business and ill-health as sufficient
excuses. But he, suspecting other causes, gave her advice, and requested
she would send for him in case doubts arose in her mind concerning the
faith she professed. Being now free from all uncertainties, she readily
promised compliance with his desire, and added, "No priest had ever
taken the confidence to speak to her on those matters."

The fact that she no longer communicated becoming more noticed as time
passed, the king spoke to his brother concerning the omission, when the
duke told him she had become a catholic. Hearing this, Charles requested
him to keep her change of faith a secret, which was accordingly done,
none being aware of the act but Father Hunt, a Franciscan friar, Lady
Cranmer, one of her women of the bedchamber, and Mr. Dupuy, servant
to the duke. In a paper she drew up relative to her adoption of the
catholic religion, preserved in the fifth volume of the "Harleian
Miscellany," she professes being one of the greatest enemies that faith
ever had. She likewise declares no man or woman had said anything, or
used the least persuasion to make her change her religion. That had
been effected, she adds, by a perusal of Dr. Heylin's "History of the
Reformation;" after which she spoke severally to Dr. Sheldon, Archbishop
of Canterbury and Dr. Blandford, Bishop of Worcester, who told her
"there were many things in the Roman Church which it was very much to
be wished they had kept--as confession, which was no doubt commanded by
God; and praying for the dead, which was one of the ancient things in
Christianity--that for their parts they did it daily, though they would
not own to it."

The duchess pondered over what she had read and heard, and being a woman
accustomed to judge for herself, and act upon her decisions, she, in the
month of August, 1670 became a member of the Catholic Church, in which
communion she died seven months later. For fifteen months previous to
her demise she had been suffering from a complication of diseases,
with which the medical skill of that day was unable to cope, and these
accumulating, in March, 1671, ended her days. The "Stuart Papers"
furnish an interesting account of her death. Seeing the hour was at hand
which would sever her from all earthly ties, she besought her husband
not to leave her whilst life remained. She likewise requested that in
case Dr. Blandford or any other of the bishops should come to visit her,
he would tell them she had