sterling." Altogether the marriage of his daughter must have cost James nearly a hundred thousand pounds. The following are the items set down by the Treasury To the Wardrobe for apparel for the Princess Eliza- For furnishing her chamber Apparel and necessaries for her to my Lord Harring £6000 4000 830 6252 3023 For the naval work of fireworks on the Thames at 4800 More fireworks on the Thames at her marriage For settling her jointure, and charges to some of the The charges of her journey For her transport to Flushing 2000 800 8000 5555 40,000 • £93,278 on personal Enormous sums of money were spent adornment by the courtiers and their ladies. Lady Welton had a gown that cost fifty pounds a yard for the embroidery. Lord Montacute, in spite of paying great fines for being a "recusant," gave fifteen hundred pounds to his daughters for their apparel. But, above all, the King's Favourite, Viscount Rochester, and Lord Hay, who was, par excellence, the beau of his age, Lord Dingwall, and Lord Dorset, dazzled the eyes of all who saw the splendour of their dress, so that one gentleman present cried out that "this extreme cost and riches makes us all poor."1 1 Chamberlain to Mrs. Carleton, "Court and Times." The beauty of Princess Elizabeth attracted the eyes of all spectators, many of whom wrote their impressions of the marriage ceremony. The bride was in a snow-white dress, the emblem of innocence, and her hair was uncoiled, falling in ripples of gold. On her head was a golden crown set with pearls and diamonds, and twelve maidens in white and spangled with jewels held up her train, so that her progress, it is said, was "like the milky way." On the passage to the Chapel Royal she was accompanied by two noble bachelors, Prince Charles her brother, and the old fox, the Earl of Northampton. On her return two married noblemen took their places, Ludovic Stuart, Duke of Lennox, and Charles Howard, Earl of Nottingham, Lord High Admiral of England. Abbot, the Archbishop of Canterbury, performed the marriage ceremony. The Prince Palatine and his young wife paid their final farewell to the King and Queen at the English Court at Carr's castle at Rochester, where the Favourite gave them a sumptuous entertainment. Thence the young English Princess, who had been adored by many gallant gentlemen, and whose beauty had inspired Sir Henry Wotton with his elegant poem, "You meaner beauties of the night," which is still well known, sailed away from the country she loved so dearly and was not to see again for fortyeight years. Little did the poor girl guess then what troubles and agonies lay before her. Not one among the gentlemen who waved farewell to her as she stood on the deck of the Royal vessel, flying the Lord Admiral's flag, guessed that before many years had passed this lady and her husband would be flying from the armies of Austria and Spain, having lost their crown and country. The King and Queen returned, with Viscount Rochester, to his castle, and after the long period of feasting and pageantry and masks, the Court must have been glad of a little peace and rest. Rochester himself was now at the zenith of his fortune and power, and with Overbury, his secretary, controlled the policy of the country, and was admitted to all the secrets of State. By a nod he could raise men to high offices, by a frown he could cast them down. He stood at the King's side, a handsome, careless figure, to whom all others gave flattery and homage. "Now all addresses are made to him," says Arthur Wilson; "he is the Favourite in Ordinary; no Suit or Reward, but comes by him; his Hand distributes, and his Hand restrains; our Supreme Power [the King] works by second Causes; the Lords themselves can scarce have a smile without him." But at this very time Robert Carr was working industriously for his own ruin. While he appeared to the world as the master of his fate, he was in private life the slave of one woman, and all the honour that he gained from the King's affection and bounty was to be turned to dishonour by this entanglement with a girl whose beauty hid an evil nature. Careless and frank as Carr seemed, ready to do any of his friends a good service, and not going out of his way to make enemies, he was secretly the victim of an intrigue which put its coils about him. He kept it hidden from all his friends but one, and that was Overbury. And it was this one friend to whom he confessed who afterwards became his most dangerous enemy. CHAPTER VI MY LORD OF ROCHESTER IS BEWITCHED HEN Lady Frances, having worn down her W husband's patience, prevailed upon him to return to Court, she at once resumed all her tricks to entrap the Favourite, who was now so high in power. His friendship with her great-uncle, the Earl of Northampton, gave her the opportunity she wanted to meet the man she loved. According to one writer, it was at a supper in the Earl's house that she had first met Robert Carr, though others say that it was at Prince Henry's. Be this as it may, it is certain that Northumberland House was now a convenient rendezvous for the lovers. And here "they at their pleasure appointed meetings for further discourses." How soon Northampton knew the secret of the loveaffair is uncertain. It is probable that amidst all the great company at his table he did not observe the whispered words between the young Scot, whom he flattered with his friendship, and his beautiful young niece. Later, we know that he took an active part in a plot against the Lord of Essex, and in the dark business with which it was mixed up; but it seems clear that in the early stages he did not connive at the intimacy between Rochester and his mistress, because they were careful to meet in places outside the circle of the Court, and in low houses where people of their rank did not usually consort. But 1 "Truth Brought to Light." what gives one more perplexity is the fact vouched for by many contemporary writers, and borne out by sworn evidence in the "State Trials "that at first Rochester himself was by no means an eager lover of whose affections the lady was quite sure. We have seen how at Chartley Lady Frances wrote imploring letters to Forman, the quack doctor and astrologer, imploring him to use all his arts to fasten Rochester's love upon her. She now resumed her connection with that impostor and with Mrs. Turner, and bribed them by heavy payments to bewitch both the Favourite and her husband. The details of these experiments are the most extraordinary in the annals of crime. Lady Essex made frequent visits to Forman's house at Lambeth, and here, in the back-parlour, the astrologer and the young woman whose beauty was famous took part in the ceremonies and mysteries of the Black Art. The astrologer called upon the Powers of Evil to help him, and uttered spells and incantations which he had learnt during his travels. Many strange documents were written by him and recited to the lady, who sat with a white face and burning eyes listening to unknown words, which she believed would aid her in her desires and would, she must have believed also-according to the faith of the timemake her soul a slave for ever to the devil and his legions. Among these enchantments were some "written on parchment," wherein were contained all the names of the blessed Trinity mentioned in the Scriptures; and in another parchment + B + C + D + E, and in a third, likewise on parchment, were written all the names of the Holy Trinity, as also a figure, in which was written the word Corpus; and upon the parchment was fastened a little piece of the skin of a man. In some of these parchments were the devil's particular names who were conjured to torment the Lord Somerset and Sir Arthur Mainwaring, if their loves should not continue, the one to the Countess, the other to Mrs. Turner.2 1 Then Viscount Rochester. • These documents were produced in court. |