prince who understood his worth fo well, as not to Luffer him to be long out of his prefence.

The fucceeding reign neither relifhed my lord's wit,. nor approved his maxims: fo he retired altogether from court. But, as the irretrievable mistakes of that unhappy government went on to threaten the nation with fomething more terrible than a Dutch war, he thought it became him to refume the courage of his youth, and ence more to engage himself in defending the liberty of his country. He entered into the prince of Orange's intereft; and carried on his part of that great enterprife here in London, and under the eye of the court, with the fame refolution, as his friend and fellow-patriot, the late duke of Devonshire, did in open arms at Nottingham; till the dangers of thofe times encreased to extremity, and just apprehenfions arofe for the fafety of the princefs, our prefent glorious queen: then the earl of Dorfet was thought the propereft guide of her neceffary flight, and the perfon under whofe courage and direction the nation might most safely truft a charge fo precious and important.

After the establishment of their late majefties upon the throne, there was room again at court for men of my lord's character. He had a part in the councils of thofe princes, a great fhare in their friendship, and all the marks of diftinction with which a good government could reward a patriot. He was made chamberlain of their majefties household; a place which he fo eminently adorned by the grace of his perfon,, the fineness of his breeding, and the knowledge and prac

tice of what was decent and magnificent, that he could only be rivalled in these qualifications by one great man, who has fince held the fame ftaff.

The laft honours he received from his fovereign (and indeed they were the greatest which a subject could receive) were, that he was made knight of the garter, and constituted one of the regents of the kingdom during his majefty's abfence. But his health, about that time, fenfibly declining, and the public affairs not threatened by any imminent danger, he left the business to those who delighted more in the ftate of it, and appeared only fometimes at council, to fhew his refpect to the commiffion; giving as much leisure as he could to the relief of those pains with which it pleased God to afflict him; and indulging the reflections of a. mind, that had looked through the world with too piercing an eye, and was grown weary of the profpect. Upon the whole, it may very justly be faid of this great man, with regard to the publick, that through the courfe of his. life he acted like an able pilot in a long voyage; contented to fit quiet in the cabin, when the winds were allayed, and the waters smooth; but vigilant and ready to refume the helm, when the ftorm arofe, and the fea grew tumultuous.

I ask your pardon, my Lord, if I look yet a little more nearly into the late lord Dorfet's character: if I examine it not without fome intention of finding fault, and (which is an odd way of making a panegyric), fet his blemishes and imperfections in open view.

The

The fire of his youth carried him to fome excesses But they were accompanied with a most lively invention, and true humour. The little violences and easy mistakes of a night too gayly spent (and that too in the begin➡ ning of life) were always fet right the next day, with great humanity, and ample retribution. His faults brought their excufe with them; and his very failings had their beauties. So much fweetness accompanied what he faid, and fo great generofity what he did, that people were always prepoffeffed in his favour: and it was in fact true, what the late earl of Rochefter faid in jeft to king Charles, that he did not know how it was, but my lord Dorfet might do any thing, yet was never to blame.

He was naturally very fubject to paffion; but the fhort guft was foon over, and ferved only to fet off the charms of his temper, when more compofed. That very paffion broke out with a force of wit, which made even anger agreeable while it lafted, he said and forgot a thousand things, which other men would have been glad to have studied and wrote; but the impe tuofity was corrected upon a moment's reflection, and the measure altered with fuch grace and delicacy, that you could fcarce perceive where the key was changed.

He was very sharp in his reflections; but never in the wrong place. His darts were fure to wound; but they were fure too to hit none, but thofe whofe follies gave him very fair aim. And, when he allowed no quarter,, he had certainly been provoked by more than common error; by men's tedious and circumftantial recitals of

their affairs; or by their multiplied questions about his own; by extreme ignorance and impertinence; or the mixture of these, an ill-judged and never-ceafing civility; or, laftly, by the two things which were his utter averfion, the infinuation of a flatterer, and the whisper of a tale-bearer.

If therefore we fet the piece in its worst position, if its faults be most exposed the shades will still appear very finely joined with their lights, and every imperfection will be diminished by the luftre of fome neigh、 bouring virtue. But, if we turn the great drawings and wonderful colourings to their true light, the whole muft appear beautiful, noble, admirable.

He poffeffed all thofe virtues, in the highest degree, upon which the pleasure of fociety, and the happiness of life depend: and he exercised them with the greatest decency, and beft manners. As good-nature is faid, by a great author, to belong more particularly to the English, than any other nation; it may again be faid, that it belonged more particularly to the late earl of Dorfet, than to any other Englishman.

*

A kind husband he was, without fondness; and an indulgent father, without partiality. So extraordinary good a mafler, that this quality ought indeed to have been numbered among his defects; for he was often ferved worfe than became his-flation, from his unwillingness to affume an authority too fevere. And, during those little tranfports of paffion, to which I just

* Sprat.

now

how faid he was fubject, I have known his fervants get into his way, that they might make a merit of it im mediately after; for he, that had the good fortune to be chid; was fure of being rewarded for its

man.

His table was one of the laft, that gave us an example of the old houfe-keeping of an English noble A freedom reigned at it, which made every one of his guests think himself at home; and an abun dance, which fhewed that the mafter's hofpitality extended to many more than thofe who had the honour to fit at the table with him.

In his dealings with others; his care and exactness, that every man should have his due, was fuch, that you would think he had never feen a court: the politenefs and civility, with which this juftice was administered, would convince you he never had lived out of one.

He was fo ftrict an obferver of his word, that no confideration whatever could make him break it; yet fo cautious, left the merit of his act should arise from that obligation only, that he ufually did the greatest favours, without making any previous promife. So inviolable was he in his friendship, and so kind to the character of those whom he had once honoured with a more intimate acquaintance, that nothing less than a demonstration of fome effential fault could make him break with them; and then too, his good-nature did not confent to it, without the greatest reluctance and difficulty. Let me give one inftance of this amongst many. When, as lord chamberlain, he was obliged to take the king's penfion from Mr. Dryden, who had

long