Stewart, than he met with so severe a repulse, that he abandoned, at once, all his designs upon her: however, the familiarity she had procured him with the king, paved the way to those favours to which he was afterwards advanced.

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 negociations were during the treaty of the Pyrennees: 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 pro

found 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. & driw oemid bshiv

Scars in the face commonly giveral man a certain fierce and martiale air, which sets him off to advantage; but it was quite the contrary with him and this remarkable plaister so welli suited his mysterious looks, thatiat seemed an addition to his gravity and. self-sufficiency.ains of guttiv 1 bas

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 al great politician; and no one having leisure to ascertain, the merit of his pretensions, he was taken at his words

V

ande had been made minister and se

T

cretary of state, upon the credit of his own importance.a a bed od :229nieud doHis "ambition soaring still above these high stations, after having pro vided himself with a great number of fine maxims, and some historical anecdotes, he obtained an audience of Miss Stewart in order to display them: ht the same time offering her his most humble services, and best advice, bto assist her,in conducting herself in the situation to which it had pleased God, and her virtue, to raise RepoBut he was only if the exordium of his oration, when she recollected that he was at the head of those whom the duke of Buckingham used to mimie, ama HZ İ his1appearance and his language bes atly revived the ridiculous ideas that had been given Her 1of 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, but 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. His prudence however got the better of his resentment; 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 cour

tiers, the best qualified to succeed in an enterprize, in which the duke of Buckingham and lord Arlington had miscarried: it had frequently occurred to him; but his natural coquetry tra+ versed his intentions, and made him neglect the advantages which the success of this project would have ensured to him, in order unnecessarily to attend to the advances and allurements thrown but 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 not very tall her complexion was extremely fair, with all the expressive charms of ta brunette: she had large blue eyes, very tempting and alluring her manThers were engaging her wit lively and amusing, but her heart, ever open tender sentiments, was neither scrupulous in point of constancy, nor nice

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