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tain, that he distinguished himself particularly in his profession, and was advanced to considerable posts in the French service.*

Anthony Hamilton's residence was now almost constantly in France. Some years previous to this, he had been much in England, and, towards the close of Charles II.'s reign, in Ireland, where so many of his connexions remained.† When James II. succeeded to the throne, the door being then opened to the Roman Catholics, he entered into the Irish army, where we find him, in 1686, a lieutenant-colonel in Sir Thomas Newcomen's regiment. That he did not immediately hold a higher rank there, may, perhaps, be attributed to the recent accession of the king, his general absence from Ireland, the advanced age of his uncle, the Duke of Ormond, and, more than all, perhaps, to his Grace's early disapprobation of James's conduct in Ireland, which displayed itself more fully afterwards, especially in the ecclesiastical promotions.

Henry, Earl of Clarendon, son to the lord-chancellor, was at that time lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and appears, notwithstanding his general distrust and dislike of the Catholics, to have held Anthony Hamilton in much estimation: he speaks of his knowledge of, and constant attention to, the duties of his profession; his probity, and the dependence that was to be placed on him, in preference to others of the same religious persuasion, and, in October, 1686, wrote to the Earl of Sunderland respecting him, as follows: "I have only this one thing more to trouble your lordship with at present, concerning Colonel Anthony Hamilton, to get him a commission to com

*It is not to be forgotten, that, at this time, John Churchill, afterwards Duke of Marlborough, served under Marshal Turenne, in the same army.

+ Hamilton had three sisters: the Countess of Grammont; another married to Matthew Forde, Esq., of the county of Wexford; and another to Sir Donough O'Brien, ancestor to the present Sir Edward O'Brien a branch of the Thomond family.

mand as colonel, though he is but lieutenant-colonel to Sir Thomas Newcomen, in regard of the commands he has had abroad and I am told it is often done in France, which makes me hope it will not be counted an unreasonable request. I would likewise humbly recommend to make Colonel Anthony Hamilton a privy counseller here."* Lord Clarendon's recommendations were ultimately successful: Hamilton was made a privy counsellor in Ireland, and had a pension of 2007. a year on the Irish establishment; and was appointed governor of Limerick, in the room of Sir William King, notwithstanding he had strongly opposed the new-modelling of the army by the furious Tyrconnell. In the brief accounts which have been given of his life, it is said that he had a regiment of infantry; but, though this is very probable, there is no mention whatever of his commanding a regiment, in the lists published of King James's army, which are supposed to be very accurate: he is indeed set down among the general officers. Lord Clarendon, in one of his letters to the lord-treasurer, states, "That the news of the day was, that Colonel Russell was to be lieutenant-colonel to the Duke of Ormond's regiment, and that Colonel Anthony Hamilton was to have Russell's regiment, and that Mr. Luttrell was to be lieutenant-colonel to Sir Thomas Newcomen, in the place of Anthony Hamilton."+

It is not known whether Anthony was present at the battle of the Boyne, or of Aughrim: his brother John was killed at the latter; and Richard, who was a lieutenant-general, led on the cavalry with uncommon gallantry and spirit at the Boyne; it is to be wished that his candour and integrity had equalled his courage; but he acted with great duplicity; and King William's contemptuous echoing back his word to him, when

* Chapel-Izod, July 11, 1686.
+ Dublin Castle, October 23, 1686.

he declared something on his honour, is well known.* He is
frequently mentioned by Lord Clarendon, but by no means
with the same approbation as his brother. After the total
overthrow of James's affairs in Ireland, the two brothers finally
quitted these kingdoms, and retired to France. Richard lived
much with the Cardinal de Bouillon, who was the great pro-
tector of the Irish in France, and kept (what must have been
indeed highly consolatory to many an emigrant of condition)
a magnificent table, which has been recorded in the most glow-
ing and grateful terms, by that gay companion, and celebrated
lover of good cheer, Philippe de Coulanges, who occasionally
mentions the "amiable Richard Hamilton,"+ as one of the
Cardinal's particular intimates. Anthony, who was regarded
particularly as a man of letters and elegant talents, resided
almost entirely at St. Germain: solitary walks in the forest of
that place occupied his leisure hours in the morning; and
poetical pursuits, or agreeable society, engaged the evening:
but much of his time seems to have rolled heavily along; his
sister, Madam de Grammont, living more at court, or in Paris,
than always suited his inclinations, or his convenience.
great resource at St. Germain was the family of the Duke of
Berwick (son of James II.): that nobleman appears to have
been amiable in private life, and his attachment to Hamilton
was steady and sincere. The Duchess of Berwick was also
his friend. It is necessary to mention this lady particularly,
as well as her sisters: they were the daughters of Henry
Bulkely, son to the first viscount of that name: their father
had been master of the household to Charles: their mother
was Lady Sophia Stewart, sister to the beautiful Duchess of
Richmond, so conspicuous in the Grammont Memoirs. The
sisters of the Duchess of Berwick were, Charlotte, married to

* This anecdote has been erroneously recorded of Anthony.
+ So Coulanges calls him.

His

Lord Clare; Henrietta, and Laura. They all occupy a considerable space in Hamilton's correspondence, and the two last are the ladies so often addressed as the Mademoiselles B.; they are almost the constant subjects of Hamilton's verses; and it is recorded, that he was a particular admirer of Henrietta Bulkely; but their union would have been that of hunger and thirst, for both were very poor and very illustrious: their junction would, of course, have militated against every rule of common prudence. To the influence of this lady, particularly, we are indebted for one or two of Hamilton's agreeable novels: she had taste enough to laugh at the extravagant stories then so much in fashion, "plus Arabes qu'en Arabie "+ as Hamilton says; and he, in compliance with her taste, and his own, soon put the fashionable tales to flight, by the publication of the Quatre Facardins, and, more especially, La Fleur d'Epine. Some of the introductory verses to these productions are written with peculiar ease and grace; and are highly extolled, and even imitated, by Voltaire. La Harpe praises the Fleur d'Epine, as the work of an original genius: I do not think, however, that they are much relished in England, probably because very ill translated. Another of his literary productions was the novel called Le Belier, which he wrote on the following occasion: Louis XIV. had presented to the Countess of Grammont (whom he highly esteemed) a remarkably elegant small country house in the park of Versailles this house became so fashionable a resort, and brought such constant visitors, that the Count de Grammont said, in

:

* (O'Brien) ancestor to Marshal Thomond. Lord Clare was killed at the battle of Ramillies.

+ They were wretched imitations of some of the Persian and Arabian tales, in which every thing was distorted, and rendered absurd and preposterous.

"Le bel air de la cour est d'aller à la jolie maison, que le roi a donnée à la Comtesse de Gramont dans le Parc de Versailles. C'est tellement la mode, que c'est une honte de n'y avoir pas été. La Comtesse de Gramont se porte très-bien; il est certain que le roi la traite à merveilles.

his usual way, he would present the king with a list of all the persons he was obliged to entertain there, as more suited to his Majesty's purse than his own: the countess wished to change the name of the place from the vulgar appellation of Le Moulineau, into that of Pentalie; and Hamilton, in his novel, wrote a history of a giant, an enchantment, and a princess, to commemorate her resolution. It has, however, happened, that the giant Moulineau has had the advantage, in the course of time; for the estate, which is situated near Mendon, upon the Seine, retains its original and popular designation.

About the year 1704, Hamilton turned his attention to collecting the memoirs of his brother-in-law, the Count de Grammont, as we may conjecture, from the epistle beginning "Honneur des rives éloignées"* being written towards the close of the above year: it is dated, or supposed to be so, from the banks of the Garonne. Among other authors whom Hamilton at first proposes to Grammont, as capable of writing his life (though, on reflection, he thinks them not suited to it), is Boileau, whose genius he professes to admire; but adds, that his muse has somewhat of malignity; and that such a muse might caress with one hand, and satirize him with the other. This letter was sent by Hamilton to Boileau, who answered him with great politeness; but, at the same time that he highly extolled the epistle to Grammont, he, very naturally, seemed anxious to efface any impression which such a representation of his satiric vein might make on the count's mind, and accordingly added a few complimentary verses to him this letter is dated Paris, 8th February, 1705. About the same time another letter was written to Hamilton on the

:

Paris, le 5 Août, 1703."-Lettre de Madame de Coulanges à Madame de Grignan.

* A translation of this epistle, which is a complete sketch of the Grammont Memoirs, is subjoined to this Biographical Sketch of the Author.

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