St. George's Cross; Or, England Above AllKeene, H. G. (Henry George)
History
St. George's Cross; Or, England Above All
Keene, H. G. (Henry George)
Channel Islands -- History -- Puritan Revolution, 1642-1660 -- Fiction
The turn of Mr. La Cloche's discourse may be in great measure
anticipated. Setting forth the heinousness of rebellion and regicide, he
dwelt upon the virtues of the Royal Martyr, his courage, his patience,
his devotion to the Church. As was but natural in the circumstances,
there followed an application to local politics. They were there, he
informed his hearers (as the old lattices, shaken by the gale, rattled
their accompaniment to his monotone) in the character of Englishmen; but
he had to notice that to the existing rulers of England they owed no
obedience. The so-called Parliament which had judged and murdered the
late lamented Monarch, and which now claimed the right of ruling in his
stead, was no divinely appointed head of affairs, not even
representative of one Estate of the realm. Where were the Peers, the
Lords Temporal who had ever formed part of the Government of England,
the Lords Spiritual who represented the Church of Christ? The House of
Lords was now represented to them, there in the presence of the
Honourable Sir George Carteret, Knight and Baronet, whom that High
Chamber had set and appointed to bear rule in that Island. Still more
had they before them their Sovereign, the Anointed of the Lord, without
whose assent all Acts of State must ever be futile and rebellious. Yes,
he was there, that Sacred head, covered and guarded by the loyal hearts
and arms of one--only one--of his Norman Isles.
As the sermon came to an end the storm without showed signs of
abatement; and by the time the blessing had been pronounced and the King
and Prince had mounted their richly caparisoned horses, the wind had
lulled and the September sun gleamed brightly out upon the attentive and
orderly crowd. On returning to the Castle Charles sate down to dinner,
and a select portion of the more loyal Jersey society was admitted into
the Hall to see the King at table. Only two places were set; and after a
Latin grace had been pronounced by the Court-Chaplain, the dishes were
taken, one by one, to the King and his brother, and whatever meats were
approved were taken to the side-board and carved. The royal youths had
stood with uncovered heads while grace was being said; but they replaced
their hats when they sate down, and wore them throughout dinner. After
they had dined the Page-in-waiting, a tall and handsome youth, richly
attired, brought each of them a ewer and basin of parcel-gilt silver,
with a fringed damask napkin; and after they had washed their hands a
butler served them with Spanish and Gascon wines. Dessert having been
placed upon the table and tasted, the princes withdrew; and then the
hungry courtiers sate down to finish the repast.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account