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II.
James II. was a king, and affected to be a general. He loved to surround
himself with young officers. He showed himself frequently in public on
horseback, in a helmet and cuirass, with a huge projecting wig hanging
below the helmet and over the cuirass--a sort of equestrian statue of
imbecile war. He took a fancy to the graceful mien of the young Lord
David. He liked the royalist for being the son of a republican. The
repudiation of a father does not damage the foundation of a court
fortune. The king made Lord David gentleman of the bedchamber, at a
salary of a thousand a year.
It was a fine promotion. A gentleman of the bedchamber sleeps near the
king every night, on a bed which is made up for him. There are twelve
gentlemen who relieve each other.
Lord David, whilst he held that post, was also head of the king's
granary, giving out corn for the horses and receiving a salary of £260.
Under him were the five coachmen of the king, the five postilions of the
king, the five grooms of the king, the twelve footmen of the king, and
the four chair-bearers of the king. He had the management of the
race-chorses which the king kept at Newmarket, and which cost his
Majesty £600 a year. He worked his will on the king's wardrobe, from
which the Knights of the Garter are furnished with their robes of
ceremony. He was saluted to the ground by the usher of the Black Rod,
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