeant, 346
Legge, Colonel, 238
Le Gue, Monsieur, 311
Leigh, Sir Francis, of Newnham,
329
Leinster, Duke of, 457
Lely, Sir Peter, Kt., 235, 251
LUM
Lenenga, Fra. Nuncio, 411,425
Lenthall, Mr., 63
L'Estrange, Sir Eoger, 332, 418
Lewis, Mr. Thomas, 146
Lillie, Mrs., housekeeper, 420, 475,
476, 480
Lincoln, Theophilus Clinton, 4th
Earl of, 129
Lindsay, Elizabeth (Pope), wife
of 3rd Earl of, 453-54
Lisle, Captain, 329
Litchfield, Sir Edward Henry
Lee, 1st Earl of, 225, 414
Litchfield, Lady Charlotte (Fitz-
roy), wife of 1st Earl of, 225
Llewelyn, Dr., 266
Lloyd (Anne Geary), wife of
Verney, 457
Lloyd, Elizabeth ; see Jackson
Lloyd, Mary (Verney), wife of
Eobert, 104-105, 283, 284,
456-57
Lloyd, Eobert, 284, 457
Lloyd, children of Mary and
Eobert
Humphrey, 456
Verney, Captain, 457
Mary, 456, 457
Euth, 457
Lloyd, Wilh'am, afterwards
Bishop of St. Asaph, 236
London, William Compton,
Bishop of, 237
Longford, Mary, 392
Lonsdale, Dick, a servant, 407
Louis XIV., 307, 315, 341-42,
412-13
Lovelace, John, 2nd Baron, 89,
414
Lovell, a tailor, 235
Lovett, Anne (Saunders), widow
of Sir Eobert, 21
Lovett, Colonel John, 238, 471
Lovett, a linen-draper, 477
Lovett, Laurence, father of Mrs.
W. Butterfield, 212
Lower, Dr., 412
Lucas, Thomas, 3rd Baron, 446
Lucy, Mr., 477
Lumley, Eichard Lumley, Vis-
count, 357
Lumley, Captain, 396
492 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
LYT
Lytton, Sir William, of Kneb-
worth, 466
MACAULAY, T. B., Lord, 337,
445
Major, Mrs., 74
Manchester, Edward Montague,
2nd Earl of, 7, 126
Manton, Rev. Dr., 7
Martin, a servant, 92
Mary of Modena, Queen, 204,
341-42, 411, 414, 425, 432, 434,
445
Mary, Princess of Orange, and
Queen, 236, 411, 473, 481
Mason, Rev. John, Rector of
Water Stratford, 216
Mauleverer, Sir R., 117
Maurice, ' Mr. Secretary,' 129
May, Hugh, Esq., 235
Maynard, Sir John, a judge,
308
Mayoress, Lady, 258
Mayors, Lord, of London, 230,
236, 260, 262, 342, 413, 444, 446
Meade, William, parish clerk,
4 71.
Middleton, Sir Hugh, 326
Middleton, Mrs., 122
Miller, Thomas, 444
Minshull, , of the Guards, 415
Mohun, Charles, 4th Baron,
223-24
Mohun (Lady Philippa Annesley),
wife of 4th Baron, 223
Monmouth, James Scott, Duke of,
246, 261-67, 271, 333, 346, 350,
357-58, 365, 426
Monmouth (Lady Anne Scott),
wife of Duke of, 187, 432
Moore, Thomas, a carrier, 364
Morisco, or Maresco, Mrs., 224
Morton, William, judge, 303,
304
Murray, Anne, afterwards Lady
Halkett, 9 n.
Mynns, Sir Exeter, 297
NEDD, a pheasant keeper,
253-54
OKA
Newcastle, William Cavendish,
Duke of, 232
Newhouse, , a fencing master,
400, 406
Newton, Sir Henry Pickering, 2nd
Bart., 6
Nicholas, Sir Edward, 107-109
Nicholas, Dame Jane, wife of Sir
Edward, 107, 424
Nicholas, Sir John, 108
Nicholas, George, son of Sir
Edward, 106-11, 341, 406
Nicholas, Anne (Denton), wife
of George, 105-12, 180, 183,
186, 230, 237, 242, 248, 255-
56, 265, 269, 275, 331, 333,
380, 406, 423-27, 453-54, 469,
481
Nicholas, children of George and
Anne
Denton, 110, 340, 361, 367-68,
378, 381, 424
John, 110
Jane ; see Abdy
Nicholas, Sir Ralph's cook, 330,
333
Nightingale, ' Mr.,' 152
Nit, Rev. , 351
Noel, Lady Elizabeth (Wriothes-
ley), 1st wife of 3rd Lord Noel,
227
Noel, Sir Verney, 102
Norfolk, Henry Howard, 7th
Duke of, 353
Norman, a gunsmith, 400
Norman,Mrs., formerly a waiting-
maid, 462
Norreys ; see Abingdon
North, Sir Francis, afterwards
Lord Guilford, 412
Norton, Captain, 226
Nottingham, Heneage Finch, 2nd
Earl of, 279, 449
Nurse, Dr., 62
OAKELEY, Lady, 182
Gates, Dr. Titus, 258, 259, 321
O'Brian, Mr., 230
Ogle, Lord, 198
Onion, Lady, 6
Orange, William, Prince of, after-
INDEX OF NAMES
493
ORL
wards King William III., 236,
237, 241, 411, 444-45, 448-49,
458, 473, 481
Orleans, Duke of, 201
Orleans, Duchess of, 201, 202
Ormond, James Butler, 12th Earl
and 1st Duke of, 103, 339, 433
Ormond, James Butler, 2nd Duke
of, 433-34
Osborne, Dorothy, 465
Osborne, Sir John s 207, 451
Osborne, Penelope (Verney), wife
of Sir John, 207, 277, 332, 340,
451-56, 469
Osborne, Sir John, of Chicksands,
465
Osborne, Martha (Keeling), wife
of Sir John, 465
Ossory, Thomas, Lord, father of
2nd Duke of Ormond, 183
Ossory, Lady, 183
Ousley, Captain, 427
Owen, a servant, 63
Oxford, Henry Compton, Bishop
of, 211, 271
Oxford, John Fell, Bishop of, and
Dean of Christ Church, 368, 384,
401
Oxford, Nathaniel, 3rd Baron
Crewe, Bishop of, 203-204
PACK, Captain, 415
Page, Mr., 280
Paget, William, 5th Baron, 12
Palmer, Ralph, 247, 249
Palmer, Alice (White), wife of
Ralph, 247, 249
Palmer, Ralph, junior, 362, 366,
373, 376-77, 470
Palmer, Andrew, 303, 311
Palmer, Mr., 306
Palmer family, 469
Palmer, Mary, 2
Palmes, William, 74, 123, 350
Palmes, Honble. Mary (Eure), wife
of William, 12, 16, 24, 123, 339
Paman, Dr. Henry, 234, 418, 425
Pappin, Monsieur, 9
Pargiter, Mr., a jeweller, 287
Parker, Dick, 141
Parkhurst, ' Cousin,' 176
PRI
Pascal, ' Cousin,' 124
Patrick, Bishop, 111
Patrick, ' Father,' 203
Paulden, Captain, 348, 398
Pemberton, Sir Francis, Chief
Justice of King's Bench under
Charles II., 429
Pembroke, Lord, 223
Pembroke, Philip Herbert, 7th
Earl of, 222, 223, 434
Pembroke (Henriette de Querou-
alle), wife of 7th Earl of, 222
Pen, sister (Penelope), 30, 84 (see
Dalton), 86, 87
Pen, Dame (see Verney), 68
Penton, Rev. Stephen, 362, 369
Pepys, Samuel, 135
Peregrini, Tyam, a black page, 469,
470
Peterborough, Henry Mordaunt,
2nd Earl of, 238, 340, 452
Peto, Lady, 6
Petre, Father, 430
Petty, Sir William, 349
Peyton, Sir Robert, 260
Pierrepont, Will, 198
Pigott, Sir Richard, 34, 69, 188,
327, 328, 351
Pigott, Captain Thomas, 327, 339,
428
Plaistow, a carrier, 2, 75, 301
Plymouth (Lady Bridget Osborne),
widow of 1st Earl of, 454
Pollexfen, Sir Henry, afterwards
judge, 345, 347, 429
Pope, 411
Portsmouth (Louise de Querou-
alle), Duchess of, 260, 264-66,
432, 434
Poulton, a Jesuit, 426
Powell, Sir John, judge, 429
Power, Sir Thomas, 412
Powis, William Herbert, 1st
Marquis and Earl of, 341, 413,
447
Powis (Lady Elizabeth Somerset),
wife of 1st Marquis of, 432, 447
Powis, WilHam, 2nd Marquis, 434
Powis, Mrs., 413
Powis, Sir Thomas, Attorney -
General, 375
Priest, Mrs., 220-21, 251
494 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
PEI
Primate of Ireland, 428
Primrose, Mr., 280
Prince Palatine, the, 413
Prujean, or Prydian, Dr., 61-62, 67
Prynne, William, 52
"DADCLIFF, Dr., 244, 320
11 Raleigh, Sir Walter, 336
Ranton, Mr., 32G
Reade, ' Cosen,' 290
Richardson, Captain, 308
Richardson, Sir , 344
Richmond, Charles Stuart, 3rd
Duke of, 85
Richmond, Margaret (Banastre),
wife of 3rd Duke of, 85
Risley, John, 85, 189
Roades, Anne, a dairymaid, 175,
437
Roades, Mrs., of Finemore, 398
Robert, a servant, 253
Roberts, Sir Gabriel, 13, 146, 150,
152, 155, 159-60, 247. 258
Roberts, Lady, 160
Roberts, Lewis, 147
Roberts, William, 146, 150, 154
Robinson, Anne, 204
Robinson, 323-24
Rochester, Anne (St. John), widow
of Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of,
243-45
Rochester, John Wilmot, 2nd
Earl of, 244-45
Rochester, Elizabeth (Malet),wife
of 2nd Earl of, 244-45
Rochester, Laurence Hyde, Earl
of, 270
Rochester, Thomas Sprat, Bishop
of, 427
Rochford, Rev. William, Rector of
Addington, 183, 211, 216
Rogers, Lady, 78
Rogers, Frank, 279
Rogers, Anne, a maid, 399
Rose, John, a farmer, 33
Rotherham, Sir John, a judge for
a few months, 430
Rowland, Thomas, surgeon, 157
Rumner's city eating house, 249
Rumsey, the recorder's clerk, 304
Rupert, Prince, 97, 268, 296-97
SHE
Russell, Sir William, 35
Russell, William, Lord, 227, 271
Russell, Lady Rachel (Wriothes-
ley), married 1st, Lord Vaughan,
2nd William, Lord, 227, 272,
464,472,478
Russell, Colonel John, 412
Rutherford, of Wroxton, 421
ST. ALBANS, Henry Jermyn,
Earl of, 201
St. Arnand, 216, 229, 373
St. John, Oliver, 3
St. John, Lady, 118, 225, 243
St. John, Mary (Wakering), Mrs.,
3
Salisbury, Dr. Earle, Bishop of,
131
Salway, Major, 131
Sandwich, Edward Montague,
Admiral, 1st Earl of, 13
Sawyer, Sir Robert, 429
Say, Rev. Dr., Provost of Oriel,
367
Saye, James Fiennes, 2nd Vis-
count, 183
Scarborough, Mayor of, 427
Scarsdale, Robert Leake, 3rd Earl
of, 354
Scott, H., 239
Scott, Judith, 172
Scott, Will, 192
Scroggs, Sir William, Lord Chief
Justice, 231
Scrope, Mr., 229
Scudamore, 2nd Viscount, 191
Sexton, , 65
Seymour, Lady, 275, 278
Seys, Richard, of Boverton, 450
Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley
Cooper, 1st Earl of, 259, 26i,
266-67
Sharp, Dr., 422
Sheldon, Gilbert, Archbishop of
Canterbury, 200
Sheppard, John, 146, 150-52,
152
Sheppard, William, of Rollwright,
163
Sheppard, Luce, 11, 29, 74, 80,
114
INDEX OF NAMES
495
SHE
Sherard, Bennett, 2nd Baron, 89,
123, 130
Sherard, Elizabeth (Christopher),
wife of 2nd Baron, 123, 130, 332
Sherard, Honble. Captain Philip,
second son of 1st Baron, 130
Sherard, Honble. Margaret (Den-
ton), wife of Philip, 16, 120, 124,
129, 177, 180-81, 184
Sherard, Cousin, 265
Sherlock, Dr., 422
Sherrock, Dr., 219
Shore, Sir Bartholomew, 429
Short, Dr., 244
Shrewsbury, Charles Talbot, 12th
Earl and 1st Duke of, 196, 215,
262
Shugburgh, Sir Charles, 338
Simmons, Mr., 205
Sionge, Mr., 399
Sitters, Van, Dutch Ambassador,
343
Skelton, Captain, 445
Skinner, , M.D., 396
Skipwith, Captain, 415
Slaughter, James, 303
Smith, Sir William, Bart., of
Badcliffe, 8, 42, 132, 188, 214,
264, 267, 313-15, 326, 414, 439
Smith, Dorothy (Hobart), wife of
Sir William, 40, 131, 233, 414
Smith, children of Sir William
Nathaniel, 82
Thomas, 267, 271, 315, 415, 436
Dorothy, 233, 314 ; see Wythers
Margaret, 233, 315
Smith, Sir Edward, 308
Smith, Sir Tory, and Lady, 313
Smith, a poacher, 214
Smith, Ned, a groom, 370, 378,
380, 393, 397, 406, 437
Smith, Ned, an apprentice, 240
Somers, John, Lord Chancellor,
429
Somerset, William Seymour, 2nd
Duke of, 278
Somerset, Francis Seymour, 5th
Duke of, 215
Somerset, Charles Seymour, 6th
Duke of, 425
Southampton, Charles Fitzroy, 1st
Duke of, 225
SET
Spencer, Lord, eldest son of 2nd
Earl of Sunderland, 354
Spencer, Eichard, 146
Stafford, Thomas, 8, 125, 238
Stafford, Captain Edmund, son of
Thomas, 8, 27
Stafford, Charles, 436
Stafford, Cousin, son, 270
Stafford, William Howard, Vis-
count, 266
Stanion, Mr., 189
Stanley, a highwayman, 311
Stephens, Mr., 104
Stephens, Thomas, a labourer,
400
Sterne, Dr., 95
Stewkeley, Sir Hugh, of Hinton,
2nd Bart., 273
Stewkeley, John, of Preshaw,
second husband of Gary, Lady
Gardiner, 19, 68, 95, 135, 137,
144, 145, 226-27, 233, 263, 273
Stewkeley, children of John, by his
first wife
William, 95, 96, 145, 168,
229
Anne ; see Grove
Ursula, 96, 225, 227, 456
Stewkeley, children of John, by his
second wife
John, 97, 135, 145, 189, 225,
253, 273, 279, 326, 332, 343-
44, 354, 374, 384, 397
Cary, 227, 273, 277, 421, 436-
37, 440, 442, 452, 454, 461-
62, 466, 470, 474, 476-78, 480-
81
Penelope, 227, 430, 439, 452,
454, 456
Carolina, 227, 456
Isabella, 443, 456
Katherine, 456
Stewkeley, John's elder brother,
95, 97
Stone, Mr., 396-97
Studdall, Lady, 31, 32
Suffolk, James Howard, 3rd Earl
of, 270
Sunderland, Kobert Spencer, 2nd
Earl of, 242, 258
Sutton, an officer of the Guards,
224
496 VERNE Y FAMILY FROM TIIE RESTORATION
swi
Swifhix, Captain, 417
Sydenham, Mrs., 51
Sydney, Honble. Algernon, 272
Sykes, Rev. Thomas, 364, 370, 377,
384, 387-88, 392, 394-96, 399
fTlAMBROOK, Sir Jeremy, 412
-L Tate, Kate, 187
Taylor, Will, 212
Teem, Henry, gardener to Sir
Ralph, 356
Temple, Alexander, Royal Navy,
290
Temple, Edmund, 229
Temple, Jack, 290
Temple, Sir Richard, 3rd Bart., 6,
52-53, 75, 188, 190, 259, 266,
273, 305, 323-25, 328-29, 332.
339, 344-47, 350, 397, 415, 434,
436, 448, 454, 458-72, 478
Temple, Mary (Knap), wife of Sir
Richard, 454
Temple, Maria, daughter of Sir
Richard, 273
Temple, Thomas, 189
Tenison, Rev. Dr., 358
Teret, Mr., 230
Terry, Mr., 219
Thompson and Nelthorpe, bankers,
257
Thornton, 402
Tichborn, Lady, 341
Tillotson, Rev. John, afterwards
Archbishop of Canterbury, 200
Tipping, Lady, of Wheatfield,
180
Tipping, Madam, 34
Tipping, Mrs. Elisha, 180
Tipping, Mrs. Nancy, 180
Tipping, Mrs. Victoria, 180
4 Tirris, Lord,' Richard, 1st Baron
Arundel of Trerice, 243
Tomes, Mr. W., 89
Tower, , M.D., 358
Townshend, John, Mayor of
Oxford, 270, 375, 391-92
Townshend, Mary (Denton), wife
of John, 35
Townshend, Rev. Dr. Robert,
Rector of Radcliffe, 6, 81, 126,
336, 448
VER
Townshend, Susanna (Denton),.
wife of Robert, 335
Travers (the brothers), 399
Treby, Sir George, Recorder of
London, 429
Treswell, Sir Daniel, 104
Trinder, Serjeant, 429
Turberville, Daubeney, 96
Tumour, Sir Edward, judge and
Speaker, 226
Turnour, Charles, son of the judge,
226
Turnour, Edmund, son of the
judge, 226
Turville, Fred, 289-92
Turville, Geoffrey, 289
Turville, Mrs., 182
Tuscany, Cosmo, Grand Duke of,
196
Twisden, Lord, 308
Tyrconnell, Richard Talbot, Earl
of, 428
Tyrell, Sir Peter, Kt.,of Hanslope,
188, 329
Tyrell, Anne (Raleigh), wife of
Sir Peter, 336
Tyrell, Sir Thomas, 4th Bart., of
Thornton, 425
, Sir Thomas' butler, 325
TTPHILL, Mrs., a player, 229
T7ANDGRAT, Sir Peter, 412
V Vane, Sir Henry, 151
Vaughan, Mr., M.P., 52, 53
Vaughan, Lady ; see Russell,
Lady Rachel
Verney, Sir Edmund, the stan-
dard-bearer, allusions to, 8, 9
Verney, Sir Edmund, junior, Sir
Ralph's brother, 103, 104
Verney, Edmund, Sir Ralph's
eldest son, studies Civil Law,
6; courts Mary Abell, 16-19;
a lukewarm suitor, 23 ; his
love letters, 24 ; his wedding
and honeymoon expenses, 28 ;
reception at Claydon, 37 ;
lives with Lady Hobart in
Chancery Lane, 40; devotion
INDEX OF NAMES
497
VER
to his wife, 50 ; settles at East
Claydon, 67 ; tries to get a lady
housekeeper, 73 ; his Christmas
expenses, 80, 82 ; welcomes
Doll Leake, 114; at Claydon
during the Plague, 124 ; gives
John commissions for Turkish
war, 149 ; his health and house-
hold perplexities, 166-75 ;
remedies for his wife, 171-
72; his children, 175-76;
holds his Manor Court and
attends the assizes and sessions,
177 ; spends part of the year in
London, 178 ; kindness to older
members of the family, 180 ;
hospitalities given and received,
188; martial longings to fight
the Dutch, suppressed by Sir
Ealph, 208-209 ; takes Molly to
school, 220 ; falls seriously ill,
233 ; jealousy of a standing
army, 237 ; describes the un-
settled condition of London,
263 ; in Monmouth's company,
266; friendship with Dick
Hals, 292-98; ill and depressed
in London, 357; sends his
second son to Oxford, 361-64 ;
troubled with erysipelas, 370 ;
loses his eldest son, 374; his
sudden death, 436 ; state of his
affairs, 439
Verney, Mary (Abell), wife of
Edmund Verney, her parentage
and bringing up, 2 ; courtship
and marriage, 16, 27 ; becomes j
capricious and depressed, 38 ; j
in Chancery Lane, 40 ; suffers j
from nervous excitement, 41 ; ;
hypochondria and madness,
47-67 ; returns to East Claydon,
67 ; temporary recovery, 71 ;
recurring madness, 170 ; loses
her husband, 436, and her last
remaining child, 466 ; her
death and bequests, 467
Verney, children of Edmund and
Mary
Ealph, 175-76, 215-19, 250, 255,
301, 340-41, 370-76
Edmund, 110, 175-76, 216-17,
VOL. IV.
VEE
220, 230, 340-41, 361-408,
438, 439-42, 444, 459-61
Mary, 175-77, 220-21, 250-51,
437-38, 440, 443, 448, 459-63 ;
see Keeling
Verney, Colonel Henry, Sir
Ralph's brother, rejoices hi the
Eestoration, 83 ; finds no
military post worthy of accep-
tance, 83 ; his genteel acquain-
tance, 84 ; at the Duke of
Eichmond's wedding, 85 ;
keeps house with his widowed
sister Pen, 86 ; gives Sir Ealph
directions about his horses,
88-89; jokes about highway
robbery, 279 ; dies in London,
207 ; leaves a bag of a thousand
guineas, 207 ; Penelope puts up
a monument to him, 454-55
Verney, John, 2nd son of Sir
Ealph, afterwards 2nd Baronet
and 1st Viscount Fermanagh,
an apprentice in the Aleppo
factory, 146 ; receives presents
fromhoine, 149 ; trade rivalries,
150 ; small profits and hard
work, 151 ; visits the Holy
Land, 152 ; two years and a
half without news, 153 ; ob-
tains a partnership, 155 ; gets
the Scanderoon disease, 155;
describes the plague at Aleppo,
156 ; spends a month in Cyprus,
157 ; despairing appeal for
home news, 158 ; returns to
London, 160 ; contemplates
marriage, 161 ; meets Mr-
Ed ward's daughter, 163 ; fails
to fall in love, 164 ; affianced
to Elizabeth Palmer, 246; his
wedding, 249 ; his wife's
popularity, 250 ; their corre-
spondence, 251 ; his children
four, 254 ; an important City
man, 257 ; at Eeading, 316 ;
electioneering for his father,
325-28 ; interviews Pollexfen
and Holt, 341-43 ; meets the
Whartons at Tunbridge Wells,
353 ; a widower, 418 ; describes
the ' Irish night,' 445 ; his
K K
498 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
VER
second marriage with Mary
Lawley, 468 ; his negro page,
470 ; loses wife and child, 470 ;
courts Elizabeth Baker, 475 ;
succeeds to Claydon, 479 ; his
descendants, 471
Verney, Elizabeth (Palmer), first
wife of John, 220, 247-54, 256-
57, 353, 362, 376, 418-21
Verney, children of John and
Elizabeth
Elizabeth, 252, 255, 471
Mary, 255-56, 471 ; afterwards
Mrs. Lovett
Ralph, 254-56, 470, 471, 475;
afterwards 1st Earl Verney
Margaret, 255, 471 ; afterwards
Lady Cave
Verney, Mary (Lawley), 2nd wife
of John, 467-71, 475
Verney, John, son of John and
Mary, 470
Verney, Elizabeth (Baker), 3rd
wife of John, 475
Verney, Sir Ralph, Knight and ,
Baronet, made a baronet by j
Charles II., 9 ; attends the j
coronation, 10; negotiates his
eldest son's marriage, 17 ;
entertains the wedding party '
at Claydon, 29 ; shares the
Hobarts' house in Chancery ;
Lane, 40; visits Lady Gawdy
ftnd the Warners, 44 ; distress i
at the madness of his daughter- j
in-law, 64 ; helps Mun with i
his Christmas entertainments, i
75, 79 ; training of his dogs, |
76 ; troubles as Peg Elme's j
trustee, 90-91 ; worried by Tom j
and his wife, 102 ; at Claydon
during the Plague, 124 ; minis-
ters to Doll Leake in her last '
illness, 131 ; his household
management, 190 ; bears Lord ,
Clarendon's pall, 195 ; his
attitude towards dissent, 200 ; ,
visits at Wroxall and hears of j
Henry's death, 206 ; consulted
about his grandchildren's educa- i
tiion, 216 ; visits the Stewkeleys,
233 ; designs monument for [
VEK
Sir R. Burgoyne, 235 ; friend-
ship with the Lees of Ditchley,
243 ; guardian to Lord
Rochester, 244 ; his affection
for John's wife and children,
251-55 ; remonstrates with Gary
on gambling, 274-78 ; kindness
to his highwaymen cousins, Tur-
villeandHals, 282, 291, 304-19 ;
his attitude towards James II.,
322; stands for Buckingham,
322 ; his electioneering mo-
rality, 324 ; attends the assizes,
325 ; bears Sir R. Pigott's pall,
327 ; returned for Buckingham,
347 ; his pleasure in re-entering
the House of Commons, 348 ;
loses his old friend Lady
Gawdy, 356; escorted home
with torches from Buckingham,
357 ; attitude towards his
grandson Ralph, 371 ; loses his
son Edmund, 436 ; his advice
to his grandson, 441 ; grief at
young Edmund's death, 459;
displeasure at his grand-
daughter's ' stolen matching,'
464-65 ; reconciled to the Keel-
ings, 466 ; survives almost all
his relations, 472 ; loses his seat
in Parliament, 472 ; a politician
to the end, 473 ; last journey
to Claydon, 474 ; devotion of
nieces and servants, 475 ; the
sun sets, 479 ; the afterglow, 480
Verney, Captain Thomas, Six-
Ralph's brother, left out of
Mun's wedding party, 27 ; dis-
courses on suitable epithets for
a brother, 98 ; on the incon-
veniences of poverty, 99 ; on
ingratitude, 108; turns up in
Ireland, 99 ; neglects his wife,
100 ; stays with Sir George
Hamilton, 103 ; appears in
Chester Cathedral, 104 ; retires
into Wales, 450 ; his death at
95, leaves 11, to the poor, and
his funeral expenses to his
nephew, 450-51
Verney, Elizabeth (Kendal), wife
of Thomas, 100-103
INDEX OF NAMES
499
VER
Verney, infant child of Tom and
Eliza, 100-101
Verney, sisters of Sir Ralph
Penelope ; see Denton and
Osborne
Margaret ; see Elmes
Gary ; see Gardiner and
Stewkeley
Mary ; see Lloyd
Elizabeth ; see Adams
Verney, Sir Ralph's descendants,
471
Verney, Dame Mary, mother of
the standard-bearer, 289
Verney, Sir Francis, 361
Verney, Dame Ursula, widow of
Sir Francis, 34, 181-82
erney, Sir Greville, of Compton-
Verney, 6, 134
Verney, Sir Harry, 2nd Baronet,
158, 333
Vernon, Mrs., 275
Very, Thomas, a carter, 437
Vincent, Sir Francis, 223
Viner and Backwall, Messrs.,
138
Viner, Sir Robert, 231
WAKERING, John, 2, 4
Wakering, Mary (Palmer),
wife of John, 2, 4
Wakering, Dionysius, 3
Wakering, Anne (Everard), wife
of Dionysius, 3
Walker, 291
Walpole, 'Lady Anne,' 454
Walterhouse, Captain John, 289
Ward, William, 303
Warner, Mrs., 44
Warner, Thomas, a footboy, 168
Warren, Rev. C. F. S., 283 n.
Warren, family of, 458
Warwick, Lady Anne (Montagu),
widow of Robert Richard, 5th
Earl of, 341
Wawy, Mr., 394
Webb, a carrier, 239
Wenrnan, Sir Richard, 4th
Viscount, 359-60
Wentworth, Lady Henrietta, 414
WOR
Wharton, Honble. Captain Henry,
328, 353-54, 415
Wharton, Philip, 4th Baron, 243,
335, 351
Wharton, Thomas, afterwards 1st
Marquis, 183, 186, 266, 334-38,
354, 444
Wharton, Anne (Lee), wife of
Thomas, 243
Wheler, Sir George, 286-87
Whitaker, Charles, 108
White, Mrs. J., 249
White, Mr. and Mrs., 421
Whitmore, Lady, 469-70
Wilcocks, Mr., 87
Wilding, undergraduate, 382
' Will,' a servant, 63
Williams, Sir William, Bart., of
Nantanog, Anglesey, Solicitor-
General, 412, 429
Williamson, a serjeant-at-arms,
414
Winchester, Charles Paulet, 6th
Marquis of, 271
Winchester, George Morley,
Bishop of, 226-27, 264
Windsor, Thomas Windsor-Hick-
man, 7th Baron, afterwards
1st Earl of Plymouth, 99
Winter, Sir John, 186
Winwood, Richard, 286, 407
Wisdome, Captain, 237-38
Wiseman, Sir Robert, D.C.L., 14,
16, 57-58, 63, 80-81, 129
Wiseman, Sir Richard, 412
Wiseman, Mrs., 17
Wiseman, Mrs. (Sidenham), 51
Wisemans, Baronets, of Essex,
4
Wood, a servant, 216
Wood, Mr., 325
Woodward, Anne (Denton), 169,
356
Woodward, Edmund, 476
Woodward, Mademoiselle, 169
Worcester, Charles, Marquis of,
son of the 1st Duke of Beaufort,
434
Worcester, Bishop of, George
Morley, 10 ; see Winchester
Wortley, Mr., 339
Wrench, a nurseryman, 403-404
K K 2
500 VERNEY FAMILY FROM THE RESTORATION
WOK
Wright, Sir Nathan, afterwards
Lord Keeper, 429
Wright, a barrister, 429
Wroth, Cornet, 231
Wyndham, Judge, 310
Wythers, Mr., 314-15
Wythers, Dorothy, daughter of
Sir William Smith, 424
YATE, Dr., Principal of Braze-
nose College, 127-28, 131
York, James, Duke of, 32, 84,
119, 127, 201, 203, 240, 261,
zou
264-65, 270-71, 296-97, 299,
305
York (Lady Anne Hyde), 1st wife
of James, Duke of, 32, 84, 201,
203-204, 236
York (Mary of Modena), 2nd
wife of James, Duke of, 204,
236, 261, 265, 270 ; sec Mary
of Modena
, Dr., 7
SUBJECT INDEX
ABDUCTION of heiress, iii. 11 ; iv. 231
Agriculture :
Estate management, i. 100-101, 128-29; iii. 94-100, 104 106; iv.
4, 43, 117, 177-78, 441-42
Tenant-farmers, iii. 119-21, 394
Cottagers, i. 76, 100, 151 ; iii. 118, 119, 121, 389 ; iv. 124. 190, 212,
214, 232
Rents, i. 42, 129-30, 201, 207, 228-29 ; ii. 51, 82, 84-85, 156, 196 ;
iii. 261, 271-73 ; iv. 18, 43
Prices, i. 52, 62, 294 ; ii. 50, 184, 192, 249, 253, 275 ; iii. 117, 120,
194, 208-209, 271, 274-75, 308, 384, 434 ; iv. 12
Cattle and sheep, i. 129 ; ii. 43, 45-47, 50, 52, 55, 160 ; iii. 434 ;
iv. 76, 441
Dairy, cows, and produce, L 77 ; iii. 113, 117-122, 209 271 ; iv.
117, 194, 212, 214
Hogs, iii. 136 ; iv. 435
Woods, i. 10, 77 ; iii. 99, 117, 274 ; iv. 117
Commons, i. 76 ; iii. 117 ; iv. 178
Alehouses, i. 169 ; ii. 149 ; iii. 102, 281 ; iv. 129, 344, 369
Almshouses, iii. 122
Alnage, i. Ill ; ii. 140, 145-47, 176, 431-37
Amusements, i. 37 ; iii. 55, 187 ; iv. 187, 192, 225,*253, 257, 269, 272,
382
Apprentices, ii. 32; iii. 117-18, 181, 366, 370, 372-73 S77; iv. 151,
192
Army, ii. 112, 116-17, 128, ch. xiii. 395 ; iii. 447-56, 471, 474 ; iv. 83-
84, 408, 414, 425, 457
Armour, i. 298, 304, 312-13, 315, 322 ; ii. 93 ; iv. 300-301
Arms, i. 64, 133, 265, 321, 354 ; ii. 29-32, 44 : 47. 49, 92-94, 109-10,
201, 286, 409 ; iii. 87, 160, 233, 261, 449 ; iv. 149, 167, 289, 353,
442
Guards, iii. 167 ; iv. 210, 224, 239-41, 272, 301, 415, 448
502 SUBJECT INDEX
Army (continued) :
Soldiers, i. 140-43, 168-80, 182-94, 306-307, 309, 316-23, 333-35,
347 ; ii. 44-45, 78, 95, 106, 132-36, 139, 151, 153, 191-96, 205,
278, 286-87, 352, 389 ; iii. 9, 88, 159-62, 167, 233, 256, 260, 265,
274, 283, 289-92, 438, 446, 455, 461 ; iv. 83, 231, 237-38, 396,
401, 406-407, 414-16, 432, 444, 457
Trained bands, ii. 81, 39, 103, 111, 171-72 ; iii. 174, 471-72 ;
iv. 6, 8, 413, 417, 442, 444
BANKERS, iv. 257, 258
Books, i. 119, 172, 174-75 ; ii. 9,67, 152, 170-71,221-22,263,273,285,
402, 412 ; iii. 7, 40, 69, 70, 139, 163, 382; iv. 112, 167, 177, 190, 202,
363, 373, 387, 458
Building :
Bricks, iii. 132, 278
Carpenters, iii. 118, 137, 278-79 ; iv. 174, 440
CARRIAGES, i. 104, 109-10 ; ii. 208, 246, 263, 266-67, 271 ; iii. 53, 192-
93, 202, 440 ; iv. 183, 251, 254-55, 284, 349, 353, 357, 359, 397, 468
Carriers, i. 158 ; ii. 173 ; iii. 129-30 ; iv. 2, 75, 140, 194-95, 393
Child-marriages, i. 113, 116 ; ii. 6, 24 ; iv. 225
Children, i. 48 ; ii. 7-9, 177-78, 214, 266, 283-85, 292-95, 300-301, 310,
313,316, 355, 382 ; iii. 17, ch. iii. 190, 352 ; iv. 66, 95, 110, 175, 176,
177, 251, 255-56. See Dress, Education.
Christenings, ii. 8, 258-60, 266 ; iii. 193, 229-30, 247 ; iv. 98, 110, 273,
433
Christian names, iv. 3 .
Christmas, iii. 18, 19, 262-63, 287, 363, 444, 455 ; iv. 74, 75,78-80, 107 t
184, 189
Church of England, ii. 28; iv. 409-11
Bells, i. 28 ; iv. 236, 815, 320, 447, 467
Books, iii. 101, 388 ; iv. 2, 467
Churchwardens, i. 23 ; iii. 136 ; iv. 173, 213
Clerks, iii. 136, 282, 389
Dilapidations, iii. 398-400
Fees, i. 22, 23, 51 ; iii. 399, 404 ; iv. 198, 422, 454
Holy Communion, i. 269, 333 ; ii. 258-60, 333, 387, 412, 417 ; iv.
190, 204, 218, 245, 264, 468, 480
House, i. 32 ; iv. 213
Patronage, iii. 104, 394-95 ; iv. 36, 211, 217
Sermons, ii. 21, 165, 206, 216, 331, 387 ; Hi. 47, 57, 86, 91, 102; iv
171, 427
Services, ii. 216, 258; iii. 20, 54, 57, 76; iv. 171-72, 264, 278, 468
SUBJECT INDEX 503
Churches, i. ch. ii. ; ii. 165, 188, 193 ; iii. 4 ; iv. 279
Clergy, i. 22-23, 30 ; ii. 21, 152 ; iii. 19, 20, 48-49, ch. iv. 290, 327-29
iv. 35, 147, 172, 173, 189, 200, 203, 307, 335-36, 362, 409, 422, 426-28,
453. See Aris, Butterfield, Griffiths, Townshend, Ac.
Colonies, i. Ill, 136, 148-51 ; iii. 98, 139, 156-57, 176, 227, 369, 384,
387
Commons, House of, i. 337-39 ; ii. ch. ii. 216-17 ; iii. 217, 284-91, 444-
57, 478 ; iv. 126, 265, 321, 348, 418
Condolence, letters of, i. 220 ; ii. 1, 2, 9, 14-16, 75, 118-20, 121, 123,
329 ; iii. 12 ; iv. 86
Visits of, iv. 198
Corncutter, iv. 242
Coronation, i. Charles I., 107-108 ; iv. Charles II., 9-11 ; James II.,
339-43 ; William III., 449
Courtship, i. 277-89 ; ii. 199, 202 ; iii. 55, 196-201, 223, 249, ch. ix. ; iv,
ch. i. 105, 135, 162, 211-12, 248, 423, 463
Covenant, the, ii. 162-70, 263
Cypher-names, ii. 244
DAN-CING, ii. 283, 354, 373 ; iii. 77, 90, 242, 306, 314 ; iv. 82, 190, 226,
251, 315, 383
Death-beds, i. 164, 268 ; ii. 386, 414; iii. 23, 29, 403, 421 ; iv. 132-34,
181, 182, 197, 203, 211, 234, 245, 356, 436, 453, 459, 478-79
Debt and debtors, iii. ch. v. ; iv. 100, 439
Decimation, iii. ch. viii.
Deer, i. 76, 237 ; ii. 160 ; iii. 154, 409, 412.; iv. 113, 353
Dial, iv. 93, 94
Dinners, i. 340 ; iii. 128, 184, 418 ; iv. 183, 188, 222, 270, 334, 477
Doctors. See Medicine
Dogs, i. 87, 129, 242 ; ii. 313 ; iii. 136, 220, 302 ; iv. 73, 75, 76, 114,
192, 406
Dress, i. 44, 48, 64, 66, 107-108, 144-45, 159, 160, 178, 186, 323 ; ii.
130-31, 134, 284, 310-11, 328; iii. 15, 37, 151, 160, 163,242,
302-306, 313, 364, 373, 382 ; iv. 149, 340, 362, 364, 391-92
401, 405-407
Children's, i. 262 ; ii. 2, 24, 284-S5 ; iii. 75, 88 ; iv. 176, 252, 443
Women's, i. 43, 73, 125, 258, 284, 286, 288, 296; ii. 61, 207,
235-36, 314, 355-56, 358-59, 361, 376-77 ; iii. 184, 375, 428 ; iv.
22, 28, 167, 170, 205, 270, 448, 460
Boots and shoes, i. 66, 144 ; ii. 310 ; iii. 46, 164, 364 ; iv. 167, 252,
408, 443
Cravats, iv. 213, 246, 398-99, 423
Pure, i. 44, 48, 174, 257 ; ii. 183 ; iii. 21, 22, 78, 221
Garters, i. 144 ; iii. 22, 37 ; iv. 250
504 SUBJECT INDEX
Dress (continued) :
Gloves, i. 66, 145, 210, 222, 257 ; ii. 226, 228, 310, 406 ; iii. 22, 242;
iv. 66, 148, 250, 270, 366, 443
Handkerchiefs, i. 145 ; iii. 37, 160, 382 ; iv. 367
Hats and hoods, i. 66, 337 ; ii. 37 ; iii. 37, 160, 308, 364 ; iv. 148,
167, 212, 364, 366-67
Lace, i. 11, 256 ; iii. 50, 61 ; iv. 206, 213, 252, 362, 364, 406
Muffs, i. 256 ; ii. 17 ; iii. 221 ; iv. 356
Ribbons, i. 144, 256 ; iii. 22, 242, 305, 313, 364 ; iv. 167
Stockings, i. 144-45 ; iii. 22, 37-38, 75, 85, 160, 242, 364, 382; iv.
167, 375, 406
Underlinen, iii. 37-38, 305-306 ; iv. 406
Wigs, ii. 233-34; iii. 38, 69, 167, 386; iv. 122, 145, 152, 282, 300,
379-80, 390
Drinking, i. 206 ; ii. 365 ; iii. 103, 345, 392, 444 ; iv. 189, 190, 224, 324,
339, 389
Education, i. 69, 70 ; ii. 5, 6, 177, 283-84, 292, 313 ; iii. 33-34, 40,
48-49, ch. iii. 233, 241-42, 295 ; iv. 176, 192, 216-21
Colleges, Oxford, i. 118-20, 158-65 ; iii. 293 ; iv. 95, 127-29, 251,
287, 360 ; ch. x. 426, 448. Foreign, i. 171-72 ; ii. 231, 264 ; iii.
48, 82, 89, 241
Schools, private, i. 36 ; ii. 21, 383-84 ; iii. 76-77, 353-66 ; iv. 97,
216-17. Public, Eton, i. 202 ; iv. 217, 397 ; Gloucester, i. 156 ;
Harrow, iv. Ill, 217, 251 ; Westminster, ii. 398-99 ; iii. 424-25 ;
iv. 217, see Busby; Winchester, i. 156-58; iii. 229, 354; iv.
134, 217-19 ; Uppingham, iii. 354
Tutors. See Cordell, Creighton, Crowther, Durand, Kersey,
Triplett, Turberville, &c.
Arithmetic, iii. 65, 82, 305, 356, 358, 366, 368-69 ; iv. 192, 218
French and Latin, i. 165, 171, 181 ; ii. 222, 228, 231, 312 ; iii. 34,
40, 64-65, 67, 73-75, 79, 359-61 ; iv. 217
Fees, i. 158-59 ; iii. 65, 305, 358-59 ; iv. 216, 221, 362, 369, 390, 406
Fencing, iv. 384, 400
Elections, ii. 218; iii, 444-45, 458, 463-65, 467-68, 474-78 ; iv. ch. ix.
409, 448, 472
Executions, i. 56, 359 ; ii. 398 ; iii. 218, 417 ; iv. 259, 271, 272, 291,
317, 858
Exiles, ii. ch. x. 392-93 ; iii. 2-7, 10, 16-20, 55
FAIRS, ii. 285 ; iii. 21, 77 ; iv. 54, 187, 434
Fasts, i. 59, 160 ; ii. 172, 226, 233 ; iii. 290, 435
SUBJECT INDEX 505
Fens, the, i. 110, 19? ; iii. 205-10 ; iv. 109, 143, 188
Fires, ii. 188, 208 ; iv. 137-45, 212, 213, 215, 268
Funerals, i. 57, 268 ; ii. 4, 18, 387, 389, 400-401, 420-23; iii. 158, 422-26 ;
iv. 182, 195, 210, 211, 327, 328, 374, 420, 422, 439, 456, 479-81
Furniture, i. 6, 79 ; ii. 371, 389 ; iii. 409, 428-29 ; iv. 71-72, 138, 142,
440
Beds and bedding, i. 6, 43, 243, 268, 293 ; ii. 15, 16, 76, 254, 285,
371-72 ; iii. 48, 54, 86-87, 113, 409, 429 ; iv. 42, 46, 131, 254
Cabinets, i. 350 ; iii. 50, 129, 429
Carpets, i. 6, 255-56 ; iii. 129, 401, 429 ; iv. 219
Chairs, i. 16 ; ii. 255, 286 ; iii. 429, 439 ; iv. 72, 367-68, 480
Cradle, ii. 293, 310 ; iv. 145, 170
Curtains, i. 15 ; iii. 401, 429 ; iv. 87
Glass and Mirrors, i. 4, 6, 101, 257, 259 ; ii. 309, 372 ; iii. 46, 87,
113-14, 129, 130 ; iv. 284, 432
Tables, iv. 367, 480
Wainscote, i. 5, 106 ; iii. 401 ; iv. 2
GAMBLING, iii. 221, 280, 417 ; iv. 87, 272-78, 280
Games, iii. 63, 280; iv. 251, 382-83
Bowls, iv. 273, 383
Cards, iv. 123, 173, 189, 272, 438, 452, 462
Chess, iii. 6, 15
Gaols, iv. Aylesbury, 125 ; Chelinsford, 307, 309, 310 ; Exeter, 302 ;
Fleet, iii. 149-53 ; Newgate, 282, 295, 296, 303, 305 ; Winchester,
136
Gardens and Gardening, i. 8-10, 14. 15, 80, 211 ; iii. 41, 114, 131, 224,
226-27, 250-51, 284, 286, 408-409 ; iv. 39, 55, 66, 76, 117, 153,
156-57, 191, 352, 356, 403-404, 441, 467
Gardeners, iii. 114, 279-82, 408; iv. 356
Vines and grapes, iii. 21, 23, 77, 114 ; iv. 9, 191, 352
HAIR, i. 159-61 ; ii. 234; iii. 163; iv. 13, 20, 21. 145, 162
Highwaymen, iv. ch. viii.
Horses, i. 10, 45, 50, 128-29, 305, 323 ; ii. 45, 91-93, 133, 135, 172,
184 ; iii. 193-94,203, 222, 247, 255, 271, 308, 346, 385, 412, 417-
19,450 ; iv. 10, 12, 43, 54, 85, 88, 89, 166, 169, 253, 369, 376, 382-
83,440
Horse-races, i. 182-83, 185, 186 ; iv. 85, 89, 335, 338, 435, 436
Sadlery, ii. 16, 93 ; iii. 385 ; iv. 149
Housekeeping, i. ch. i. ; ii. 43, 47, 78, 232, 253, 318, 375-76, 378 ; iii
113-17, 128, 139, 287, 375, 881, 418-19 ; iv. 29, 68, 72, 92, 114,
168, 279
506 SUBJECT INDEX
Housekeeping (continued) :
Ale and beer, i. 13; ii. 303; iii. 115, 139, 279; iv. 79, 224, 344,.
477
Chocolate and coffee, i. 13; iii. 42 ; iv. 334, 377, 401-402
Dairy produce, ii. 230 ; iii. 77, 139, 210, 381 ; iv. 387
Dessert, oranges, lemons, i. 266, 344 ; ii. 81, 230, 232 ; iii. 139,
278 ; iv. 29, 93, 123, 157, 193, 365, 390-91
Fish, crabs, oysters, i. 8 ; ii. 134, 157, 410 ; iii. 128, 407, 435 ; iv.
12, 29, 70, 173, 390
Fuel, i. 255, 299; iii. 114, 117, 242; iv. 98, 117, 125
Game and poultry, i. 8 ; ii. 224, 251 ; iii. 118, 115, 187, 258, 280 ;
iv. 81, 111, 173, 188
Linen, i. 10, 253, 299 ; ii. 18, 61, 175 ; iii. 113, 152, 429, 439 ; iv..
47, 363
Silver and pewter, i. 53, 152, 243, 267, 272; ii. 47, 88, 105, 311 ;
iii. 112, 382 ; iv. 92, 98, 436, 454
Stores, sugar, spices, ii. 232, 285, 411 ; iii. 277-78 ; iv. 363, 365
Vegetables, i. 8 ; iii. 114 ; iv. 403-404
Venison, i. 75, 161 ; iii. 92-93, 234; iv. 107, 111, 188, 206, 469,
477
Water-supply, iii. 116 ; iv. 185-86
Wines, i. 207 ; ii. 231 ; iii. 115, 139 ; iv. 29, 78-79, 224, 327-28,
333, 353, 381, 390, 442
INFANTS, i. 167, 244 ; ii. 7-9, 267, 269, 293-94, 329; iv. 95, 100, 170,
433
JEWELS, i. 83, 243, 296 ; ii. 17 ; iii. 428 ; iv. 258, 341, 468
Journeys, i. 104-105, 216-17 ; ii. 129, 182-83, 241-42, 280, 309, 317 ;
iii. 41, 56, 68, 88, 193, 269, 281, 381-83, 440, 443; iv. 91-92,359,466
LONDON ADDRESSES, i. 217 ; ii. 155, 281, 408 ; iii. 297 ; iv. 39, 117, 348,
477
Fire of, iv. 137-45
House rents, i. 105 ; ii. 410 ; iv. 39, 144, 278
Lodgings, ii. 246, 280-81 ; iii. 51-54, 150, 297, 436 ; iv. 21
Luggage, i. 104 ; ii. 173-75, 184, 313-14 ; iii. 129, 203 ; iv. 364
MEDICINE :
Apothecaries, iii. 65, 127, 184, 195, 390 ; iv. 84, 199, 256, 373, 380.
See Gape, Gelthorpe, St. Amand
Asses' milk, iii. 285 ; iv. 133, 244, 333, 358, 475
SUBJECT INDEX 507"
Medicine (continued) :
Bonesetters, iii. 80 ; iv. 393-95. See Skatt, Freeman
Fees, ii. 279 ; iii. 89, 185, 195, 201-202, 302 ; iv. 65-06, 394, 421
Midwives, ii. 270 ; iii. 247 ; iv. 169
Mineral waters, i. 127, 225, 263, 325 ; ii. 22-25, 404-405 ; iii. 241 ^
iv. 120-21, 231, 421
Nurses, ii. 293-94, 412 ; iii. 65, 94, 247 ; iv. 214, 256, 433
Oculist, iv. 97
Physicians, i. 165, 294 ; ii. 23-24, 256, 314, 318 ; iii. 65, 75-76, 87,
169, 172, ch. vi. 331, 430 ; iv. 42, 62, 67, 197, 256, 319-20, 358,
359, 393, 399, 421. See Bates, Denton, Mayerne, Radcliffe,,
Wright, &c.
Quacks, i. 258 ; iii. 285, 401, 419 ; iv. 97, 131, 360. See Clark,
Scott-Judith
Surgeons, i. 308 ; iii. 202, 375 ; iv. 380, 393-94, 436. See Wise-
man, &c.
Treatment and drugs, i. 12, 68, 167, 250 ; ii. 6, 10, 272-73, 288,
379, 412 ; iii. 48, 69, 76, 162, 168, 189, 192, 195, 212, 285, 307,
390, 391, 419-20 ; iv. 42, 53, 63, 118-19, 131, 187, 188, 256,.357,
359-60, 420-21, 425, 436, 452, 476-77
Venice treacle, iii. 45-46 ; iv. 421
Merchants, i. 38; Hi. 366-86; iv. 104, ch. v. 224, 247, 258, 268,. 325,.
412
Mines, i. 34 ; ii. 86 ; iii. 171, 173-74 ; iv. 104, 186
Money, iii. 225 ; iv. 116, 287
Monuments, i. 22, 24, 34-35, 49; iii. 123-26; iv. 206, 235, 419,
455-56
Mourning, i. 268, 293 ; ii. 15-16, 123, 400, 402-403 ; iii. 37-38, 405, 429,
448; iv. 86,202,235, 319, 327, 340, 366, 375, 376, 384, 407, 420,
439-40, 459, 460, 480
Music, i. 72, 208, 250; ii. 21, 184, 242, 280, 313, 409; iii. 64-66, 77,88,.
90, 359-60, 362-63 ; iv. 7, 81, 167, 183, 201, 315, 418
NAVY, i. 137; ii. 92, 335-37, 341 ; iii. 156, 163-64, 383 ; iv. 196, 208,.
209, 296-300, 305, 432, 433
Nonconformists, iv. 8, 169, 194, 200, 350-52
PAINTERS and pictures, i. 45, 66, 102, 125, 184, 227, 257, 260-61 ; iii..
23, 130 ; iv. 174, 181, 251, 432, 454, 470
Miniatures and enamels, ii. 18 ; iii. 23-28
Parliament, i. ch. xiv. ; ii. 41, 54, 240, 303-309 ; iii. 217, 387, 445-47,
452, 456, 468, 473-78; iv. 126, 142-43, 258, 266, 321, 348-50, 411,.
448. See Commons, House of ; Elections
508 SUBJECT INDEX
Prices, i. 45, 255, 258, 267 ; ii. 133, 173-74, 227, 228, 234-35, 375-76,
377, 400 ; iii. 26-28, 48, 53-54, 65, 87, 114, 115, 117, 119, 121, 125,
130, 131, 132, 138, 150, 151, 152, 158, 161, 165, 167,171-72, 174, 185,
186, 194, 195, 209,211, 220, 247, 250, 251,274-75, 286, 296, 302, 304,
305-306, 308, 327, 358, 364, 369-70, 382-84, 401, 409, 410, 412-13, 417,
436, 449 ; iv. 12, 22, 28, 29, 36, 39, 44, 46, 69, -73-75, 80, 82, 87, 89,
96, 107, 117, 121, 138, 140, 148-49, 169, 173, 206, 216, 221, 235,
249 n., 269, 300, 301, 324, 329, 334, 337, 341, 344-45, 346, 348, 362 n.,
367, 369, 373, 375, 382, 384, 390-91, 400, 401, 403-404, 420, 422, 434,
435, 442, 447, 451, 460. See Agriculture rents, London rente,
Medicine fees
Prisons :
Aylesbury, iii. 414 ; iv. 125
Bridewell, i. 154
Chehnsford, iv. 307, 309-10
Exeter, iv. 302
Fleet, ii. 148, 363, 369, 384 ; iii. 150-54, 409
Gatehouse, iii. 236
King's Bench, i. 40
Lambeth, iii. 236
Ludgate, i. 40
Marshalsea, i. 40, 138, Appendix ; ii. 313 ; iii. 170
Newgate, i. 40 ; iii. 91 ; iv. 282, 295-96, 303, 305
Oxford Castle, iii. 228, 232
St. James's, iii. 235-53
Tower, the, i. 292, 354, 359 ; ii. 195-205 ; iii. 154, 286, 412-13, 446,
453, 457 ; iv. Ill, 263, 357, 429, 445, 446
Whitehall, iii. 165-66
White Lion, iii. 170
Winchester, iv. 136
Prisoners of war, ii. 72-73, 170-71, 198, 338, 344-45 ; iii. 449
Ransom, ii. 171, 198
Prodigies, i. 4 ; ii. 123-24 ; iv. 144, 193, 210, 238
RINGS, i.262, 296, 299 ; ii. 9, 17-18, 116, 129, 252, 358 ; iii. 39 ; iv. 17,
180, 289, 327, 422
SEALS, i. 32, 55 ; iii, 42, 92, 201 ; iv. 367
Sequestration, ii. 238, 255, 263-64, 307-308 ; iii. ch. viii.
Servants :
Men, i. 40, 49, 226, 299, 302 ; ii. 18, 92-93, 130, 160, 215, 222-25,
250, 311-12 ; iii. 3, 36, 44, 50, 52-53, 89, 112, 118, 228, 244, 282,
389, 449 ; iv. 7, 113, 123, 126-27, 168, 214, 253-54, 284, 328,
SUBJECT INDEX 509
Servants (continued) :
333, 437, 440-41, 469-70. See Dover, Durand, Grosvenor,
Hodges, &c.
Women, i. 166 ; ii. 10, 17, 129, 176-77, 222, 225-30, 250, 265,
368, 378-79, 382 ; iii. 71, 94, 112-13, 115, 127, 284, 449 ; iv. 28,
31, 46-47, 70, 126, 129, 168, 174-75, 279, 437, 452, 462-63, 475.
See Alcock, Heath, Lillie, Westerholt, &c.
Sickness, i. 173, 208 ; ii. 245, 281, 404 ; iii. 201, 285, 401, 436-37 ; iv. 206
Ague, i. 262 ; ii. 59 ; iii. 172, 215-16
Apoplexy, iv. 278
Breaking a vein, iv. 257
Cancer, ii. 288 ; iv. 114, 131, 133
Clot of blood, iv. 197
Colds and coughs, ii. 90 ; iii. 162, 415 ; iv. 253-54, 322, 326, 328,
333, 357-58, 473
Consumption, ii. 413-14
Corpulence, iv. 165, 166, 407
Crookedness, i. 167 ; ii. 292-93 ; iii. 76, 80-84, 89
Erysipelas, iv. 370
Fevers, ii. 204, 214, 250, 295, 297 ; iii. 22, 50, 71, 76-77 ; iv. 134,
256, 373, 378-79
Gout, ii. 10
Hypochondria and madness, iii. 238 ; iv. ch. ii. 78, 170-72, 230,
406, 467
Jaundice, i. 294 ; ii. 176 ; iv. 155-56
King's evil, ii. 11, 12 ; iii. 66, 70, 78, 87 ; iv. 178
Measles, ii. 230 ; iii. 71 ; iv. 49-50, 217
' New disease,' ii. 171 ; iii. ch. xi.
Paralysis, i. 268, 283
Plague, i. 114, 235, 238 ; ii. 11 ; iii. 13 ; iv. 116-36, 155-56
Pleurisy, iv. 188
Small-pox, i. 245-46, 252, 324; ii. 70, 214; iii. 71, 432-33, 472;
iv. 25, 50-51, 124, 214, 217, 385, 387-88
Stone, ii. 316 ; iii. 191 ; iv. 334
Ulcerated leg, iv. 220, 380
Squires, the, i. 98-99 ; iii. 9, ch. iv. 247, ch. viii. ; iv. 1, 4, 5, 23, 78-
82 ; ch. vi. 221, 242, 327, 480-81
Standard, the Eoyal, ii. 97-99, 103, 109, 114-19, 125 ; iii. 93
Stewards, i. 30. See Eoades, Coleman, Dover
Waiting-gentlewomen, i. 11 ; iii. 214 ; iv. 73-74, 174-75, 461. See
Faulkner, Sheppard, Leake (Doll), Lloyd (Euth), &c.
THEATRE and Plays, i. 224 ; iii. 74, 241, 319 ; iv. 7, 229, 379, 381, 383
Theatricals, private, iv. 227
Tobacco, i. 109, 154-55; iii. 6, 90, 116 ; iv. 119
510 SUBJECT INDEX
'Toilet equipment, i. 250, 256, 270 ; ii. 234-36, 315, 384, 406 ; iii. 38-39,
87 ; iv. 468
Tyburn, iv. 228, 317
Club, iv. 226
VALENTINES, iv. 22, 176
WEDDING :
Clothes, iv. 28, 107, 205, 249-50
Expenses, iv. 29, 164, 224, 247, 249 n., 250
Favours, iv. 27, 249, 434
Guests, ii. 314 ; iv. 28, 30, 250
Weddings, i. 46, 116, 205, 234, 273, 282 ; ii. 61, 291, ch. xiv. 314 ; iii.
56, 181-82, 185, 201, 215, 350, 400, 406-407, 433-34; iv. 27, 81, 85,
109, 189, 199, 207, 224, 225, 236-37, 249, 314, 315, 424, 434, 463, 468-
69
Wills, i. 22, 39, 40, 43," 48, 51, 247, 253, 298-99 ; ii. 17-18, 181, 414 ;
iii. 94-95, 96, 404 ; iv. 180, 197, 199, 207, 454, 479
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