upon rising from her bed, and taking some exercise in her apartment. Not content with this act of imprudence, she called for a glass of Madeira, and having drank it, "I knew," she said, "it would do me good, but my heart feels oddly; I will have another glass." Her servants in vain. endeavoured to dissuade her from this second indulgence, telling her that it was an early hour in the morning, and that so much wine was not unlikely to produce intoxication. She insisted, however, upon gratifying the whim of the moment, and, having swallowed the second glass, exclaimed, energetically, "I feel myself charmingly indeed." She continued to pace the apartment for a few moments; but presently afterward, complaining of drowsiness, she lay down on her couch, and in a short time had all the appearance of being in a profound sleep. At length her attendants ventured to feel her hands, when by their coldness they perceived that life was extinct. The death of the Duchess of Kingston took place in the month of August, 1788, in the fifty-ninth year of her age.

CHAPTER XV.

SIR ROBERT WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD.

Third Son of Robert Walpole, Esq. Born at Houghton in Norfolk, in 1676- Educated at Eton, on the Foundation Lord Bolingbroke His Contemporary at School — Mainwaring's Prediction of Walpole's Success as a Speaker— Enters King's College, Cambridge, in 1696— Attacked with the Smallpox - Resigns His Scholarship, on the Death of His Elder Brother-Anecdote - Walpole's Love of Agricultural Pursuits - His Father's Convivial Habits- Walpole's Marriage in 1700 to Catherine Shorter-Their Mutual Indifference, and Supposed Infidelities Walpole Elected Member for Castle-Rising in 1700, and in 1702 Member for LynnRegis His Strong Sense and Industry- Nominated Secretary at War - His Resignation on the Removal of the Whigs in 1710- Hatred of the Tories toward Him - Accused in the House of Commons of Corruption, and Other Misdemeanours, and Committed to the Tower Campbell of Shawfield - Walpole's Levees in the Tower - Duke and Duchess of Marlborough His Constant Visitors - Ballad by Estcourt - Lines by Lord Lansdown Walpole's Exertions in the Cause of the Whigs.

ROBERT, third son of Robert Walpole, Esq., was born at Houghton in Norfolk, on the 26th August, 1676. His family appear to have been resident in Norfolk as early as the reign of William the Conqueror, at which period his ancestor,

Reginald de Walpole, fixed himself in that county, and adopted the surname of Walpole from a small town of that name, situated on the borders of Lincolnshire. From this early period till the genius of their celebrated descendant excited the attention of his countrymen, the family of Walpole — though flowing in the direct male line through as many as eighteen generations-appear to have seldom emerged from obscurity and to have contented themselves with engaging in the pursuits and amusements of a country life.

The subject of the present memoir was sent at an early age to a private seminary, at Massingham in Norfolk, from whence he was afterward removed to the Foundation at Eton. At this celebrated school he is said, during the first years of his scholarship, to have been principally characterised by the indolence of his disposition, and to have given but faint hopes of future eminence. The admonitions, however, of his father; the conviction, repeatedly impressed upon him, that, being a younger son, he must trust to his own exertions for future means of support; and more especially his natural strong sense, appear to have eventually overcome his distaste for study and exertion, and when he quitted Eton, in 1696, it was with the character of an excellent scholar.

It was during his continuance at Eton that his acquaintance (and, it has been said, rivalship) with the celebrated Lord Bolingbroke commenced. St.

John, even at this early period, was distinguished among his young companions by his oratorical grace, his brilliant parts, and the extraordinary quickness of his apprehension. On the other hand, the industry, the solid judgment, and yearning after distinction and excellence, which characterised Walpole, appear no less to have attracted the attention of his preceptors. A few years after he had quitted school, at the period when the eloquence of Bolingbroke was first listened to in the House of Commons, - Doctor Newborough, head master of Eton, happening to converse with a friend on the oratorical powers of some of his old pupils, observed, "As for me, I am impatient to hear that Robert Walpole has spoken, for I am convinced he will make a good orator." A similar prediction was made by Arthur Mainwaring shortly after Walpole had taken his seat in the House of Commons. The future minister having made a confused and not very intelligible speech, was succeeded by another young member, whose unembarrassed manner and happy command of language attracted the attention of the House. At the close of the debate, some one present extolling the powers of the last speaker, and dwelling disparagingly on those of Walpole, "You may applaud the one," said Mainwaring, "and ridicule the other, as much as you please, but depend upon it that the spruce gentleman who made the set speech will never improve, and

that Walpole will in time become an excellent speaker."

On the 22d of April, 1696, Walpole was admitted a scholar of King's College, Cambridge, where he seems to have chiefly distinguished himself by the violence of his Whig principles. Shortly after his matriculation he was seized by an attack of smallpox of so malignant a nature that very slight hopes were entertained of his recovery. He was attended professionally by the once celebrated historian and physician, Dr. Robert Brady, who is said to have remarked to a friend, during the course of Walpole's illness: "We must take care to save this young man, or we shall be accused of having purposely neglected him because he is so violent a Whig." The spirit and resignation displayed by Walpole during his severe illness succeeded in gaining for him the esteem and admiration of his medical adviser. To Brady, indeed, the subsequent recovery of his patient appeared almost miraculous. "His singular escape," he observed, "seems to me a sure prediction that he is reserved for important purposes." As this anecdote was frequently related by Sir Robert Walpole when in the height of his greatness, the doctor's observation may not improbably have stimulated him in his subsequent endeavours to attain to eminence and fame.

In the early part of the year 1698, Walpole, by the death of his elder brother, became heir to the