1662. to me by deserving it. He told them, how he had rejected the offer; and very seriously warned the king of the danger he saw he might fall into, if he suffered any of those who served him, to be once pensioners to other princes: those presents were made only to bias them in their counsels, and to discover secrets by their means: and if the king gave way to it, the taking money would soon grow to a habit, and spread like an infection through the whole court. 168 The duke of York's As the motion for the match with Portugal was carried on, an incident of an extraordinary nature marriage. happened in the court. The earl of Clarendon's daughter, being with child, and near her time, called upon the duke of York to own his marriage with her. She had been maid of honour to the princess royal and the duke, who was even to his old age of an amorous disposition, tried to gain her to comply with his desires. She managed the matter with so much address, that in conclusion he married her. Her father did very solemnly protest, that he knew nothing of the matter, till now that it broke out f f Lord Shaftsbury told sir Mich. Wharton, from whom I had it, that some time before the match was owned, he had observed a respect from lord Clarendon and his lady to their daughter, that was very unusual from parents to their children, which gave him a jealousy she was married to one of the brothers, but suspected the king most. D. (As far as lord Clarendon's lady is concerned in this story, sir Michael Wharton's veracity is established by Locke's Memoirs of the earl of Shaftsbury. See Locke's Works, vol. III. p. 493. And it appears, from lord Clarendon's account of this transaction, that his daughter resided with him for some time after he had been informed, by the king's order, of the marriage, and whilst it still remained a secret from the public. King Charles's conduct in this business was excellent throughout, that of Clarendon worthy an ancient Roman. See Continuation of the Life of the Earl of Clarendon, by himself, p. 27-40.) The duke thought to have shaken her from claim- 1662. ing it by great promises, and as great threatenings. But she was a woman of a great spirit. She said, she was his wife, and would have it known that she was so, let him use her afterwards as he pleased. Many discourses were set about upon this occasion. But the king ordered some bishops and judges to peruse the proofs she had to produce: and they reported that, according to the doctrine of the Gospel, and the law of England, it was a good marriage. So it was not possible to break it, but by trying how far the matter could be carried against her, for marrying a person so near the king without his leave. The king would not break with the earl of Clarendon and so he told his brother, he must drink as he brewed, and live with her whom he had made his wife. All the earl of Clarendon's enemies rejoiced at this: for they reckoned, how much soever it seemed to raise him at present, yet it would raise envy so high against him, and make the king so jealous of him, as being more in his brother's interests than in his own, that they looked on it as that which would end in his ruin. And he himself thought so, as his son told me: for, as soon as he knew of it, and when he saw his son lifted up with it, he protested to him, that he knew nothing of the matter, till it broke out; but added, that he looked g And a scandalous attempt was made to affect her reputation, as my lord Clarendon says, in a manuscript history, written by himself, of his life, or rather a continuation of it, from the restoration to within (six years) of his death. I had the reading of this manu script, by the favour of the lord 1662. The duke's character. on it, as that which must be all their ruin sooner or later. Upon this I will digress a little, to give an account of the duke's character, whom I knew for some years so particularly, that I can say much upon my own knowledge. He was very brave in his youth, and so much magnified by monsieur Turenne, that, till his marriage lessened him, he really clouded the king, and passed for the superior genius. He was naturally candid and sincere, and a firm friend, till affairs and his religion wore out all his first principles and inclinations. He had a great desire to understand affairs: and in order to that he kept a constant journal of all that passed, of 169 which he shewed me a great deal. The duke of Buckingham gave me once a short but severe character of the two brothers. It was the more severe, because it was true: the king (he said) could see things if he would, and the duke would see things if he could. He had no true judgment, and was soon determined by those whom he trusted: but he was obstinate against all other advices. He was bred with high notions of the kingly authority, and laid it down for a maxim, that all who opposed the king were rebels in their hearts. He was perpetually in one amour or other, without being very nice in his choice: upon which the king said once, he believed his brother had his mistresses given him by his priests for penance. He gave me this account of his changing his religionh: when he escaped (h King Charles the first's children were all of them brought up in the protestant religion, Henrietta duchess of was Orleans excepted, who conveyed from Exeter, during the troubles, and whilst an infant, to her mother in France.) out of the hands of the earl of Northumberland, 1660. who had the charge of his education trusted to him by the parliament, and had used him with great respect, all due care was taken, as soon as he got beyond sea, to form him to a strict adherence to the church of England: among other things, much was said of the authority of the church, and of the tradition from the apostles in support of episcopacy: so that, when he came to observe that there was more reason to submit to the catholic church than to one particular church, and that other traditions might be taken on her word, as well as episcopacy was received among us, he thought the step was not great, but that it was very reasonable to go over to the church of Rome: and doctor Steward having taught him to believe a real but inconceivable presence of Christ in the sacrament, he thought this went more than half way to transubstantiation. He said, that a nun's advice to him to pray every day, that, if he was not in the right way, God would set him right, did make a great impression on him. But he never told me when or where he was reconciledi. He suffered me to say a great deal to him on all these heads. I shewed the difference between submission and obedience in matters of order and indifferent things, and an implicit submission from the belief of infallibility. I also shewed him the difference between a speculation of a mode of Christ's presence, when it rested in an opinion, and an adoration (i Before the restoration he had zealously seconded the king's endeavours to prevent the then meditated perversion of their brother the duke of Gloucester; but it appears from VOL. I. Pepys's Diary, that so early as X 1660. founded on it: though the opinion of such a presence was wrong, there was no great harm in that alone but the adoration of an undue object was idolatry. He suffered me to talk much and often to him on these heads. But I plainly saw, it made no impression: and all that he seemed to intend by it was, to make use of me as an instrument to soften the aversion that people began to be possessed with to him. He was naturally eager and revengeful and was against the taking off any that 170 set up in an opposition to the measures of the court, and who by that means grew popular in the house of commons. He was for rougher methods. He continued for many years dissembling his religion, and seemed zealous for the church of England: but it was chiefly on design to hinder all propositions that tended to unite us among ourselves. He was a frugal prince, and brought his court into method and magnificence: for he had 100,000l. a year allowed him. He was made high admiral: and he came to understand all the concerns of the sea very particularly. He had a very able secretary about him, sir William Coventry: a man of great notions and eminent virtues, the best speaker in the house of commons, and capable of bearing the chief ministry, as it was once thought he was very near it. The duke found all the great seamen had a deep tincture from their education: they both hated popery and loved liberty: they were men of severe tempers, and kept good discipline. But in order to the putting the fleet into more confident hands, the duke began a method of sending pages of honour, and other young persons of quality, to be bred to the sea. And these were put in command, as soon |