Then,
at last, the Duchess of Buckingham indignantly observed, that she and
the countess could not possibly live together. 'So I thought, madam,'
was the reply. 'I have therefore ordered your coach to take you to your
father's.' It has been asserted that Dr. Sprat, the duke's chaplain,
actually married him to Lady Shrewsbury, and that his legal wife was
thenceforth styled 'The Duchess-dowager.'
He retreated with his mistress to Claverdon, near Windsor, situated on
the summit of a hill which is washed by the Thames. It is a noble
building, with a great terrace in front, under which are twenty-six
niches, in which Buckingham had intended to place twenty-six statues as
large as life; and in the middle is an alcove with stairs. Here he lived
with the infamous countess, by whom he had a son, whom he styled Earl of
Coventry, (his second title,) and who died an infant.
One lingers still over the social career of one whom Louis XIV. called
'the only English gentleman he had ever seen.' A capital retort was made
to Buckingham by the Princess of Orange, during an interview, when he
stopped at the Hague, between her and the Duke. He was trying
diplomatically to convince her of the affection of England for the
States.
Pages:
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107