from Dunkirk was projected, passing his time in England in his
great estate in Staffordshire.

When the Whigs went out of office in 1710, the Queen began to show
his Grace the very greatest marks of her favor. He was created Duke
of Brandon and Baron of Dutton in England; having the Thistle already
originally bestowed on him by King James the Second, his Grace was
now promoted to the honor of the Garter--a distinction so great and
illustrious, that no subject hath ever borne them hitherto together.
When this objection was made to her Majesty, she was pleased to say,
"Such a subject as the Duke of Hamilton has a pre-eminent claim to every
mark of distinction which a crowned head can confer. I will henceforth
wear both orders myself."

At the Chapter held at Windsor in October, 1712, the Duke and other
knights, including Lord-Treasurer, the new-created Earl of Oxford
and Mortimer, were installed; and a few days afterwards his Grace was
appointed Ambassador-Extraordinary to France, and his equipages, plate,
and liveries commanded, of the most sumptuous kind, not only for his
Excellency the Ambassador, but for her Excellency the Ambassadress,
who was to accompany him. Her arms were already quartered on the coach
panels, and her brother was to hasten over on the appointed day to give
her away.

His lordship was a widower, having married, in 1698, Elizabeth, daughter
of Digby Lord Gerard, by which marriage great estates came into the
Hamilton family; and out of these estates came, in part, that tragic
quarrel which ended the Duke's career.

From the loss of a tooth to that of a mistress there's no pang that is
not bearable. The apprehension is much more cruel than the certainty;
and we make up our mind to the misfortune when 'tis irremediable, part
with the tormentor, and mumble our crust on t'other side of the jaws.
I think Colonel Esmond was relieved when a ducal coach and six came and
whisked his charmer away out of his reach, and placed her in a higher
sphere. As you have seen the nymph in the opera-machine go up to the
clouds at the end of the piece where Mars, Bacchus, Apollo, and all the
divine company of Olympians are seated, and quaver out her last song
as a goddess: so when this portentous elevation was accomplished in
the Esmond family, I am not sure that every one of us did not treat the
divine Beatrix with special honors; at least the saucy little beauty
carried her head with a toss of supreme authority, an