The Life, Times, and Scientific Labours of the Second Marquis of Worcester: To which is added a reprint of his Century of Inventions, 1663, with a Commentary thereon.Dircks, Henry
History
The Life, Times, and Scientific Labours of the Second Marquis of Worcester: To which is added a reprint of his Century of Inventions, 1663, with a Commentary thereon.
Dircks, Henry
Industrial arts -- History; Inventions; Worcester, Edward Somerset, Marquis of, 1601-1667
On Friday, the 18th of July, his Majesty returning to the Castle dined
there, continuing his visit until the 22nd, when he set out for a
place called The Creek. In the evening, however, he had supper at the
Castle, and remained there until Thursday, the 24th. He purposed going
to Bristol, but apprehending the approach of the Scots, on arriving
at The Creek, he went thence to Newport, Cardiff, Radnor, and Ludlow
Castle. After a lapse of six weeks, his Majesty, on Sunday, the 7th of
September, paid his third visit to Raglan Castle in time to partake of
supper. He staid until Monday, the 15th of September,[H] when he took a
final leave of his bountiful host. During this last visit his Majesty
appears, on different occasions, to have gone to Abergavenny on the 8th
and 11th, attended with his guards.[56]
Much misapprehension prevails respecting these royal visits, which it
is clear were made on three distinct occasions, his Majesty staying the
first time thirteen days, on the second six days, and on the last eight
days.
A singular instance of the Marquis’s freedom in addressing the King
occurs in the following statement made by his chaplain:--[23]
“The Marquis had a mind to tell the King as handsomely as he could,
of some of his (as he thought) faults; and thus he contrived his plot
against the time that his Majesty was wont to give his Lordship a
visit, as commonly he used to do, after dinner. His Lordship had the
book of John Gower[I] lying before him on the table; the King, casting
his eye upon the book, told the Marquis that he had never seen it
before.
“Oh,” said the Marquis, “it is a book of books, which if your Majesty
had been well versed in, it would have made you a King of Kings.”
“Why so, my Lord?” said the King.
“Why,” said the Marquis, “here is set down how Aristotle brought up and
instructed Alexander the Great in all his rudiments, and the principles
belonging to a prince.”
“And under the persons of Alexander and Aristotle, he read the King
such a lesson, that all the standers by were amazed at his boldness;
and the King, supposing that he had gone further than his text would
have given him leave, asked the Marquis whether he had his lesson by
heart, or whether he spoke out of the book.
“Sir,” the Marquis replied, “if you could read my heart, it may be you
might find it there; or if your Majesty please to get it by heart, I
will lend you my book.”
“Which latter proffer the King accepted, and did borrow it.
“Nay,” said the Marquis, “I will lend it you upon these conditions: 1.
That you read it; and 2. That you make use of it.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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