eath of the first Earl, the
family name is recorded as Roberts in the registers, an instance of the
etymological carelessness of the time. In Radnor House was one of the
pillared arcades fashionable in the Jacobean period, of which a specimen
is still to be seen over the doorway of the dining-room in the Queen's
House. On the first floor was a remarkably fine fireplace, which has
been transferred bodily to one of the modern houses in Cheyne Walk. At
the back of Radnor House were large nursery-gardens known as "Mr. Watt's
gardens" from the time of Hamilton (1717) until far into the present
century. An old hostel adjoining Radnor House was called the Duke's Head,
after the Duke of Cumberland, of whom a large oil-painting hung in the
principal room.

From this corner to the west gates of the Hospital was formerly Paradise
Row. Here lived the Duchess of Mazarin, sister to the famous Cardinal.
She was married to the Duke de la Meilleraie, who adopted her name. It is
said that Charles II. when in exile had wished to marry her, but was
prevented by her brother, who saw at the time no prospect of a Stuart
restoration. The Duchess, after four years of unhappy married life with
the husband of her brother's choice, fled to England. Charles, by this
time restored to his throne, received her, and settled L4,000 on her from
the secret service funds. She lived in Chelsea in Paradise Row. Tradition
asserts very positively that the house was at one end of the row, but at
which remains a disputed point. L'Estrange and others have inclined to
the belief that it was at the east end, the last of a row of low
creeper-covered houses still standing, fronted by gardens and high iron
gates. The objection to this is that these are not the last houses in the
line, but are followed by one or two of a different style.

The end of all, now a public-house, is on the site of Faulkner's house,
and it is probable that if the Duchess had lived there, he, coming after
so comparatively short an interval, would have mentioned the fact; as it
is, he never alludes to the exact locality. Even L4,000 a year was quite
inadequate to keep up this lady's extravagant style of living. The gaming
at her house ran high; it is reported that the guests left money under
their plates to pay for what they had eaten. St. Evremond, poet and man
of the world, was frequently there, and he seems to have constituted
himself "guide, philosopher, and friend" to the wayward lady. She