CHARLES II TO KATHERINE

OF BRAGANZA

The single letter signed "Charles Rex," whether act

ually composed by the mis-named "Merry Monarch" or not, is certainly characteristic of himself and of the courtly times in which he lived. He began his reign with everything in his favour but with none of the qualities which merited the love bestowed upon him by his subjects. He was an easy-going, good-tempered "gentleman," and possessed some of the accomplishments of that genus, but none of the heart or principles of one. Even in his religion he fooled the people, for he was at heart a Roman Catholic, while outwardly a Protestant. The great plague came in his reign, and so did the fire of London. In that year, 1666, his subjects were engrossed by a Dutch war abroad, while at home the conflict between the Church of England and the Nonconformists, the Popish plot, and such legislation as the Act of Uniformity, the Habeas Corpus Act, and the Declaration of Indulgence, together with the Rye House plot, turned popular attention upon Charles, and made him a hero, although that heroism narrowly escaped extinction when it was discovered that

he had secretly sold Dunkirk to Louis XIV in order to obtain funds, denied him by Parliament, to support his profligate court.

There is one event, however, which the international struggle for supremacy in Morocco between 1907 and 1909 has brought into strong relief. Never until then had the government of Great Britain so sorely regretted that Tangier, brought to Charles as part of the dowry of the Infanta of Portugal, Katherine of Braganza, had passed within a few years from their hands with the country's full consent. What a contrast is presented by the fate of that Moroccan fortress and the island

of Bombay, which formed another item in her
dowry, and which today is the centre and
stronghold of British political

influence in India.

TO KATHERINE OF BRAGANZA

MY LADY AND WIFE,

M

LONDON, 2nd of July, 1661.

Already, at my request, the good Count da Ponte has set off for Lisbon; for me, the signing of the marriage has been great happiness; and there is about to be dispatched at this time after him one of my servants, charged with what would appear necessary: whereby may be declared, on my part, the inexpressible joy of this felicitous conclusion, which, when received, will hasten the coming of your Majesty.

I am going to make a short progress into some of my provinces; in the meantime, whilst I go from my most sovereign good, yet do I not complain as to whither I go, seeking in vain tranquillity in my restlessness, hoping to see the beloved person of your Majesty in these kingdoms, already your own, and that with the same anxiety with which, after my long banishment, I desired to see myself within them, and my subjects, desiring also to behold me amongst them, having manifested their most ardent wishes for my return, well known to the world. The

presence of your Serenity, only wanting to unite us, under the protection of God, in health and content, I desire.

I have recommended to the Queen, our lady and mother, the business of the Count da Ponte, who, I must here avow, has served me in what I regard as the greatest good in this world, which cannot be mine less than it is that of your Majesty; likewise, not forgetting the good Richard Russell, who laboured on his part to the same end.

The very faithful husband of your Majesty, whose hand he kisses. CHARLES REX

M

GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS AND EBBA

BRAHE

T

he hero of Protestantism in the Thirty Years' War married the daughter of the Elector of Brandenburg, and lived happily with her until he died. But the romance of the youthful king's life, which is particularly dear to the Swedish nation, concerns Ebba Brahe, who married Jacob de la Gardie, and who also lived happily ever after. Why Gustavus did not marry Ebba was due to the machinations of his mother, Queen Christina, aided and abetted by the great Swedish prime minister, Oxenstiern.

Ebba was an orphan, confided to the care of Gustavus' mother. Her father had been a high state official, her mother was related by marriage to Gustavus' grandfather. When she was fifteen and he eighteen, they decided to get married, but the mother of Gustavus had other plans for her son. First of all, she did not wish a Swedish subject, however lovely and talented, however sympathetic and amiable, as a daughter-in-law. She wished her son to ally himself with one of the great families of Germany. Her first efforts to break off the match were as tactless as they were futile. Her intentions were too obvious.