to open the despatches, would keep out of the way till Charles should have had reasonable time to enable him to escape, when he would repair to the States with his tardy information, and require, on the terms of the late treaty, that the king's person should be instantly seized. Charles had no choice but to follow his advice, and therefore instantly set off on his return to Brussels, where he was then on a visit. Bruges, with the exception of a short stay at Fontarabia, whither he had proceeded to attend the Pyrennean treaty, continued to be the principal residence of Charles till his restoration to the throne. It was shortly after his return from the borders of Spain that he received the announcement of Cromwell's death. He was playing at tennis, when Sir Stephen Fox fell on his knees before him and acquainted him with the important tidings. Soon afterward, in order to be better prepared for any emergency, the king departed for Brussels. Probably no one, bearing the title of king, was ever more frequently disappointed in his matrimonial projects than Charles. We have already seen him rejected by Cromwell as his son-in-law, and he afterward met with a similar refusal from Cardinal Mazarin, on his proposing for his niece Hortensia, the most beautiful woman and the richest heiress in France. The cardinal (who appears to have received the offer either through Abbot |