January, 1627. Lord Orford observes, "When this extraordinary man,
with the figure and genius of Alcibiades, could equally charm the
presbyterian Fairfax and the dissolute Charles; when he alike
ridiculed that witty king and his solemn chancellor: when he plotted
the ruin of his country with a cabal of bad ministers, or, equally
unprincipled, supported its cause with bad patriots,--one laments
that such parts should have been devoid of every virtue: but when
Alcibiades turns chemist; when he is a real bubble and a visionary
miser; when ambition is but a frolic; when the worst designs are for
the foolishest ends,--contempt extinguishes all reflection on his
character."]
Lord Arlington took up the project which the Duke of Buckingham had
abandoned, and endeavoured to gain possession of the mind of the
mistress, in order to govern the master. A man of greater merit and
higher birth than himself might, however, have been satisfied with the
fortune he had already acquired. His first negotiations were during the
treaty of the Pyrenees: and though he was unsuccessful in his proceedings
for his employer, yet he did not altogether lose his time; for he
perfectly acquired, in his exterior, the serious air and profound gravity
of the Spaniards, and imitated pretty well their tardiness in business:
he had a scar across his nose, which was covered by a long patch, or
rather by a small plaister, in form of a lozenge.
Scars in the face commonly give a man a certain fierce and martial air,
which sets him off to advantage; but it was quite the contrary with him,
and this remarkable plaister so well suited his mysterious looks, that it
seemed an addition to his gravity and self-sufficiency.
Arlington, under the mask of this compound countenance where great
earnestness passed for business, and impenetrable stupidity for secrecy,
had given himself the character of a great politician; and no one having
leisure to examine him, he was taken at his word, and had been made
minister and secretary of state, upon the credit of his own importance.
His ambition soaring still above these high stations, after having
provided himself with a great number of fine maxims, and some historical
anecdotes, he obtained an audience of Miss Stewart, in order to display
them; at the same time offering her his most humble services, and best
advice, to assist her in conducting herself in the situation to which it
had pleased God and her virtue to raise her. But he was only in the
preface of his speech, when she recollected that he was at the head of
those whom the Duke of Buckingham used to mimic; and as his presence and
his language exactly revived the ridiculous ideas that had been given her
of him, she could not forbear bursting out into a fit of laughter in his
face, so much the more violent as she had for a long time struggled to
suppress it.
The minister was enraged: his pride became his post, and his punctilious
behaviour merited all the ridicule which could be attached to it: he
quitted her abruptly, with all the fine advice he had prepared for her,
and was almost tempted to carry it to Lady Castlemaine, and to unite
himself with her interests; or immediately to quit the court party, and
declaim freely in parliament against the grievances of the state, and
particularly to propose an act to forbid the keeping of mistresses; but
his prudence conquered his resentments; and thinking only how to enjoy
with pleasure the blessings of fortune, he sent to Holland for a wife,
in order to complete his felicity.
Hamilton was, of all the courtiers, the best qualified to succeed in
an enterprise, in which the Duke of Buckingham and Lord Arlington had
miscarried: he was thinking upon it; but his natural coquetry traversed
his intentions, and made him neglect the most advantageous prospects in
the world, in order unnecessarily to attend to the advances and
allurements thrown out to him by the Countess of Chesterfield. This was
one of the most agreeable women in the world: she had a most exquisite
shape, though she was not very tall; her complexion was extremely fair,
with all the expressive charms of a brunette; she had large blue eyes,
very tempting and alluring; her manners were engaging; her wit lively and
amusing; but her heart, ever open to tender sentiments, was neither
scrupulous in point of constancy, nor nice in point of sincerity. She
was daughter to the Duke of Ormond, and Hamilton, being her
cousin-german, they might be as much as they pleased in each other's
company without being particular; but as soon as her eyes gave him some
encouragement, he entertained no other thoughts than how to please her,
[This lady was Isabella, daughter to Lewis de Nassau, Lord Beverwaert,
son to Maurice, Prince of Orange, and Count Nassau. By her, Lord
Arlington had an only daughter, named Isabella.]
without considering her fickleness, or the obstacles he had to encounter.
His intention, which we mentioned before, of establishing himself in the
confidence of Miss Stewart, no longer occupied his thoughts: she now was
of opinion that she was capable of being the mistress of her own conduct:
she had done all that was necessary to inflame the king's passions, without
exposing her virtue by granting the last favours; but the eagerness of a
passionate lover, blessed with favourable opportunities, is difficult to
withstand, and still more difficult to vanquish; and Miss Stewart's
virtue was almost exhausted, when the queen was attacked with a violent
fever, which soon reduced her to extreme danger.
Then it was that Miss Stewart was greatly pleased with herself for the
resistance she had made, though she had paid dearly for it: a thousand
flattering hopes of greatness and glory filled her heart, and the
additional respect that was universally paid her, contributed not a
little to increase them. The queen was given over by her physicians:
the few Portuguese women that had not been sent back to their own country
filled the court with doleful cries; and the good nature of the king was
much affected with the situation in which he saw a princess, whom, though
he did not love her, yet he greatly esteemed. She loved him tenderly,
and thinking that it was the last time she should ever speak to him, she
told him, that the concern he showed for her death, was enough to make
her quit life with regret; but that not possessing charms sufficient to
merit his tenderness, she had at least the consolation in dying to give
place to a consort who might be more worthy of it, and to whom heaven,
perhaps, might grant a blessing that had been refused to her. At these
words, she bathed his hands with some tears, which he thought would be
her last: he mingled his own with hers; and without supposing she would
take him at his word, he conjured her to live for his sake. She had
never yet disobeyed him; and, however dangerous sudden impulses may be,
when one is between life and death, this transport of joy, which might
have proved fatal to her, saved her life, and the king's wonderful
tenderness had an effect, for which every person did not thank heaven in
the same manner.
Jermyn had now for some time been recovered of his wounds: however, Lady
Castlemaine, finding his health in as deplorable a condition as ever,
resolved to regain the king's heart, but in vain: for notwithstanding the
softness of her tears, and the violence of her passions, Miss Stewart
wholly possessed it. During this period the court was variously
entertained: sometimes there were promenades, and at others the court
beauties sallied out on horseback, and to make attacks with their charms
and graces, sometimes successfully, sometimes otherwise, but always to
the best of their abilities at other seasons there were such shows on the
river, as the city of London alone can afford.
The Thames washes the sides of a large though not a magnificent palace of
the kings of Great Britain:--[This was Whitehall, which was burnt down,
except the banqueting-house, 4th January, 1698.]--from the stairs of this
palace the court used to take water, in the summer evenings, when the
heat and dust prevented their walking in the park: an infinite number of
open boats, filled with the court and city beauties, attended the barges,
in which were the Royal Family: collations, music, and fireworks,
completed the scene. The Chevalier de Grammont always made one of the
company, and it was very seldom that he did not add something of his own
invention, agreeably to surprise by some unexpected stroke of
magnificence and gallantry. Sometimes he had complete concerts of vocal
and instrumental music, which he privately brought from Paris, and which
struck up on a sudden in the midst of these parties; sometimes he gave
banquets, which likewise came from France, and which, even in the midst
of London, surpassed the king's collations. These entertainments
sometimes exceeded, as others fell short of his expectations, but they
always cost him an immense deal of money.
Lord Falmouth was one of those who had the greatest friendship and esteem
for the Chevalier de Grammont: this profusion gave him concern, and as he
often used to go and sup with him without ceremony, one day finding only
Saint Evremond there, and a supper fit for half a dozen guests, who had
been invited in form: "You must not," said he, addressing himself to the
Chevalier de Grammont, "be obliged to me for this visit. I come from the
king's 'coucher', where all the discourse was about you; and I can assure
you that the manner in which the king spoke of you, could not afford you
so much pleasure as I myself felt upon the occasion. You know very well,
that he has long since offered you his good offices with the King of
France; and for my own part," continued he, smiling, "you know very well
that I would solicit him so to do, if it was not through fear of losing
you as soon as your peace is made; but, thanks to Miss Hamilton, you
are in no great haste: however, I am ordered by the king, my master,
to acquaint you, that while you remain here, until you are restored to
the favour of your sovereign, he presents you with a pension of fifteen
hundred Jacobus's: it is indeed a trifle, considering the figure the
Chevalier de Grammont makes among us; but it will assist him," said he,
embracing him, "to give us sometimes a supper."
The Chevalier de Grammont received, as he ought, the offer of a favour he
did not think proper to accept: "I acknowledge," said he, "the king's
bounty in this proposal, but I am still more sensible of Lord Falmouth's
generosity in it; and I request him to assure his Majesty of my perfect
gratitude: the king, my master, will not suffer me to want, when he
thinks fit to recall me; and while I continue here, I will let you see
that I have wherewithal to give my English friends now and then a
supper."
At these words, he called for his strong box, and showed him seven or
eight thousand guineas in solid gold. Lord Falmouth, willing to improve
to the Chevalier's advantage the refusal of so advantageous an offer,
gave Monsieur de Comminge, then ambassador at the English court, an
account of it; nor did Monsieur de Comminge fail to represent properly
the merit of such a refusal to the French court.
Hyde Park, every one knows, is the promenade of London! nothing was so
much in fashion, during the fine weather, as that promenade, which was
the rendezvous of magnificence and beauty: every one, therefore, who had
either sparkling eyes, or a splendid equipage, constantly repaired
thither; and the king seemed pleased with the place.
Coaches with glasses were then a late invention.
[Coaches were first introduced into England in the year 1564.
Taylor, the water poet, (Works, 1630, p. 240,) says,--"One William
Boonen, a Dutchman, brought first the use of coaches hither; and the
said Boonen was Queen Elizabeth's coachman; for, indeed, a coach was
a strange monster in those days, and the sight of them put both
horse and man into amazement." Dr. Percy observes, they were first
drawn by two horses, and that it was the favourite Buckingham, who,
about 1619, began to draw with six horses. About the same time, he
introduced the sedan. 'The Ultimum Vale of John Carleton', 4to,
1663, p. 23, will, in a great measure, ascertain the time of the
introduction of glass coaches. He says, "I could wish her (i. e.
Mary Carleton's) coach (which she said my lord Taff bought for her
in England, and sent it over to her, made of the new fashion, wide
glasse, very stately; and her pages and lacquies were of the same
livery,) was come for me," &c.]
The ladies were afraid of being shut up in them: they greatly preferred
the pleasure of showing almost their whole persons, to the conveniences
of modern coaches: that which was made for the king not being remarkable
for its elegance, the Chevalier de Grammont was of opinion that something
ingenious might be invented, which should partake of the ancient fashion,
and likewise prove preferable to the modern; he therefore sent away
Termes privately with all the necessary instructions to Paris: the Duke
of Guise was likewise charged with this commission; and the courier,
having by the favour of Providence escaped the quicksand, in a month's
time brought safely over to England the most elegant and magnificent
calash that had ever been seen, which the Chevalier presented to the
king.
The Chevalier de Grammont had given orders that fifteen hundred louis
should be expended upon it; but the Duke of Guise, who was his friend,
to oblige him, laid out two thousand. All the court was in admiration
at the magnificence of the present; and the king, charmed with the
Chevalier's attention to everything which could afford him pleasure,
failed not to acknowledge it: he would not, however, accept a present
of so much value, but upon condition that the Chevalier should not
refuse another from him.
The queen, imagining that so splendid a carriage might prove fortunate
for her, wished to appear in it first, with the Duchess of York. Lady
Castlemaine, who had seen them in it, thinking that it set off a fine
figure to greater advantage than any other, desired the king to lend her
this wonderful calash to appear in it the first fine day in Hyde Park:
Miss Stewart had the same wish, and requested to have it on the same day.
As it was impossible to reconcile these two goddesses, whose former union
was turned into mortal hatred, the king was very much perplexed.
Lady Castlemaine was with child, and threatened to miscarry, if her rival
was preferred; Miss Stewart threatened, that she never would be with
child, if her request was not granted. This menace prevailed, and Lady
Castlemaine's rage was so great, that she had almost kept her word; and
it was believed that this triumph cost her rival some of her innocence.
The queen dowager, who, though she had no share in these broils, had no
objection to them, and as usual being diverted with this circumstance,
she took occasion to joke with the Chevalier de Grammont, for having
thrown this bone of contention among such competitors; and did not fail
to give him, in the presence of the whole court, those praises which so
magnificent a present deserved: "But how comes it," said she, "that you
have no equipage yourself, though you are at so great an expense? for I
am told that you do not keep even a single footman, and that one of the
common runners in the streets lights you home with a stinking link."
"Madam," said he, "the Chevalier de Grammont hates pomp: my linkboy, of
whom you speak, is faithful to my service; and besides, he is one of the
bravest fellows in the world. Your Majesty is unacquainted with the
nation of link-boys: it is a charming one, I can assure you: a man cannot
step out in the night without being surrounded by a dozen of them. The
first time I became acquainted with them, I retained all that offered me
their services; so that when I arrived at Whitehall, I had at least two
hundred about my chair: the sight was new; for those who had seen me pass
with this illumination, asked whose funeral it was. These gentlemen,
however, began fighting about some dozen shillings I had thrown among
them then; and he whom your Majesty mentions having beaten three or four
of his companions, I retained him for his valour. As for the parade of
coaches and footmen, I despise it: I have sometimes had five or six
valets-de-chambre at once, without having a single servant in livery,
except my chaplain Poussatin." "How!" said the queen, bursting out
laughing, "a chaplain in your livery! he surely was not a priest?"
"Pardon me, madam," said he, "and the first priest in the world for
dancing the Biscayan jig." "Chevalier," said the king, "pray tell us the
history of your chaplain Poussatin."
ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:
Ambition to pass for a wit, only established her tiresome
An affectation of purity of manners
Despising everything which was not like themselves
Duke would see things if he could
Every thing that is necessary is honourable in politics
Good attendants, but understood cheating still better
Great earnestness passed for business
Hardly possible for a woman to have less wit, or more beauty
He talked eternally, without saying anything
His mistress given him by his priests for penance
Impenetrable stupidity (passed) for secrecy
Life, in his opinion, was too short to read all sorts of books
Never felt the pressure of indigence
Not that he wanted capacity, but he was too self-sufficient
Obstinate against all other advices
One amour is creditable to a lady
Possessed but little raillery, and still less patience
Reasons of state assume great privileges
She just said what she ought, and no more
They can by no means bear the inconstancy of their mistresses
Very willing to accept, but was tardy in making returns
Wealth was necessary for the conveniencies of a long life