her: the latter he regarded with the uttermost distrust. His
royal highness had before now disturbed the happy confidence
which husbands had placed in their wives, as my Lord Carnegy
could testify.

The story which hangs thereby had, a little while before the duke
fell in love with Lady Chesterfield, afforded vast amusement to
the court, and was yet fresh in the recollection of many. It
happened that his royal highness became enamoured of my Lady
Carnegy, daughter of the gallant Duke of Hamilton, and friend of
the gay Lady Castlemaine. Lady Carnegy loved pleasure mightily,
painted her face "devilishly," and drove in the park flauntingly.
She was endowed with considerable beauty of form and great
tenderness of heart, as many gallants acknowledged with
gratitude. Now when the Duke of York made advances to her, she
received them with all the satisfaction he could desire; an
intimacy therefore followed, which she was the better able to
entertain on account of her husband's absence in Scotland.
Whilst my Lord Carnegy was in that country, his father, the Earl
of Southesk, died, and he succeeded to the title and estates. In
due time the new earl returned to London and his wife, and was
greeted by rumours of the friendship which in his absence had
sprung up between my lady and the duke. These, as became a good
husband, he refused to believe, until such time as he was enabled
to prove their veracity. Now, though his royal highness did not
cease to honour my lady with his visits on her husband's return,
yet out of respect to decorum, and in order to silence scandalous
tongues, he from that time invariably called on her accompanied
by a friend.