Colonel Blood and the Crown Jewels of England

"I spoke to no one," said the Duke hastily--"nay, I mistake, I remember

a fellow whispered in my ear, that one, who I thought had left London

was still lingering in town. A person whom I had business with."

"Was yon the messenger?" said Ormond, singling out from the crowd who

stood in the court-yard a tall dark-looking man, muffled in a large

cloak, wearing a broad shadowy black beaver hat, with a long sword of

the Spanish fashion--the very Colonel, in short, whom Buckingham had

despatched in quest of Christian, with the intention of detaining him in

the country.

When Buckingham's eyes had followed the direction of Ormond's finger, he

could not help blushing so deeply as to attract the King's attention.

"What new frolic is this, George?" he said. "Gentlemen, bring that

fellow forward. On my life, a truculent-looking caitiff--Hark ye,

friend, who are you? If an honest man, Nature has forgot to label it

upon your countenance.--Does none here know him?

 'With every symptom of a knave complete,

  If he be honest, he's a devilish cheat.'"

"He is well known to many, sire," replied Ormond; "and that he walks in

this area with his neck safe, and his limbs unshackled, is an instance,

amongst many, that we live under the sway of the most merciful Prince of

Europe."

"Oddsfish! who is the man, my Lord Duke?" said the King. "Your Grace

talks mysteries--Buckingham blushes--and the rogue himself is dumb."

"That honest gentleman, please your Majesty," replied the Duke of

Ormond, "whose modesty makes him mute, though it cannot make him blush,

is the notorious Colonel Blood, as he calls himself, whose attempt to

possess himself of your Majesty's royal crown took place at no very

distant date, in this very Tower of London."

"That exploit is not easily forgotten," said the King; "but that the

fellow lives, shows your Grace's clemency as well as mine."

The story of Colonel Thomas Blood is difficult to fathom.  He tried to murder the Duke of Ormonde more than once, managed to dupe Talbot Edwards, the aged keeper of the crown jewels into trusting him, was caught red-handed with the jewels, and despite these crimes, persuaded King Charles II not only to pardon him, but to give him a grant of land.   His infamies even gained him a place in Walter Scott’s “Peveril of the Peak (text above).  Blood’s famous attempt at the jewels in the Tower of London occurred on May 9^th, 1671.

Cozeners

May 9.[1828]—Grounds of Foote's farce of the Cozeners. Lady ——. A certain Mrs. Phipps audaciously set up in a fashionable quarter of the town as a person through whose influence, properly propitiated, favours and situations of importance might certainly be obtained—always for a consideration. She cheated many people, and maintained the trick for many months. One trick was to get the equipage of Lord North, and other persons of importance, to halt before her door as if the owners were within. With respect to most of them, this was effected by bribing the drivers. But a gentleman, who watched her closely, observed that Charles J. Fox actually left his carriage and went into the house, and this more than once. He was then, it must be noticed, in the Ministry. When Mrs. Phipps was blown up, this circumstance was recollected as deserving explanation, which Fox readily gave at Brooks's and elsewhere. It seems Mrs. Phipps had the art to persuade him that she had the disposal of what was then called a hyæna—that is, an heiress—an immense Jamaica heiress, in whom she was willing to give or sell her interest to Charles Fox. Without having perfect confidence in the obliging proposal, the great statesman thought the thing worth looking after, and became so earnest in it, that Mrs. Phipps was desirous to back out of it for fear of discovery. With this view she made confession one fine morning, with many professions of the deepest feelings, that the hyæna had proved a frail monster, and given birth to a girl or boy—no matter which. Even this did not make Charles quit chase of the hyæna. He intimated that if the cash was plenty and certain, the circumstance might be overlooked. Mrs. Phipps had nothing for it but to double the disgusting dose. "The poor child," she said, "was unfortunately of a mixed colour, somewhat tinged with the blood of Africa; no doubt Mr. Fox was himself very dark, and the circumstance might not draw attention," etc. etc. This singular anecdote was touched upon by Foote, and is the cause of introducing the negress into the Cozeners, though no express allusion to Charles Fox was admitted. Lady ——— tells me that, in her youth, the laugh was universal so soon as the black woman appeared. It is one of the numerous hits that will be lost to posterity. Jack Fuller, celebrated for his attempt on the Speaker's wig, told me he was editing Foote, but I think he has hardly taste enough. He told me Colman was to be his assistant...

Samuel Foote's comedy "The Cozeners" opened in 1774.  It was performed at the Theater Royal in the Haymarket.  Foote himself acted, and was known for his mimicry of public figures.  The Whig politician Charles James Fox that Scott discusses in his Journal entry of May 9, 1828, served in Parliament for 38 years.  His personal life was the subject of scandal, as can be inferred from the text above.

James Northcote

May_ 9 (1828) "...I  sat to Northcote, who is to introduce himself in the same piece in the act of painting me, like some pictures of the Venetian school. The artist is an old man, low in stature, and bent with years--fourscore at least. But the eye is quick and the countenance noble. A pleasant companion, familiar with recollections of Sir Joshua, Samuel Johnson, Burke, Goldsmith, etc. His account of the last confirms all that we have heard of his oddities..."

From Scott's Journal

James Northcote was an Englishman, whose first career was as a watchmaker, under his father.  He enjoyed drawing, and began painting portraits on his own.  The year Scott was born, 1771, Northcote moved with his brother to London, escaping from his father's watchmaking business. 

Northcote left Devon with an introduction to Sir Joshua Reynolds.  Both men derived from near Plymouth, in Devon, and both had attended the Plympton Grammar School.   Reynolds took Northcote in as a student, and a boarder.

Northcote produced prolificly, creating perhaps more than 1,000 works.  He also wrote, authoring the first full biography of Sir Joshua Reynolds.