West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-02-16
A Nice Story Exploded.

lLoudon Correspondence of the Chicago Journal
Ii is curious how the most ridiculous
stories are started. added 10 and pcrpet.
mated, until they finally assume an atti-
tude OF historical authority. The other
day cut from recent issue of the
Journal the following paragraph, evi-
IDENTIFY one that has been going the
rounds of American newspapers:
During the troubles i'm the reign of
Charles a beautiful country Girl
came TO London i'm search of a place aS a
servant-maid; but, not succeeding, She
hired herself TO carry out beer from
brewhOuSe, and was one of those called
tub-woman. The brewer observing n
good-looking girl in this low occupation,
took her into his family as a servant.
and, after short time, married her
but he died while she was vet a Young
woman, and left her the bulk of his for
tune. The business of the brewer was
dropped, and the young woman was
recommended TO Mr. Hyde IA n skillful
lawyer, 10 arrange her husbands affairs.
Hyde, who was aftcrward the great
Earl of Clarendon, finding the widow
fortune very considerable, married her.
OF this marriage there was no other issue
than daughter, who was aftcrward the
wife of James II, and mother of Mary
and Anne, Queens of England"
Now, there IL not one word of truth i'm
this whole paragraph, which has grown
out of certain scandal with which the
English Court amused itself when King
James H. then only Duke of York.
wanted TO get possession of Lord Clarcu-
don's daughter without marrying her.
Ever since IL has been the custom i'm
,..,.l 4. Ill l.. -
very humble origin, and in early life as
engaged I'm some mcnial capacity, and
the story has been credited because it
was never known, until quite recently,
who aud what she really was Even
Lady Theresa Lewis, one of her descend
ants, in volume published i'm 1852
SAID: 1t Is not known from what family
she sprang, or where she died" One
would have supposed that there would
have been sufficient loyalty and curios-
ity enough among the antiquarics of
England to have cleared up this matter
long before this, inasmuch rs it affects
the reputation of the grandmother of
two of the Queens of England. II was
left, however, for countryman of yours
to solve the mystery and nc has done 80
successfully. Briefly, the wife of the
Earl of Clarendon named i'm the para
graph quoted, instead of being a tub
woman i'm a London brcwry and after
wards marrying the brewer, was the
daughter and eventually the heir of Sir
Thomas Aylcsbury, baronet, whose
wife was one of the gentle families of
England. Her parentage, therefore,
was purely aristocratic. The idea that
the lawyer Hyde, being called i'm to set
Tie the brewers affairs, made love to and
finally married his widow is 20 cxquis.
itcly delicious that il il almost pity 10
spoil IL, but the real fact ia that Mrs.
Hyde, when she became Mrs. HYDE, !
was not fourteen years old. 1t
had been conjecturcd that she was very
young, but her cohin-platc, which has re
Gently been discovered during some
necessary work in the family vault in
Westminster Abbey, proves vcsconciusivcly
that she was under fourteen at her mar
riage, and this accounts for another fact. !
somewhat mysterious before, viz, that
Der first child was not born until several
years after the marriage. ! may add !
that the record Of her marriage exists, !
and she was married i'm her maiden name
of Aylcsbury. So vanishcs the tale Of |
the tub-wOman and the brewers widow. |
] said there was not a word of truth i'm |
the paragraph, and 30 prove this ! must |
further say that, instead Of having only |
one child, she had four sons and two |
daughters. The second son became Earl
of Rochester. The oldest son succeeded
his father AZ Earl Of Clarendon, and his
son was the Lord Cornbury, sometime
Governor of the colony Of New York !
whose memory is still odiOus, and |
whose name is mentioned only with !
ignomny in the histories of the United |
States. The Hyde family became ex-
tinct in the male line in 1853, and Is
now only represented by descendants i'm
the female line Several generations Of
them were buried in Westminster
Abbey, and American visitors 10 the old
minister walk over the roof Of the
family vault NJ they make their way To-
the steps leading into Henry WIS
chapel No less than twenty Of the
family arc known 10 be buried there,
and among them the lady who was the
subject Of the paragraph have quoted