she would not take another son into her household
without being quite certain that old Lord Montague
desired it. She told Clarendon that if this were the
case, he might speak carefully to the King on the
subject, and say all he could to recommend young
Montague, which she thought a mere reparation to
the brother, who had lost his life in the King's service.
Clarendon took the request in the Duchess's name,
and diplomatically mentioned that the Queen entirely
referred it to him. Charles at once said he would
never recommend any one to the Queen unless it
should be "very agreeable to her," and that it would
seem hard to deny one brother to succeed another who
had been killed in the country's service. Lord Crofts
had already begged for the post for Mr. Robert
Spencer,[1] the Lord Treasurer's nephew, and Southampton quarrelled bitterly with Clarendon for having presented another candidate. Clarendon meanly now
tried to undermine his own candidate's chances, and
it was only the Duke of York's strong partisanship
for young Montague that got him the post in the end.
This little instance of the strings and counter-strings
tugged for the smallest appointment gives an educa-
tional view of Court life at the time. Lord Chester-
field now gave up his place in the household of
Catherine. He too had been a victim of "The Lady,"
and found it hopeless to keep his place between two
mistresses. Catherine begged him to continue a
member of her council, in gratitude for his valuable
services. Huysmann painted Catherine twice in 1664.
In fact Walpole declares she was his model for every
Madonna and Venus he ever painted. She shows
to far greater advantage, however, in her portraits
by Lely. Her most becoming costume was black
velvet, but this summer she and her ladies all adopted
the fashion of silver lace gowns, in which they flashed
and shimmered in the sunshine in the Tour and St.
James's Park. When she went to the chapel at
- ↑ Life of Clarendon.
