but was the greatest Ornament of his Court; which for refin'd Luxury, for Elegance, and an exquifite Tafte, was little inferiour to that of Auguftus. His Speeches in Parliament show how fteady a Maintainer he was of his Country's Constitution, and how well be underftood it; and the Rehearsal, the jufteft and trueft Satyr the World ever faw, will be an everlafting Demonstration of his Wit.

Monfieur de

But because the Teftimony of a Foreigner may go farther with fome People, than an Encomium, tho' never so just, from one of his own Countrymen, it may be convenient to obferve what an eminent * Author of a Neighbouring Nation

Verville in bis
Memoirs de la
Cour d'Angle

terre.

has faid of him.

As for his Perfon, fays he, Hewas one of the finest Gentlemen, that Europe ever faw ; "his Converfation was eafie and charming, ferious when occafion requir'd it, but ge-nerally Facetious, and turning upon Mirth; "He had a Genius, that fitted him for the highest Posts of the State; but pleasure, "which was his predominant Paffion, made 66 him ridicule all manner of Business and as "ill Habits are not eafily left off, this at long run, made him incapable of it. So strange a neglect of himself and Affairs, expos'd him to the Villany of the City Ufurers, who cheated him of the greater part of his E་ state, and made an incredible Advantage of

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his careless Temper. In his younger Days no Nobleman of England had ventured (1 more for the Service of his Prince, whom "he accompanied in the fatal Battle of Worcefter as at the Reftauration, and fome Years after, no Man appeard with more Warmth and Zeal for the Prerogative. In the latter part of his Life he alter d his Conduct, and was a vehement Affertor of the Privileges of Parliament, and Liberty of the Subject. Whether, this new Change in him was owing to any real Alteration" "of his Sentiments, or whether it proceeded only from his being difgufted with the Court, 'tis certain he suffer'd himself to run "into the contrary Extreme, and oppos'd "the King in fome Junctures, where he ought not to have appear'd. This reflected feverely qupon his Gratitude, no Man having fuch perfonal Obligations to the Royal Family, , as himself fince King Charles I. run the Rifque of disobliging his Parliament, fo fatal afterwards to his Affairs, ra"ther than abandon his Father to his Ene"mies of the lower Houfe, who were refolved to ruine him. But Gratitude is too "tender à Plant to flourish in the English Cli mate. At his Majefty's happy return, the Duke found himself poffefs'd of one of the "most confiderable Eftates in the Kingdom, which he ruin'd by his profufe way of Living; tho' his Negligence, and the vast

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"Confidence he repofed in the Integrity of his City-Friends and Servants, ruin'd it "much more than his Profufeness. As great as his fortune was, he affected a Magnificence much above it: What wonder is it then, if when fuch infatiable Drainers as "Building, Mufick, Chymistry, not to men"tion his Amours, that were fufficiently expenfive to him, exhaufted him at once, that his Patrimony fenfibly decay'd. The moft Chriftian King fhew'd him a greater Respect than ever any Foreign Embaffador was known to receive; and as he knew him to be un homme de plaifir, he entertain'd' him accordingly, when he came in the Year 1670. to break the famous Tripple League, nothing could be fo welcome to the Court "of Versailles as the Meffage he came about; "for which Reafon a Regale was prepared "for him, that might have befitted the Mag"nificence of the Roman Emperors, when "Rome flourished in its highest Grandeur.

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What fits worst upon his Character, and "shows he took a delight not only to cross "his Mafter in his politick Affairs, but even

in bis Amours, 'Tis obfervable, that if he "could not enjoy his Miftreffes, he would "render them fufpected, and at last get them

difcarded a living Teftimony of which "truth is the Dutches of C-1 d. In fhort, having by his irregular Conduct utterly "ruin'd himself at Court, and his prodigious Debts

"Debts making him uneafie to the City Harpies, he was forced to retire into Yorkshire, where he made an Exit very unworthy of "the Great Duke of Buckingham; who if he "had pleas'd, might have made as brilliant a Figure in Hiftory, as any Nobleman of this

"Age.

I will not pretend to juftifie this Character in every branch of it, which perhaps, is a little too severe upon his Grace's Conduct; only this, I think, I may venture to say of it, That take it altogether, 'tis one of the finest, that are to be found in any of our Modern Hiftorians and as the Book, from whence I tranflated it, is not to be met with in the common Shops, and hardly in the best furnished Libraries, I hope, I have obliged the Reader by presenting him with a faithful Verfion of it. To come now to his Grace's Mifcellaneous Tracts a True it is, that fome few of them have feen the light before, but having been Copied out by ignorant Tranfcribers, who frequently mistook his Grace's Words and Meanning, 'twas thought but a piece of Justice to his Reputation, to print them from the true Genuine Originals, which were luckily procured from one of his intimate Domefticks. And the fame I may affirm of fome other Poems and Speeches in this Collection; for altho' they flipt long agoe, clandeftinely into the Prefs, yet they were fo full of Mistakes and Blunders, that fince they are now first of all purg'd

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purg'd and clear'd from thofe Errata's, that either clouded or wholly maim'd the sense of them, they may now, in true propriety of Speech, be faid to be first communicated to the World.

!

I might add, That feveral Copies of Verfes in this Edition are now restored to their proper Authors, which were attributed before to Perfons, to whom they never belong'd; the Tranfcribers of the laft Age, as well as those of the former, either following common Re-port, which is often mistaken, or else setting any plaufible Names before their Copies, (no matter with what juftice this was done) provided it would but promote the value of their Manufcript. And here I must inform the Rea-: der that by the mistake of the Compofer, one fingle Copy has been inadvertently put in, which certainly was never written by his Grace, I mean that upon Felton; for what Man in his Senfes can believe, that the Duke of Buckingham wou'd write a Commendatory Epitaph upon a furious Enthufiaft that Affaffinated his Father at Portsmouth? And yet I have seen it afcribed to the Duke in feveral Mff. Collections of State-Poems, now in the Custody of fome curious Gentlemen; and what is more, Printed as fuch in a Mifcellany, Published in the Year 1692, by Peter Buck.

To adapt this Collection as far as might be to the Palate of all Readers, fome of whom perhaps. might be disgusted to fee it wholly Compofed

of