CHAPTER IX.

Court life under the merry monarch.--Riding in Hyde Park.--Sailing on the Thames.--Ball at Whitehall.--Petit soupers.--What happened at Lady Gerrard's.--Lady Castlemaine quarrels with the king.--Flight to Richmond.--The queen falls ill.--The king's grief and remorse.--Her majesty speaks.--Her secret sorrow finds voice in delirium.--Frances Stuart has hopes.--The queen recovers.