THE EIGHTH DUKE OF BEAUFORT 



the Protestant party in England, and rendered his 

 retirement to Raglan a wise and politic move. The 

 Earl had not escaped the influence of the intellectual 

 revival of the reign of Elizabeth, for he had some 

 learning and a magnificent library. He was, like 

 many of his family, of a kindly nature and with a 

 considerable enjoyment of the good things of life. 

 The gout troubled him, as it has always done his 

 descendants, and was for many years probably the 

 only enemy that assailed his splendid retirement at 

 Raoflan. 



This retirement was roughly broken in upon by 

 the bursting of the storm that seemed likely to 

 overwhelm the house of Somerset, together with 

 the throne, the Church, and the constitution. Little 

 as Lord Worcester was in sympathy with Charles 

 and his policy, he stood by the king. Whatever 

 may be the judgment we now form on the results 

 of the revolution, the acts of the revolutionists and 

 the principles of the Puritans must to a contemporary 

 nobleman have seemed as dangerous as they were 

 distasteful. The outward conformity of the Earl to 

 an heretical form of worship suggests that this wise 

 and witty person was not a religious enthusiast. 

 His son, then Lord Herbert, had the making of a 

 fanatic in him, as we shall see later on, but the old 

 Earl's main idea was to stand by the king, who 

 represented the principles of monarchy and aristo- 

 cracy. So he dipped deeply into his purse for the 

 king's service and lent his money to the Royalist 



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