Читать книгу The First Duke and Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne онлайн

37 страница из 64

“I have but seldom had the honour to receive letters from you; but such as these you cannot write often. But truly I am very proud I received such happy news by your hand, which shall ever oblige me to be inviolably, Sir, your most faithful and obliged servant,

“W. Newcastle.

“Welbeck, the 21st of March, 1637.”

In Lodge’s opinion, although Windebank says the King had commanded him to assure Newcastle that he did not owe his appointment “to any whatsoever,” it “was most probably with Wentworth’s advice” that the King gave it to him, which seems likely enough. It is pretty clear that, all through, Newcastle had asked for the appointment himself and had got others to ask for it for him. We have seen that he sought Wentworth’s services in the matter and suggested that Wentworth should also obtain those of Lord and Lady Carlisle. At the same time he wanted to have the credit of having been given the appointment by the King, solely on the King’s own initiative, without any begging whatever, either by himself or by anybody else. Nor is it unlikely that Strafford, knowing Newcastle’s anxiety on this point, may have inspired Windebank to write the last paragraph of his letter, in which, with very suspicious ostentation, he assures Newcastle that he does not owe his appointment to any outside influence.