esirous of having the portraits of the handsomest
persons at court, Lely painted them, and employed all his skill in the
performance; nor could he ever exert himself upon more beautiful
subjects. Every picture appeared a master-piece; and that of Miss
Hamilton appeared the highest finished: Lely himself acknowledged that he
had drawn it with a particular pleasure. The Duke of York took a delight
in looking at it, and began again to ogle the original: he had very
little reason to hope for success; and at the same time that his hopeless
passion alarmed the Chevalier de Grammont, Lady Denham thought proper to
renew the negotiation which had so unluckily been interrupted: it was
soon brought to a conclusion; for where both parties are sincere in a
negotiation, no time is lost in cavilling. Everything succeeded
prosperously on one side; yet, I know not what fatality obstructed the
pretensions of the other. The duke was very urgent with the duchess to
put Lady Denham in possession of the place which was the object of her
ambition; but as she was not guarantee for the performance of the secret
articles of the treaty, though till this time she had borne with patience
the inconstancy of the duke, and yielded submissively to his desires;
yet, in the present instance, it appeared hard and dishonourable to her,
to entertain near her person, a rival, who would expose her to the danger
of acting but a second part in the midst of her own court. However, she
saw herself upon the point of being forced to it by authority, when a far
more unfortunate obstacle for ever bereft poor Lady Denham of the hopes
of possessing that fatal place, which she had solicited with such
eagerness.

Old Denham, naturally jealous, became more and more suspicious, and found
that he had sufficient ground for such conduct: his wife was young and
handsome, he old and disagreeable: what reason then had he to flatter
himself that Heaven would exempt him from the fate of husbands in the
like circumstances? This he was continually saying to himself; but when
compliments were poured in upon him from all sides, upon the place his
lady was going to have near the duchess's person, he formed ideas of what
was sufficient to have made him hang himself, if he had possessed the
resolution. The traitor chose rather to exercise his courage against
another. He wanted precedents for putting in practice his resentments in
a privileged country: that of Lord Chesterfield was not suf