of which were fair, the men fearless. The Hamiltons being close
kin to the Ormond great intimacy existed between them; to
facilitate which they lived not far apart--the duke residing in
Ormond Yard, St. James's Square, and the Hamiltons occupying a
spacious residence in King Street. James Hamilton, Sir George's
eldest son, was remarkable for the symmetry of his figure,
elegance of his manner, and costliness of his dress. Moreover,
he possessed a taste shaped to pleasure, and a disposition
inclined to gallantry, which commended him so strongly to the
king's favour, that he was made groom of the bedchamber and
colonel of a regiment.

His brother George was scarcely less handsome in appearance or
less agreeable in manner. Another brother, Anthony, best
remembered as the writer of Grammont's memoirs, was likewise
liberally endowed by nature. Elizabeth, commonly called "la
belle Hamilton," shared in the largest degree the hereditary
gifts of grace and beauty pertaining to this distinguished
family. At her introduction to the court of Charles II. she was
in the bloom of youth and zenith of loveliness. The portrait of
her which her brother Anthony has set before the world for its
admiration is delicate in its colours, and finished in its
details. "Her forehead," he writes, "was open, white, and
smooth; her hair was well set, and fell with ease into that
natural order which it is so difficult to imitate. Her
complexion was possessed of a certain freshness, not to be
equalled by borrowed colours; her eyes were not large, but they
were lovely, and capable of expressing whatever she pleased; her
mouth was full of graces, and her contour uncommonly perfect; nor
was her nose, which was small, delicate, and turned up, the least