The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction - Volume 14, No. 396, October 31, 1829 by Various
page 20 of 54 (37%)
page 20 of 54 (37%)
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and two privates of artillery composed the whole military force. The
corporal, a quiet intelligent man, who spoke with much horror of paying a visit to the West Indies, which, in the mutations of his professional life, he had a prospect of doing at no distant period, acted as _cicerone_, and, among other places, introduced me into a small circular apartment, forming one of the suite appropriated to officers, which he said had been the habitation of Charles II. when a wanderer. This prince, when his unfortunate father fell into the hands of the regicidal party, found a loyal welcome in Jersey. Here he was recognised as king, when in England they sought his blood: here he remained in security, when his fatherland afforded him no asylum. During his lonely sojourn in this remote portion of his hereditary dominions, he is said to have employed himself in making a survey and delineating a map of the island. The natives, flattered by the confidence he reposed in them, and justly proud of nine centuries of unblemished loyalty to the throne of Great Britain, still refer to his residence as a memorable event; and in no other part of the British dominions, is the memory of the "merry monarch" more respected. When Cromwell, after the disastrous issue of the battle of Worcester, sent an expedition, under Admiral Blake, to reduce the island, it made a most gallant and protracted defence; and had not circumstances conspired to favour the Invaders, their victory would have been dearly purchased. Mount Orgueil, in point of historical association, is by far the most interesting spot in Jersey. A part of the fortifications, according to tradition, are coeval with Caesar's incursions into Gaul; and the islanders hold it famous in their oldest story, and of antiquity beyond record. In 1374, the celebrated Constable du Guesclin passed over from Bretagne at the head of a large army, including some of the bravest knights of France, and encamped before this fortress, then called Gouray Castle, into which the principal inhabitants had retired for safety; but after a siege of several |
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