Life of the Duchess of Newcastle 163 



power of those that are united either by merit, justice, grati- 

 tude, duty, fidelity, or the like. And though my Lord hath 

 lost his estate, and banished out of his country for his loyalty 

 to his King and country, yet neither despised poverty, nor 

 pinching necessity could make him break the bonds of friend- 

 ship, or weaken his loyal duty to his King or country. 



But not only the family I am linked to is ruined, but the 

 family from which I sprung, by these unhappy wars. Which 

 ruin my mother lived to see, and then died, having lived a 

 widow many years ; for she never forgot my father so as to 

 marry again. Indeed, he remained so lively in her memory, 

 and her grief was so lasting, as she never mentioned his name, 

 though she spoke often of him, but love and grief caused tears 

 to flow, and tender sighs to rise, mourning in sad complaints. 

 She made her house her cloister, inclosing herself, as it were, 

 therein, for she seldom went abroad, unless to church. But 

 these unhappy wars forced her out, by reason she and her 

 children were loyal to the King ; for which they plundered 

 her and my brothers of all their goods, plate, jewels, money, 

 corn, cattle, and the like, cut down their woods, pulled down 

 their houses, and sequestered them from their lands and livings ; 

 but in such misfortunes my mother was of an heroic spirit, 

 in suffering patiently where there is no remedy, or to be indust- 

 rious where she thought she could help. She was of a grave 

 behaviour, and had such a majestic grandeur, as it were con- 

 tinually hung about her, that it would strike a kind of an awe 

 to the beholders, and command respect from the rudest (I 

 mean the rudest of civilized people, I mean not such barbarous 

 people as plundered her, and used her cruelly, for they would 

 have pulled God out of heaven, had they had power, as they 

 did royalty out of his throne). 1 Also her beauty was beyond 



l An account of the plunder of the house of Sir John Lucas at Colchester is given 

 in Mcrcurins Rusticus, No. i : ' On August 22, 1642, Sir John Lucas intended with some 

 horse and arms to begin his journey towards the north to wait upon the King.' This 

 was discovered to the leaders of the local parliamentarians by a treacherous servant, 

 and the roads were beset, and a guard set on his house. On his attempt to start the 

 town was raised, the volunteers and train-band assembled, and a crowd of 2000 people 

 broke into the house to search for arms and the suppressed garrison of cavaliers. ' The 

 people lay hands on Sir John Lucas, his lady, and sister, and carry them, attended with 

 swords, guns, and halberts to the common gaol. Last of all they bring forth his mother, 

 with the like or greater insolency, who, being faint and breathless, hardly obtained 

 leave to rest herself in a shop by the way ; yet this leave was no sooner obtained, but 

 the rest of that rude rabble threatened to pull down the house, unless they thrust her 

 out ; being by this means forced to depart from thence, a countryman (whom the alarm 

 had summoned to this work) espies her, and pressing with his horse through the crowd, 

 struck at her head with his sword so heartily, that if an halbert had not crossed the 



