Page:Diary of the times of Charles II Vol. I.djvu/54

xlii he made his peace with the Court by the medium of the Duchess of Portsmouth, who found no difficulty in reconciling the King to a polished as well as a pliant courtier, an accomplished negotiator, and a minister more versed in foreign affairs than any of his colleagues.

"Negligence and profusion bound him to office by stronger though coarser ties than those of ambition. He lived in an age when a delicate purity in pecuniary matters had not begun to have a general influence on statesmen, and when a sense of personal honour, growing out of long habits of co-operation and friendship, had not yet contributed to secure them against political inconstancy. He was one of the most distinguished of a species of men who perform a part more important than noble in great events, who, by powerful talents, captivating manners, and accommodating opinions, by a quick discernment of critical moments in the rise and fall of parties, by not deserting a cause till the instant before it is universally believed to be desperate, and by a command of expedients and connexions, which render them valuable to every new possessor of power, find means to cling to office, or to recover it, and who, though they are the natural offspring