Nell Gwynn

The mistresses of kings have always come in for their full share of fame. Mistresses per se are an appealing topic. So are kings. The combination is irresistible. Thus the fame of Agnes Sorel, of Du Barry, of Louise de La Valliere, tinkles pleasantly down the paths of history.

Most royal favorites have been the object of romantic interest rather than of affection. A pleasing exception is little Nell Gwynn, capricious blossom of the London gutters, mistress of light-headed Charles II. England has always loved the orange girl and actress of old Drury. She was said herself to have had a warm and kindly heart. Almost the last words of her cynical royal protector were said to have been: "Let not poor Nelly starve."

A scholarly and tasteful work on Nell Gwynn, by Lewis Melville, has just been published by the George H. Doran Co.* Her story is entertainingly told and charmingly illustrated. Almost simultaneously, there is announced the sale of a picture of Nell, an authenticated painting from the brush of Sir Peter Lely, chief court painter to Charles II. It was sold by Grosvenor Clarkson to Mary Coleman, Inc., and shows little Nell, as Venus, reposing naked on colored silk draperies, a cupid by her side. Her eyes and hair are brown, her lips ripely red, her flesh tones soft and warm.

A good deal of Nell Gwynn's posthumous reputation is due to her identification with the Protestant cause and the political drift which later crystallized into the Whig Party.

*NELL GWYN -- Lewis Melville -- Doran ($7.50).