E arl of H oll
a n d .
E a rl of W arw
i c k .
exquifite finiihing of this pidture : Vandyck was patronized by his I
lordihip, lived with him at Holland houfe, and had all opportunity I
to complete it at full leifure. The beautiful, the courteous, the I
gallant Henry Rich, Earl of Holland, is reprefented at full length, I
drefied with the elegance he 'might have appeared in to win the I
affedtions of the Queen of his unfortunate mafter. He appears in I
a white and gold doublet; a fcarlet mantle, laced with gold, flows I
gracefully from him ; his white boots are ornamented with point; I
his armour lies by him. Charles was ftruck with jealoufy at the I
partiality fliewn to this favorite by Henrietta. He diredted his I
lordihip to confine himfelf to his houfe; nor was the reftraintl
taken off, till the Queen refufed, on that account, to cohabit with I
her royal fpoufe. But neither loyalty to his mafter, nor tendernefs I
to his fair miftrefs, could prevent him from joining the popular I
party, after receiving every favor from the court, his earldom, the I
garter, command of the guard, and groom of the ftole. With I
unfettled principles, he again deferred his new friends, lhiftingl
from fide to fide. At length, immediately before the murder ofl
his fovereign, rouzed by the dangers of one he was fo much in-1
debted to, he made a Angle effort in his favor,; but, on the firft ap-l
pearance of danger (as he had done more than once) fled the at-1
tack, was taken, and ended his days on the fcaffold, falling I
timidly, inglorious, unpitied,
In the fame room is the portrait of his elder brother Robert Earl I
of Warwick, high admiral of England, in the fervice of the par-1
liament. The ihips in the back ground denote his profefllon. His I
perfon, like the Earl of Holland’s, elegant; his mind more firm,I
.and his political conduit more coherent. He left a court he hadl
no obligation to; adhered to the Parliament as long as it exifted,
and fupported himfelf by the power of Cromwel, as foon as the
tyrant had deftroyed that inftrument of his ambition. He was
of great popularity with the Puritanical party, kept open houfe for
the Divines o f the times, was a conftant attendant at their ier-
mons, made merry with them and at them, which they difpenfed with.
He became the head of their party, and got the Jtyle of a g o d l y M a n .
Tet of fuch a licenfe in his words and in his actions, that a man of lefs
virtue could not be found out *. What a pidture of fanatical prieft-
hood ! which could endure, for its own end, the vices of the Great;
yet, at the fame time, be outrageous againft the innocent pleafures
of the multitude.
In the dining room are portraits of a later time. John, the
firft Earl of Breadalbane, a half length, in his robes. His lady,
daughter to the unfortunate Holland, is in another frame, near
him. His lordihip was unhappily a diftinguilhed character in the
reign of King William. He had formed a humane plan for conciliating
the affedtions of the clans by bribing them into loyalty,
till refledtion and cooler times would give them opportunity of
feeing the benefits that would refult from change of government.
The chieftains at once attended to his propofals; and, at the fame
time, gave affurance to their old mafter, that they would preferve
terms no longer than was confiftent with his intereft. Enraged at
‘their perfidy, and perhaps adtuated by feudal refentment, he
[formed the common fcheme in North Britain, of extirpation by
¡fire and fword. The molt pernicious indeed o f the clans was
• Clarendon*
O f t h e f ir s t
E a r l op
B r e a d a l b a n e .
F fingled