een of Spain, whenever a vacancy should happen, but
to enter immediately upon the salary of these places. Her Majesty
likewise took the duchess to attend her person.

There have been many instances of people, who have sustained the
greatest shocks which adversity can inflict, through a whole life of
suffering, and yet at last have yielded to the influence of a trifling
evil: something like this was the case of the duke of Wharton, which
the following story will illustrate.

He was in garrison at Barcelona, and coming from a ball one night, in
company with some ladies, a man in a masque, whom he did not know,
was guilty of some rudeness to him. The duke enquired who he was,
and being informed that he was valet de chambre to the marquis
de Risbourg, governour of Catalonia, he suffered himself to be
transported by the first motions of his passion, and caned him. The
fellow complained of this usage to his master, who at first took no
notice of it, imagining his grace would make some excuse to him for
such a procedure, but whether the duke thought it beneath his quality
to make any apology for beating a menial servant, who had been rude
to him, or would not do it upon another account, he spoke not a word
about it. The marquis resenting this behaviour, two days after ordered
the duke to prison. He obeyed, and went to Fort Montjuich: as soon as
he arrived there, the marquis sent him word, he might come out when he
pleased; the duke answered, he scorned to accept liberty at his hands,
and would not stir without an order from the court, imagining they
would highly condemn the governour's conduct; but the marquis had too
much credit with the minister, to suffer any diminution of his power
on that account; he received only a sharp rebuke, and the duke
had orders to repair to his quarters, without entering again into
Barcelona. This last mortification renewed the remembrance of all
his misfortunes; he sunk beneath this accident, and giving way to
melancholy, fell into a deep consumption. Had the duke maintained
his usual spirit, he would probably have challenged the marquis, and
revenged the affront of the servant upon the master, who had made the
quarrel his own, by resenting the valet's deserved correction.

About the beginning of the year 1731 he declined so fast, being in his
quarters, at Lerida, that he had not the use of his limbs, so as to
move without assistance; but as he was free from pain, he did not
lose all his gaie