arnt
by rote, which he occasionally employed either in raillery, or in love.
This was the whole foundation of the merit of a man so formidable in
amours.

The Princess Royal was the first who was taken with him: Miss Hyde seemed
to be following the steps of her mistress: this immediately brought him
into credit, and his reputation was established in England before his
arrival. Prepossession in the minds of women is sufficient to find
access to their hearts: Jermyn found them in dispositions so favourable
for him, that he had nothing to do but to speak.

It was in vain they perceived that a reputation so lightly established,
was still more weakly sustained: the prejudice remained: the Countess of
Castlemaine, a woman lively and discerning followed the delusive shadow;
and though undeceived in a reputation which promised so much, and
performed so little, she nevertheless continued in her infatuation: she
even persisted in it, until she was upon the point of embroiling herself
with the King; so great was this first instance of her constancy.

Such were the heroes of the court. As for the beauties, you could not
look anywhere without seeing them: those of the greatest reputation were
this same Countess of Castlemaine, afterwards Duchess of Cleveland, Lady
Chesterfield, Lady Shrewsbury, the Mrs. Roberts, Mrs. Middleton, the
Misses Brooks, and a thousand others, who shone at court with equal
lustre; but it was Miss Hamilton and Miss Stewart who were its chief
ornaments.

[Lady Shrewsbury: Anna, Maria, Countess of Shrewsbury, eldest
daughter of Robert Brudenel, Earl of Cardigan, and wife of Francis,
Earl of Shrewsbury, who was killed in a duel by George, Duke of
Buckingham, March 16, 1667. She afterwards re-married with George
Rodney Bridges, Esq., second son of Sir Thomas Bridges of Keynsham,
in Somersetshire, knight, and died April 20, 1702. By her second
husband she had one son, George Rodney Bridges, who died in 1751.
This woman is said to have been so abandoned, as to have held, in
the habit of a page, her gallant, the duke's horse, while he fought
and killed her husband; after which she went to bed with him,
stained with her husband's blood.]

The new queen gave but little additional brilliancy to the court, either
in her person or in her retinue, which was then composed of the Countess
de Panetra, who came over with her in quality of lady of the bedchamber;
six frights, who called