98h.) 
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. - Monracy Mae. No. 209. 
during the feeble reign of his successor ; 
in consequence of which, he re-conquered 
his former possessions: and we behold 
the family afterwards taking part with 
Robert Brace. During the reign of the 
unfortunate, but too guilty, Mary, George 
Douglas, earl of Morton, entered into 
the conspiracy against Rizzio, and acted 
@ most conspicuous part during those 
tunhappy times: in fine, some branch of 
this family appears to have thenceforth 
intermingled in all the intrigues, the con- 
“ $piracies, the tumults, and the wars, of 
those days, during which, the chiefs 
‘seldom died in their beds; while ‘the 
. great body of the people were condemned 
to spill their blood in quarrels from 
which they could not possibly derive any 
profit whatsoever. 
On the accession of James I. to the 
throne of England, the Douglases were 
courted by that crafty monarch; and we 
find his majesty sumptuously entertained ~ 
at Drumianrig, on his return to the south, 
in 1617. This residence, sometimes 
termed a palace, gave a title to its pos- 
sessor, Charles I. having created him 
“viscount Drumlanrig, April 1, 1628: 
she was afterwards made earl of Queens- 
‘berry, June 13, 1633. His second son, 
sir William Douglas, of Kilhead, was 
' €reated a baronet in 1668 ; and from him 
-as descended the heir ito, and now the 
_ possessor of, the earldom. 
_ Meanwhile, on the death of the first 
-- William, the second earl displayed great 
‘loyalty to Charles I. on which account 
he suffered many hardships. On _ his 
demise, in 1671, William, the third 
earl, miade a conspicuous figure as a 
statesman during the reign of Charles IL, 
- by whom he was nominated justice- 
general. By James II. he was created, 
han marguis im 1682; and in 1684, 
duke of Queensberry; before which 
‘period, hé obtained the post of lord 
‘treasurer of Scotland: according to 
Burnet, he was attached to despotic 
principles, and “ loved to be absolute and 
' direct every thing.” _ F 
James, the seconc duke, either per- 
ceiving the falling fortunes of the house 
of Stuart, or being actuated by far dif: 
* ferent principles from the rest of his fa- 
* mily, advocated the cause of William ITI, 
and, in consequence of this, was taken 
- anto favour > fur he obtained the oilice of 
» lord privy seal, and became one of the 
extraordinary lords of session, and a 
knight of the garter, in succession. 
Having exhibited great talents, or at least 
/ great adroitness, in’ the management ef 
Memoirs of the late Duke of Queensberry? 
33 
the Scotch parliament, on the accession 
of Anne, we find him “a secretary of 
state. Te fell into disgrace, however, 
soon after,, on which he and his ad. 
herents joined the faction termed the 
“sguadrone wolante, which was supposed 
capable at any time of rendering either 
pf the other two parties preponderant. 
In 1765, however, when the union was 
resolved upon, both he and the earl of 
Roxborough, each’ of whom possessed 
great influence, and had numerous par- 
tisans, were taken once more into favour; 
and when that grand and most salutary 
measure was achieved, chiefly by their 
means, they were each rewarded with 
a dukedom. Accordingly, the latter 
became duke of Roxborough, in Scote 
Jand, while the former obtained the Eng- 
lish dukedom of Dover; he also exer- 
cised the office of third secretary of 
state, was assigned a pension of three 
thousand pounds per annum, and had, 
the patronage of all Scotland confided tg 
his charge. 
On his demise, bis eldest son, who in 
1706 had been created. earl of Solway, 
succeeded to the titles and estates; bat 
the house of lords would not admit hina 
to a seat, in right of his English peerage, 
as it was then deemed contrary to. the 
articles of Union, although this has beer 
sitice decided otherwise. By George 1, 
that. same nobleman was nominated % 
lord of the bed-chamber. By George I], 
he was appointed vice-admiral of Scots 
land; and’in 1762, received from 
George III. the valuatile office of 
lord justice-general of Scotland. But 
such is the influence of literature, that 
the patronage which his duchess lad 
Catharine Hyde, daughter of Heury eark 
of Clarendon and Rochester, bestowed 
on Gay the poet, will be recollected 
perhaps when the wealth of the Dou. 
glases shall have been dissipated; their 
utles have become extinct, and their 
boasted ancestry is forgotten: so much 
more grateful in the eyes of posterity is 
the odour of one generous action, cal. 
culated to relieve genius from penury, 
than the unavailing boast of wealth, tha: 
pompous profusion of titles, and all the 
vain pretensions of blood ! 
On thedeath of the duke, without js« 
sue (having survived two earls of Drum- 
lanrig, his first and second sons,) Oc- 
tober 22, 1778, the titles and entailed 
estates devolved on his collateral heir 
male, whose life is the subject of the 
present memoir., William, earl of 
March, who, without the wit, seems to 
& have 
