and the mistress, created at that time duchess of 1668. Cleveland, knew that she must be the first sacrifice : to a beloved queen and she reconciled herself upon this to the duchess of York. The duke of Buckingham upon that broke with her, and studied to take the king from her by new amours: and because he thought a gayety of humour would take much with the king, he engaged him to entertain two players one after another, Davies and Guin. The first did not keep her hold long; but Guin, the indiscreetest and wildest creature that ever was in a court, continued to the end of the king's life in great favour, and was maintained at a vast expense. The duke of Buckingham told me, that when she was first brought to the king, she asked only five hundred pounds a year: and the king refused it. But when he told me this, about four years after, he said, she had got of the king above sixty thousand pounds. She acted all persons in so lively a manner, and was such a constant diversion to the king, that even a new mistress could not drive her away. But after all, he never treated her with the decencies of a mistress, [but rather with the lewdness of a prostitute; as she had been indeed to a great many and therefore she called the king her Charles the third. Since she had been formerly kept by two of that name.] The king had another mistress, that was managed by lord Shaftsbury, who was the daughter of a clergyman, Roberts; in whom her first education had so deep a root, that, though she fell into many scandalous disorders, with very dismal adventures in them all, yet a principle of religion was so deep-laid in her, that, j Pray what decencies are those? S. 264 1668. though it did not restrain her, yet it kept alive in her such a constant horror at sin, that she was never easy in an ill course, and died with a great sense of her former ill life. I was often with her the last three months of her life. The duchess of Cleveland, finding that she had lost the king, abandoned herself to great disorders: one of which, by the artifice of the duke of Buckingham, was discovered by the king in person, the party concerned leaping out of the window'. She also spoke of the king to all people in such a manner, as brought him under much contempt. But he seemed insensible: and though libels of all sorts had then a very free course, yet he was never disturbed at it. best wits of Never The three most eminent wits of that time, on Many libels writ by the whom all the lively libels were fastened, were the that time. earls of Dorset and Rochester, and sir Charles Sidley. Lord Dorset was a generous good-natured man. He was so oppressed with phlegm, that till he was a little heated with wine he scarce ever spoke: but he was upon that exaltation a very lively man. was so much ill nature in a pen as in his, joined with so much good nature as was in himself, even to excess; for he was against all punishing, even of malefactors. He was bountiful, even to run himself into difficulties: and charitable to a fault; for he commonly gave all he had about him, when he met an object that moved him. But he was so lazy, * The king made Will Legge sing a ballad to her, that began with these words-Poor Allinda's growing old; those charms are now no more-which she understood were applied to herself. D. Jack Churchill, since duke of Marlborough, who, the duchess said, had received a great deal of her money for very little service done her, to a near relation of hers, from whom I had it. D. that, though the king seemed to court him to be 1668. a favourite, he would not give himself the trouble that belonged to that post. He hated the court, and despised the king, when he saw he was neither generous nor tender hearted. Wilmot, earl of Rochester, was naturally modest, till the court corrupted him. His wit had in it a peculiar brightness, to which none could ever arrive. He He gave himself up to all sorts of extravagance, and to the wildest frolics that a wanton wit could devise. He would have gone about the streets as a beggar, and made love as a porter. He set up a stage as an Italian mountebank. He was for some years always drunk, and was ever doing some mischief. The king loved his company for the diversion it afforded, better than his person and there was no love lost between themm. He took his revenges in many libels. He found out a footman that knew all the court, and he furnished him with a red coat and a musket as a centinel, and kept him all the winter long every night at the doors of such ladies as he believed might be in intrigues. In the court a centinel is little minded, and is believed to be posted by a captain of the guards to hinder a combat: so this man saw who walked about, and visited at forbidden hours. By this means lord Rochester made many discoveries. And when he was well furnished with materials, he used to retire into the country for a month or two to write 265 libels: once being drunk, he intended to give the king a libel that he had writ on some ladies: but by a mistake he gave him one written on himself. He fell into an ill habit of body and in severa! A noble phrase. S. 1668. fits of sickness he had deep remorses; for he was guilty both of much impiety and of great immoralities. But as he recoyered he threw these off, and turned again to his former ill courses. In the last year of his life I was much with him, and have writ a book of what passed between him and me. I do verily believe, he was then so entirely changed, that, if he had recovered, he would have made good all his resolutions. Sidley had a more sudden and copious wit, which furnished a perpetual run of discourse" but he was not so correct as lord Dorset, nor so sparkling as lord Rochester. The duke of Buckingham loved to have these much about him: and he gave himself up to a monstrous course of studied immoralities of the worst kinds: he was so full of mercury, that he could not fix long in any friendship, or to any design. Bennet, now made lord Bennet was all cunning Arlington, and he fell out: n No better a critic in wit than style. S. character. The king took sir William Coventry from the 1668. Duke, and put him in the treasury. He was in a fair Sir William way to be the chief minister, and deserved it more Coventry's than all the rest did. But he was too honest to engage in the designs into which the court was resolved to go, as soon as it had recovered a little reputation; which was sunk very low by the ill management of the Dutch war, and the squandering away of the money given for it. He was a man of the finest and the best temper that belonged to the court. The duke of Buckingham and he fell out; I know not for what reason: and a challenge passed between them, upon which Coventry was forbid the court P. And he upon that seemed to retire very willingly and he was become a very religious man when I knew him. He was offered after that the best post in the court, oftener than once: but he would never engage again. He saw what was at bot-266 tom, and was resolved not to go through with it; and so continued to his death in a retired course of life. • Compare this with lord Clarendon's account of him, in the History of his own Life. Lord Clarendon and bishop Burnet wrote of him, at different parts of his life, and as they were differently acquainted with him. 0. P Sir William Coventry was the most esteemed and beloved of any courtier that ever sat in the house of commons, where his word always passed for an undoubted truth without further inquiry, which the Duke of Buckingham would have had him made use of to deceive them, upon which Coventry In any court office: but |