219

FRANCES STEWART,

DUCHESS OF RICHMOND.

Her Lineage and foreign Education-De Grammont's Portrait of herDescription of her by Pepys-Her frivolous Tastes-The Duke of Buckingham and George Hamilton become her Lovers-Romantic Attachments of Francis Digby and Rotier the Medallist-Charles distracted by her Obduracy-The Duke of Richmond declares himself her Suitor-Discovered in her Apartment-Rage of the King-Elopes with, and is married to the Duke-Returns to Court-Charles boasts of her Favours over his Wine-Disfigured by the Small-pox-Specimen of her Correspondence-Her Death.

THIS beautiful simpleton, who figures so conspicuously in the gay annals of the Court of Charles, was the daughter of Walter Stewart, son of Walter second Lord Blantyre. Her family, which had suffered for their loyalty during the civil troubles, boasted a kind of Scotch relationship to the King.

Frances Theresa Stewart was born about the year 1647. She was educated in France, from which country, in 1662, she came over to England with her mother, in the train of the Queen Dowager, Henrietta Maria. As far as grace of manner, and a taste for dress were concerned, she appears to have singularly benefited by her foreign education. Of her early history we know but little, except that Louis XIV. was an ardent admirer of her person. Not improbably, like Charles, he was a suppliant for her favours; at least, there seems no other reason for his having been desirous of detaining at his Court a young lady who possessed no other qualification but a very pretty face. Pepys tells us, on the authority of his

friend Evelyn,-"The King of France would have had her mother, who is one of the most cunning women in the world, to have let her stay in France, saying that he loved her, not as a mistress, but as one that would marry as well as any lady in France." The Queen-mother, however, insisted on the young beauty accompanying her to England, and Louis presented her with a valuable jewel when he unwillingly bade her farewell. Shortly after her arrival in England, she was appointed maid of honour to Queen Catherine.

The feeling of Charles for "La Belle Stewart," seems to have approached nearer to what may be called love, than any other of his libertine attachments. It originated, probably, in his constantly meeting her in the apartments of the Duchess of Cleveland, who, little aware of the dangerous rival she was fostering, had taken the new beauty into favour, and invited her to all the entertainments which she made for the King. Among other civilities, she frequently detained Miss Stewart to pass the night in her apartment, and, as it was the daily practice of Charles to visit his mistress before she rose, he constantly found them in bed together. His attachment was neither slow in its progress, nor did he attempt to conceal it from the world. "The King," writes Pepys in 1663, "is now become besotted with Miss Stewart, getting her into corners; and will be with her half an hour together, kissing her, to the observation of all the world; and she now stays by herself, and expects it, as my Lady Castlemaine did use to do." These, and still greater liberties, which she permitted to Charles, though they never proceeded to actual criminality, denote nevertheless an unpardonable want of modesty in this passionless coquette.

Count Hamilton has drawn the portrait of Miss

"It was hardly

Stewart with his usual happy art. possible," he says, "for a woman to have less wit or more beauty: all her features were fine and regular, but her shape was not good; yet she was slender, straight enough, and taller than the generality of women: she was very graceful, danced well, and spoke French better than her mother-tongue: she was well-bred, and possessed in perfection that air of dress which is so much admired, and which is very rarely attained, unless acquired when young in France." Her appearance on horseback is said to have been classically graceful and picturesque. Pepys gives us a graphic description of the return of a Court party after a ride, at which Charles and his Queen were present, and in which Miss Stewart figured the observed of all observers. "I followed them," he says, "into Whitehall, and into the Queen's presence, where all the ladies walked, talking and fiddling with their hats and feathers, and changing and trying one another's by one another's heads, and laughing. But it was the finest sight to me, considering their great beauty and dress, that ever I did see in all my life. But, above all, Miss Stewart in this dress, with her hat cocked and a red plume, with her sweet eye, little Roman nose, and excellent taille, is now the greatest beauty I ever saw, I think, in my life." It was the peculiar elegance of her seat on horseback, that captivated the sensitive George Hamilton, when he presented her with his heart, and with one of " the prettiest horses in England."

Unfortunately her head was as empty as its shape was classical, and her amusements as frivolous as her face was beautiful. Moreover, she had a habit of laughing immoderately at the merest trifle. To obtain one of her sweetest smiles, it was only necessary to propose a game of blind-man's buff. Hamilton won her admiration and

regard by walking round the room with two lighted candles in his mouth, whereas Lord Carlingford could only perform the feat with one. Hamilton was remarkable for rather a large mouth; and accordingly Killegrew, who was in the room, likened it with some humour to a lantern. Another of her fancies was building castles with cards, with which childish pastime she used nightly to amuse herself while the largest sums were being lost in her apartments. She was surrounded on these occasions by the gay danglers of the Court, who of course affected a deep interest in her folly, and supplied her with the cards.

There was no one who could erect these paper castles with more dexterity than the Duke of Buckingham. He had also a fine voice, and, as the spoiled beauty delighted in his songs, he became her especial favourite. A man who could captivate and suit himself to all societies, had little difficulty in charming Miss Stewart. His amusing stories, his tales of scandal, his mimicry, and keen sense of the ridiculous, rendered him so necessary to her happiness, that, whenever he kept away from the King's apartments, she used to send over the town to have him brought to her. At last Buckingham took advantage of her partiality to make love to the spoiled beauty. He soon discovered, however, how little impression he had made on her heart; and, indeed, met with rather a disagreeable rebuff. George Hamilton, who was over head and ears in love with her, was scarcely more successful. She gave him, indeed, some encouragement; but, as it was evident she was only trifling with his weakness, De Grammont, who afterwards married his charming sister, contrived to laugh him out of his folly.

The attachment of Francis Digby, son of the Earl of Bristol, was more romantic. He was passionately fond

of her, and is said to have been so affected by her indifference, as to have thrown away his life wantonly in the naval action with the Dutch in 1672. Dryden wrote some indifferent verses on the occasion, which the Duke of Buckingham afterwards parodied, amusingly enough, in the Rehearsal.

The passion of Philip Rotier, the medallist, for "La Belle Stewart" is well known. According to Walpole, "being in love with the fair Mrs. Stewart, Duchess of Richmond, he represented her likeness under the form of Britannia, on the reverse of a large coin with the King's head." Felton, in his notes on Waller, repeats the same anecdote: he adds, too, "that so exact was the likeness, that no one who had ever seen her Grace could mistake who had sat for Britannia." Waller wrote some verses on the subject; but they rather tend to substantiate the truth of the story, than to raise the fame of the poet.

In the mean time, unaccustomed to be baffled in his pursuit of pleasure, Charles had become no less distracted by the coldness of his new mistress than provoked by her obduracy. He once told her, in real anger, that he hoped to see her grow old and willing. So paramount, nevertheless, was her influence over the King, that it was commonly believed, even by those who were best acquainted with his disposition, that he would willingly have divorced his neglected Queen, and have raised her maid of honour to the throne. The world, however, on this occasion at least, did him singular injustice.

Latterly the attentions of the Duke of Richmond to Miss Stewart had caused considerable uneasiness to her royal lover. This nobleman was Charles Stuart, the fourth Duke of Richmond, who was not very distantly related to the King. Though sottish in his habits, and possessing neither mental nor personal advantages, his