irtues nor
her vices were sufficiently conspicuous to occasion her being either
dismissed from court, or pressed to remain there: God knows what would
have become of her, if a Mr. Silvius, a man who had nothing of a Roman
in him except the name, had not taken the poor girl to be his wife. We
have now shown how all these damsels deserved to be expelled, either for
their irregularities, or for their ugliness; and yet, those who replaced
them found means to make them regretted, Miss Wells only excepted.

She was a tall girl, exquisitely shaped: she dressed very genteel,
walked like a goddess; and yet, her face, though made like those that
generally please the most, was unfortunately one of those that pleased
the least: nature had spread over it a certain careless indolence that
made her look sheepish. This gave but a bad opinion of her wit: and
her wit had the ill-luck to make good that opinion: however, as she
was fresh coloured, and appeared inexperienced, the king, whom the fair
Stewart did not render over nice as to the perfections of the mind,
resolved to try whether the senses would not fare better with Miss
Wells's person than fine sentiments with her understanding: nor was this
experiment attended with much difficulty: she was of a loyal family; and
her father having faithfully served Charles the First, she thought it
her duty not to revolt against Charles the Second. But this connection
was not attended with very advantageous circumstances for herself;
some pretended that she did not hold out long enough, and that she
surrendered at discretion before she was vigorously attacked; and others
said, that his majesty complained of certain other facilities still
less pleasing. The Duke of Buckingham made a couplet upon this occasion,
wherein the king, speaking to Progers, the confidant of his intrigues,
puns upon the name of the fair one, to the following purport:

When the king felt the horrible depth of this Well,
"Tell me, Progers," cried Charlie, "where am I? oh tell!
Had I sought the world's centre to find, I had found it,
But this Well! ne'er a plummet was made that could sound it."

[Edward Progers, Esq., was a younger son of Philip Progers, Esq., of
the family of Garreddin, in Monmouthshire. His father was a colonel
in the army, and equerry to James I. Edward was early introduced to
court, and, after having been page to Charles I., was made groom of
the bed-chamber to his son