ord which ended in the civil wars, when the espousal
of the royalist party, with sword and substance, by Sir Ralph Rookwood,
the then lord of the mansion--a dissolute, depraved personage, who,
however, had been made a Knight of the Bath at the coronation of Charles
I.--, ended in his own destruction at Naseby, and the wreck of much of
his property; a loss which the gratitude of Charles II., on his
restoration, did not fail to make good to Sir Ralph's youthful heir,
Reginald.

Sir Ralph Rookwood left two sons, Reginald and Alan. The fate of the
latter was buried in obscurity. It was even a mystery to his family. He
was, it was said, a youth of much promise, and of gentle manners; who,
having made an imprudent match, from jealousy, or some other motive,
deserted his wife, and fled his country. Various reasons were assigned
for his conduct. Amongst others, it was stated that the object of Alan's
jealous suspicions was his elder brother, Reginald; and that it was the
discovery of his wife's infidelity in this quarter which occasioned his
sudden disappearance with his infant daughter. Some said he died abroad.
Others, that he had appeared again for a brief space at the hall. But
all now concurred in a belief of his decease. Of his child nothing was
known. His inconstant wife, after enduring for some years the agonies of
remorse, abandoned by Sir Reginald, and neglected by her own relatives,
put an end to her existence by poison. This is all that could be
gathered of the story, or the misfortunes of Alan Rookwood.

The young Sir Reginald had attended Charles, in the character of page,
during his exile; and if he could not requite the devotion of the son,
by absolutely reinstating the fallen fortunes of the father, the monarch
could at least accord him the fostering influence of his favor and
countenance; and bestow upon him certain lucrative situations in his
household, as an earnest of his good-will. And thus much he did.
Remarkable for his personal attractions in youth, it is not to be
wondered at that we should find the name of Reginald Rookwood recorded
in the scandalous chronicles of the day, as belonging to a cavalier of
infinite address and discretion, matchless wit, and marvellous
pleasantry; and eminent beyond his peers for his successes with some of
the most distinguished beauties who ornamented that brilliant and
voluptuous court.

A career of elegant dissipation ended in matrimony. His first match was
unpropiti