TUDOR A PRINCE OF WALES An Historical Novel In TWO PARTS LONDON Printed by H. H. for Jonathan Edwin at the Sign of the Three Roses on Ludgatehill 1678. Licensed Feb. 1. 1678. ROGER L'ESTRANGE TUDOR A PRINCE of WALES An Historical Novel The First Part. IT was about the Time when the War which had continued for so many Ages between the English and Welsh seemed to be put to an end and that these latter were believed for ever unable to retrive their losses or defend their pretensisions That Owen Tudor one of their Princes and whose Lineage they deduced from Cadwalladar an ancient British King endeavoured to mount the Throne He found it no difficult matter to perswade the Welsh to rise in Arms and that people dissatisfied with their new Masters were ready to shed the last drop of their Blood in attempting to shake off that Yoke Tudor was glad to find them so well inclined to the Execution of his desires but their Aid seeming too weak fully to support his hopes he betook himself to the Protection of the Kings of France and Scotland who resolved to second him in his enterprises Henry the Fourth newly Crowned King of England no sooner understood of the powerfull League that was formed against him but that he on his part prepared vigorously for War and having raised an Army of Forty thousand men he marched towards Scotland at the head of it where he met the enemy drawn up on the Borders He offered them Battel which was accepted but the Scots had the worst of the day Tudor was fain to flie for it and the Earl of Doughlas who commanded the Scots was made Prisoner by Henry The loss of that Battel put the Affairs of the Welsh Prince into a bad condition and finding no other support but in the friendship of Charles the Sixth King of France he retreated into his Dominions where that Monarch received him more favourably than he could have expected in his adversity The Grandee's of the Kingdom imitated their Prince and had so great respect for the merit of Tudor that their civilities were sufficient to have made him forget all his losses if he had proposed to himself any thing but Glory But it is very hard for such Souls as are born to command to find satisfaction any other way than in the submission and obedience of Provinces and that Prince would have willingly preferred the Crown of Wales to all the Favours and Civilities which he received at the Court of Charles Wherefore he did all he could to procure from him assistance But France was not at that time what before it had been and after the unlucky accident which befell their King and is mentioned in History the Kingdom was so rent by the different interests of the Princes of the Blood that it had enough to do to maintain it self Tudor thus crossed in his designs bore his misfortune but not without much impatience yet that was not all Fate had new troubles in reserve for him and he had never been sensible of the utmost effects of ill fortune if he had not felt the pains which commonly attend a great but hopeless Love Charles had several Children by his Queen Isabell of Bavaria and Catharine his youngest Daughter was justly esteemed one of the greatest Beauties and most lovely persons that hath ever been The Lustre of her presence surprized all that beheld her and her Actions were accompanied with so many Charms that no heart was proof against her merit Her Body was not inferiour to the Beauties of her Countenance and in a word she seemed to have been framed on purpose to inspire into Hearts the tenderest of Passions Tudor at first beheld her with admiration but seeing his Fortune had no Conformity with high designs his reason at that time retained its authority and that Princes thoughts were taken up as much at least with the sense of his Calamities as with the Consideration of the perfections of Catharine However he had a Heart like other Men and he must needs have been of a very savage disposition if seeing daily the Princess he had not been affected by her Beauty He began to be a little more Melancholick than he used to be or to say better he changed his Melancholy into a sweet and restless pensiveness and such as men commonly fall into when a great passion begins to seize them He well percieved in himself this change of humour and was displeased thereat yet not so much as he would have been had he fully known the cause of it However he made some reflexions on the complaisance that he had for the Princess and seemed indeed to have touched the right string when he helped to beguile himself In effect after so many marks of goodness as Catharine had shewed him he thought there could be no great danger in those little offices which he rendred her and which he believed to be rather testimonies of Gratitude than Love but the effects which great obligations produce are easily known and though they make deep impression on generous Souls yet all things have their limits and it is no hard matter to distinguish that which flows from Love from the effects of a Heart that is only grateful Neither did Tudor long continue in his error and the earnest desire he had to be in all places where Catharine was convinced him that civility did not commonly lead men so far but that some extraordinary matter must needs have invaded his thoughts That consideration made him afraid so that endeavouring to prevent the troublesome consequences that might ensue from it He employed all means to stifle his Affection in the Birth and proposed to his own Imagination every thing that might represent to him the fatal effects of that attempt But none but such as have never been in Love can think that from such like enterprises any success is to be expected and experience does too plainly evince that Love is like to those snares wherein the more men strive to get out the more they entangle themselves Tudor had the same Fate as others have had and all his reasonings served only to render him more Amorous The Charms of Catharine presenting themselves in vast numbers to his memory he conceived so agreeable an Idea of the Princesses perfections as suddenly got the absolute Victory over his weakness He found a Thousand delights in the conversation of that fair one and in her Company he so much forgot the thoughts os all his misfortunes that his greatest care was how he might appear agreeable to her Eyes He was no more Tudor whom ambition tormented Day and Night and that Passion which had so cruelly racked his Heart since the first time that he had given way to it gave place to those Sentiments which to tender and affectionate Souls have far greater charms than the most glorious and magnificent Crowns But how said that Prince sometimes to himself Dost thou consider Tudor what thou art about
it then unsafe to trust that Prince but Madam de Giack came in purposely to dissipate all his apprehensions She gave him to understand that he would be accountable for all the Evils that might happen to France if upon idle apprehensions he refused an Interview which would be of great advantage to the publick and that in fine he did wrong to distrust the Dolphins word who being reconciled to him in good earnest might probably break off again when he percieved that he had to do with a Jealous and diffident Prince These words wrought more upon him than all the Counsels that his friends gave him to shun the Resentment of that Prince He sent him a Courier by whom he gave him advice that he would not fail to come to Montereau-faut-yonne the day prefixed in effect it was his destiny which he could not avoid and with some Guards he took his Journey but it was sadly fatal to him for he was killed by some of the Dolphins Servants just as he alighted to Salute that Prince who waited for him on thc Bridge All France was surprised at the death of the Duke of Burgundy for which the Dolphin was generally blamed by all and by the great disturbances that upon that occasion happened shortly after he well percieved how dear it cost him for having followed so bad Counsels Madam de Giack was ravished to hear that her revenge had so well succeeded but Unfortunate Tudor who foresaw the consequences of that accident was no sooner informed of it but that it struck him to the Heart he had not left the Duke of Burgundy untill he went to Montereau and he took that time to go see the Princess to whom he had written twice without receiving any answer He could not Imagine the reason of that silence and desiring to know the cause of it he went to her Apartment so soon as he came to Troyes where the Court was then He found the Princess alone in her Closet and expected his usual Reception when Catharine looking fiercely on him with eyes that darted out the anger that she was in Begone Traitour said she and go take your advantage of the death of the Duke of Burgundy He will no more now interrupt your Amorous engagements and I am much afraid that the hinderance he gave to your pleasures has cost him his Life It is impossible to express the effect that these words had on the Soul of Unfortunate Tudor He was long without knowing where he was or what was become of him but coming a little to himself again he desired to know of the Princess what she had to lay to his charge but she gave him no time to ask the question for rising from her Couch Once more begone said she and know that I will reason the Case no more with you At the instant she opened the Door and that passionate Lover seeing himself thus banished by his Mistress was obliged to obey her without being able to perswade her to hear one word for his Justification The truth is the sad condition that he was in spoke enough to have convinced the Princess of his Innocence had she not been prepossessed with an Opinion of his Infidelity but she had by her that which was enough to overcome all the Scruples that she might have had on that matter and on a time when she was a little too much urged by him she pulled out of her Pocket the fatal Letter that we have spoken of and casting her Eyes upon it All this said she is written to my sincere Lover and at the same time that he gives me the greatest Protestations of kindness he endeavours to perswade another that all his Carriage with me is but a design of Policy No no Traitour you shall deceive me no more and least I may be again surprised by your Artifices I know I should distrust my own weakness and that the surest way to Guard against it is to break off all farther commerce with thee Whilst the Princess persisted in such like Discourses and Tudor gave way to despair Philip Duke of Burgundy who succeeded his Father contrived a terrible revenge against the Dolphin He called together all that he thought favoured him and having taken Counsel of the most judicious he sent one of his confidents to the King of England to negotiate the League with him which put France within a Fingers breadth of utter ruin Most of the Grandees sided that way and were the more easily inclined to it in that the Duke made use of the Kings name to authorise his actions The truth is he disposed of that Prince according to his pleasure and made it very well appear by what he undertook and accomplished sometime after For he not only concluded the Marriage of Henry with Catharine but was likewise the cause that the King declared the Dolphin incapable of succeeding to the Crown and to compleat the Dukes revenge that King banished his own Son by a Decree of Parliament and acknowledged the King of England for his lawful Heir After these astonishing and furious proceedings Henry came to Troyes where the Court was he took upon him the Government made sure of Paris and the chief Cities of the Kingdom and afterward prepared for the Marriage of the Princess who procured him so much grandure Tudor sometime before was advertised by the Duke of Burgundy of all that passed and knowing how little power he had to hinder it he desired to be comprehended in the Treatie and seeing as he lost the hopes of his Love he set no value upon all the advantages of Fortune he chose rather to remit his pretensions than to see himself obliged to leave those places where he might still hope to enjoy the sight of his Lovely Princess He led as sorrowful a Life as can be imagined but when he himself was a witness of the Marriage of Henry and Catharine at Troyes no despair was like to his and all that I can say of it would be far short of the severity of his sufferings He was almost dead for grief and he had never out-lived his affliction if it were not evident by daily experience that the greatest Crosses have indeed power enough to over-burthen us but seldome the force to end our days In the mean time Catharine was in as bad a Condition as Tudor and though she was haughty enough to Curb the Sentiments that she still entertained for him yet she could not look upon him when they met without speaking many things in his favour Yea and sometimes she thought that she had done amiss in judging him guilty and to her it seemed that the Melancholy he was in since the time that she had used him so ill might serve far more to justifie him than the Letter we have spoken of was able to condemn him But she was much more confirmed in her thoughts when she saw that that Prince continued no more commerce with Madam de Giack and that so far
to do what course is this thou art like to follow Do Conquerours propose to thee this way to subdue thine enemies what a shame is it for a Prince continued he to give way to his pleasures when his chief care should be to remount the Throne and what a Joy will it be to Henry when he shall understand that Tudor delights in servitude at the same time when all his endeavours should be to shake off his Fetters But thou art mistaken Owen replied he immediately thy desires are not to be condemned and may not there be as much Policy as weakness in them if they be rightly considered is it not natural to implore the assistance of Neighbours when strength is wanting at home and where canst thou imagine to find greater support than in an Alliance with Charles if thou couldst be so happy as to obtain it But these thoughts were not so well confirmed in his mind as to banish all his troubles and distrust He began to reflect on the greatness of Catharine and his own misery and was not so blinded with self-love but that he knew very well that such a Princess as she was merited all that he could pretend to though he had been actually possessed of Ten Provinces each of them as great as that for which he had taken Arms. He resolved therefore to suffer without speaking and as there is nothing so bitter as desires without hopes so it is not easie to conceive the pitiful estate to which he was reduced He resolved oftner than once to retire from Court but having cast his Eyes upon all the places whither he might convey his wretched Fortune he found every where so little security for his person that necessity obliged him to remain where he was It was soon perceived that his sadness was extraordinary but every one knew the condition of his Affairs and they were desperate enough to hinder any from suspecting other grounds of his discontents than what were visible to all men All made it their business to comfort him and Catharine her self who felt a kind of affectionate pitie for that Prince which she had never before felt for any told him that one should not be so much dejected at the accidents of Fortune seeing daily experience made appear that nothing was more fickle and unconstant and that he should be perswaded that she often heaped her favours on him whom she had immediately before oppressed with afflictions Tudor answered as he ought to that obliging Discourse of the Princess but being resolved not to discover to her the secrets of his heart thought it enough to hint to her in the general that his troubles were far different from what she believed and that the greater ambition one had for high matters the more lamentable it was to see ones self out of hopes of attaining to them Their conversation was not very long but as it served to poyson the wounds of Tudor so it began to work strange effects in the Heart of Catharine for seeing pitie does insensibly accustom us to tender Sentiments that Princess did habituate her self to a gentle compassion for Tudor and thought her self only affected with his misfortunes when she became sensible of his merit That Prince was indeed endowed with most engaging qualities for besides the excellent Beauty and Comeliness of Body he possessed a gentile and pleasant Wit which easily insinuates and contributes as much to the Conquest of Hearts as all the sparkling Lustre of the World The Princess on her part fell likewise into a kind of pensiveness and if Tudor had taken that opportunity to speak to her of his Love she would certainly have heard him with pleasure and that wretched Prince would have found some comfort to his miseries in the kind usage that he might have received from her But he flattered not himself so much as to venture on speaking and thought it enough to give evidence of his passion by his Assiduities and Services In the mean while the Princess took particular notice of his deportment and I cannot tell whether Tudor were more amorous or Catharine more grateful But their procedure added more than one half to their affliction and they had long felt all the pains of Love without tasting of it's sweetness if the death of the King of England had not given them occasion by that which happened afterward to make known to one another their mutual Sentiments After the death of that Prince his Son Henry the Fifth succeeded to the Crown He set himself at first to the procuring of his Subjects quiet and having ordered all things at home resolved to make War or else to establish a good and solid peace with France He sent Ambassadors to Charles with propositions of some accommodation betwixt them concerning the differences that his Father had always had with him during his Reign and at the same time demanded the Princess Catharine his Daughter in Marriage The Ambassadors were no sooner arrived at Paris but that all people knew the cause of their coming Tudor took the alarm very hot and the Princess was so troubled at the overture that she could not forbear to make appear her aversion to the Marriage She was observed to weep incessantly and one day when Tudor went to pay her a visit he found her upon the Bed overwhelmed with such grief as could not be matched He saluted her with much respect and drawing near What is the reason Madam said he of so great dejection and do these lovely Eyes think it time to look sad when they ought to sparkle with the glory of their Conquests It is true continued he all the Crowns of the Earth have nothing that comes near your merit Nevertheless there are Charms in a Diadem and a Princess may rest satisfied with the Crown of England without fear of being suspected to want a noble Ambition Were I like Tudor answered she coldly I know very well that I should sacrifice all other interests to Ambition and that the concerns which one ought to have for Relations should not much perplex me But seeing my temper is different from his neither can I agree with him in opinion and perhaps Mine Ah how are you mistaken Madam in thinking so said the Prince interrupting her and how little do you know Tudor if you think that the desire of Reigning is all his Passion I confess continued he the time has been when I was only ambitious but there happen many changes in ones life and it is very hard amidst the Beauties which are to be found at the Court of France to entertain no other desires but for glory or rather it is very difficult not to forget it absolutely when one begins to feel an inclination for a lovely Lady You do indeed surprise me answered the Princess and I should never have suspected that you were in love One is often mistaken replied Tudor but I intend to undeceive you and make you acknowledg that I am much more to be
from retaining any esteem for her he could not hear her named but with horrour All these considerations put her many times in trouble but virtue at length triumphs over weakness and at least it contributed to make her reject her resolutions which sometimes she had to listen to a clear information In the mean time Unfortunate Tudor found by degrees that his Crosses were too hard for him and there is nothing truer than that at length they would have ended his days had not an accident happened which revived in him some small hopes For some Moneths there had been at Court an Italian called Pavini who ventured at Fortune-telling and whose Reputation was in so much Vogue by many surprising things he had told to most part of the Nobility that he was lookt upon as a person of extraordinary knowledge He cast the Horoscope of the King of Enggland but that Prince had no cause to be pleased with it and that I may not trouble you with all the accidents of his Fortune it is enough I tell you that he assured him his Life would prove short his death extraordinary and that though he should not be killed yet he should have thousands of enemies to fight with who should never leave him till they put him in his Grave The Duke of Florence Brother to the King had the same curiosity as his Brother had had and his Fate was not more happy than Henry's he was to lose his Life in the first Battel that he should fight These Princes were not well pleased with such fatal predictions But as the Prophecy of the Italian concerning the Kings death seemed foolish so they were not much troubled thereat and they had no great apprehensions but when they considered that most of the things which he had foretold others were fulfilled But in a short time Pavini was fully believed for the Duke of Clarence was killed in an engagement which happened in Anjou between his Forces and the Troops of the Dolphin commanded by the Earl of Buchan whom that Prince had made Constable of France That accident made the knowledg of the Italian to be admired all people consulted him and Tudor who had slighted him was one of the first that heard him with greatest confidence This man encreased the confidence that Prince Tudor had in him by some particular things which he told him for being together in a Chamber and he having cast his figures and done all that his art required Seigneur said he I know not what to think of this figure you must needs be naturally inconstant and Fortune is pleased to treat you according to the disposition of your temper For I find that at this very instant there is a considerable Cross which puts you into despair and I see that you forget it immediately though no extraordinary alteration happen in your Affairs but there is an odder thing still that I must tell you you are betrayed by a person who loves you and who is so far from forsaking your concerns that that person cleaves as close to them as ever Pavini made some pawse afterward before he spake again but then renewing his Discourse Here is a thing Seigneur said he which much abates my wonder you have lately had a great Cross and yet not from your enemies for the person that is the cause of it takes it as ill as you do Unriddle this your self added he if you can for I confess for my part I understand nothing of it all that I can tell you plainly is that you are much in Love with some thing and that though you have lost all hopes of possessing it yet you shall though you expect no such matter But by that you are in danger of shortning your Life and have a care also that your death be not fatal Pavini told Tudor no more but what he said was enough to make him ponder matters for who could not be surprised and setting aside the point of Treason was not the rest so conform to that which had already happened that it might be easily understood He began then to promise himself better Fortune and that faint beam of hope finding a place in his mind it was quickly percieved that he had lost one half of his Melancholy Queen Catharine took notice of it as well as the rest She would needs know the cause thereof and having information that Pavini told all people that he had no more Skill in the Stars and that he lost all his measures in the Case of Tudor the Queen was curious to know what he had told that Prince thinking that it must of necessity be from that that he had taken comfort She sent for Pavini when she was all alone and having commanded him to inform her of that Princes Fortune he frankly confessed that it put him to a puzle and that he found great difficulty to conceive the meaning of the Figure he had cast for him He told her likewise all that he had said to Tudor and she could have interpreted a great part of it her self if she had pleased but she discovered not her thoughts to him and having employed him in something upon her own account she dismissed him Her Conversation with Pavini gave her occasion to reflect on his great Skill and perswading her self that he was infallible She found her self divided between discontent of having unjustly accused that Prince and Joy of knowing that he was not to be always Unfortunate But there were a great many things that suddenly thwarted that weak satisfaction She called to mind the Letter which she had and finding therein more appearance than in all the Skill of Pavini she reckoned his art sometime foppery and many times accused her self of too much credulity However she was in danger of taking the Princes part before she could wholly Sacrifice him to her suspicions if her virtue had not come to her Assistance and had not made her somewhat scrupulous in all that concerned him That thought alone made her absolutely condemn Tudor she was willing for her own Repose to think him guilty and for that bout she resisted all temptations that she had to come to a clearing with him But Pavini gave her suddenly occasion of obtaining another Victory over her self He cast the Horoscope of that Princess as she had ordered him he had a Mind to discourse with her and taking his opportunity for an audience without interruption Madam said he to her if I was amazed at the strange accidents that I found in the Fortune of Tudor I must freely tell you that I know not what to say of the things I have observed in yours for every thing in it appears to me more extraordinary than another But who would not be surprised as well as I when I see the greatest Princess in the World unhappy amidst her Grandures Yet that is nothing continued he and there are so many others who in a Condition not far from that you are in have had the
always to decieve a Lover and a Lover that is Unfortunate the Duke began to suspect that Tudor had a greater share than he in the favours of the Queen and though that Prince knew nothing but what his suspicions made him conjecture yet he grew fearfully Jealous He never met Tudor but that he beheld him with threatning looks and at length he observed so few measures in his Resentment that our Lovers easily percieving it redoubled their Circumspection to conceal their Marriage But Fortune which delights in Inconstancy was weary of showring her Favours on them and resolved to make them feel her cruelty after that she had Crowned them with her kindness The Duke of Glocester entertained many spies in the Countrey and these Blades who observed all things with great care could not hitherto find any thing that might confirm their Master in his thoughts Sometimes he upbraided them with Carelesness sometimes with Treachery and that they conspired with the Queen to deceive him In the mean time all these Reproaches being unprofitable he resolved to set to Work himself and laboured to corrupt the Loyalty of those whom he knew to be most Privie to the Secrets of the Queen But he found them all so firm to their duty that he began to lose hopes of succeeding in his designs when Fate alone in a Trice compleated that which the Duke could not perform with the Assistance of all whom he had employed The Queen made use of one of the Chamberlains of her House to send her Letters by to Tudor she had intrusted him to carry one to him and that faithful Servant who was glad punctually to discharge what he was ordered to do by the Queen waited till Night that he might go securely to the House of Tudor and so soon as it grew Duskish he took his Journey that he might perform his Message He was not far from the House when he found himself set upon by Six Robbers He defended himself as well as he could but the Foot-man that was with him having forsaken him he received suddenly several wounds which made him fall dead upon the place In the mean time that murther was committed with much Rumour and the Lackey who fled called together a great many for his Masters Assistance with whom he came back but too late for the Murtherers had already saved themselves Some went in pursuit of them and the rest carried the Body of the Gentleman into the next House where making an Inventory according to the good Custome of some of all that the dead Man had about him they found there the Letter which he carried to Tudor They presently knew the Queens Signet and seeing the Letter had no address and that they doubted not but that it was of consequence The Constable took the charge of it and went instantly with it to the Regent to whom he told what had happened The Duke presently dismissed him and having looked upon that Letter Three or Four times without daring to open it at length he broke it up and found these words in it THE QUEENS LETTER TO TUDOR ALL that can be done is done to discover if I love you and there is nothing omitted to draw from my Servants a Confession of what they might know of our Secrets but they have not falsified the Opinion that I had of their fidelity and our Jealous observer shall keep watch long in vain if I mistake not At present I find some abatement of my fears come as soon as you can my Dear and make your advantage of the Serenity we now enjoy and I shall give my Dear Tudor proofs that I Love him more than my self THe Duke grew stark staring mad upon reading of that Letter he was sometime before he would resolve what to do but at length having uttered great threats against these two Unfortunate Lovers he resolved to shew them what a slight was able to produce in the Breast of a Man prepossessed with a strong passion He imagined every thing that might animate him to revenge and when he found that some remains of Affection put a stop to his rage Is it for that infamous Princess then that thou dost solicite me and art thou still so base as to be willing to observe measures with one who not content to put me into despair stains likewise the honour of the Royal Family by a shamefull Commerce which she holds with a Prince so far beneath her Ah! too happy Tudor cried he immediately afterward thy death must expiate the Crimes that thou committest against the Memory of thy Prince and the Duke of Glocester shall revenge him at the same time that he resents the Indignity that you offer to his Love He was at least an hour in making such useless complaints and thinking that he would receive great ease if he might utter in the Queens presence what he had been saying all alone he went to her appartment The Queen was surprised to see him at that time but she had far greater reason to be so when that Prince after a terrible look I am not at all amazed Madam said he to her at the trouble I put you in when one expects to see a Lover and finds a furious man one has reason to change colour but I shall be exceedingly changed my self if I produce not shortly more surprising revolutions and I hope that the deceitful Eyes which I behold shall shortly weep for the same things that have hitherto made them laugh What do you mean Prince replied the Queen half angry at that discourse and half shaking for fear I mean Madam answered the Duke that to see you one would never have believed that you could Joyn such modest looks with so bad and Irregular a Conduct But I know your secret practices and it is no time to dissemble when I have so good proofs to confound you Here is the thing continued he showing her the Letter that we have mentioned that will put you out of your measures and ought you not to blush at these shameless words whereby you express your passion If the Queen was astonished at the Dukes discourse ye may Judge what case she was in when she saw her Letter in his hand She stood sometime speechless but finding that it was no longer time to dissemble By what means Prince said she have you come by my Letter I see not what right you have to censure my actions and may not I write to my Husband what I think good but that the Duke of Glocester must find fault with it Tudor your Husband Madam said the Duke immediately interrupting her Yes Prince replied the Queen Tudor is my Husband and I would have you know besides that I have Three Children by him These words almost killed the Duke with despair and renewing his discourse after he had made some reflexion on what the Queen had told him A Queen of England said he Daughter of a King of France has Married Tudor and has Three Children