and disgust of some. Clarendon was one of the instruments that effected the good work. From thenceforth the Queen was contented to get what amusement she could, and was as merry as the rest. She was not an ill-looking woman; was as fond of dancing as her husband; and he used good-naturedly to try to make her talk improper broken English, and would not let her be persecuted.

of the Court-the great topic of the day. Sometimes the ladies rode out with him in the morning, perhaps in men's hats and feathers; sometimes they went to the play, where the favourite was jealous of the actresses: sometimes an actress is introduced at Court and becomes a madam' herself-Madam Davis, or Madam Eleanor Gwyn. Sometimes the Queen treats them with a cup of the precious and unpurchas In the course of the arrangement of this bu-able beverage called tea, or even ventures asiness, Charles wrote a letter to Clarendon, his broad with them in a frolicsome disguise. SomeChancellor and keeper of his conscience, in times the Courtiers are at Hampton, playing at which are the following devout passages;-odd, hide-and-seek in a labyrinth; sometimes at in the conjunction with the matter in hand:- Windsor, the ladies sitting half-dressed for Sir edifying, as coming from the head of Church Peter Lely's voluptuous portraits. Lady Castleand State: I think it very necessary to give main, the Duchess of Portsmouth, and Nell 'you a little good counsel, lest you may think Gwyn, all have their respective lodgings in that by making a further stir in the business Whitehall, looking out upon gardens, elegant you may drive me from my resolution, which with balconies and trellices. By degrees the little all the world shall never do; and I wish I dukes grow bigger, and there is in particular 'may be unhappy in this world, and in the a great romping boy, very handsome, called world to come, if I fail in the least degree of Master Crofts, afterwards Duke of Monmouth, 'what I resolved, which is of making my Lady who is the protegé of Lady Castlemain, though 'Castlemain of my wife's bedchamber: and who- his mother was Mrs. Walters, and who takes 'soever I find endeavouring to hinder this re- the most unimaginable liberties in all quarters. 'solution of mine, except it be only to myself, He annoys exceedingly the solemn Duke of 'I will be his enemy to the last moment of my York, the King's brother, who heavily imitates life. You know how much a friend I have the reigning gallantries, stupidly following some 'been to you if you will oblige me eternally, lady about without uttering a word, and who 'make this business as easy to me as you can, afterwards cut off the said young gentleman's of what opinion you are of: for I am resolved head. The concerts are French, partly got up to go through with this matter, let what will by St. Evremond and the Duchess of Mazarin, 'come of it, which again I solemnly swear be- who come to hear them; and there, in addition 'fore Almighty God; therefore, if you desire to to the ladies before mentioned, come also the have the continuance of my friendship, meddle Duchess of Buckingham, short and thick, (daugh no more with this business, except it be to ter of the old Parliamentary general, Fairfax.) beat down all false and scandalous reports, and Lady Ossory, charming and modest, and 'and to facilitate what I am sure my honour is the Countess of Shrewsbury, who was neither, 'so much concerned in: and whomsoever I find and Lady Falmouth, with eyes at which Lord 'to be Lady Castlemain's enemy in this matter, I Dorset never ceased to look, and the Duchess 'do promise upon my word to be his enemy as long of York, (Clarendon's daughter,) eating someas live. You may show this letter to my lord-lieu- thing, and divine old Lady Fanshawe, who 'tenant, and if you have both a mind to oblige me, crept out of the cabin in a sea-fight to stand carry yourselves like friends to me in this matter. by her husband's side. The Queen has brought "CHARLES R.' her there, grateful for a new set of sarabands, In consequence of this royal determination at which Mr. Waller expressing his raptureon the part of Charles, aided by a few tears, Waller, the visiter of three courts, and admired and perhaps oaths, on that of the lady, and by and despised in them all. Behind him stands the more gentle philosophy of the Queen, Dryden, with a quiet and somewhat downWhitehall now adjusted itself to the system looking face, finishing a couplet of satire. Handwhich prevailed through this reign. and which some Sydney' is among the ladies: and so is may be described as follows: We do not paint Ralph Montague, who loved ugly dogs because at one point of time only, as in previous in- nobody else would; and Harry Jermyn, who stances, but through the whole period. got before all the gallants, because he was in Charles walked a good deal in the morning, earnest. Rochester, thin and flushed, is laughperhaps played at ball or tennis, chatted with ing in a corner at Charles' grim looks of fathose he met, fed his dogs and his ducks, look-tigue and exhaustion. Clarendon is vainly flated in at the cockpit, sometimes did a little business, then sauntered in doors about Whitehall chatted in Miss Wells' room, in Miss Price's room, in Miss Stuart's room, or Miss Hamilton's: chatted in Mr. Chiffinch's room, or with Mr. Prodgers: then dined, and took enough of wine: had a ball or a concert, where he devoted himself to Lady Castlemain, the Duchess of Portsmouth, or whoever the reigning lady was, the Queen talking all the while as fast as she could to some other lady: then, perhaps, played at riddles, or joked with Buckingham and Killegrew, or talked of the intrigues

tering himself that he is diverting the King's ennui with a long story: Grammont is shrugging his shoulders at not being able to get in a word; and Buckingham is making Sedley and Etherege ready to die of laughter by his mimickry of the poor Chancellor. The reader will excuse our not following up this picture with more details of such personages.

The Court of James II. is hardly worth mention. It lasted less than four years, and was as dull as himself. The most remarkable circumstance attending it was the sight of Friars and Confessors, and the brief restoration of Popery,

Waller, too, was once seen there; the fourth court of his visiting. There was a poetess also, who appears to have been attached by regard as well as office to the court of James-Anne Kingsmill, better known by her subsequent title of Countess of Winchilsea. The attachment was most probably one of feeling only and goodnature; for she had no bigotry of any sort. Dryden, furthermore, was laureate to King James and in a fit of politic, perhaps real, regret, turned round upon the late court in his famous comparison of it with its predecessor:

claimed, What! are you afraid to die in my company?' This, if true, was a blundering parody on the speech of Cæsar on a like occasion. But the Cæsarem vehis of the great Roman implied that the boat was safe. What! it said; can you be afraid when you carry Cæsar and his prosperity? We must add, that the lady for whose sake his Majesty followed the royal fashion of having a mistress, was a Villiers of the old favourite stock, to which belonged also the Duchess of Cleveland. William made her Countess of Orkney, with remainder to her husband's heirs whatsoever.' She wanted the beauty which had become an inheritance in the race of Villiers, but appears to have been sensible and kind. Swift calls her the wisest woman he ever knew. Having entertained George II. once at her house at Clifden, and the dinner not succeeding to her mind, she made the following rare and honest remark-'I thought I had turned my mind in a philosophical way of having done with the world; but I find I have deceived myself; for I am both vexed and pleased with the honour I have received.'-(Suffolk Correspondence, Vol. II. p. 352.)

'Misses there were. but modestly conceal'd; Whitehall the naked Venus first reveal'd; Where, standing as at Cyprus in her shrine, The strumpet was adored with rights divine.' The Court of King William III. was duller even than that of James. Queen Mary had her ladies with whom she used to read and work, but we learn nothing more of them. While she was Princess of Orange, she had a young lady among her attendants, with whom the Prince fell in love, and when he became King he afflicted his wife with his attentions to her; but Mary did not cease to love him. Perhaps a little difficulty and disinclination made her love him the more. All the house of Stuart had fond attachments of some kind or other, in which there appears to have been a strong zest of the wilful. As to King William, it was in vain his new courtiers implored him to try and make himself popular; habit and reserve prevailed; and he shut himself up with his Dutchmen to alleviate his cares with the bottle. The two sprightliest anecdotes of the Court, next to his Majesty's single amour, are told by the Duchess of Marlborough, whose vindictive recitals, however, are always to be received with suspicion. One is, that when Queen Mary took possession of her father's palace, she ran about the house with a face full of glee, turning over all the bed-clothes and cupboards to see what she had got. The other informs us, that when the Princess Anne was sitting one day at dinner with the King and Queen, his Majesty took the only plate of peas wholly to himself, though the Princess was in a very interesting situation, and could hardly keep her eyes off the dish. The Princess had a will of her own, not usually in accordance with that of his Majesty: and a dish of new peas became part of his prerogative. William has been thought an unfeeling man. but such was not by any means the case. He lamented his wife with remorse, because he had not been a fond and faithful hushand His friendships were streng and lasting; and, if he was taciturn and cold in his manner. it was owing to his want of address and ready flow of ideas. He was sickly, and was kept in a constant state of irritation by party feuds. When he was in his saddle, even in his latter days. his eye is said to have lighted up as if with the memory of his campaigns. He was at that moment on a level with men who have some imagination. Mr. Jesse records an exclamation of this Prince, which The Jameses and Charleses, to use Mr. Jesse's he seems to admire. He was once in danger phrase, have so accustomed us to the adven off the coast of Holland, and the boatmen show-titious exitement' of improprieties, that after ing symptoms of apprehension, the King ex- the good conduct of Mary and Anne, our eyes,

The history of Anne's Court is that of a closet containing the Queen and the Duchess of Marlborough-the latter being ultimately displaced by Lady Masham. At one time, the great Whig Duke makes a third in the closet: at another, the Tory Earl of Oxford; at another, his rival Bolingbroke; but all, more or less, by the grace of the reigning favourite. Anne was a quiet, good sort of woman, with the tendency of her race to romantic attachments: and the Duchess of Marlborough, with whom, in childlike earnest, she may be said to have played at friends under the names of Mrs. Morley and Mrs. Freeman,' might have kept her regard for life, had not an imperious temper rendered her insupportable. Masham was humble and more cunning and contrived to assist at the squabbles of Oxford and Bolingbroke, till death relieved the poor Queen from the troubles of Toryism. The Duchess has left an account of the matter to posterity, which, like all such effusions of self-love, only defeated its object. The most painful part of the picture is the Duke her husband, lamenting his lost stick' like a child. It has been made a question, whether great Captains would be thought as great as they are, if the sphere of their operations were not on so grand a scale. Great abilities of some sort, it is pretty clear, they must have: but some of the most renowned have certainly not shone much out of their profession.

In taking leave of Queen Anne, we may observe, that in the person of George of Denmark she possessd a husband duller than herself; that she was comely, if not handsome; and that she was the mother of nineteen children, not one of whom survived a dozen years. and all the rest died in their infancy. Of thir teen out of the nineteen, there is no mention made of the very names.

nover.

The worst things to be said of him, (and very painful and perplexing they are,) was his long imprisonment of his wife, and his unfatherly dislike of his son. But we have seen, even in our own time, a wife persecuted by a libertine Prince. So hard it is for the overweening pretensions of the one sex to learn to do justice to the other-especially when mixed up with pretensions of state. The dislike of the son was probably connected with the prejudice against the wife. As the King lived in one country and the Queen in another, there was no Court, properly so called, in the palace; though of course there were public days of reception. It is true the legitimate ladies in waiting were not all at the Court of the Prince and Princess; for when the latter went away from St. James's to live by themselves, the King retained their three eldest daughters, who re

we fear, brighten up at the prospect of a few more in the succession of the House of HaWe can really find no such pleasure, however, as our author does, nor do we think that he finds it either generously or justly after his toleration of the conduct of Charles II.; when he says that George I. had the folly 'and wickedness to encumber himself with a seraglio of hideous German prostitutes.' The Duchess of Kendal, though not well-favoured, was not hideous;' both she and the King were upwards of fifty; the attachment had lasted many years; and was understood to have been sanctioned, after a fashion not of the worst kind under such circumstances, by a private marriage. The Countess of Darlington, the other chief of this repulsive seraglio,' though she had grown large, was a woman of very agree able manners and conversation, and had been handsome when young. The remaining favour-mained with him till his death. But, for obvious ite' was Madame Kilmansegg. It is Walpole, in his wholesale way, who applies the term to the entire German importation. George's only other mistress was an Englishwoman, Miss Brett, daughter of the Colonel Brett who married | 'Savage's mother, and bought Cibber's wig.' There was a vulgar cant in that day against foreigners.' Germans were not to be considered ladies and gentlemen, because they were not English. But George's foreign mistresses were better gentlewomen than those of Charles and James, and certainly no such prostitutes.' The most vulgar was Miss Brett herself. And as to the King's own manners, we take them to have been as decent and well-bred, after the staider fashion of his country, as the Frenchified style of the later Stuarts. Charles I. was a gentleman, but not a strictly well-bred one; for he had not the art of making people easy in his presence. His father made them easy by making himself contemptible. The aspect of George I., as it impressed itself on the boyish memory of Horace Walpole, was probably that under which he appeared to most people; and had a decorous simplicity about it, which would be favourably regarded at the present day. I do remember, says Walpole, something about 'George I. My father took me to St. James's while I was a very little boy; after waiting 'some time in an anteroom, a gentleman came in, all dressed in brown, even his stockings, 'and with a riband and a star. He took me up in his arms, kissed me, and chatted some time. And in another place he says, that the person of the King was that of an elderly man, rather pale, and exactly like his pictures and coins: not tall;' and of an aspect rather good than august.'

reasons, there was no female parade; though Miss Brett would fain have made one. During the King's last visit abroad, she ordered a door to be broken out of her apartment into the royal garden. The eldest of the Princesses ordered it to be filled up. Miss Brett, says Walpole, 'as imperiously reversed the command.' But things were for the most part quiet. George, every evening, was in the apartments of the Duchess of Kendal, sometimes at cards, sometimes entertained by visitors; or perhaps he had a bowl of punch with Sir Robert. The best account of his Court, if Court it could be called,' is given by the interesting descendant of Lady Mary Wortley Montague, who, still living at an advanced age, wrote the Introductory Anecdotes' to Lord Wharncliffe's late edition of the 'Letters,' with much of the grace and spirit of her ancestor; and, it hardly need be added, with none of her license. We repeat the well-told anecdote it contains, at the hazard of its not being new to the reader, in order that our pictures of the spirit of the several Courts may be as complete as we can, within our narrow limits, render them. In one respect,' says this lady, the Court, if Court it 'could be called, bore some resemblance to the old establishment of Versailles. There was a Madame de Maintenon. Of the three favourite 'ladies that accompanied him from Ilanover, viz., Mademoiselle de Schulenberg, the Coun'tess Platen, and Madame Kilmansegg, the first alone, whom he created Duchess of Kendal, was lodged in St James's Palace, and had such respect paid her as very much confirmed the rumour of a left-hand marriage. She presided at the King's evening parties, consisting of the 'Germans who formed his familiar society, a George 1. did not speak English; but he spoke few English ladies, and fewer Englishmen ; Latin, which was no ungentlemanlike accom- among them Mr. Craggs, the secretary of state, plishment. His minister, Sir Robert Walpole, who had been in Hanover in the Queen's time, could speak no German or French, so in Latin and by thus having the entrée in private, they conversed; probably not very like that of 'ed for a sort of favourite. Lady Mary's Jour passCicero or Erasmus, but good enough to governnal related a ridiculous adventure of her own a great nation with; and the difficulty on the at one of these royal parties; which, by the King's side must have been the greater, owingbye, stood in great need of some laughing to the Latinized English words and allusions.matter to enliven them, for they seem to have He was a sociable good-humoured man, very been even more dull than it was reasonable to willing to be led by his great Minister in the expect they should be. She had on one evenestablishment of liberal principles of government. 'ing a particular engagement that made her wish

6

6

6

6

and catch cold in the Princess' apartment; from thence (as Shakspeare has it) to dinner,

Mr. Jesse says, that the Court of George II. 'was neither brilliant nor more lively than that of his predecessors.' This can hardly be pos-with what appetite they may; and after that, sible, considering that it had more women, and 'till midnight, work, walk, or think, which they that there was still a remnant of the maids of please. I can easily believe no lone house in

honour that flourished in his Court when

'Wales, with a mountain and rookery, is more contemplative than this court; and as a proof of it, I need only tell you, Miss Lepell walked 'with me three or four hours by moonlight, and we met no creature of any quality but the King, who gave audience to the vicechamberlain, all alone, under the garden'wall.'

6

Afterwards, when the Prince was King, we read, in the notes to the Suffolk Correspondence,' of pages and princesses being thrown during these immoderate huntings; and lords and ladies being overturned in their chaises. To hunt in a chaise was an old custom. Swift describes his meeting Queen Anne hunting in a chaise, which, he says, she drove herself, and drove furiously, like Jehu; and is a mighty hunter, like Nimrod.'

was Prince of Wales. And who has not read of the Bellendens and Lepells, of the Meadowses and the Diveses, the witty Miss Pitt, and Sophy Howe, who thought she could not be too giddy and too kind till a broken heart undeceived her? Do they not flourish for ever in the verses of Pope and Gay, and the witty recitals of Horace Walpole? Now Mary Bellenden still visited the Court as Mrs. Campbell; Mary Lepell was surely there, too, as Lady Hervey: Mrs. Howard remained there till she was a widow; and thither came the Chesterfields, and Schultzes, and Earles; and Young, (to look after a mitre, the want of which gives him terrible 'Night Thoughts."). It must be owned, however, that there is a falling off. The sprightliest thing we hear of is a frolic of the maids of honour at night time, in KensingtonGardens, rattling people's The King never lost his passion for making windows and catching colds. The King hunts as a noise with his horses, neither did his puncardently as he used to do when he was Prince, tuality forsake him. His last years, Walpole taking his whole household with him, maids and tells us, 'passed as regularly as clockwork. all, and frightening Lady Hervey for the bones At nine at night he had cards in the apartof her friend Howard. She had known what it 'ments of his daughters, the Princesses Amelia was. Here is a picture of those days from Pope, and Caroline, with Lady Yarmouth, two or answering to both periods:-'I met the Prince three of the late Queen's ladies, and as many 'with all his ladies on horseback, coming from of the most favoured officers of his own 'hunting. Miss Bellenden and Miss Lepell took household. Every Saturday in summer he 'me into their protection, contrary to the laws carried that uniform party, but without his against harbouring Papists, and gave me a daughters, to dine at Richmond; they went in 'dinner with something I liked better, an op-coaches and six in the middle of the day, 'portunity of conversation with Mrs. Howard. 'We all agreed that the life of a maid of hon'our was of all things the most miserable; and 'wished that every woman who envied it had 'a specimen of it. To eat Westphalia ham in a morning; ride over hedges and ditches on 'borrowed hacks; come home in the heat of the day with a fever, and (what is worse a 'hundred times) with a red mark on the forehead from an uneasy hat; all this may qualify 'them to make excellent wives for fox-hunters, and bear abundance of ruddy-complexioned 'children. As soon as they can wipe off the 'sweat of the day, they must simper an hour

with the heavy horse-guards kicking up the 'dust before them-dined, walked an hour in the garden, returned in the same dusty pa'rade; and his Majesty fancied himself the most 'gallant and lively prince in Europe.'

George II. died at Kensington, aged seventyeight, after having risen at his usual hour, taken his usual cup of chocolate, and done his customary duty, in ascertaining which way stood the weathercock. Here we shall close our cursory glances at the Courts of England. Mr. Jesse concludes his work with notices of a variety of other people, royal and aulic, but they do not tempt us to say inore.

1. Personal Narrative of the Campaigns in Affghanistan, Scinde, Beloochistan, &c. Detailed in a Series of letters of the late Colonel W. H. DENNIE, C. B. Dublin: W. Curry, jun. and Co. 1843.

2. Journal of Imprisonment in Affghanistan. By Lieutenant EYRE. New Edition, continued and concluded. Murray, Albemarle street.

3. Journal of the Disasters in Affghanistan. By Lady SALE. Murray. London. 1843.

(FROM THE WESTMINSTER REVIEW.)

THE Journal of Lieutenant Eyre, now in a comment upon a work familiar to the public, brief supplement brought to a conclusion, has and the fidelity of which, in its narration of been universally read. We need offer little events, and the causes of the disasters of the

VOL. 1.

38*