"But," says Lord
Dartmouth, who vouches for truth of this statement, "the Duke of
Richmond's clandestine marriage, before he had given an answer,
made the king suspect he had revealed the secret to Clarendon,
whose creature Sheldon was known to be; and this was the true
secret of Clarendon's disgrace." For the king, believing the
chancellor had aided the duke in his secret marriage, in order to
prevent his majesty's union with Miss Stuart, and the presumable
exclusion of the Duke and Duchess of York and their children from
the throne, never forgave him.
Though the subject of the royal divorce was no longer mentioned,
the disturbances springing from it were far from ended; for the
Duke of Buckingham, incensed at Lady Castlemaine's interference,
openly quarrelled with her, abused her roundly, and swore he
would remove the king from her power. To this end he therefore
employed his talents, and with such tact and assiduity that he
ultimately fulfilled his menaces. The first step he took towards
accomplishing his desires, was to introduce two players to his
majesty, named respectively Moll Davis and Nell Gwynn.
The former, a member of the Duke of York's troupe of performers,
could boast of goodly lineage, though not of legitimate birth,
her father being Thomas Howard, first Earl of Berkshire. She
had, early in the year 1667, made her first appearance at the
playhouse, and had by her comely face and shapely figure
challenged the admiration of the town.
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