Lady Mary Coke: A Scottish Tale of Deception and Royal Intrigue, Study notes of Law

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National Library of^ Scotland

B000162718

SOME ACCOUNT

JOHN DUKE OF AKGYLL

AND HIS FAMILY.

BY

HIS GREAT-NIECE LADY LOUISA STUART.

[ For^ Private^ Circulation.^ ]

LONDON: PRINTED BY W. CLOWES & SONS, STAMFORD STREET.

Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from National Library of Scotland

http://www.archive.org/details/someaccountofjohOOstua

ARGYLL FAMILY.

:b of Argyll. che, daughter d Sir^ Lionel rried Duke^ of

id Greenwich],^ i Brown, Esq., childless.

(^) Archibald, Earl of Islay (^) • (afterwards Duke of Argyll).

i. 2nd. (^1 ) is, Earl ,KEITH.

O Caroline.^ £ Hon.^ C.^ Townshend.^ O Anne. [Created Baroness Greenwich, with remainder to her heirs male by her second husband. Became extinct at her death.]

O Mary.

Earl of Strafford. Lord Coke (Son of

No Children. Earl of Leicester).

No Children.

O Frances. Lord Douglas.

O Anne.^ •^ Richard^ Wilson,^ Esq.

o (^) o o o (^) O Caroline. • • • ° ° Admiral Scott.

o o o o o

Charles, o Caroline, o Louisa. • Albany. Miss Owen.

Charles. Hugh.

gentleman's daughter, of an old Cheshire family, was

maid of honour at the same time. By what means or

interest she became so, I never could understand ; for,

though well bom, in a herald's sense of the words, her

education had not fitted her for a stately, elegant court.

Accustomed as we have now so long been to the quick

general communication which throws the whole king-

dom together, it is very difficult to carry our ideas back a century or more ; to the period when there were no

stage-coaches, no post-horses, no turnpike-roads, and

when, in the distant counties, men made their wills before they undertook a journey to London. The habits of the town and country were then, of course, much

more distinct from each other. Mrs. Warburton, raw

from Cheshire, brought with her a coarseness of lan-

guage and manners which we should hardly^ expect to find in (^) the dairy-maid (^) of her father's equal at present. Unluckily, (^) she had few personal charms to make amends

for the rusticity, ignorance, and want of breeding that

soon rendered her the standing jest of her companions

in office. The honourable sisterhood then subsisting

were as fond of spitefully teazing each other as their

predecessors, celebrated by Count Hamilton,^ or their

successors in Queen Charlotte's^ train^ ; so what a life

poor Jenny Warburton led^ amongst^ them,^ ever blun-

dering, getting into^ scrapes,^ and^ blurting^ out^ vulgar

expressions, may^ easily^ be^ imagined.^ One^ of^ her bright sayings^ remains^ upon^ record.^ The^ removals^ of^ the

court (while there was a court) from palace to palace

were superintended by a state-officer called the Har-

binger. As the ladies consulted together^ about^ their

packages, on a rumour of the Queen's going^ i-aidilenly

to Windsor, "^ Well^! for^ my part," said Jenny,^ "^ I shan't trouble myself—must not the Scavenger take care

of us maids^ of^ honour^? "

This was her situation, when John Duke of Argyll

arrived from the Continent with all his blushing honours

thick upon him, and a military reputation inferior to

Marlborough's alone. Trained under King William, who gave him a Dutch regiment before he^ was seventeen, he

had passed his life^ either^ in^ the^ field^ or^ in^ transacting

the public business of^ Scotland,^ and^ mingled^ with

London society rarely, only in the intervals between his campaigns. (^) By this means he was a sight, an object of curiosity, to many of the company at a crowded draw- ing-room on the Queen's birthday, where he made his

appearance newly invested with the garter, the admired

hero of the hour. Lady Mary Wortley says that women see men with their ears. He might have gained by

being so seen ; but he had likewise everything to

attract and charm the eye—personal^ beauty, an expres- sive countenance, a commanding air, and the (^) most easy, engaging gracefulness of manner. My mother, (^) who was unborn at the time, and could not have known (^) him till five-and-twenty years after it, described him (^) as, even then, one of the finest-looking men she ever beheld, (^) as well as the most pleasing ; and Lady Betty Mackenzie used to affirm that my brother Charles (of whose beauty

you have heard the fame) was his very picture.

Thus (^) much premised, you will not wonder that (^) he

out in scorn came^ nearer^ the^ truth^ than^ they^ suspected. No man can help being^ a^ little^ flattered^ by^ the^ sincere, involuntary preference of almost any young woman (^) ;

and he might secretly imagine that the impulse of such

a preference^ had^ thrown^ the^ innocent^ girl^ off^ her^ guard.

Be this as it might, one conversation gave birth to others

;

these led to visits. The visits^ grew frequent, grew daily

;

and in a short time his attachment to her became

notorious, and was as passionate as extraordinary.

The wonder of it,^ however,^ lay^ principally^ in^ her Avant of beauty. Her^ other^ deficiencies^ were^ not^ calcu- lated to disgust^ a^ man^ of^ very^ peculiar^ opinions,^ whose shining abilities^ and^ loftiness^ of^ mind^ did^ not^ prevent

his harbouring the most illiberal contempt of women.

At Athens of yore, it is said, all reputable matrons

and virgins were nonentities, shut up within four walls

to pursue their domestic^ labours^ unheard^ of and unseen

;

while knowledge,^ accomplishments,^ vivacity,^ everything

that can^ render^ society^ agreeable,^ belonged^ exclusively

to the courtezans. Now the Duke of Argyll thought this

just as it should be, or rather as it necessarily must be,

and actually was. He had been married very young (^) to a rich^ citizen,^ whom^ he^ hated^ :^ they^ parted^ quickly,^ and

the little acquaintance he could be said to have had

with women since, was confined to the followers (^) of a camp ; or, if a few foreign ladies came in his way, you may be sure he passed upon them the same general

sentence as Captain Winterbottom,* in the '^ Mirror '

;

• " (^) Eoman ladies (^)? Aye, they are papists ; and tuey are all ." Mirror, No. D7.

( io^ )

for where^ inveterate^ prejudice^ reigns^ paramount, the

highest mind^ will^ judge^ like^ the lowest. In a word, he believed scarcely any woman truly (^) virtuous ; but held it certain that none could be so, who (^) had the slightest share of mental endowments, natural or acquired. And

though Jenny Warburton was quite free from these im-

pediments to chastity, yet, trusting to the inherent

frailty of the sex and the liberty allowed a maid of

honour, he at first concluded that she would fall his easy

prey. But when on the contrary she proved absolutely immoveable, not to be tempted by promises, or presents,

or magnificent offers, nor yet to be worked upon by all

the arts and powers of captivation, which he could not

but know^ he eminently^ possessed, his admiration ex- ceeded even Ins surprise. He remained (^) convinced that he had found the pearl of price, (^) the most virtuous woman,

if not the only one in the world. All the while never

doubting that this heroic resistance cost her dear, and

was the^ fruit^ of^ many^ a painful^ struggle^ with secret love. Here his^ own^ ardent^ imagination,^ aided by his vanity, led him into^ a trifling^ mistake.^ Virtuous, the good

simple soul^ really^ was,^ and^ from^ principle^ steadily ob-

serving those plain^ precepts^ which^ her limited capacity

permitted her to comprehend^ ; but in the present

instance it cost her no struggle at all. Virtue had

neither a warm constitution, nor a tender heart (^) to

contend with ; and as for romantic love, its torments,

raptures, conflicts, illusions,^ perplexities—nothing in Sir

Isaac Newton's works^ could^ have been less intelligible

to a mind like Jenny's. She positively would not, for