8

HISTOKY OF ENGLAND.

chap. tigued him. The physicians constantly kept up the hopes of— 687 '_ - his enemies by fixing some date beyond -which, if there wereanything certain in medical science, it was impossible that hisbroken constitution could hold out. Yet, through a life whichwas one long disease, the force of his mind never failed, onany great occasion, to bear up his suffering and languid body,coldness He was born with violent passions and quick sensibilities:manners but the strength of his emotions was not suspected by thestrength w orld. From the multitude his joy and his grief, his afiectionof his and his resentment, were hidden by a phlegmatic serenity,omotions. ma< i e him p ass f or the most cold-blooded of mankind.

Those who brought him good news could seldom detect anysign of pleasure. Those who saw him after a defeat looked invain for any trace of vexation. He praised and reprimanded,rewarded and punished, with the stern tranquillity of a Mo-hawk chief: but those who knew him well and saw him nearwere aware that under all this ice a fierce fire was constantlyburning. It was seldom that anger deprived him of powerover himself. But when he was really enraged the first out-break of his passion was terrible. It was indeed scarcely safeto approach him. On these rare occasions, however, as soonas he regained his self command, he made such ample repara-tion to those whom he had wronged as tempted them to wishthat he would go into a fury again. His affection was as im-petuous as his wrath. Where he loved, he loved with thewhole energy of his strong mind. When death separated himfrom what he loved, the few who witnessed his agonies trem-bled for his reason and his life. To a very small circle of in-timate friends, on whose fidelity and secrecy he could ab-solutely depend, he was a different man from the reserved andstoical William whom the multitude supposed to be destituteof human feelings. He was kind, cordial, open, even con-vivial and jocose, would sit at table many hours, and wouldHis bear his full share in festive conversation. Highest in hisship'for f avour stood a gentleman of his household named Bentinck,Bentinck. sprung from a noble Batavian race, and destined to be thefounder of one of the great patrician houses of England. Thefidelity of Bentinck had been tried by no common test. It