less distinguished in mien and manner than the duke, were his two
sons, Thomas, Earl of Ossory, and Lord Richard Butler, afterwards
Earl of Arran. My lord of Ossory was no less remarkable for his
beauty than famous for his accomplishments: he rode and played
tennis to perfection, performed upon the lute to entrancement,
and danced to the admiration of the court; he was moreover a good
historian, and well versed in chronicles of romance. No less was
the Earl of Arran proficient in qualifications befitting his
birth, and gifted with attributes aiding his gallantry.

A third member of this noble family played a more remarkable part
in the history of the court during her brief career than either
of her brothers. This was the Lady Elizabeth Butler, eldest
daughter of the duke, who, unfortunately for her own happiness,
married my Lord Chesterfield at the Hague, when, a few months
before the restoration, that nobleman fled to the continent to
escape the consequences of Francis Woolley's murder. In Lely's
picture of the young Countess of Chesterfield, her piquancy
attracts at a glance, whilst her beauty charms on examination.
Her cousin, Anthony Hamilton, describes her as having large blue
eyes, very tempting and alluring, a complexion extremely fair,
and a heart "ever open to tender sentiments," by reason of which
her troubles arose, as shall be set down in proper sequence.

Henry Jermyn, Earl of St. Albans, and his nephew, "the little
Jermyn," were also notable as figuring in court intrigues. The
earl was member of the privy council to his majesty, and moreover
held a still closer connection to the queen mother; for,
according to Sir John Reresby, Madame Buviere, and others, her
majesty had privately married his lordship abroad--an act of