Historic%20Yorkshire

148
DEATH OF THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
the unstable Charles, withdrew to his Yorkshire seat,
Helmsley. Here,hishealth beingruined byan unbridled
course of vice and intemperance,and his vast revenues
pitifully curtailed by the unmeasuredextravagance of his
whole life, the whilom favourite chiefly occupied himself
in field sports.
The year or two he spent inthis rural retirement would
form a markedcontrast to thedaysof his power andpride.
His life would be thatof an ordinary country gentleman,
and of which there are no records until we come to his
death.
This took place at Kirkby-Moorside,the manorof which
descended to him from his father, to whom it had been
granted by James the First. Prior to 1570 the manor had
beenin the holdingof the Earls of Westmoreland, whose
representative was then attainted,and the estates confiscated
to the Crown.
The Duke of Buckingham came to his end April 17th,
1687.
He had been hunting in the neighbourhood of
Kirkby-Moorside,and being fatigued with an exhausting
chase after the hounds, he had sat upon the dampground,
which, bringing on inflammation and fever, resulted in
his decease.
Lord Arran, who afterwards became the Duke of
Hamilton, and was a blood relation of the Duke of Buckingham,attended
his last moments,of which, in a letter
to Dr. Spratt, Bishop of Rochester, and formerly chaplain
to the Duke,he gives the following account, dated from
" Kerby-moor Syde, April 17th, 1687. — My Lord,—
Mere chance having thrown me into these parts by accident,
asIwas at York,in my journey towards Scotland,
Iheard of the Duke of Buckingham's illness here, which
made me take a resolutionof waitingupon his Grace, to
see what condition he was in. Iarrived here on Friday,
in the afternoon, whereIfound himin a very low condition;
he had been long illof an ague, which had made
him weak; but his understanding was as good as ever,
and his noble parts were so entire, that, thoughIsaw