THE TRUE MAID OF HONOUR. first choice consisted of vulgar Miss Price, Miss Hobart, and the lovely Miss Bagot, afterwards Lady Falmouth. Poor Henrietta was anxious to shine as a pre-eminently fascinating belle, and evinced her desire so openly that she drew down on herself ridicule and practical joking. Many of the ladies of the Court, frivolous and idle as herself, delighted in playing off freaks on each other; and. Miss Hamilton, one of Catherine of Braganza's maids of honour, taking advantage of the circumstance that Miss Blagge fancied a certain foppish Marquis was des- perately smitten with her, thought it would be a rare piece of drollery to make her young friend " aux blondes paupiéres," look more silly than usual at a masquerade to be given by the Queen. Martial gloves (so called from the Houbigant of the period) were then greatly in vogue ; and Miss Hamilton sent to Miss Blagge a pair, bright yellow in colour, together with four yards of the palest yellow ribbon that could be purchased, to which she added a note, purporting to be from the Marquis, entreating her to wear the gift the next day, as a sign that his destiny was happily sealed. " You will wear knots of this ribbon in your hair, and these gloves will kiss the finest hands in the universe," said this billet. The malicious Miss Hamilton gave a similar pair of gloves and set of ribbons to hoydenish Miss Price, for whom, though she was a brown-featured, dumpy body, they seemed to have been designed. Henrietta Blagge, who had 9
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