HISTORY OF HARTING. 91 



being a man subject to vapours, was not at all times 

 attentive to what he was doing ; so, a very fat lord 

 coming in, Lord Grey counted him for ten, as a jest 

 at first ; but seeing Lord Norris had not observed it, 

 he went on with this mis-reckoning of ten ; so it was 

 reported to the House, and declared that they who 

 were for the Bill were the majority, though indeed it 

 went on the other side, and by this means the Bill 

 passed.* 



But the time of jest and merriment soon passed. 

 Thursday, 2$rd January, 1682, disclosed a scandalous 

 suit at the Court of Queen's Bench. Ford, Lord Grey 

 of Werke, was tried and found guilty of carrying away 

 his sister-in-law Henrietta or Harriet Berkeley from 

 the house of her father the powerful Earl of Berkeley, 

 at Durdants, near Epsom, Surrey, during the month 

 of August, 1682. " A scene unparalleled in our legal 

 history took place. The seducer appeared with daunt- 

 less front accompanied by his paramour." On the 

 other side appeared his father and mother-in-law 

 " moved to transports of rage by the sight of him. 

 The old Earl of Berkeley poured forth reproaches and 

 curses upon the wretched Henrietta. The Countess 

 of Berkeley gave evidence broken by many sobs, and 

 at length fell down in a swoon." f Ford, Lord Grey, 

 was defended by his lawyer kinsman Henry Ireton, 

 and prosecuted by Sergeant, afterwards the famous 

 Judge Jeffries on behalf of the Crown. % Lord Grey's 

 lawful wife was the Lady Mary Berkeley, described 

 in the trial as ' goodnatured and religious/ and willing 

 to forgive her sister. The Countess of Berkeley had 

 sent down Mr. Craven to Up Park 'as a spy and guard 

 upon Lord Grey, who proposed to get the lady out of 

 the way, and to send her to a nunnery in Calais or 

 Dieppe. " One day at Up Park we went out a shoot- 

 ing, as we did several days together : Mr. Craven, says 



Burnet I., 485. t Macaulay I., 525. 

 | Trial of Lord Grey at Kings Bench. B.M. 



