English literature -- History and criticism; Literature -- Anecdotes; Litterateurs
It was one evening that the king suddenly appeared, and, summoning the
French household, commanded them to take their instant departure--the
carriages were prepared for their removal. In doing this, Charles had to
resist the warmest entreaties, and even the vehement anger of the queen,
who is said in her rage to have broken several panes of the window of
the apartment to which the king dragged her, and confined her from
them.[214]
The scene which took place among the French people, at the sudden
announcement of the king's determination, was remarkably indecorous.
They instantly flew to take possession of all the queen's wardrobe and
jewels; they did not leave her, it appears, a change of linen, since it
was with difficulty she procured one as a favour, according to some
manuscript letters of the times. One of their extraordinary expedients
was that of inventing bills, for which they pretended they had engaged
themselves on account of the queen, to the amount of £10,000, which the
queen at first owned to, but afterwards acknowledged the debts were
fictitious ones. Among these items was one of £400 for necessaries for
her majesty; an apothecary's bill for drugs of £800; and another of
£150 for "the bishop's unholy water," as the writer expresses it. The
young French bishop attempted by all sorts of delays to avoid this
ignominious expulsion; till the king was forced to send his yeomen of
the guards to turn them out from Somerset-house, where the juvenile
French bishop, at once protesting against it, and mounting the steps of
the coach, took his departure "head and shoulders."[215] It appears that
to pay the debts and the pensions, besides sending the French troops
free home, cost £50,000.
In a long procession of nearly forty coaches, after four days' tedious
travelling, they reached Dover; but the spectacle of these impatient
foreigners so reluctantly quitting England, gesticulating their sorrows
or their quarrels, exposed them to the derision, and stirred up the
prejudices of the common people. As Madame George, whose vivacity is
always described as extravagantly French, was stepping into the boat,
one of the mob could not resist the satisfaction of flinging a stone at
her French cap; an English courtier, who was conducting her, instantly
quitted his charge, ran the fellow through the body, and quietly
returned to the boat. The man died on the spot; but no farther notice
appears to have been taken of the inconsiderate gallantry of this
English courtier.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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