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.”[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]]