THE LAST DAYS OF CHARLES H.
The Last Days of Charles II. By Raymond Crawfurd, M.D. (The Clarendon Press. 5s. net.),—Dr. Crawford has carefully examined the evidence bearing on the cause of King Charles's death, and drawn conclusions which may be accepted as finally settling the matter. This evidence happens to be unusually copious and trustworthy. It is supplied by the Memoirs of Lord Ailesbury, who was Gentleman of the Bedchamber; the despatches of the French Ambassador Baaillon and the Dutch Ambassador Von Citten ; Father Huddloston's account of the " conversion" ; the notes of Sir Charles Scarburgh, one of the King's physicians ; Lord Chesterfield's Diary ; a letter from one of the chaplains of the Bishop of Ely ; and a record founded on the last Memoirs of James II. The death was, of course, attributed to poison, bufr this was never seriously believed. An error, of not much importance, it is true, but most decidedly an error, attributed it to apoplexy. The symptoms, as they are recorded, indicate a form of Bright's disease. So this subject may be quite properly put away for the future. It does not really matter—the poison theory disposed of— how an elderly profligate came to his end, except, indeed, for the reason which made Jehu order jezebel to be buried,—she was a King's daughter. Yet in various ways the story is interesting. We read the appalling account of the medical treatment, the bleeding, and the strange remedies, some of them sheer superstitions, and are thankful that we have not to suffer from the art, as it then was. And the actors in the scene cannot fail to arrest our attention. Among the divines the Anglican Ken is conspicuous, and Huddles- ton, of course, who had the courage of his convictions, though he really ran very little danger. Of the others, the ding King comes out, for once at least in his life, with dignity and courage. James is, as we might expect, incredibly mean. He managed to get the signature of the dying King to a lease of the Customs ! What an unhappy name for the partisans of the Stuart dynasty was "Jacobite"!
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