290 THE HISTORY OF NEWMARKET. [Book XI. 



peerage. He married, ist, Dorothy, widow of Sir John Hele, 

 Knight ; and 2ndly, Elizabeth, daughter of WilHam, Lord 

 Spencer, of Wormleigliton ; but having no legitimate issue, 

 the Barony of Crofts became at his decease in 1677 extinct. 



188 Francis Newport, 2nd Baron Newport, of High 

 Ercall, Shropshire, succeeded his father, the ist Lord Newport, 

 in 1650. This nobleman, in the time of his father, fought 

 valiantly under the royal banner until 1644, when he was 

 taken prisoner by the Parliamentarians. Upon the Restora- 

 tion, he was constituted by Charles H. first Comptroller, and 

 afterwards Treasurer of the Household, and was advanced to 

 the dignity of Viscount Newport of Bradford, by letters 

 patent, dated March 11, 1675. He married Lady Diana 

 Russell, daughter of Francis, Earl of Bedford. After the 

 Revolution he was created Earl of Bradford, by letters patent, 

 dated May 11, 1694. He died in 1708. 



As the Duke of Tuscany's description of the 

 Charles II ceremony of touching for the king's evil 

 The King's is somewhat inaccurate, we append the fol- 



Evil 



lowing facts relating to the subject. 



One of the unspeakable blessings of the Restoration was 

 the re-introduction into England of the sovereign cure for 

 scrofula, or the king's evil. This pious farce (first instituted 

 by Edward the Confessor) is thus described by Evelyn, who 

 witnessed the ridiculous ceremony: "His Majesty sitting 

 under the State [canopy] in the Banqueting House, the chi- 

 rurgeons cause the sick to be brought or lead up to the 

 throne, where, they kneeling, the King strokes their faces or 

 cheeks with both his hands at once ; at which instant a chaplin 

 in his formalities says ' He put his hands upon them, and he healed 

 them.' This is said to every one in particular. When they 

 have been all touched, they come up again in the same order ; 

 and the other chaplin, kneeling and having gold angels * 



* An ancient gold coin struck in England, so called from the figure of 

 an angel impressed upon it. It weighed 4 pennyweights, and was 23J 



