THE ANCESTOR 21 easily made him a persona gratissima at the various Courts to which he was accredited, and, as may be seen from his pictures, was also a remarkably handsome man — a natural possession which certainly has to be reckoned with. It may almost be said of the first Lord Malmesbury without any undue laudatory extravagance that he represented in his manner and in his person the best type of courtier-diplomatist ; and Mr. Thackeray, describing the life of a great lady of fashion somewhere in the pages of his now famous novel. Vanity Fair^ relates how, among her many social accomplishments, — ^Malmesbury had made her his best bow^ But James Harris the younger was more than a mere courtier and man of the world, for under the most affable demeanour and a truly fascinating appearance he concealed an astuteness and fixity of purpose which often baffled the diplomatic schemes and political intrigues of his opponents. Mirabeau terms him : —
- Cet audacieux et ruse Harris.^
His first appointment was to the Court of his Catholic Majesty, Charles III. of Spain, where he filled the post of Secretary of Legation. While he held this office, and during a moment when his immediate chief. Sir James Gray, had returned to England on leave of absence, a difficulty arose, small and of no real importance in itself, but which landed Great Britain on the verge of a serious war with Spain. The Spaniards had seized the Falkland Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, which England also claimed, and had dislodged the British garrison. Harris, although implicitly obeying the instructions of his own Government, took upon himself to remonstrate strongly with the Spanish Prime Minister upon this overt act of aggression. Matters went so far that young Harris, who was then Charge d'affaires^ was recalled from Madrid, but before he had reached the frontier was informed that the King of Spain had abandoned his pretensions ; the fall of the Due de Choiseul, and his being in consequence unable to rely on the support of France, was the cause of this sudden change of tone. Harris had conducted himself so well in a difficult and unpleasant situation that as a reward for his services, and to the great personal satisfaction of the Spanish monarch, he was promoted English Minister to that self-same Court where he
