This was a large room very simply furnished; here and there, hung on the
walls, were costly arms. Above a couch was a beautiful portrait of King
Charles II. of England; beyond this was a miniature representing a woman
of most enchanting beauty. In an ebony frame were many studies in
crayon, well designed, and representing always the same people. It was
easy to see that they were drawn as portraits from memory. The frame was
supported by a kind of stand in chased silver, representing funeral
symbols, in the midst of which one might read the date, "July 15, 1685."
This apartment was occupied by a young man in the prime of
manhood--large, supple and robust. His noble proportions recalled
vividly the height and figure of Captain Whirlwind, of the buccaneer
Rend-your-Soul, or of the Caribbean Youmaeale. By coloring the fine
features of the man of whom we speak to the copper-colored tint of the
mulatto, the ruddy color of the Caribbean, or by half-concealing them
under the thick black beard of the buccaneer, one could almost see the
three individuals in the same person.
We will here say to the reader, who has doubtless penetrated this
mystery, that the disguises of the buccaneer, the filibuster, and the
Caribbean, had been successively assumed by the same man, who was none
other than the natural son of Charles II., James, Duke of Monmouth,
_executed_ at London, July 15, 1685, as guilty of high treason. All
historians agree in saying that this prince was very brave, very
affable, and of a very generous nature and a face beautiful and noble.
"Such was the end of a prince," says Hume, in (speaking of Monmouth)
"whose great qualities would have made him an ornament to the court, and
who was capable of serving well his country. The tenderness which his
father, the king, bore for him; the praises of a large faction and the
blind devotion of the populace, drew him into an enterprise beyond his
strength. The love of the people followed him in all the vicissitudes of
fortune; even after his execution, his followers cherished the belief
that they would some day see him at their head."
We will explain later the cause of this singular hope of the prince's
adherents, and how Monmouth had, in effect, survived his execution.
Having removed his disguise as the Caribbean, and the dye which stained
his features, Monmouth wore an ample gown of light blue covered with
orange flowers, and read attentively a large number of papers spread
before him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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