174 CHARLES II. IN THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 



in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, and to various authorities 

 from French and other sources. 



In his Preface the author states that during his visit to Jersey 

 he had been able to gain access to many unique documents, 

 most of them family deeds and memorials preserved as heir- 

 looms by descendants of the little gentry, whom Charles himself 

 would sometimes honour with a visit at their habitations as he 

 rode about the island. Among the persons thus honoured was 

 Laurence Hamptonne, the Vicomte (or Sheriff), who officially 

 proclaimed His Majesty's accession in Jersey. The name, he 

 says, has been long extinct, but the estate still remains in the 

 possession of his representatives in the female line. 



Amongst these may, apparently, be included Dr. Hoskins 

 himself, who had applied to the then proprietor of the old house 

 for permission to examine certain relics of royalty still in his 

 possession, as he states in a note : 



" My newly-claimed relatives generously bestowed upon me 

 the carved posts of the bedstead upon which Charles had slept, 

 and a richly sculptured oak chest which had served as a ward- 

 robe during his visits." * 



Chevalier's Journal does away with the generally received 

 belief that Charles was proclaimed king in the Channel Islands 

 generally, the circumstances attending the Proclamation showing 

 clearly that it was in Jersey alone, the sister island of Guernsey 

 being entirely devoted to the Parliamentary cause from the 

 beginning to the end of the struggle. Under these circum- 

 stances, and although it has been asserted that Charles did visit 

 Guernsey incognito, Dr. Hoskins thinks that it is most improbable 

 that he did so. The king is also said to have stayed at Mont 

 Orgueil, or Gouray Castle, during his visit to Jersey, and to-day 

 a suite of apartments are shown there as " King Charles' 

 Apartments." \ There is no doubt, however, that on Charles' 



* For an illustration and account of these articles see An Armorial of Jersey, 

 byJ. B.Payne (1S65), p. 177. 

 f See guide book to Mont Orgueil Castle, by Mr. Le Gros, pp. 10, 17, and IP. 



