CAVALIER TREATMENT
Stn,—Some years ,ago at Oxford while researching for an essay for my tutor (and your reviewer) Christopher Hill, I came across an alleged example of Charles l's marital infidelity. It concerned a daughter of one bf the staff at Carisbrooke where Charles was imprisoned. What made the afjaire. rather unsavoury was not the mere infidelity—that seems to have been the rule rather than the exception for English kings before the twentieth century—but the fact that at the same time Charles was protestipg his devotion to his wife. This deceit, if true, certainly ties in with what we know of his character : it was his untrustworthiness that, above all,, led to his execution. Unfortunately, I have lost the reference and cannot verify the story. Perhaps one of your learned correspondents can clear the matter up. If this slur upon Charles's name is removed one of my prejudices against him will be removed from my mind, but I'm afraid I shall still be unable to share that romantic affection for him that seems to have clouded the vision of so many of his contemporaries and latter-day admirers.—Yours faithfully,
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