d the utmost excitement; which in a little while was somewhat
abated by the announcement that the king's youngest brother, Henry, Duke
of Gloucester, was taken ill of small-pox. This young prince, who is
described as "a pretty boy," possessed parts which bade fair to
surpass his brothers. He was indeed associated by his family with their
tenderest memories, inasmuch as he had been with his father on the sad
day previous to his execution. On that melancholy occasion, Charles I.
had taken him upon his knee, and said to him very tenderly, "Sweetheart,
they will cut off thy father's head," at which the boy shuddered and
turned pale. "Mark, child, what I say," continued the unhappy king,
"they will cut off my head, and, perhaps, make thee a king; but mark
what I say, you must not be made king as long as your brothers Charles
and James are alive, for they will cut off thy brothers' heads when they
catch them, and cut off thy head at last; and therefore I charge you not
to be made a king by them." To which the lad replied very earnestly, "I
will be torn in pieces first." Sometime after the death of his father he
was allowed to join his family in France, and, like his brother James,
entered the army of that country. On the restoration, he had
returned with the king, and, three months later, this "prince of
very extraordinary hopes" died, grievously lamented by the court, and
especially by his majesty, who declared he felt this loss more than any
other which had previously fallen upon him.

Scarcely had he been laid to rest in the vault containing the dust
of Mary Queen of Scots and Lady Arabella Stuart, when the Princess of
Orange arrived in England to pay the king a visit of ceremony. No sooner
was she settled at court, than rumour of her brother's marriage reached
her; on which she became outrageous; but her wrath was far exceeded by
that of the queen mother, who, on hearing the news, wrote to the duke
expressing her indignation "that he should have such low thoughts as to
marry such a woman." The epistle containing this sentence was at once
shown by James to his wife, whom he continually saw and spent much time
with, unknown to her father, who had given orders she should keep her
chamber. Parliament now sat, but no mention was made of the duke's
marriage by either House; and, inasmuch as the union so nearly concerned
the nation, this silence caused considerable surprise. It was surmised
the delay was made in deference to the