Agnes Strickland's Queens of England (33 page)

This marriage was very popular in Scotland, where, as well as in England, all the festivities and rejoicings customary on such occasions were observed. The groom displayed great ill-humor when the duchess had a son born a couple of days later, because the little fellow would have had the precedency over his wife in the succession, but, as we know, he lived only a few weeks. It made Princess Mary no happier to find herself united to a surly man, and what added to her distress at this time was the illness of her sister Anne, who was suffering from small-pox, and could neither be present at her wedding nor take leave of her when, a week later, she departed for Holland. The

WILLIAM AND MARY.

prince wanted to get his wife away from St. James's as soon as possible lest she might catch the infection; but she would not leave her father until the dreaded moment of sailing arrived. This made the groom so angry that everybody spoke of how cross and ugly he was, and the maids-of-honor of the queen called him the " Dutch monster," and other horrid names. He was angry with the wind, too, because it would continue to blow in the wrong direction, and keep him in England longer than he desired. Several people were lying dangerously ill at St. James's Palace; two or three had died since the wedding; Anne continued too ill to see her sister, and all was gloom and sorrow around the bride. At last, on the nineteenth of November, the wind changed, and the two palaces of Whitehall and St. James were at once bustle and confusion with preparations for the departure of the Princess of Orange and her husband. At nine o'clock in the morning the bride bade farewell to her old home and went to Whitehall to embrace her royal aunt. Queen Catharine, whom she loved very dearly. It was then that the que«*a told her to consider how much better her case was than her own, for when she came from Portugal she had not even seen King Charles, and Mary replied between her sobs: " But, madame, remember you came into England, / am going out of England." The king and the Duke of York, with a large party of nobility and gentry, embarked on the royal barges at Whitehall and accompanied the Prince and Princess of Orange down the river to Erith, where they were to dine. Then Mary parted with her father and uncle and set sail for Holland, several English and Dutch men-of-war being in attendance to conduct the royal yacht across the sea. If the Duke of York had known his son-in-law as well at that time as he did later, he would have set a watch on his movements until he was well out of the kingdom ; but an

unfavorable shifting of the wind gave the ambitious prince a chance of playing a mean trick on the duke, who on hearing that the Dutch fleet was detained at Sheerness, sent a messenger to invite the bride and groom to pass the lime at Whitehall. William declined, but went ashore with his wife and became the guest of Colonel Dorrell, the governor. Next day they proceeded to Canterbury, accompanied by Lady Inchiquin (one of the Villiers girls), a maid, and the prince's two favorites, Bentinck and Odyke. Arriving at the inn^ the prince applied to the city authorities for a loan, saying that he had been sent away from London in haste without a penny, because King Charles and the Duke of York were so jealous of any favor shown him that they were afraid the lord mayor would give him a grand feast, and hurried him off to prevent it. As we know the entertainment was given, and the prince and princess, as well as the rest of the royal family were present, of course the statement was false, and by refusing the loan the corporation of Canterbury showed very plainly that they considered it so. But Doctor Tillotson, the Dean of Canterbury, gathered together all the plate and ready money he could command, and hastened with them to the inn, where he requested an interview with Mr. Bentinck, and not only placed, all his wealth at the disposal of the prince, but offered him an asylum at the deanery, a more proper stopping-place for one of his rank than a common inn. The money and plate were accepted, but the offer of hospitality was declined. Now, it was perfectly useless for Prince William to demand money from any one but his uncles, who would have supplied him without hesitation. Besides, as the first instalment of Princess Mary's portion of forty thousand pounds had been paid, his credit was perfectly good in London, and the prime minister, Danby, would not have been applied to in vain. But the prince was so

angry on account of the birth of his little brother-in-law that he wanted to appear in the light of a very ill-used person, and this game was a bold political stroke to obtain partisans before leaving the country. And he succeeded, for Dr. Tillotson became a serviceable friend, who corresponded with the prince and Mr. Bentinck, and gave them some valuable information for which he was made an archbishop a few years later. Four days the Prince of Orange devoted to courting favor with the people of Kent, and then set sail on board the " Montague " at Margate.

The princess was accompanied by Lady Inchiquin and her two sisters, Elizabeth arid Anne Villiers, whose mother had died just after they bade her adieu at Richmond Palace. These were ladies-of-honor, and there was still another, named Mary Worth. AftSr a very stormy passage, during which everybody was sea-sick excepting Princess Mary, the royal fleet arrived at Tethudo, a town on the Holland coast, and their majesties proceeded to Hounslardyke Palace. The preparations for their reception went forward so slowly that they could not make their public entry into the Hague until the end of a fortnight, but everything was arranged with great magnificence. The bridge at the entrance of the town was festooned with garlands of flowers, surrounding appropriate Latin inscriptions, and twelve companies of soldiers were drawn up in line on either side. Twenty-four virgins, in gay costumes, walked two and two on either side of their highnesses' coach, strewing fresh flowers and evergreens in the path all the way. In front of the town hall was a triumphal arch hung with banners, ferns, and gay ribbons, displaying the crests of the prince and princess side by side, and over them two hands'holding a Latin motto, which, rendered into English, read thus :—

" What Halcyon airs this royal Hymen sings, The Olive branch of peace her dower she brings."

The royal cortege passed beneath this arch on to Hoog-straet, where another bore this inscription : —

" To the Batavian court, with Heaven's best smile, Approach fair guest, and bless this happy pile."

And so with a fine display of loyalty from their subjects, that greeted their eyes and ears at every turn, — for there was music, the beating of drums, and ringing of bells besides, — the royal pair passed through the principal streets to their palace.

That evening there were brilliant fireworks representing, in turn, St. George on horseback, fountains, pyramids, enormous castles, chariots containing the gods descending from the skies in a blaze of fire, flower-pots, animals, and a variety of novel devices. The following day all the " Herrs " of note called to pay their respects, but it is not necessary for us to recall the long unpronounceable names. The usual celebrations followed, and after that Princess Mary resorted to her old propensity for gambling, in which she was encouraged by her husband, who carried this vice further than she did.

Not long after the arrival of the Princess of Orange, as we must call her now, the Archbishop of Canterbury recommended Dr. Hooper for her almoner and chaplain. On his arrival in Holland he found the princess without a chapel or a room of any kind that could be put to that use, except the dining-room. This she willingly relinquished, because she and the prince never took their meals together, and for the sake of obliging Dr. Hooper she was willing to dine in a small, dark parlor, which, though not very comfortable, answered the purpose. Dr. Hooper was ordered to fit up the chapel; but so alarmed was the princess lest she might suffer from having incurred her lord's displeasure, that she insisted upon the almoner's being present on a certain afternoon, when his majesty was

to inspect the arrangements, to bear part of the brunt of his ill-nature. The first thing he did on entering the chapel was to turn up his nose contemptuously, kick over the chair placed on the steps of the dias tor his wife, and ask roughly for whom it was intended. Then he inquired the use of each article that struck his notice, and with an emphatic " Hum! " left the chapel, which he entered only once or twice after that. The princess attended every day, taking great pains not to make the chaplain wait. The prince had given his wife certain religious books to read, which Dr. Hooper replaced with those he preferred for her. This excited the prince's displeasure, and one day on finding her deeply interested in a work not in accordance with his belief, he stormed furiously, and said : " What! — will you read such books ? I suppose it is Dr. Hooper persuades you to do it."

While the Princess of Orange was under the good influence of Dr. Hooper, her sister Anne had established her little court at St. James's, and passed most of her time gambling and gossiping. Her most intimate friend was Sarah Jennings, who, at the age of fifteen, had secretly married the handsome Colonel Churchill, the Duke of York's favorite gentleman. This lady afterwards became the Duchess of Marlborough, a very important personage in the political world. Her tastes were similar to those of the Princess Anne, over whom she had a very baneful influence. Barbara Villiers, now Mrs. Berkley, third daughter of her late governess, was Anne's first lady-in-waiting ; thus we see four of the ladies of this family in direct attendance upon the two princesses who later occupied the British throne.

But to return to Holland. At the Hague the Princess of Orange found three beautiful palaces. One was called •' the Hague," a splendid Gothic structure, where all the

business of state was transacted, Mary never went there, excepting, on occasions of great ceremony. About a mile from this castle stood the palace in the wood, surrounded by stately oaks and one of the most beautiful gardens in the whole of Europe. That was the home of the Princess of Orange. A long avenue formed by two rows of wide-spreading trees, whose branches met and formed a canopy overhead, led to the main door of the palace, and clean, freshly gravelled walks wound in and out to the utmost limit of the well-kept grounds. Not far off was a dower palace, called the Old Court. A paved walk, also bordered with fine old trees, trimmed in the shape of pyramids, led from the Hague to the seaport of Scheveling; and, as this was open to the public, ever}' passenger had to pay a small toll to keep it in good order.

But the English attendants who had accompanied the princess wanted something besides a beautiful residence; they were not pleased with their new home, and longed for England and the old scenes and old faces they had left behind them. The princess was fortunate in having her uncle. Lord Clarendon, with her. He was ambassador at the Hague when she first arrived ; and, as her husband was called away shortly after, it was most agreeable to have her uncle's protection.

[A.D. 1678.] The Prince of Orange returned from hunting one day, and after reading a few letters announced his intention to proceed at once to France. The princess accompanied her husband as far as Rotterdam, and then bade him farewell.

During his absence the princess made a tour of her dominions, moving from place to place in her barge by canal. While travelling in this primitive manner, the ladies of the court amused themselves with needlework or card-playing; and when Princess Mary sewed. Dr. Hooper would read