DUST OF THE PAST

Taranaki Daily News, 2 September 1933, Page 13 (Supplement)

DUST OF THE PAST

TUDOR AND STUART

(By

“Historicus.”)

Some of the commonest Christian names in England have such historical si associations that no heir to the Throne « of England for two centuries has borne them. John, is one such name; another te is James. Neither English nor Scottish emotions have ever been stirred by the tl memory of James VI. and 1., a man who certainly kept his two countries out of the Thirty Years War, but whose prud- h ence was akin to meanness and his h shrewdness to sharp practice. But the (; implied veto on “James” at Royal chris- P tenings is not on account of what that d King Jamie did or failed to do. It is because of James 11., the first fount of all Jacobite intrigue and romance, but in himself a narrow bigoted immoral man, brave, but utterly lacking the horse-sense and power of pleasing his n people which were Charles 11. s redeeming qualities. Perhaps if there had been no Civil War and if the little Prince a James, second son of Charles 1., had not been a prisoner of the parliamentarians for two years, he might have been more amiable and generous.’ In those early f year* he showed himself discreet, and bold as well in 1648 when at the age of n 15 he escaped to Holland, dressed as a .. girl. He wandered between his brother a Charles 'at the Hague and his mother at Paris: he saw service under Turenne and then with the Spanish against Cromwell’s men in the Netherlands; he quar- g relied violently' with Charles and in 1660 £ he returned with him to England,, already nominated Lord High Admiral. That ended the best and romantic part g of his life. For 25 years he hung about £ the court, managed Admiralty business with some assiduity, trusted Pepys to do £ more, went to sea himself and fought g the Dutch and went to Scotland and put ( down the Covenanters, watching their x tortures himself, unmoved. Through his j brother’s reign James Duke of York grew more and more unpopular. Yet he j had the support of all moderate men when he came to the Throne. He threw it away by untimely, mulish honesty and when William of Orange landed, lost his ‘ nerve, and bolted. Captured and brought back, he was allowed to escape again and J went to France, where he was treated as a King, dying eventually in state at St. c Germain’s on September 6, 1701. ’ # * # * j A biographer has written of Queen 3 Elizabeth of England, who was born on 3 September 7, 1533, that “there is nothing , to show that Elizabeth had a heart, no- , thing to indicate that she ever for a : moment knew the thrill of sentiment, ths |, storms of passion.” She might have ba. n | called the Sexless Queen as justly as ~ the Virgin Queen, but beyond an da- . nial she could and did love two things . immoderately—power and her country—and one thing in moderation-religion, m which she tempered her own inclinations by a politic insistence on the middle course. She could be ruthless with those . who would not go her way in religion > or in policy; against “recusant” Catholics . she was as inhuman as her sister Mary : had been against Protestants. But she understood her people as Mary did nou She gave'them a religious settlement . which most of them could fairly accept. By deft playing with the Kings of ; France and Spain and even with Rome, ■ she gave her country peace until its : strength had grown and that of France I had waned. She ruled without a stand- ! ing army and elaborated the method of > governing the country through the counl try gentry—the unpaid magistracy—a • method which till 40 years ago remained L the basis of English administration. It . is true that she grudged her sailors their i gunpowder and salt beef, but the blame • must be shared by her Parliaments, who ■ could not perceive that the charges for s the defence of the Realm could no longL er be met from the ancient revenues of . the Crown. b ’ i Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, died 1 on September 4, 1588. Written in an E attractive style by any of our lady ’ novelists, Dudley’s life would easily 1 make a “best seller.” Described as handt some and graceful, he appears to have ’ been a sort of Court beauty, cavorting ■ around in a royal limelight, suitor to a ’ Queen, with a wife in the country. 2 Love, tragedy and poison all have their chapters in his life. s The sudden death of his wife, Amy E Robsart, at her country home cast a . dark shadow of suspicion upon him, t although nothing definite was ever prov3 ed against him. The scandal was the 3 more serious, as it was insinuated that r Dudley stood so high in Elizabeth’s fav- [ z our that he might reasonably hope to s marry her. It is true he never did, but ; it would appear to be equally true that - she was averse to him marrying anyone 1 else. His marriage to the widow of the r Earl of Essex nearly placed him in the s Tower, and as there were suspicions of / poison about the Earl’s death, _ serious 3 imputations were raised against him once L again. Elizabeth, however, soon forgave » him. He died Suddenly, and it was commonly said that he was poisoned by his wife, she having given him a potion r which he had intended for her. Whether • there is any truth in these imputations 3 or not, it is certain that he. left little ' record of any quality deserving of adI miration. a # # * * 3 On September 8, 1560, Lady Dudley, Z remembered in legend, history and romS ance as Amy Robsart, her maiden name, “ was found dead with her neck broken at S the foot of the stairs at Cumnor Place, near Oxford. Her handsome husband f was at Court at Windsor, dancing atsl tendance on Queen Elizabeth, until g scandalous tongues were set wagging. s He had been married for some 10 years •s to Amy Robsart, the daughter of a Nore folk squire, but she had never joined d the Court, and when Dudley, on Elizae beth’s accession, became Master of the t, Horse, his wife was left to travel from is 1 manor to manor, amusing herself as best >f she might. From time to time Dudley i- left Court and visited her. They seemed ■- at least mildly affectionate and she was no simple country girl, but a woman of j breeding and education. Nevertheless e when Elizabeth philandered with this L handsome young courtier and heaped h I honours on him, other people, if not he, II reflected that were he not married he p ! would certainly become Prince Consort. 16 ! Dudley’s friend, a man named Forster, S’ rented the secluded Cumnor Place for J Amy’s residence. ;-j Amy found time hang heavy there, rt On September 8,- 1560, she sent her c, 1 household to Abingdon Fair, remained at ’s ’ home playing backgammon with her •g three ladies, went from the room and i” died without their hearing a cry. Dudfl ley did not attend the inquest or the i funeral and public suspicion fixed on him as an instigator of murder. But was ! Amy Robsart murdered ? There is no -- evidence to confirm it, or to show that is Dudley sought her death, whereas there n is evidence that she had talked of suii- cide. All that is certain is that she died I and Elizabeth did not marry Dudley.