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JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook ™
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 SECOND EDITION
™

JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook

Danny Goodman

Beijing • Cambridge • Farnham • Köln • Paris • Sebastopol • Taipei • Tokyo

JavaScript and DHTML Cookbook™, Second Edition
by Danny Goodman

Copyright © 2007, 2003 Danny Goodman. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America.

Published by O’Reilly Media, Inc., 1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472.

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Printing History:
April 2003: First Edition.
August 2007: Second Edition.

Nutshell Handbook, the Nutshell Handbook logo, and the O’Reilly logo are registered trademarks of
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While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume
no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information
contained herein.

This book uses RepKover™, a durable and flexible lay-flat binding.

ISBN-10: 0-596-51408-5
ISBN-13: 978-0-596-51408-2
[M]
 Table of Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii

1. Strings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Concatenating (Joining) Strings 4
1.2 Improving String Handling Performance 6
1.3 Accessing Substrings 7
1.4 Changing String Case 8
1.5 Testing Equality of Two Strings 9
1.6 Testing String Containment Without Regular Expressions 11
1.7 Testing String Containment with Regular Expressions 13
1.8 Searching and Replacing Substrings 14
1.9 Using Special and Escaped Characters 15
1.10 Reading and Writing Strings for Cookies 17
1.11 Converting Between Unicode Values and String Characters 20
1.12 Encoding and Decoding URL Strings 21
1.13 Encoding and Decoding Base64 Strings 23

2. Numbers and Dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

2.1 Converting Between Numbers and Strings 31
2.2 Testing a Number’s Validity 33
2.3 Testing Numeric Equality 34
2.4 Rounding Floating-Point Numbers 35
2.5 Formatting Numbers for Text Display 36
2.6 Converting Between Decimal and Hexadecimal Numbers 39
2.7 Generating Pseudorandom Numbers 41
2.8 Calculating Trigonometric Functions 41
2.9 Creating a Date Object 42

v
 2.10 Calculating a Previous or Future Date 43
2.11 Calculating the Number of Days Between Two Dates 45
2.12 Validating a Date 47

3. Arrays and Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

3.1 Creating a Simple Array 54
3.2 Creating a Multidimensional Array 56
3.3 Converting Between Arrays and Strings 57
3.4 Doing Something with the Items in an Array 59
3.5 Sorting a Simple Array 61
3.6 Combining Arrays 63
3.7 Dividing Arrays 64
3.8 Creating a Custom Object 65
3.9 Simulating a Hash Table for Fast Array Lookup 69
3.10 Doing Something with a Property of an Object 71
3.11 Sorting an Array of Objects 72
3.12 Customizing an Object’s Prototype 74
3.13 Converting Arrays and Custom Objects to Strings 79
3.14 Using Objects to Reduce Naming Conflicts 82

4. Variables, Functions, and Flow Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

4.1 Creating a JavaScript Variable 85
4.2 Creating a Named Function 89
4.3 Nesting Named Functions 92
4.4 Creating an Anonymous Function 93
4.5 Delaying a Function Call 94
4.6 Branching Execution Based on Conditions 97
4.7 Handling Script Errors Gracefully 101
4.8 Improving Script Performance 103

5. Browser Feature Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

5.1 Detecting the Browser Brand 113
5.2 Detecting an Early Browser Version 113
5.3 Detecting the Internet Explorer Version 115
5.4 Detecting the Mozilla Version 116
5.5 Detecting the Safari Version 118
5.6 Detecting the Opera Version 119
5.7 Detecting the Client Operating System 120
5.8 Detecting Object Support 121

vi | Table of Contents
 5.9 Detecting Object Property and Method Support 124
5.10 Detecting W3C DOM Standard Support 126
5.11 Detecting the Browser Written Language 127
5.12 Detecting Cookie Availability 128
5.13 Defining Browser- or Feature-Specific Links 129
5.14 Testing on Multiple Browser Versions 130

6. Managing Browser Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

6.1 Living with Browser Window Control Limitations 135
6.2 Setting the Main Window’s Size 136
6.3 Positioning the Main Window 137
6.4 Maximizing the Main Window 138
6.5 Creating a New Window 139
6.6 Bringing a Window to the Front 143
6.7 Communicating with a New Window 144
6.8 Communicating Back to the Main Window 147
6.9 Using Internet Explorer Modal/Modeless Windows 148
6.10 Simulating a Cross-Browser Modal Dialog Window 151
6.11 Simulating a Window with Layers 158

7. Managing Multiple Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

7.1 Creating a Blank Frame in a New Frameset 178
7.2 Changing the Content of One Frame from Another 179
7.3 Changing the Content of Multiple Frames at Once 181
7.4 Replacing a Frameset with a Single Page 182
7.5 Avoiding Being “Framed” by Another Site 183
7.6 Ensuring a Page Loads in Its Frameset 184
7.7 Reading a Frame’s Dimensions 187
7.8 Resizing Frames 188
7.9 Setting Frameset Specifications Dynamically 192

8. Dynamic Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

8.1 Auto-Focusing the First Text Field 197
8.2 Performing Common Text Field Validations 198
8.3 Preventing Form Submission upon Validation Failure 204
8.4 Auto-Focusing an Invalid Text Field Entry 207
8.5 Using a Custom Validation Object 208
8.6 Changing a Form’s Action 213
8.7 Blocking Submissions from the Enter Key 214

Table of Contents | vii

 8.8 Advancing Text Field Focus with the Enter Key 215
8.9 Submitting a Form by an Enter Key Press in Any Text Box 216
8.10 Disabling Form Controls 217
8.11 Hiding and Showing Form Controls 219
8.12 Allowing Only Numbers (or Letters) in a Text Box 221
8.13 Auto-Tabbing for Fixed-Length Text Boxes 223
8.14 Changing select Element Content 224
8.15 Copying Form Data Between Pages 227

9. Managing Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

9.1 Equalizing the IE and W3C Event Models 236
9.2 Initiating a Process After the Page Loads 240
9.3 Appending Multiple Load Event Handlers 242
9.4 Determining the Coordinates of a Click Event 244
9.5 Preventing an Event from Performing Its Default Behavior 248
9.6 Blocking Duplicate Clicks 251
9.7 Determining Which Element Received an Event 252
9.8 Determining Which Mouse Button Was Pressed 254
9.9 Reading Which Character Key Was Typed 256
9.10 Reading Which Noncharacter Key Was Pressed 257
9.11 Determining Which Modifier Keys Were Pressed During an Event 260
9.12 Determining the Element the Cursor Rolled From/To 262
9.13 Synchronizing Sounds to Events 266

10. Page Navigation Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

10.1 Loading a New Page or Anchor 271
10.2 Keeping a Page Out of the Browser History 273
10.3 Using a select Element for Navigation 274
10.4 Passing Data Between Pages via Cookies 276
10.5 Passing Data Between Pages via Frames 278
10.6 Passing Data Between Pages via URLs 280
10.7 Creating a Contextual (Right-Click) Menu 283
10.8 Creating Drop-Down Navigation Menus 291
10.9 Providing Navigation Trail Menus 305
10.10 Creating Expandable Menus 308
10.11 Creating Collapsible XML Menus 320

viii | Table of Contents

11. Managing Style Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
11.1 Assigning Style Sheet Rules to an Element Globally 333
11.2 Assigning Style Sheet Rules to a Subgroup of Elements 334
11.3 Assigning Style Sheet Rules to an Individual Element 336
11.4 Importing External Style Sheets 337
11.5 Importing Browser- or Operating System-Specific Style Sheets 338
11.6 Changing Imported Style Sheets After Loading 340
11.7 Enabling/Disabling Style Sheets 341
11.8 Toggling Between Style Sheets for an Element 342
11.9 Overriding a Style Sheet Rule 343
11.10 Turning Arbitrary Content into a Styled Element 344
11.11 Creating Center-Aligned Body Elements 345
11.12 Reading Effective Style Sheet Property Values 346
11.13 Forcing Recent Browsers into Standards-Compatibility Mode 348

12. Visual Effects for Stationary Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351

12.1 Precaching Images 354
12.2 Swapping Images (Rollovers) 356
12.3 Reducing Rollover Image Downloads with JavaScript 358
12.4 Reducing Rollover Image Downloads with CSS 362
12.5 Dynamically Changing Image Sizes 366
12.6 Changing Text Style Properties 367
12.7 Offering Body Text Size Choices to Users 370
12.8 Creating Custom Link Styles 374
12.9 Changing Page Background Colors and Images 375
12.10 Hiding and Showing Elements 378
12.11 Adjusting Element Transparency 379
12.12 Creating Transition Visual Effects 381
12.13 Drawing Charts in the Canvas Element 385

13. Positioning HTML Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392

13.1 Making an Element Positionable in the Document Space 397
13.2 Connecting a Positioned Element to a Body Element 398
13.3 Controlling Positioning via a DHTML JavaScript Library 400
13.4 Deciding Between div and span Containers 407
13.5 Adjusting Positioned Element Stacking Order (Z-order) 409
13.6 Centering an Element on Top of Another Element 410
13.7 Centering an Element in a Window or Frame 412

Table of Contents | ix
 13.8 Determining the Location of a Nonpositioned Element 414
13.9 Animating Straight-Line Element Paths 415
13.10 Animating Circular Element Paths 419
13.11 Creating a Draggable Element 421
13.12 Scrolling div Content 426
13.13 Creating a Custom Scrollbar 432
13.14 Creating a Slider Control 445

14. Creating Dynamic Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452

14.1 Writing Dynamic Content During Page Loading 453
14.2 Creating New Page Content Dynamically 454
14.3 Including External HTML Content 456
14.4 Embedding XML Data 458
14.5 Embedding Data As JavaScript Objects 460
14.6 Transforming XML Data into HTML Tables 463
14.7 Transforming JavaScript Objects into HTML Tables 466
14.8 Converting an XML Node Tree to JavaScript Objects 469
14.9 Creating a New HTML Element 470
14.10 Creating Text Content for a New Element 473
14.11 Creating Mixed Element and Text Nodes 474
14.12 Inserting and Populating an iframe Element 476
14.13 Getting a Reference to an HTML Element Object 478
14.14 Referencing All Elements of the Same Class 480
14.15 Replacing Portions of Body Content 482
14.16 Removing Body Content 483
14.17 Using XMLHttpRequest for a REST Request 485
14.18 Using XMLHttpRequest for a SOAP Call 488
14.19 Sorting Dynamic Tables 491
14.20 Walking the Document Node Tree 494
14.21 Capturing Document Content 498

15. Dynamic Content Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500

15.1 Displaying a Random Aphorism 501
15.2 Converting a User Selection into an Arbitrary Element 504
15.3 Automating the Search-and-Replace of Body Content 506
15.4 Designing a User-Editable Content Page 512
15.5 Creating a Slide Show 515
15.6 Auto-Scrolling the Page 523
15.7 Greeting Users with Their Time of Day 524

x | Table of Contents
 15.8 Displaying the Number of Days Before Christmas 525
15.9 Displaying a Countdown Timer 527
15.10 Creating a Calendar Date Picker 534
15.11 Displaying an Animated Progress Bar 542

A. Keyboard Event Character Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548

B. Keyboard Key Code Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550

C. ECMAScript Reserved Keywords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553

Table of Contents | xi
 Preface 1

It may be difficult to imagine that a technology born as recently as 1995 would have
had enough of a life cycle to experience a rise and fall in popularity, followed now by
an amazing renaissance. Client-side scripting, begun initially with JavaScript embed-
ded in Netscape Navigator 2, has experienced such a roller coaster ride. A number of
early incompatibilities among major browsers caused many a content author’s head
to ache. But we learned to live with it, as a long period of stability in one platform—
Internet Explorer 6, in particular—meant that we could use our well-worn compati-
bility workarounds without cause for concern. Another stabilizing factor was the
W3C DOM Level 2 specification, which remained a major target for browser makers
not following Microsoft’s proprietary ways. Mozilla, Safari, and Opera used the
W3C DOM as the model to implement, even if Microsoft didn’t seem to be in a
hurry to follow suit in all cases.
Two factors have contributed to the rebirth of interest in JavaScript and Dynamic
HTML. The first is the wide proliferation of broadband connections. Implementing
large client-side applications in JavaScript can take a bunch of code, all of which
must be downloaded to the browser. At dial-up speeds, piling a 50–75 kilobyte script
onto a page could seriously degrade perceived performance; at broadband speeds,
nobody notices the difference.
But without a doubt, the major attraction these days is the now widespread availabil-
ity in all mainstream browsers of a technology first implemented by Microsoft: the
XMLHttpRequest object. It’s a mouthful (leading some to refer to it as, simply, XHR),
but it allows background communication between the browser and server so that a
script can request incremental data from the server and update only a portion of a
page. It is far more efficient than downloading a bunch of data with the page and less
visually disruptive than the old submit-and-wait-for-a-new-page process. To help put
a label on the type of applications one can build with this technology, the term Asyn-
chronous JavaScript and XML (Ajax) was coined. In truth, Ajax is simply a catchy
handle for an existing technology.

xiii
Ajax has opened the floodgates for web developers. Perhaps the most popular first
implementation was Google Maps, whereby you could drag your way around a map,
while scripts and the XMLHttpRequest object in the background downloaded adjacent
blocks of the map in anticipation of your dragging your way over there. It was
smooth, fast, and a real joy to use. And now, more powerful applications—word
processors, spreadsheets, email clients—are being built with JavaScript and
DHTML.
JavaScript in the browser was originally designed for small scripts to work on small
client-side tasks. It is still used that way quite a bit around the Web. Not every appli-
cation is a mega DHTML app. Therefore, this collection of recipes still has plenty of
small tasks in mind. At the same time, however, many recipes from the first edition
have been revised with scripting practices that will serve both the beginner and the
more advanced scripter well. Examples prepare you for the eventuality that your
scripting skills will grow, perhaps leading to a mega DHTML app in the future. Even
so, there are plenty of times when you need an answer to that age-old programming
question: “How do I...?”

About You
Client-side scripting and DHTML are such broad and deep subjects that virtually
every reader coming to this book will have different experience levels, expectations,
and perhaps, fears. No book could hope to anticipate every possible question from
someone wishing to use these technologies in his web pages. Therefore, this book
makes some assumptions about readers at various stages of their experience:
• You have at least rudimentary knowledge of client-side JavaScript concepts. You
know how to put scripts into a web page—where <script> tags go, as well as
how to link an external .js file into the current page. You also know what vari-
ables, strings, numbers, Booleans, arrays, and objects are—even if you don’t
necessarily remember the precise way they’re used with the JavaScript language.
This book is not a tutorial, but you can learn a lot from reading the introduc-
tions to each chapter and the discussions following each solution.
• You may be a casual scripter, who wants to put a bit of intelligence into a web
page for some project or other. You don’t use the language or object model every
day, so you need a refresher about even some simple things, such as the correct
syntax for creating an array or preloading images for fast image rollover effects.
• While surfing the Web, you may have encountered some scripted DHTML effect
that you’d like to implement or adapt for your own pages, but either you can’t
decipher the code you see or you want to “roll your own” version to avoid copy-
right problems with the code’s original owner. If the effect or technique you’ve
seen is fairly popular, this cookbook probably has a recipe for it. You can use these
recipes as they are or modify them to fit your designs. There are no royalties or

xiv | Preface
 copyrights to worry about, as long as you don’t offer these recipes to others as
part of a collection of scripts. Of course, if you wish to acknowledge this book in
your source code comments, that would be great!
• You may be an experienced web developer who has probed gingerly, if at all,
into client-side scripting. The horror stories of yore about browser incompatibili-
ties have kept your focus entirely on server-side programming. But now that so
many mainstream sites are using client-side scripting to improve the user experi-
ence, you are ready to take another look at what is out there.
• At the far end of the spectrum, you may be an experienced client-side DHTML
developer in search of new ideas and techniques. For instance, you may have
developed exclusively for the Internet Explorer browser on the Windows plat-
form, but you wish to gravitate toward standards-compatible syntax for future
coding.
Virtually every reader will find that some recipes in this book are too simple and oth-
ers are too complex for their experience level. I hope the more difficult ones chal-
lenge you to learn more and improve your skills. Even if you think you know it all,
be sure to check the discussions of the easier recipes for tips and insights that may be
new to you.

About the Recipes

It’s helpful for a reader to know upfront what biases an author has on the book’s
subject. To carry the cookbook metaphor too far, just as a culinary chef has identifi-
able procedures and seasonings, so do I format my code in a particular way and
employ programming styles that I have adopted and updated over the years.
More important than scripting style, however, are the implementation threads that
weave their way throughout the code examples. Because these examples may serve as
models for your own development, they are written for maximum clarity to make it
easy (I hope) for you to follow the execution logic. Names assigned to variables,
functions, objects, and the like are meant to convey their purpose within the context
of the example. One of the goals of coding is that the operation of a program should
be self-evident to someone else reading the code, even if that “someone else” is the
programmer who revisits the code six months later to fix a bug or add a feature.
There’s no sense in being cryptically clever if no one can understand what you mean
by assigning some value to a variable named x.
This book unabashedly favors the W3C DOM way of addressing document objects.
You can use this format to reference element objects in browsers starting with
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 and the other mainstream browsers addressed in this
edition (Mozilla-based browsers, Safari, and Opera 7 or later), which means that the
vast majority of browsers in use today support this standard. Where IE (including

About the Recipes | xv

IE 7) does not support the standard (as in handling events), all recipes here include
efficient cross-browser implementations. You won’t find too much in the way of IE-
only solutions, especially if they would cover only the Windows version of IE.
The long period of browser stability we have enjoyed since the first edition means
that visitors to public sites almost never use what are now antique browsers—IE
prior to 5.5 and Netscape Navigator 4 or earlier. All recipes are optimized for the
current browsers, but they also try to prevent hassles for anyone driving by in her
steam-powered browser.
One credo dominates the recipes throughout this book: scripting must add value to
static content on the page. Don’t look to this book for scripts that cycle background
colors to nauseate visitors or make elements bounce around the page while singing
“Happy Birthday.” You may be able to figure out how to do those horrible things
from what you learn in this book, but that’s your business. The examples here, while
perhaps conservative, are intended to solve real-world problems that scripters and
developers face in professional-quality applications.
The scripting techniques and syntax you see throughout this book are designed for
maximum forward compatibility. It’s difficult to predict the future of any technol-
ogy, but the W3C DOM and ECMAScript standards, as implemented in today’s lat-
est browsers, are the most stable platforms on which to build client-side applications
since client-side scripting began. With a bit of code added here and there to degrade
gracefully in older browsers, your applications should be running fine well into the
future.

What’s in This Book

The first four chapters focus on fundamental JavaScript topics. In Chapter 1, Strings,
you will see the difference between a string value and a string object. Regular expres-
sions play a big role in string parsing for these recipes. You will also see a reusable
library for reading and writing string data to cookies. Chapter 2, Numbers and Dates,
includes recipes for handling number formatting and conversions, as well as date cal-
culations that get used in later recipes. Perhaps the most important core JavaScript
language chapter is Chapter 3, Arrays and Objects. Recipes in this chapter provide
the keys to one- and multidimensional array creation, array sorting, object creation,
hash table simulation, and exploration of the prototype inheritance powers of
objects. You also see how creating custom objects for your libraries can reduce
potential naming conflicts as projects grow. Chapter 4, Variables, Functions, and
Flow Control, includes a recipe for improving overall script performance.
Chapter 5 through Chapter 8 provide solutions for problems that apply to almost all
scriptable browsers. In Chapter 5, Browser Feature Detection, you will learn how to
free yourself of the dreaded “browser sniffing” habit and use forward-compatible
techniques for determining whether the browser is capable of running a block of

xvi | Preface
script statements. If multiple windows are your nemesis, then Chapter 6, Managing
Browser Windows, provides plenty of ideas to handle communication between win-
dows. A few recipes present suggestions for modal windows (or facsimiles thereof).
Not everyone is a frame lover, but Chapter 7, Managing Multiple Frames, may be of
interest to all, especially if you don’t want your site being “framed” by another site.
Intelligent forms—one of the driving forces behind the creation of client-side script-
ing—are the subject of Chapter 8, Dynamic Forms. Updated to modern techniques,
recipes include form validation (with or without regular expressions) and some cool
but subtle techniques found on some of the most popular web sites on the Internet.
Interactivity with the user is driven by event processing, and Chapter 9, Managing
Events, covers the most common event processing tasks you’ll encounter with
DHTML scripting. Events (and one of the libraries shown in Chapter 9) ripple
through most of the remaining chapters’ recipes. That includes many recipes in
Chapter 10, Page Navigation Techniques, where you’ll see how to implement a vari-
ety of menuing designs and pass data from one page to the next. Chapter 11, Manag-
ing Style Sheets, provides recipes for both basic and advanced style sheet techniques
as they apply to dynamic content, including how to load a browser- or operating sys-
tem-specific stylesheet into the page. Style sheets play a big role in Chapter 12, Visual
Effects for Stationary Content, where recipes abound for image rollovers and user-
controlled font sizes, to name a couple.
Chapter 13, Positioning HTML Elements, addresses numerous challenges in keeping
positioned elements under tight rein. A positioning library recipe is used extensively
throughout the rest of the book, including more recipes in this chapter for animating
elements, scrolling content, and creating a draggable element. In Chapter 14, Creat-
ing Dynamic Content, the W3C DOM and XMLHttpRequest object get good workouts
with recipes for tasks such as embedding JavaScript and XML data within a docu-
ment, transforming data into renderable HTML content, and sorting HTML tables
instantly on the client. Additional dynamic content recipes come in Chapter 15,
Dynamic Content Applications, where more complex recipes show you how to use
DHTML for a slide show, a user-editable document, and a pop-up calendar date
picker, among others.

Browser Platforms
Freed from having to worry much about compatibility with very old browsers, the
goal of each recipe’s design in this edition is to work in the following browsers:
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or later
• Mozilla 1.7.5 (Firefox 1.0, Netscape 8.0, Camino 1.0) or later
• Apple Safari 1.2 or later (including the Windows version)
• Opera 7 or later

Browser Platforms | xvii

Many of the simpler scripts in early chapters work in browsers all the way back to
Netscape Navigator 2, but that is hardly the focus here. Occasionally, a recipe may
require a later version of Mozilla, Safari, or Opera, as noted clearly in the recipe. In
those cases, the recipe is designed to prevent script errors from appearing in slightly
older versions of these modern browsers.
You will also see many references in this book to designing pages to convey mission-
critical information for browsers that either aren’t equipped with JavaScript or have
scripting turned off. Beyond the browsers mentioned in the previous list, there are a
lot of users of browsers in portable wireless devices and browsers for users with
vision or motor skill impairments. Always keep accessibility in mind with your
designs.

Conventions Used in This Book

The following typographical conventions are used throughout this book:
Italic
Indicates pathnames, filenames, program names, sample email addresses, and
sample web sites; and new terms where they are defined
Constant width
Indicates any HTML, CSS, or scripting term, including HTML tags, attribute
names, object names, properties, methods, and event handlers; and all HTML
and script code listings
Constant width italic
Indicates method and function parameters or assigned value placeholders that
represent an item to be replaced by a real value in actual use
Constant width bold
Used to draw attention to specific parts of code

This icon signifies a tip, suggestion, or general note.

This icon indicates a warning or caution.

xviii | Preface
Using Code Examples
This book is here to help you get your job done. In general, you may use the code in
this book in your programs and documentation. You do not need to contact us for
permission unless you’re reproducing a significant portion of the code. For example,
writing a program that uses several chunks of code from this book does not require
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We appreciate, but do not require, attribution. An attribution usually includes the
title, author, publisher, and ISBN. For example: “JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook,
Second Edition, by Danny Goodman. Copyright 2007 Danny Goodman, 978-0-596-
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If you feel your use of code examples falls outside fair use or the permission given
here, feel free to contact us at [email protected].

Request for Comments

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Request for Comments | xix

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE AND

TIMES OF GEORGE VILLIERS, DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM, VOLUME 3
(OF 3) ***
 Transcriber’s Note:
There are both numbered footnotes and notes using
the traditional asterisk, dagger, etc. The latter have been
The footnotes have been collected at the end of the
text, and are linked for ease of reference.
Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been
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information, and is added to the public domain.
 THE LIFE AND TIMES
OF
GEORGE VILLIERS,
DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.

FROM ORIGINAL AND AUTHENTIC SOURCES.

BY MRS. THOMSON,

AUTHOR OF
“MEMOIRS OF THE COURT OF HENRY THE EIGHTH,”
“LIFE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH,”
“MEMOIRS OF SARAH, DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH,”
&c., &c.

IN THREE VOLUMES.

VOL. III.
LONDON:
HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS,
SUCCESSORS TO HENRY COLBURN,
13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET.

1860.

The right of Translation is reserved.

 LONDON:
PRINTED BY R. BORN, GLOUCESTER STREET,
REGENT’S PARK.
 CONTENTS OF VOL. III.

CHAPTER I.

Death of the Earl of Suffolk--His Address to the Heads of

Houses--The Opportunity seized upon by the King to make
Buckingham Chancellor--Indignation of the House of
Commons--Injudicious Conduct of the King--Vehement
Debates--Sir Dudley Digges and Elliot sent to Prison--
Buckingham’s Motives for Engaging in a War with France--
He endeavours to send away the Queen’s Servants--His
Fear of losing his Influence--Arrival of Soubise and Rohan--
The Duke goes to Dover--To Portsmouth--Letters from the
Duchess--From his Mother--He sets sail for Rochelle--His
First Operations Successful--Care taken by him of his
Troops--1626-1627 1

CHAPTER II.

The Delay in Sending Provisions--The Impossibility of

reducing the Citadel by Famine--The Duke’s own means
were embarked in the Cause--Sir John Burgh--His Death--
Letter of Sir Edward Conway to his Father--Buckingham’s
Sanguine Nature--Efforts of Sir Edward Nicholas 41

CHAPTER III.
Felton--His Character--Uncertainty of his Motives--
Circumstances under which he was brought into Contact
with Buckingham--Motives of his Crime discussed--The
Remonstrance--The Fate of La Rochelle--Buckingham’s
Unpopularity--Returns to Rhé--Misgivings of his Friends--
Interview with Laud--with Charles I.--His Farewell--He
enters Portsmouth--Felton--The Assassination--Original
Letters from Sir D. Carlton and Sir Charles Morgan--The
King’s Grief 89

CHAPTER IV.

Character of the Duke of Buckingham--His Patronage of Art--

His Collection--The Spanish Court Described--Collection by
Charles I.--Fate of these Pictures 137

CHAPTER V.

Patronage of the Drama by Charles and the Duke of

Buckingham--Massinger--Ben Jonson--Their Connection
with the Court, and with the Duke 183

CHAPTER VI.

Beaumont and Fletcher--Their Origin--Their Joint

Productions--Character of Bishop Fletcher--Anecdotes
about the Use of Tobacco--Ford, the Dramatist--Howell--Sir
Henry Wotton--The Character of the Duke of Buckingham
Considered 267

Appendix 321
 CHAPTER I.

DEATH OF THE EARL OF SUFFOLK--HIS ADDRESS TO THE HEADS

OF HOUSES--THE OPPORTUNITY SEIZED UPON BY THE KING
TO MAKE BUCKINGHAM CHANCELLOR--INDIGNATION OF THE
HOUSE OF COMMONS--INJUDICIOUS CONDUCT OF THE KING,
VEHEMENT DEBATES--SIR DUDLEY DIGGES AND ELIOT SENT
TO PRISON--BUCKINGHAM’S MOTIVES FOR ENGAGING IN A
WAR WITH FRANCE--HE ENDEAVOURS TO SEND AWAY THE
QUEEN’S SERVANTS--HIS FEAR OF LOSING HIS INFLUENCE--
ARRIVAL OF SOUBISE AND ROHAN--THE DUKE GOES TO
DOVER--TO PORTSMOUTH--LETTERS FROM THE DUCHESS--
FROM HIS MOTHER--HE SETS SAIL FOR ROCHELLE--HIS FIRST
OPERATIONS SUCCESSFUL--CARE TAKEN BY HIM OF HIS
TROOPS--1626-1627.
LIFE AND TIMES OF
GEORGE VILLIERS.

CHAPTER I.

Whilst these matters were in agitation, the death of the Earl of

Suffolk, Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, afforded the King
an opportunity of evincing his unbounded favour to the Duke of
Buckingham, even whilst he lay under the very shadow of a
parliamentary impeachment.
A few years previously, the unpopularity of the Duke at Cambridge
had been manifested by a play, in which his measures were
satirized, and which had been acted by the scholars of Ben’et
College.
The ancient discipline of the University appears, indeed, to have
so greatly relaxed, that in 1625-6--in compliance with a letter from
the King--Lord Suffolk had found it expedient to address the Heads
of Houses, whom he styled “Gentlemen, and my loving friends,”
exhorting them to restore order and “consequent prosperity to their
University.”
The last sentence had an ominous sound, for there were few
cases in which the King thought it necessary to interfere, in which
Buckingham did not prompt the royal mind to active measures.
Notwithstanding the unpopularity of his minister, disregarding the
public notion that, as the patron and personal friend of Laud,
Buckingham was the patron of Roman Catholics, and in direct
defiance of the impeachment, all the influence of the Crown was
employed to procure the Duke’s election to the office of Chancellor.
That dignity was considered then, as it now is, one of the highest
tributes to personal character, as well as to political eminence, that
the nation could offer. It happened that Doctor Mew, the Master of
Trinity College, was the King’s Chaplain. No fewer than forty-three
votes were obtained by his means; nevertheless, there was a
powerful opponent in Lord Thomas Howard, son of the late
Chancellor; a hundred and three votes against the Duke were
secured by him, and with more exertion, it is supposed, that he
might have defeated the Duke’s partisans.[1]
Buckingham therefore was elected: thus did Charles, to use the
words of Sir Henry Wotton, “add to the facings or fringings of the
Duke’s greatness the embroiderings or listing of one favour upon
another.” But the King, in point of fact, was doing his favourite the
greatest injury, by thus marking him out as an object for the justly-
aroused indignation of the public.
 His doom was, however, at hand. Whatsoever he may have
intended to do for Cambridge was cut short by the hands of destiny.
There remains, however, a very characteristic memorial of
Buckingham in that University. The silver maces still in use, carried
by the Esquire Bedells, were a present from the ill-fated Duke,[2]
whose presiding office was of so short continuance.
It was to be expected that the House of Commons would receive
with great anger this fresh proof of the King’s contempt for their
body. Regarding this election as a reflection upon them, a resolution
was passed to send to the University a remonstrance against their
choice. Charles, however, considering--and with some justice--that
this remonstrance would be an invasion of the privileges of the
University, despatched a message to the House, by Sir Richard
Weston, desiring them not to interfere; inditing, at the same time, a
letter to the University, expressing his approbation of their election
of the Duke.[3]
The Duke’s answer to the impeachment was put in on the tenth of
June: on the fourteenth the Commons presented a petition, praying
for liberty to proceed in the discharge of their duty--and entreating
that Buckingham might, during the impeachment, be removed from
the royal presence.
Had the King yielded to a prayer so reasonable and equitable, the
fury of the public might have been appeased. But he viewed the
most important question of this early period of his reign, as between
man and man, not as between a monarch and his subject.
Buckingham’s great fault, he considered, was being his favourite. No
criminality could be proved in any department of his conduct as
minister.[4] Nor could Charles, who had hung over the death-bed of
his father, treat with anything but contempt the accusation of
poison. The King believed that all the other articles of the
impeachment were prompted by a resolution, after attacking his
minister, to assail his own prerogative. He had been reared in the
greatest jealousy on that one point, and with the strongest and most
conservative value for the sovereign authority. Charles, accomplished
as a man, was profoundly ignorant and prejudiced as a king: his
views were narrow, and his knowledge of the constitution of his
country limited. His notions had been warped by a residence at the
courts of France and Spain. The immediate effects of a despotic rule
are to a superficial observer imposing. It is only to those who look
into the interior circumstances of a people, and who well consider
the tendencies of an arbitrary government to blight honest ambition,
to cramp and weaken the national character, that its real misery and
degradation are apparent.
In Spain, with Buckingham ever at his side; in a court full of
picturesque splendour; in youth, with hope and love before him,
Charles had probably forgotten the aching hearts in the prisons of
the Inquisition. In France, the irresistible fascinations of Richelieu
had not, it is reasonable to suppose, been wanting to bias the mind
of one likely to be so nearly allied to the royal family of France. Most
of all those influences that betrayed Charles to his ruin must,
however, be ascribed to the dogmatic fallacies of his father. James
had educated according to his own contracted opinions not only his
son, but the favourite who was hereafter, as it is expressed by Sir
Henry Wotton, to be “the chief concomitant” of the future sovereign
of England.[5]
Of late years, before the quarrel with the Commons, the popularity
of Buckingham had increased. The whole scene of affairs had been
changed from Spain to France; the alteration was satisfactory to
many, and was ascribed to the Duke--and he had not only become
suddenly a favourite with the public, but had been extolled in
Parliament.[6] This was, indeed, says Wotton, “but a mere bubble or
blast, and like an ephemeral fit of applause, as eftsoon will appear in
the sequel and train of his life.” The contrast, therefore, between a
success so recent and the present odium into which he had fallen,
was no doubt the cause of much chagrin to the harassed favourite,
who seems, like most men of sensitive natures, to have valued
popularity, and to have been fully aware that his political life
depended upon it. He knew that no man could long resist the force
of public opinion in this country. Even in those days, suppressed as it
was by a fettered press, and by the gaunt spectre of injustice in
Star-chambers, it had exploded into one burst of forcible indignation
in the House of Commons. Somewhere the dauntless spirit of an
Englishman must speak out, and it then began to make itself heard
in that great assembly which had hitherto been almost as
subservient to Court influence as the French Chamber of the present
day.
The answer of the Duke to the Impeachment was drawn out with
much skill by Sir Nicholas Hyde,[7] the uncle of Edward Hyde,
afterwards Lord Clarendon. Sir Nicholas was considered to be a
sound lawyer, and a man of honourable character. He was a
“staunch stickler,” says Lord Campbell, “for prerogative; but this was
supposed to arise rather from the sincere opinion he formed of what
the English constitution was or ought to be, than from a desire to
recommend himself for promotion.”[8] He succeeded Sir Randolf
Crewe, who was suddenly removed from his seat to make room for
one who had no objection to the arbitrary acts by which Charles
endeavoured to support Buckingham, and who was ready to conduct
the war with France without the aid of parliament.
The debates which were now carried on with vehemence seemed
to produce little impression on the counsels which incited Charles
and Buckingham to acts of insanity. The chief orators on the side of
the parliament were Selden, Noy, and Thomas Wentworth, member
for Oxford, and, before their commitment, Sir Dudley Digges, and Sir
John Eliot. To this list several others must be added; amongst the
most notable were those of Burton and Prynne. Burton had been
one of the clerks of the closet to King Charles when Prince of Wales,
and had been offended by not accompanying his royal master to
Spain, but grew still more indignant at the preferment of Laud; and
by being himself regarded as an “underling.” He was afterwards
dismissed the court for various acts of insolence, and became, as a
matter of course, the bitterest enemy of his late patron.[9]
There were now, to use the language of Sir Edward Coke, “two
leaks in the ship,” or State. “Two leaks,” he declared, “would drown
any ship;”[10] yet Lord Campbell, as well as other historians, is of
opinion that had it not been for the attempt to force episcopacy on
Scotland, Charles, and even his descendants, might have continued
to rule by absolute power, until, in the course of centuries, the public
voice might have forced a revolution upon the country.
 Whilst the levying of a loan, by which Charles hoped to supply the
place of a grant from Parliament, was going on, Buckingham was
using every effort to return to that country where, either as a lover
or as a conqueror, he hoped to see Anne of Austria once more.
According to Clarendon, he had sworn that he would see the Queen
in spite of all the power of France, and that determination had
originated the war which was now on the eve of commencing.
In order to challenge reprisals, since there was no pretence to
warrant a proclamation of war with France, Buckingham encouraged
the capture of French vessels by English ships and privateers, taking
the vanquished vessels as prizes. He began, also, to make his great
influence available by his efforts to lower the French nation in the
eyes of the King, fearing lest the young and beautiful queen should
oppose the war. He endeavoured, it is alleged, to alienate the
affections of the King from the bride of his choice, and to shew her
personally every species of insolence and rudeness. Once, when she
did not call upon his mother, as she had promised to do by
appointment, Buckingham entered her Majesty’s room in a rage; the
Queen answered him harshly: upon which he told her that there had
been Queens in England who had lost their heads.[11]
Buckingham appears to have been in a fever of jealousy; hitherto
he had exercised a sole influence over his royal master. Henceforth,
the less public but more sure sway of an idolized wife would for ever
interfere with his counsels. Infuriated against the French, yet madly
in love with their Queen, Buckingham had only been deterred from
returning to France as a private individual by a dread of
assassination on the part of Richelieu, who had, it appears,
entertained that design. Having persuaded Charles to send back,
contrary to treaties, the Queen’s French attendants, he now drove
the inexperienced and irritated Henrietta Maria to despair; and
finding herself in a foreign country, where all around her were
inimical to her religion, and to herself, she passionately entreated to
be allowed to return to France. Buckingham, rejoicing at the success
of his schemes, besought Charles to allow him to conduct the Queen
home. But that proposal, when transmitted to Paris, was indignantly
rejected by the French Court, and the Duke was confirmed in his
resolution to commence a war with a nation which had the courage
to decline his friendship.
His scheme for sending back the Queen’s French servants had
been, however, agreeable in the extreme to Charles--and it may
even have been suggested by the King, who, in answer to a letter
from the Duke, writes to him thus:--“Steenie, I have received your
letters by Dic Graeme. This is my answer: I command you to send all
the French away to-morrow out of town; if you can, by fair means,
but stick not long in dispatching, otherwise force them away like so
many wyld beasts, until ye have shipped them, and so the devil go
with them. Let me hear no more answer, but of the performance of
my command; so trust your faithful and constant friend, Charles R.
Dated Oaking, 7 Aug. 1626.”[12]
His former loan of ships to the French implies a more friendly
footing with that nation than these later passages of the Duke’s life
may seem to indicate.[13] It was in fact his dread of any influence
stronger than his own that caused Buckingham to induce Charles to
break off the treaty with Spain; and had instigated his animosity to
France. Haunted by the dread of being superseded in Charles’s
favour, there were moments when his overburdened mind was
opened to some humble friends, and the apprehensions of the King’s
regard being alienated were imparted in agony to a confidant.
Buckingham was also aware of that intriguing and uncertain
disposition in Henrietta Maria, which, in spite of a certain heroism of
character which she possessed, shewed itself in mournful colours in
later periods of her chequered life. The patronage which she wished
to divide among her French followers was also a source of jealousy
to the Duke, who had hitherto disposed of all Court offices to people
who would support him in his state of power, or aid him if he fell.
Henrietta was attended on her arrival in this country by many
younger sons of good families in France, who looked to England as
the field where golden honours were plentifully to be reaped. “They
devoured so much,” we are told, “that all the thrift of Bishop Juxom,
who had amassed much, was gulped down by these insatiable
sharks.”[14] Patronage and influence being withdrawn, the Duke’s ruin
must, he knew, be complete. He had nothing to expect from his
country, for he had never considered the interests of his native land
as identified with his own. There were in his mind some motives of a
higher class and a more general nature, although we must not look
for lofty principles of action in those days.
The intrigues of Richelieu, who was now Buckingham’s rival and
foe, worked in England through the Queen. The Duke had been
overreached by the Cardinal, and thirsted for open revenge. By
denying the troops of Count Mansfeldt a passage through France,
the army of that celebrated general had perished. There was no
doubt of Richelieu’s determination to extirpate the Protestants, and
all promises of befriending them had long since proved faithless; the
Duke, therefore, saw that he had been compromised, and he
resented that superiority in trickery, which it is difficult for a mind
like his to bear. Whilst he had thus been deceived by France,
Buckingham was suffering by the popular cry against recusants; and
the Romish priests, adding to that cry, were enjoining on Henrietta
Maria, as a penance, that she should walk bare-footed to Tyburn, as
a tribute to the memory of the Jesuits, who had been executed at
that spot of sad remembrances. Thus, the cause of the suffering
Protestants in France had become the cause of the people, and
Buckingham hoped to regain his popularity by espousing it--whilst,
at the same time, by sending away the French attendants of the
Queen, he should banish the emissaries of Richelieu. Much of his
conduct has been attributed to the influence of a French Abbot, who
was related to the Duke of Orleans, who was also a violent enemy to
the Cardinal.[15]
Fortunately for Buckingham’s endeavours to regain popularity, the
Duc de Soubise, who, together with the Duc de Rohan, his brother,
were the great leaders of the Protestant party in France, arrived
during the summer, after the dissolution of Parliament in England.
The Abbot, it seems, who had incited Buckingham against Richelieu,
had at the same time acquainted the Duc de Soubise with the state
of affairs in England. The alliance of these two great noblemen was
eagerly accepted by Buckingham. The Duc de Rohan engaged to
supply 4000 foot and 200 horse, to assist the English on landing in
France; which was an enterprize eagerly coveted by Buckingham.[16]
 M. de Soubise had at his command a fleet of twenty-three sail,
which was to proceed at once to La Rochelle, then closely besieged
by Richelieu, and to throw provisions into the town. The English
Government engaged to fit these ships up, to victual them, and to
store them with provisions for La Rochelle. Private information
disclosed, however, that these “ships were miserable rotten things,
of little or no force.” Their crews amounted to 1,261 wretched
French sailors, who had neither bread nor drink till the Duke’s vice-
admiral went down to Plymouth.[17] Soubise had, afterwards, a
supply of beef and pork allowed for two days a week; of fish, for the
other four; some small store of butter and cheese, and some
eighteen or twenty tons of cider. This seems to have been all the
provisions for all the ships; and Admiral Pennington, writing to the
Duke, said:--“I wish the Frenchmen had all the rest, for our people
will never eat it, only the best of it.” So like the English now were the
English then. A hundred tons of beer were to be supplied out of the
town.[18]
But other unforeseen difficulties occurred, and the greatest was
the want of men. The miserable provisions, or, perhaps, the lingering
presence of the plague, now produced sickness and death among
the seamen; “so that few of the captains,” writes Pennington, “have
sufficient men to bring their ships about.” He begs to have a strict
command for the “press” sent him;[19] but even that was of no avail,
as the strongest men fled up the country and hid themselves in the
woods.
Then certain merchants, to whom the Lord-Admiral looked for a
supply of ships in war, were unwilling to lend their vessels. They
even disabled their vessels to prevent their being used; and it
became necessary for Pennington, as he stated, to send his
carpenters to repair them--and after all he was obliged to wait for a
reinforcement from Ireland.[20] The poor Vice-Admiral wrote anxious
letters, praying that the useless merchant-ships might be sent away;
whilst the others, French and all, might be well provisioned at once.
He entreated that a ship-load of cordage, cables, anchors, and sails
for the furnishing of other ships, might come forthwith. This was a
miserable beginning of an aggressive war, and Charles must now
have seen his folly in having quarrelled with Parliament. Eventually,
Pennington informed the Duke that he was obliged to discharge all
the merchant ships, except a few from Ireland, which were in good
condition.[21]
The situation of the Duke seems, at this moment, to have been
truly pitiable. It has been already stated that he received and
answered all letters himself; and the applications made to him, in his
capacity of High Admiral, seem to have been of the most minute
character. Sometimes among his correspondence we find a letter
from Admiral Burgh, wanting to know what he was to do with some
Newfoundland fish which had come into his possession as Vice-
Admiral.[22] Then follow numerous complaints of the dilapidated state
of the forts and castles which ought to have guarded the coasts. In
1625, however, they were reported to be in a perfect state for
defence.
Often was the Duke addressed as “the most noble Prince George;”
whilst in numerous epistles a tribute is paid to his justice and
circumspection, which would surprise those who take the ordinary
view of his character. His powers and his province were alike
important. A Lord High Admiral was, to use the words of an eminent
writer, “one to whom is committed the government of all things done
upon or beyond the sea in any part of the world--all things done
upon the sea-coast in all ports and harbours, and upon all rivers
below the first bridge next towards the sea.” So far for his powers;
the following were among the list of his privileges:--
“To the Lord High Admiral belong all penalties of all transgressions
at sea or on the shore, the goods of pirates and felons, all stray
goods, wrecks at sea and headlands, a share of all lawful prizes not
granted to lords of manors adjoining the sea; all great fishes, as sea-
dogs, and other great fishes, called royal fishes, except whales and
sturgeon.”[23]
Questions arising out of these privileges, and disputes between
Lord Zouch and the captains of vessels, on the subject of wrecks,
occur incessantly among the documents in the State-paper Office,
which almost supply a history of the period.
 In the beginning of the year 1626, Buckingham had commenced
his naval operations by sending to impress twenty of the best
merchant-ships in the Thames or elsewhere; “such,” were his
instructions, “as shall be most ready to go to sea, and most able to
do his Majesty’s service in his present employments.”[24]
The impressment of these vessels does not seem to have been
successful in this instance; and although the captains to command
them were appointed by Government, they found great difficulty, as
has been before stated, in manning their ships.
Great, meantime, were Buckingham’s endeavours to clear the seas
of pirates, as well as to recover that dominion over the narrow seas
upon which encroachments had been made. The Duke now began to
be assisted by Sir Edward Nicholas, whose name appears at this
period as the writer of the Duke’s answers to suitors, and who was
evidently regarded with much confidence by Buckingham.[25]
Although a fleet of twenty sail, of the king’s ships, and others had
been prepared so early as the 6th of January, 1625-6, for a service
of six months,[26] yet it was not until June that the Duke suddenly
left the court, and, with all the haste of his impetuous nature, went
on board the fleet at Dover so unexpectedly that his secretary
Nicholas could not join him before he set out, but was a few hours
too late. Neither had due preparations been made; shoes, shirts, and
stockings were wanting for three thousand men; the surgeons’
chests were not supplied with medicines; many of the soldiers’ arms
were wanting; the colonels and captains begged to have new
colours; the soldiers to have hammocks; and it was represented to
the Duke that their food ought not to be so inferior as it then was to
that of the sailors.[27]
The Duke, according to Sir Henry Wotton’s statement, was
personally employed on either element; both “Admiral and General,”
there seems to have been a deficiency of discipline; several murders
were committed by the soldiery, and an enforcement of martial law
was recommended.
His haste and secrecy had, perhaps, another object. It precluded
those farewells which are the most touching to those who encounter
the chances of war. In Buckingham’s case, the parting with his wife,
whom he might never see again, must have been mingled with self-
reproach as well as sorrow. He evaded it therefore by flight,
notwithstanding a promise that he should see her again, nay even
by an assurance that he should not go with the expedition to Rhé.[28]
This conduct wounded the poor Duchess to the heart, and it was
perhaps these traits of conduct that alienated her affections, and
made her less reluctant to a second marriage than might have been
expected from one of her gentle nature. Buckingham’s apparent
neglect would have been inexplicable were it not remembered how
completely an unhallowed passion for another severs and rends all
domestic ties; and that, long before the links are broken, they are
loosened by the first deviation from duty, even in thought. The
following letters were probably found among the Duke’s papers at
the time of his death, and so conveyed to the State-Paper Office,
where they have remained buried--the words of reproach and
sorrow, unheeded and unknown. They are evidently strictly
confidential; but they explain and excuse, if anything can excuse,
the after-conduct of the Duchess. Much that followed the Duke’s
decease is accounted for in this epistle:--

"My Lord,--Now as I do to plainly se you have deceved me, and if I

judge you according to yr one[29] words I must condemn you not only
in this hut in your accation[30] you so much forswore. I confese I
deed ever fere you wood be catched, for there was no other
likelyhoode after all that showe but you must needs go--for my part,
but I have bine a very miserable woman hitherto that never could
have you keepe at home, but now I will ever looke to be so till some
blessed ocasion comes to draw you quite from the Cort, for ther is
non more miserable than I am, and till you leve this life of a cortyer
wch you have bine ever since I knewe you, I shall ever thynke myself
unhappye. I am the unfortunate of all outher, that ever when I am
wth child I must have so much cause of sorrow as to have you go
from me, but I never had so great a cause of greeve as now. I hope
God of his mercie give me patience, and if I were sure my soule
wood be well I could wish myself to be out of this miserable world,
for till then I shall not be happye: now I will no more right to hope
you do not goe, but must betake myself to my prayers for your safe
and prosperous jorney wch I will not fayle to do, and for your quicke
returne: but never, whilst I live, will I trust you agane, nor never will
put you to your oathe for any thinge agane. I wonder why you sent
me word by crowe[31] that you wood se me shortly, to put me in
hopes: I pray God never woman may love a man as I have done you
that non may fele that wch I have done for you: sence ther is no
remedy but that you must go, I pray God to send you gon quickly,
that you may be quickly at home again, and whosoever that wisht
you to this jorney by side yourselfe, that they may be punished for
it, because of a greete dele of greeve to me; but that is no mater
now ther is no remedy but patience wch God send me. I pray God to
send me wise, and not to hurt myself wth greeving now. I am very
well, I thanke God, and so is Mall and so I bid farewell.--Your poor
greeved and obedient wife,
"K. Buckingham.
"I pray give order before you goe for the jewells wch I owe for ...
burn this: for God’s sake, go not to lande: and pity me, for I feel
(most miserable) at this time: be not angry with me for righting, for
my hart is so full I cannot chuse, because I deed not looke for it.
"I would to Jesus that there were in any way in the world to fetch
you out of the jorney with yr honor, if any prayers or any suffering of
mine could do it I were a most happy woman, but you have send
yrself and made me miserable: God for give you for it.
"You have forgoten poore Dicke Turpin for all yr promis to me.[32]
“26th June, 1627. To the Duke of Buckingham.”[33]

And again, on the sixteenth of June, was sent another epistle, full
of affection:--

"My dere Lord,--I was very much joy’d at the receiving yr leter last
night, and I will assure you I do not only right cheerfully, but am so
in my hart, and outwardly every on may see it, and so they do, for
they tell me they ar glad to see me so cheerfull, and I hop sences. I
will assure you I will not fayle to keep my promis wth you; I hope
you will not deseve me in breaking yours, for I protest if you should,
it woold half kill me: and I give you humble thanks for saying you
will likewise keepe your word with me in the outher mane bisnes,[34]
as you call it. I am very glad you cam so well to yr jorneys end, but
sorey it was so latt, for Mr. Murey told me it was nine a clocke before
you gott thether. I pray lett me here as often from you as you can,
and send me word when I shall be so hapye as to se you, for I shall
think it very longe, my lord: I thanke God I am very well, so
farwelle, my dere Lord, your true loving, and obedient wife,
"K. Buckingham.[35]

"My Lord, for God sake lett some of that money wch you in tended
to have at Portsmouth to be left wth Dick Oliver, if it be but five
hundred pound to pay Mr. Ward for a ringe and for a cross wh you
gave to my Lady Exeter: for Jesus sake do this, for I am so hanted
with them for it, that I do not know what to do; if you will but send
me 400l. I will dispatch them myself, for I cannot ster for them.[36]
"I beseech you remember my cusin Turpine.
“To the Duke of Buckingham, my dere husband.”[37]

This epistle was soon followed by another letter, expressive of

great affection--the poor Duchess begging of the Duke not to
deceive her, and to love no one but herself. “It was impossible,” she
writes, “for woman to love a man more than she did him.” Again she
writes:--“beginning to fear” that some hints in which he had
encouraged a hope of their meeting again before he sailed were but
deceptions, and that she should not see him again, “she was
grieved,” she added, “that he had not told her the truth.”[38]
The Duke’s example and presence, however, after all these delays,
had so great an effect both on officers and men, that, on the second
of June, Sir Fulke Greville had to write word from Cowes Castle, that
he could, with a “perspective,” see a part of the fleet in Stokes Bay.
[39]
The Duke, meantime, was harassed with difficulties; affairs were
far from being in a satisfactory condition; there was continual
difficulty in getting seamen, and supplies of money were wanting to
leave the coast guarded, to repair the navy, to furnish stores, and to
pay the sailors on their return from Rhé.[40]
 Meantime the town of Portsmouth was gladdened by the presence
of the King, who walked round the fortifications; and, judging for
himself of the ruinous state of the bulwarks, promised that they
should be repaired. It was Buckingham’s intention at this time to
build a new dock at Portsmouth, in order to supersede that at
Chatham, and thus to benefit the naval service incredibly.[41] Charles
entered into this admirable plan. Accompanied by Monsieur de
Soubise, the Earls of Rutland and Denbigh, Lord Carlisle and the
Lord Chamberlain, he went aboard several of the ships, and dined at
last in the “Triumph.” At table his conversation ran all day on the
armament, and he asked Sir John Watts, in his own language,
whether “she” (the “Triumph”) “could yar or not?” The repast went
off with great hilarity: the Duke’s musicians playing merrily, and
Archie the fool, and Sir Robert Deale, adding to the general jollity.
Well might the Duchess, nevertheless, mourn at the departure of her
husband. The plague was raging in the fort of La Rochelle with as
much fury as in England.
At length, on the 27th of June, the Duke sailed from Portsmouth.
If we could accept as sincere the good wishes which attended his
departure, no man ever left England with greater assurances of
devotion. “Secretary Conway was ready,” he declared, “to carry his
hand all the world cries for the Duke’s service.” “The Duke’s good
works,” he said, “came forth with a better grace than he ever
observed in the acts of any other man. Besides his own duty,
affection, and humble endeavour and thorough hope,” he “joyed” to
consign to the Duke the duty, thankfulness, faith, and affection of his
posterity.[42]
Secretary Cope sent a message of good wishes in these terms:
“God direct his ways and his ends, and make them acceptable to
himself and all good men.”[43] Even the Queen, between whom and
the Duke there had been so great a coolness, sent him a letter, with
best wishes. Sir George Goring, writing to his “ever and above all
most honoured Lord,” the Duke of Buckingham, engaged to “keep
the Duke safe with the Queen.” The Duchess could not, however, he
said, reconcile herself to his departure, without one word of farewell;
and the Duke’s mother thought a “word or two in” excuse would
revive her much.[44]
It was not therefore, it seems, the departure alone of her
husband, but his neglect, that pained her. Fond, indeed, and true
were the hearts that mourned for his absence in peril. His sister, the
Countess of Denbigh, shed many a tear when she missed the Duke
at chapel on the morning of his departure with the King.
His mother’s blessing was given in these few, but very expressive
words:--

“My deare and most beloved Sonne,--Your departure lies grevous at

my hart, being oprest with many motherly feres, and were it not for
the great joy I beheld in your face that presages some good
fortunes, I had bene much worse, but since it must be as it is, I will
omit all (with you) to God’s pleasure, assuring my selfe he that hath
done so much for you, will make you a happy instrument of his
further glory, and your eternall comfort; to which end I will addres
all my prayers to our sweet Saviour Jesus,--being your ever most
assured loving Mother,
M. Buckingham.[45]
“To the Duke of Buckingham.”

The first letter, written according to the Duke’s orders, by Sir

James Bagg, who accompanied him, to Secretary Nicholas, shewed
how unabated was the impetuous and arbitrary spirit of the
favourite. “The Duke,” Bagg wrote, “is very desirous to have the
refusers of the loan sent for to the council, which will make the
western people sensible that Eliot and Coryten do not only lie by the
heels for my Lord’s sake.”[46]
He set out, however, in high spirits, excited by the change of
scene, and full of confidence in his projected movements. It is
agreeable to find a concern for the comfort and health of the troops,
which amounted in all to between six and seven thousand, under his
command. On the twelfth of July, the “Triumph,” with nineteen great
ships of the fleet, was seen near St. Martin’s, at Rochelle; King
Charles’s colours, the white flag, and the St. Andrew’s cross, in the
main tops, being visible to the dismayed French over in the port;
and firing from our ships was instantly commenced. Whilst these
operations were going on, we find Buckingham writing to Secretary
Nicholas, desiring that victuals may be sent after them with all
possible speed; and, above all, to take care that the fleet be
furnished out of hand with London beer; “the beer from
Portsmouth,” adds the Lord-Admiral, “proves naught, and the soldier
is better satisfied with his beer, if it is good, than with his
victuals.”[47] At first the Duke’s expedition was attended with success;
a landing at St. Martin’s point, opposite to Rochelle roads, was
effected, and the French, who attacked the invaders, were driven
back with considerable slaughter. On the 14th of July the troops
advanced inland, and took the small fort of St. Marie, and the town
of La Flotte; on the eighteenth they gained possession of the town
of St. Martin’s. Great praises of the Duke’s valour were transmitted
to England, by a writer who penned his epistle on a drum’s head,
near St. Martin’s. The forces then beleaguered the fort, erecting a
battery of twenty-one pieces of “ordnance.” “The Lord-General,”
wrote Sir Allen Apsley, “is the most industrious, and in all business
one of the first in person in dangers. Last night the enemy’s
ordnance played upon his lodging, and one shot lighted upon his
bed, but did him no harm.”[48] “Unluckily,” adds the same writer,
“there was no bread and beer thought of for the soldiers--wheat
instead of bread, and wine instead of beer.”
There appeared every prospect of a long siege, unless
reinforcements from England should arrive to strengthen the Duke’s
efficiency. Whilst the fort held out, the citizens of La Rochelle knew
not which side to take. The Duke, every writer from St. Martin’s
agreed, behaved in the most admirable manner, shewing qualities
which no one suspected him of possessing. “His care is infinite, his
courage undauntable, his patience and continual labours beyond
what could have been expected.” Such was the language of one of
Secretary Conway’s correspondents. “Himself,” continues this writer,
“views the grounds, goes to the trenches, visits the batteries,
observes where the shell doth light, and what effects it works.”[49]
The greatest vigilance was indeed necessary, owing to the
carelessness of some of the officers; there was no one of any great
capacity except the Duke and Sir John Burgh--a brave but rough
soldier, whose plain speaking was often offensive to Buckingham. His
chief adviser in military affairs was Monsieur Dulbier, a man of great
experience, but devoid of any striking talents.[50]
Meantime the poverty of the Treasury at home impeded the
speedy supplies for which Buckingham incessantly wrote. It was his
urgent necessity that stimulated the unjust and extortionate
collection of the loan--in default of contributions to which
imprisonment was the instant punishment. Several Frenchmen, also,
were about this time committed for trying to allure Sir Sackville
Crowe’s workmen into France to cast ordnance.[51]
Disheartened by the delay of the supplies, Buckingham wrote
word that he was making trenches, but, owing to the stony nature of
the ground, they went on slowly, whilst the Fleet was dispersed
round the Island of Rhé; so that unless some speedy succour came,
the expedition could scarcely be benefited by anything that might be
sent. The citadel, he considered, would be impregnable, if once the
fortifications were perfected; in its present unfurnished state, the
only way would be to take it by famine. Already thirty musketeers
who had been sent out to get water had been captured. Toiras, the
Governor, was likely “to make the place his death-bed.” The enemy
were strong, and the siege would doubtless be a long one, but he
was confident that the King would not let him want aid. By the
advice of the Duc de Soubise, he had issued a proclamation, setting
forth that the King’s intention was only to assist the Protestants.[52]
But the Protestants in La Rochelle unhappily refused the aid[53] of
the ever-hated English. Louis XII. was ill; the court was divided into
factions: and favourable terms were even offered the Huguenots,
provided that they did not admit the English into the city.[54]
The Duke, during all this time of deep anxiety, attended religious
service daily, and was, it is possible, the more inclined to have
recourse to the One Source of help and safety, an attempt to
assassinate him having been made whilst he was beleaguering Fort
St. Martin. No impression was made upon the enemy, who were
three thousand strong in garrison. Mines were resorted to; two
water-pipes were cut off, and the besieged were driven out of their
outworks; but Buckingham wrote word from the camp that his army,
without a supply, would soon not only be disabled from continuing
the siege, but would lose what they had gained.[55] His anxiety on
this point was expressed in every letter, and in the most earnest
terms, and it was fully responded to by Charles I., but still a
reinforcement of two thousand men which had been promised did
not arrive. Money could not be raised, and the King was obliged to
wait the issue of “three bargains” offered to him before he could
send out either provisions or men.
Nothing could be more vexatious than the position of the Duke.
He was within a distance of what was then three or four days’ sail
from England--his credit, his honour, perhaps his life, were staked on
the relief of the Huguenot citizens of La Rochelle. Forty days,
nevertheless, elapsed without even a message by fisher-boat
reaching the famishing troops, “who were well supplied with wheat,
but had neither means to grind, or ovens to bake it.”[56]
It was not until the twenty-seventh of August, two calendar
months since the expedition had sailed from Portsmouth,that arms,
ammunition, and victuals were sent off by Nicholas--“honest
Nicholas,” as the Duke used to call him; but no money came. Of that
which was intended for the Duke, some was raised by his own
stewards, but was detained on account of pressing claims in his own
affairs. The want of money was almost distracting. Nothing could be
extracted from the Lord Treasurer Middlesex; even at home the
young Queen Henrietta Maria declared herself to be terribly
incommoded for want of it.
“Send us men,” was the burden of every letter from the camp; and
a small contribution from a quarter little suspected of patriotism was
the answer to this appeal--Lady Hatton furnishing six stalwart
volunteers from Purbeck, clothed and armed from head to foot.[57]
The Duke’s mother, too, after the manner of mothers, remitted
him some money, and, at the same time sent him, as mothers do on
such occasions, a reproving letter. But, unhappily, she who had
implanted the lessons of worldly wisdom, and those alone, and
whose whole life had been a commentary on those precepts, could
not hope to influence her son for good. She indeed reaped as she
had sown. One cannot, however, avoid pitying the alarm which was
soon to be so fearfully realized by the events which succeeded the
fatal enterprize.

"My deerly beloved sonne--I am very sorrie you have entered into so
great busines, and so little care to supply your wants as you see by
the little hast that is mad to you. I hop your eys wil be oppened to
se what a greate goulfe of businesses you have put your selfe into,
and so little regarded at home, wher all is mery and well plesed,
though the shepes be not vitiled as yet, nor mariners to go with
them: as for monyis the kingdom will not supply your expences, and
every man grones under the burden of the tymes. At your departuer
from me, you tould me you went to make pece, but it was not from
your hart: this is not the way for you to imbroule the hole christian
world in warrs, and then to declare it for religion, and make God a
partie to this wofull affare so far from God as light and darknes; and
the high way to make all christian Princes to bend ther forces
against us, that other ways in policie would have taken our parts.
You knew the worthy King your master[58] never liked that way, and
as far as I can perseve ther is non that crise not out of it. You that
acknowleg the infinite mercy and providence of all mightie god in
preserving your life amongest so many that false doune ded on
every side you, and spares you for more honor to himself, if you
would not be wilfully blind and overthro your selfe, body and soule,
for he hath not I hope made yu so great and gevin you so many
exsellent parts as to suffer you to die in a dich,--let me that is your
mother intreat you to spend some of your ouers in prayers, and
meditating what is fitting and plesing in His sight that has done so
much for you, and that honor you so much strive for: bend it for his
honor and glorie, and you will sone find a chang so great that you
would not for all the kinddomes in world for goe, if you might have
them at your disposing: and do not think it out of fere and
timberousnes of a woman I perswad you to this;--no, no, it is that I
scorne. I would have you leve this bluddy way in which you are
exept into, I am sure contray to your natuer and disposition. God
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