erable only
because she was his wife and had no children by him, which was no fault
of hers."

Ultimately these various schemes resolved themselves into a proposition
which Charles sanctioned. This was that the queen's confessor should
persuade her to leave the world, and embrace a religious life. Whether
this suggestion was ever made to her majesty is unknown, for the
Countess of Castlemaine, hearing of these schemes, and foreseeing she
would be the first sacrificed to a new queen's jealousy, opposed them
with such vigour that they fell to the ground and were heard of no more.
The fact was, the king took no active part in these designs, not being
anxious, now the Duchess of Richmond had accepted his love, to unite
himself with another wife. Whilst her grace had been unmarried, the idea
had indeed occurred to him of seeking a divorce that he might be free to
lay his crown at the feet of the maid of honour. And with such a view
in mind he had consulted Dr. Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury, as
to whether the Church of England "would allow of a divorce, when both
parties were consenting, and one of them lay under a natural incapacity
of having children." Before answering a question on which so much
depended, the archbishop requested time for consideration, which,
with many injunctions to secrecy, was allowed him. "But," says Lord
Dartmouth, who vouches for truth of this statement, "the Duke of
Richmond's clandestine marriage, before he had given an answer, made
the king suspect he had revealed the secret to Clarendon, whose creature
Sheldon was known to be; and this was the true secret of Clarendon's
disgrace." For the king, believing the chancellor had aided the duke in
his secret marriage, in order to prevent his majesty's union with Miss
Stuart, and the presumable exclusion of the Duke and Duchess of York and
their children from the throne, never forgave him.

Though the subject of the royal divorce was no longer mentioned, the
disturbances springing from it were far from ended; for the Duke
of Buckingham, incensed at Lady Castlemaine's interference, openly
quarrelled with her, abused her roundly, and swore he would remove the
king from her power. To this end he therefore employed his talents, and
with such tact and assiduity that he ultimately fulfilled his menaces.
The first step he took towards accomplishing his desires, was to
introduce two players to his majesty, named respectively Moll Davis and
Nell Gwynn.