120 THE COUNTESS OF OSSORY.
The father of the Earl of Ossory was James, the great Duke
of Ormond; and never, upon conqueror or potentate, was that epi-
thet more justly bestowed. He was, without exception, the most
illustrious character of the times in which he lived ■ without re-
proach as a man, a subject, a patriot, and a soldier. He had
attached himself, from principle, to the cause of Charles the First;
and through the whole of the civil wars had maintained his cause
with the most unshaken constancy, and the most generous self-
devotion; After having expended his patrimony in the service of
that monarch and his successor, and finding that all was lost,
except honour, he refused the conditions offered by Cromwell, and,
making his escape in a small boat, joined the fortunes of the exiled
monarch; and was afterwards in his prosperity, as in his adversity,
his ablest counsellor, and truest friend,—never his flatterer, or his
favourite.*
The Duchess of Ormond his wife, and the mother of Lord Ossory,
was a woman of great beauty, and of an undaunted spirit. She
was the heiress of the Earl of Desmond, and her union with the
duke, then Lord Thurles, put an end to the feuds and lawsuits
which had for years divided the houses of Desmond and Ormond,
and threatened the ruin of both. Their marriage, however, was
not only a marriage of policy, but of passion ; their early attach-
ment was attended by various difficulties and romantic distresses,
and in particular by one circumstance, which throws so deep an
interest round the character of the duchess, that I venture to
relate it.
She was a ward of the King (Charles I.) who bestowed the
* As the loyalty of Ormond was that of principle, the favour or displeasure of
his capricious master never made the slightest alteration in his demeanour; so
that his courteous equanimity sometimes abashed the King. The Duke of
Buckingham on one occasion whispered, “ I wish your majesty would resolve me
one question; whether it be the Duke of Ormond who is out of favour with your
majesty, or your majesty with the Duke of Ormond? for you appear the most
out of countenance of the two!”