The story of Nell Gwyn (26 page)

Another Lely, with the royal favourite in a white and brown dress and a lamb, sold for ;^283 \os. in May 1902 ; it had realized ;^65 2s. only in 1864 (Slater's Art Sales of 1902, no. 2806).

At Stevens'Auction Rooms on Feb. 26, 1901, a reputed portrait of Nell Gwyn was offered for sale, but not reaching the reserve price was returned to the owner. It is thus enigmatically described in the catalogue :

" Miniature Portrait of Nell Gwynn on copper with original case and 30 cover dresses on talc, handed down since Charles forced Parliament to pay off the mortgage held by Clayton on her farm, when this portrait and a jewel-case were left in possession of the present owner's family ; this is probably the identical portrait carried by the King in his pocket."

An interesting illustrated article on it, called " Nell Gwyuije's Various Guises," appeared in the Ladfs Pictorial for March 23 of the same year, p. 470, over the initials "W. M. W." (to which our attention was drawn by Mr. H. Lavers-Smith).

"Accompanying the miniature," writes W. M. W., "are some thirty mica covers in different stages of preservation, upon which various head-dresses and costumes are painted. The place where in the ordinary course the face would come is in all cases left blank, the talc being of course transparent, when it is laid upon the original miniature the countenance of the latter becomes visible, and we are enabled to see Nell Gwynne as she would appear in various characters."

The portrait is far more likely to be that of Mrs. Anne Gwyn, Gwin, Quin, or Quyn—(the name is variously

NOTES

spelt)—the actress so constantly confounded with Nell Gwyn, as she is known to have acted the parts represented by the masks figured in the Lady's Pictorial. " In conclusion," says W. M. W., " one might allude to the burial-place of ' poor Nelly,' who lies under a substantial obeHsk in Lord Rothschild's park at Tring in Hertfordshire." Naturally startled by this statement, we made application to the "Estate Office, Tring Park," to be informed " that there is a monument in Tring Park, but it is perfectly certain Nell Gwyn is not buried there, and there is no inscription you can make out." Nevertheless, one would like to know the meaning of the monument. The historians of the county, Clutterbuck and Cussans, do not even mention it.

p. 158. Early engravings from her portraits.

The following rare engravings of Nell Ovv^rn were sold at Chaloner Smith's sale in 1888 : (i) by Pierce Tempest, one other known, ^22 ioj-. ; (2) as Cupid, by Richard Tompson, ist state, believed to be unique, not mentioned by Granger or Bromley, £2^ ; (3) by the same engraver, with her two sons, ;^32 (another impression m April 1901, £11 loj.) ; (4) by Henri Gascar, with her sons, £20 \os. ; (5) by an unknown engraver (after Lely), £2.0 los. (and ;^20 in April 1901) ; it is described in Chaloner Smith's British Mezzotinto Portraits, pt. iv., div. i., p. 1657, No. 49-

In April 1901, a fine 1st state of the well-known engraving by Valck after Lely, depicting her caressing a lamb, fetched £zo. (Slater, ut supr., 1901, No. 1450.)

At the bottom of the Valck engraving is inscribed:

•'The Sculpter part is done the features hitt of Madam Gwin, No Arte can shew her Witt."

An impression of the engraving after Gascar of Nelly in the famous chemise (said to be by Masson) fetched ;^20 5J. at Sotheby's on April 16, 1901.

NOTES

p. 159. Relics of Nelly.

Another looking-glass, said to have belonged to her, now adorns the visitors' drawing-room of the Army and Navy Club, which is partly built on the site of Nelly's first house in Pall Mall.

p, 161. Oliver Croniiueirs Po7-ter.

This man is said by Granger {Biog. Hist., and edit., vol. iv. p. 210) to have been of great height, as appears by his standard on back of the terrace at Windsor; he studied works on mystical divinity, preached, and prophesied ; but his enthusiasm turned his brain, and he spent many years under restraint. There is a rare, if not unique, portrait of him in the Print Room, British Museum ; the engraver is unknown. The reputed portrait of him in Pierce Tempest's Cryes of the City of London (No. 71, *' Un insense pour la Religion ") is not that of a tall man.

p. 162. Granger's sentence.

The reference is to Granger's Biographical History of E?igland, iv. 188, where it is said of Nell Gwyn : " She continued to hang on her cloaths with her usual negligence when she was the King's mistress, but whatever she did became her."

Actors and Actresses, their position in society, 35

Actresses, not remarkable for virtue, 35

Armstrong (Sir Thomas), 149

Arran (Richard, Earl of), Nell Gwyn's letter to, 209

Audley End, the Queen's adventure at a fair near, 115

Avington near Winchester, Nell Gwyn's stay at, 138

Barlow (Mrs.), mother of the

Duke of Monmouth, 124;

account of her, 200 Barry (Mrs. Elizabeth), actress

at the Duke's Theatre, 12, 14,

37 ; her advice to actresses, 46 Basset, the fashionable game,

123, 139 Beauclerk (James, Lord), his

birth, 115 ; his death, 134 Beaux Hewit and Fielding, 31 Beeston, actor at the Cockpit, 11 Behn (Aphra) dedicates a play

to Nell Gwyn, 132 Berenger (Richard), his History

of Horsemanship, 80 Berkshire House, St. James's,

105, 189 Bestwood Park, Notts, settled

upon Nell Gwyn, 146, 213 Betterton (Mrs.), actress at the

Duke's The.ilre, 13, 22; her

irreproachable character, 35 Betterton (Thomas), actor at the

Duke's Theatre, 12 Bird (Theophilus), actor at the

King's Theatre, 10 Birkenhead (Sir John), 103 Bodevine [perhaps identical with

Potvin, an upholsterer], 123 n.,

(?) 13s, (?) 136 Bossen (Frederick van), citations

from his Royall Cedar, 4 ».,

141 n. Boutell (Mrs.), actress at the

King's Theatre, 10, 12 Bowman, the actor, sings at

Nell Gwyn's concert, 113;

often sings a song by Shirley

to Charles II., 71, 144 Bracegirdle (Mrs. Anne), 37;

rejects the suit of the Earl of

Burlington, 36 Buckhurst (Charles Sackville,

Lord). See Dorset and

Middlesex (Earl of) Buckingham (Mary, Duchess of),

115 Buckingham (George Villiers, Duke of), his epilogue to The Chances cited, 47 n. ; his comedy The Rehearsal, 38, 104, 115 ; his quarrel with the Countess of Castlemaine, 53 ;

223

his happy characterization of Charles II. and James, Duke of York, 69; The Cabin Boy, a satire on Charles II., attributed to him, 70 n. ; his witty aside, 97 ; his duel with the Earl of Shrewsbury, 138

Buckingham and Normanby (John Sheffield, third Earl of Mulgrave, afterwards first Duke of),on Charles II.'s love of telling stories, tj ; his bitter satires disregarded by the King, 78; on Charles II.'s death, 140

Burford (Earl of), created Duke of St. Albans, 135

Burford House, Windsor, Nell Gwyn's residence, 122, 123

Burlington (Richard Boyle, Earl of), and Mrs. Bracegirdle, 36.

Burnet (Gilbert, Bishop of Salisbury), his bold letter to Charles II. on the death of Mrs. Jane Roberts, 130

Burt (Nicholas), actor at the King's Theatre, 10, 11

Busby (Dr. Richard) and Charles II., 85

Butler (Samuel), Charles II. admires his Hudibras, but allows him to starve, 70

Callow, or Calow (\\'illiam), Nell Gwyn's chairman, his bill, 127

Cambridge, Nell Gwyn entertained at, 183

Cartwright (William), actor at the King's Theatre, 10, 11

Cassells (Mrs.), Nell Gwyn's sister, 127

Castlemaine (Countess of). See Cleveland (Duchess of)

Catherine of Braganza (Queen),

nicknamed " a bat " by Charles II., 85 ; her adventure at a fair near Audley End, 115

Cavendish (Lord), a suitor to Nell Gwyn, 124

Charles II., rejoicings at his Restoration, 7; nicknamed "Old Rowley," 7, 84, 180; patronizes the theatres, 8, 9, 67; his fancy for Moll Davis, 52 ; Nell Gwyn becomes one of his mistresses, 56, 58; personal character, 62-81; personal appearance, 63, 179 ; his frank comment on Riley's portrait of him, 63, 90, 179; religious notions, 63; his " unthinkingness," and love of " sauntering," 65 ; fondness for his children, 65; distaste for his wife, 65; pretended grief for her, 182; steady attachment to his brother James, 66; fancy for feeding his ducks in St. James's Park, 66, 80, 179 ; really mixed with his subjects, 67; his mistresses, 68 ; fond of dogs, 68, 97; easily imposed upon, 70; regard for science, 70; love of poetry, 70 ; practical interest in the drama, 29, 71; passion for music, 72, 180 ; occasionally a poet, 73 ; good knowledge of foreign affairs, 74 ; love of wine, 74; his great anxiety the care of his health, 74; a rapid walker, 75; his conversation, 75; Dryden's opinion of the King, 76; an admirable raconteur, tj ; fond of a joke, 78 ; squanders on his mistresses the money voted for his father's monument, 79; fishing one of his favourite

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amusements, 79 ; his sayings, 82-98 ; his witty reply to Lord Rochester's epitaph on him, 83 ; his easy manner with Lord Mayor Viner at a Guildhall dinner, 83; after-supper loyalty of the lord mayor and aldermen, 84; his fondness for giving nicknames, 85 ; quietly rebukes William Penn, the Quaker, 85 ; allows Dr. Busby to wear his hat in his presence, 85; his habit of swearing, 86; declares that he will not forsake his friends, 86 ; an instance of his whimsical humour, 86; dislikes written sermons, 87 ; replies to Dr. Stillingfleet, Bishop Cosin, and Sir Christopher Wren, 87, 88; made an accomplice to a pickpocket, 88 ; remark on Sir Matthew Hale, 89; the Emperorof Morocco's present, 90; remark on Harrow Church, 90 ; on the murderers in Macbeth, 90; is pestered with petitions in behalf of people obnoxious to him, 91 ; his impudent barber, 91; his opinion of Bishop Woolley, 91; of South and Barrow, 91, 181 ; would not venture a war nor travel again for any party, 92 ; remark on the Duke of York's mistresses, 93 ; meets the Duke of York by Constitution Hill when taking his morning walk, 93 ; remark to Lord Chancellor Clarendon, 93; on Church and (Jrown, 94; on the Presbyterian re-hgion, 94 ; on irregular pleasure, 94; character of Godolphin, 94; reason for

not pardoning Lord William Russell, 94; eager for the marriage of his niece, the Princess Mary, to William of Orange, 94; the Kmg and Dean Sancroft, 95 ; his opinion of Sir John Warner, 95 ; his new palace at Winchester, 95; last message to his wife, 96, 182; his urbanity when dying, 96; witty retorts of Lord Shaftesbury and Lord Dorset, 96 ; has no money at Nell Gwyn's concert, 113 ; his children, 117; privileged to call themselves " Fitz Roy," 119 n. ; illness and death, 139; belief that he was poisoned, 140, 212. Charlotte (Queen), and the disappearance of Nell Gwyn's portrait at Windsor, 157 Chelsea Hospital, Nell Gwyn's alleged connection with, 131, 202 Chesterfield (Philip, Earl of), his politeness even in the hour of death, 96; on Charles H.'s death, 141 Chiffinch (William), keeper of the backstairs, 131; his daughter Barbara, 155 n. ; his estate called Filberts or Philberds, near Windsor, 198 Cholmly, kinsman of Nell G.vyn,

s. 152

Cibber (Colley), his tribute to Nell Gwyn's honesty, 162; his Apology cited, 113, 152 «.

Citizens of London detested by the actors, 42

Clayton (Sir Robert), the great city merchant and moneylender, 146, 220

Cleveland (Barbara, Duchess of),

■5 Q

21, 44, 45, 103, 139; her annoyance at Charles II.'s partiality for Moll Davis, 52, 54 ; in love with Charles Hart the actor, 53; at enmity with the Duke of Buckingham, 53 ; appointed a lady of the bedchamber to the Queen, 79; made a duchess, 103, 187 ; the King divides his attentions between her and Nell Gvvyn, 105; Berkshire House given to her by the Kini;, 105, 189 ; herdaughter Barbara disowned by the King, 117 ; her silly vanity, 177

Clun (Walter), actor at the King's Theaire, 10, 11

Coal Yard in Drury Lane, one of the reputed birthplaces of Nell Gwyn, 2, 5

Corey (Mrs.), actress at the King's Theatre, 10, 11 ; imitates the oddities of Lady Harvey on the stage, 104, 188

Coventry (Sir John), nose slit for reflecting on the King, 103

Coventry (Sir William) challenges the Duke of Buckingham for an intended insult, 104

Cromwell (Oliver), his porter presented with a Bible by Nell Gvvyn, 161 ; account of him, 222

Crowne (John) writes his Sir Courtly Nice at the suggestion of Charles IL, 71.

DACRE(Thomas Lennard, Lord). See Sussex (Earl ol)

Davenant (Sir William), manager of the Duke's Theatre, 9, 15, 170 ; boarded his four

principal actresses in his own house, 36

Davenport (Elizabeth), actress at the Duke's Theatre, 13 ; becomes mistress of the Earl of Oxford, 22, 172

Davies, or Davis (Mary, known as Moll), actress at the Duke's Theatre, afterwards mistress of Charles IL, 13, 22, 34, 50, 58, 104 ; her excellent dancing and singing, 12 ??., 51, 176; plays the Queen of Hungaria mMustapha, 21 ; acts Celania in The Rivals, 49 ; her personal appearance and portrait,

51, 176; her parentage, 52; the King's affection for her,

52, 53 ; provokes the jealousy of Lady Castlemaine, 54; her handsome lodgings in Suffolk Street, 52, 56, 176; out of favour, 106,189 ; herdaughter, Mary Tudor, acknowledged by the King, 117

Dongan, Dungan, or Duncan, is said to have introduced Nell Gwyn to the stage, 22-24, 174

Dorset and Middlesex (Charles Sackville, Earl of), 34, 118; the best bred man of his age, 37 ; account of, 37-39 ; with Nell Gwyn at Epsom, 40; tires of her, 45, 177; sent on a "sleeveless errand" into France, 57; sarcastic answer to Charles H., 96.

Downes (Tohn), prompter at the theatre, quotations from his Roscius AngUcanus, 50, 60, 163

Drury Lane, Nell Gwyn's associations with, 2, 5, 31-34,165,176

Dryden (Jolm), 41,57, 147 ; one j of the principal supporters of 26