Earls of Middleton, Lords of Clermont and of Fettercairn

138 The Earls of Middlcton.
many other respects, he is said to have borne a strong
resemblance to his sovereign and namesake, Charles
II., possessing the same gay and lively manners,
embellished with wit, united to a sound judgment and
a clear understanding. Like the king, he was the
pleasantest companion imaginable, owing to a certain
easiness of disposition, and to his having seen much
of the world. He was considered one of the politest
gentlemen in Europe. His temper was generous, his
apprehension quick, and he was well learned ; but
careless in his manner of living, and indifferent in
matters of religion.
As his father's marriage bears date July, 1639, 1
Charles Middleton was born probably about the year
1640. He was brought up from an early age at the
exiled Court of Charles II., 2 accompanied his father
to Scotland at the age of fourteen, when the rank of
captain seems to have been conferred upon him, and
probably wrote the letter endorsed as being from
Captain M. in the following June, which contains an
account of the proceedings 3 of the forces from their
landing in the country. He would seem to have
escaped to France some time during the disasters
which followed.
After the Restoration, Charles II. appointed him
1 Search in the Records. 2 Middleton's Contemporary.
s Whitelocke ; Clarendon Papers.