Welbeck is now the home of peace and joy; but there have been times when
its history has been shrouded in tragic mystery, and even to-day there
is the Druce claim to give piquancy to its story.

The family springs from the alliance of the Bentincks and the
Cavendishes. Theirs is a telling motto: _Dominus providebit_ (The Lord
will provide) was on the crest of the Bentincks, and it befitted a
family not too richly endowed with this world's goods according to the
position of the Dutch nobility 250 years ago; but being of sterling
qualities devoted to the cause they espoused, their descendants have met
with their reward. _Craignez honte_ (Fear disgrace) was another motto of
the family, and the fear of dishonour has been a characteristic trait
from the time when the first Bentinck set foot in England, till to-day.

Before unfolding the drama of tragedy, love, and comedy of these later
years let us go back to the tale of heroism surrounding the character of
the first Bentinck to make a name for himself in this country.
Englishmen are apt to forget the debt of gratitude owing to men of the
past; had it not been for Hans William Bentinck this favoured land might
still have been under the Stuart tyranny, and the scions of the House of
Brunswick might never have occupied the Throne of Great Britain.

James the Second had made an indifferent display of qualities as a
ruler, and the nation was tired of a superstitious monarch who was
fostering a condition of affairs which was turning England into a
hot-bed of religious and political plots and counter-plots. James's
daughter, Mary, had married William, Prince of Orange, who was invited
to come and take his father-in-law's place as King of England. That
invitation was extended in no uncertain way, and James having withdrawn