Life of the Duchess of Newcastle 167 



miseries, for they sold all my Lord's estate, which was a very 

 great one, and gave me not any part thereof, or any allowance 

 thereout, which few or no other was so hardly dealt withal. 

 Indeed, I did not stand as a beggar at the Parliament door, for 

 I never was at the Parliament House, nor stood I ever at the 

 door, as I do know, or can remember, I am sure, not as a 

 petitioner. Neither did I haunt the committees, for I never 

 was at any, as a petitioner, but one in my life, which was called 

 Goldsmiths' Hall, 1 but I received neither gold nor silver from 

 them, only an absolute refusal, I should have no share of my 

 Lord's estate. For my brother, the Lord Lucas, did claim 

 in my behalf such a part of my Lord's estate as wives had 

 allowed them, but they told him that by reason I was married 

 since my Lord was made a delinquent, I could have nothing, 

 nor should have anything, he being the greatest traitor to the 

 State, which was to be the most loyal subject to his King and 

 country. But I whisperingly spoke to my brother to conduct 

 me out of that ungentlemanly place, so without speaking to 

 them one word good or bad, I returned to my lodgings, and 

 as that committee was the first, so was it the last, I ever was 

 at as a petitioner. "lis true I went sometimes to Drury 

 House to inquire how the land was sold, but no other ways, 

 although some reported I was at the Parliament House, and 

 at this committee and at that committee, and what I should 

 say, and how I was answered. But the customs of England 



l The committee sitting at Goldsmiths' Hall was that for compounding with delin- 

 quents. ' Its object was to receive from delinquents themselves, either such against 

 whom no information had been made, or such as were already under sequestration : 



(1) A confession of their delinquency. 



(2) A pledge of adherence to the present Government. 



(3) A full account on oath of their possessions, real and personal. 



Whereupon a legal report was made, and they were admitted to compound in propor- 

 tions, according to their guilt ; half the estate was exacted from any delinquent Member 

 of Parliament; one-sixth from those who had taken part either in the former or 

 latter war ; two-sixths or one-third from those who had been active in both wars, etc. 

 Those who were in cities that surrendered on articles of war compounded according to 

 the tenor of those articles ' (Mrs. Greene's Preface to the Calendar of Domestic State Papers, 

 1649, p. ix.) A Calendar of the Proceedings of this Committee, filling five volumes, was 

 published in 1889-92. The songs of the Cavaliers are naturally full of allusions to the 

 committee : 



Under the rose be it spoken, there's a damned committee, 

 Sits in Hell (Goldsmiths' Hall) in the middle of the city, 

 Only to sequester the poor Cavaliers, 

 The devil take their souls and the hangman their ears. 



Another song says in allusion to the oaths : 



They force us to take 



Three oaths, but we'll make 



A third, that we ne'er meant to keep 'em. 



