hampion ever since my Lord Shrewsbury's
business,

[Charles II. wrote to his sister (Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans), on
March 7th, 1669: "I am not sorry that Sir Will. Coventry has given
me this good occasion by sending my Lord of Buckingham a challenge
to turne him out of the Councill. I do intend to turn him allso out
of the Treasury. The truth of it is, he has been a troublesome man
in both places and I am well rid of him" (Julia Cartwright's
"Madame," 1894, p. 283).]

go to him to know the business; but H. Saville would not tell it to any
but himself, and therefore did go presently to the Duke of Buckingham,
and told him that his uncle Coventry was a person of honour, and was
sensible of his Grace's liberty taken of abusing him, and that he had
a desire of satisfaction, and would fight with him. But that here they
were interrupted by my Lord Chamberlain's coming in, who was commanded
to go to bid the Duke of Buckingham to come to the King, Holmes having
discovered it. He told me that the King did last night, at the Council,
ask the Duke of Buckingham, upon his honour, whether he had received any
challenge from W. Coventry? which he confessed that he had; and then the
King asking W. Coventry, he told him that he did not owne what the Duke
of Buckingham had said, though it was not fit for him to give him a
direct contradiction. But, being by the King put upon declaring, upon
his honour, the matter, he answered that he had understood that many
hard questions had upon this business been moved to some lawyers, and
that therefore he was unwilling to declare any thing that might, from
his own mouth, render him obnoxious to his Majesty's displeasure,
and, therefore, prayed to be excused: which the King did think fit to
interpret to be a confession, and so gave warrant that night for his
commitment to the Tower. Being very much troubled at this, I away by
coach homewards, and directly to the Tower, where I find him in one Mr.
Bennet's house, son to Major Bayly, one of the Officers of the Ordnance,
in the Bricke Tower:

[The Brick Tower stands on the northern wall, a little to the west
of Martin tower, with which it communicates by a secret passage.
It was the residence of the Master of the Ordnance, and Raleigh was
lodged here for a time.]

where I find him busy with my Lord Halifax and his brother; so I would
not stay to interrupt them, but only to give him comfo