Historical and genealogical memoirs of the House of Hamilton

168 HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL MEMOIRS
james, Colonel's sword from him with his left hand, the Colonel caught hold of
of Hamilton, the General's sword. The park keepers coming up, found them on their
' .—— i e g S c i ose struggling, the Colonel pulling at the blade of the General's
6word with both his hands, while the General had the Colonel's sword in
his left hand, free over the Colonel's right shoulder. One of the keepers
took their swords, and then they went up to the principals, whom they
found on the ground, Lord Mohun in a manner betwixt sitting and lying,
bending forwards to the Duke, who was on his knees, leaning to his left,
almost across Lord Mohun, both holding each other's swords fast, and
striving, but neither able to disengage himself from the other. The
Colonel and one of the keepers supported the Duke about thirty yards
towards the cake-house, but his Grace, saying he could walk no farther,
sunk down on the grass and expired. His body was brought to his house
in St James's Square the same morning, while his Duchess was still asleep.*
Such was the animosity with which they fought, that, neglecting the
rules of art, they seemed to run on one another, as if they tried who should
kill first. Each had received four wounds ; those of the Duke were, one
in the joint of the right elbow, by which he lost so much blood that it oc-
casioned his dying so soon ; another in the left breast, penetrating down-
ward into his body ; a large wound on the outside of the right leg, about
seven inches long, and an inconsiderable one in the left foot. Lord
Mohun's were, one on the right side through his body ; another on the left
side ; a third on the superior and interior part of the left thigh ; the fourth,
which caused his immediate death, was a large wound in the left groin,
going down through the great vessels of the thigh. He had also two or
three of the fingers of the left hand cut.t
This event occasioned no small fervent. The Duke's death was im-
puted to the Whigs, as if they had been afraid of his promoting the
interest of the Pretender ; and it was said that uncommon pains were
taken to spirit up Lord Mohun, who had little inclination to cany the
* This account of the duel is taken from Hamilton's Transactions, and a letter from
General Macartney to Colonel Gardner, dated Ostend, 4-15th December 1712,
printed in a quarto pamphlet.
f Lord Mohun was no stranger to these affairs. He was twice tried by his peers,
first, in 1692, for the murder of William Mountford the player, when 14 voted guilty,
69 not guilty ; secondly, in 1699, for the murder of Charles Coote, Esq. but was
unanimously acquitted. — The Earl of Warwick and Holland, also tried for the same
murder, was found guilty of manslaughter. — State Trials.