corrupt minister in regard to money, certainly applied the corruption to the maintenance of the best interests of the country. George brought over two mistresses with him from Germany; one, the Duchess of Kendal, dismally thin; the other, the Countess of Darlington, overflowingly corpulent; both of them the scorn and jest of the nation, whom they fleeced in return. They were both also as dull as himself; and, lawless as they were, occasioned no sort of vivacity in the court. Before he died (which was not at Kensington, or in England, but during one of his visits to Germany) George added to the seraglio which he is supposed to have gathered about him, an English damsel of the name of Brett, daughter of Savage's mother, the Countess of Macclesfield; and such a daughter, black-browed and bold, as

such a mother might be supposed to have given birth to. Establishments of this kind, begun by the kings of France, had spread over Europe, as a fashion, and a matter of course; and thus acquired a sort of privileged allowance.

The unprincely, reserved, insignificantlooking Elector of Hanover was not fond of appearing before his new subjects. Kensington Gardens, therefore, remained with him as dull and limited as he found them; and his son, who was always at variance with him, appeared at the court there as little as he could help. Yet it is during the reign of George the First, that the fashionable. promenades in the gardens, which became so popular, and the last glittering skirts of which are still within the memories of old people, would seem to have first made their

appearance.

Caroline of Anspach, the Prince of Wales's consort, probably gave rise to them, when she came with her bevy of maidens to court. People would throng to see them; the ladies would take the opportunity of showing themselves in the walks; persons of fashion, privileged to enter the Gardens, would avail themselves of the privilege, and at last the public would obtain admission, and the show be complete. The full promenade, it seems, was at first confined to Saturdays. It was afterwards changed to Sundays, and continued so till the custom went out with the closing days of George the Third.

But we must leave mistresses and Maids of Honour awhile.

The poets of the time now began to sing of Kensington Gardens. Addison's friend,

witness it) which closed the Duchess's

reign.

The reader may imagine it as he goes along the Gardens, and looks up at its now tranquil apartments.

Sarah Jennings, afterwards Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, who was the daughter of respectable but not rich parents, had entered upon a court life at an early age as one of the companions of Anne during the Princess's girlhood. The young lady who, like Anne herself, was what is called a fine girl, but handsomer, an advantage which a flattered, self-complacent princess was less likely to regard in that point of view, than as an ornament to her establishment, possessed a flow of spirits, which her young mistress was equally glad to welcome, as a relief to her dullness.

The companion being politic and ambitious,

and not yet having had the worst points of her character brought out by worldly greatness, filled the vacancy of the royal mind with amusement, saved it trouble by deciding for it in emergencies, and, in short, rendered herself so useful and delightful, that Anne, with the usual propensity of the Stuarts to favourites, conceived a sort of passionate friendship for her, as for a livelier self. She retained the fondness long after they were both married; was not content till difference of rank was abolished between them in private by the names of "Mrs. Morley and Mrs. Freeman;" and did not perceive all this while that she was converting a subservient playmate into a dictatorial

scorner.

For years Anne laboured under a yoke which at length a new and humbler favourite, after many struggles, helped her to throw off;