fearing left her intereft might be of force enough to cross his other defigns. And it

was

encouraged to give their king fome trouble. And, which was worfe than all this, he took great pains to leffen the king's affection towards his young queen, ⚫ being exceedingly jealous left her intereft might be of force enough to cross his other defigns: and in this * ftratagem, he had brought himself to a habit of neglect, and even of rudeness towards the queen; so that, ⚫ upon expoftulations with her on a trivial occafion, he ⚫ told her she should repent it; and her majesty answerC ing with fome quickness, he replied infolently to her,

that there had been queens in England who had loft their heads (p).” -In order that the reader may the (p) Clarenbetter understand all this, I will here transcribe a few don, vol. i, paffages from the memoirs of madam de Motteville, a§. 38. favourite of Anne of Auftria, wife to Lewis XIII.— At the queen of England's leaving Amiens, the French ' court accompanied her majesty a little way out of the city, and the queen of France (fays madam de Motteville) has done me the honour to tell me, that when the duke of Buckingham came to kiss her gown, fhe ❝ being in the fore-feat of the coach with the princess of Conti, he hid himself with the curtain, as if he had ⚫ fomething to say to her; but, in reality, to wipe away ⚫ the tears which then came into his eyes. The princefs ⚫ of Conti, who had an agreeable way of raillery, and, · as I have heard, a great deal of wit, faid, on this occafion, speaking of the queen, that he would be an⚫ fwerable to the king for her virtue; but that he could not fay fo of her cruelty, fince, without doubt, the tears of that lover, which she had seen on this occafion, 'ought to have touched her heart, and that he had ❝ fufpected her eyes to have looked on him at least with pity. The duke of Buckingham's paffion (continues the lady) prompted him to a bold action, which the queen has informed me of; and which has been confirmed to ❝me by the queen of England, who had it from Bucking

• ham

(2) Vol. i. univerfally known, fays lord Clarendon (q), that, during his life, the queen had never

P. 39.

any

ham himself. That illuftrious ftranger having left •Amiens, in order to return to England, whither he was to conduct the princess of France, now queen of Eng • land, to her husband; being overcome by his paffion, ⚫ and unable to bear the pains of abfence, refolved to fee the queen of France again, tho' it were but for a moment. He formed that defign when he was come almoft to Calais, and he executed it under pretence of · news which he had received from the king his mafter, that obliged him to return to Amiens. He left the 6 queen of England at Boulogne, and came back to Mary de Medicis, then queen-mother, to treat about fome < pretended affairs, which he took for the pretext of his • return. After having done with his chimerical negotiation, he came to the reigning queen, whom he found ❝ in bed, almost alone. That princefs was informed by a letter from the dutchefs de Chevreufe, who accom C panied the queen of England, of Buckingham's coming back. She spoke of it before Nogent in a jefting manner, and was not surprised when fhe faw the duke. But fhe was fo when he came freely to kneel down by her bed-fide, kiffing her fheet with fuch uncommon transport, that it was eafy to perceive that his paffion was violent, and of that kind which does not leave the use of reason to those that are feized with it. The queen has told me, that she was troubled at it; which trouble, joined with a little indignation, made her continue a long time without speaking to him. The coun• tefs de Lannoi, then her lady of honour, not being · willing to fuffer the duke to continue in that condition,

told him, with a great deal of feverity, that what he ⚫ did was not customary in France, and would have made < him rife. But the duke, without appearing surprised, difputed with the old lady, faying, that he was no Frenchman, and not bound to obferve the laws of the kingdom. Then addressing himself to the queen, he

• faid

any credit with the king, with reference to any public affairs. But the death of that favou

faid aloud to her the most tender things imaginable, * which the answered only with complaints at his bold• nefs; and, perhaps, (fays the lady) without being very < angry, the ordered him feverely to rife and begone.

He did fo; and having feen her the next day, in pre⚫ fence of all the court, he went away, fully refolved to return into France as foon as poffible. All matters relating to Buckingham were told king Lewis to his queen's disadvantage. The queen of England (con⚫tinues madam Motteville) has fince related to me, that quickly after her marriage with king Charles I. fhe had ⚫ fome diflike to the king her husband, and that Buck⚫ingham fomented it; that gentleman faying to her face,

that he would fet her and her husband at variance, if he could. He fucceeded in it; and the queen, in her • affliction, was defirous of returning into France, to fee the queen her mother; and as she knew the paffionate defire which the duke had of feeing once more the · young queen of France, the fpoke to him of her defign. He embraced it with eagerness, and he served • her powerfully in obtaining leave from the king her hufband to execute it. The queen of England wrote about it to the queen her mother, defiring leave to • bring the duke of Buckingham, without whom she could ◄ not take that voyage. She was refused both by the queen her mother, and by the king her brother, her (r) Memoirs defign coming to nothing, by reafon of that of the duke towards of Buckingham. This gentleman (fays the lady) raised hiftory of a divifion between the two crowns, that he might have Anne of an occafion of returning into France, by the neceffity Auftria, at there would be for a treaty of peace (r).'

་

writing the

the end of

186--290.

the 4th vol. 'The infolence, pride, luft, and revenge of Bucking- of Retz meham, appear from thefe paffages, better than from a moirs, p. thousand descriptions: and it cannot but fomewhat dimi- See alfo Ronish the character of Charles, even in the eyes of his most han's mezealous and devout admirers, when they confider that moirs, p.

this 131, 8vo.

Lond. 1660.

don, vol. i. P. 30.

favourite, which happened by the hand of a well-meaning affaffin (K), Aug. 23, 1628, gave

this man, vile and abandoned in morals as he was, `was his chief favourite; and that tho' he might not do fuch things himself, yet he had pleasure in him that did them.

(K) Buckingham's death happened by the hand of a wellmeaning affaffin.] This was John Felton, a gentleman of family in Suffolk, of good fortune and reputation; who had been a lieutenant in the army; which quitting, he refided in London: where learning what an enemy to the nation Buckingham was, and that the house of commons had declared him the cause of all the evils the kingdom ⚫ fuffered, and an enemy to the public,' he believed he fhould do God good fervice if he killed the duke. Which fhortly after he refolved to do, and actually accomplished at Portsmouth (where Buckingham then was, preparing and making ready the fleet and army defigned for the relief of Rochelle, ftraitly befieged by Richlieu); for he ftruck him with a knife over his fhoulder upon the breast, which piercing his heart, foon occafioned his death. Felton, tho' he might eafily have escaped amidst the hurry and confufion the affaffination occafioned, unconscious of ill, but glorying in his noble exploit, walked calmly before the door of the house, owned and juftified the fact; tho' before his death he is faid to have repented of it, and afked pardon of the king, the dutchefs, and all the

;

duke's fervants, whom he acknowledged to have of(3) Clarenfended (s).' That Felton was an affaffin, must be owned that affaffinations are, for the most part, very unjustifiable actions, must be acknowledged; but where the principles, on which such affaffinations are founded, appear plaufible, and the affaffinators appear to have acted out of views to the public good, however mistaken, and not out of felf-intereft or private revenge; I fay," where this is the cafe, as it seems here to have been, we cannot help pitying the criminals, tho' we condemn the crime. But to proceed in the hiftory. Felton, after having been confined in prifon at London, was called • before

gave the queen an opportunity of exerting an influence over his majesty, which she re

tained

before the council, where he confeffed his inducement ' abovementioned to the murder. The council much preffed him to confefs who fet him on work to do fuch a bloody act, and if the puritans had no hand therein : ⚫ he denied they had; and fo he did to the laft, that no < perfon whatsoever knew any thing of his intentions or purpose to kill the duke, that he revealed it to none living. Dr. Laud, bishop of London, being then at the council-table, told him, if he would not confefs, he 'must go to the rack. Felton replied, if it must be so, ' he could not tell whom he might nominate in the extremity of torture; and if what he fhould fay then • must go for truth, he could not tell whether his lord'fhip (meaning Laud), or which of their lordships, he 'might name; for torture might draw unexpected things 'from him. After this he was afked no more questions, 'but fent back to prifon. The council then fell into ' debate, whether, by the law of the land, they could juftify the putting him to the rack; which, by order of the king, being propounded to all the judges, they ' unanimously agreed, that he ought not, by the law, to be tortured by the rack; for no fuch punishment is 'known or allowed by our law (t).' Whereupon, being (t) Rufh convicted on his own confeffion, he was hung up in worth, vol. i, chains. We see here the true fpirit of an ecclefiaftic (armed with power) in Laud! Cruelty is the distinguishing character. Racks present themfelves presently to the imagination of a fuperftitious tyrannical prieft, as the fittest punishments for offenders. Power in fuch hands, therefore, fhould never be lodged, because it will degenerate into tyranny, and render unhappy fuch as are under it.Let the fate of Buckingham alfo be a warning to all ministers not to pursue wicked measures; for deftruction, in all probability, will come upon them. Public juftice may make them examples: a Felton may arife to dispatch them; or if neither of thefe fhould occafion

p. 638.