ABSTRACT
On November 19, 1627 the ecclesiastical court of High Commission found Frances Villiers, viscountess Purbeck, guilty of adultery. The court sentenced her to pay a five hundred pound fine and to do public penance, which meant standing dressed in a white sheet in a public place and asking forgiveness for her sins.1 Frances, however, had no intention of doing anything of the kind. Instead, she “withdrew herself” in a very dramatic fashion.2 Frances lodged next door to the ambassador of Savoy, whose garden was joined to hers. Officers came and requested access to the ambassador’s house and garden so that they could more easily arrest Frances. After some persuasion, the Savoyard grudgingly consented. The men positioned themselves and waited for a good opportunity to act. Suddenly, a coach rolled up in the street in front and a young blond woman rushed out, got in, and the coach drove away at breakneck speed. The sergeant and his men hurried after it, pursuing it in a wild chase down the Strand. Only too late did they discover that the fair young creature in the coach was not their intended catch, but rather the ambassador’s young beardless page dressed in women’s clothing. Meanwhile, Frances had been able to slip away quietly.3
