signed by James and Anne Hyde was first communicated to Charles by the Duke himself. Falling on his knees, he implored his Majesty, with tears in his eyes, to give his consent to their marriage; adding, that if the boon were denied, he should immediately quit the kingdom, and pass the remainder of his life abroad. Had the boon of concession rested entirely with Charles, probably few difficulties would have arisen. There were, however, other members of the royal family, to whom the projected marriage was in the highest degree unpalatable, and who, of course, opposed every obstacle in their power. So incensed was the Queen Dowager, that she immediately hastened to England; observing publicly, that—“ whenever that woman should be brought into Whitehall by one door, she would instantly quit it by another, and never come into it again." Her children, the Princess of Orange and the Duke of Gloucester, supported her in her opposition. The Princess was naturally unwilling to give precedence to a private gentlewoman, and especially to one who but a few months since had been her own attendant.

The authority and personal interference, however, of the good-natured Charles at length prevailed, and Miss Hyde became Duchess of York. King James tells us, in his Memoirs :-"The King, at first, refused the Duke of York's marriage with Miss Hyde. Many of the Duke's friends and servants opposed it. The King at last consented, and the Duke of York privately married her, and soon after owned the marriage." The ceremony was performed on the night of the 3rd of September, 1660, at Worcester House, in the Strand, then the residence of Lord Clarendon. They were married by Dr. Joseph Crowther, the Duke's chaplain; Lord Ossory giving the lady away.

Her marriage was no sooner declared to the world, than preparations were made to enable the new Duchess to keep her Court at St. James's with the usual state. Although her position must at first have been rather distressing than otherwise, we find her demeaning herself with the same dignity and composure as if royalty and splendour had been her birthright. De Grammont, no indifferent judge on such an occasion, pays a just tribute to her conduct and behaviour. "She had a majestic air," he says, "a pretty good shape, not much beauty, a great deal of wit, and so just a discernment of merit, that whoever of either sex were possessed of it, were sure to be distinguished by her: an air of grandeur, in all her actions, made her be considered as if born to support the rank which placed her so near the throne." We learn from the same authority, that her Court, though not so numerously attended, was always more select than that of the Queen-mother. According to Burnet, she "took state on her," rather more than was

necessary.

As the Court of England, in modern times, has been shorn of much of the splendour and circumstance which formerly invested it, a list of the persons whe composed the Court of the Duchess and those of her infant children, in 1669, may perhaps be glanced over with interest by the curious. Wherever it has been ascertainable, the salary attached to each office has been inserted against the name.

Groom of the Stole-The Countess of Rochester, 4007. Lady of the Bedchamber-The Countess of Peterborough, 2007. Four Maids of Honour

Mrs. Arabella Churchill, 201.

Mrs. Dorothy Howard, 201.

Mrs. Anne Ogle, 201.

Mrs. Mary Blague, 201.

Mother of the Maids-Mrs. Lucy Wise.

Secretary to her Highness-Sir Phil. Froud, 100%.
Two Gentlemen Ushers; each 807.

Six Gentlemen Waiters; principal one, 100l.; the others, 407.
Four Pages of the Back Stairs; each 801.

Yeoman of the Month, 50l.

Shoemaker, 36l. 10s.

Tailor, 901.

Master Cook, 40%.

Eighteen Watermen; each 27.

Master of the Horse to the Duchess-Sir Rich. Powle, 266l. 13s. 4d.

Two Equerries; each 1007.

Four Pages; each 521.

Eight Footmen; each 297.

Four Coachmen ; each 787.

Five Grooms; each 327. 108.
Two Chairmen ; each 391.

Postilions and Helpers.

Officers and Servants of the Duke of Cambridge.

Governess-Lady Frances Villiers, 4007.
Under-Governess-Mrs. Mary Kilbert, 1507.

One Coachman, Postilion, and Helper.

Officers and Servants belonging to the Princess Mary.

It may be mentioned that, at this period, the Princess Mary was only seven; the Princess Anne only five; and the Duke of Cambridge only two years old. The Princesses Mary and Anne were afterwards successively Queens of England.

One of the strongest proofs of the good sense of the Duchess, was her demeanour to Sir Charles Berkeley and his libertine associates, who had so infamously maligned her character previous to her elevation. What must have been their feelings, when the Duke, without any previous intimation of his marriage, introduced them to her as Duchess of York! "They were so completely possessed," says Count Hamilton, "both with surprise and astonishment, that, in order to conceal it, they immediately fell on their knees to kiss her hand, which she gave to them with as much majesty as if she had been used to it all her life." The account is corroborated by her father. "The Duke," says Lord Clarendon, "had brought Sir Charles Berkeley to the Duchess, at whose feet he cast himself, with all the acknowledgement and penitence he could express; and she, according to the command of the Duke, accepted his submission, and promised to forget the offence." The scandal, however, was long remembered, and many still affected to believe that she had been too kind to Berkeley before her marriage. Andrew Marvell, in one of his satires, speaks of "Falmouth's pregnant wench," and the charge is elsewhere raked up in other lampoons of the time.

For some years after her marriage, the character of the Duchess appears to have been altogether irreproachable. It was destined, however, to the "handsome Sidney" to prove that her heart was not invulnerable. Her affections appear to have been really engaged. It is even affirmed that she proposed to her husband the journey which he

undertook to York in 1665, in order to afford more favourable opportunities for the intrigue: the Duchess and her ladies were of the party, and Sidney was in the train of the Duke. The intrigue appears not only to have been notorious at the time, but to have been carried on with so little discretion, that it was perceptible even to the dull intellects of the provincialists. After alluding to the arrival of the Duke and Duchess at York, Sir John Reresby proceeds in his Memoirs,-"It was observed," he says, "that Mr. Sidney, the handsomest man of his time, and of the Duke's bedchamber, was greatly in love with the Duchess; and indeed he might well be excused, for the Duchess, daughter to Chancellor Hyde, was a very handsome personage, and a woman of fine wit: the Duchess, on her part, seemed kind to him, but very innocently." The story is repeated by Pepys, De Grammont, and Burnet. The latter informs us, that as soon as the Duke's suspicions were awakened, he precipitately dismissed Sidney from his court: moreover, the Bishop adds that the Duchess never afterwards recovered her influence over the mind of her husband. Burnet had once the assurance to repeat this story before the Duchess's daughter Queen Mary. "It was in a good deal of company," says Lord Dartmouth, "as the Earl of Jersey, who was present, told me; only with this difference, that he did conceal the gentleman's name.' There is no question, however, as appears by Pepys, Reresby, and De Grammont, that Henry Sidney was the hero of the tale.*

* Henry Sidney, le beau Sidney of De Grammont, was the youngest son of Robert, second Earl of Leicester, and brother of the celebrated Algernon Sidney. For the aid which he subsequently contributed in effecting the Revolution of 1688, he was created by William and Mary, 9th April, 1689, Baron and Viscount Sidney, in Kent; and,