Courtenay

“ The mocking nobility, reared in the tainted atmosphere of Catharine’s Court, and accustomed to measure others by their own standard, would accept as true neither his word nor that of the Princess. She was branded with the mark of shame, and the cause of it all was himself—Wilfrid Courtenay!
Well, he could have one satisfaction at least, the satisfaction of seeing the original traducer fall dead at his feet, for he would give him no quarter in the morning.
“The fight cannot come too soon,” he said, between his set teeth. “You have cast a black slander on an innocent lady, and by Heaven! ”

“ My lady drops a mock curtsey in return.
"Your Excellency can do no less than sue for a dance," drawled Dr.
Courtenay.
"And no more, I fear, sir, not being so nimble as I once was. I resign in your favour, doctor," said Colonel Sharpe.
Dr. Courtenay made his bow, his hat tucked under his arm. But he had much to learn of Miss Manners if he thought that even one who had been governor of the province could command her. The music was just begun again, and I making off in the direction of Patty Swain, when I was brought up as suddenly as by a rope. A curl was upon Dorothy's lips. ”

“ Courtenay’s recent neglect had sorely grieved the old gentleman. He doted upon her, indulged her in every whim and fancy and, like many an aged husband who has a smart young wife, dared not to differ from her or complain of any of her actions. There is a deal of truth in the adage, “There’s no fool like an old fool.”
But the mystery was increasing, and as we drove together down that long interminable high road through Hammersmith to Chiswick, wet, dark and silent at that hour, I reflected that the strange presage of insecurity which had so long oppressed me was actually being fulfilled. ”

“ And there would be nothing very extraordinary in Courtenay's accepting it on those terms, for it may have saved him at some particular moment an infinity of trouble, and still have given him the appearance of a triumph, which he could trust the friars to make the most of throughout the country. ”

“ Courtenay and her husband—he sixty-two and she only twenty-nine—they had but few ideas in common.
That she nursed him tenderly I was well aware, but from her manner I had long ago detected that her devotedness was only assumed in order to humour him, and that she possessed little or no real affection for him. Nor was it much wonder, after all. A smart young woman, fond of society and amusement, is never the kind of wife for a snappy invalid of old Courtenay’s type. ”

“ The signal was given, the encounter came, Dalzel’s helmet gave way a second time, whilst he with great adroitness pierced the silken wreath supporting the falcon that soared over Courtenay’s casque, and bore it off in triumph.
“Ha!” exclaimed he, “by St. Andrew, but I have the popinjay!” And so saying, he waited not for further talk, but rode off along the bridge with pompous air, and returned bearing it on high, to the great mortification of Courtenay, and the no small amusement of the spectators. ”

“ Dr. Courtenay is at Wilmot House, and is coming to-night; and he has asked me out. Think of it, Richard! Dr. Courtenay!"
"A plague upon him! He is a fop!"
"A fop!" exclaimed Dolly, her humour bettering as mine went down. "Oh, no; you are jealous. He is more sought after than any gentleman at the assemblies, and Miss Dulany vows his steps are ravishing. There's for you, my lad! He may not be able to keep pace with you in the chase, but he has writ the most delicate verses ever printed in Maryland, and no other man in the colony can turn a compliment with his grace. ”

“ Besides, I had not the wit.
Was it strange that Dr. Courtenay should pride himself upon the discovery of a new beauty? And in the Coffee House, and in every drawing-room in town, prophesy for her a career of conquest such as few could boast? She was already launched upon that career. And rumour had it that Mr. Marmaduke was even then considering taking her home to London, where the stage was larger and the triumph greater. Was it surprising that the Gazette should contain a poem with the doctor's well-known ear-marks upon it? ”

“ The surprise of Courtenay when he found the hatches down, and the deck in possession of the French, was removed when the men who had been secured with him stated that, as they lay in their hammocks, they had been awakened by a large body of men running up the hatchway. ”

“ The conspirators intended her to marry Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devon, son of the Courtenay, Marquis of Exeter, whom Henry VIII. had beheaded in 1539, and last heir of the house of York. Courtenay himself, a vain and incapable young man, was not the real head of the conspiracy, which was mainly guided by the Duke of Suffolk—the father of Lady Jane Grey—and by Sir Thomas Wyatt, a young knight of Kent. Courtenay's babbling folly betrayed the plot too soon, and the conspirators had to rise before they were ready. Their armed bands were easily crushed in all parts of England save in Kent ”

“ We thought King George seemed rather relieved when he got rid of her. He professed great friendship for Captain Courtenay. But his regard was, doubtless, based on the wholesome fear in which he stood of him; for the ship mounted eight guns in regular broadside, besides small swivels on her topgallant forecastle and taffrail, and even had her arm-chests in her tops. ”

“ This lady, in doing me the honour to accord me her hand, has made her gift to me more precious by a boundless act of confidence; she will accept of no settlements.’ ‘Great Heavens! Miss Courtenay,’ whispered I, ‘is he not wandering in his mind? Surely this is raving!’ ‘I think, Sir, you will find that the only person present whose faculties are at fault is Mr. M’Kinlay. Certainly I claim exemption both for Sir Within Wardle and myself.’ It was all true, Sir—true as I stand here! She is to be his wife. ”

“ There was uncertainty about Elizabeth herself; both Noailles and Renard believed that she would consent to this dangerous proposal; but she had shown Courtenay, hitherto, no sign of favour; while Courtenay, on his side, complained that he was frightened by her haughty ways. Again, there was a serious difficulty in Courtenay's character; he was too cowardly for a dangerous enterprise, too incapable for an intricate one, and his weak humour made men afraid to,, trust themselves to a person who, to save himself, might at any moment betray them. ”

“ Hearing this, the duke declared that he would exercise his authority there whether the bishop would or no. When they came to the lady chapel, the marshal with a sneer called for a seat for Wycliffe. Courtenay objected to this, saying that it was contrary to law and reason that an accused clerk should be seated when before his judges. The duke grew red with anger, for he saw that the bishop had the better in the dispute. He shouted that he would pull down the pride of all the bishops in England, and, addressing Courtenay, added: ‘Thou trustest in thy parents, who can profit thee nothing ”

“ COURTENAY, PETER (d. 1492) , bishop successively of Exeter and Winchester, was the third son of Sir Philip Courtenay of Powderham, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Walter, lord Hungerford. Sir Philip (d. 1463) was the heir of his uncle, Richard Courtenay, bishop of Norwich [q. v.] , and, though representing a younger branch of his illustrious family, a man of considerable wealth (see the list of his manors in Cal. Inquis. post mortem, 3 Edw. IV, iv. 322) . Peter prosecuted his studies at Oxford and in Italy, where it is said he became a doctor of both laws at Padua. ”

“ This would have been in any case a long time for Courtenay to wait out of office; but they said the idea of his being proposed had got wind, and several of the Directors were very adverse. Neither of the Chairs likes him, and if they supported him they would do it very reluctantly. As Loch goes out of office in April, and we cannot tell who will be deputy, and six new Directors come in, there really are not the means of saying to Courtenay, 'You are sure of your election,' and without this he could not be asked to resign.
I took the Chairs to the Duke. ”

“ The man, a French half-breed, whimpered and cursed in impotent wrath, and showed McElroy one of the flasks that had been in the leg-straps of his visitors. It was covered with a fine light wicker weave, of the same pattern as that jug which De Courtenay had left at the post gate that morning in early spring.
“Ridgar,” said the factor, showing the thing to him, “our friend from Montreal is taking a high hand with the country. The freedom of the wild has gone to his head.” ”

“ They sympathised with her—as every woman who marries an old man is sympathised with—and they gave her what pleasures they could. Alas! that such a clanship between women so often proves fatal to domestic happiness. Judged from a logical point of view it was merely natural that young Mrs. Courtenay should, after a year or two with an invalid husband, aged and eccentric, beat her wings against the bars. ”

“ But one swift, intense glance passed between Courtenay and Joyce as the witness took the stand. It was seen by no one but the keen-eyed Bobsy, and to him it was a revelation.
55
“Oh, ho,” was his self-communing, “sits the wind in that quarter? Now, if his nibs and the stately chatelaine are—er—en rapport—it puts a distinctly different tint on the racing steed! I must see about this.”
Eugene Courtenay was a man of the world, about thirty years old, and a near neighbour. He had been a suitor of Joyce’s before she succumbed to Stannard’s Cave Man wooing, and since, had been a friend of both. ”

“ COURTENAY, JOHN (1741–1816) , politician, son of William Courtenay, by Lady Jane Stuart, second daughter of the Earl of Bute, was born in Ireland in 1741. He entered political life under the auspices of Viscount Townshend, who, while lord-lieutenant of Ireland, 1767–1772, made him his private secretary. In this capacity he accompanied Townshend to the ordnance office in 1772. As Townshend's nominee he was returned to parliament in 1780 as member for Tamworth. In 1783 Townshend appointed him surveyor-general of the ordnance. ”

“ Sir Nicholas Throgmorton; Sir Peter Carew; Sir Edmund Warner, Lord Cobham's brother-in-law; and Sir James Crofts, the late Deputy of Ireland. [20] Courtenay, who had affected orthodoxy as long as he had hopes of the Queen, was admitted into the confederacy. Cornwall and Devonshire were to be the first counties to rise, where Courtenay would be all-powerful by his name. Wyatt undertook to raise Kent, Sir James Crofts the Severn border, Suffolk and his brothers the midland counties. Forces from these four points were to converge on London, which would then stir for itself. ”

“ From respect to the laws of succession, the crown was thereupon offered to Peter de Courtenay, son of Elizabeth de Courtenay and Peter of France, who had married Yolande, daughter of the Count of Hainault, and sister to both the late Emperors, Baldwin and Henry. The proffered honour, doubtless, was great, yet the accession to the Imperial purple proved the precursor of heavy calamities to the unfortunate Emperor and his descendants. Peter de Courtenay, it is true, bore the reputation of a valorous knight and a courageous warrior. ”

“ In April 1525 he became constable of Windsor Castle, and on 18 June following Marquis of Exeter. In August of the same year Courtenay went to France as the king's envoy to negotiate an alliance, and to secure the release of Francis I, taken prisoner by Spain at the battle of Pavia. On his return in September the king appointed him the privy councillor to be in immediate attendance on him, and on 17 May 1528 he was nominated lieutenant of the order of the Garter. Throughout the proceedings for the divorce of Queen Catherine of Aragon Courtenay actively aided the king ”

“ My Lord of Devon had pretty well insisted upon his carrying out some change in his house at Exminster, where some forty years later was born William Courtenay, the future Archbishop of Canterbury, and Gervase was one day cutting the notches in a wooden tally, made of a slip of willow—which was the manner of giving a receipt—and handing it to the bailiff, when a tall man holding a little girl by the hand strode into the yard. ”

“ In the reign of William III., an offer of an English Barony was made to the head of the Courtenays, and again refused; but in 1762, the many services of Sir William Courtenay, eighth of the name, merited a higher honour, and he, accepting a Peerage, took his seat in the House of Lords as Viscount Courtenay of Powderham Castle. ”

“ He was offended—“sorely hurt,” he would have called it—to be told that in a matter of social usage, in what touched on conventionalities, he was not an efficient testimony.
“I am aware, fully aware, Miss Courtenay,” said he, gravely, “that Sir Within’s society is not my society; that neither our associations, our topics, or our ways of life, are alike; but, on a question which my professional opinion might determine—and such a question might well arise—I will say that there are few men at the English Bar would be listened to with more deference.” ”

“ Sir William Courtenay as he appeared after the post-mortem examination, and portraits of Tyler and Price, two of the rioters. The title of the work is: "The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Sir William Courtenay, Knight of Malta, alias John Nichols Tom, formerly spirit merchant and maltster of Truro in Cornwall, being a correct detail of all the incidents of his extraordinary life, from his infancy to the dreadful battle of Bossenden Wood ... with facsimiles of that eccentric character, concluding with an accurate account of the trial of the rioters at the Maidstone Assizes. ”