nobles whose poverty rendered
them dependent on the Crown.

Just when this offensive vote of the House was the theme of general
conversation, Dean Swift encountered the Earl of Mar at Lord Masham's.
"I was arguing with him, (Lord Mar)," he writes, "about the stubbornness
and folly of his countrymen; they are so angry about the affair of the
Duke of Hamilton, whom the Queen has made a Duke of England, and the
Lords will not admit him. He swears he would vote for us, but dare not,
because all Scotland would detest him if he did; he should never be
chosen again, nor be able to live there."[47]

The Earl of Mar continued to be one of the Representative Peers for
Scotland, having been chosen in 1707, and rechosen at the general
elections in 1708, 1710, and 1713.[48]

Upon the death of the Duke of Queensbury in 1711, the office of
Secretary of State for Scotland became vacant, and the Duke of Hamilton
and the Earl of Mar were rival expectants for the high and important
post. Government hesitated for some time before filling up the post,
being disposed rather to abolish it than to offend any party by its
disposal, and deeming it as an useless expense to the Government; nor
was it filled up for a considerable time.

The tragical death of one who, with some failings, deserved the
affection and respect of his country, procured eventually to the Earl of
Mar the chief management of public affairs in Scotland. Whilst on the
eve of embarking as Ambassador Extraordinary to France, upon the
conclusion of the peace of Utrecht, the Duke of Hamilton fell in a duel
with his brother-in-law, Lord Mohun,--a man whose course of life had
been stained with blood, but whose crimes had met with a singular
impunity.

The character of Lord Mohun seems rather to have belonged to the reign
of Charles the Second, than to the sober period of William and Anne. The
representative of a very ancient family, he had the misfortune of coming
to his title when young, while his estate was impoverished. "His quality
introduced him into the best company," says a contemporary writer, "but
his wants very often led him into bad." He ran a course of notorious and
low dissipation, and was twice tried for murder before he was twenty.
His first offence was the cruel and almost unprovoked murder of William
Mountford, an accomplished actor, whom Mohun stabbed whilst off his
guard. The second was the death of Mr. Charles Coote. For these crimes
Lord Mohun had been tr