FORESTRY 159 



in the past, and to bring in a good revenue from 

 this sylvan by-product into the bargain. 



There were other causes that depleted these 

 old encoppicements, and robbed the navy of the 

 benefit to be derived from them. I spoke before 

 of downright thieving and peculation, but some- 

 times the mischief arose in high places. For 

 instance, among the State (Domestic) papers of 

 1664 is one in which His Majesty Charles II is 

 "informed that two coppices one called King's 

 Copse, the other New Copse. . . . and that the 

 underwoods of the said copses are valued at 

 1292, besides the trees and saplings growing 

 thereon, to be preserved for our own use. We 

 are graciously pleased upon the humble petition 

 of Winifred Wells, one of the Maids of Honour 

 to our dearest consort and Queen, to give unto 

 her the benefit of the said underwoods. C. R." 



The order speaks for itself, but it is quite 

 worth while for anybody who is interested in 

 old tales of courts to look up the plainly spoken 

 account of Miss Winifred Wells, and of her 

 remarkable misadventure at a court ball, in 

 Pepys' Diary, 1663-4. 



It was hard enough for the woods to have 

 to meet charges such as these, but there was, 

 and is, another drain still more hurtful in 

 the form of the right of common of estovers. 



