His mother, Henrietta, herself in no very opulent
circumstances, received him into her house and to her table; after the
lapse of six months, the French king settled on him a monthly allowance
of six thousand francs;[1] and to this were added the casual supplies
furnished by the loyalty of his adherents in England, and his share of the
prizes made by the cruisers under his flag.[2] Yet, with all these aids, he
[Footnote 1: Clar. iii. 441. Thirteen francs were equivalent to an English
pound.]
[Footnote 2: His claim was one-fifteenth, that of the duke of York, as
admiral, one-tenth. See a collection of letters, almost exclusively on that
subject, between Sir Edward Hyde and Sir Richard Browne.--Evelyn's Mem. v.
241, et seq.]
was scarcely able to satisfy the more importunate of his creditors, and to
dole out an occasional pittance to his more immediate followers. From their
private correspondence it appears that the most favoured among them were at
a loss to procure food and clothing.[1]
Yet, poor as he was, Charles had been advised to keep up the name and
appearance of a court. He had his lord-keeper, his chancellor of the
exchequer, his privy councillors, and most of the officers allotted to
a royal establishment; and the eagerness of pursuit, the competition of
intrigue with which these nominal dignities were sought by the exiles,
furnish scenes which cannot fail to excite the smile or the pity of an
indifferent spectator.
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