An enquiry into the circumstances of the death of King Charles the Second, of England / by Norman Chevers.
- Norman Chevers
- Date:
- 1861
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: An enquiry into the circumstances of the death of King Charles the Second, of England / by Norman Chevers. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.
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![XVIII. That the day before His Majesty fell sick at Windsorf she per- swaded His Majesty (being then in her Lodgings) to eat a mess of Broath, prepared by some of her Papist servants, whereupon His Majesty fell immedi- ately sick, it being the Opinion of some Able Physicians, that His Majesty’s diseases were much augmented if not wholly created by the aforesaid Broath. XIX. That during his Majesty’s sickness, she introduced several unknown persons by a Back Door to his Majesty’s Bed-chamber, who in all likelihood were Romish Preists, French Physicians, Agents, or Ministers of the French King’s, all which persons could have no honest or lawful business with His Majesty, at that time especially, being privately introduced, and His Majesty’s proper servants, belonging to his Bed chamber being all sent out except such as were Popislily affected, her creatures consequently, and her footmen ordered to wait in the anti-chamber, as is judged to prevent any body’s hearing, or seeing them, as if they had been of His Majesties Bed-chamber. XX. That she has by her creatures and friends given out and whispered abroad that she was married to His Majesty and that her son the Duke of Richmond is his Majesties Legitimate Son, and consequently, Prince of Wales, his health being frequently drunk by her and her creatures in her night debau- ches aud merry meetings, to the great dishonour and reflection of His Majesty and the manifest peril and danger of the kingdoms, who may hereafter by such false and scandalous storys and wicked practises be embroyled in distractions if not in Bloud and Civil Wars, to the utter ruine of His Majes- ties subjects, and subversion of the Protestant Religion, it being manifest, she being a Papist herself, will breed her Son in the same Religion however she may pretend to the contrary. our master’s illness has so frighted me that I expect this day’s letters with great im- patience, as well as with fear and trembling, Good God ! what a change would such an accident make! the very thought of it frights me out of my wits. God bless you, and deliver us all from that damnable curse”—September 2nd, the Dowager Lady Sunderland writes, “ I writ to you as soon as my little brains were settled by hearing the king was much mended, and thanks be to God, does yet continue; but I have the less comfort in it because his fits were put off, like mine, by the Jesuits’ powder, and it was as necessary to give it to him as to me, for he was with two fits weaker than I was with more. If all the trouble people have been in was out of kindness to him, never had king so much, for it was to a. distraction. I believe there is scarce anybody beyond Temple Par that believes his distemper proceeded from any thing but poison, though as little like it as if he had fallen from a horse.” lie did not recover rapidly. Late in Jaunary, 1680 the Countess of Sunderland writes. “The king, God be praised, is better than ever 1 have seen him since his sickness;” and, in April, Sir W. Temple says. “ The king looks in better health than I have known him since his sickness last year.” In May of that year, there was a recurrence of the ague-fits. On the 18th of that month, Lady Sunderland wrote. “ We have been all sadly alarmed with the King’s being sick, but lie is now very well again, and 1 hope he will continue so, if lie can be kept from fishing when a dog could not be abroad.” Again,-—“ I was then, like most others, out ot my wits with the King’s being ill, and greater distraction never was any where for the time ; thanks be to God, it did not last long. 1 have not heard to day, but yesterday he was very well, but 1 take the less comfort in it because he has taken the Jesuits’ powder ” [there was, at that time, according to Sir W. Temple, a suspicion that the Bark left no cures without danger of worse returns] “ the fits he had did not last above two or three hours. In this time there was several parties met to counsel in their fright. God keep the nation fijoni the experiment that they would have done.”](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28268003_0058.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
