and permitted them to kiss her hand. She then presented a collar
of gold to the captain, and gave money to be distributed among
the crew.

When at length the parliamentary business was concluded, the king
found himself in readiness to depart. The last words he
addressed to his faithful commons before starting are worth
recording: "The mention of my wife's arrival," said he, in the
pleasant familiar tone it was his wont to use, "puts me in mind
to desire you to put that compliment upon her, that her entrance
into this town may be made with more decency than the ways will
now suffer it to be; and to that purpose I pray you would quickly
pass such laws as are before you, in order to the mending those
ways, that she may not find Whitehall surrounded with water."

At nine o'clock on the night of the 19th of May, his majesty left
London in Lord Northumberland's carriage, on his way to
Portsmouth. Arriving at Kingston an hour later, he entered Lord
Chesterfield's coach, which awaited him there by appointment, and
drove to Guildford, at which town he slept the night. In the
morning he was up betimes, and posted to Portsmouth, where he
arrived at noon. The queen, being ill of a slight fever, was yet
in bed: but the king, all impatient to see the bride which
heaven had sent him, sought admittance to her chamber. The poor
princess evidently did not look to advantage; for his majesty
told Colonel Legg he thought at first glance "they had brought
him a bat instead of a woman." On further acquaintance, however,
she seemed to have afforded more pleasure to the king's sight,
for the next day he expressed the satisfaction he felt concerning
her, in a letter addressed to the lord chancellor, which is