Hampton Court ... Illustrated with forty-three drawings by Herbert ...

LELY'S "BEAUTIES" 87
latter is the most beautiful of all the ladies, and is
painted with all Lely's art. The picture shows the
height of his powers and their limits. A lovely girl,
with a fair face and light brown hair, dressed in dark
red relieved by some gold brocade, she assumes, like
Lady Bellasys, the favourite character of S. Catherine,
but an air " grand and gracious," rather than of devotion,
is expressed in her portrait. It is a beautiful
picture of a beautiful subject, but of higher qualities
of character and mind the painter can give no idea.
Barbara Palmer, Countess of Castlemaine, a woman
of abandoned character and malignant influence,
whose name is connected with almost every scandal
of English society for fifty years, makes a striking
picture. She is beautiful, proud, resentful, impressive:
the painter, having to choose from many bad qualities,
has chosen her pride for the dominant note of his
composition; and he has made of her perhaps the
most striking of all his portraits. It is original,
speaking, personal. We can see as she lived the
woman who ruled Charles Stewart when she was
young, and raised John Churchill when she was old;
and Mr. Pepys callsit " a most blessed picture."
IX
The Beauties preserve for ever the luxury, and
fashion, and recklessness of Charles's court. His own
portrait is nowhere in the collection:only in a curious