.yf -y '. 1 > * 7\ 4M #^#?*' ^""^ t-A^ K-^"*-' r v^.^,. 'I give the/i Bovks far the.fiiu^i&igif a. CclUge in ihtuX^ehny" Deposited by the Linonian and Brothers Library I 9Z» DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. VOL. I. DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY BEING MEN I HAYE KNOWN, THINGS I HAVE SEEN, PLACES I HAVE VISITED, BY LOED WILLIAM PITT LENNOX. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON : X CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY. 1866. LOHDON PEIHTED BY VIKTUE AHD CO., CITY BOAD. Bye4 CONTENTS. CHAPTEE I. Early EecoUections — Good'wood — Chicliester — Lady Chapel — Presence of Mind— My Pirst Visit to the Theatre — George Frederick Cooke— Commodore Anson — ^Eaxly Longings for the Na'vy — ^Westminster School — Barclay of Dre — Pedes- trianism — Bartholome'v? and Tothill Fields' Fair — The Epping Hunt — Sir Francis Burdett — Miss Burdett Coutts — Christmas in DubHn — T. P. Cooke — Late Earls of Har rington and Aberdeen — ^Assassination of Mr. Perceval — Pete at Vauxhall — Journey from Dublin to London in 1813 — Fogs of the Olden Days — Byron — Jackson the Pugilist — Sir Godfrey Webster CHAPTER II. Gazetted to the Blues — Thanksgiving Day, 1814 — ^Entry of the Princess Alexandra — Colonel Quentin- — ^Elegant Ex tracts — ^The Duke of Wellington's Embassy to Paris — Accompany him — ^Adventures on Horseback — The Duke's Kindness — Shooting 'with Eoyal Dukes — "PuU" — ^Excur sion to St. Cloud — ^Napoleon's Library — Expected Attempt on Louis XVni. — ^The Duke of Orleans — ^Louis Philippe — Claremont — Napoleon's Escape from Elba — Brussels in May, 1815 — Sir Peregrine Maitland — Lord Hay — Sir Pere grine's Brigade Major — ^Death of Two Early Friends — Adventure at Paris — ^Les Anglaises pour Eire — Salon des Etrangers — Statistics of Gambling 59 Yl CONTENTS. CHAPTEE III. Wellington at Mont St. Martin — The Staff of the Iron Duke — Lord Eaglan — Sir George Cathcart — -Marquis of Wor cester — ^Francis Eussell — ^Horace ChurchLll — The Flower Girl of Brussels — A German Baron — -Frederick Yates — OoUey Grattan — Duel Prevented — Practical Joke — Sir Charles Felix Smith — Duelling— Lost Sir Massingberd — Fatal Duel at Cambray — Another at Caen — The Code of Honour — -Modem Duels — Statistics of Duelling — Private Theatricals — Miss Tigott — John Philip Kemble — Talma . 105 CHAPTEE IV. Embark for Canada — Charles, fourth Duke of Eichmond — The IpJiigenia Frigate — Captain Hyde Parker — Man Overboard — ^Eiver St. La'wrence — Quebec — ^Deserters from the Ship — Surrender of one of the Culprits — His Escape — The Ormskirk Eoscius — Practical Joke — Eeturn to England — The Dandies — BrummeU — MUdmay — Standish — Ball Hughes — James Bradshaw — Miss Maria Tree — ^An Adven ture at au Hotel — The £100 Note^ — ^Hon. Fitzroy Stanhope — The Countess, his Mother — Commissary General of the Prize Eing 161 CHAPTEE V. Army — Punishments — Windsor Barracks — Nimrod — An Adventure at Epsom — Amateur Theatricals — Eegent's Park Barracks — ^Highway Eobberies — Tunbridge WeUs Eaces Canova — ^Eichard Watt Walker — Mitchel Grove — ^Visit of the North American Indians I97 CHAPTEE VI. Henry Fauntleroy— A Dinner at Gee's Farm — Theodore Hook, Ingoldsby, Stephen Price, Eichard Jones, Sir Andrew Barnard — Turtle Soup— Cannon and the Prince — Story of CONTENT^. Vll r^GK a Military Jcromy Diddlor — Lord Fitzhardinge and tho Dead Dutch Officer — Extempore Song— God Prosper O'CounoU — Sydney Smith's Cousins — An Epigram of Lut- treU's — Sir Matthew Lopez — Cannon's Barcarole — Dinner at Hook's— Sir Eobert Peel's Scrape— Professor MUling- ton's Cure for a Smoky Chimney — Eel-pie Island — Eobin Hood — ^Burlesque (as now) in the Ascendency — An Adven ture •svith Theodore Hook — ""When Greek meets Greek" . 263 CHAPTEE VII. Freemasonry — Tom Cooke — Carl Maria von Weber — A Popular Syi-en — The Drama — Joe Grimaldi — ^Toung Gri- maldi — Cdonel (commonly caUed Dan) Mackinnon, of the Guards — ^Feats of ActL'rity — ^Madame Vestris — Eduinnd and Charles Kean — Countess of H^ixrington — Su- Henry EUis . 31'i CHAPTEE VIIL Panic of 1801 — ^Measures against Invasion — T' Ih'vade or not t' Invade — Panic of 1859 — ^Prince Louis Napoleon — ^La Guiccioli — Duel Prevented — ^Kind Traits of Napoleon — Gore House, Kensington — The Countess of Blessington — Count D'Orsay— Dinner at Gore House — ^The Host under DiflSculties — ^Balmoral Brose — The late Lord Eobertson — — "Those were the Days of Bumper Toasts" — A Scotch Minister and a Highland Laird ... . . 357 CHAPTEE L KABLT KECOIiZCnONS GOODWOOD CHICHESTEB — ^LADT CHAPEL PKESZXCE OF MIXD MT FIBST TISTF TO THE THEATRE GEOEGE FREDEBICX COOKE COiEMODOBE AXSOX — ZABLT LOXG- IXGS FOB THE XAVT — ^WESTMIKSTEB SCHOOL — ^BABCLAT OF UBB — PEDKSTBIAXLSM — ^BABTHOLOSIEW AXD TOTHILL FIELDS' FAIB THE EPPrSG HTXT SEB FBAXCIS BUBDETT MISS BUBDETT COUTTS CHRISTMAS IN DrBLIX — T. P. COOES — ^LATE E.ABLS OF HABRIXGTOX AXD ABEBDEEX — ASSASSIX.\TI0X OF MB. PEBCEVAt ^FETE AT VAFXHALL — JOrBXET FBOM DCBLTN" TO LOXDON Ef 181-3 — FOGS OF THE OLDEX DATS — BTBOX — JACKSO" THE PUGI LIST — STB GODFBET 'WEBSTKE. VOL. I. CHAPTEE I. ""We have to glance over sixty years in as many minutes," are the opening words of Thack eray's Lecture on the third of the Four Georges ; and they are not unsuited to characterise the present work. My recollections cover almost as long a time, and though I cannot hope to con dense them into the same space, they shall be told with becoming brevity. It is natural that I should linger on the great men with whom I have eome in contact, on the things which I have seen, and the places which I have visited. The names of WeUington, Byron, Kemble, BrummeU, Theodore Hook, Sir Eobert Peel, Count d'Orsay, the Countess of Blessington, Sydney Smith, Car dinal Eesch, Grimaldi, O'Connell, Shiel, Talley rand, are suggestive of many stories, and will recur often throughout these pages. George IV. as Prince Eegent and as King, William IV., the B 2 4 DEAPTS ON MY MEMORY. Dukes of York, Beaufort, Eichmond, and St. Alban's, the Prince Louis Napoleon and the Em peror Napoleon IIL, are among the inmates of my royal and noble gaUery, which is closed by the bust of the late Prince Consort. The readers of my ''Eifty Tears' Biographical Eeminiscences," pubKshed in 1863, need not be under any apprehension of a rechauffe or repetition in the present work. My object then was to relate things personal to myself, the story of my life from year to year. But a man who has lived a Ufe worth teUing, must necessarUy meet with much that cannot, strictly speaking, be told in his life. A man's friends are not his alone, and their adventures, though they come under his know ledge, may be so removed from his sphere that he cannot get an excuse for telling them as parts of his own history. How tantaUsing it is to a con scientious narrator to bind himself down rigidly to what is fit and relevant, may be seen by the way in which others less scrupulous fasten on the least peg for an anecdote. Perhaps I have not much right to complain as regards the present work, for I have chosen a large field, and it would be more easy to curtail than to exceed my limits. One thing I shall do as far as it is in my power ; I shaU avoid known stories and trite sayings. PEEFATOEY WORDS. 5 Perhaps this is not as easy as may be supposed. The worn-out voluptuary who offered an immense reward to the man who would invent a new plea sure, might find many imitators at the present day, so far as regards a new story. Some men have such curious memories that there is nothing novel to them. They can point to the original of every modern anecdote, verify every allusion, and name an old author for the newest epigram. I may warn these judges beforehand that they will find some familiar faces in this gallery. Sometimes the familiar faces creep out of Uttle-kno'wn books, and it is hard to rob the pubHc of a new enjoyment because it is kno-vvn already to the critics. At other times a story has been wrongly told, and it may be well to give the correct version. Or again, there are cases where I have introduced real events into some of my novels, and have added some fictitious colours to suit them to their frame. In aU these instances there may be an absence of perfect novelty, but no sufficient reason for exclusion. I trust it will be found that in describing men I have known, things I have seen, and places I have visited, I have done my best, "errors excepted,"' to trade fairly and honourably, and that these drafts on my memory -wdll not be dishonoured. b DEAETS ON MY MEMORY. but wUl be endorsed by pubHc favour — to the advantage of the credit account of both drawer and drawee. With these prefatory remarks I proceed to my story. My earUest recoUections date from Good wood, the seat of the Dukes of Eichmond. Their domain consists of the three contiguous estates of Goodwood, Halnaker, and Westhampnett, stretch ing along the south side of the smooth and graceful Downs. The mansion of Goodwood stands at the western end of Sussex in a park of twelve hundred acres. Besides its noble coUection of pictures, the house is conspicuous for its architectural merits, and the grounds are rich in most valuable timber. Some fine magnoUas were planted there in 1759, and in 1761 one thousand cedars of Lebanon, one of which measures twenty-five feet round. But the name of Goodwood is best known to EngUshmen for its annual races, and I shaU give a brief sketch of their history. They were estabUshed in 1802, and a Chichester newspaper of that year extoUed the " princely and almost unprecedented munificence of the noble founder, in providing the new erected race-stand with a collation which might be entitled a general refrigarium, for the access was as easy as the reception was elegant and hospitable." In the first year of the races the total of money GOODWOOD STATISTICS. 7 given, stakes and matches, amounted to more than £1,000, but in the years that followed the totals were sometimes no more than £1C0, £280, £260; and it was not tUl after 1825 that they rose to one, and two, and three thousand. In the first twelve years the total was £5,161; in the second twelve years £7,185; while the third twelve years brought in a total of £56,000, and the year 1838 alone £9,480, exceeding each of the first two periods. It would hardly be an exaggeration to rank the present total of one year at £10,000. Chichester, the capital of the county, Ues three mUes from Goodwood, and whUe as capital it possessed a certain importance for me, it has a considerable Uterary interest as the birth-place and burial-place of the poet ColUns. CoUins's father was mayor of Chichester, and the poet passed the last six years of his Ufe in a state of "mental darkness " in his native city. He is buried there in the church of St. Andrew, but a monument to his memory, by Elaxman, has been placed in the Cathedral. The Lady Chapel of the same noble building contains the vaxdt of the Eichmond family, and over the door of the mausoleum the words Domus Ultima are inscribed. These words suggested to Dr. Clarke, one of the residentiaries, 8 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. the foUo-wdng Unes, which show more cleverness than good taste : — " Did he who thus inscribed this waU Not read or not believe St. Paul, "Who says there is — ^where'er it stands — Another house, not built 'with hands ? Or may you gather from these words That house is not— a House of Lords ?" Among my early recoUections of Chichester I may class one event which took place in my thir teenth year, and which, from the effect it produced on my memory, deserves to be recorded. A poor woman living in a lonely cottage had gone out, leaving her three children at home. One of them, a mischievous urchin of about four, set fire to the house whUe playing -with a red-hot poker ; he called his elder sister, and they took to flight ; when all of a sudden the girl, who was not quite six, recollected that the youngest child, a baby in arms, had been left asleep in its cradle. With wonderful courage and presence of mind, she returned to the burning house, and snatched out the helpless infant. A few moments later she herself must have faUen a victim. I have somewhat antedated this occurrence, and my next association with Chichester is consider ably earlier. This one may be of a nature to make the reader smile, but I can assure him that FIRST VISIT TO THE THE.VrRE. 9 at such an early age as mine, it was anything but unimportant. It was here I paid my first visit to the theatre. I was then residing in a small farm house near Stoke with a tutor who was " coach ing" me for Westminster School, and one day when passing a barn in the immediate neighbour hood, our eyes were attracted by a play-bill, announcing the first and only appearance that season of George Frederick Cooke, in Shyloek and Sir Archy Mc Sarcasm. "As you have been very attentive lately," said my dominie, " I have accepted an invitation from Captain Andrews to dine early with him and accompany him to the play." From that moment I could think of no thing but the treat that was in store for me. The day arrived, we went early to Chichester, and in due course to the theatre, which we found crowded in every part, so popular at that time was this reaUy eminent tragedian. The scenery of the small dramatic temple was extremely good, having been painted for the private thea tricals at Eichmond House, and presented by the Duke of Eichmond to the corporation, who owned the premises. When the curtain was drawn up, I never took my eyes off the stage for a moment, and loudly applauded aU the performers, par ticularly the star of the evening. In the cele- 10 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. brated trial scene an event occurred which made a lasting impression on me. The property man not having a stage knife worthy for the Jew, had borrowed one from a butcher ; and Cooke, excited with those stimulants which proved so fatal to his health, made an incautious use of the sharp instrument, wounding himseK severely in the hand. The blood gushed forth, and a sudden scream, followed by a hasty exit, and the lowering of the act drop, told the audience that the accident was serious. While aU were on the tip-toe of expecta tion, the manager came forward, to inform the audience that a surgeon was -with Mr. Cooke, and gave every hope that in a short time he would be able to ftdfil his engagement. The scene recom menced in less than a quarter of an hour. The woimded man was received with cheers when he again appeared, and went through the remaining scenes of the play and the farce with unabated spirit. At the end of the performance my tutor and I went on the stage, and I had the gratifica tion of being introduced to the hero of the even ing, who appeared deUghted with my juvenile eulogiums. " I hope," said he, " when you visit London yon wiU come and see me in a theatre better suited for a Shakespearian play." I promised to do so, but circumstances occurred to prevent COMMODORE ANSON. 11 it, and as he died within a few years I never again saw this actor, "whose genius," according to a critic of the day, "confined itself to a narrow range, and who, albeit he did not play many parts to perfection, played those in which he really exceUed better than anybody else." Next in importance to my first visit to the theatre, which I have dwelt on the more fully as it is a point from which so many boys date the beginning of their lives, I may place my early longings for the na'vy, which were fostered, if not originated, by a retired captain living in Chichester. This old tar told us wonderful yarns about the sea in general, and Commodore Anson in particular. Anything about that name was certain to attract the attention of myself and my brother for this reason. In the stable yard of the inn at Waterbeach, adjoining Goodwood Park, the figure-head of the Centurion, in which Com modore Anson made his voyage round the world, formed a conspicuous object, and many a day did we ruminate over the foUowing lines which were carved on the stone pedestal upon which it rested : — " Stay, traveUer, awhUe and view One who has traveUed more than you ; Quite round the globe through each degree, Akson and I have ploughed the sea. 12 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. Torrid and frigid zones have past. And safe ashore arrived at last. In ease 'with dignity appear. He in the House of Lords, I here." But the "I here" does not apply to Waterbeach any longer, for on the accession of WUliam IV. the sailor king, the figure-head was removed to Windsor, to be gazed upon by more Ulustrious visitors than the trainers, jockeys, and stable boys, who now annuaUy, during Goodwood races, fiock to the Duke of Eichmond's Arms at Water beach. The sight of this figure-head was even more real and tangible than the stories of our Mend, the old tar, or rather it made them more real and tangible. He told us how the gallant navi gator bumed the town of Paita in Peru, where he found a great deal of plunder ; how he lay in wait on the coast of Luzon, for the Acapulco galleon, which annually brought an immense treasure from Mexico in return for goods from ManiUa, and how he captured this rich prize after a smart engagement with a force more than three times his own ; how almost a milUon and a half of doUars and 35,682 ounces of pure sUver, valued together at £400,000 sterling, were found on board ; and how the hero himself was received amidst the shouts and acclamations LONGINaS FOR THE NAVY. 13 of the English people, and was shortly afterwards created a peer of the realm. The description in flamed our young minds to such a degree that all of us, except my two eldest brothers, were 'wild to enter the service, and my brother Henry actually joined it. As far as he was concerned " Heaven soon granted what my sire denied," for my father, a soldier himself, would not hear of any profession but his o-wn. A Lord of the Admiralty happened to visit Goodwood, my brother entered the navy as a midshipman, and within a few years feU overboard from the Blake as she was sailing into Port Mahon, and was unfortu nately drowned. That the naval service is not quite a bed of roses might have been shown us by our naval preceptor, had he not omitted to tell us of Anson's disasters. These did not arise from any fault of the Commodore himself, but from the ignorance and imbeciUty which prevaUed at the Admiralty. Several of the ships of his squadron destined on the breaking out of the Spanish war in 1739 for the west coast of South America, to attack the colonies of Spain, and cut off supplies by intercepting the treasure ships, were iU-conditioned. He was more over obUged to receive on board two hundred and sixty infirm old men, out -pensioners of Chelsea 14 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. College, most of whom were above seventy years of age, and none under sixty, and the sailing of the squadron was delayed till the worst season. Soon after passing Madeira, virulent fever broke out among the crews. Tremendous gales, en countered in rounding Cape Horn, dispersed the ships, so that two were driven back along the coast of BrazU, and never rejoined the squadron. One was 'wrecked on the coast south of ChUoe; and the Commodore's ship, the Centurion, 60 guns, with the Tryal sloop, 8 guns, reached Juan Fer nandez on the 8th of June; whUe the Gloucester, 50 guns, did not arrive until the 23rd of July, having been imder sail for five months in a stormy ocean, " a circumstance unparalleled in the history of navigation." The original complement for the three ships, 800 men, was reduced to 335, and these were shipped with stores on board the Centu rion, when the Tryal and Gloucester, being disabled, were destroyed. At our age such a narrative would not have debarred us from braving the dangers of the sea, but the premature loss of a beloved brother, as well as other circumstances, made us turn our thoughts the more wUUngly to my father's profes sion. Our army was then distinguishing itself under Wellington in the Peninsula, and had recently THE ARMY I.NCTEAD. 15 gained the battle of Salamanca. There was more over a fui'ther inducement to lead me to the mUitary before the naval branch of the united services; the fact that so many of my ancestors had held high military rank and distinguished themselves in divers actions. The first of our branch of the Dukes of Eichmond served as King WUUam' s aide-de-camp in Flanders. The second Duke was aide-de-camp to George IL, and fought under the King at Dettingen. The third (who, by the way, was educated at Westminster) distinguished him self at the battle of Minden; and my father, the fourth Duke, was Colonel of the 35th Foot before he succeeded to the title by the death of his imcle. Like the third Duke, I was sent to Westminster, but as I have aUuded to my school-boy Ufe in my " Fifty Tears' Biographical Eeminiscences," I wUl pass over it here, and wiU merely mention the facts that occurred during my stay in Dean's Tard. My Saturdays and Sundays were usuaUy passed at Eichmond House, which my father had lent to the late Duke of Gordon, then the Marquis of Huntley; and there, among other "worthies" of the time, I met constantly at dinner the celebrated Barclay of Ure. Independent of his prowess as 16 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. a pedestrian, Barclay was an excellent sparrer, and one wet Saturday afternoon, when my brother Frederick and myself were practising 'with the gloves (an amusement at that time highly in vogue), the captain chanced to look in on us. "Bravo, youngsters," said the delighted visitor. " I never saw two better attitudes; no stiffness, knees elastic, body a Uttle bent, head and shoulders forward, hands well up ; capitally stopped and retumed ; a good judge of distance. Never fight at the body ; well hit. There, my boys, that wUl do," exclaimed the Laird, as the last hit drew a considerable quantity of " claret " from the part politely called "smeller" by the chroniclers of the ring. " I hope I have not hurt you," said my brother, holding out his hand. "Not at all," I repUed — although for the moment my feelings beUed my tongue — for a right-hander on the nose is no joke when put in by an athletic youth at once taUer than myself, and much longer in the arm. " Tou are both brave fellows," said Barclay, slipping a guinea into each of our hands; "and I hope some holiday, when your uncle dines out, that you will take a chop with me at the Piazza, and we can drop into Tom Cribb's for an hour, afterwards." BARCLAY OF URE. 17 We thanked the gallant captain ; but preferring the ring at Astley's to the pugUistic ring, we sug gested that a change of the venue would be agree able. Accordingly, after an exceUent dinner at the Piazza, we adjourned to Astley's to see the popular piece of the day, " Blood wiU have Blood ; or, the Battle of the Bridges." At this place a sUght sketch of Eobert Barclay Allardice, Esq., of Ure, may not be uninteresting. He was bom in Scotland, and at eight years of age was sent to England for his education, passing four years at Eichmond, and three at Brixton Causeway school. He afterwards went to Cam bridge. He then entered the service of his coimtry, as an ensign in the 23rd FusUiers, and in 1805 accompanied his regiment to the Continent, his corps forming part of the army which was sent for the protection of Hanover. After a time he was promoted to a company, but saw no actual service untU the fatal expedition to Waleheren, where he acted as aide-de-camp to my uncle, the Marqxds of Huntley. He embarked for that pes tiferous climate a few days after he had finished his pedestrian performance at Newmarket ; and, although greatly reduced by his exertions, escaped the dreadful fever. Barclay, whose weight was twelve stone thirteen pounds, and whose height VOL. I. c 18 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. was five feet ten inches, was a most formidable amateur with the gloves ; he, however, occasionaUy selected too powerful an antagonist, as was the case when he set to with Shaw, the Life Guardsman, immortaUsed in verse by Moore : — " Oh ! shade of the cheeserhonger, you who, alas ! Doubled up by the dozen those Mounseers in brass. On that great day of milling, when blood lay in lakes. When kings held the bottles, and Europe the stakes." When this redoubtable hero first made his appearance at the Fives Court, in Little St. Martin's Lane, nothing would satisfy the undaun ted spirit of the captain but having a bout with the new recruit. Shaw was (to vary his owa. description, the original of which is scarcely suited to ears poUte) "a main good-un" at planting body blows. The weight of the gaUant trooper was fifteen stone, and his height six feet and half- an-inch, which gave him a decided advantage over Barclay. The brave Scot, however, never shrank from punishment, and for some time held his o^wn, tiU Shaw planted so tremendous a blow in his ribs that many were broken. As a practical farmer, Barclay was second to none, and his excellent management brought his estate to the highest perfection. At an early period of his Ufe he was master of a pack of fox- PEDESTRIAN FEATS. 19 hounds in Kincardineshire, and distinguished him self as much in the chase — the "faint image of war" — as he did in its reaUty. Of his pedestrian performance I wUl say briefly, that on the 1st of June, 1809, he started at Newmarket Heath to go on foot one thousand mUes in one thousand suc cessive hours, at the rate of a mUe in each and every hour. This he effected, but as this match has often been recorded, I wUl merely add that it was a most wonderful undertaking, and was only equaUed by one other — that of Thomas Standen, of Salehurst, near SUver HUl Barracks, who in the year 1811, when near the age of sixty, finished the arduous task of walking eleven hundred mUes in as many successive hours, going one mile only in each hour. But I need not refer to modern dates' alone for instances of such feats. Pedes- trianism is of very ancient growth, and the place where the Greek "flyers" held their gathering was eaUed the Stadium, named after a measure 600 feet in length. Upon each side, and at the extre mity, were rows of seats for the spectators, and a rope was run across the entrance, behind which the runners prepared for the start. The winning post was at the end of the Stadium, and the com petitors, being drawn up in a line, started off at the given signal Uke a flight of arrows from a c2 20 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. cross-bow. Among the fastest of ancient Greece and Eome may be mentioned Phidippides, the Deerfoot of that day, Anystis and Philonedes, the latter of whom, when attached to Alexander the Great, accomplished sixty leagues in one day. Phidippides ran a hundred and fifty Eoman miles in two days, being sent from Athens to Sparta, In the reign of Nero a boy ran 75,000 paces between morning and night. Canute's son Harold was so fleet that few horses of the day could beat him; and he could course do-wn a hare, from whence he took his name Harefoot. Our own king, Henry V., and two of his lords, could run down and take any [doe in a large forest ; and Pepys describes how, on the 13th of August, 1664, Lord Castlehaven and Arran, a son of my Lord Ormonde's, alone did, in the presence of King Charles IL, for a wager, run down and kill a stoute buck in St. James's Park. But, perhaps, aU these feats are exceUed by some of the "running footmen" of the Berkeley fanuly. In Smythe's MS., which recounts matters connected with the Berkeleys, and is preserved at Berkeley Castle, we flnd the foUowing narrative of the achievements of one of this now extinct class, who certainly deserved the name given in "Gent's Dictionary, or an Interpretation of Hard BARTHOLOMEW FAIR. 21 EngUsh Words," pubUshed in 1632, "Swift foot men, celeripcdes?'' The story runs : — " Langham, an Irish footman of Henry, Lord Berkeley (in the reign of Elizabeth), upon the sickness of the Lady Catherine, this lord's wife, conveyed a letter from Callowden, near Coventry, to old Dr. Fryer, a physician, dweUing in Little Britaine in London, and retumed with a glass bottle in his hand, com pounded by the doctor for the recovery of her health. A journey of 148 mUes, performed by him in less than forty-two hours, notwithstanding his stay of one night at the physician's house, which no one else could have so weU and safely performed." Among the amusements of Westminster was a visit to Bartholomew and Tothill Fields fairs ; and I "wiE digress for a moment to quote some facts of interest concerning them. The latter originated from a pecuniary difficulty of one of our monarchs. In 1248, Henry III. having been denied money at a ParUament held at Westminster, in which he was plainly told that "they would not impoverish themselves to enrich strangers, their enemies," was "faine, for want of money, to seU his plate and jewels, greatly to his loss;" and when he was afterwards informed that the Londoners had pur chased them, he exclaimed passionately, "If 22 DRAFTS ox MY MEMORY. Octavian's (Augustus Caesar) treasure were to be sold, the city of London would store it up." As a means, therefore, of lessening the affluence of these "rustical Londoners, who caU themselves barons on account of their wealth," he soon after devised the expedient of granting a fifteen days' annual Mr to the Abbot of Westminster, to be held at TuthUl, or Tothill (afterwards TothUl Fields), strictly commanding that,' during that time, aU trade should cease within the city. "All remonstrances were ineffectual; and so far was he from attending to the complaints made on this occasion, that he gave fresh marks of his displeasure by keeping his Christmas in the succeeding year in London, and compelling the citizens to present him with valuable new year gifts." On the 1st September, 1668, we find Pepys writing : — " To Bartholomew Fair, and there saw several sights ; among others, the mare that tells money, and mmiy things to admiration ; and among others, came to me, when she was bid to go to him of the company that most loved a pretty wench in the comer. And this did cost me twelve pence to the horse, which I had flung bim before, and did give me occasion to kiss a mighty belle fiUe that was exceeding plaia, biit fort heUe." EPPING HUNT. 23 Again, on the 12th of AprU, 1669, " By water to the Beai'-gai'den. Here we saw a prize fought between a soldier and a country fellow, one Warrell, who promised the least in his looks, and performed the most of valour in his boldness and evenness of mind, and smiles in aU he did, that ever I saw ; and we were all both deceived and infinitely taken with him. He did soundly beat the soldier, and cut him over the head. Thence back to Whitehall, mightily pleased, all of us, -with this sight ; and particularly this feUow, as a most extraordinary man for his temper and evenness in fighting." The Epping Hunt on Easter Monday has long since ceased to exist, but I cannot refrain from gi-ving an account of the first and only one I attended, and which for fun, life, and absurdity, coxdd not be exceUed. The event came off when I was at Westminster School. Easter had, as usual, set in with its easterly winds, and the Monday was one of those treacherous March days, when a hot sun and a biting cold blast prevail. At an early hour a friend and myself left Park Lane fr-om a Uvery stable, in which we had hired two hunters for the day. From nine tUl eleven o'clock the road to Woodford was lined "with carriages of every form and description, from the barouche 24 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. and four down to the taxed cart; and an incre dible number of horsemen appeared, among whom were many cockney Nimrods, in smart red coats, white corduroy breeches, top boots, and long spurs, each cantering his hired Bucephalus to attract the attention of the assembled multitude. A number of temporary booths for the sale of Uquors, ham, beef, bread and cheese, buns, peri winkles, cakes, tarts, ginger beer, imperial pop, cider, oysters, were erected on the forest ground, each distinguished by a sporting sign, " The Hare and Hounds," " Fox," " Eeindeer," " White Hart," " French Horn," " Stag," &c. About twelve, the deer, which had traveUed in his own carriage from the " Bush," at Wanstead, was un carted, his branching antlers being decorated with gaudy coloured ribbons. After a few minutes' law, the hounds were laid on. Away went sports men, horsemen, footmen, deer, and hounds, to wards BuckhuTst wood, from thence to Eobinson's Eange, and round the enclosures to Deadman's Wood, retumed to Fair Mead Bottom, and on to Loughton Wood, from thence to Robinson's Eange, Golden HUl, and Queen EUzabeth's Lodge. Here the noble animal, being hardly pressed, plunged into Burleigh's pond, from which he was taken aUve, and reserved for another year's sport. FATE OF COCKNEl'S. 25 Many of the equestrians foUowed the chase tUl their horses shut up, and there were the usual number of falls and accidents. Being a Ught weight, and weU moimted, I saw the fun to the greatest advantage. " There's nothing on the other side," cried my friend, as he went at an awful pace at a hedge, upon the other side of which was a ya-vvning ditch. " Come along," I cried, " it's nothing ;" and with this assurance I was foUowed by some half-dozen men, bom within the sound of Bow beUs, who, not putting quite so much powder at it as we did, failed, as the Leices tershire men say, to "negotiate" it, and floundered in the green and foetid water. " Catch my horse ! " " Oh, I'm smothered ! " " Help me out ! " were the cries of these would-be Nimrods, as they and their steeds were dragged out amidst the jeers and gibes of the gaping clods. It was while I was at Westminster that Sir Francis Burdett was committed to the Tower. One day, early in May, 1810, I was passing through PiccadiUy with a "chum" from Mother Pack's, and we found a tumultuous mob coUected round the baronet's house. Every one who passed was compeUed to take off his hat, and cry " Burdett for ever !" We (though rather precocious poUti cians) shouted lustily and heartUy, "Burdett for 26 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. ever ! " And we raised such a clamour that some lookers on, seeing our youth, and the danger we were in, placed us in a safe position within the iron railings that divided the reservoir (that then existed) from the street. The scene we witnessed was most exciting. A body of troops was drawn up in front of the house, and a posse of constables descending the area, burst open the windows and doors. One, bolder than the rest, had mounted a ladder, and having thrown open the sash, was- about to enter the drawing-room, when he was intercepted. The calm dignity 'with which the "friend of the people" shut the window, calling out not to hurt the intruder — the courage of a wife and mother, who betrayed no symptom of alarm, trusting to the temper of her husband — and, lastly, that husband and only son exposed to the danger of a discharge of musketry on the now turbulent mob, were deeply affecting incidents. In a few moments a carriage drove up to the door, and was instantly surrounded by cavalry. Sir Francis, having fruitlessly protested against the violation of his house and his personal liberty, now yielded to force, and entered the carriage, followed by the Sergeant-at-Arms, Mr. Jones Burdett, and a constable. The cavalcade, con sisting of the Life Guards, 15th Hussars, and two BURDETT RIOTS. 27 battaUons of the Guards, proceeded to Albemarle Street. There the Guards fell out, and marched direct to the Tower. The cavalry escort continued in progress, skirting the towa. on the north, imtU it reached its destination, where the pa triotic prisoner was deUvered into the custody of the deputy lieutenant. Fortunately for us, we were obUged to retum to Dean's Tard, and ordered not to leave it, for in the course of the day a riot had taken place, the military had been fired on, and, on their returning the fire, two of the populace shot. In one instance, the coroner's jury brought in a verdict of "justifiable homicide," and in the other, " wilful murder." The Uheration of the worthy baronet on the prorogation of parUament, June 21, was a day of rejoicing ; although Sir Francis himself did not appear, having left the Tower by water. The whole town was in commotion; every precaution was taken for keeping the peace. The cavalry were assembled in and about the metropoUs; and a park of artUlery was stationed near the Horse Guards. The fineness of the day, every window fiUed ¦with well-dressed persons wearing garter blue ribbons ; processions with bands of music ; banners, inscribed "Trial by Jury," "The Con stitution," "Freedom of Election," added to the 28 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. briUiancy of the scene. I, decked out in a garter blue watch ribbon and favour, shouted, as I did ever afterwards, "Burdett for ever!" In the evening, my " chum " and myself went to Covent Garden Theatre, where the excitement of the morn ing was kept up. The play was " Henry VIIL," followed by " The Waterman." John Kemble, Cardinal Wolsey ; Cooke, Bluff Harry ; Charles Kemble, Cromwell; Mrs. Siddons, Queen Katharine; Mrs. Davenport, The Old Lady ; and the pretty Miss Bristow, Anne Boleyn. In the after-piece, we had the foUowing concentration of talent : — Incledqn, Listen, Blan- chard, Mrs. Davenport, and Miss Bolton (after wards Lady Thurlow). In the coimcU scene in " Henry VIIL," where Cranmer appears, every sentiment that bore upon the case was appUed to the recent imprisonment of Sir Francis Burdett. "When the Lord ChanceUor uttered the lines — " It stands agreed, I take it, by aU voices, that forth'with You be conveyed to the Tower a prisoner," there was a great deal of hissing, which was re newed when the Archbishop exclaimed — " Is there no other way of mercy. But I must needs to the Tower ?" When the King said — " I had thought I had had AN ARISTOCRATIC DEMOCRAT. 29 men of some understanding and wisdom, of my coimeil," a burst of applause broke forth from pit, boxes, and gaUeiy; so great was then the popu larity of " England's pride and Westminster's glory." In after years I had the pleasure of meeting Sir Francis in society and in the House of Commons. At his request I canvassed for John Cam Hob house, the present Lord Broughton, when he stood for Westminster in 1820, much to the horror of my Tory relations and friends, who in those days looked upon the Wings as leveUers, anarchists, and destructives. Burdett, who was descended from Hugh de Burdett, a foUower of WiUiam the Conqueror, and claimed the baronies of Berkeley, Tyes, Latimer, and Badlesmere, in right of his descent from the heirs female of these houses, was the younger son of a yoimger son, and it was only after a series of unexpected deaths that he succeeded to the titie and estates of this ancient and affluent fanuly. At the age of three and twenty he married a daughter of Thomas Coutts, the baiiker, by whom he had issue Eobert, that son to whom he was teaching Magna Charta when the Sergeant-at-Arms showed him the Speaker's warrant for his arrest ; and Angela Burdett Coutts, whose benevolence is proverbial, and is not merely 30 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. the effect of a warm and feeUng heart, sympa thising -with the suffering all human fiesh is heir to, but is based on a lively and established Christian faith. In society Sir Francis was most agreeable, and albeit he at one time professed democratic views, he was a thorough aristocrat in personal feeUng. There was something very winning in his soft silvery voice, whether in private or public, and his handsome and commanding appearance, his neatness in dress, and gentleman like deportment made him the heau ideal of a high bred EngUsh gentleman of the old school. My Christmas hoUdays the next year were spent at the Phoenix Park, as my father was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. At that time T. P. Cooke was a member of the Eoyal Hibernian Theatre, Dublin, and acted under the name of Mr. Cooke. Dublin could then boast of two theatres, the Theatre Eoyal, and the Eoyal Hibernian, and each had a phalanx of talent unprecedented in Ireland. They could show the names of Miss O'NeU, afterwards Lady Becher, who was then in her teens. Miss Walstein, Messrs. Conway, Farren, and many others only second to them in fame. The "Lady of the Lake" had been pubUshed on the 10th of May, 1810, and the critics had pronounced it "the most interesting, romantic, picturesque, THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 31 and graceful of the author's poems." They de clared that the rocks, the ravmes, and the torrents were not the imperfect sketches of a hurried traveller, but the finished studies of a resident artist, deliberately drawn from different points of view, and the figures which were combined -with the landscape were painted with the same fidelity. Like those of Salvator Eosa, they were perfectly appropriate to the spot on which they stood. The boldness of feature, the Ughtness and compactness of form, the -wildness of air, and the careless ease of attitude of the mountaineers were as congenial to their native highlands as the birch and the pine which darkened their glens, the sedge which fringed their lakes, or the heath which waved over their moors. No wonder after the above panegyric that managers were anxious to produce a dramatic version of the poem. Both the managers of the DubUn theatres set to work -with this view, and -with that of bringing out a piece worthy of the talent which was to be employed in it. At the Theatre Eoyal the cast of the "Lady of the Lake" was powerful. Misses O'Neil and Walstein ap peared as the representatives of the two leading characters, the latter as Ellen Douglas, the former as Blanche of Devon. Conway looked James Fits- james to the Ufe. At the Eoyal Hibernian, where 32 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. the play was caUed the " Knight of Snowdon," some actors afterwards known to fame appeared in the principal characters. H. Johnston was Rhoderick Dhu; Wallack, Norman; Cooke, Red Murdoch; nothing could exceed the beauty of the scenery, and the play created a furore among the warm-hearted Irish. As the manager went on the principle of not " keeping more cats than could kUl mice," the services of some of his performers were pressed into other pieces, and thus Cooke appeared as Clown in a pantomime caUed " GU Bias, or Harlequin Peregrinations." After H. Johnston left the company, Cooke was promoted from Red Murdoch, the treacherous guide, to be chief of Alpine's clan, and no one who has seen his noble bearing in this character would have recognised him in the grotesque part of the Clown. My father and mother once attended the theatre incog, accompanied by many of us young sters; and as Cooke's benefit was to take place the night before my brother Frederick and I were to leave Dublin, we persuaded my father to take us. The performance consisted of " The Death of Cap tain Cook," and for that night only a Harlequinade called "Clown's Metamorphosis." Clown, Mr. Cooke; Old Man, Mr. Cooke; Lover, Mr. Cooke; Columbine, Mr, Cooke. BEHIND THE SCENES. 33 Although the heneficlaire lacked the fun of Grimaldi, by the aid of youth and great agility he bustled through the part most satisfactorily, and gave great delight to his audience. At the end of the performance, my mother, my brother Frederick and myself, urged my father to go behind the scenes and look at their wonders. The manager, wax candles in hand, after the most approved manner of receiving Ulustrious guests, conducted us to the stage and green-room ; when the pantomimic tricks were duly displayed by the attentive property man, who explained to us the mysteries of the world behind the curtain. He showed us how the transformations were managed ; how the sprites descended and ascended through the "traps;" how the nimble Harlequin, the active Clown, and the " sUppered Pantaloon " were caught in blankets after their leaps through clock dials, shop windows, picture frames, and looking glasses ; how the smaUest of boys was introduced into a sham goose's skin ; how a few daubs of paint, some gold and sUver leaf, green and red tinsel, produced the splendid fairy, scene ; how some spangles, se-wn on a coarse parti-coloured suit, made Harlequin gUtter Uke gold ; and how a white caUco garb, with a few quaint crimson and blue devices, some chalk and red paint, could change VOL. I. D 38 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. who is now no more, and being known to the door-keepers, I felt more important than when I took my seat in the House for King's Lynn twenty years afterwards. As we approached the lobby we saw that there had been some unusual com motion, and we were soon informed that Mr. Perceval, whom I had met at Lord Maryborough's house, had been shot by BelUngham. We, with aU other strangers, 'W^re requested to withdraw, and we mshed back to Westminster full of the news. The "law's delay" was not so great then as now, at least where delay might reasonably have been granted. Bellingham's crime was com mitted on the llth of May ; he was tried and found guUty on the 15th, and executed on the 18th. AJmost immediately after this tragic event, our Westminster school days were pleasantly broken by a visit to the Grand Fete at Vauxhall, in honour of the battle of Vittoria. This victory, which took place on the 12th of May, 1812, and completed the great project of expelUng the French from Spain, was haUed with the utmost enthusiasm in England. Captain Fremantle, aide- de-camp to the Marquis of WeUington, who brought the prizes taken at Vittoria — ^the baton of a French Field Marshal, and the colours of FETE AT VAUXHALL. 39 the 4th battaUon of the 100th regiment — was re ceived -with honours nearly equal to those lately paid to Garibaldi. "Tou have sent me," wrote the Prince Eegent to Wellington, "among the trophies of your xmrivaUed fame, the staff of a French Marshal, and I send you in retum that of England. The British army wiU haU it -with enthusiasm, while the whole universe "wiU acknow ledge those valorous efforts which have so con spicuously caUed for it." Through the kindness of my imcle. Lord Huntley, I and one of my brothers received tickets for the fete which was arranged at Vaux hall Gardens, then a most fashionable place of amusement. It was my first visit, and the festival I witnessed was one of the grandest ever held in that " royal property." So greatly had the pubUc expectation been ex cited, that fifteen pounds was offered for a single ticket. It required a most virtuous resolution to prevent our converting two small pieces of paste board into a thirty-pound note; but respect for the donor, and the "stUl small voice of conscience," dispeUed the idea. At four o'clock the doors were thrown open, and a most splendid scene presented itself. The whole of the covered buUd ings, -with the addition of a temporary saloon. 36 DRAFTS 0N MY MEMORY. Lord Aberdeen, who was a high-bred, dig nified nobleman, commenced a conversation with his neighbour, who, as we have already said, was decorated. The talk turned upon the navy. T. P. (or Tippy, as he was called by his brethren of the sock and buskin) became very energetic on the subject, and gave his lordship so vivid a description of the engagement he had taken part in, of the ships in which he had served, and of their captains, that Lord Aberdeen became deeply interested in the subject, and curious to know with whom he was speaking. After sundry fruit less diplomatic attempts to find this out, a casual remark proved more successful. " There is a won derful change in the tar of the present day from that of Fielding's and Dibdin's times," said Lord Aberdeen. " I beUeve you," answered Cooke, and was ahout to rival the rotundity of Paul Bedford's sentence, " I bele-e-eve you, my my bo-oy," when the sedate look of his companion checked him. Lord Aberdeen proceeded — " The use or rather abuse of tobacco and grog has greatly diminished." " And the dreadful oaths," chimed in the actor, "no longer disgrace the ship from the quarter-deck do-wn to the cock-pit." "The punishment of the lash is less frequent," remarked my lord. "And midshipmen are not subjected to the degradation ASSASSINATION OF PERCEVAL. 37 of a flogging iu the captain's cabin," interrupted Cooke, "or mast-headed for hours for the most tri'vial offences." "The system is greatly im proved," said the Premier, evidently deliberating on the subject, when he was startled from his momentary reverie by T. P. Cooke, who had been excited by the discussion, exclaiming in a louder voice than before, "But if your lordship would like to see what a real tar was, and what a real tar ought to be, come across the water some night and " — as Lord Aberdeen looked up with surprise, and wondered what was coming ¦^— " see me as William in ' Black-eyed Susan.' " The spring of the year 1812 was marked by an event of great and lasting interest. As a peer's son, I supposed myself entitled to the privilege of going behind the bar of the House of Lords and under the strangers' gallery in the House of Com mons, and wMle at Westminster I often attended both Houses. But it was not so much my rank that procured me the admission which was refused to so ihany others, as my intimate friendship with my uncles, the then Marquis of Huntley and Earl Bathurst, and my acquaintance with the late Sir Eobert Peel, whom I knew in Dublin when he was Secretary for Ireland. On the llth of May, 1812, I went down to the House -with a friend. 34 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. the "human face divine" into a mask. After inspecting everything worthy of note behind the scenes, we all proceeded to the stage door, where the carriage was in waiting ; when in passing the green-room door we met the Clown, who had re mained behind to arrange some stage business 'with the Harlequin. " I forget his name," said my father, who, although he made it a rule to patronise the drama, did not take especial in terest in .the performance. "Cooke," responded the manager. " I congratulate you, Mr. Cooke," said my father : " I've seen Grimaldi very often, and am delighted with your performance." Cooke bowed his acknowledgments. "Pray," continued the Viceroy, "is Mr. Cooke, who looked so weU, and acted Rhoderick Vick Alpine the other night with such spirit, any relation of yours ?" "Avery near one," responded the actor. "He stands before you, for, ' Saxon, I am Rhoderick Dhu.'' " My father smiled, and shook hands with the artist, declaring he had never seen so wonderful a metamorphosis. A story was told me of T. P. Cooke, which reflects greatly to the credit of his friend and patron, the fourth Earl of Harrington — then Lord Petersham — and to that of the distinguished statesman, the fourth Earl of Aberdeen. Lord Harrington was ever attentive to those theatrical T. P. COOKE AND A MINISTER. 35 persons who had been on friendly terms "with the Countess when on the stage, and among them Cooke ranked high. He had been invited to dine at Harrington House, on an evening when his attendance at the theatre was not required, and upon taking leave of his host and hostess, the former said, "We hope to have the pleasure of seeing you this day fortnight." Nothing more occurred untU the day named for the dinner, when punctuaUy at half-past seven Cooke was at the door of his noble friend's house; he was ushered in, and found that two or three persons with whom he was unacquainted, had already arrived. Lord and Lady Harrington had both been startled at the announcement of " Mr. Cooke," for the truth flashed across them both that the day they had named for a smaU snug coterie was the one on which they had previously invited a large poUtical party to meet the Earl of Aberdeen. But they were too highly bred to show the sUghtest dif ference in their manner, and few in the room, if any, recognised Mr. Cooke (who wore his naval medal) as the talented representative of Long Tom Coffin, and other nautical characters. The dinner passed off weU, and when the gentlemen were left to themselves, Cooke found himself next to the Premier. d2 40 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. were converted into dining-rooms. The rotunda held the table of the President, the late Duke of Tork. This table was raised on a platform some feet from the ground, so as to be visible through the entire range of the halls, and the whole was arranged in a crescent ; two lines of tables being placed dosvn the length of the saloon, and smaller ones occupying the vacant spaces. The temporary saloon was singularly beautiful; it occupied a large space interspersed with trees, the branches of which supported a canopy of British, Spanish, and Portuguese flags. At flve o'clock the military bands in the gardens struck up the " Duke of Tork's March," and the stewards, who were dis tinguished from the rest of the company by wearing white ribbons ornamented 'with laurel leaves, went to receive his Eoyal Highness. A few minutes after, he entered, accompanied by his brothers the Dukes of Kent, Sussex, and Glouces ter. The dinner, which, -with the exception of the turtle soup, was cold, was then announced," and the company, consisting of more than twelve hundred, took their seats. The coup deceit was truly beautiful. The orchestra, which had been converted into a tent, was hung with flags, laurels, and festoons of flowers; the interior was ornamented with massive gold and silver plate, with a bust of MARQUIS OF WELLINGTON. 41 Wellington on a pedestal at the summit, and at the foot the bdton of Marshal Jourdan, wliich had been taken in the battle. Two trumpeters stood in front of the pUe, and between them a grenadier of the Guards held the colours of the 100th French regiment of the line. The entire company were in mUitary or naval uniform, or fuU dress, with the exception of two urchins, one of whom the reader wiU probably recognise as the present writer, and who tried to look as important as possible in blue jackets, white waistcoats, and trousers. The con clusion of the dinner was announced by a flourish of trumpets, when Non Nobis Domine was admirably sung by the professional singers. The usual toasts were given and received with due honours; but, when the royal president proposed the health of " Field Marshal the Marquis of Wellington," the assemblage rose simultaneously, and gave nine such hearty cheers as proved how much they valued the great services and splendid victories of their warrior countryman. The Marquis of Huntley presided in the temporary saloon, and it was my good fortune to be placed near him ; nothing could exceed his good humour and merriment ; he UteraUy kept the table in a roar. At nine o'clock the ladies began to arrive, but as there were no poUce in those days, and as, " Uke master Uke 46 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. were stopped, and my excuse proved perfectly vaUd. The fog was accompanied by a severe frost, which was general throughout the three kingdoms, and continued without interruption for sis weeks. During that time I had to come to London for a visit to Mr. Waite's (the dentist) " Chamber of Horrors," in Old Burlington Street, and I passed the 4th of February in the fair on the Thames, breakfasting, dining, and seeing all the shows that stood on the thick-ribbed surface of the river. One of the most interesting memories of my early days is the hasty glimpse I had of Lord Byron. Vidi tantum, I may say with one of the authors whom I knew more famiUarly then than I do now. We met first at a place famiUar to the readers of Byron's life. During the interval between my leaving West minster and going to a private tutor's at Little- wick Green, near Maidenhead, I received tickets for Jackson's sparring-rooms, in Old Bond Street, and went there with an old Dean's Tard chum, named Edgar. It was about this period that the question of forming a society, to be caUed " The PugiUstic Club," was first agitated; and upon the occasion I refer to, a large party of the elite of fashionable amateurs, and a strong muster of BYRON AS A PUGILIST. 47 " professionals," were assembled to discuss the rules and regulations that were to govern the P. C. A sporting publican, well kno-mi to all Westminster boys, who, to use his o^wn phraseologj'-, saw that "we were troubled -with the shies," as we sneaked, rather than walked, into the room, quickly approached us, and presented us to the proprietor of the rooms as two " oudacious var ments, up to any lark from a duck-hunt in TothUl Fields to a mUl at Moulsey Hurst." Jackson was aU kindness, and pointed out to us some of the "Uons" of the ring — Tom Cribb, the Belchers, OUver, the two blacks, Eichmond and MoUneux, and last, not least, GuUy, who, strange to say, exactly twenty years afterwards, often sat by me in the House of Commons, when we were both members of ParUament. During the afternoon, as the rooms were thin ning, a young man, about five-and-twenty years of age, made his appearance. There was some thing so striking in his look, so inteUectual in his countenance, and so thorough-bred in his maimer, that I was aU anxiety to know who he was. In height he was about five feet eight inches and a half; his Ught grey eyes were full of expression, and, as I shortly witnessed, could weU portray joy, sadness, anger, and rage. His mouth and 44 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. depth of their feelings. The ladies waved their. handkerchiefs, the men cried "God speed you!" and the million testified their regard by shouts — genuine Irish shouts. I pass over the voyage, which was slow and wretched, for the wind was east and dead against us, "as if," to quote the remark of a courtier to my father, " even the elements conspired against your Grace leaving ould Ireland." In about four-and-twenty hours — at that time reckoned a wonderfully quick passage — we reached Holyhead, and were soon on our journey to London. And oh how tedious was that journey ! The distance from Holyhead to London was 278 miles by road, with an open ferry at Bangor to cross ; and although our cortege, which consisted of the large famUy coach* and a travelling chariot, with four horses each, was no slower than other conveyances of the same class, we were four days and a half on the road. During the fine months we generally started about nine o'clock, but allowing time for stoppage when changing horses and meals, we seldom did more than sixty mUes a day. At the period I 'write of the Eed Lion at Henley was famed for the atten tion of the landlady, the tidiness of the house, and the excellence of the mutton chops ; and so much was it in favour, that my family, in going to or FOGS. 45 returning from Ireland, always contrived to dine and sleep there the fii-st or last nights. .It was at the Eed Lion, Henley, that Shenstone wrote his celebrated lines. It was there that, according to the chronicler, George IV. ate an extraordinary quantity of mutton chops ; and it is there, even now, that crowds of the highest rank flock to witness the annual regatta. Sometimes, indeed, there were more serious causes of detention on the old roads. Not to speak of accidents or highwaymen, what do you say to a fog paralysing the whole intercourse of the kingdom ? In December, 1813, when I was on my way from Goodwood to Donnington near Newbury, where I was "coaching" for the army, the fog near London was so thick that the Chi chester coach had to engage link-boys to escort it from Hyde Park Comer to the White Horse CeUar, PiccadUly. These same "Ughts of other days" had to attend myself and the old hackney- coach from thence to Eichmond House, Whitehall, and to Covent Garden Theatre in the evening, where I insisted on going to see the new pan tomime. Next morning the fog was still thicker, and I took advantage of it to play truant while it lasted. It lasted no less than eight days, and extended fifty mUes round London ; many coaches 42 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. man," the coachmen had been drinking the health of the hero of a hundred battles, there was a considerable delay, and it was nearly eleven o'clock before all the company had been set down. At that hour the Princess of Wales made her appear ance, and was hailed with the loudest greetings. Owing to the number of vehicles, and the reckless ness ' of the drivers, the breakage of poles and panels made the night gratefully memorable to the coachmakers. The general effect of the gardens was now Uke a scene in a fairy tale. The fagades of all the buildings and the colonnades were ornamented with variegated lamps, expressing the names of those officers of high rank who had distinguished themselves in the Peninsula, and the places where the British arms had been victorious. At the back of the orchestra was a portrait of WeUington receiving from a soldier the bdton of the French Marshal. The fineness of the weather, the pro fuse blaze of lights, the uniforms of the guests, and the beauty of our fair countrywomen, all combined to render this national fete one of the most brilliant entertainments eyer given in Eng land. In 1813 my father was succeeded by Lord ¦Whitworth in the lord lieutenancy of Ireland, and A viceroy's abdication. 43 on the 26th of August the new viceroy entered Dublin Castle. I had just left Westminster, and was present at the investiture ; but brilliant as was the sight, it was mournful to me. My father had held the post for many years, and we had too many pleasant memories of Ireland, where our hoUdays were generally spent, to part from it with out regret. The next morning my father held an undress levee at the Castle, which was most numerously attended, and at half -past tw.elve o'clock we em barked on board his Majesty's yacht, William and Mary, on our retum to England. Lord Whitworth and my father in the state carriage, preceded by others, went slowly through the city to the south waU, where the yacht lay. The streets were lined by regiments of infantry doing duty in Dublin, and a squadron of dragoons formed an escort. The lord mayor, sheriffs, principal citizens, and a large number of the nobiUty and persons of dis tinction, foUowed by an immense concourse of people, joined the procession to the water side. Nothing could exceed the demonstrations of re spect that were paid to my father, for he had made himself popular with all classes; and as he took leave of the newly-appointed viceroy, a cheer burst forth from the multitude that showed the 48 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. chin were exquisitely fine ; his head and ears small, with a high narrow forehead ; his fine dark brown curls contrasted well with his pallid complexion; his teeth, which he took care to show, were pearly white. " Come, Jack," said the young pupU, " we must have a set-to to-day ; I have not yet recovered my yesterday's dinner." " Tou look rather jaded," responded the corporeal pastor. "And to-morrow we are to meet at Cribb's," continued the other. " I have promised Huntley to support him in the chair. ' Company, villainous company, hath been the sport of me';' but where are the gloves?" " Here, my lord," replied the instructor. As they were handed to him, and as he moved across the room, a looker-on was injudicious enough to remark that he laboured under a slight lameness, which he evidently attempted to conceal. Byron answered by a look of scornful rage, which was instantaneously exchanged for the most winning smile, when he heard my companion ask me sotto voce whether I had ever seen so handsome a face or so aristocratic a hand. Who could have recog nised the noble bard — the poet of the passions — who a few weeks before had published the " Giaour" "the HEART WHERE SOEEOW SITS." 49 — in this impetuous aspirant for fistic honours — this modern Corinthian? It was at this period that "the internal tempest, the deep passion, sometimes buried, and sometimes blazing from some incidental touch — ^the intensity of agonising reflection which distingidshed Byron from other "writers — ^now began to display themselves." Who that saw the gay and buoyant spirits of the yoimg enthusiast — ^now singing snatches of flash songs, now giving a vivid description of some recent execution, now asking after the heroes of the ring, now describing the tiger's supper at Exeter Change, now teUing some piquant story of the aristocracy, now fuU of some green-room scandal, now extemporising a couplet to that emperor of pugilism, " Jackson the Brave " — could bring himself to beUeve that he was the author of those beautiful Unes, shortly afterwards given to the pubUc — " When from the heart where Sorrow sits. Her dusky shadow mounts too high. And o'er the changing aspect flits, And clouds the brow, or fiUs the eye ; Heed not 'that gloom, which soon shaU sink ; My thoughts their dungeon know too weU ; Back to my breast the wanderers shrink. And droop 'within their sUent ceU." "Now, Jackson," continued Byron, "we must have a regular bout to-day. I must reduce my VOL. I. E 50 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. weight ; two hours' sparring, to be followed by a regular 'banyan' day — tea and dry biscuits — ' Fat paunches have lean pates, and dainty bits Make rich the ribs, but bankrupt^quite the wits.' Eh, Jack?" The master of the art gave a tacit assent, and while preparing the "mufflers" the pupil pro ceeded : — " My head aches with the vintages of various cellars, and my brains are as thick and muddled as what is termed fine mUitary port. The 'potations pottle deep' of claret have quite upset me. I brought away two bottles of splendid wine last night ; besides which I have fed like an alderman for the last week, and untU I can retum to the old system — a fried whiting and a glass of bucellas — I shall neither be able to scribble, spar, nor place a bullet within ten inches of the bull's eye; my hand shakes Uke an aspen leaf" (and here the poet took off one of the gloves, and showed the smallest and whitest male hand I ever saw, and which he seemed not a little proud of). " Besides, I'm getting as fat as a second Daniel Lambert. ' Oh ! that this too too soUd flesh would melt.' Now, shake hands, and let us try the effect of a right and left hander." Throwing himself into an attitude, the young nobleman showed some scien- MY TWO MEETINGS WITH BYRON. 61 tific sparring, was evidently a sharp hitter, and possessed what the thimble-riggers were wont to call " a quick h'eye, and a good h' observation." After the fii-st " set to," Byron having heard that we were "old" Westminsters, talked most affably to us, described his prowess at Harrow, asked after my tutor. Jemmy Dodd, lauded Long- lands, one of the masters, as the neatest skater he had ever met, and was loud in his praise of Tothill Fields and its fair. He ended by saying that if ever we passed his lodgings. No. 4, Bennet Street, he would be happy to see us. Unfortunately when I caUed, the author of " ChUde Harold" was from home, and, except once behind the scenes of Drury Lane Theatre, I never saw him again. Although no incident worth recording took place during my second interview with him, I cannot refrain from-dwelling on it. Early in the spring that succeeded my meeting him at Jackson's, I was invited by the late Sir Godfrey Webster to dine at Stevens's hotel, and accompany him to Drury Lane to see Kean in "Othello." The theatre was crowded almost to suffocation, and the only box the worthy baronet of Battle Abbey had been able to procure was a proscenium one, usually placed at the disposal of the stage manager, but let or lent to patrons of the drama during b2 52 DB,AFTS ON MY MEMORY. the unprecedented run of the traly eminent tragedian. 'While waiting with anxiety — a school boy's anxiety — for the drawing-up of the old green curtain, I suddenly caught a glimpse of Byron entering the orchestra, accompanied by a friend. He looked up, noticed my companion, and I fiat- tered myself I was included in the recognition, "Tou know Byron, then?" said Sir Godfrey. "I should have fancied he was too much of a Liberal for your Tory circle." I must here remark that in those days poU tics were carried to such an excess that "Whig and Tory seldom met in social Ufe; and I should never have known the radical baronet had it not been from an accidental meeting -with him at Brighton, where he took a liking to me for what in those days were considered Uberal opinions. I repUed that I had met the noble lord at Jackson's, and that I was most anxious to renew my acquaint ance. " That you shall do," he responded, " after the play, for he is sure to pay Kean and his old friends a visit in the green-room — that is, unless Moore lures him away to some party." "Moore?" I repeated. "Tes; that is the identical Anacreon you have heard so much of," continued my companion. " I'U HONEST lAQO. 63 inti'oduee you to him, and thus kUl a brace of poets with one shot." The ciu'tain rose shortly afterwai'ds, all eyes wore tiu'ned to the stage, and a breathless silence ensued, which was followed by a burst of applause that shook the walls of old Drmy, as Roderigo and lago appeared. It was some moments before Roderigo (HHihl obtain a hearing, so vociferous were pit, boxes, and gallery, in their reception of Edmund Kean, and the cheers were deafening when he uttered the lines : — " For when my outwai-d action doth demonstrate The native act and figure of my heart In compliment extern, 'tis not long after But I wiU wear my heai't upon my sleeve. For da'ws to peck at." I own that during the perfonnance, my attention Avas divided between the actor and his warmest admirer, Byron ; I watched the countenance of the latter, and saw the effect produced upon him by Kean's passionate energy. Moore, too, seemed to share his friend's enjoyment, and the ovation paid by the entire house to the actor's genius was such as I never heard before or since. When the curtain dropped, Webster said in an imder-tone (for we had been joined by two fiiends of his, whom he did not -wish to taJce behind the scenes), " Come along, or we shall miss the Childe." We 54 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. left the box. Sir Godfrey sent in his card to one. of the committee who happened to be in the green-room, and we were requested to walk into that privileged sanctum. It was the first time I had ever been behind the scenes of a London theatre, and I gazed with astonishment at the activity that prevailed there. The performers who had acted in " Othello " cross ing the stage to their respective' dressing-rooms ; carpenters removing the streets, rooms, and plat forms of a seaport in Cyprus, and preparing those . of a modem English farce ; the property-man looking for Desdemona's fatal handkerchief, the piUow that smothered " that excellent nature," and the lighted lamp, that "flaming minister;" the prompter walking to and fro as if to take breath, after having been immured in his contracted box for nearly three hours. But the group that riveted my attention consisted of four or flve persons in evening dress, surrounding the star of the evening. We approached the party just as they were moving towards the green-room, and entering it, I had the good fortune to he introduced to the representative of lago and Thomas Moore, and, to add to my deUght, to shake hands -with Byron, who at once recognised me from our having met at Jackson's.. " Tou must come and sup with us to-night at byron's faults. 55 Stevens's," said Sii- Godfrey, addressmg Byron and Moore, " and perhaps Mr. Kean wiU give us the pleasm-e of his company." The two poets and the actor both pleaded previous engagements, which I should have regretted much more had it not been that their engagements were late, and I had the adA-^antage of passing nearly half an hour with them in the green-room. Half a century has elapsed since then, and the name of Byron is now a classic in England. From the time I first met him tUl now I have ever felt the greatest admiration for the ill-fated poet. True, he had his faults, but who is Avithout them? Among those who have done justice to his memory may be mentioned the Duchess D'Abrantes, and there is much truth in the follow ing remarks which I have taken the Uberty of translating from her exceUent French into my indifferent EngUsh, leaving the word mechant to be AngUcised by my readers, as Avicked is too strong, and mischievous too mild : — " He was after aU much more human and less demoniac than the world believed him to be. No, I do not beUeve that Lord Byron was haK as bad as they made him out ; moreover, I think that he was made mechant, but that he was not so by nature." Soured by a deformity in his limbs, and 56 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. neglected by those who ought to have guided hia youthful course, he became reckless and indifferent to the world's good opinion; the incense and flattery that were heaped upon him, when, to use his oAvn expression, he " awoke and found him self famous," might have turned a stronger head than his; wHle the venomous attacks that were levelled against him were calculated to harden him. Poor Bjron, "With all thy faults I love thee still." And there is no lack of amiable traits in his character to justify our partiality, The following anecdote, which will be new to many of my readers, bears witness to his ready kindness. A lady named Miss Francis called upon him in the Albany, some fifty years ago, with a historical poem called tho Eival Eoses, which she Avished to show first to the great poet. On looking at the title-page, he exclaimed hastily, "Where the deuce did you find your motto ? " "In your 'Hours of Idleness,'" was the reply. "Tou might have found something better, I should thinlc." " Perhaps I am of a different opinion." His lordship bowed, and the lady smiled. Two days after the interview the poet sent the poetess GALLANTRY OF A MIDDY. 57 a highly complimentary note, and a cheque for £50. Sir Godfrey Webster, under whose auspices I met Byron for the second time, had acted as aide- de-camp to Lord Beresford, and in early Ufe had seen some active service. He told me an anec dote of a young " middy," which I should have taken a deeper interest in at the time, had I knoAvn that I was destined to become an intimate fiiend of the hero of the story. This was Captain Claxton, of the royal navy, who, when I had a yacht, often managed her, and whom I met annuaUy at Cowes, as both of us belonged to the Fitzhardinge squadron. Sir Thomas Hardy, who commanded the Triumph man-of-war, a seventy- four, the first ship he had after the battle of Trafalgar, where he played so conspicuous a part, was proceeding to Lisbon, and had on board Lady Hardy, Charles Wynn, on a pleasure trip to the theatre of war. Sir Godfrey Webster, and others. Claxton was a midshipman in the Triumph, and one day when walking on the deck he heard the cry of "man overboard." This is at aU times a startling sound, and would have scared the nerves of many a youngster ; but the middy was made of good mettle. In a second he had jumped off the poop, and saved the man, who had faUen 58 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. from the fore part of the ship. " Jack," who was an able-bodied seaman, was all gratitude. Everybody on board lauded the youth's daring, who quietly said, "At one time I thought it was all over Avith me, for the sea ran high, and the man struggled aAvfuUy." CHAPTER II. GAZETTED TO THE BLUES — THANKSGIVING DAY, 1814 — ENTRY OF THE PRINCESS ALEXANDRA — COLONEL QUINTIN — ELEGANT EX TRACTS — THE DUKE OF 'WELLINGTON'S EMBASSY TO PARIS — ACCOMPANY TTTM — ADVENTURES ON HORSEBACK — THB DUEE'S KINDNESS — SHOOTING WITH ROYAL DUKES — " PULL " — EXCUR SION TO ST. CLOUD — napoleon's LIBRARY — EXPECTED ATTEMPT ON LOUIS XVm. — THE DUKE OF ORLEANS — LOUIS PHILIPPE CLAREMONT — NAPOLEON's ESCAPE FROM ELB.A. — BRUSSELS IN may, 1815 — sir peregrine maitland — lord hay — sib pere grine's bkig.^de m.vjor— death of t"wo early friends — adventure at paris — les anglaises pour bire — salon des Strangers — statisiics of gambling. CHAPTEE II. As I have hinted in the preceding chapter, my studies at Westminster were brought to a prema ture end in a way which was most interesting to me. I Avas not a Uttle surprised one day when the head-master. Dr. Cary, caUed me up, and said, " Are you aAvare that you are gazetted to a cometcy in the Eoyal Horse Guards (Blues)?" I repUed that the Duke of WeUington had given me some hopes of a commission in that distinguished corps, but that I had never dreamt of its being brought about so soon. There, however, it Avas. The novel and pleasing sensation of seeing my name so pubUcly paraded — of being suddenly transformed from a schoolboy into an officer in his Majesty's service, Avas enough to tum my head. However, I Aras not to develop aU at once into the fuU- blown digmty of regimentals^ though I was removed from Westminster, and placed at a private tutor's 62 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. to prepare for my new career. My first tutor's was at LittlcAvick Green, near Maidenhead, and from thence I was shortly removed to Donnington, near Newbury. My youth had been passed in stirring times, and my new appointment of course filled my mind Avith dreams of martial glory. But these dreams were rudely shaken. The disastrous invasion of Eussia, the general rising of Germany, the glorious efforts of the English in the Spanish Peninsida, had done their work on the First Empire, and instead of marching and countermarching, being shot for sis- pence in the battle-field, and shoveUed up into a bloody trench, I was soon Avitnessing the grand ceremony of returning thanks for the retum of peace. The 7th of July, 1814, was the day appointed for the thanksgiving. I had been for tunate enough to procure a ticket for St. Paid's, and the evening before the ceremony I received a most pressing invitation, from a tradesman Avith whom my fanuly had dealt for years, to occupy part of a Avindow in Ludgate HUl. Anxious "to kill two birds Avith one stone," and see the proces sion outside as weU as the pageant inside, I gladly accepted the invitation, and at an early hour I made my way to the City. • This was no easy task to accomplish through the crowded streets, so I hired PROCESSION TO ST. PAUL's. 63 a Thames wherry opposite Eichmond House, where I then Uved, and Avas rowed to Blackfi-iars Bridge. HappUy, I gained my place long before the caval cade passed. I take the foUoAving account from the newspapers of the day. '' Shortly before eleven, the discharge of twenty- one guns annoimced the departure of the Piince Eegent from Carlton House, from whence the pro cession advanced in the foUoAving order : — Two Horse Guards. The Duke of Gloucester in his state carriage, dra'wn by six horses. A party of Horse Guards. The Duke of Cambridge in his state carriage aud six horses. A party of Horse Guards. The Duke of Sussex in his state carriage and six horses. A party of Horse Guards. The Duke of Kent in his state carriage and sis horses. A party of Horse Guards. Two of the Oxford Blues. The Heralds in their ofBcial costume. Three state carriages dra'wn by six hcases, containing the house hold of his Eoyal Hlghne^ the Prince Eegent. A detachment of the Blues. Fourteen royal footmen in state liveries. Twelve maishalmen. A troop of the Horse Guards. TTiH Eoyal BGghness the Prince Eegent, in his state carriage, drawn by eight cream-coloured horses. TTJR Eoyal Highness 'was accompanied by two of his oflBcers of state. A troop of the Horse Guards foUowed. " The Duke of Tork was in the procession, and in the carriage of the Eegent were the Dukes of Wellington and Montrose. The Lord Mayor, 64 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. Sheriffs, and other City officers feU into the proces sion at Temple Bar. Words can convey but a feeble idea of the richness of the view on Ludgate HUl. Troops in the pride of miUtary array lining the streets ; carriages of the most beautiful workman ship, surrounded by brilUant ornaments ; horses prancing and champing the bit, as if elated by the honours and sprightUness of the scene in which they partook ; the fagade of the houses almost aUve from the myriads Avith outstretched necks and floating handkerchiefs ; the gUttering of swords, clashing of arms, sound of trumpets, pealing of beUs ; — aU con spired to flU up the two senses of sight and hearing to their utmost stretch of bearing." I must now descend from the above high-floAvn description to sober prose, and say that briUiant as was the pageant, my eyes — ay, and I beUeve the eyes of many others — ^were attracted solely to the manly form of the hero of a hundred Adctories, who sat there apparently unconscious of the homage paid to him. No sooner had the procession passed the house I was in than I tried to make my way to the cathe dral, but so densely crowded was the street that it appeared next to impossible to advance a foot. WTule thinking Avhat I was to do, my attention was attracted to an officer of the Blues, in which WELLINGTON AND PRINCESS ALEXANDRA. 65 regiment, though a stripling, I held a commission. I went up to him, mentioned my name and rank in the corps — at which he stared not a little — and asked him if he could assist me in my difficulty. "I AviU do my best," he responded, "and in retum I hope you wiU join us as soon as possible, as we subs, have aU your duty throAvn upon us." " Nothing," said I, " would give me greater pleasure; and I AviU speak to my father upon the subject." "Spoken like a true Blue," he repUed; "and now keep close to my horse, he's as quiet as a lamb, and I'll see what I can do for you." Under his escort I soon gained the entrance of St. Paul's Cathedral, showed my ticket — Shaving previously thanked my brother officer — and was ushered to my seat. I was in time to hear the full service. Nothing could exceed the beauty of the singing, the fuU organ pouring its swelling peals to heaven, or the impressive sermon preached by Dr. Law, Bishop of Chester. It has been my fortune to Avitness another pageant no less interesting than the thanksgiving day at St. Paul's; to see again the streets so crowded Avith people that progress was an impossi biUty; to see all eyes attracted to one form in the midst of the procession, and all spectators bursting VOL. I. F 66 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. into rapturous cheers as one carriage passed- But this time the homage was paid to beauty, not to valour; the feelings excited were not those of thanks for the close of a fearful struggle, but of hope for a long and happy reign; and the con queror of the day was not a manly hero, but a young princess whom the people of England wel comed to their shores. Joyful as the retum of peace is to the heart of a country, there are always some who have reason to dread the inquiry into their past conduct which quiet and leisure are Ukely to bring. An event which foUowed shortly after the thanksgiving day caused the greatest sensation in military circles, as the persons involved were the flower of English chivalry, and most of them aUied to the noblest famiUes in the country. I aUude to the trial of Colonel Quentin, of the 10th Eoyal Hussars, which took place in the month of Novtember, 1814. The four charges brought against him were — "1. For neglecting and abandoning his duty as commanding officer, and leaving some of the divisions Avithout support, while foraging in the Valley of Macoy. 2. For not TnaTdTig such effectual attempts at the Battle of Orthes as he ought to have done, by his presence and personal exertions, to co-operate Avith and support the divisions of his A COURT-MARTIAL. 67 regiment, the lOth Hussars. 3. For simUar mis conduct after the Battle of Toulouse. 4. For general neglect, and alloAving a relaxed state of discipline in his regiment." In addition to the evidence of the great body of the officers of the 10th Hussars, Colonel, afterwards Sir John Elley, Lords Combermere and Edward Somerset, were heard in support of the charges. In his defence, Colonel Quentin urged that he had joined his regiment, though in a state of ill- health; that he had received the thanks of the commander of the cavalry for his conduct on the A^ery day to which the second charge referred ; that it was not his duty to engage Avith the skirmishers, or to charge Avith the flrst file ; that there was much youthful eagerness for command in some of the officers; and that he was desirous of diminishing the frequency of corporal punishment in the regi ment, as weU in furtherance of his OAvn ideas, as in compUance Avith the desire of the illustrious per sonage at the head of the regiment, who had ordered that a rigid attention on the part of the officers should be tried as a substitute for corporal punish ment. Several officers gave their opinion in favour of Colonel Quentin's general conduct; among them were General CartAvright, General Grant, and the F 2 68 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. Earl of Uxbridge. The latter said that he con sidered his behaviour equaUy exemplary in the presence of the enemy, and in the general conduct of his regiment, mentioning two instances in which Colonel Quentin had charged and defeated the enemy Avith very inferior numbers. On the 19th of November the 10th Hussars were paraded atEomford to hear the reading ofthe sentence of the court-martial, approved by the Prince Eegent. The court found that the first charge was partly proved; acquitted Colonel Quentin honourably on the second and third ; and found the fact stated in the fourth — relaxed discipline when employed on foreign service — proved. Considering, howeyer, that the Duke of Wellington had censured Colonel Quentin for this by letter, and that it appeared from the evidence that the officers of the corps did not co-operate in maintaining discipline, the court did not think it necessary to reprimand the colonel on that part of the charge, though it did think it necessary to repri mand him on the part of the first charge which was proved. An official communication from the Duke of Tork, as Commander-in-Chief, conveying the Prince Eegent's pleasure, was then read hy the adj-utant-general. It gave orders that the officers who had signed the letters of complaint against their colonel, and Colonel Palmer, for his general SENTENCE ON THE PROSECUTORS. 69 concurrence in their opinions, and his declared sen timents on the prosecution, should no longer act together as a corps, hut should be distributed, by exchange, throughout the different regiments of cavalry in the service. I have aUuded to this court-martial in order to mention the spuited conduct of one of the " Elegant Extracts," a nickname appUed to these sufferers. The Hon. Augustus Berkeley had served Avith the 10th during the Peninsular War, and had ren dered himself conspicuous for dash and bravery. He belonged to a class in the army knoAvn by the name of the " Come ens," in contiadistinction to that of the " Go ens." Acting under the impres sion that Colonel Quentin had on many occasions faUed in his duty as commanding officer of his gal lant corps, he signed the letter, and when the sen tence was read he felt deeply hurt at the part which conveyed so severe a censure on men who had done their best and risked their Uves to sustain the honour of this regiment. I must here remark that the Prinee of Wales had presented each of his officers Avith a sword, and when the adjutant-general had finished reading the Duke of Tork's official letter, Augustus Berkeley broke his sword across his knee, and threw the fragments at Sir Harry Calvert's feet. With good taste and feeUng, the adjutant- 70 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. general took no notice of this rash, though manly, act, and the proceedings terminated. Some of the men who were devoted to Colonel Quentin, from the laxity of his discipUne, showed an inimical spirit towards those who had brought the charges against him, and a hint was given them that they must leave Eomford, as they were no longer on the strength of the 10th Hussars. Augustus Berkeley, however, decUned leaving the barracks untU the foUoAving morning ; and although mortified at hear ing cheers given for the colonel, and seeing the men's rooms partially illuminated in honour of him, he was not subjected to any insult. Personally, he was a favourite Avith the men, for they knew fuU well that his heart was in the right place, and that pluck, the characteristic of the Berkeley family, was strong in him. Among the "skits" of the day was the foUoAving announcement in a mprning newspaper : — "Fashionable Aerivals. — Prince of Wales's Hotel. — Four-and-twenty officers, late of the 10th Eoyal Hussars." In the month of August, 1814, I accompanied the Duke of Wellmgton to Paris, on his being appointed ambassador to the newly restored monarch, Louis XVIII. Our route to Paris lay through Bel gium and Holland ; we embarked at Deal, landed ATELLINGTON IX BELGIUM. 71 at Bergen-op-Zoom, the scene of one of our national disasters, A'isited Antwerp, and passed some time at Brussels. Great as was Wellington's popularity in England after his retum home in 1814, it was equaUy so in HoUand ; and I never remember more marked enthusiasm than that which was shoAvn the great Avarrior at Xamur. I had the good fortune to attend the Duke in his inspection of the Flemish fortresses, and of the troops then stationed there. The hereditary Prince of Orange, who had acted as one of Wellington's aides-de-camp during the Penin sular War, accompanied his former chief, and nothing could exceed the pleasure I derived from this trip. At an early hour Wellington made his appearance at the breakfest-table, the meal being served Avith military punctuaUty ; and as his carriage, which was to convey us from toAvn to toAvn, drove up to the door, he descended and entered it. The Prince, too, had been trained in a good school, and I never knew an instance in which he was late. Upon approaching any of the fortresses on the French frontier, a party of dragoons were in attendance Avith led hoises. I cannot say that the long rides were always agreeable, for the animals which feU to my lot, though picked from the ranks, were very rough in their paces, iron-mouthed, and now and then addicted to rearing, 72 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. plunging, and kicking. The saddles, too, were none of the softest, and the coarse sheepskins, straps, and rings were' not at all suited to the Ught attire I wore during the hot month of August. I have aUuded to the Duke's reception at Namur, which was so enthusiastic that the populace would insist upon taking the horses from the carriage and draAving it through the principal streets of the toAvn. Perhaps, however, the most gratifying scene was when the Duke came in contact Avith some EngUsh regiment which had served under him. No sooner were the well-knoAvn features of his Grace recognised than a cheer w^s raised which was perfectly deafening. I had every reason to remember that cheer, for the horse I was riding, not being accustomed to such hero-worship, started off towards the barracks, and no strength of mine could check his speed. I OAvn I felt rather humiUated at finding myself, Uke a second John GUpin, scampering through the Grande Place, doAvn some narrow streets, into the cavalry barrack yard. Fortunately the usual inmates, Avith the exception of those on duty, had gone to see the arrival of WeUington, so that there were only a few Avitnesses of my mortification. The unmanageable troop horse had not stopped tUl he reached his oavu stable-door, and when I tried, by aid of whip and spur, to turn him away from it and rejoin the Duke, A RUNAAVAY STEED. 73 all my efforts were vain. One of the officers came forward, and looked rather aghast at seeing a strip ling mounted upon one of his troop-horses, and still more so when I explained that 1 was an attache to the Duke of Wellington. I informed him that it was my duty to rejoin my chief, but that the animal I rode was as stiibhorn as a mule. " Permit me to offer you my charger," said the Belgian officer ; " and Avith your permission I AviU conduct you back to his Excellency." Gladly availing myself of this offer, I was soon back Avith the cavalcade that attended the Duke. He turned round and saw me, but did not utter a word, for his maxim was the oft- quoted one from PickAvick, "Business first, pleasure afterwards." And here I must digress to mention an occurrence which Avill bear me out in the above remark. Two years after the event recorded, I was attending the Duke as extra aide-de-camp at a rcAdew of that portion of the Eussian army which remained in France after the peace of 1815. As the youngest officer I was in front, and, when trotting along the roughly-paved road, my horse fell and hurt me not a Uttle. Wellington passed and looked round at me, but neither slackened his pace nor interrupted his conversation with the Eussian general. No sooner was his conversation over, than he sent back 74 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. one of his personal staff, the late George Cathcart, to ascertain if I was hurt, and if so to attend to me. Although considerably shaken by the fall, I found no bones broken, and was soon back in my place again. The rcAdew, which included a sham fight, went on, and I was sent Avith orders to different regiments, but not a word was said about my fall untU dinner-time, at the general's table, when in a large assemblage of miUtary men, highly decorated Avith stars and medals, shoAving the goodly service they had done to their emperor and country, Wel lington caught my eye, and said Avith a good- humoured smile, " A glass of Avine, WilUam. Hope you were not hurt." In Uke manner, on my Johnny GUpin adventure, not a word was said untU after dinner, when the Duke asked what had become of me during the morning. I gave a true version of the story, amidst shouts of laughter, the Duke teU ing me that upon my arrival at Paris I should have to take riding lessons from the celebrated Franconi. The Prince, aUuding to the regiment I then had the honour of holding a commission in, remarked that the old Blues, the long-tailed heavies, were not famed for their horsemanship, when I reminded his Eoyal Highness that two of the officers — ^Bouverie and TathweU — ^were second to none, and that I should not mind backing myself against the Prince, PARISIAN HORSEMANSHIP. 75 or any other " Flpng Dutchman," thi-ee mUes across the country. The heir to the throne of HoUand was not slow at repartee, and the " keen encounter of our Avits " pleased the Duke not a Uttle. During WeUington' s Adsit of inspection, he paid marked attention to the army, which consisted of thirty Hanoverian battaUons, besides British, Dutch, and Belgian troops. I have often looked back with deUght to the days I passed in the Duke's company. Strict as he might be caUed on points of duty, there never was a more joAdal companion when duty was OA'er. It was his aim to make aU around bim happy, especiaUy his personal staff, and he was most eminently successful. I ought here to add that when we reached Paris I was sent to Franconi's riding-school, and was taught there to forget entirely the style of riding I had been used to. Of course I yielded, and soon found myself as stiff as if I had swaUowed a poker, Avith the same sort of seat that a wooden peg has on a Une of a clothes pole. One day, however, I surprised my maitre d^equitation by charging some posts and raUs in the Champs Elysees, when shoAving off one of the Duke's EngUsh himters. I shaU always remember this visit to Paris most gratefuUy, as my position on the Duke's embassy brought me in such close contact Avith the French 76 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. royal famUy. One day we went to shoot in the royal forest of Fontainebleau Avith the Dukes of Berri and-Angouleme. The Duke of Wellington's loading-rod and ammunition were carried by an EngUsh groom, and towards the conclusion of the sport I overheard the foUoAving conversation between this groom and another of his countrymen, who was also in the serAT.ce of the Duke, and who had accompanied us during the day: — " That 'ere D'Angulame is an out and out shot," said the worthy John Bull, " quite wonderful for a parly-woo Frenchman. He kiUed twelve brace of pheasants before four o'clock, and would have doubled that quantity had he attended to his keeper's orders, and pulled whenever he told him." " Pulled,^' said the other, who had picked up a smattering of French, "you're mistaken. 'When he cried poule, he did not mean pull — Poule stands for hen, and was meant as a caution." "Who's to understand their outlandish terms?" persevered the former. " I'm sure Lord WiUiam don't, for just as it was getting dusk I saw him knock a brace of their hens over. He, like me, don't know what their foreign gibberish means." Another time I had the pleasure of forming one of a party to St. Cloud. It consisted of the Duke of Wellington, two of his nieces, the late Lady NAPOLEON S LIBRARY. 77 Hatherton and Lady Abdy, and myself. The Duke traveUed there in the most unostentatious maimer, Avdth no servants saA^e his trusty valet on the roof of his caiTiage. The only apartments which require notice were those which Napoleon I. usually occu pied. The first contained a bust of Julius Caesar, whose life has just been Avritten by the present Emperor ; while in the other, the Ubrary, were the foUoAving EngUsh works : — "Debates in the EngUsh ParUament," "Letters of Junius," "Naval History of England," and " An Account of Naval Battles." All had been placed there by ^' U homme du siecle,'' and bore evident marks of constant use. A map of England lay unfolded on the table. Wellington's mind was thoroughly abstracted as he viewed this apartment, so much so that Lady Hatherton, then Mrs. Littleton, remarked to me that we had better pretend to be looking at the Adew from the Avindows so as not to disturb her uncle's thoughts. What those thoughts were I know not, but it probably never entered the head of the " Iron Duke " that in less than twelve months he would have to confront his ancient foe in the battle field. After a time the* Duke made some commonplace remark to us, but was extremely sUent during the drive home, and never aUuded to his morning's excursion as he was wont to do at dinner. 78 DRAFTS ON MT MEMORY. In December of the same year a report was spread and circulated throughout Paris, that an attack was to be made on the King, either on his way to the Odeon Theatre, or during the per formance. Every precaution was taken by the civU and military authorities, and the garrison of Paris was kept under arms, Soult, who had the entire confidence of the troops, being at that time minister of war. Wlien the King was warned against going to the theatre, he repUed Avith calmness and dignity, "Que la volonte de Dieu soit faite ; fai dit que firai au spectacle, et je m^y rendrai." During dinner I re marked to a brother attache that the Beau, an old Peninsula name for the Duke, was more thoughtfiil than usual, and such was evidently the case. TTi.s Grace proceeded early to the theatre, where I was one of the party. He occupied the box opposite the royal one, and was the only officer of rank out of uniform, wearing, as was his usual custom, a plain coat, Avith the order of the Grarter. I watched my chief's coxmtenance, and it stiU evinced anxiety, more especiaUy at the moment Louis XVI II- entered his state box; indeed, during the whole evening, Wellington kept his eye upon the restored monarch. I never remember passing a more exciting evening, for a hint had been throAvn out that in the event of LOA'AL APPREHENSIONS. 79 an attack being made upon the King's Ufe, a stray shot or tAvo might probably find their way to the box of the hero who had placed him on the throne. The idea was fai- fi-om satisfactory to those occupying seats in the Duke's box. EA^ery noise, every sound of applause, was regarded Avith the deepest anxiety, for notAvithstanding the assurances of many to the contrary, some were of opinion that among the number of disaffected Bonapartists, some one would be found to make an attempt upon the Bourbon monarch. The performance, however, terminated Avithout any disturbance, and the King returned to the Tuileries amidst the cheers of his loyal subjects, who were deUghted at this additional trait of courage in their sovereign. On the 8th of December, 1814, the Duke of WeUington, accompanied by his suite, of whom I was one, went to the Palais Eoyal to deUver a letter of congratulation from the Prince Eegent to the Duke of Orleans, on the birth of his fourth son, the present Due d'Aumale. His Grace afterwards dined Avith his Eoyal Highness ; the banquet, which was most sumptuous, terminated Avith a soiree given by the duchess. What changes had taken place between that period and the next time I had the honour of conversing Avith the Duke of Orleans, afterwards King Louis PhiUppe ! Four and thirty 80 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. years had elapsed ; Napoleon Bonaparte had escaped from Elba ; Louis XVIII. had been a second time restored ; Napoleon had been exiled to St. Helena, and had died ; the Due de Berri had been murdered ; Charles X. had succeeded Louis XVIII. ; the revo lution of 1830 had taken, place; Charles X. had abdicated, and was succeeded by Louis Philippe I. ; Prince Louis Napoleon had made an unsuccessful descent at Vimeroux, near Boulogne, had been tried and imprisoned ; an attempt had been made to assassinate the Due d'Aumale on his return from Africa ; the Duke of Orleans had been kiUed by a fall from his carriage ; Louis Napoleon had escaped from Ham; the King Louis PhiUppe's Ufe had been attempted for the seventh time; Jerome Bonaparte had retumed to Paris after a banish ment of thirty-two years; the ex-Empress Marie Louise and Madame Adelaide had died ; Paris had been again the scene of a revolutionary tumult; Louis PhUippe had abdicated in favour of his infant grandson, the Comte de Paris, but the abdication had not been accepted; a republic had been pro claimed from the steps of the Hotel de Ville, and the ex-king and queen had arrived in England. On the 27th of May, 1848, I went to visit them at Claremont, in company with one of their noble countrymen, deeply attached to the fallen monarch. ATISIT TO CLAREMONT. 81 On reaching Esher, a servant in a somewhat faded Ught blue Uvery, told me that the princes were in London, but the king was at home. Upon entering the house, the weU-mustaehioed huissier took my name and showed me into the library. After remaining a short time, he announced that the king would see me. I was then ushered into the draAving-room, and, as I entered, the monarch approached, and welcomed me most kindly, begging me to take a chair. Louis PhiUppe was dressed in a plain suit of mourning; a huge mass of large gold seals, Avith the royal arms engraved upon them, were the only ornaments he wore. He asked after my brother, the late Duke of Eichmond ; expressed his regret at the death of my sister. Lady Mary Fitzroy; talked of Epsom, and said he did not approve of gambling on the turf; he understood many persons had destroyed them selves in consequence of their severe losses, and referred especiaUy to the case of poor Berkeley Craven, who committed suicide in 1836, in con sequence of losing a large sum upon the Derby, which, added the king, "I hear he would have recovered upon the Oaks." He asked me when Goodwood races were to take place ; told me that the Due de Nemours had gone to toAvn, to attend a rcAriew, which I explained to be the guard mounting VOL. I. G 82 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. upon the Queen's birthday. " Oh, yes !" he repUed, "the flank companies." I then informed his Majesty that I had had the honour of being presented to him and the queen in 1814, when an attache, to the Duke of Wellington; to which he repUed, " I recoUect the purport of his Grace's visit — it was to congratulate me on behalf of the Prince Eegent at the birth of the Due d'Aumale." I then expressed a hope that her Majesty was weU. He said the queen would be glad to see me, and he would apprise her of my visit. During Louis PhiUppe's absence, I noticed the Times, Galignani, and two French newspapers upon the table. The king shortly retumed Avith the queen, who welcomed me Avith the greatest warmth of manner. She asked me after my sister, Lady Jane Peel, who, she said, had kindly gone over to Newhaven to meet her on her arrival in England. The king said he beUeved Lady Jane Uved principaUy at Brighton. They then begged me to be seated, and discoursed most affably upon topics connected Avith my relations. The king spoke of the Duke of Wellington, and inquired if I was stUl in the army or unattached. The queen asked after the Duchess of Eichmond, and aUuded to the loss of her son in the President. 'When I told her how much the duchess had LOUIS Philippe's memory. 83 suffered by the death of one son and three daughters, the queen became quite affected. The king inquired if any tidings had been heard of the missing Arctic vessels, and expressed his fears that the expedition would faU. He then talked of Lady Conyngham, who, Avith her sister, the Duchess of Eichmond, were the acknowledged beUes of the season ; and remarked that he knew the present marquis as Lord Mount-Charles, " son," he added, " of the Lord Chamberlain to George IV." His Majesty next observed that affairs were more settled in England and Ireland. I informed him that a verdict of " guUty " had been found against Mr. MitcheU in DubUn. " We shaU have it in the second edition of the Times,'' he responded. He then said he knew my father as General Lennox, and aUuded to his duel with the Duke of Tork ; the queen asking for aU particulars respecting his death, which, she beUeved, happened through the bite of a mad dog. She then asked which of my brothers had married Lady Aldborough's grand daughter, the pretty Miss Eodney, and inquired if she was aUve. I repUed that she was — ^would that I could say so now ! — ^and that she had a famUy groAvn up. " How quickly time passes ! " said the king. TTia Majesty then aUuded to the crops, the potato disease in Ireland, and expressed his g2 84 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. deUght at hearing that the accounts were favour able. I then took my leave, his Majesty accompanying me to the door, saying, " We have no beUs in this room." He then pressed my hand, saying, " Good bye, my dear friend." I begged to be remembered to the Due de Nemours. " Ay," said the king, " you knew him at Boulogne, Avith his poor brother, the Duo d'Orleans." The queen dropped her glove in rising, and I returned it, amidst mille remercimens. In referring to the above interview with Louis PhiUppe, my object has been to avoid aU contrast between the peaceful retirement of Claremont, and the splendour and excitement of the Palais Eoyal and TuUeries ; and, still more, to abstain from any remarks upon the rise and faU of departed greatness. My sole motive is to point out the wonderful memory of the deposed monarch, who, amidst the cares of his altered position, and entirely unprepared for my visit, conversed not alone upon every topic that engrossed the pubUe attention, but recalled to my mind events connected Avith my relatives and friends, which many more deeply interested in them would scarcely have remembered. But to retum to my narrative. After remaining some months in Paris, I accompanied WeUington to the Congress of Vienna, and thence to Brussels BRUSSELS IN 1816. 85 early in 1815, after the news of Napoleon's escape from Elba was knoAvn. Now as the Duke had pro mised his old Peninsula personal staff to take them back, should war break out again, I found myself no longer au officer of his. I was, however, consoled by his promise to give me the flrst vacancy that might occur ; and shortly afterwards I was appointed extra aide-de-camp to General Maitland, who commanded a brigade of Guards quartered at Enghien, some Uttle distance from Brussels. Among the numerous scenes that I have Avitnessed during a long life few have come up to the animated gaiety of that which daUy presented itself during the lovely month of May, 1815, in the Place Eoyale at Brussels. There might be seen officers and soldiers of the aUied army — EngUsh, Hanoverians, Belgian, and Dutch ; there the representative of Flora, to whom I shaU further aUude, was placing in the button-hole of a young staff officer a small bouquet of the most choicely assorted flowers; there a Belgian grisette was Ustening to the high-floAvn compUments of a smart Hanoverian hussar, who curled his moustache, and vowed eternal constancy; there a vendor of orgeat and lemonade was dis pensing the grateful beverage to some black Bruns- Avickers, just off an escort duty ; there a sergeant of the Guards, Avith his wife decked in her homely 86 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. EngUsh attire, attracted the criticism of the passers- by, or a stalwart corporal of the 42nd Highlanders, "kUted to the knee," made them shrug their shoulders at the barbarity of his costume ; there a Bavarian broom-girl was screeching forth, at the top of her cracked voice, one of her native ditties, to the evident deUght of a party of the waggon- train — ^while a Dutch youth, Avith his squeaking hurdy-gurdy and white mice, was called a " broth of a boy " by a Fermanagh man, of the 27th or Inniskilling regiment of the line. OccasionaUy a mounted orderly rode through the crowd, the bearer of a despatch to the Commander-in-Chief, or a staff officer passed in haste upon some military mission. Groups of Peninsula veterans might be seen instil ling miUtary ardour into the breasts of recruits by recounting former deeds of glory. There might be heard a sergeant of the old 95th describing the memorable assault of Badajos, when, amidst an unremitting and destructive fire, his brave corps descended into the ditch to force the breaches against an overpowering enemy, armed Avith burn ing missUes. There a corporal of Cole's diAdsion was pointing out the prowess of his regiment, or a hussar of the 10th told how his brigade under Grant had hy an impetuous charge overthroAvn the rear-guard of the French cavalry at Morales ; while SIR PEREGRINE MAITLAND. 87 one of the 12th Light Dragoons expatiated upon the briUiant conduct of his corps. There an old pensioner, who had served under Picton at Vittoria, Vic Bigorre, and Toulouse, enlarged upon the un daunted courage of his leader ; a farrier of the " Blues " recorded the deeds of the " heaAdes," no longer caUed the " Eoyal stay-at-homes ;" whUe a smart young feUow of the 18th Hussars related how, under Vivian, the Avild Irish boys had charged General Vial's brigade so successfuUy, that they drove it through the viUage of Croix D' Grade before the fugitives had time to destioy a most im portant work, the bridge over the Ers. The whole scene was set to the music of "the shrUl trump, the spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife," the* war like bagpipe, or the "bugle's AvUd call," of the numerous troops then quartered in the toAvn. There were few better men or better officers than the General upon whose personal staff I had the good fortune to be, the late Sir Peregrine Maitland. He was not more eminent for bravery and coolness under fire, than he was for humanity and attention to the spiritual and temporal wants of those under his command; and a more thorough soldier, one more devoted to his men or to the service, never existed. During his early life in the Guards, young Maitland, who was handsome in person, as weU as fascinating 88 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. in manners, entered into aU the dissipations of the toAvn; but he soon became deeply impressed Avith a sense of reUgion, and to the last hour regarded it as a subject of paramount importance. When no longer upon active service, he devoted his time and energies to phUanthropic pursuits, and Uke a second Howard merited the brief motto " Vixit propter alios: — he Uved for the good of others." At almost every puhUc meeting in London, whether in the cause of reUgion or charity, Maitland would raise his voice in behalf of the dissemination and triumph of Christianity, the progress of social improvements, the benefit of Bible Society Missions, and the aboUtion of the inhuman traffic of the slave trade. In private Ufe he was simpUcity itself, regular and abstemious, although ever ready to extend hospitaUty to his brethren in arms, and to those who came Avithin the circle of his acquaintance. No man was more deeply regretted than poor Maitland, of whom it may be said — " His ashes in a peaceful um shall rest ; Hia name a great example stands, to show How strangely high endeavours may be blest. When piety and valour jointly go." His son Charles, of the Grenadier Guards, who was severely wounded at the battle of Inkerman, in herited the same virtues, and there never Uved a LORD HAY. 89 brighter ornament to the profession. In conse quence of his wound, Maitland was compelled to retire from a service in which he had so distin guished himself, much to the regret of his brother officers. Nor must another worthy scion of a worthy sire be omitted, Horatio, who served Avith distinc tion in the navy, and was also severely wounded during the war Avith Eussia. Sir Peregrine's staff consisted of his aide-de-camp. Lord Hay, kUled at Quatre Bras, Captain Gunthorpe, Brigade Major, and myself as extia aide-de-camp. Hay had been Avith me at a private tutor's at LittlcAvick Green, and had left to join the Guards just before the end of the Peninsular war. I was much deUghted to faU in again Avith my old " chum," Avith whom I had passed many a happy day under the roof of our excellent dominie, the late Eeverend James KnoUis. Hay was one of the handsomest young feUows I ever met ; his passion was for horses and hunting. I well remember upon one occasion, when at LittlcAvick Green, AvaUdng Avith him up a hiU on the road towards TAvyford. WhUe discussing the points necessary for a good hunter, we were overtaken by a man haAdng the appearance of a farmer, mounted on a very clever nag. "Good day. Sir," said my companion; "that horse ought to carry you well Avith the hounds." 90 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. "Strange coincidence," repUed the new comer, " my name is Day ; but touching my horse, he is a good one." At this our new ally got off, led the animal up the hUl, and after a pause said, "He's a perfect fencer: perhaps you would Uke, young gentleman, to try him over that ffight of hurdles." It was exactly what Hay did Uke ; so mounting at once, and borroAving the oAvner's whip, he got into the field, charged the hurdles, three or four fences, and after a gallop of some ten minutes re joined us. During Hay's temporary absence Mr. Day had ascertained my young fidend's birth, parentage, and education. " I never rode a finer fencer," said Hay. "Tes, my Lord," responded the other. "Hay I Day ! strange coincidence." " I Avish I had him during the hoUdays in Hamp shire," continued my "chimi." " I would cut some of them doAvn." "Cut' them doAvn," proceeded Day, who was an inveterate punster, "then you ought to have my chesnut. I caU him ' Old Time's Scythe,' because he cuts everything doAvn." After deUvering himself of this jocosity, the modem Joe MUler proceeded, " Tou can, my Lord, have ' Change for a Guinea' on trial." CHANGE FOR A GUINEA. 91 '* Change for a guinea!" we both exclaimed. '' Tes, young gentlemen. I eaU the broAvn horse ' Change for a Guinea ' on account of his speed. I know not how you find it, my Lords, but to my mind there'' s nothing goes so fast as change for a guinea." After a hearty laugh at his OAvn Avit, he went on to say that the horse was for sale, Avarranted sound, the price eighty guineas, and that if Lord Hay approved, instead of riding the animal home, he would leave him for a day at Maidenhead, and send a man to take him to Lord Hay's father's residence in the New Forest. My companion gladly assented to the proposition, after premising that as the king's staghounds were to meet the foUoAving day at Salt Hill, he shoidd Uke to test the merits of " Change for a Guinea" in the hunting field. This was agreed to. Hay mounted his new horse, and, accom panied by Mr. Day, we tumed our heads toAvards Maidenhead. Leaving the animal at the Sun Inn, where we drank the health of Mr. Day and his Bucephalus, we retumed to LittieAvick Green, and there recounted our morning's adventure to a bevy of listening, wondering youths. The horse carried Hay so weU Avith the staghounds, that the Earl of ErroU subsequently purchased it for his son for eighty pounds, Avith a proviso that if retumed 92 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. Avithin three months, sixty should be remitted. Shortly afterwards. Hay was gazetted to a commis sion in the Guards, and Mr. Day honourably fulfilled his contract. If my brother aide-de-camp had a weakness, it was a love of dress; and as he did not consider that the simple uniform of a staff officer showed off his figure to advantage, he generaUy appeared in a more splendid costume. It was in a great measure OAving to this that he lost his Ufe ; for, mounted on a magnificent charger called Abelard, and decked out in a fuU-dress hussar's uniform, he was made the mark of the enemy, who naturaUy looked upon him as a superior officer, and he feU by a pistol shot from a wounded French dragoon. Saltomi, who as a field officer was exposed throughout the battle of Quatre Bras to the greatest danger, escaped scathless, being mounted on a small quiet cob. After the engagement was over, BEay was buried by his sorroAving comrades in the wood where the brunt of the action had taken place, a rude cross made of the branches of two trees his only monument. Gunthorpe, our brigade-major, was an extraor dinary character. He was what is termed in the army " pipe clay " aU over. Although a strict disciplinarian, he was so just and impartial that he PIPE-CLAY. 93 won the hearts of the men, to whom he ever set the best example. With the officers he was equally popular ; and many a giddy ensign was led into the right path by his judicious counsel and advice. To a good portion of sound sense, a thorough know ledge of his profession, a devotion to his corps, and an aU-absorbing love for the service, he added an eccentricity of manner and an oddity of expression, that set aU his hearers in a roar of laughter, although the utterer of the quaint phrases never moved a muscle. If an officer was late on parade, or unmindful of some duty, the brigade-major would give a reprimand in a style peculiarly his OAvn. Taking out his watch, scrcAving up his lips, and opening his eyes wide, he Ivould say, " Clocks vary; if I am too fast, I avUI set my valuable repeater by yours." "Better late than never, young gentleman, but in the Guards punctuaUty is the life and soul of the regiment." At Waterloo, when bullets were whistling about, and round shots ploughing up the groimd where the brigade was formed in squares, Gunthorpe shrugged up his shoulders, and Avith Ups distorted into the smallest compass, exclaimed, "Eather a sharp scrimmidge now, what avUI it be presently?" At Villette, where we were stationed before peace was pro claimed, an officer of the Guards approached too 94 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. near a French sentry, and was fired at. " Plenty of duty," said the brigade-major, " Avithout having to furnish a firing party over a young gentleman, who, having escaped at Waterloo, tempted a parley- vous to ' pot ' him when not under arms." At the Bois de Boulogne, where we were encamped, Gunthorpe indulged in many good-humoured pleasantries at the expense of our gallant foes, now, happUy, our best alUes. Like many others, he associated Frenchmen Avith frogs, and/ Paris Avith parleyvous's. " We must look out for the green owls " [_grenouilles'], said the brigade-major, as'&onie of our men were clearing away the underwood, " for it is said Johnny Crapeau Uves on them." With aU these eccentricities Gunthorpe was an excellent feUow, Avith his whole heart and soul in his profession. His hair and whiskers were closely cropped according to the mUitary fashion of the day, before capUlary ornaments became popular ; his dress was strictly regimental, even to the stiff black leather stock with which, pUlory fashion, he encased his neck ; and if some young brother officer varied in the slightest degree from the estabUshed pattern, the brigade-major would exclaim, "Pretty, but not according to regulation." At parade, if there was the most trifling doAdation from the pre scribed rule, he would say, " Good ; but not accor- PEACE AND AA^AR. 95 ding to Dundas " — the recognised authority at that period. In short, everything Gunthorpe did, thought, or spoke, was regimental, and I have no doubt his dreams were of the same cast. For some months before his death he suffered intense pain, which he bore Avith the greatest fortitude. I recoUect calling upon him during his illness Avith his old chief, Maitland; and although the patient was extended at fuU length upon a sofa, the moment the General appeared he rose, though Avith the greatest difficulty, to receive and salute him in the most approved military fashion. I left them together, and I have every reason to beUeve, from a remark that afterwards feU from Maitland, that his attached staff officer was fuUy prepared for the aAvful summons, and that, as a faithful soldier of the Cross, he was humbly looking forward to eternal glory. MiUtary duty unfortunately pre vented me from attending Gunthorpe's funeral ; but I had the melancholy satisfaction of seeing my kind-hearted General borne to the grave by a body of his old and esteemed corps, the Grenadier Guards. Byron speaks truly of the carnage of Waterloo, of— " thousands, of whom each And one as aU a ghastly gap did make. In his O'wn kind and kindred — " 96 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. and what family was there that had not some cause to mourn in the midst of the general triumph? Tet I was reminded very soon after the battle that peace has its dangers no less than war. Perhaps a sudden accident in the midst of fancied security is even more startling than the slaughter of the battle field. The pride Avith which we reflect on the friend who fell in the cause of his country tempers our natural sorrow. But when youth is cut off Avithout warning, and without apparent danger, the shock that startles us is as cruel as our grief. I was dressing for a ball one evening, when a paper was placed in my hand containing the foUoAving account of the death of two young friends, Avith whom I had passed days of pleasant intercourse, and Avith whom I was in constant correspondence : — " In the afternoon of the 7th of July, 1815, about four o'clock, as Colonel Poyntz, his two sons, and their tutor. Miss Parry, and Miss EmUy Parry (daughters of the late Admiral Parry, of Fareham), a fisherman, and his son, were returning to land at Bognor in a pleasure yacht, a sudden gust of Avind upset the boat, when the whole party, except Colonel Poyntz and the boatman, were droAvned — ^the latter saved the colonel by SAvimming Avith him on his back. Mrs. Poyntz was looking from the draAving- room Avindow the moment the accident happened." A DANGEEOUS SINGEE. 97 Although I had Avithessed many terrible cala mities during the late war, I am not ashamed to say that I felt this so deeply as to give up all thoughts of the baU, and pass the evening in soUtude. My share in the battle of Waterloo has been related in my former work, where I have com mented on some recent descriptions of that memo rable struggle. I may say Avithout vanity that at that time my nerves were pretty strong. Certainly I did not behave like the Hon. Mrs. M * * * *, who was at Brussels at the time, and who was so much upset by the rumour of the EngUsh being defeated that she rushed into the presence of an intimate friend exclaiming, " Oh ! the French are at the gates, and aU my clane Unen is at the wash." But I must confess that I was subjected to a severe ordeal during the occupation of Paris in 1815, during which I was extia aide-de-camp to the Duke of WeUington. His Grace was upon most friendly terms Avith Madame Grassini, the celebrated beauty and con tralto singer, who constantly formed one of the Duke and Duchess's parties at their residence at Paris. I went to her house one morning, as I was anxious to implore her intercession Avith the Duke, whom I had justly offended by a dereUction of duty in going out Avithout permission when I was in VOL. I. H 98 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. waiting. Being knoAvn to her servant as belonging to the staff of the " mighty conqueror," I was at once ushered into her draAving-room. After explain ing the motive of my early visit, I was about to enter more fuUy into its purport, when the door burst open, and Madame's confidential maid, Avith an agitated manner and rueful countenance, whis pered a few sentences into her ears. " Not a mo ment to be lost ! " she said to me in English. " Hide behind that china vase. Not a word," as I attempted to speak, " I AviU release you shortly." Aided by the maid, and impeUed by hearing several agitated pulls at the beU, I was fairly placed out of sight behind a splendid jar, which would have held one of AU Baba's forty thieves. After another tre mendous peal at the beU, and a loud angry voice in French denouncing the maid for so long a delay, the door was opened, and a grim-looking warrior entered. "Oh, General, a thousand pardons!" said the abigail. " Madame is not very weU this morning, and was lying doAvn when you first rang. Louis has gone for the doctor. She is better now : you'U find her in her boudoir." All this was spoken in French, but I knew quite enough of the language to be aware that the new-comer was a general officer in the service of Louis XVIII., whose attentions to Madame were 'JlODERN CASSIOS. 99 very marked, and who was said to be anxious to fix a personal quarrel upon the Duke to decide their rival claims at the point of the sword. It flashed across my mind that if I was discovered the general might Avreak his vengeance upon me, after the fashion of Fag, in "The Eivals," who, having been attacked by his master, vents his rage on his subordinate. The rival of WeUington might become jealous of me, a stiipUng in his sixteenth year, and I had heard of angry modem OtheUos throAving their Cassios out of the Avindow. With these ideas I need scarcely say that the few minutes I was left in my hiding-place seemed hours. The infuriated general had passed through the draw ing-room to a boudoir separated by a velvet portiere, so that I could not faU to hear almost every word that was uttered. As he passed through, I fancied I saw his dark piercing eyes fixed upon me, and looking daggers at me. Even at this distant period I do not think it fair or honourable to repeat aU that was said. Suffice it that for some reason the general vowed he would search the apartments — ^that he was sure his rival was hidden there — ^that he would have revenge, and that the combat should be mortal. After aUoAving her fiery admirer to expend a large amount of anger, Grassini managed to "soothe the savage breast" first by a few honied speeches, and h2 100 DRAFTS ON MY MESIO^Ir. then by some of those soul-stirring hotes which ever won the hearts of her hearers. At length the general rose to take his leave ; but not before he had extracted a promise that Madame would honour him by accepting a private box at the Varietes to Avitness the first representation of "Les Anglaises pour rire" — an exaggerated farce, though admirably acted, and flattering to the amour propre of the Gaul at the expense of the EngUsh. " What charming furniture ! what exquisite taste !" he ex claimed, as he looked round the draAving-room — " so beautiful ! " And so useful, thought I, as he moved in an upright, stately pace across the room, fortunately for me, without deigning to cast his eyes doAvn. "Adieu, Madame," he said, tenderly; " au plaisir de vous revoir," Then slipping a five-franc piece into the hand of the attendant Minette, who seemed in as great a hurry to let the visitor out as she had been slow to admit him, he left me alone with my hostess. "Be quiet a moment," she said, fancying that, as so often happens on the stage, her admirer might re tum ; and her precaution was Avise, for Minette came running back Avith the Frenchman close at her heels,. and exclaimed in a loud tone, meant to act as a warning, " The general has left one of his gloves behind." No glove could be found ; but the delay gave the military hero an opportunity of making a GAMBLING TRICKS. 101 reconnoitre ; and being satisfied that no enemy Avas lurking there, he found the lost glove in his breast pocket, and took his leave Avith a grunt which was meant for a sigh. I Avas then released from my Chinese prison, hastily told Madame the object of my visit, received a promise which was fuUy kept, and in return assured the fair cause of my fear that the adventure should never pass my Ups. After more than half a century I feel that my promise is no longer binding. During my stay in Paris, I dined twice at the Sahn de-s Etrangers, the principal fashionable gaming-house, sanctioned by the govemment. Never Avas there such a mixture of people assembled round any dining-table. French marshals, Eussian princes, Polish counts, Austrian potentates, Prussian gene rals, German barons, Hungarian nobles, EngUsh lords, fuU-pay and half-pay officers, and a sprinkling of chevaliers d'industrie of aU nations. There were two artfol "dodges" practised at the rouge-et-noir tables, both of which, fortunately for the keepers of the bank, were discovered. To the initiated it is weU knoAvn that when a player Avishes to change a note for counters, or for a smaUer note and coimters, he hands his hiUet de lanque to one of the officials folded in such a way as not to attract the attention of those round the table, and that in return he 102 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. receives a bowl of ivory counters, Avith a note of smaUer amount, equaUy hidden from pubUc gaze. A noble foreigner, whose name shall not be disclosed, had entered into an arrangement Avith one of the bank to return him a note of equal value to the one he had given, in addition to some counters and a smaUer note. The result was that the escroc played the most Avinning game, as come what might he was always victorious. In fact, he received sundry small notes, which found their way to his purse, not to Jbe disturbed during the evening, and was playing against the concern Avith their oavu counters, occa sionaUy finding himself a large Avinner. The lynx eyes of one of the inspectors discovered the fraud, and an investigation took place; but although, moraUy speaking, the proofs were strong, the legal evidence faUed, and as the nobleman was ready to fight any one who doubted his honour, the affair blew over. Another "dodge" was practised by one of my OAvn countrymen at the hazard table, where the stakes were very large. His plan was to place a heap of counters — say six or seven — of one Napo leon each, in a pyramid on the table; if he lost, the croupier raked up the counters ; if, on the con trary, he won, he having placed three or four coun ters of five-and-twenty Napoleons each in the palm A GAMBLING BUDGET. 103 of his hand, whUe pretending to display and count his smaU heap, dropped the additional large coun ters into it. By this means he never lost more than seven Napoleons, and often won one hundred and seven. Bolder groAvn, he increased his stakes, and upon one occasion he dropped counters to the amount of three hundred Napoleons; upon this, suspicion was awakened, and a rule was imme diately passed forbidding any one, except the crou pier, to touch the stake after the chance was de cided. As in the former case, there was no evidence to convict, and the sharper got off scot free. It may interest my readers to have some details of the budget of the pubUc ganaing-tables of Paris. I extract the foUoAving account from the "Biblio theque Historique : " — State of the Asnttal Expenses of the Games of Paeis, 1818. Under the present administratiou there are — 7 tables of trente-et-un. 1 table of craps. 9 ,, roulette. 1 „ hazard. 1 „ passe-dix. 1 ,, biribi. 20 tables, divided in nine houses, four of which are situated in the Palais EoyaL frs. To serve the seven tables of trente-et-un there are — 28 dealers, at 550 frs. a month, make 15,400 28 croupiers, at 380 „ „ 10,640 42 assistants, at 200 ,\ „. 8,400 Service for the nine roulettes and one passe-dix : — 80 dealers, at 275 frs. a month 22,000 60 assistants, at loO frs. a month 9,000 Carried forward 65,440 104 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. frs. Brought forward 65,440 Service of the craps, biribi, and hazard : — 12 dealers, at 300 frs. a month 3,600 12 inspectors, at 150 ,, ,, 1,800 10 aides, at 100 „ , 1,000 6 chefs de partie at the principal houses, at 700 frs. a month , , . . , 4,200 3 chefs de partie for the roulettes, at 500 frs. a month . 1,500 20 secret inspectors, at 200 frs. a month 4,000 1 inspector-general, at 1,000 130 waiters, at 75 frs. per month 9,750 Cards, a month 1,500 Beer and refreshments, ditto 3,000 Lights, ditto 5,500 Eefreshments for the grand saloon, includiag two dinners every week, per month 12,000 Total expense of each month 114,290 MultipUed by 12, is 1,317,480 Eent of 10 houses, per annum 130,000 Expense of offices 60,000 Total per annum 1,551,480 If the privilege is 6,000,000 If a bonus of a miUion is given for six years, the sixth part for one year 'wiU be 166,666 Total expenditure 7,718,146 The profits are estimated at, a month 800,000 Which yields per annum 9,600,000 Deducting the expenditure 7,718,146 The annual profits are 1,881,854 Which produce at the expiration of the lease .... 11,291,114 CHAPTER in. 'WELLLINGTOlf AT MONT ST. MABTTN — THE STAFF OF THE lEON DUKE — LOBD BAGLAN SIB GEOEGE CATHCABT — MAEQUIS OF WOECESTEB — FEANCIS EUSSELL HOEACE CHUBCHLLL THE FLO'WEE GIEL OP BEUSSELS — A GEEMAif BAEON — FBEDEEICK YATES COLLEX GBATTAN — DUEL PBEVENTED PBACTICAL JOKE SIB CHABLES FELIX SMITH DUELLING — LOST BIB MLAJSSINGBEED— FATAL DUEL AT CAMBEAY — ^ANOTHER AT CAEN ^THB CODE OF HONOUE —MODERN DUELS STATISTICS OF DUELLING PBIVATE THEATEICALS MISS PIGOTT JOHN PHILIP irFHrRT.F. TAUIA. CHAPTEE III. The move from Paris to a provincial toAvn is a fate which aU true Parisians earnestly deprecate, and one which foreigners might be expected to feel even more deeply. I must not, however, be un grateful to Cambray, which was flxed upon for the head-quarters of the British army of occupation. Many happy hours were passed by me at the chateau of Mont St. Martin, near Cambray, where the Duke of WeUington took up his abode. There never was a better set of feUows than those who formed his staff at this time, and Avith whom I had the pleasure of associating. At the head of it was the beloved Fitzroy Somerset, of the Peninsula — the revered Eaglan, of the Crimea; the noblest minded man, the kindest friend, and the best of officers. "The death of Lord Eaglan was a real loss for England," Avrites Bazancourt, in his " Crimean Expedition." " He had a noble cha- 108 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. racter, one of those souls groAvn old in loyalty, who do honour to their country." Then there was the merry, Ught-hearted Arthur HUl, afterwards Lord Sandys, who was the Ufe and soul of every party, the promoter of private theatricals and aU sorts of gaiety. Then the soldier-Uke George Cathcart, who made his profession a study, who read deeply and Avrote ably on war and the materials of war, and whose leisure hours were devoted to the manly sports of old England. Among the neroes who feU on the bloody plain of Inkerman none was more deeply regretted than the gaUant leader of the 4th division; and here I cannot refrain from quoting Bazancourt's work again, lest my OAvn words should faU to do justice to the hero's memory. " The death of Lieutenant-General Sir George Cathcart was a national loss to England, for his loyalty, his patriot ism, and his devotion were equal to his high miU tary reputation. He took an active part in the campaigns of 1813-1815, and was engaged in eight great battles in which the Emperor Napoleon com manded in person. At the battle of the Alma hfe efficiently supported the left flank of the EngUsh army Avith a division of reserve. On the 25th of October, at the battle of Balaklava, General Cath cart rendered great service Avith his division, lent steady assistance to the Turks, and by deploying in THE DUKL S STAFF. 109 the plain checked the enemy's attack. At the battle of Inkerman the brave general was destined to feU gloriously. 'Her Majesty,' said Lord Eaglan in his report, 'has been deprived by his death of a devoted subject, and an officer of the highest merit.' "' Toung Harry Percy, of " the flghting Four teenth," was "the theme of \ mour's tongue,"' and most popular Avith aU who ki w him. Fremantle, commonly caUed Jack, Avas a reat favourite Avith his chie^ and foU of vivacity an . energy everywhere, though most full of them in the midst of danger. My brother George was truly respected and beloved by aU his brother officers for his doAvnright honest John BuE manner, his sterling quaUties, his kindly nature, under rather a rough aspect, and his atten tion to duty throughout the Peninsular and Belgian campaigns, whether as Ught cavalry officer in the distinguished 9th, the Queen's Eoyal Lancers, or as aide-de-camp to Wellington. Another worthy must not be omitted, the brave Colin Campbell, who managed the Ihike's household during the cessation of hostiUties, but changed the pen for the sword as soon as they recommenced, and Uke aU of his name was foremost in the fight. The late Duke of Beau fort, then Marquis of Worcester, having served Avith Wellington in the Peninsula, was looked upon as 110 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. " one of US," though no longer on the staff; and of him it may be said, in the words of Lady Percy — "By his light Did aU the chivalry of England move To do brave acts. He was indeed the glass. Wherein the noble youth did dress themselves. He was the mark and glass, copy and book. That fashion'd others." Worcester, at the time I refer to, was in his 'twenty-sixth year ; he was fond of manly pursuits, was devoted to theatricals, and none exceUed him in the baU-room. As an authority in matters of taste, whether dress, the turn-out of a carriage, or the selection of horses, the noble marquis was second to none. He was a most expert whip, and could handle a refractory "team" upon the Brighton road as easUy as his own weU-appointed four-in- hand. I only remember seeing him lose his temper once, and that was but for a moment. He was driAong what is termed a "scratch team," from the Chateau St. Martin to Cambray, Avith a load of youngsters outside, chaffing him all the way. "Tou had better shoot your rubbish," said one, "before you turn into the court-yard, or you avUI probably floor the coach." "That leader," remarked another, " seems determined to have a good look at you; he has done nothing but tum his head round since we left." " Don't hug the post too closely," shouted a ALMOST A SPILL. Ill third, " or you'll damage the paint." " Look out," exclaimed a fourth, "there's the Beau with Andrew Barnard and some ' royal nobs ' just going in." " The Dukes of Kent and Cambridge, I declare," said another. " Pray be quiet," repUed our noble coachman, a Uttle put out by the large amount of bantering he had undergone ; " one of the leaders is rather anxious to get to his OAvn stable." Scarcely had he uttered the words, and as we were about to enter the court-yard, the guard which had tumed out were pUing their arms, and the noise so frightened the horses, that they made a start, which, but for the power Lord Worcester had over them, would have got us into grief. As it was, we escaped by a hair's breadth, grazing one of the wheels against the post. Although his driving was highly extolled by the royal dukes, Worcester felt an noyed at the untoward mishap, and not a Uttle angry at the irritating remarks which had been made, and which would have upset many a better " dragsman." Though one of the neatest dressed "men about toAvn," he had not a particle of dandyism in his appearance, and to show what the costimie of that day was^ — as different to the tweed suits, Avide- awake hats, boots, and trousers of the present time, as Ught is to darkness — I avUI briefly describe the dress of 1816 among the upper ten thousand. In 112 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. the morning, cossaok trousers, very full of pleats, weU stiapped doAvn under the boots, a buff waist coat, an elaborately embroidered blue frock-coat, and an extensive tie of white cambric. These were replaced in the evening by tight-fitting pantaloons made of sUk stone-coloured web, silk stockings, frUled shirt, white " choker," white waistcoat, blue evening coat, velvet collar, and brass buttons, Avith a cocked hat. Worcester, who had served in the 7th Hussars, turned his Ught blue military panta loons to good account, by having the gold lace removed, and startled us not a Uttle by appearing in them one evening in plain costume. Such a dress would in modem parlance have appeared "loud" upon -almost any other man,' but he blended the other colours so well, that there was nothing inharmonious, and his good figure and noble bearing carried him triumphantly through. Among the Adsitdrs at head-quarters who always met Avith a kind reception from Wellington, was Francis Eussell, son of the Ul-fated Lord WilUam who was murdered by Courvoisier, and brother to WUUam Eussellj Eeceiver-General of the Court of Chancery, whose judgment of pictures and taste in furniture are proverbial. Frank EusseU, as he was usuaUy caUed, had served on the staff of the Prince of Orange at Waterloo, ^nd being extremely STEEPLECHASES. 113 agreeable, gentlemanlike, and good-looldng, was not alone I'enfant chcri des dames, but most popular among men. He was devoted to field sports, and equaUy fond of a race ; he possessed two thorough bred horses that, as the laAvyers say, " put in a good appearance " at the Cambray and Valenciennes miUtary races, and upon more than one occasion I rode as his light weight, whUe he did the "heavy business." We, however, were only tolerably suc cessful, as Sir Charles Felix Smith, Horace Churchill, and WiUiam Stewart, who imported "Monkey" and other first-rate horses from Newmarket, carried nearly aU before them. Horace was the Josey Little of that day, combining judgment, strength, knowledge of pace, and patience. Horace ChurchiU was aide-de-camp to Sir Eow- land, afterwards Lord HUl, and a great chum of mine. I doubt if ever I met a more amusing member of society. He had read much, had great conversational powers, and, if occasionaUy he "embroidered "a Uttle, ^ he did it Avith judgment and tact. He was rather smaU, but very good-looking ; danced and rode weU, and was a very smart staff officer. If balls, plays, concerts, or late dinners were going on, Horace would be the last to leave ; but he never sacrificed duty to pleasure, and however late he might be, he never went to bed Avithout finishing any work he had to VOL. I. I 114 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. do, and was always one of the earUest in the morning. He was a brave, determined officer, and his death in India, under fire, was a severe loss to the army at large, and his friends in particular. Horace was what is termed a " knoAving feUow," but was never knoAvn to be guUty of an ungentle- manlike action ; he was fond of cards, occasionally would tiy his hand at hazard, and was devoted to the turf. During the time I was at Cambray, a few inti mate friends gave suppers and card parties alternately at one another's houses, and though I never played for a shilling, I belonged to this coterie. Often have I gone to bed about midnight, and upon getting up the next morning to go into early waiting upon my chief, found the party I had left stUl at whist. Of course this was unknoAvn to Wellington, who did aU in his power to discourage gambling. At the time I Avrite of, steeplechases were scarcely knoAvn. Had one been got up, Frank ^ EusseU's horses, Dunois and Lara, would have had a good chance, for he used to keep them in con dition hy a gaUop fifteen or twenty mUes across country once or twice a week. His plan was to ride one himseK and lend the other to a friend ; and there were always plenty of friends happy to avaU themselves of the privUege. EusseU would take the lead, and, as he was a good horseman, he FLORA. 115 generaUy kept it, though, as Scott has recorded in " Peveril of the Peak,"" the greatest pace is attained by a man Avith a fiiend's horse and his oatu spurs. I confess that I often lost sight C'f my leader, even when I had my pick of the horses, and though riding at least a stcne lighter. The passion for racing had increased when Frank EusseU came back fi^m abroad, and for many years he was a constant attendant at aU the principal meetings in England. HappUy he was sans reproche in aU turf transactions. as he had been through Ufe. As I have already said, he was a great fevourite Avith the feir sex. and among the conquests he made vras that of a fair innocent girl, whose conduct was irreproachable amidst grievous temptations . ¦ • Flora, as she Aras eaUed, gained an honest UveUhood and supported her parents by selling bouquets of flowers in the Place Eoyale at Brussels, at that time much frequented by the English oflicers quartered there before Waterloo. Although not strictly handsome. her Avinning smUe, her captivating manner, her freshness of youth, and her picturesque dress. attracted the attention of every one, fit)m the grea Wellington doAvn to the unfledged ensign. Flora, however, tumed a deaf ear to their protestations of unchangeable affection, and laughed merrily at the execrable French of her wooers. Not so at Frank 116 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. EusseU, for whom she felt a strong passion. Every morning would she wait for him as he went into the Prince of Orange's palace, to present him Avith one of her choicest flowers, pertinaciously refusing all payment. She did the same to the Duke of Wellington from a feeling of respect, and tripped away as he was about to place some small silver coin in her hand. EusseU, though gratifled Avith this attention, never attempted to take the slightest advantage of it, and when called upon active duty, left sufficient money Avith a friend to repay the flower-girl for the bouquets she had given him. After much hesitation she consented to accept the gold coin, to preserve, she said, as a memento of a kind and honourable man. Poor Flora was in a state of mental agony during the battles of the 16th, 17th, and 18th of June, till the arrival of Frank Eussell with his wounded chief, the heir to the croAvn of HoUand, restored her peace of mind. Not Avishing to trifle Avith the innocent girl's feelings, her idol kept out of the way, and never met her again. Whether she remained constant to her first love I know not ; but when I saw her some months afterwards, on my mission to the Hague Avith despatches from Wel lington, she expressed Avith a faint sigh her hopes that le Capitaine EusseU was well. How different A GERMAN BARON. 117 was her manner upon that occasion to what it had been during the spring, when she was gay and light-hearted ! HappUy, however, her conscience did not upbraid her; and if her unsophisticated heart was bUghted, her purity remained unsuUied. I ought to add that Wellington, who had often had his button-hole decorated Avith the choicest early flowers, made his confidential valet compensate Flora for her gifts. We had no lack of visitors at head-quarters, and great was the fun that many of them caused us. In the case which immediately foUows, in deed, the fun was unintentional. The Duke was returning from hunting one day, accompanied by the late Lord Eaglan, Sandys, and others, when a very neatly appointed travelling britska drove up in great haste at the principal enti-ance, nearly knocking doAvn the Duke's body coachman. Turn- ham, who happened to be in the way. " A foreign messenger," said his Grace. " Fitzroy, you AviU find me in my room." "A Eooshian at least," rejoined Tumham; "he nearly floored me ; and what should we have done if I had been put horse de combat, more especiaUy as we have to meet the Duke of Kent next week ? " The " master of the horse " always talked of his master and himself as " we." 118 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. " I think it must be Brosin," said an officer Avith a broad Scotch accent; "I caught sight of his richly braided fur pelisse." " Colin, I'll back him, from the neatness of his turn-out, to be an Englishman, against the field," exclaimed the late Duke of Beaufort. "I never bet," repUed Sir Colin CampbeU. WhUst they were speculating who it could be, the sportsmen had sent their horses round to the stables,, and joined a group in front ofthe house, of which I, as aide-de-camp in waiting, formed one. Lord Fitzroy had desired the messenger to be shoAvn into his room, and the Duke had retired to doff his hunting gear. The postUUon dismounting, rang loudly at the beU, which was answered by a host of servants. The steps were let doAvn, and a small, stout, inteUigent-looking man, dressed Avith the utmost care, descended from the carriage. He gave his card to the porter, when the Duke of Beaufort, who had recognised the visitor, came forward, Avith the easy, graceful manner which distinguished him, and said, ''I am happy to see you." " Why, it's Baron Stulz, the taUor, I declare," remarked Turnham. "I recoUect him when the Prince of Orange, who served Avith us in the Penin sula, lodged at his house in Clifford Street." A lAILOB EN DIS'3ri'=E. 119 And he was right. On enteriuir WeUin:::t:'n"5 room, I OAvn I eould so^reely keep my countenance, when I announced to my chief that the new omer Aras neither a messenger from the Czar cf aU the Eussias. the King of Prussia, the Emperor of Austria, or Louis XVLQ.. but the popular German sehnadir. Stulz. however. Aras well taken care of during his brief visit : and after receiving a variety of orders, not miUtary but pr»:'fessioiiaL he took his leave for Cambray. To do him justice, the Po";le of that day possessed both tact and judgment, held a high positiorL as a fashionable '"body decorator."" and had the knar-k of suiting the shape and make of every customer. Another Aisitor at the time was Frederick Tales, then an officer of the c-ommissariat department, afterwards manager of the Adelphi Theatre. He, like myself Avas devoted to theatricals, and we did our best to get up some amateur plays at head quarters, though Avithout snceess. Tales and MathcAvs once visited Mo-nt St. Martin, and gave an entertainment, and CoUev Grattan. the author of •¦ Hi^ways and Byeways."" created such a furore at VaXendemies as to attract the attention of the Dake. Grattan was on a Ai^it to his brother, an offic-er of the Sith. and came out in Cold Qmtem. He was one of the best amateur actors I have ever 120 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. seen, and was much pressed to repeat the character, or select some other. But he steadUy refused, being, Uke "single-speech HamUton," determined not to risk his laurels. Wellington was most anxious to see him, and sent a message to Colonel Marlay to ask for a repetition; but Grattan had already left for England, where his vocations detained him for some time. In after Ufe I was in the habit of meeting Grattan at Harleyford, the residence of my old brother officer. Sir WiUiam Clayton; and in talking over by-gone days, he expressed his regret that he had not been able to attend to what he caUed a " command " from the Iron Duke. Poor CoUey Grattan died last year. Few men were more popular in private life, and his memory AviU long be cherished by aU who can appreciate friendliness of disposition, warm-hearted ness, and social quaUties of no mean order. Grattan's brother was one of the members of the theatrical company of the Valenciennes garrison, which, besides himself, numbered Cole, of the 21st FusUiers, afterwards the Calcraft of the DubUn stage, Fairfield, Benson HUl, Meade, Joe KeUy, Fon- blanque, of the 21st Fusiliers, Colonel MacGregor, of the 88th, Mr. Pringle, of the 81st. Colonel Marlay, of the Eoyals, was appointed manager; and the services of three professional ladies were retained. The house was crowded every time, and FRED. YATF.S. 121 the performances were under the pati-onage of Sir John Keane, and Sir Chailcs Colville. Tales and I always made a point of attending. His love of the theatre was even greater than mine, as he proved by subsequently turning to the stage as a profession. He was stUl in the commissariat when the army of occupation broke up, and he retumed to England in that capacity ; but he had a soul above the accounts of rations, and soon quitted that Ufe for more congenial pursuits. After commencing his career at Auld Eeekie, which is famed for the exceUence of its theatie, and the good judgment of its audience, he made his flrst appearance in London as lago at Covent Grarden in 1818. During the season he played in tragedy the parts of Gloucester in " Jane Shore," a prominent character in a tragedy of Maturin's which was xmsuccessful, Casca, Shylock, and Rob Roy ; in comedy and farce, Falstaff, Flexible in imitation of his fiiend Mathews, Sylvester Dagger- wood, Dich in "The Apprentice," and a part in " Cozening " in which he personated seven different characters, and at once stamped himself as second to none in that Protean style so much admired of late years, and so weU supported by Woodin in the present day. Tates was as kind-hearted a creature as ever Uved, a clever and versatUe actor, a most agreeable companion. On one occasion these quaUties were severely 122 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. tested. Tates and I were acquainted Avith many of the corps dramatique of the Valenciennes garrison, and were gladly welcomed at their mess, and at the suppers which always wound up the evening's enter tainment. One evening the play of " Douglas " had been got up, Avith a Adew of bringing forward Cole in the part of Young Norval; and although the audiences in general preferred a good sterUng comedy to a tragedy, however good it might be, the Scottish author's ideas were ably carried out, and the success was great. Cole acted the youthful shepherd boy extremely weU, recited the hackneyed speech Avith due emphasis, spoke manfuUy when assaUed and taunted by Glenalvon, and produced quite a sensation in his dying scene. The per formance was evidently the result of careful study, and was worthy of the legitimate boards. There was a sUght pecuUarity in Cole's natural voice, but it did not at aU mar his elocution. No wonder, then, that the aspiring hero for Thespian honours was proud of the applause that he had received, and naturaUy ranked himself as a star in the amateur company. After the performance, we, the actors, and their intimate Mends, proceeded to the mess- room of the gaUant 88th, the Connaught Eangers, who were as hospitable in their quarters as they were dashing in the field. Punch was introduced A PATTER SONG. 123 after supper, and song and glee were carolled forth. At last, near the close of this cctna, worthy of one of those described by Cluistopher North in lus " Noctes,'" Tates was caUed upon for a song ; and he immediately compUed by giving one of Charles Mathews's popular ditties, introducing imitations of London actors. Braham's entkusgmusy style (so he pronounced the word), Incledon's powerfiil voice, Sinclair's/«/s€Wo, Munden's grimace, DoAvton's laugh, Jerry Sne;ik EusseU's hen-peeked tones. Emeiy's Torkshire dialect. KJoight's rustic twang. Kemble's majestic declamation, Toung's classical deUvery, Edmund Kean's passionate exclamations, were aU hit off to perfection: and an enthusiastic encore foUowed. The mimic, excited a Uttle by the applause, and partly so hy the arrack pimeh, which Fairfield declared "by the powers avus so potent that it would do weU as a first lesson in fire-eating."' thought he woidd introduce a new feature into the song on its repetition, by bringing in some of the amateurs of the evening. He irave a verse of " How happy could I be "with either,"' after the manner of the immortal Joe KeUy. He sang a verse of " The Bould Dragoon" in a way that surprised Fairfield, who had sung it himself half an hour previously. He introduced one of Mead's ballads, true to Ufe, and, carried aAvay Avith the 124 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. cheers that foUowed, he began to trench on dan gerous ground. Throwing himself into the attitude of Toung Norval, he shouted forth the lines — " A low-bom man, of parentage obscure. Who nought can boast but his desire to be A soldier, and to gain a name in arms," The effect was electric. There could be no doubt that it was the happiest imitation imaginable, exag gerating (as modem photographs do) any Uttle defect, but stiU bearing the stamp of strict resem blance. I was sitting next to Fairfield, a warm hearted Irishman, who quietly checked my laughing, adding, sotto voce, " By the tutelar saint of ould Ireland, this avUI be no laughing matter." Fairfield knew that Cole was a Uttle sensitive, and albeit not quarrelsome, ever ready to resent anything that approached to an insult. He had watched his countenance during Tates' s recitation of the words — he saw that he was about to quit the table — ^that he was looking roimd to select a friend to consult and act for him — in short, as he quietly remarked to me, " Coffee and pistols to-morrow morning at dayUght. He'll parade him twelve paces on the daisies, as sure as my name's Sim Fairfield." The laughter and applause had ceased ; there was a dead sUence, which was broken by Joe Kelly, who, Uke my neighbour, had anticipated serious consequences. PATTER ANT) CLATTER. 125 exclaiming, "It's your call for a song, Fred. Tates, and by desire of several persons of distinction I'U favour the company Avith, ' Wlien the Lads of the ViUage,' after the manner — a very long way after the manner — of Incledon." But this announcement hung fire. Cole had risen from his seat, and, as he passed Tates's chair, said in a low firm voice, '' Tou shaU hear from me." A few moments afterwards one of the party, an officer of the aggrieved man's regiment, was caUed out of the room ; Tates making a sign to Fau-field, foUowed shortly afterwards. During their temporary absence aU attempts at hilarity failed, for every one felt that two fine young feUows were about to risk theu- Uves for an unpremeditated jest. What occurred at the conference I know not; but a general cheer burst forth spontaneously from the assembled party when the beUigerents and their seconds re-entered the mess-room in friendly converse. Mutual explana tions had taken place, and the honour of neither party had suffered the sUghtest blemish. " We have to apologise," said Fairfield," for our bad manners in leaving the room, and although I much prefer one of my OAvn country melodies to those of Scotland, Meade and myself atlU sing the solo parts of 'Auld Lang Syne,' Avith a fuU chorus." " Bravo, Sim ! " shouted forth a dozen 126 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. voices, for they knew the words, " Then gie us your hand, my tiusty friend," would furnish a favourable opportunity for shoAving pubUcly that peace was restored. Each member of the party grasping his neighbour's hand would be a sufficient guarantee that no Ul blood existed, and when Cole and Tates, Avith that kindly feeling which characterises real courage, gripped each other's hand, the cheers were deafening. From that moment nothing occurred to disturb the harmony of the evening, as far as the supper was concerned, although the result of the "potations" that had been imbibed at it nearly led to " coffee and pistols" for half-a-dozen the foUoAving morning. Tates, myself, and one or two very young men, had rooms at one of the best hotels, and on arriving there in the small hours, we found the principal passage leading to the dormitories fiUed Avith jack boots highly poUshed and ready for wear. Asking the waiter to whom they belonged, we were told that their OAvners were a party of French officers of Cuirassiers, who were marching through the toAvn, and were to leave at daybreak. Tates and I, tho roughly worn out Avith fatigue and excitement, retired qxdetly to our respective rooms. Not so our companions, who had recently been emancipated from an EngUsh public school, and were travelling SPONGING ON FRENCH OFFICERS. 127 abroad before obtaining their commissions in the army. Nothing would satisfy them but dipping theu- sponges and towels into black and red ink, and depositing them in the boots. At an early hour I was awoke by the tiumpet sounding " boot and saddle," and was turning round to go to sleep again when I heard a noise in the passage that baffles all description. The exclamations, the anathemas, the denunciations, aU uttered in French, were perfectly aAvful. It seemed that every beU in the hotel had been set ringing. At first I fancied the house must be on fire ; so, getting out of bed and putting on my dressing-goAvn and sUppers, I went to Tates's room, which was immediately opposite mine. " What's the matter ?" said he, jumping up in his bed. "I've had a dream that has struck more terror to the soul of Eichard. than can the substance of ten thousand soldiers, armed in proof." " Nothing connected Avith you," I responded : " but there's a wonderful commotion in the house. I suppose the servants are so worn out sitting up for us that they have overslept themselves, and not prepared breakfast for the gaUant Cuirassiers." The noise went on increasing, and putting our door ajar, we looked along the passage. The first thing we saw was the gaunt flgures of half-a-dozen French officers in undress uniform, leather panta- 128 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY; loons, and shirts, some trying to pull on, some to pull off their jackboots ; and-by the colour of the stockings of one of the party, which was a bright crimson, we soon guessed that a practical joke had been played. The master and mistress of the esta blishment, the waiters, cooks, ostler, were all gathered together, looking on Avith profound asto nishment, as, after an enormous amount of swearing, sponges of black and red hue were taken out of the boots. " Quelle mauvaise plaisanterie I" exclaimed one. " We 'U have revenge," said another. "I'U shoot the perpetrators if I find them," declared a third. "Cowards!" thundered a fourth. In the mean time the squadron had assembled in front of the hotel, and more than one veteran non commissioned officer had come to make their reports. The landlord tried to appease the infuriated victims of this shameful act by offering cigars and brandy ; but even this did not quell the storm. Time was, however, getting on, and the gallant officers were obliged to join their men ; but not before insisting that the proprietor of the house should furnish them by post Avith the names of aU who had been in the hotel that night. The EngUsh had, generaUy speak ing, been so well behaved, and so courteous to the French officers and inhabitants of every toAvn in which they were quartered, that no suspicn atiotached A REGULAR JOHN BULL. 129 to Tates, myself, or our party. So anxious was tho hotel-keeper to prevent any misunderstanding that he requested the senior officer to walk into his room, and there having promised to make good any damage done, and to use his best endeavours to discover the culprits, added that he at once exonerated aU his EngUsh guests, and fancied he could bring the mischief home to a discharged waiter, who might have done it out of revenge. If the EngUsh did not always deserve this good character during the occupation of France, it must be said that redress was easUy procurable both by law and by weapons. An amusing instance of the first was furnished by the court-martial on Sir Charles FeUx Smith, of the Eoyal Engineers, for assaulting a French tradesman at Valenciennes. Sir Charles was a first-rate officer, highly popular Avith the Duke of Wellington, and equaUy so Avith a great portion of his officers. He was a thorough bred Englishman, hated everything foreign, and was so devoted to his oavu country that he woidd never breakfest on anything but beefeteaks and porter, the indigenous food of a true Briton. One morning, after practising Avith a heavy sledge hammer to give his arm strength, he was about to sit doAvn to a juicy steak, and a pcAvter pot of foam ing London porter, when an altercation was heard VOL, I. K ' 130 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. at the door of his quarters. " Le colonel n'est pas chez lui," said the landlord. "The colonel must not be disturbed at his breakfast," exclaimed Sir Charles's servant. But the intruder would take no denial, pushed rudely past into the presence of the hungry officer, and jabbered out that he had been treated Avith indignity, and would not leave the house until his small account was settled. " In half an hour I wUl see you and pay your bUl," said the colonel. " I am at my breakfast." A few anathemas from, the pressing tradesman, in which England and EngUshmen were not very civUly treated, ended by the man thrusting his account (which was Only for ten francs) on the colonel's plate just as it was being rubbed Avith a shalot, preparatory to the "hot and hot" deUcacy being placed upon it. This Avas too much for the gallant soldier. He quietly rose from his seat, looked unutterable contempt at the " dun," and taking him by the coUar, lifted him off his legs and deposited him in the street. The Frenchman's oaths were something fearful, and at the usual magisterial charge of five shUUngs each, they would have amounted to fifty times more than the bill. A com plaint was made to the Commander-in-Chief, and Wellington ordered a court-martial. The late Sir AN APOLOGY. 131 Peregrine Maitland, of the Guai-ds, was president, and he and all the officers constituting the court were in hopes that an apology from the prisoner would satisfy the prosecutor, and that the affair would terminate. One or two of the colonel's friends suggested this to him, and it was fully ex pected that, instead of defending his conduet, he Avould make an amende honorable. The case for the prosecution was concluded, and the prisoner was caUed upon for his defence. " Mr. President, and gentlemen," said the colonel — " ' Eude am I in my speech. And Httle bless'd 'with the set phrase of peace ; For since these arms of mine had seven years' pith, TUl now some nine moons wasted, they have used Their dearest action in the tented field ; And Uttle of this great world can I speak. More than pertains to feats of broU and ba'ttle ; And therefore Uttle shaU I grace my cause. In speaking for myself.' " There was a breathless sUence when the prisoner, who was more than sis foot one high, raising him self to the extent of his stature, and looking doAvn complacently on the LUliputian prosecutor, con tinued, "Tet I will say, that if ever there was an action of my Ufe I have cause to regret" — a buzz went round the court, the members of it smUed and looked satisfied, expecting an apology would foUow — "it is" — another buzz, and an agreeable look e2 132 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. from the president — "that" — ^here the Frenchman, who had been told that an apology was about to be offered, looked up smilingly, for he was anxious that the affair, which had done him harm in his business, should be amicably arranged — "it is," repeated Smith, in a stentorian voice, " that I did not half murder the insolent Avretch." The consternation of aU parties was great, the prosecutor slunk away, and the court, after due deUberation, sentenced the colonel to be repri manded. The payment of the account, a smaU douceur, and a few civU words — ^for FeUx Smith, although somewhat -violent in temper, had a warm heart — ^put an end to this disagreeable transaction. The other mode of settUng difficulties was at tended Avith worse consequences. It is weU knoAvn that duels were very frequent after 1815 between the French and the officers of the army of occupa tion. Indeed, the author (or authoress) of a novel which gained no smaU reputation, " Lost Sir Mas singberd," goes so far as to say that "after the peace in 1815, there were more officers — EngUsh and French — SkUled in single combat in Paris than in any one of the most bloody battles of the late war." Now, though I am ready to admit that the meetings were numerous and fatal, I cannot go the whole length of this statement, for I find by the A NOTED DUELLIST. 133 official return that no less than a hundred and three EngUsh officers fell at Waterloo. Before I notice a few of these duels, let me point out that the author of "Lost Sir Massingberd" relates a celebrated affair which took place at Caen, and to which I shall presently refer, making a fictitious character in the novel the hero of the real story. One of these duels took place at Cambray, whUe I was on the staff of the Duke of Wellington. On the evening of March 31st, 1816, Lieutenants Gordon and Maimers, of the Guards, were walking on the esplanade at Cambray, when some other officers joined them, and they stopped to enter into conversation. At this moment a Frenchman having the appearance of an officer passed them several times very close, making very short turns, and, although no sort of provocation had been offered, staring them full in the^fece in the most insolent maimer. No notice Avhatever was taken of his conduct, and the officers separated, Gordon and Manners walking away arm in arm. As they passed the Frenchman, he made use of the grossest epithets, when Gordon, in the mildest manner, asked if such expressions were intended for them ? The French officer repUed in a menacing tone, "Prenez cela comme vous voulez ; si vous le prenez pour vous, tenez le donc." Cards were then exchanged, and a meeting 134 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. took place the following morning. The aggressor, when called upon by Manners to retract his words, refused. The parties took their ground, and the Frenchman's first shot took effect, the baU pass ing through Gordon's body. After the affair it was ascertained that the French officer, who be longed to the Legion du Nord, was a systematic duellist, and that he had declared at a cafe that he would take the life of an EngUsh officer. Poor Gordon was only in his twentieth year, and was much esteemed by all who knew him. A few months afterwards the duel already re-, ferred to took place between an EngUshman and a Frenchman, in which the latter was kUled. It arose from a series of quarrels, into which our countrymen had been led Avithout the sUghtest provocation. In one instance the aggressors had been prosecuted, and upon returning from the place of justice, the EngUsh who had attended the ttial were assailed Avith scurrilities. One of them, Charles Pickford by name, who had received his share of the words " Cochon Anglais, polisson, canaille," marked his man, but made no sign in public. In the evening he found him at a coffee-house, and demanded satisfaction, which was granted, Avith the significant hint "the sooner the better." They met at Vancelles the next morning about seven. CHANCE v. SCIENCE. 135 Monsieur M. Avith Moii?ieur D. for his so i^ ond, and Pickford \rith laentenant Morgan ofthe royal navy. The Frenchman wanted fifteen paces, the English man repUed that he was no shjt. and would aUow of none beyond :^ur. To this Monsieur M. had no objection, pr«:>Added he had the first fire. Pickford" s fiiend insisted upon both parties firing together, which was no>t agreed tO'. Another proposal was made that one of the s-rooinds should charge one only of the pistols Avith balL said give the other princ^tal his choice. This Aras acceded to. Monsieur M. chc-se one, and the other was given to Pickford- They presented together — the space between them being about two feet — ^the word was given, and Pickford's baU entered the ribs of his adversary. The survivor was then grossly insulted by the second of the &Uen mari^ wto proposed another duel a Voutrance. Pickford repUed, "CaU in a Avitness, and I AviU wait for you," HappUy. how ever, the affair ended here, and Pickford's conduct throughout was exemplary. On coining to the ground he said, -• I did not approve of the prosecu tion ; my opinion was entirely against it. I had no concern in it. Only make me an apology for the insulting ex^essions of yesterday, and I shaU be happy to shake hands Avifh you. I have not the sUg^itest Avish to push this matter farther." The 136 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. unfortunate sufferer and his second refused aU con cession, and they alone were to blame for the tragical issue. The custom of duelling has become so purely a thing of the past in England tljat it requires an effort to look back on the days when duels were of constant occurrence. At the close of the last, and commencement of the present century, the code of honour, as it was caUed, was mercUess in its severity. No gentleman, however innocent and imconscious of offence, could refuse a chaUenge if caUed upon by the caprice or Ul-temper of a professed duellist. To decline a meeting would have stamped a man as a coward ; and although one of the articles of war enacted that " no officer shaU presume to give or send a chaUenge to any other officer to fight a duel, upon pain of being cashiered," affairs of honour were of frequent occurrence. Many military and naval men thought that their career ought to commence Avith an immediate proof of their courage by fighting some fire-eater, entirely forgetting that admirable axiom, that " one gaUant exploit against the pubUc enemy confers more glory upon an officer, than a hundred such meetings," and not bearing in mind that the ancient Greeks and Eomans, who were unquestionably men of valour, never drew their swords except against an enemy, in their PRESENT IMPROATEMENTS. 137 country's quarrel. In the days I Avrite of, the general feeling was that the practice could not be entirely aboUshed ; it was argued that the dread of being called to a personal account kept people in awe, and that thousands of mannerly gentlemen in Europe would have tumed out insupportable cox combs, Avithout some salutary curb to keep their natural petulance under restiaint. These shaUow reasoners forgot that the act of duelling in itself is uncharitable, unsocial, nay, inhuman ; that it is diametrically opposed to the forgiAdng meekness of Christianity, which teaches us to eschew revenge, forbids murder and shedding of blood. Honour, according to their worldly interpretation, rises up in barefaced opposition, commanding us to fight for trifles, justifies the taking away of a man's Ufe, and paUiates revenge. HappUy in our time such meetings are rare ; and the generaUy understood determination of the highest personage in the realm, and of the heads of the naval and military services, to support tho^e who have sufficient moral courage to decline an appeal to arms, AviU entirely put an end to so barbarous a custom. The four-bottle man, who roUed under the table, or reeled into the draAving-room, and the "dead shot," who scored the number of victims upon the barrels of the murderous weapons Avith which, to 138 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. adopt the unfeeUng phraseology of the day, he had "Avinged" or "brought doAvn" his adversary, have ceased to exist; and the Eing in Hyde Park, Wimbledon Common, and Chalk Farm, where many a noble feUow has fallen, are no longer the scenes of Adndictive passions, savage encounters, and hot headed murder. Even in the Emerald Isle, the " Galway practice " is almost extinct, and the brave sons of Ireland have found a more noble fleld for the display of their imflinching courage and bravery under the burning sun of India, in the Celestial Empire, on the AvUd steppes of the Crimea, in the trenches of Sevastopol, in the mountain passes of New Zealand, in the Baltic, and on the Black Sea, than they did in "parading" a foe at ten paces at the Curragh, in the Phoenix; Park, or by the banks of the canal. On the Continent, however, the old theories remain almost in fuU force. It was only last year that three Prussian officers were cashiered because they declared that their principles would not permit them to flght if they were chaUenged. The case where a Prussian general fought an eminent jurist, because of some remarks the latter had made in a pamphlet against the administration of the army, occurred only four years ago. And it is not ten years since a Parisian joumaUst was caUed out by THE GOOD OLD DAYS. 139 a string of officers, and wounded in a second en counter, for some passing aUusion to then- conduct in a baU-room. If we look back to the reigns of the last two Georges, we flnd duelling in fuU Adgour. "MUUngen's History of DueUing" states that during the reign of George III. one hundred and seventy-two duels were fought, and sixty-nine in dividuals killed. In three of these cases neither of the combatants survived. Ninety-six persons were woimded, forty-eight desperately, and forty-eight sUghtly, whUe one hundred and seventy-nine escaped unhurt. From this statement it AviU be seen that rather more than one-fifth of the combatants lost their Uves, and that nearly one-half received some wound. It also appears that only eighteen trials took place; that six of the arraigned individuals were acquitted ; seven found guUty of manslaughter, and three of murder. Of these ten, two were executed, and eight imprisoned for different periods. During the reigns of George LEI. and George IV., and doAvn to the year 1841, a hundred and fifty duels took place among what are termed dis tinguished people. Ninety-seven occurred during the first, and fifty-five during the latter reign. Seventy were killed, and forty-five wounded. Among the combatants were forty noblemen, in cluding a royal duke, three dukes, two marqidses. 140 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. two earls, two viscounts, two lords by courtesy, seventy-nine officers of the army, eight naval officers, forty-two gentlemen, thirteen laAvyers, twenty-eight Irishmen, twelve members of the House of Commons, five actors, two students of the DubUn University, eleven Americans, thirty foreigners, the rest Scotch and Welsh. In the duel between Mr. Monro, 16th Dragoons, and Mr. Green, in which the former was wounded and the latter kiUed, each fired five shots at a distance of about sis yards. At the third discharge Mr. Green was wounded in the side, and the sisth proved fatal to him, while his adversary was woimded in the knee. The encounter between the Marquis de Liv- ron and M. de Throne, in the forest of Senart, resembled a tournament more than a modem duel. M. de Throne, the advocate, was habited in the costume of a Greek chief; each combatant was mounted, attended by three seconds, and armed Avith sabres. At the first onset M. Livron was dismounted by the shock of the horses meeting, and the seconds interfering, the affair terminated. At least a hundred and fifty spectators were present. ' The Eeverend Mr. Bate, who was editor of the Morning Post, and the hero of two affairs of honour, was first called to account by Mr. Stoney, for an offensive paragraph against Lady Strathmore. NEWSPAPER SQUABBLES. 141 After discharging their pistols Avithout effect, the combatants drew their swords, and both were wounded. To add to the romance, on the foUoAving Saturday Mr. Stoney married the lady he had thus gaUantly defended. Three years afterwards the rev. gentleman had another affair Avith a student of the law, late of St. John's College, Cambridge, and engaged Avith Mr. Bate in the conduct of the Morning Post. The student received a wound in the fieshy part of the arm, and retumed his opponent's fire Avithout effect. The quarrel arose out of a circumstance relating to the management of the paper. The Eev. Mr. AUen kUled Lloyd Dulany, Esq., in a duel, in consequence of a quarrel of three years' standing, which also arose from a paragraph published in the Morning Post. He was brought to trial at the Old BaUey, sentenced to pay a fine of a shilling, and to be imprisoned six months in Newgate. A remarkable case occurred at BroAvn- AdUe, in the State of Pennsylvania, at a duel between two American gentlemen, Messrs. Ander son and Jones. They fired simultaneously, at a distance of about four yards. Anderson's ball took effect in Jones's breast, whUe Anderson himself escaped by Jones's baU lodging in the muzzle of his pistol. The causes of many of the above duels were most 142 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. trivial. An officer of the Une caUed out an officer in the French service for saying the EngUsh army possessed more phlegm than spirit. A law student was shot OAving to some comments made upon him. for declining to drink any longer, after drinking Avith four friends tmtU past one o'clock. A fight between two dogs in Hyde Park led to the death of a gaUant colonel. A foreign nobleman, who was near-sighted, ran against an EngUshman walking Avith two ladies in the stieet ; a duel followed, and the EngUshman was killed at the third fire. The fatal rencontre that ended in the execution of Major Campbell, arose from, a difference of opinion as to the right way of giving a word of. command. The sentence would have probably been remitted had seconds been present. A trifling quarrel at Barbadoes led to the death of one of the parties, a young officer of the 60th Eegiment. One of the most Avealthy and kind-hearted noblemen of the day was wounded slightly in an affair Avith a baro net residing in the same county, the quarrel arising out of the election of mayor for the city of Chester, in 1818. I might quote a variety of other cases in which human Ufe was sacrificed in consequence of some trifling misunderstanding or xmguarded ex pression. Even when offence was given from a sudden ebulUtion of temper, how much better it FIRST APPEARANCE. 143 would have been if both parties had home in mind the remarks of Lord Hunsden, a distinguished noble man in the Court of EUzabeth: — "To have the courage to notice an affront is to be upon a level Avith an adA-ersary ; to have the charity to forgive it, is to be above him." Had this sentiment been adopted, many noble Uves might have been spared to themselves and their country. I took my leave of France in 1816, and proceeded first to Brussels, where my father and mother were staying. The year and place are memorable to me, as they Avitnessed my first appearance in the legiti mate drama. As a Westminster boy, I had taken part in a draAving-room performance, acting the part of Squire Bugle, afterwards transformed to Clown in the comic pantomime of " Harlequin and Mother Goose." But it was not tiU now that my ambition was fuUy gratified. The scene of our histrionic efforts was the room immortaUsed by Byron in the Unes descriptive of the Duchess of Eichmond's baU the night before the battle of Quatte Bras : — ¦¦ " Within a 'windo'w'd niche of that high haU." It was a long gaUery, Avith an alcove at the end admirably suited for a temporary stage ; and here, Avith the help of the machinist and carpenters of 144 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. the Brussels Opera House, we constructed a very neat and commodious theatre. Our company con sisted of Mrs. Bamet, a lady in every way calcu lated to grace the boards; Miss Harriott Pigott, very vice versa, as she possessed not a single requi site for the stage, except perhaps a masculine voice, which, however calculated for the browbeating Mrs. Sneak, was not suited for the tender and sorroAving f^ady Randolph; the honourable Colonel Parker, Colonel Fane, Henry (commonly caUed Chuff) Bar nard, Lord Weymouth, my brother Frederick, and myself. With this rather Umited company we got up tragedies, a melodrama (" The BUnd Boy"), and two or three farces. The young Guardsman who acted Anna, in " Douglas," undertook the character Avith the understanding that he was only to learn half-a-dozen Unes at most, so we curtaUed the scene between this confidante and her lady by inserting one Une, to the foUoAving effect : — " Deign, gentle mistress, to confide Thy secret sorrows to thy Anna's faithful breast :" Upon which Lady Randolph poured forth her whole history, interrupted occasionaUy by a laugh pro duced at the uncomfortable position of the gentle Anna, ' who appeared for the first time in female attire. But we wUl leave Lady Randolph to speak for herself. STALE SPITE. 145 In a work entitled " Eeeords of Eeal Life in the Palace and the Cottage," revised by the late John Gait, Miss Pigott thus Avrites of Brussels in 1817: — "We had stars and garters, warrior-heroes, and princes. We had Lord Kinnaird to set us on fire, not merely as a hel esprit, but also as the torch of poUtical and private discords. We had a noble duke (Charles, fourth Duke of Eichmond) to inspire by his couAdviaUty and gallantties our sparkling looks, promoting hUarity at his petits soupers given after our dramas. An archbishop's daughter (Mrs. Bamet, daughter of the Archbishop of Tork) repre sented the sorrows and humiliation of the beauteous Jane Shore, who spoUt aU by her bad acting. She had received a course of lessons for the occasion from the celebrated acttess Miss Smith (afterwards Mrs. Bartley) ; her costume was perfect ; but she raved, in a harsh cadence, of the roses and UUes that even in her nursery days had never tinted her cheeks, which were of the darkest bronze shade. We had a Lord Hastings, Avithout soul or animation, who raved in- Ul-humour at the feet of Alicia (Miss Harriott Pigott) ; yet she was knoAvn to have acute sensibUity in real life, and in the drama appeared to feel her fictitious woes ; but what coidd be effected Avith a piece of stone in human form — a young self-AviUed lord ? Lord Weymouth acted in ' The VOL. I. L 146 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. Weathercock,' whose mind was preoccupied; his young heart being wedded to a bright-eyed high-bom French girl. A veteran honourable colonel (Colonel Fane) performed Mr. Bruin (Miss Pigott Avrites it Bruno), in the farce of ' The Mayor of Garratt ;' and Mrs. Sneak (Miss Pigott again) gave a box on the ear to Lord WilUam L (Lord W. Lennox), who represented Jerry, in right good Avill and main force ; for they were inimical in the draAving-room scenes of real Ufe, as many confederates, whUe running together in stirring pleasure's path, are knoAvn to be. The same lord acted the character of Young Norval in Home's tragedy of ' Douglas,' Avith those ill-omened sentiments to the same female, the representative of a mother's woes, as Lady Randolph. A young guardsman (if I remember right, the late Henry Barnard, of Crimean fame) personated the gentle Anna. All was absurd. We were vraiment the inimitable " Precieuses Ridicules." That British war-star, the Duke of Wellington, and his aide-de camp, poor Harvey, were forced to compress their lips ; and the Duke, with his fine cambric hand kerchief, concealed half his fine face. The Prince Hereditaire, who came from curiosity, did the same. But they applauded us manfully ; for they were of the old war rigime, which comprehended that of politeness. The ladies of our audience moved their JOHN PHILIP KEMBLE. 147 heads in admiring Adbrations, and gave us peals of applause, resendng their censures and sarcasms for dejeuner reunions and afternoon visits." Now, to account for iliss Pigott' s bitter feeUng against one of the most amiable beings that ever existed, we must remark that she was aAvfuUy jealous of Mrs. Bamet's appearance and acting; and this feeling increased a hundredfold when it was arranged to get up a private performance at Mrs. Bamet's house, and give the hostess a prominent character. Miss Pigott was clever, but Grosser than twenty crabbed old maids. Moreover she was plain, and made her appearance worse by a strong appUcation of rouge both off and on the stage. ForgiAeness was not a trait in her character, as she never omitted an opportunity of shoAving her venom against her successful rivaL My passion for theatricals was not damped by the spite of this feir chronicler, and on returning to London I paid frequent visits to the play. Before joining my regiment at Windsor I had the great privilege of Avitnessing John PhiUp Kemble take his leave of the stage. He did so on the 22nd of June, 1817, in the character of Coriolanus. Nothing could exceed the applause Avith which he was greeted, and when the curtain fell, the whole house rose up in a body, and continned waving hats, handkerchiefs, l2 148 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. and laurels for some minutes, amidst the deafening cheers of pit and gaUery. The curtain rose again, and the hero of the evening came forward, evidently suffering from great agitation. After a few minutes' pause he deUvered his fereweU address. "Ladies and gentlemen," said he, "this night I have made my last appearance before you. I fear I cannot express myself Avith any kind of propriety — indeed, I Avished to Avithdraw sUently from the stage — I thought I had not composure enough for this situation ; but I have suffered my seK to be persuaded, in compliance Avith custom, to utter one parting word. I entreat you to beUeve that the Mnd approbation which you have bestowed upon me since I first became a candidate for pubUe favour, doAvn to this, my last performance. AvdU remain for ever fixed on my heart. Whatever talents I am master of — ^what ever exertions I have made as an actor or as a manager in improving the propriety of costume, and giving increased splendour to the representations, particulai-ly those of Shakespeare, they have been rendered deUghtful to me on account of the favour Avith which you Avitnessed them. Accept my respect ful, warm gratitude — ^it is too big for expression; and now suffer me, ladies and gentlemen, to bid you a long and unAvilUng fareweU." During the deUvery of the address, Kemble was frequently interrupted by his emotion. At its close, a perfect sylvan ova- BANQUET ON HIS RETIREMENT. 149 tion was paid him, and Avi-eaths of lam-els were showered on the stage. Never shaU I forget the impression the whole scene made upon mc. As a boy, at Westminster, I had seen this great actor in almost all his parts, but never to my mind did he equal the performance of the noble Eoman when taking leave of the stage. On the 24th of the month, a grand dinner was given at the Freemasons' Tavern, for the purpose of presenting hJTn Avith a testimonial for his successful exertions in promoting the interests of the British drama. It was most numerously attended; and, through the kindness of the Marquis of Worcester, I was fortunate enough to procure a seat at the principal table. Lord HoUand presided ; on his right hand was John PhiUp Kemble, and on his left the Duke of Bedford. Among the noblemen and gentlemen that supported the president were the Marquises of LansdoAvne, Tavistock, and Worcester, the Earls of Essex, Aberdeen, Mulgrave, Blessing ton, Lords Petersham, Erskine, and Torrington, Messrs. Croker, the poets CampbeU, T. Moore, and Eogers, Avith others distinguished in Uterature and the fine arts. Talma was also present ; and, as I had often met him at Paris, I was deUghted to renew my acquaintance. After the usual loyal toasts. Lord Holland rose to give the toast of the evening. His lordship said that it had been the intention of 150 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. the committee to have presented his friend Mr. Kemble Avith a piece of plate suitably embelUshed, but it had been found impossible to complete it in time. He then proceeded to read the proposed inscription, which ran as follows : — " To John PhiUp Kemble, Esq., on his retirement from the stage, of which he has been thirty-four years the ornament and pride — ^which to his learning, taste, and genius is indebted for its present state and refinement — which, by his labours and perseverance in the ad vancement of the legitimate drama, and more parti cularly in support of Shakespeare, whose muse his performance has aided and embelUshed, this plate is given as a testimony of gratitude, respect, and affec tion." The noble chairman then, in a most eloquent speech, passed the highest eulogiums on the talents of Mr. Kemble, who " had given to poetry all its full effects, and conferred upon the drama of the country aU the rational entertainment of which it was susceptible." Kemble retumed thanks in an excellent speech, which was applauded to the echo. In the course of the evening Talma's health was drunk, amidst the most cordial acclamations ; and the great representative of CorneUle's and Eacine's finest works expressed his gratitude in very good EngUsh, with an occasional tinge of 'French accent, to serve as a presage of Fechter. CHAPTER IV. EMBAEK FOE CANADA — CHAELES, FOUETH DUKE OF EICHMOND — THE " rPHIGENIA " FBIGATB — CAPTAIN HYDE PABKBB — ^MAN O'STEEBOAED — BIVEE ST. LA-WEENCB — QUEBEC — DESEETBBS FEOM THB SHIP — SUBBENDBE OF ONE OF THB CULPRITS — BIS ESCAPE THE OEMSKTEK EOSCIUS — ^PRACTICAL JOKE — RETURN TO ENGLAND THE DANDIES — BRUMMELL — MILDMAT — STANDISH — BAIL HUGHES JAMES BRADSHAW — MISS MAEIA TBEB AN AD'VENTUEE AT AN HOTEL THB £100 NOTE — HON. FITZEOY STANHOPE — THE COUNTESS, HIS MOTHBE — COM- MI8SAEY GENEEAL OF THB PEIZB EING. CHAPTEE IV. In March, 1818, my father, the fourth Duke of Eichmond, was appointed Captain-General and Govemor-in-Chief of the two Canadas, Nova Scotia, &c,, and he took me out as his aide-de-camp. Later in the year, we embarked at Portsmouth on board the Lphigenia frigate, commanded by Captain Hyde Parker. At nine o'clock, the admiral poUtely sent his flag-Ueutenant to announce to my father that the Lphigenia would saU at twelve. Shortly afterwards a " middy" made his appearance Avith a note from Captain Parker, to say that he had ordered a cutter to the saUyport to take the servants and Ught luggage on board, and that the flagship's barge would be in waiting at the same place at eleven, to take the Governor-General and his suite. Shortly before eleven we left the " George," pro ceeded to the saUyport, and there found the admiral's twelve-oared barge, maimed by a dozen 154 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. smart-looking fellows, such as were at that time to be culled from the crews of our men-of-war. The coxswain was no way behind his men in appear ance ; neither did the Ueutenant of the flagship, who on this occasion was ordered to attend, nor the midshipman, do discredit to the crew. All were neat and orderly. Black glazed hats, cocked knoAvingly on one side, Avith the ship's name in gold on a black ribbon band; white duck trousers, Avithout braces, 'and frocks, the coUars turning over, lined Avith Ught blue caUco, and cunningly stitched ; black sUk neckcloths brought round in front; and passing through a ring ; a bit of marline round each waist, to which was appended a buckhom-handled knife ; shoes Avith a superabundance of tie, long in the quarters, covering feet without stockings, completed the costume. On the beach stood two of the men at the foot of the gangboard, each holding the end of a boat-hook staff. In the head-sheets stood two more holding the other ends of the same staves. Behind them stood the next sis respectfuUy offering their near arms, hat in hand. One on each quarter was engaged in keeping the boat from swaying end on to the beach, through the Uttle run which there generaUy is on beaches in the least exposed situa- SAIL FOR CANADA. 155 tions. At this time it was rather more than usual ; the Avind, haidng veered to the southward of east, had increased in freshness. My father, having taken a corcUal leave of the admiral, entered the barge, foUowed by myself and other members of his fanuly and staff ; and when we were seated the order was given to shove off. T^'oAvn came the oars Avith a simultaneous splash ; "Back astern;" "Easy;" "Pull the larboard oars;" and, as she came roimd, " Give way aU." We had a sti'ffish puU to the Lphigenia, as the Avind had freshened; and as we neared her, I saw she was hove short, for her buoy was close to her bow. I must here remark that as a lad I had much expe rience in boats at Bognor, where I passed many months of the year, and afterwards as a West minster boy, when I devoted my hoUday time to sculling and sailing. Among my cronies in Dean's Tard was a son of Admiral Losack ; and from him, Ayith a draAving of ships before me, I learnt the names and uses of almost all the ropes ; so the above AviU account, in a great degree, for the nautical knowledge I had then, and have stUl — creditable perhaps to a landsman, and passing muster in the eyes of even old salts. We were saluted in the boat by a long shrUl whistle ; after that, the side boys neatly dressed 156 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. handed white side-ropes to my father, and the boat's crew standing Avith hats off, was received by Captain Parker, a guard of marines, and the usual compliment of guns. The Lphigenia had her courses and topsaUs loose, Avith " Blue Peter " at the fore, when we arrived on board. The quarter-deck was clear ; but I could see the capstan-bars were ready on the carronades, having probably been unshipped to clear the deck for the grand reception. No sooner had the Governor-General gone doAvn the companion, than the arms of the marines were ordered from the present to the shoulder. " Order arms ! Unfix bayonets ! Shoulder arms ! Port arms ! Eight face ! Dismiss ! DoAvn below ! " said the sergeant ; " Put on working dresses ! " I had followed my father into the captain's cabin, where I found my brother aides-de-camp assembled. He cautioned us against doing anything to offend naval discipUne, particularly on the quarter-deck; pointing out the respect that was due to Captain Parker, at whose table we were to take our meals. Being desirous of seeing Cowes, Tarmouth, Hurst Castle, and the Needles, and my father not requir ing my services, I hastened on deck, just in time to hear, " Sheet home ! " and to see the topsail- sheets spreading out to the lower yard-arms; to HANDS UP ANCHOR. 157 hear "belays" by dozens; "Man the topsaU hal yards ; " " Hoist away the topsaUs ; " " Stamp and go." The fii-st Ueutenant cai-rying on tho duty, not a whisper was even audible in any other part of the ship. Up flew the topsaU-yards aU neai-ly together; the larboai-d head-yards were hauled round for canting to starboard, and afterwards braced for the lai-board tack as she went off. Everything that used to be lai-board is port now, and Avisely; for the sounds of starboard and larboard are so nearly aUke, that they often led to mistakes, to wrong ropes being let go, and to interminable en-ors. That CAdl is remedied in the present service ; and as I AVi'ite for the present generation the name must be port in futui-e. " Belay and belay again," as the marks were in ; " Stand by yoiu- nippers below; " " Hold on in the waste ; " " Ship the capstan bars ; " " Heave round ; " and the men walked away at the capstan to the tune of a weU-played fife. " Short stay a-peak," piped and said the boatswain. " Go on," ordered the " first." " Heave and in sight," shouted the boatswain; then "Heave and awash;" " High enough ; " " Paul the capstan ; " " Avast heavmg ; " " Out bai-s ; " " Hook the cat ; " " Man the cat faU ; " " Haul taut ; " " Eun away the cable." The Ueutenant of the forecastle, the first Ueutenant, 158 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. and the boatswain, each speaking in his proper place ; the latter bloAving away at his whistle, his cheeks Uke parchment, the longest part of his face " athwart ships." " Cable enough ; " " Walk away Avith the cat." By this time the frigate had paid off, the head yards braced round to the port tack, " Up and loose top-gaUant sails ! " " Man fore and main tacks and jib halyards ! " " Hoist away the jib ! " " Haul aboard!" "LetfaU!" "Sheet home!" "Hoist away !" " Out spanker sheet !" and his Majesty's ship Lphigenia was going along nine or ten knots, Avith her head for the west channel ; the Avind rather abaft the beam, for it had southered. After passing Portland BiU, which we did before sun- doAvn, the Lizard, and the Land's End, we shaped our course at once for Quebec. West-north-west, by compass, we kept the even tenor of our way for several days, Avith but one exciting occurrence. That occurrence made a deep impression upon my mind, as through it the ship's company thought, for more than an hour, that they had lost eleven of their number, and I feared I should never again see a young officer Avith whom I had only recently become acquainted, but for whom I had formed the sti'ongest regard. We were ten days out ; stUl favoured by a breeze MAN OATERBOARD. 159 which for the last twelve hom-s had been graduaUy fi-eshening and draAving more to the southAvard. During that time our canvas had been reduced to top-gaUant sails, and to one, the foretop-mast, studding-saU (aU canvas below the top-gaUant sails being of course impUed). The log had just been hove. Previously to eight o'clock p.m., I was Avalking Avith a young officer, when eleven knots was reported. At the same time a cry from the forecastie was heard, "Man overboard I" Lieute nant was aU aUve in an instant. Order after order foUowed in quicker time than I have taken to Avrite these few Unes. "DoAvn Avith the helm!" '•Never mind the studding-saUI"' "Clear away the cutter ! " " Steady, men I " " No letting go the feUs ! " " Stand by the life-buoy ! " "Up courses I " By this time aU hands were on deck. Lieutenant , seizing a coU of rope, rushed aft and looked over the lee quarter, threw the rope, caUed, " DoAvn Ufe-buoyl" then addressing the first Ueutenant, said, " Take care of the ship !" and over he went. The frigate was stUl going rapidly a-head, having as yet lost but Uttie of her way. The studding- saU boom had snapped short off at the iron, Uke a carrot, when the saU came aback, and Avas flying anywhere ; the Avind appeared fearfuUy high, as the ship came near it, heeUng Avith the press of canvas. 160 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. I watched the Ufe -buoy fast disappearing on the weather quarter; the heads were abeady out of sight. I had seen the Ueutenant catch the man by the left arm Avith his right hand. I saw him struggUng to reach the Ufe-buoy, then only three or four yards to Avindward. I lost both as often as I saw them; and although I kept my eye on the buoy for at least half a minute longer, I feared they were both gone. The cutter now cleared the stem, shipping a nasty sea, before the lee oars could puU her head to Avind. The captain of the mizen-top, from aloft, stUl saw the buoy, and pointed out the dbection — the same that I and three or four more were point ing at from the taffraU. The cutter's crew, Avith young Mansfield for its mid (a youth who was ever foremost when anything was up, mischief or work, all the same to him), puUed well in the right course. In less than a minute they were out of sight; for it was now past dusk, and fably dark, a black dismal cloud, which we had all day been approaching in the south-west, having taken the place of aU that was left of tAvUight. It was plain that a dirty night of some sort was coming; the glasses were falling; the wdnd had abeady draAvn to the south; the top-gaUant saUs were furled, aU hands caUed to reef topsaUs, and ON THK W.\.TCH. 161 two reefs taken in. TVTiile this Avas doing the Avind increased, blue Ughts Avcro biu-nt incessantly, occasion ally a rocket was sent up, and lanterns were hoisted at the peak, and shoAvn in the quai-ter. To describe what I went thi-ough after the top saUs were set again, for nearly an hom-, when all was quiet, except the noise of the sea and the Avind, would be impossible; that long hour appeared an age. I beUeve every man in the ship was stiaining his eyes over the water to Avindward the whole time, whenever there was a chance of seeing. The main and mizen chains were fuU, and many sharp eyes peered from the weather rigging, every cai-- ronade had its occupants, the stern taffraU and quarters were crowded. Parker had made an excuse to my father to break up a party of whist in his cabin, and, joined by the Duke and his staff, was anxiously awaiting the result. A fuU hour elapsed, during which the ship, after her way was stopped, had been most scientificaUy kept in one position, barring her drift to leeward ; and the captain and first Ueutenant were in the act of consulting as to whether saU should be made by a short tack or two to Avindward, both doubting whether the cutter could dare to run before the heavy sea. VOL. I. M 162 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. The order had been given to fill the maintop-sail, " haul out the spanker," and " haul on board the foretack," the sails were shaking from the actual commencement of these operations, and hope Avith one and all was over, when a well-knoAvn voice — than which none could be louder — ^the voice of the Ueutenant, was heard from under the lee. " Stand fast. Heave us a rope." And there, sure enough, where not an eye was expecting to see her, was the cutter, Avith the saUor still hardly clear of death's door, the lieutenant, the young reefer, crew, life buoy, and all. They were soon on deck, the boat hoisted up, and plain sail made on the ship ; for by this time rain was added to the gusts, and the Avind was fast getting to the westward. As soon as the lieutenant had swallowed a glass of grog, and ordered ¦ one for the poor feUow whose life he had so gallantly saved, we aU crowded round him, to hear how it aU happened. " A near touch," said he ; " the nearest I have ever had, I thought Simcoe was gone once. Did not doubt for myself, unless tugged doAvn, for I never lost sight of the life-buoy, I tried hard and long to take him to it, and, like a sensible fellow, he did his best ; and, if he had not first struck his head against the bump kin (for he fell from the head-raU), and if the ship had not gone clean over him, he would have done SAVED FROM DROWNING. 163 weU, for there is no better SAvimmer on board. The seas broke nastily, and the life-buoy could not near us fast enough, nor could we near it. I'll have a smaU sail clapped to one of them. Well, Simcoe never tried to touch me, but I could see his struggles were becoming weaker and weaker, and that he was taking in more water than his lee scuppers could discharge, so, when he blessed me and said, ' Try and saA^e yourself,' as weU as gulps of the briny Uquid woiUd permit him to do, I let him go, struck out about two yards from the buoy, now close to me, it having drifted a Uttle faster than we did, reached it, and Avith the other hand grasped for Simcoe, who was UteraUy sinking. " I only caught his hab, but that was enough. I raised him, and put the buoy against his breast. Finding it was not soft, as he told me afterwards, but something hard, he clutched it, to use his OAvn expression, Uke grim Death, and Avith my help got his head high enough for breathing. In the mean time I held on tightly by the opposite side, throAving weight enough on to keep him highest. I then had time to think of our position. I saw the blue Ughts and the rockets like fiashes, as we were occasionaUy raised on the crest of the sweUs, and before the seas broke over us, but the boat nowhere. " For a long time I thought aU over, and that the M 2 164 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. poor captain of the forecastle and myself, who had been in three different ships together — in many a sea, boat, and long-shore scrimmage, were doomed to ship for the last time together for Davy Jones's locker. " I stiained my eyes long and despabingly to where I thought the cutter should be, and once more gave my mind up to prayer, when I heard — ^what I could not see — ^the oars as they were pUed in theb rowlocks. My voice, you know, is a loud one, and this time, even amid the crash of mighty waves and roaring Avind and waters, it stood me in good need. " ' Where, sb — ^where ?' I heard Mansfield ex claim, from to Avindward. " ' Dead to — ' and I was immersed before I could get out ' leeward'. " ' "Where, sb — ^where ?' again cried the hoy. " ' Leeward,' roared I, leaving out the ' dead to;' but before I got another sluicing I had time to say, ' Don't Avind her. Back — back! Let her drop astern.' " For now I made her out. My orders were obeyed. They backed nearly on us. We were clawed in, Simcoe bringing the life-buoy Avith him, from the death-clutch of which his hands could not be separated. I set the coxswain and youngster to chafe and rub him, whUe I steered the boat. The sea ran high. The Ughts were clearly to be seen, apparently a long way off; but whenever I attempted DRIFTING AAVAY. 165 to steer for them, we shipped seas enough to keep two men baling. " As I found I could not venture to go either in the trough of tho sea, or othei-Avise than almost before it, up went the helm, and we passed about a quai-ter of a mile from the ship's stern, before Avind and sea ; and when I thought myseb far enough to round to, we watched the last of a heaA^y toppler, which aU but broke into us, and if it had, would have swamped boat and aU. Eound I brought her head to Avind and sea, aU safe and right. " It was clear to me that the ship would drift faster than we cUd, pulUng head to it ; and all doubt was over when I saw that, instead of forging ahead, she rather dropped astern, which was adnurably and judiciously managed by some one." " Thanks for nothing," said the first Ueutenant. " So finaUy," continued the gaUant preserver of poor Simcoe's life, "Avithout pulUng so hard as to drive the boat into the seas, you fably dropped upon us in time for me to be heard, ere you gUded away from us for ever. I heard every order given, but did not begin to try my lungs until I saw what you were about, and that I had no time to spare. So ends my yam. Another glass of grog, steward." "And then tum in," said the doctor, feeUng his pulse, " for you reqube rest." 166 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. Excited and fatigued by the events of the day, I sought my cot, but had not much peace that night. The breeze became half a gale ere sunset, a whole one before midnight, and the ship, when daylight daAvned, was under two close-reefed topsaUs, main, mizen, and fore staysails — all other sails furled, top- gaUant yards on deck, and top-gaUant masts stiuck. The gale, which was terrific, lasted two days. Before the evening of the thbd day we were going eight knots before a moderate breeze in clear weather. From this time to our arrival at Quebec the fab Avind never left us, and the Lphigenia saUed majestically up the St. LaAvrenee. About three o'clock in the afternoon of a lovely day in the second week of August we rounded Point Levi, and in a few minutes we were anchored in the basin under the heights. The scene at the moment was one of extieme interest, the entbe garrison of Quebec was under arms, and aU the inhabitants on the look-out to welcome the new Governor. Flags floated everywhere, and every ship in the river that oAvned a "bit of bunting," displayed it on this occasion. During the whole of the morning we had been busUy employed in getting out our uniforms, and as they were aU spick and span new, the "sodjer officers," as Jack caUed them, made a very handsome appearance. As we ARRIVE AT QUEBEC. 167 left the ship in her barges, the yards were manned, the cheers of the crew being heard between the peals of cannon fi-om the main deck of the frigate. The batteries on shore returned the compliment, and for a few seconds we were enveloped in smoke, and nearly stunned by the "roaring throats" ofthe artiUery. My father was received by the Comman dant and staff of the garrison, Sb John Sherbrooke not being weU enough to attend in person, A long and imposing procession attended the Duke from the landing-place, through the lower toAvn to the chateau, where a guard of honour, and the bands of the 60th Eifies and 68th Light Infantry received his Grace Avith the customary salute. As the bands played the National Anthem, the cheering from the assembled crowds was most enthusiastic, and was particularly gratifying to my father. We then entered the chateau, where we were introduced to Sb John Sherbrooke, and to the officers who had met us on our landing. A grand dinner to the above officers foUoyyed, and I soon found myself reconcUed to what I for a long time considered banishment from England, During the stay of Captain Parker in the St, LaAvrence, he was a constant guest at my father's table, and previous to his departure he proposed a trip to the falls of La Chaudiere, which was gladly 168 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. acceded to. The Lphigenia) s gig well manned was to be in attendance, and after visiting the falls, and • enjoying an al fresco luncheon, we retumed to the boat. As we approached it, we saw plainly from the countenance of the coxswain that something untoward had occurred, and our impressions were confirmed by the angry look of the Captain, as he muttered to himseK, " disgraceful," The cbcum- stance, which soon ttanspbed, was a very common one in those days; some rascally "crimps" had tempted a few of the crew to desert, and had taken advantage of our temporary absence to carry out theb plans. Poor Parker felt the blow acutely, and from that moment tUl the morning when the Lphigenia got under weigh for England, he was low and dispbited. Orders were left to capture the deserters, if possible, and send them home, but every attempt faUed, and it was considered they had been put on board an American merchant vessel, that sailed whUe we were visiting the faUs. As, at the time I Avrite of, I was young and active, my pleasure during my passage to Quebec was to lark up the rigging, and having paid my footing, I was constantly on the look-out in the foretop, to the captain of which I had taken a great liking. I grieve to say he was one of the deserters. A week or two had passed after the Lphigenia A DESERTER. 169 had left, when riding by myself in a wood near tho plains of Abraham, I suddenly saw the captain of the foretop seated on the trunk of a huge elm. But how he was altered ! Instead of a hale, stalwart young feUow, full of life and energy, h'e seemed broken doAvn and enervated. His countenance pallid and wan, his clothes tattered and torn, and his shoeless feet bleeding from scratches of thorns, gave him a most woe-begone appearance. I happened to be in undress uniform, and he no sooner saw me than he rose from his seat, touched his hat, and faintly said, " I give myself up." Poor feUow ! I felt for him acutely, and knowing the severe punish ment that would await him, I would gladly have ridden away had I not thought that anything was preferable to leaAdng him to perish in the woods. He was so faint that it was with difficulty he kept up Avith me, and stopping at the first pubUc-house, I sUpped half a doUar into the landlord's hand, and told him to attend to the half-starved wayfarer. On entering the gate of the toAvn I gave the man up to the sergeant of the guard as a deserter from his Majesty's navy, and reported the cbcumstance to the proper authorities. In the meantime I had requested the staff surgeon to see the prisoner, and have him removed into the hospital, if necessary. The whole of that night I could not get my old Lphigenia 170 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. comrade out of my mind ; I thought of the misery he would suffer in being conveyed as a culprit from Quebec to England, perhaps to the West Indies, where we understood the frigate was ordered. Then the ignominious punishment that he must undergo would haunt me, and almost made me Avish I had slipped a few dollars into his hands, and freed him. Anxious to hear how the invalid was, I pro ceeded early in the morning to the hospital, where I found, to my great relief, that he had made his escape, and was supposed to have got on board a merchantman bound for England, As sea-going steam-ships and submarine telegraphs were unknoAvn at that period, no communication could be made to the EngUsh Admbalty, and from that day to this all that I ever heard of the captain of the foretop was, that he had sent me a most grateful message through the man that had assisted his escape, thanking me for my kindness, and assuring me that, like the bold smuggler, WUl Watch, "his Ufe should be mended," It was shortly afterwards bruited about that no very sharp look-out had been kept upon the prisoner, that he had exchanged dresses Avith an acquaintance, who, hearing of his capture, had visited him in the guard-room ; and that this acquaintance, being the very man who had first tempted him, had made amends by saving him from punishment. AVHO AVROTE THE AVAVERLEY NOVELS? 171 During a visit to Kiugston, Upper Canada, in 1819, in company Avith my father, I got acquainted AAdth Mrs. Scott, formerly Miss M'CuUoch, the wife of Thomas Scott, Esq., paymaster to the 70th regiment. At that period it Avas confidently stated in England, and had been asserted in a periodical pubUcation, that tlus lady, who was sister-in-law to Sb Walter Scott, was the Avriter of the celebrated Waverley Novels. I recoUect upon one occasion aUuding to the subject when I met her at an evening party ; and I OAvn that I had a very strong impres sion that she was the great unknoAvn. I beUeve, too, that many officers of the 70th regiment held the same opinion. Of course I do not mean to infer that Mrs. Scott Avished to lead me to give her credit for Uterary honours she did not merit ; stiU there was something in her manner of denying the charge that made me fancy her talented pen — for talented it was — ^had Avritten the works afterwards acknow ledged by the OAvner of Abbotsford. Another celebrity whom I knew in Canada was Frederick BroAvn, the Ormskbk Eoscius, as he caUed himself. I met him at Montreal, He performed his principal characters at the theatre, Charles de Moor in SchiUer's " Eobbers," Sir Giles Overreach in the " New Way to pay Old Debts," and Othello. I remember a practical joke which was played upon him, and which caused much amusement. 172 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. He had brought me letters of introduction, and accordingly I invited him to supper at the hotel on the night of his benefit. I happened to be on very good terms Avith the officers quartered at Montreal. We made up a large party for BroAvn's benefit, and about twenty of us sat doAvn to supper after the performance. As those were the days of bumper toasts, it is not to be wondered at if a considerable quantity of Avine and punch was imbibed ; and the poor Eoscius, suffering from the fatigues of the evening — ^for he had played both in the tragedy and in the after-piece, and no very easy part in the latter — fell fast asleep. During our meal we had argued the question as to the shade of black or broAvn the Moor of Venice should appear in. BroAvn contended for the colour of his name, whUe some of us suggested black. The opportunity was too tempting. A young ensign of the line procured a burnt cork, and made the face and hands of the tragedian as ¦ black as a coal. It was so late before we broke up, that we told the " help " the negro gentleman would not go home, and was not to be disturbed. This order was impUcitly obeyed, and it was broad daylight before -BroAvn awoke from his slumber. The first thing that met his eye was the colour of his hands; and, rushing to a looking-glass, he found his face of the same hue, " I'll call one and all of THE ORMSKIRK ROSCIUS. 173 them out," said the Eoscius, as, ringing the bell, he ordered hot water and soap to be brought him, "WhUst undergoing his ablutions, the manager of the theatre was announced, who, Avith a smUe upon his countenance, came to offer the Eoscius a renewal of his engagement. This gave a new tum to his thoughts ; and whUst the negotiation was going on, I entered the room. BroAvn at first met me Avith a cold and formal bow ; but when I (conscience- smitten at the joke that had been played him, and feeling some reparation ought to be made) sug gested that, if he would visit Quebec, I and the other amateurs would play for his benefit, he was quite appeased. "AU I stipulate," said he good- humouredly, "is, that if I act Othello, I may get my OAvn face painted." This mUd rebuke quite upset me, and I stam mered out an apology, pleading the youth and buoyant spirits of the perpetiator of the jest, " Say no more," contbiued the tragedian. " It was my intention to have left this toAvn to-day, for I felt rather humiliated in the eyes of the waiter; but after what you have kindly said, I'll blow the remembrance of it to the Avinds. Tou may announce me for Rolla to-morrow evening, and on Friday for Pierre and Megrim — terms same as the last engagement." The manager then took his departure; and I suggested to Frederick BroAvn 174 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. that, if he would dine Avith me quietly at the hotel, we should have an opportunity of talking over the proposed play at Quebec. He agreed, and, after a great deal of discussion, all was arranged. The difficulty was to select a tragedy. At last " Jane Shore " was fixed upon, the Eoscius to take the part of Richard, and I my old Brussels character of Lord Hastings. Unfortunately the death of my father a short time afterwards put an end to the performance, and I lost sight of the Ormskbk Eoscius, who, I may here add, had as good a title to the name of the Eoman actor as many, old and young, who have assumed it. The death of my father broke up our estahUshment in Quebec, and caused my retum to England in the autumn of 1819. One of the first steps I took on getting back was to renew my acquaintance Avith Frederick Fitz Clarence, whom I had knoAvn at Cam bray in 1816. He was then an officer in the Cold stream Guards, and as kind-hearted a creature as ever existed. Little, however, did he or his friends imagine that he would so soon be worshipped as a hero. On the 23rd of February, 1820, the Cato Street conspi racy took place. It was upon that day, about sis o'clock in the evening, that Arthur Thistlewood, who had once served as a subaltern officer in the West Indies, assembled his blinded followers in a stable CATO STREET, 175 situated in an obscm-e street, then called Cato Street, neai- the EdgAvare Eoad, This building, which had been lately hbed, comprised Iavo upper rooms, Avith an ascent by a ladder, and in the most spacious of these the conspbators assembled, having pre- Adously placed a sentinel below. By the glimmering Ught of a few small candles they might have been seen adjusting theb murderous weapons, and exult ing in the thought of despatching all the nfinisters, at least fourteen or sixteen, who were to have met at a cabinet dinner at Lord Harrowby^s, in Gros venor Square. OAving to information received from one Edwards, a pretended colleague, but reaUy a govemment spy, every precaution was adopted to secure the culprits, and among others a detachment of thirty men of the Coldstream Guards, com manded by Captain Fitz Clarence, was ordered to support the poUce under the dbection of Mr, (after wards Sb Eichard) Bimie. About eight o'clock the constables arrived, and Avithout waiting for the military, entered the buUding, and ascended the ladder. The gang of infatuated Avretches who were on the very point of starting to execute theb ne farious deed, were summoned to surrender, when Smithers, an active poUce officer, rushed forward to secure the ringleader, and was pierced to the heart by his sword. The lights were then extinguished. 176 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY, and the conflict became general ; some of the gang making theb way out of a window in the back of the loft, and others dashing doAvn the ladder into the stable. At this moment, Frederick Fitz Clarence and his detachment came up, and secured one of the assassins in the act of escaping. A pistol was leveUed at the captain, but was tumed aside by Sergeant Legge. The captain headed his men into the stable, but his entrance was forcibly opposed by DaAdson, a Creole, who aimed a blow at him Avith a cutlass. One of the soldiers warded off the stroke Avith his musket, and never did "BroAvn Bess" render more able service. The ruffian was secured, the whole party entered the stable, mounted the loft, and captured five more conspbators, though the darkness of the night favoured the escape of Thistlewood and some others. Had the capture been entrusted to the military authorities, probably no innocent blood would have been shed, as Avith a Uttle strategy every conspbator might, and probably would, have been captured. From this moment Frederick Fitz Clarence's gaUant conduct was in everybody's mouth; he was congratulated by all from the highest in the realm doAvn to the most humble ; he was entertained at dinner at the Mansion House; and, Uke Byron, only from another cause, he awoke on the morning of the 24th of February thistlewood's bravado, 177 and found himself "famous," BetAveen the 13th of AprU, when Thistlewood and his accomplices were tried and convicted of high treason, and the 1st of May, on which day he, Davison, Ings, Brunt, and Tidd were executed, I saw them in the condemned ceUs, and it is sad to relate that, Avith the exception of the man of colour, they manifested not the sUghtest compunction ; they seemed to glory in theb design, and to regret its faUure, Well do I remember addressing a few words to the reckless ringleader. He was suffering from sore throat, and told me of some gargle that would do it good. "What a mockery, when uttered only Avithin a few days of his ignominious death ! With a sort of bravado, he said, " Good day, gentlemen. On May morning I shaU know the grand secret." I was horror-struck at his blasphemy and his whole demeanour. At the same time as I revived my friendship with Frederick Fitz Clarence, I had some dealings Avith the "dandies," that small coterie which held an almost incredible sway during the days of the Eegent. BrummeU headed the Ust, which included T. Eaikes, Eufus Lloyd,, Charles Standish, John MUls, Honourable Eichard (commonly called Dick) Fitz -Gibbon, the late Lord De Eos, Colonel Cooke, usually knoAvn by the name of Kangaroo VOL, I, N 178 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY, Cooke, the late Sb Henry MUdmay, and Lords Alvanley and Petersham. Byron's name may also be added, for he Avrites, " I liked the dandies ; they were always very civU to me, though, in general, they disUked literary people, and persecuted and mystified Madame de Stael, LcAvis, ***** *^ and the like. The truth is, that though I gave up the business early, I had a tinge of dandyism in my minority, and probably retained enough of it to concUiate the great ones at five-and-twenty. I had gamed, and drunk, and taken my degrees in most dissipations, and having no pedantry, and not being overbearing, we ran quietly together. I knew them all more or less, and they made me a member of Watier's (a superb club at that time), being, I take it, the only Uterary man in it, except two others, both men of the world, Moore and Spenser. Our masque rade was a grand one, so was the dandy ball too, at the Argyle, but that, the latter, was given by the four chiefs — ^B,, M,, A,, and P,, if I err not," Brum meU, MUdmay, Alvanley, and Petersham represent, I believe, the above initials, but I fancy the givers exceeded the above four, I was present at the masquerade in question, which took place at Bur lington House, and was a magnificent affab. I shall never forget the deUght I experienced when my mother told me that she had Avith some diffi- THE dandies' masquerade. 179 culty procm-ed me a ticket for it. The next thing was to get a dress, and it was suggested that I should appear in female attbe, as a young lady just emancipated fi-om a boarding-school. To this I objected, and finally succeeded in haAdng a handsome Turkish dress made up for me at home. With a pink sUk tunic, embroidered Avith sUver, my mother's turban and ostiich feather, a pab of spangled tiousers, and yeUow boots, I fancied myself the Uving representation of Selim, in " Barbarossa," a character in which I had been deUghted Avith the performance of Master Betty. To this masquerade the author of "ChUde Harold" went in the habit of a Caloyer, or Eastern Monk, a costume which was adnurably adapted to show off his handsome countenance, I saw him only for a moment, talking to Douglas Kinnabd, yet well do I remember " His floating robe around him folding. Slow sweeps he through the column'd aisle : That Uvid cheek, that stony air Of Tnix'd defiance and despair," To return to the dandies, I had a good opportu nity of becoming acquainted Avith them, as at an early age I was admitted a member of "White's Club, at that period the highest object of ambition to every young man about toAvn. StUl, as I was only a subaltern officer in the Blues, Avith no means N 2 180 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY, of being an exquisite in dress, or of turning out a neat equipage, truth compels me to admit that I was not much courted by that set. "When the dynasty was at an end', I came much oftener in con tact Avith many of its leaders, and derived much gratification from theb society. I remember well in the days of posting, Alvanley giving me a Uft in his well-appointed travelling chariot from Brighton to London, and I never had a more agreeable journey. From the time we left the Tork Hotel, until we reached Hyde Park Corner, he never ceased to entertain me Avith club anecdotes or fashion able gossip, so fuU of Avit, so epigrammatic, that I only Avish I could remember a tenth part of the good things he said. There was a good humour about Alvanley that was thoroughly delightful ; he saw everything in a humorous Ught, and he com municated his impressions Avith such point and mer riment that he threw many of the would-be Avits of the day completely into the shade. At repartee he was quick as lightning, and in a keen encounter of Avit, Avith even the most formidable opponent, he ever came off with credit to himself, and generaUy to the discomfiture of his antagonist. Eaikes possessed a large amount of quiet conversa tional powers, and was of a reflecting tum, as his diary AviU prove. He was on intimate terms Avith the late LORD PETERSHAM. 181 Duke of Wellington, and was au courant Avith all the poUtical as weU as fashionabl e news ofthe day, Eufus Lloyd never gaA'c me the idea of possessing much talent, but he was very neat in his attbe, and acted the part of the "walking" dandy extremely well, Dick Fitz-Gibbon was a kind, warm-hearted Irish man, highly gifted, as his countrymen usually are ; he was formerly in the army, and served at Oporto and Talavera, Poor De Eos was one of the most refined gentlemen in manner I ever met. He was weU read, an accomplished scholar, and won aU hearts by his suaviter in modo. Let me throw a veU over the untoward event that embittered his latter days, and I beUeve shortened his life, Kang Cooke was a popular man, and being a great friend of the Duke and Duchess of Tork, was ever a welcome guest at the best houses in London, MUdmay was second to none in conversational abUity, and there was a kindliness of spbit about him that made him a legion of friends. Petersham was the " most finished gentleman from top to toe" — a character he deserved to the full as much as the observed of all observers, George the Fourth. He, too, was the essence of human kindness, and the most constant of friends. John MUls did not devote his energies exclusively to the bay Avindow at 'White's : he was fond of racing, and distinguished himself upon many occa- 182 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. sions as an amateur jockey. Great was his prowess at Stapleton and Lambton Park Eaces, where he was opposed to Kent, John White, Tom Duncombe, Fred Berkeley, and some of the best riders of the day. After BrummeU had g,bcUcated the throne he occupied for so long a period, a new class of dandies sprang up ; the most conspicuous of whom was BaU Hughes, commonly called the Golden Ball. As far as attention to dress went, he might have been looked upon as the successor of the retbed monarch ; but his influence only extended over a limited cbcle, and was not to be compared to the world-Avide reputa tion of the Beau par excellence, BrummeU. Ball Hughes was as different in society and among a few choice friends as Ught from darkness, chalk from cheese. In the former, he assumed a tone of exqui- siteness, a stiff manner, and a conceited ab, that, added to an affected lisp, did not give one the idea of his possessing haK his real talent; while, when thoroughly at home Avith his intimate alUes, he was full of fun and anecdote. I rode a race against him at Goodwood, where he had acted as steward, as the late Duke of Eichmond was detained in London by parliamentary duties; and as the sport ran very short on the first day, it was suggested that he should get up a match Avith his two grey, thorough bred curricle horses. Guy, his coachman, was sent RACE AVITH BALL HUGHES. 183 for, and was ordered to prepare the two animals for a race on the foUoAving day. ""Which do you fancy?" he asked me. "Tou shaU have your choice." "It is a matter of indifference," I responded. ""What says Guy?" " I think, perhaps, it AvUl be as well i£ master rode the darkest ; the near horse, I mean," replied the serA-ant. " Not that I think he is the fastest of the two, but he's a sweet animal in aU his paces." The printer was sent for — for the above took place at the ordinary at the " Swan," at Chichester — and an addition was made. " Match 25 sovs. each. — Mr. BaU Hughes's gr. g. Gunpowder against Lord WiUiam Lennox's gr. g. Explosion" (for we had named the horses after Guy, or rather Guy Fawkes, as the coachman was nicknamed, from his "bloAving- up" propensities) — " OAvners on." The day arrived ; and BaU Hughes, in the neatest jockey attbe imagin able, cantered up and doAvn the course on his gallant grey, looking as proud as K he had won the Derby. As Guy had laid a hat and a bottle of sherry on his master, he at once became the favourite at two to one. " Tou AviU make a race of it," said I to my friend, just as we were about to start, " I promise that," he repUed, "if I can hold the brute; but he gives me every idea of running away." 184 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY, It was the two-mile course ; and the word being given — ^for flags were not dropped in those days — we went off at a gentle canter ; the pace, however, increased considerably, and I felt that the Golden ¦ Ball had the greatest difficulty in holding his horse. Giving mine a gentle puU, I laid some few lengths behind him, and soon found that Gunpowder was bloAvn. In going up the last hill there were unmistakable signs of defective lungs, so taking advantage of this, I made the running, and soon found my seK considerably in advance. "Make a race of it," exclaimed my antagonist, puffing nearly as much as his panting steed, "All right," I re plied; and feeling I had the race in hand, I gave Explosion a pull, held him tight by the head untU we neared the Avinning-post, when, Avith a Chifney rush, I passed it a length before the other, BaU Hughes married Mercandotti, a popular danseuse belonging to Her Majesty's Theatre, An elopement had been arranged, and the happy couple proceeded to Scotland. Theb first visit was to the late Lord Fbe, who had always been a great patron and friend of the young artiste. The noble earl was so great a friend to the Opera House, that it was a joke of the green-room, " No Fife, no dance," Mercandotti became Mrs, BaU Hughes, and for some time they got on very weU together. Eventually LATE HOURS. 185 there were differences, which led to a separation and a divorce. During the time they Uved together they had a house in GreeuAvich Park, where Hughes asso^mbled aU his old friends about him, and many a happy day have I passed there. The late hom-s he kept were one great drawback, for nothing would induce him to retbe before two or three o'clock in the morning, often later. After dinner he would pro pose a game of vingt-un, loo, or hazard, Umiting the stakes to shillings ; and about the time when rational people thought of going to bed, he would propose supper. The result was, that night was tumed into day, and vice versa ; and breakfast, instead of being at the usual hour of nine or ten, seldom took place untU after midday. With the exception of Long WeUesley, who often dined at ten o'clock at night, at Wanstead, I never knew any one who revelled in late hours so much as the " Golden BaU." Charles Standish was another of the foUowers of BrummeU, and being a sensible man, held his oAvn among them. His sister. Lady Gerard, was a charming person, as aU who had the good fortune to know her could vouch for. Many a happy day have I passed at theb hospitable country house. I recoUect upon one occasion Charles Standish in viting Lord (commonly caUed King) AUen and myseK to dine with him in Grosvenor Street, and at 186 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. the time appointed the "King," who had called for me, drove up to the door, anticipating, what we both liked, a first-rate dinner. " Standish," said Allen, "understands as well, K not better, than any other man I know, what a dinner should be— a combination of the refinement of a Parisian table and the soUdity of an English one." At that moment the porter opened the door, for our host Uved in chambers, or what in Edinburgh is caUed " a flat." We had sent the carriage away, and had ordered it to retum at a quarter before eleven, to take us to a party at Lord Hertford's, in the Eegent's Park, and we mounted the stabs with the keenest of appetites. At the top we were met by Standish's valet, who looked not a little surprised when my companion said, — " I hope we are not late." " Late, my lord ! " stammered the man. " I fear there is some mistake. My master is not very weU " [this was what is termed a white lie ; not that I ever could quite understand the different hues or shades of mendacity], " and has ordered no dinner except for himseK." " No dinner ! " said the King, bristling up Avith annoyance. " We've sent the brougham away. Pray teU Mr. Standish Lord WiUiam Lennox and myseK came at the hour he named. Here's the DINNER FORGOTTEN. 187 note. And order us a cab. We must dine at Crockford's." The servant left us, after showing us into an ante-room, and begging us to be seated ; but instead of sending for a cab, informed his master of the arrival of his unexpected guests, " Show them in," said Standish. " I have flfty apologies to offer to you both," continued he, as we entered the room, " I quite mistook the day. But you must not think of going to Crockford's. I have, it is ti-ue, only a mackerel and a poulet au gros sei; but K you do not mind waiting twenty minutes, I have no doubt but that Frangois wUl send us up something to eat, and there will be ample time to ice a bottle of SUlery. Excuse me whUe I give the orders. Tou AviU flnd the evening newspaper in the draAving-room." We adjourned there, and in rather less than half an hour Frangois had prepared as nice a dinner as I ever remember to have seen, which, aided by a bottle of Cunningham's best champagne, and some exceUent claret, rendered the repast worthy of He Uogabalus, AUen, whose barometer had got doAvn to stormy, rose at once to set fab when he saw the anxiety of his friend, and the successful exertions of the culinary artist to make up for the moments of suspense and disappointment we had endured. 188 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY, Another of the same class was Bradshaw, or Jemmy Bradshaw, as some irreverently caUed him. He was well-informed and gentlemanlike, and generally popular. It is weU knoAvn that in the year 1825 he married Miss Maria Tree. A curious cbcumstance attended the courtship, which may not prove uninteresting. Bradshaw, understanding that Miss M. Tree was about to fulfil an engage ment at one of the large manufacturing toAvns, proceeded thither, and took up his quarters at the same hotel as Miss Tree and her mother. Not Avishing to be knoAvn, he traveUed under an assumed name, and every evening was to be seen in the front row of the stage box, " gazing," as the noveUsts call it, " his heart away " on the lovely representative of Clari, and other equally effective characters. In consequence of Miss M. Tree's great success, the engagement was renewed, much to the deUght of the impassioned lover, who had sent her a complimentary present upon the night of her benefit. Time cbcled on, and the morning arrived when the artiste was to take leave of her good friends at Manchester or Bbmingham (I forget which) to resume her duties in London. The sighing swain had ordered a pab of post horses for his carriage, and had desbed the waiter to make out his bill, when he found that his money was running rather short. CHEQUE FOR A HUNDRED POUNDS. 189 "What is the name of the principal banker here ? " he inqubed of the landlord. Name and address were given him, and having draAvn a cheque for a hundred pounds, he went to present it. After a few inqubies it was duly cashed, and Bradshaw stroUed through the toAvn, in the hopes of getting a parting glance at his lady love. Towards noon he returned to the hotel, where he fancied his reception was what is termed the north side of friendly. The landlord looked suspiciously at him, the barmaid tossed up her head, and the waiter was not quite as polite as those functionaries are to the parting guest, espe ciaUy at a period when attendance was not, as it is at present, charged in the bUl. Upon entering the sitting-room, the dandy perceived that the plate which had decorated the sideboard had been removed, and that when he ordered a candle to be brought him to seal a letter, the candlestick was of a coarse yellow metal, unlike the sUver one that had pre viously been aUotted him. " "What can have happened?" thought he to himseK; and, while ruminating over the possible cause, the landlord made his appearance Avith a countenance expressive of annoyance, and began to mutter forth his fears that all was not right. ""What do you mean?" asked the discomfited 190 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. hero. " I am about to pay your bUl ; and really the conduct of your establishment is perfectly incomprehensible. ' ' " I beUeve, sb," said the other, " that you informed the bankers whose names I mentioned to you that you were knoAvn at this hotel ? " " Unquestionably," "And," continued the landlord, "that you drew in the name of James Bradshaw, Esq,, a cheque for a hundred pounds ? " " I did." " Now, sb, how can you reconcile that Avith the name under which you have passed here, and to which letters have been addressed ? " A feeUng of horror fiashed across Bradshaw's mind, for he at once saw that he had been looked upon as a fashionable SAvindler. For a few moments he was speechless, when he determined to make a clean breast of it, and confided to the landlord his motive for the incog, visit, adding that he possessed documents to prove that he was James Bradshaw, Esq., one of which was the letter of credit from his London bankers, which he had shoAvn the country one. After this explanation confidence was re stored, the barmaid put on her best smile, the waiter was attentive, the ostler and postboy "fol lowed suit," and Bradshaw left the scene of his FARCE FOUNDED ON FACT. 191 adventure amidst the thanks of all that had been mised up Avith him. To explain the cause of this Uttle confretcmjjs, it must be mentioned that the bankers, albeit not the least suspicious, had taken the Avise precaution of sending a clerk to the hotel to ascertain whether any gentleman of the name of Bradshaw was staying there, and being informed that there was not, the cbcumstance of the cheque being cashed was told to the landlord, who naturally fancied he had been harbouring a SAvindler ; hence the conduct of all in the establishment towards the supposed culprit. A few days after the above story had gone the round of the clubs, I happened to meet Eichard Peake, the dramatic author, at that period the respected treasurer of the Lyceum Theatre, and told hiTn the anecdote. The incident furnished a principal ingredient in a farce which Peake Avrote shortly afterwards, entitled, " The Hundred Pound Note," which proved eminently successful, more from the inimitable acting of Keeley as Billy Black than from the plot.* Another of the dandy tribe who met Avith a * This story is told somewhat differently in Captain Gronow's " Eeminiscences," 'with the addition of a Uttle lame boots, who is set to watch the suspicious character, and an identification of Bradshaw by his fair charmer. However, I may say, 'with Sheridan, "My uncle's account is more circumstantial, I confess; but I beUeve mine is the true one, for aU that." 192 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. somewhat similar adventure, was Lord Petersham. Fortunately he was extricated from his scrape, which might have proved a serious family matter, by the tact and good humour of his brother, Fitzroy Stanhope. Poor Fitzroy Stanhope ! his death avUI be deeply felt. Besides being a man of good educa tion and refined manners, his vocal powers were of the highest order. No EngUsh singer, public or private, excelled him in ballads and those thoroughly national songs which deUght the miUion. He was, moreover, a man of the kindest disposition, and he got his brother out of more scrapes than the foUow ing one. Theb mother, the Countess of Harrington, than whom a more amiable lady did not exist, was perhaps a little too stiff for the youth of her day, and as she was the quintessence of propriety and polished manners, she naturaUy looked for those quaUties in all her relatives, especially those nearest and dearest to her. PunctuaUty was also a great feature in her ladyship's character. Upon the oc casion I allude to. Lord Petersham had requested that breakfast might be on the table at an earlier hour than usual, and the Countess was ready at the moment to do the honours, but her son was not present. In a few minutes the groom of the chambers informed his mistress that a gentleman THE COMMISSIONER OF THE P.C. 193 had driven up to the door, having an appointment Avith the nohle heb of the femUy. " Eequest the gentleman to Avalk in,"" said her ladyship, " he has probably come to breakfast, for I know his lordship is going a few mUes out of toAvn." The servant seemed " taken aback,"' but, atten tive to his orders, shortiy retumed, foUowed by the ''gentieman,"" whose appearance and equipage had created no Uttle sensation in the porters haU. '-'"What name shaU I annoimee?" asked the servant. " Oh, a friend of Lord Petersham's, Mr. ." Before the word was uttered the Countess came forward, and in the most refined manner apologised to the new-comer for the rudeness of her son in not being ready, adding that perhaps he would Uke some breakfest. " Thank you, my lady,"' responded the unknoAvn. '' I should Uke a Utile, for we've a long drive before us." Breakfest was ordered, and on theb sitting down the lady made every attempt to ascertain the caUing of her visitor, who, she fencied tcom his remarks, Avas connected in some humble capicity Avith the army. These suspicions were confirmed by the constant aUusion her companion made to the com missariat department. The equivoques that took place, especiaUy th<^e that referred to foreign parts, would famish nmterials for a screaming ferce. VOL. I. o 194_ DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. "Tou have been abroad, I presume?" asked the Countess. " Never, my lady : it was one of my name, no relation, that went across the water at his Majesty's expense." " I thought, perhaps, you might have served in HoUand?" she proceeded. " Tour ladyship refers to the Dutchman — Dutch—" This reply was interrupted by the entrance of the groom of the chambers Avith the newspaper, and her ladyship asked, ""What is the hour by St. James's Chapel?" (Harrington House was at that time in the stable yard, St. James's.) " Nine o'clock, my lady." At this piece of information, the stranger started up abruptly from his chab, dropped a beautiful China cup and saucer from his hands, exclaiming, " Then, I'm blest K we shan't be late for the ' miU :' it comes off at haK-past ten, and we've to call in Windmill Street for the bbd's-eye fogies, and to pick up Heavy-and-Handy, the fighting LKe Guards man, at the Barracks." At this moment Lord Petersham, accompamed by Fitzroy Stanhope, entered the room, and at once saw the state of affabs. The Countess had sat doAvn to breakfast with Mr. WUUam (com- DUTCH SAM. 195 monly caUed "BiU") Gibbons, the Commissary General of the P.C, or Pugilistic Club. Lord Petersham hurried his friend away, leaving his brother to explain matters, and make aU smooth. This he accompUshed Avith such consummate skill, such infinite good-humour, and kind-heartedness, that the Countess was soon appeased and laughed heartUy, or rather smUed magnificently, when she was informed that " crossing the water " referred to a case of transportation; and that her guest's know ledge of HoUand was confined to his acquaintance Avith Dutch Sam. Her ladyship was rendered truly happy, when, upon the retum of her first-bom, she heard from him that his first appearance at Moulsey Hurst would be his last. Lord Petersham was too refined a gentleman to take pleasure in pugiUstie encounters, then so much patronised by the higher classes, and had only attended on the above occasion to judge for himseK what a fight reaUy was. o2 CHAPTEH V. ARMY — PUNISHMENTS — WINDSOR BARRACKS — NIMROD — AN AD'VBN- TURB AT EPSOM — AMATEUR THEATRICALS — REGENT'S PARK BAEEACKS — HIGHWAY ROBBERIES — TUNBHIDGB WELLS EACES CANOVA — EICHARD WATT WALKER^MITCHEL GRQ-yTB — ^VISIT OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. CHAPTEE V. The barbarity of the punishments inflicted on our soldiers fifty years ago would be almost incredible to readers of the present day. We have seen so many reforms introduced in the tieatment of soldiers, such questions asked and such returns demanded by Members of ParUament, such strict supervision on the part of the proper authorities, and such precautions against sudden anger or irresponsible spite, that we trust the present generation is fuUy protected. But, unfortunately, the memory of those who served in the Peninsular War Avitnesses to the entbe absence of such protection in the beginning of the century. In the cavalry there was a punishment caUed "picketing," which was constantly employed, and which, shameful as it was, seems to have fotmd a paraUel in the present American army. The A^ctim had his hands strapped together and his boots taken off; a peg, about sis inches long, Avas stuck in the 200 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. ground, and the ball of his right foot was rested upon it, whUe his extended arms were fastened by a cord to a strong beam. In this position he remained for haK an hour or more, suffering the most frightful torture. The frequency of corporal punishment is proved by the foUoAving General Order, which was issued in 1807 : — " It appearing to his Majesty that a punishment to the extent of 1,000 lashes is a sufficient example for any breach of miUtary duty, short of a capital offence, and even that number cannot be safely inflicted at any one period, his Majesty has been graciously pleased to express his opinion that no sentence for - corporal punishment should exceed 1,000 lashes." That the effect of even less than this number, which was graciously considered a sufficient example, was equivalent to the punishment for a capital offence, appears from the foUoAving statement re lating to the Peninsular Campaign in Captain Gronow's Eeminiscences : — "Among the numerous bad characters in our ranks, several were coiners, or utterers of bad money. In the second Brigade of Guards, just before we arrived at St. Jean de Luz, a soldier was convicted of this offence, and was sentenced to receive 800 lashes. This man made sham Spanish doUars out of. the peAvter spoons of the regiment. INTOLERANCE. 201 As he had been before couAdcted and fiogged, he received this terrible sentence, and died under the lash. Would it not have been better to have condemned him to be shot? It would have been more humane, certainly more miUtary, and far less bmtal." It would certainly have been safer for the culprit to add murder to his other offences. The law which dismisses a murderer by an easy death, and goads a coiner to one the most horrible, may weU be accused of putting a premium on the greatest crimes. Among minor offences, at the same time, we find absence from attendance at church put in a way which is highly suggestive of the prevaiUng intolerance : — " July 3rd, 1811. The Duke of Tork orders that no Eoman CathoUc soldier shaU be subject to punish ment for not attending Di"vine Service of the Church of England." This picture of the miUtary customs of the early part of the century may preface my recollections of Windsor Barracks, where I joined my regiment after leaving France. The Blues were then quar tered at-Windsor, and the 21st Eoyal Welsh Fusi liers occupied the infantry barracks. Although the officers of both corps were on the most friendly terms, a Uttle love affab had nearly caused an appeal to arms between Gascoigne of " ours," as the phrase 202 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. runs, and a captain of the 21st. I had been called in as a friend, and the affab was amicably settled. WUUams of the Fusiliers, commonly called Bob WUUams, acted on behaK of his brother officer.* At the time I Avrite of, a handsome young Irish lady was on a visit to a distinguished musician then occupying apartments Avithin the precincts of the Castle, and Williams and myseK became victims to her charms. To quarrel Avith so amiable a man as WUUams, then only a sub, would have been most difficult ; stUl, in love, no one knows what passions may be aroused, and after one case of rivalry had nearly led to bloodshed, another was to be avoided. Bob and I were on the best of terms — so much so that we each agreed to do our best to Avin the heart and hand of the fab lady, Avith the distinct under standing that the one who failed should in no way vent his anger on his successful rival. "All's fab in love, as in war," was the motto we were to adopt, and our OAvn sense of gentlemanlike feeling was to prevent any disparaging remarks on either side. The gaUant officer of the line had one decided advantage over me, which was that his regiment furnished a guard at the Castle gate, through which * I had scarcely 'written the above, when, to my intense grief, I read the death of poor WiUiams. A better, kinder-hearted creature never existed. ON GUARD. 203 alone (for the 1,000 steps were being repabed) I could approach the house of my innamorata ; while he, when not on guard, could devote the best part of every day to looking out for the Belle Lrlanduise. One summer evening, when I was par ticularly anxious to have a few moments' interview Avith the young lady, as she was about to visit some fi-iends in London the next day, perhaps never to return, I dined early at Layton's, the pastrycook's, and, at the hour that I thought WUUams would be dining at the mess, I approached the Castle. ""Who is on guard?" said I to an intelligent corporal, who, though I was in plain clothes, knew me perfectly by sight, from seeing me so often at the infantiy barracks. " Mr. WiUiams, sb," responded the man. " Eeally," said I, "I fancied he was orderly officer." " He was for that duty, sb ; but the Ueutenant in orders for Castle guard was suddenly taken ill, and Mr. WUliams was next on the roster." Thanking my informant, I retraced my steps into the toAvn to consider what measures I should take to enter the enemy's stronghold unobserved, for I felt sure that my rival, knoAving of the proposed depar ture, would, like a good soldier as he was, keep a sharp look-out. At length a thought came across 204 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. me, which was to purchase a labourer's suit of clothes, and put them on over mine. No sooner had I conceived the idea than I put it in execution. I went into a slop shop, and soon found myseK enveloped in a smock frock, a pab of leather leg gings over my white trousers, a red cotton handker chief, and a white billycock hat, which was not then as fashionable as it is now. Mustachios were not then worn, except by military men, and mine were quickly reduced by a pab of tailor's shears. Placing my round hat in a piece of blue striped caUco, and arming myseK Avith a stick, on which I slung the bundle, I walked into a dust-heap, so as to appear like a wayfarer. No sooner had dusk set in than I walked boldly up the Castle hill, went under the arch, and kept a straight course, passing Avithin haK-a-dozen yards of my rival. Entering a cloister, I gained a Uttle time to take breath, and, doflBng my disguise and placing it in the bundle, I looked out for a labourer to whom I could give it. This was easily accompUshed-=-as was an interview Avith the young lady, who frankly told me her heart was engaged; though I was glad to learn not to my rival, Ascertaining that she was to leave Windsor early next morning Avith the friends whom she was visiting, I took my depar ture, inwardly satisfied that K I :ciever saw her THE LIGHT OF OTHER D.\.YS. 205 again, WUUams would be equally debarred of that gratification, and that I had been the last to Avish her " Good-bye." After wandering ahout until after dark (there were no gas-lamps in those days), I retreated Avithout being discovered. "When I met WUUams the next day, he appeared in high spbits. " I caught a glimpse of Augusta," said he, " early this morning, and kissed my hand to her, though I fear she did not see me, as an old harridan acknow ledged it." '' AU right," I repUed, keeping my OAvn counsel. " I thought, old feUow," continued he, " you would have caUed up last evening, so I kept a sharp look-out." Within a year of the above event I received " cards " from Cork (" No cards " were not then introduced) announcing our charmer's marriage. If my disguise proved effectual in blinding my rival, I must oavu that the tables were tumed upon me in another Windsor adventure. I had been in London the night before his Majesty's hounds were to meet at Salt HUl, and had driven doAvn in the morning to breakfast at Botham's, where my hunter was to meet me. Just as we had finished our repast, the late Lord Graves, who held a place about court, entered the room, and among other 206 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. things told us that we must all ride our best, as " Nimrod " was to be out Avith the hounds. I had heard of — "Nimrod, the founder Of empire and chase. Who made the woods wonder. And quake for their race ;" and also of the more modem one of that name, the founder of the sporting race of Avriters of the pre sent century. Of course, I longed to be named in the pages of the old sporting magazine, as a pro mising young rider, and determined not only to do my best to be in the first ffight, but to attach my seK to this literary Uon. " How is Nimrod mounted ? " I inqubed. " On a flea-bitten grey," responded Graves ; "a snaffle, bridle, and a martingale." "Martingale?" thought I, " this must be some new fancy ; we shaU read his reasons in the next number." The hour of meeting had now arrived; after paying our bill, we mounted our horses, and proceeded to a field near the road side, where Davis and his hounds had abeady arrived. A large concourse of sportsmen had collected, consisting of officers from Windsor and Houns low, country squbes, a sprinkling of fashion from London, some metropoUtan horse dealers, far mers, yeomen, pretty horse breakers, and a few THE FLEA-BITTEN GREY. 207 cockney riders. Before the deer, which Davis fore told would give us a capital run, was uncarted, I looked in vain for the far-famed chronicler. "Have you seen a gentleman on a fiea-bitten grey ? " I inqubed of aU my friends, but no one had seen the animal in question. At length one of my brother officers, who was quartered at Slough, told me there was a horse answering to that description at the Eed Lion, and that the groom had said his master was coming from London. Upon hearing this intelUgence I rode up to the huntsman, and telling him how important a gentleman was momentarUy expected, he kindly promised us a few minutes' law. In those good old days, as they are called, the master of the buckhounds contented himseK Avith staying at home, and receiAdng his salary ; seldom or ever attending the hunt, and then merely on " sUver-coUar days," to see the deer uncarted. HappUy, Avithin the last five and twenty years the post is no longer considered a sinecure, and the late Earl of ErroU, the present Earls of Chesterfield, Eosslyn, SandAvich, and Besborough have taken the field, and acquitted themselves as masters of hounds should do. No sooner had I gained Davis's sanction, than I made the best of my way across the fields to Slough, 208 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. and as I reached it, a very gaudy-looking dog-cart was driven up to the door of the inn, where "High in the street, o'erlooking aU the place. The rampant Uon shows his kingly face." From this dog-cart a gentleman descended, whose dress was pecuUar. A Ught green cutaway coat, Avith gUt basket buttons, " leathers," not white as the driven snow, but what the canary fanciers term " mealy," and of the Bluecoat-school cut at the knees, where the buttons had evidently faUen out Avith the button holes, for they could not be pre vaUed upon to meet upon any terms. There was a display of white ribands, which would have done credit to the cap of any recruiting sergeant in the service. The boots were of the Wellington make, Avith a pab of highly glazed tops draAvn over them, displaying a large hiatus, froufl. which the caK of the wearer protruded considerably. A waistcoat of striped marceUa, a hat of a curious shape, tied to the button hole by a black cord, a pab of spurs, and a hunting whip, completed the costume. The horse was a raw-boned animal, one of those which come under the denomination of " rum ones to look at, but devUs to go," whUe the saddle, the cloth of white, bordered Avith Ught blue, surcingle of the same, snaffie bridle, faced Avith pink, satin, aU spic-span new, did not in the least reaUse my NIMROD. 209 idea of a true sportsman's " turn-out." StiU I knew that " great Avits" and Avriters " to madness nearly are allied," and, unacquainted with Mr. Apperley, I fancied he might belong to the class of eccentrics. To make myseK certain as to the in di'vidual, no sooner had the new-comer mounted his " Eosinante " than I rode up to the groom, and said in an offhand manner, " That's Nimrod, is it not ? " " Tes, sb," responded the man, Avith a suppressed smUe, " and I should Uke to drink your honour's health, and success to Nimrod." ThroAving my informant a shilling, I lost no time in gaining upon this mighty hunter, and caught him up just as he reached the field from which the deer had been some ten minutes uncarted. To account for this, I must remark that although I have given a brief and hurried sketch of my proceedings, a considerable deal of time had been lost at Slough, after the great man's arrival. Some time had been devoted to his giving instruction to his groom, taking care of himseK at the bar of the Eed Lion, mounting, altering, and arranging his stirrups. Now for the run. The gate that opened to the field was at the farthest extiemity of the road, and finding that, just as I got up to my friend the hounds were laid on, I put my horse at a smaU fence, and caUed upon him to foUow me. " There's no ditch on this VOL. I. P 210 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. side," I exclaimed, as upon looking round I disco vered the hero of the flea-bitten grey "craning" most aAvfuUy. "What could be the cause ? thought I. At last an idea flashed across my mind ; the field, as I have abeady said, was numerous, and as the hounds were running paraUel to the road, and seemed disposed to cross it, I fancied my friend was waiting untU they had done so, that he might get a clear start, and take a line of his OAvn, instead of foUoAving at the taU of the taUoring crowd. My anticipations, although I afterwards found out they were not his, were reaUsed; the deer had taken towards Eton playing fields ; and the hounds crossed the road Avithin a few yards of Slough. I jumped back into the road, and then discovered that Nimrod had gaUoped off in earnest ; clapping his spurs into the flanks of his highly couraged although low conditioned steed, and going away at a pace that would almost have ecUpsed that of the AvUd huntsman Heme. StUl he kept to the road that led to Eton. Albeit no M'Adamizer myseK, so anxious was I to keep weU up Avith this celebrated sporting Avriter, that I hammered my hunter along the road in a way that caUed doAvn the risible re marks of my brother officers and friends. Just as we had reached the playing flelds, the hounds again crossed to the right, and I then saw that we could DRAG-HUNTING. 211 " take the road " no longer. During a temporary cheek, I doffed my hat to the new-comer, a compU- ment which he immediately retumed. " As you do not know this country, sb, as well as I do," said I, poUtely addressing him, "perhaps I can prove of some sUght service; your horse seems a Uttle out of condition ; by nursing hiin at first I have no doubt but that you AviU get him through the run, which, from the Une the deer has taken, avUI, I think, be a brilUant one." My lately-formed aUy waa aU attention and civUity. "Why, as you say, sb," he repUed, " my horse is a Uttle out of condition; he's been in rather sharp work lately ; ten mUes Avith a drag last Friday is no chUd's play." " Ten mUes after a drag," I exclauned in a tone of surprise, for none hut the hero himseK could have convinced me that Nimrod was addicted to hunting a " drag " by pattonising the aniseed and red-herring pack. " Tes, sb ; last week at Croydon, then at Eom ford, also at Epping, Uxbridge, Tottenham, aU in the way of business." " Oh, I understand," I answered, " you publish your proceedings in the newspapers and maga zines." p2 212 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. "Eight, again," repUed my affable friend. "I could not carry on the war Avithout the press and periodicals. Why, sb, a man might make his fortune by selUng brick-dust, charcoal, old bottles, tooth powders, cosmetics, articles of dress, or any other commodities, K he only advertised enough, and gave them some outlandish name." "EeaUy?" I responded. "Oh yes, sb; take, for instance, your taUor ; he caUs himseK an ' epicosmecalosomatist,' or body decorator; a maker of squibs and crackers is a pyrotechnist; butchers, dabymen, and donkeymen, are denominated purveyors of meat, cream, and asses' milk; tooth-draAving is described as dental surgery; hab-dressers and barbers pubUsh works on the philosophy of the groAvth of the hab, and announce 'heads decorated and chins surveyed;' shops are denominated repositories, emporiums, bazaars, and temples of fancy; polytechnics, pan technicons, and panopticons flourish ; and we daUy read of antigropolos boots, rien-qui-manque fish- sauCe, zoorzaha for the rheumatism, yarabisca balsam, and fluid renaissance for changing carroty and grey locks into luxuriant raven ringlets." "There is a great deal in what you say," I replied. " Tes, sb; puffing is the order of the day, and PETER PINDAR. 213 Avithout it even my article woidd be a drug in the market." " Impossible ! " I responded ; " while there's a particle of taste or intelUgence left in the world, your articles must always command attention." " Tou are very kind, sb," repUed my friend, " and although I say it as should not, they are cer tainly very much sought after by the pubUc." I had now "thoroughly broken the ice, and haAdng hinted at, and complimented the popular Avriter upon his avocations, I was about to point out the line I thought the deer likely to take, when he again referred to his works. " So you admire my poetry," he continued ; " certainly that last ode was rather Peter Pindaric." Ode ! Pindaric ! I was at fault, for I never remembered any ffight of poetiy emanating from Nimrod's pen. " A hunting song ? " I inqubed. "No," answered he; "Unes on " (at this moment a hoUoa was heard, the hounds were run ning breast high, so I retumed to the subject of the day). "We shall have to cross Chalvey ditch, then skirting Eton, he avUI probably take to the river, whether at Surly HaU or Maidenhead I can't say, as he has abeady been headed many times ; K he 214 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. crosses the water he avUI lead us a merry dance to" Ascot Heath and Bagshot." " Chalvey ditch, across the Thames, Ascot, and Bagshot," echoed my brother sportsman; "won- derfiil ! " This enumeration of places made me think he was treasuring them in his mind for an article in a London newspaper, or the next number of the magazine. I was, therefore, particularly anxious that he should be made acquainted Avith my patro nymic, as, Avithout that, it would be impossible for him, however AvilUng, to record my progress in the fleld. To accompUsh this requbed some Uttle tact, and I immediately set my brain to work ; and as none of my friends happened to be near, I tried, by way of a beginning, to lead to a con versation that would point out my profession and residence. "Charming country this, sb," said I; "in Avinter hunting, in summer boating and cricketing ; a;ll the year round a most hospitable neighbourhood ; only two hours' ride from toAvn. Windsor is one of the best cavaby quarters we have." "Oh! you are quartered at Windsor," repUed he, recovering his usual manner; "but you forgot to enumerate one of the deUghts of country quarters — standing on a bridge, throAving a piece of wood COAKSENESS OF A GENIUS. 215 into the water, and crossing to the opposite side to watch its progress doAvn the sti-eam." ''Nimrod's breaking out," said 1 to myseK, and then proceeded aloud, " Tes, my regiment is quartered at the cavalry barracks at Spital." " Spital,"' echoed my friend, " that's very weU of you. It is 'spittle' that makes the sport at the bridges, not a piece of wood. I see, sb, you ai-e up to a thing or two." My acquaintance was getting famiUar, and, as I thought, extiemely ATilgar ; stiU, as a genius, I felt some aUowance ought to he made for him, and I continued, " Tes, I am at the cavaby barracks, where, at any time, I shaU be deUghted to see you ; I can show you something in your line ; you are fond of horses?" " Very," responded my attentive companion, "and if my services ever should be requbed, you may command me. Anything in my line shaU meet the most prompt attention." Before I could prepare a suitable answer, I was greeted by the then Mayor of Windsor, Mr. Bannister. " Tou have a nice horse, my Lord," said that universaUy respected chief magistrate; " more than up to your weight." At the mention of "my Lord," the mighty Nimrod looked a Uttle surprised, and not a Uttle pleased. 216 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. "I beg your pardon, Sb — ^my Lord," said he. "I was not aware of the honour." "Oh!" I interrupted him, "look upon me as a brother sportsman, that is a tie acknowledged all over the world. But we must not lose our start. Old Merrylass is on the scent." I was right ; away went the pack, followed by a troop of equestrians, and a company of pedestrians, hoUooing and shouting, and making a noise that reminded me of some Esquimaux Indians in Canada, or the skeleton hunt in the German opera of "Der Freisch'iitz." " FoUow me," I exclaimed. "We must not take too much out of our horses. I'U lead you to a spot where the ditch is scarcely broader than a gutter." Away I went, foUowed by my friend, who kept rather too close to he pleasant. It is true, I was well mounted, but as accidents AviU happen in the best regulated estahUshments, I could not help feel ing that K " Comus," (so my hunter was named, as having been bought from MUton, the Milton who lived by his mews), should happen to make a mis take, I should be ridden over by Nimrod. He would have to Avrite my epitaph; and the event would furnish an exceUent theme for the dreadful catastrophe Avriters of the morning press. In order to avert this sad calamity, I " got up the steam" as NIMROD IN THE BROOK. 217 I approached the ditch, and charged it gallantly a few yards in advance of my shadow, at rather a broad part. "Keep to the right" I shouted, "near the hedge — you'll find it nothing." ""Where, where?" exclaimed my friend, who Avas now pulling and bawling at his horse's mouth as K, in nautical language, he was "bousing the helm up Avith a griping ship ; " but, to carry the metaphor stiU further, the fiery steed would "not answer," and, goaded by the spurs, by which my hero stuck on, and foUoAving my track, he plunged right into the middle of as dirty a ditch as that of Datchet Mead, immortaUsed by Falstaff 's ducking. Looking round, as I heard a heaA^ splash, and a loud groan, I saw the accident that had befaUen my fidend, and in the most un-hunting-Uke fashion I puUed up to offer him my assistance. Jumping off my horse, and giAdng it to a labourer who had perched himseK up in a AviUow tree to see the sport, I caught firm hold of the tree,' held out my whip, and begged the affi-ighted Nimrod to seize hold of it. He had no sooner done so than I succeeded in pulling him to the bank, and in the meantime the "grey" had been rescued from the ditch by the labourer. There stood horse and rider, the quadruped looking for aU the world like one of Cook's black and white pie- 218 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. bald steeds at Astley's, and the biped the fac-simile of one of those young "mud-larks," who devote theb time to picking up " coppers" out of the Kent shores, during the period of "whitebait at Greeu Avich." A butcher's boy, whose " bit of metal " would not face the ditch, profferred his assistance, and Avith his apron and some wet rushes, we rubbed doAvn man and horse. Mounting our hunters again, we trotted towards Windsor bridge, to ascertain, if pos sible, which way the deer had taken. As a matter of course, we were not a Uttle jeered at— "chaffed" is the modem phrase — as we rode through Eton. "HoUoa, SnowbaU," cried one, "why, you're as black as the white of my eye." "Tou've been shooting your rubbish in Chalvey ditch," screamed another. " That's 'gainst an Act of ParUament." "No dbt to be taken off these roads Avithout leave of the surveyor," shouted a thbd. "Tou'U be had up before the authorities, hurrah!" roared a fourth; while a dozen voices exclaimed, "The deer has taken the water at Surly HaU, and you can't do better than foUow arter him ; a swim avUI do you good." "Then Clewer's our line," said I; so ttotting over the bridge, we took the first street to our right, and soon gained the meadows between the THE END OF THE RUN. 219 royal toAvn and ClcAvcr chui-ch, A few fences stood in our way ; but looking out for gaps, 1 told my friend to follow me, not Avithout first alluding to the fact, that many horses who would take timber, would not face a brook. Whether the immersion in the stagnant water had put extia metal into the rider and his steed, I know not ; but they certainly followed me as straight as a dart, and we reached the village Avithout any adventure. Here we ascertained, that the deer, hounds, huntsmen, and a few daring spbits, had crossed the river, and away we went towards St. Leonard's Hill, Skbting that beau- tifuUy wooded spot, we crossed Wingfield Plain, at that time unenclosed, and soon reached Ascot Hea13i ; from thence to Bagshot, where the deer took to the water, and was captured. During the latter part of the run, there was scarcely any fencing; and what Uttle we met Avith was very easy. No sooner did we gain the open, than my friend passed me ; and wonderful was it to see him gaUop Avith a slack reiuj over mounds, across ridge and furrow, through rabbit burrows, thorns and ferns, and stUl more wonderful that his horse should keep his legs, upon such ground, Avith so loose a rider on his back. At the termination of the chase, I congratulated Nimrod at being one, out of nine, who had seen the end of the run. He seemed 220 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY, deUghted at the compliment, and assured me it was one of the best days' sport he had ever seen, adding that he should never forget my kindness and attention. To have Nimrod for a friend for ever ! said I to myseK; I shall have my deeds in the hunting field chronicled, and attain that sporting notoriety, which in those days, I oavu, I coveted not a Uttle. I now turned to my seK-satisfied companion, and proposed that he should accompany me to the barracks, to partake of luncheon. This he poUtely decUned, stating that as he found himseK so near Bagshot, where he had some business, he should proceed there for the night, and early in the morn ing ride his gallant grey quietly to London. "Never unmindful of business. Captain," said my new aUy. "My name's well knoAvn in Bagshot and the vicinity. I have no doubt my day's sport AviU tum to profit." "Unquestionably," I repUed, stUl imagining he was aUuding to the works of his graphic pen. I then took my leave, but not Avithout first giving him my name (which proved to be superfluous, as he had abeady ascertained it from the huntsman), and assuring him that at aU times, my brother officers and myseK would be happy to see so dis tinguished a guest at the barracks. EXPECTED EULOGIES. 221 " Thank you for the flattering compliment," responded my friend, "there's nothing like com bining business Avith pleasure. Unfortunately, my cards were left in my tiap, but my address is well known to the world at large; and K ever, pro fessionally or privately, I can be of any service to you or your friends, pray command me." I took off my hat, extended my hand, which my acquaintance grasped, and turning Comus's head towards Windsor, pictured to myseK the flaming para graph that would probably appear in the sporting papers, headed "Wonderful run Avith his Majesty's stag hounds," Avith a fuU, true, and particular account of the chosen " nine " who were up at the end of the day. In the meantime, having some sUght personal acquaintance Avith a neighbouring provincial editor, I concocted an article in my head on the road home, and reduced it to Avriting the moment I reached my barrack-room. Not Avishing to vaunt my prowess too highly, I merely named myseK as one who, Avith the celebrated sporting Avriter Nimrod, the huntsman, and a few others, had kept Avith the hounds during the run of the season. The para graph appeared. It was on a Friday morning. I purchased at least a dozen papers; for the editor, thinking that my "modesty," Uke that of Tom Thumb's, "was a flambeau to my understanding," 222 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. had given us more credit than we deserved, de scribing the heroes aUuded to as having led the fleld the whole day, and gallantly swum the Thames across a rapid current. The Sunday papers, pub lished in time for Saturday's afternoon coach, were to reach nie by diimer-time that day ; and haAdng ordered two copies of Bell's Life, I awaited its arrival Avith no Uttle impatience. I had sent my servant to look out for Moody's coach; and he came in Avith — "A parcel from London, my lord!" I opened it, and rapidly glanced at the hunting news, but no mention was made of the run. Disappointed at not flnding the long-looked-for account, I was about to put doAvn the paper, when my attention was attracted to the following pithy paragraph : — " We stop the press to say that we have just received a communication from Nimrod (E. T. Apperley, Esq.), begging us to contiadict a statement that appeared in a pro vincial newspaper of yesterday's date to the effect that he had formed one of the field Avith his Majesty's staghounds last week; this talented author adding, that unless, Uke Sb Boyle Eoche's bbd, he could be in two places at once, the thing was impossible ; for he had been out on the very morning mentioned Avith the WarAvickshbe hounds." To this was appended the foUoAving note by the COPY THE ADDRESS. 223 editor, "We rather suspect the original article in question was a regular paid-for puff of the Day and Mai-tin school, inserted by one of the 'hard riders' so flatteringly mentioned in it." To adopt a sporting phrase, I was regularly " at fault;" nor was the mystery cleared up until the foUoAving morning, when a letter reached me by the post. It contained a few printed cards, and there was tenpence to pay. I was about to throw the cards into the fire, when a small note fell on the floor, and picking it up, I found it ran as follows : — " Mr. 's compUments to Lord William Lennox ; and in thanking him for his kindness last Monday Avith the stag-hounds, begs to enclose a few cards." " "What does this mean ?" I exclaimed to a brother officer. " See here," he repUed, reading one of the cards in a solemn theatrical tone. "Killing no murder ! Puce, bug, and flea extbpator ! ! One tiial AviU suffice ! ! ! Copy the address ! ! ! ! No. 2, John Street, Clerkenwell, London." I cannot attempt to describe my shame and annoy ance at having made myseK the dupe of a puce extirpator — a b flat desttoyer — a black beetle exter minator. I could have ^ea-bottomised the Avretch. One consolation alone remained, and I congratulated myseK upon it, namely, the narrow escape I had of impUcating others ; for had the supposed Nimrod 224 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. accepted my iuAdtation to Windsor, I should not only have unquestionably presented him to my brother officers, under the title I had ignorantly given him, but probably should have introduced him to all my friends in the Frying Pan walk, then a fashionable lounge on the Datchet road. It 'was not for a year afterwards that I discovered the author of the cruel hoax which had been prac tised upon me. One of the party at the breakfast had, " by way of a lark," spread about a report that Nimrod was expected to join the hunt; and haAdng seen, upon his way through Colnbrook, a chaise cart Avith the words " Eobert , puce extb pator, John Street, Clerkenwell, London," draw up at the ""White Hart Inn," Avith a veritable cockney sitting in it ; and hearing him pompously inqube of the ostler whether he had seen a flea-bitten grey (not an inappropriate colour) on his way to Slough, thought it would be capital fun to identify this benefactor of humanity, Avith the celebrated and talented Nimrod. The whole affab created a good laugh at the time. It reached the ears of George IV,, then enjoying his retbement at his cottage in the park; it was talked over at the "mess" at Windsor, Hampton Court, and Hounslow barracks. AU that was left me was to Avrite to my friend the hoaxer and say — BUYING A HORSE. 225 " Xiinis uncis Karibus imhtlges." Or, as Dryden gives it, " Tou drive the jest too far." Another time I was nearly being led into a worse mistake, one which might haA'e ended in my losing a valuable animal, or, what would have been worse, being taken up on suspicion of horse steaUng. A few days before the Derby day, I purchased an Irish horse of a London dealer. The late Mr. TattersaU had had the horse on a job for six weeks, and as from his account it was aU that I could have desbed, I walked into the OAvner's yard, asked for the broAvn gelding, and inqubed the price. " Sixty guineas," responded the man, " and dirt cheap at the money." " I'U give you fifty pounds, cash on deUvery," I repUed, " and ask no questions." Kbby (that was the man's name) appeared sur prised at what he considered the quick way I had looked over his steed, and, as I heard, remarked afterwards to a friend that I was the best judge he had ever met Avith, for I had noticed aU the good points that TattersaU had told me of. After a few moments' pause he continued, — " I should very much Uke to have a deal Avith VOL. I. Q 226 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. you, sb, for I am fuU of horses ; so make it guineas, and I'U take b." "An unknoAvn coin," I said, "never realised in seUing. Think it over; and K you send the animal to the Knightsbridge cavaby barracks in haK-an-hour, I'll give you a cheque for fifty pounds." " Quick i-etums and smaU profits is my motto, so I agree. "Whose stable shall I ask for ? " I told him, when he answered, "Tou've been very hal-d upon me, my Lord, but I have much pleasure in doing business Avith so excellent a judge. No walking or trotting out ; no hour's ride in the park, to have the animal picked to pieces by many who have horses to sell themselves ; no sending to one vet., who says he may go lame, and to another, who prophesies that some day or other he may go blind, Tou never get two of any trade to agree, especially in that business," Entering Kbby's office, I gave him the requbed cheque, and borroAving a saddle and bridle from him, I rode home. On the day of the Derby I sent Shamrock, as I named him, to Carshalton, and drove doAvn to that rural Adllage Avith my friend Adolphus Fitzclarence, Anxious to join a party in the grand stand, I put my horse up at a large booth, taking special notice of the place, which was AVHICH IS THE ONE I BOUGHT? 227 at the sign of the ""White Hart." Having agreed to meet my companion haK-an-hour after the great cA'ent of the day was over at a particular spot, I proceeded in search of the stable, and found it after some considerable ttouble. There were at least forty horses in it ; and when I told the ostler to saddle me the broAvn horse, he looked perfectly astounded, and the story of calling out in the pit of a theati-e that Smith's house was on fire flashed across my mind, "Wait a minute," said I, as I walked doAvn the centre row, and saw dozens of broAvn animals. But the more I saw the more I got confused ; and I began to despab of selecting Shamrock from the crowd. It then occurred to me that my conduct would appear very suspicious to the Avide-awake ostler, and that K by chance I made a mistake, I should be handed over to the poUce authorities. I ought to have premised, that I was never a good judge of a horse, and that I had not the knack many of my brother officers possessed of knoAving every horse in theb respective troops ; indeed, as a subaltern, I had often got into trouble Avith the commanding officer for my ignorance upon that score. At last I saw an animal which looked the image of Shamrock, and I was ahout to call the ostler, when a groom came up, took off the rug, Q 2 228 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. turned him round, and told a helper to bring him a saddle. Thwarted in this, I began to get very nervous, especially as I fancied I heard some remarks of a not very flattering nature made by the groom and helper. Time was getting on, I was to dine Avith Adolphus Fitzclarence, and I was about to give my card to the ostler, and express my inabiUty to find out my horse, when it occurred to rne that K I could not pick out the broAvn, I could recognise my saddle and bridle, so I at once went to a railed-off place where these articles were deposited. "Whippy was the man I always. em ployed, so I had Uttle difficulty in fibnding the objects I was in search of, and the moment I satis- fled myseK on this point, I boldly caUed out to the ostler, "Here, put this saddle upon my broAvn horse." "All right," repUed the "oat stealer," from which, as some say, the word ostler has been derived. And seeing a remarkably neat hunting saddle and bridle, such as few could boast of in the stable of the ""White Hart," he paid me every respect. I was soon mounted on Shamrock, joined my friend, and returned to London. After dbmer I told the story, which created not a little mirth, especially to a foreign count, who was present, and enjoyed the joke amazingly. I have related these two stories in which I was THE AVINDSOR MANAGER. 229 AdctimisedJ or nearly so. I have now to speak of a practical joke which was played upon the manager of the Windsor Theatie. Some friends of mine in the Guards, then stationed at Windsor, had agreed Avith me to get up an amateur play, and after a great deal of discussion. Home's tragedy of " Douglas," and the farce of " The Ldshman in London," were selected. I had acted Young Norval at Brussels, and fancied myseK far superior to Master Betty in the character. George L'Estiange — ^who, I am deUghted to hear, is about to pubUsh his reminiscences — ^was cast to the part of Old Norval, and Eichard (commonly caUed Dick) Armitt was to represent the viUain Glenalvon. Dick agreed to take this part, provided he was aUowed to act an Irishman in the after-piece, a character admbably suited to him. His histrionic powers were great, and his "brogue " was perfect, in addition to which no one could sing a "Paddy " song better. I had Avritten to James WaUack, whose acquaintance I had formed behind the scenes at Drury Lane, to ask him to permit me to read over the part Avith him ; and, after sundry lessons in elocution, I caUed a rehearsal on the Windsor stage as manager. It was agreed that we were to engage the services of professional ladies ; but before we took that step, we were to see that the male members of the corps 230 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. dramatique were perfect in theb parts. At the flrst rehearsal L'Estrange appeared letter-perfect in his character, as did I ; but Armitt, whose heart and soul were in the farce, did not know the ghost of a Une. He began to read the part in the richest brogue imaginable, converting the Homely tragedy into a screaming farce. " I think," said he, "a song would go well here," So, suiting the action to the word, in the midst of my most important scene, and just as I had deUvered the foUoAving Unes, informing Lady Eandolph by what means I, the " flower of modesty," had acqubed a knowledge in the art of war: — "Mild he spake. And, entering on discourse, s-ach stories told As made me oft revisit his sad ceU " — he rushed on the stage, sang out, " What an aAvful sell !" knocked his OAvn hat flat over his forehead, brandished a short stick he had in his hand as a shU- lalah, and throAving himseK into a comic attitude, began singing a verse or two, commencing — " Oh, the groves of Blarney, They are so charming." After such an interruption we could not recover our seriousness so as to proceed with the play, and we agreed to go through the farce, the grand, farcenr promising faithfully to learn his part by the next PREPARATIONS, 231 rehearsal of "Douglas," We soon discovered that our strength was in farce, although so great was my vanity that I could not bring myself to believe our tragedy would prove a faUure. Dick Armitt acted up to his word, for he felt that K he faUed in Glen alvon he would redeem himself in the Irishman, and was letter-perfect on the second rehearsal. The evening for the performance was fixed, and our next step was, to try and engage the services of two professional ladies through a theatrical agent. Ne gotiations were going on when the death of the Duke of Kent put a temporary end to the perform ance, for in those days aU the theaties were closed from the day of the royal- demise untU after the funeral. I must here observe that we had made arrangements for the hbe of the theatre, subject, of course, to the manager not requbing it for dramatic purposes ; and as we were assured that such would not be the case, we felt no difficulty upon the sub ject. As soon as the funeral was over, we again tumed our attention to the play, and proceeded to the theatre to see whether the scenery would suit the plays we had selected. It happened to be the very day on which our performance was to have taken place. . 'When we reached the stage-door, the Cer berus told us he had received strict orders from the manager not to aUow any one to enter the buUding, 232 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. that one of his emissaries had called in the morning to lock up the dressing-rooms, property, and green room, and that the theatre was to open the foUoAving week for a few nights. "How lucky," said Armitt, "that our play was postponed ! That spalpeen of a manager is angry because we did not engage his ladies, and himseK as stage manager ; we should have been in a nice fix." Whether such was the case I know not ; it certainly did appear strange the manager should thus suddenly close his doors against us, and an nounce a short season of a fortnight. We had abeady been in communication Avith two London actresses to take the parts of Lady Randolph and Anna, and could not enter into an arrangement Avith any others. Our only alternative was to give up the amateur play, and take some tickets for the benefit of the London ladies, as a sUght return for the trouble we had given them, in studying the parts. In a few days the manager of the theatre paid me a visit, and it happened that Dick Armitt was present. " Show him up," said my friend ; " I'll just be after giving him a piece of my mind," The manager entered, and after expressing a hope that he should be fortunate enough to get a bespeak from the respective commanding officers of the Blues and Guards, proceeded to say that, having heard we' TRAGICAL MIRTH. 233 had an amateui* play in contemplation, he would be happy to lend us all assistance in his power, Armitt, who, I saw, was getting rather red in his face, and who would probably have acted up to his threat, was fortunately interrupted by the entrance of a corporal of my troop to warn me for some regimental duty. I took advantage of this to tell the warm hearted Irishman not to give vent to his feel ings, for reasons I would afterwards explain. He took the hint, and the manager continued, " If I can be of any service, K my counsel would" — ^here Armitt interposed, and in the broadest Tipperary brogue, spouted the foUoAving Unes from "Douglas," looking daggers aU the time at the object of his satire : — " I have been accustomed all my days to hear and speak the plain and simple truth, and though I have been told that there are men who lock theb theatres up, and borrow friendship's tongue to speak theb scorn, yet in such language I am little skiUed, therefore I thank the manager for his counsel, although it sounded harshly." The manager looked disconcerted, made a low bow, and took his leave. A few nights after the above conversation, we agreed ' to take a private box at the theatre to see "Douglas," (another strange coincidence), and the after-piece of " Midas." To get to our box we had to cross the stage, and by the hurried manner in which we were 234 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. shoAvn to it, we could easily see that our presence was not requbed behind the scenes. One of our party, who had just left the MUitary CoUege at Marlow, and was as full of mischief as a young kitten, felt highly aggrieved at the very rude manner in which the prompter desbed him to move on, and inwardly vowed vengeance. Having conveyed his ideas to a "chum," they were neither of them slow in carrying out theb plan. After the curtain had dropped, the youths left the box, crossed the stage Avithout looking to the right or left, and proceeded to a shop well knoAvn to them in Eton ; tipping the stage-doorkeeper haK a croAvn on theb return. The opening scene in Midas was being set, and every attempt was made to give due effect to Jupiter, JunO, ApoUo, Vulcan, and a host of mythological personages. The curtain rose, and the chorus, — " Jove in his chair. Of the skies lord mayor," had commenced, when all of a sudden a sound very like that of the explosion of a detonating baU was heard, and " Ino (as you know, who was married to Juno)" gave a sudden start. This rather marred the chorus, when Apollo, anxious to keep time, stamped his foot, and so another explosion took place. Jupiter, rising from his seat, looked ahout SQUIBS IN OLYMPUS. 235 to see if he could cUscover the cause of this unex pected thunder, when, on resuming his chab of state, a running explosion was kept up, and he bounded up from it as K it had been a wasps' nest. The leader of the orchestra rose from his high stool, a smaU enclosed space which might Avith truth have been called " a band box," and the same noise that had been heard on the stage was heard there, "Disgraceful!" exclaimed the "big drum," as he trod on one of the small glass detonators, " Shame ful ! " said the player of the spasmodic clarionet, as a double explosion was heard. In short, all the musicians, five in number, and all the performers, could not move to the right or left Avithout treading upon a small, but noisy petard. The manager came forward — ^bang ! bang ! bang ! — ^the prompter fol lowed, Avith a book in one hand and a broom in the other — another voUey sounded through the theatre, and the noise reminded one, on a small scale, of a party of infantty skirmishing before an enemy. In the meantime the occupants of the gaUery were in ecstacies, and a few urchins haAdng some of these detonators, dropped them into the pit, where they added not a Uttle to the noise and confusion. For tunately for the perpetrators of the outrage — for outrage it unquestionably was — ^the fact of a few detonators having been throAvn fi^om the upper 236 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. regions completely removed all suspicion from our box — except, perhaps, in the eyes of the manager, who knew that some of its tenants had a grudge against him. An address was made to the house at large, a reward of two sovereigns was offered to any one who would give such information as to bring the offenders to justice, and the orchestra and stage having been swept, the burletta proceeded. A good- humoured extempore joke about "bloAving up " and paying the " debt o' nature" drew doAvn a round of applause, and nothing further occurred to mar the amusement of the evening. Before leaving the theatre, as Dick Armitt and myseK had a shrewd suspicion of the " firing party," we requested the manager would send us pit, box, and gaUery tickets for his benefit, which was fixed for the foUoAving week, adding that we would do our best to procure him the bespeaks he had requested. In these we were successful ; and, as a ruse on his part was set off by an explosion upon ours, we came off quits. Such was the feeling in the days I Avrite of against officers appearing on the pubUc boards, that I beUeve our play would have been stopped had it reached the ears of the authorities of the Horse Guards. Now the rage for amateur theatricals is so great that it is encouraged, and Avisely, by the highest personages in the land. SIGNS OF MIRTH. 237 The names of the authors of the practical joke that I haA'e recorded oozed out in due course of time. They, however, had a coadjutor, who took up his station in the front row of the pit, and who plied the orchestra, whUe the others were slyly dropping theb detonators on the stage, besides leaAdng a bountiful supply of them when crossing to the box. The scene was a much more extiaordinary one than it appears in print — the consternation of the heathen mythology, the angry look of the manager, the sur prise of the musicians, the horror of the prompter, the shouts of the people in the gaUery, the serious countenances of the critics in the pit, and the demure looks of the box and private box company, including our OAvn party, can be much easier conceived than described. The practical joke at the theatre was not the only one played at Windsor during the period I Avrite of; and much as such practices ought to be condemned, I cannot refrain from recounting a few. Upon one occasion a huge red cocked hat, that would have suited the footman to the King of Brobdignag, was taken from the front of a ttadesman's house, neatly packed up in a deal case, and sent to Dr, Keate, then head-master of Eton. Another time, an un popular surgical practitioner found a board Avith " Mangling done here" affixed to his front door. 238 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. One fine summer morning the Adjutant of the Blues, Simon Hurst by name, than whom a better fellow or smarter officer never existed, was horror-struck at looking out of his Avindow and seeing the balcony in front of his small, but snug cottage, nearly oppo site the barracks, nicely arranged Avith signs that had been abstracted from Windsor and Eton. There was a sugarloaf and a golden grasshopper, a notice of " Boats to let," a huge wooden tun, a Black Boy, a King's Head, and " Fresh Fish from BUUngsgate every morning," Avith a notice that "No dust was to be taken off the roads Avithout leave of the Sur veyor;" a large tin canister had for its companions a red boot, a barber's pole, and a board announcing "Smoky chimneys cured;" while, to sum up the whole, a figure of a stalwart Highlander, which for years had graced the shop of a Windsor tobacconist, was placed as a sentry at Hurst's door. These decorations were Avithin an ace of being croAvned by the honour of a royal Adsit, as an attempt had been made (though fortunately Avithout success) to carry off the busts of King WilUam and Queen Anne from the ToAvn HaU. Although the monotony of countty quarters was very great in those days, there was no excuse for the mischievous pranks which were played, and which were attributable to idleness, and too free an HIGHAVAYMEN, 239 indulgence in the fiery port AAdne to be met Avitli at almost every mess-table. In the days of my youth highway robberies Avere very common, and few travelled by night without finding themselves minus a purse or watch, and, perhaps, }dns a bullet or some slug shot. During tho whole of my long experience I only fell in with two of the "stand-and-deli\'er" class; one was in the coimtry, the other in London. The ffi-st case occmred on my return from Tunbridge Wells Eaces, in the year 1821, when I was quartered in the Eegent's Park Barracks. "Misfortunes," says the proverb, "never come single;" and certainly for two days the blind goddess did not favour me. At that time the orderly officer of the day had, or fancied he had, the privilege of getting a brother officer to do what was technically termed "taking the belt;" that is, to discharge any unexpected duty that might arise. I had gone through the usual routine of the day, had seen the forage weighed, attended the men's breakfasts and dinners, gone round the stables, Adsited the hospital, and was dining at mess, when a note reached me asking me to call at a friend's house on a point of business connected Avith a horse I had recently purchased. "Will you kindly take my belt for the next three hours?" said 1 to a brother "sub." "Most will- 240 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. ingly," he responded, Avith that kind feeUng of feUowship which ever characterised the officers of the Blues. Changing my dress, I went to Long's Hotel, in Bond Stteet, did my business, and retumed to the barracks. Nothing more occurred until the foUoAving morning, when the commanding officer sent for me to the mess-room, and in the presence of aU the officers asked me upon whose authority I had been absent when on duty. I pleaded general custom, and expressed my regret that I had not acted up to the strict letter of the law. " I must make an example," said my superior, " and I shaU stop your leave during the next two months. I am going away to-morrow," said he, turning to the major. "Tou AviU see this carried out in my absence." Acting upon the old negro story of "don't preachee and floggee too" — ^for the colonel had what is termed in the army "given me a Avigging" — ^I fancied myseK Ul used, but soon got over my annoy ance, consoling myseK Avith the idea, that as the young Guardsman said he would be able "to rough it on beefsteaks and porter," I could "rough" it by a two months' longer sojourn in London. I must here remark, that a few weeks before I had pur chased from Eichard Walker, of Mitchel Grove, Sussex, a thorough-bred horse, caUed Canova, by Eubens out of Diana, as thorough-bred as EcUpse. A TRAINEE S HONESTY. 241 By the late OAvner's adAdc-e, I had placed him in training under the care of Dick WetheraU (or -'Dirty Dick,"' as he was usuaUy <^ed), intending to make the flyer pay his way, by running at Tun bridge WeUs, Dover, and Egham, until the Avinter, when I proposed having him broke in as a first or second charger. It was the visit to Walker with a cheque for £100, that caused my miUtary repri mand and punishment. I had given iristruetions to my trainer to enter CanoAra for two races at Tun bridge WeUs. on the very day succeeding that of my lecture from the colonel, and to mn him on the second day should he be qualified for the beaten stakes. •• Surely." said TiUiers. Avho tabs a captain in my i^giment, "you will not be mad enough to give such discretionary poArer to WetheraU. I do not Avish to sp^fc harshly of him in particular, but the tricks at these small countiy races are aArfid, and unl^ you or some fiiend are present, you will, I fear, be done to a tinder."" •¦ Can you go ?" asked L '• I would Avith pleasure, but I have promised to take my wife to Bath for a few days."" What Aras to he done ? To ask the major for leave would be to place hiTn in a &Ise position, so aU I could do was to lay the case before the captain of TOL. I. E 242 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. my troop, -who said that if there was no other duty he would excuse me at stables. Finding that I was not in orders, I rose at four o'clock, and having sent a horse on to a haK- way house, I started at five in a stanhope Avith my batman, John Hargreaves. We were not very long on our journey, and reached the Sussex Hotel, at Tunbridge Wells, about nine o'clock. "A card and a sheet Ust, names and weights and plates and colours of the riders,'? shouted a vendor of cards to me, as I aUghted from my stanhope. I bought a card, and found, to my great horror, that although Canova had been entered for .two sweepstakes of five sovereigns each, the words "paid forfeit" were appended, "What can have happened?" I exclaimed to my trusty servant. "Canova must be amiss." "It's all along Avith that 'ere WetheraU," he responded. " I was told at the barracks that he would sell us. He stands in Avith , the dealer." Before I had time to reply, the accused made his appearance, and approached me Avith a slouching, hang-dog look. "What's the matter?" I asked. ""Why, my Lord, it's aU along Avith that 'ere farrier ; he pricked Canova in shoeing. It's a sad business, as we must have carried off both stakes," Acting upon the hint that my batman had given me, I continued, "I see , the dealer, has a LAMING A HORSE. 243 horse entered for both stakes." " Oh yes, but he would not have had a chance Avith us," "So I thought," I repUed; "and it is rumoured that, knoAving that, his object was to , I won't say what." " I does not quite understand your Lord ship," remarked the trainer ; " all I know is, every thing connected Avith Canova has been on the square, and no mistake," "Under the cbcum- stances," I proceeded, "you had better send him home to the Eegent's Park Barracks. I AviU put him out of ttaining at once." "Excuse me, my Lord, but there is an open race to-morrow, only a sovereign enttance; he might run for that, and K he got beat would get Ughtly weighted for the beaten horse plate. I don't think now his shoes is off he AviU be lame to-morrow." " Lame or sound, he runs no more here," I responded ; " and when he gets to London, our veterinaiy surgeon shall decide whether he AviU be fit to go to other places, or be throAvn out of ttaining." Disgusted Avith Mr. WetheraU, I made up my mind, after feeding and resting my horse, to return at once to London. Despite my annoyance, hunger would hold its oavu, and ordering a good substantial breakfast, I sttoUed on the pantUes whUe it was getting ready. Scarcely had I walked ten yards, when I met two ladies, whom I had knoAvn at r2 244 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. Almack's and aU the best balls in London. " What brought you here?" inqubed Lady Stanhope and her beautiful relative. Miss Stanhope, afterwards Lady Southampton. "I came for the races," I responded, "but have been sadly disappointed." "Tou must stay and dine Avith us," she said, " We are going to the theatre ; it AAdll be over early, so we shall expect you at six o'clock." After so kind an invitation, I felt that I could not do better than avail myseK of it; and as the ladies had pronused to attend the races for haK an hour, and then show me the toAvn and describe its former celebrities in the days of the Charleses and Queen Anne, I made up my mind to. pass the day at the Wells. At the period I Avrite of, country theatres could boast of exceUent summer companies; and as Tunbridge Wells was particularly fortunate in that respect, I looked forward to a great treat. Tunbridge Wells — ^which was described by Gram mont as, " of all Europe, the most rural and simple, and yet, at the same time, the most entertaining and agreeable" — was fortunate that night in pos sessing the serAdces of DoAvton. The day passed delightfully. Disgusted with the races, we drove to Summer HUl, from which former residence of Francis Walsingham, Philip Sidney, and Eobert Devereux, Earl of Essex, the prospect was lovely. MY ATTENDANT. 245 " The toAvn and castle of Tunbridge, the navigable river Medway, and the rich meadows through which it runs, finely diversified Avith corn-fields, pasturage, hop-gardens, and orchards, are here in full view; on the west side are seen the Canterbury hills, near Dover, at the distance of about fifty miles ; but this view, and the several objects it comprises, may best be enjoyed fi-om a rising hill at a short distance from the house. From this stand," says the author from whom I quote, "a stianger may behold at leisure a vaUey equal to Tempo, Andalusia, or AUcant." Having given John Hargreaves permission to attend the theatte, and a pit ticket, I told him to have the horse put to between the play and farce, and have it at the door the moment the latter was over. This worthy batman was a most eccentiic character; he had been brought up as a chemist's assistant at Wrexham, his native toAvn, but preferring soldiering to drugs, had enUsted in the Blues. He was well educated, and might have risen to be a non-commissioned officer, but he pre ferred domestic service, and was shortly appointed an officer's batman. To tell the truth, his figure was better adapted for that than to form one of those fime stalwart heroes that are to be found in the ranks of this distinguished corps. "When 1 246 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. joined the regiment, after my retum from Canada, he was ttansferred to me, and remained Avith me till he got his discharge. He was truly honest and faithful to his master ; and often, when I have come up from Windsor to London, Avithout leave, for a ball, and some "after order" had been given out for a field-day, foot-parade, or a court-martial, where my presence was requbed, has the trusty John ridden up to the hotel where I was staying, put up the steed, and waited my retum at about four or five o'clock in the morning. On one occasion I remember being startled at the door of WUUs's Eooms, after an Almack's ball, by the appearance of Hargreaves mounted on my second charger, in earnest conversation Avith one of those useful members of fashionable society, a link boy, I guessed the cause. "Please, my Lord," said the batman, "Lieutenant Drake has heen placed on the sick list, and you are in orders for a court-martial. I thought perhaps your Lordship might be late, so I took the liberty of riding the broAvn horse up. I have left the carpet bag Avith your boots, overalls, frock coat, and forage cap at the Bath Hotel : they told me there you had gone to Mr, Almack's ball in King street," This was an artful dodge of Hargreaves, delicately communi cated to me. He knew fuU weU, that K I rode into A NIGHT START, 247 the barrack yard at even an eaily hour, I might atttact the attention of the commanding officer, and that K in unKorm no remark would be made, while on the other hand a " seedy " looking youth in a plain suit would evidently suggest the idea of a ttip to the mettopolis, and a late ball. But to retum to the Tunbridge Wells perform ance. The "Eivals," Avith DoAvton as Sir Anthony, in which he had no rival, and the " Mayor of Garratt," in which he acted Major Sturgeon, were given ; and as there was a comic song and a character dance, a la Vestris, between the play and farce, the curtain did not drop untU past eleven o'clock. The dance re minds me of a story told by Frederic Eeynolds of Henry Harris, so long proprietor and manager of Covent Garden Theatte, who in describing Vestris as the "Dieu de la danse," added, "He has, however, a young and powerful rival in Duport, of whom the Parisians say, ' Vestris a fait naufrage en approchant du Port.' " After handing my friends into theb carriage, and partaking of a sUght supper at the Sussex Hotel, for the " good of the house," I got into my ttap on one of the darkest mornings (for it was near one o'clock) I have ever been out in. We had thbty-six miles to drive through a very hiUy country, and it was impossible at some places to 248 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. proceed Avithout a pUot. Hargreaves had, however, providently supplied himseK with a lanthom, for we had no lamps, and when the foliage of the trees or the high banks rendered the road particularly dark, he led the way Avith Ught in hand. No wonder that it was nearly daylight, when we reached that tremendous hill between Tunbridge and Sevenoaks. My batman had got doAvn Avith a view of Ughtening the load, and was walking close behind the stanhope, when all of a sudden I heard a shrUl whistle, which was repUed to at CAddently no great distance. I had often heard the thieves whistle at TothUl Fields fab, when a boy at West minster, and the idea at once flashed across my mind, that two at least of the Macheath class were on the look-out for travellers. In the grey Ught that now appeared, I fancied I saw a man leaning against a venerable elm tree, armed with some weapon, which might be a gun or a hedge-stake. My object was, if possible, to gain the summit of the hill, for I felt that K I stopped to take in my companion, it would give the man time to be joined by his whistling ally. Without altering my position, I began to "gee up," "gee ho," in a manner that I Avished to convey came from a "clodhopper" to a tbed horse, and said, in a low tone, to Hargreaves, " There's a scoundrel on the look-out : can you get JUST IN TIME. 249 in Avithout my stopping, and we'll have a gallop for it." "All right, my Lord," responded the man, and stealthily approached the step : he was by my side in less time than I can take to describe it. "Hold fast," I said, and applying my whip, we dashed off at an awful pace doAvn the hill, just as the man I had seen (Avith another who had joined him from the other side) made a rush at the bridle. Failing in his attempt, he fell, and was nearly run over ; nor was this aU, for my servant, upon whose side he was, leaning out of the vehicle, gave him a ttemendous blow over his head Avith a large stick which he had picked up on the road, and had used as an Alpenstock. " I think we could master them," said my gaUant batman, "he's as good as a dead one, and the other don't look much of a man;" but acting upon the principle that "discretion is the best part of valour," I declined the contest. Upon reaching LuUingstpne, where I had left my horse, I found that by way of swelling the bill, he had lost a shoe, and must remain to he shod the moment the blacksmith could be got at ; so I left Hargreaves to ride him quietly up to London, and proceeded at a slow pace Avith the other, reaching the Eegent's Park Barracks long before I was wanted for duty at the Horse Guards. In justice to my truly gallant commanding officer, the late Sb Eohert 250 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. HiU, I must explain that during the riots in London he had told his officers, that as the orderly officer might be called upon at a moment's notice to assist the civil authorities, they ought not to exchange that duty Avithout the especial sanction of the com manding officer. "When the toAvn resumed its ttan- quilUty, the subalterns got back to theb former practice, which had continued for some time before it fell to my lot to be found out. Not a very long time before Sb Eobert's death, I met him at the hospitable board of an old Blue, the late Colonel Powell, and after dinner, he alluded in the most friendly manner to the event I have recorded, adding so flattering an eulogium that I should blush to repeat it. My second adventure Avith a robber took place in what is now Albany Stteet, Eegent's Park. The barracks there had only recently been buUt, and, Avith the exception of a smaU pubUc-house called the "Artichoke," there was not a single buUding between the New Eoad and the barracks. The way was next to impassable on foot (reminding one of the board stuck up at an equally bad one near Malvern — " This road is impassable. Not even jackass-able "), and the usual way to the barracks was through the A RUN FOR IT, 251 park, and across some palings, I had been to a ball in London, and was returning home just at daylight, when, as I reached the open fields, now completely buUt over, I observed a man of no very prepos sessing appearance watching my steps, and evidently looking about to see if any one else was near. No sooner had he ascertained that the coast was clear, than he rushed forward, and, assuming drunkenness, knocked off my cocked hat — ^the gibus of that period. Thinking that his object was to push me over when stooping for my hat, I averted this danger by starting off at a regular Deerfoot pace, which my costume, sUk stockings and shoes, enabled me to do. My friend pursued, but I was young and active, and though not what is termed drunk and incapable, he had certainly imbibed some liquor, which proved •an impediment to his speed. Still the chase was anything but agreeable ; for I knew that if he got Avithin arms' length, the weight of a cudgel which he carried Avith him would alight on my devoted head. The state of the road was aAvful, so sticky with clay and dust that I soon found myseK shoeless. "What the result of the race for Ufe, or at least a broken head, would have been, I know not. At one time he had gained upon me, at another had lost his ground; but luckily I saw one of the men of my regiment 252 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. vaulting over the palings between the park and the road. " Cooper," I exclaimed — for he happened to belong to my troop — "come to my aid; here's a rascal foUoAving me for the purpose of robbery." In a second the tables were turned, and we captured the man, who, Avith all the adroitness of a London thief, declared that he had merely run after me to restore my hat. " Give it back," said the soldier, grasping him tightly by the throat, and nearly sttangling him; adding, " Shall I take him to the guard room ?" " Let the feUow go," I repUed, feeUng that aU I might be able to substantiate would he a charge of assaulting and bonneting me; and not Avishing to appear in the newspapers, or be bound over to prosecute at the sessions, I was glad to be released from his company. "Tou deserve a good ducking," said Cooper, a fine powerful young feUow, and one of the smartest men in the regiment ; and suiting the action to the word, he took him up by the waistband, and dropped him into a wet and muddy pool, left by the excavators, who were dig ging foundations for future residences. I then retraced my steps, picked up my missing shoes, and, giving my preserver haK-a-croAvn to drink the health of his captain and the D troop to which I belonged, proceeded to the barrack. The corporal of the guard and the sentry looked not a little surprised at A HORSE DEALER. 253 my appearance. My " unmentionables," which were of buff web, were completely splashed and spotted Avith dirt ; my white sUk stockings looked Uke those worn by a May-day sweep; and my figured satin waistcoat would not have realised five shillings from an old-clothes man. I have referred to the purchase of Canova from Eichard Walker, and to his being lamed at Tunbridge WeUs ; no sooner had he reached the Eegent's Park Barracks, than the veterinary surgeon of my regiment told me that he had not only been pricked in shoeing, but was lame in other respects, and that the disease under which he laboured was of such long standing, that no one was justified in warranting him sound. No sooner had I received this opinion than I Avrote to Mr. Walker, requesting the retum of my money. His reply was, that to the best of his beUef the horse was sound when he left Mitchel Grove, but that if I Uked to exchange him for any horse he had, I was at Uberty to do so. Acting upon the principle that the burnt chUd dreads the fire, and not liking to take the responsibility upon myseK of selecting an animal which might be merely the transition from the fiying-pan, I again consulted ViUiers, urging him to accompany me to Mitchel Grove, and to select the best horse he could in Ueu of the son of Eubens and Diana. Sb 254 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. Eobert Hill having returned to London unexpect edly on business, I laid my horse case before him, and he most good-humouredly rescinded his order, and -I was no longer what the Guardsmen caU "billed up in barracks." As soon as ViUiers and myseK had our application for eight-and-forty hours' leave of absence granted, we started off for Worthing, dined and slept there, and at an early hour the foUoAving morning pro ceeded to Walker's house. In the meantime Canova had been returned, and I had given my brother officer his instructions, which were to look atten tively over every horse, not to say a word, but to point out to me the one he recommended. After I had introduced my companion. Walker took us to a large straw-yard in which there were at least eight or nine horses. " There," said he, " is a good lot ; take any one you fancy." ViUiers lost not a moment in executing my com mission ; as he was a first-rate judge, I felt perfectly safe in his hands. " If I might advise," exclaimed our host, " I should recommend that broAvn horse ; he's a wonderful good one across country, and would pick up many a hunter's stakes." " His legs," I responded, " seem a little the worse for wear." "Nothing Avrong whatever, I assure you," re- WARRANTED LAME. 255 joined the then oAvner of Mitchel Grove. " He's as sound as a bell," " So was Canova reported to be," thought I to myseK. After more than an hour's inspection, VUliers took the opportunity of Walker's back being turned, to point out a bay thorough-bred mare, I understood the sign, and said, "I understand I may select any one of this lot." " Oh, certainly," repUed Walker, " Then," I continued, "I'll take the bay mare." " "What, Cleophe, by Alexander the Great ? WeU, you have a good eye for a clever horse, but I should be doing you if I did not mention that she's been run off her legs. I should not Uke to warrant her." I looked at ViUiers, and saw by his look that aU was right ; but to make assurance doubly sure, I said, " Just feel her legs, and tell me what you think?" ViUiers, who had done this previously, looked at her again, frightened her into a trot, by knocking his hat, and quietly remarked, "Tou must risk her lameness." The groom was then appealed to, who, by a species of freemasonry well knoAvn to the class to which he belonged, confirmed his master's opinion, declaring that were the mare's legs sound, she would be worth three hundred guineas, and adding that he scorned to teU a lie, and must therefore say the animal "worn't all right." 256 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY, "Wilful man must have his way," interrupted I, " the mare's mine, and, Hargreaves," addressing my batman, who had taken Canova home, "you may as well put the saddle and bridle on the bay mare, and take her as far as Worthing. Tou wUl find exceUent stabling at the Steine Hotel, where the Captain and I shall dine and sleep." "I was in hopes you would have dined Avith me," said Walker, evidently most anxious to over- persuade me to take the broAvn horse ; but as we were to return to London by the early coach next morning, we made our excuses. The result is easily told ; I became the oAvner of a handsome thorough bred mare, perfectly sound, and as neat a park hack as ever I saw. She won a race got up among the officers of my regiment at Windsor the following year, and after three years' riding I sold her to my friend the late Sb George B. Pechell for a larger sum than I had paid for Canova. A few months before I sold out of the Blues, an event occurred at the Eegent's Park Barracks which was nearly attended Avith very unpleasant results. One morning, after a field day at Wormwood Scrubs, just as we were all going to sit doAvn to a sort of breakfast and lunch combined, the mess-waiter in formed me that a gentleman Avith three or four odd- looking men, something Uke wild Indians, wanted to CANADIAN VISITORS. 257 see me, I was wondering who it could be, when Higgins, the most polite of waiters, enlightened me by saying, "Please, my Lord, I heard the gentleman say that the natives who accompanied him were from some vUlage near Quebec in Canada." " Lorrette," I repUed. "Tes, please you, my Lord, Lorrette; and they are come over to petition the king to restore them some land," " Have your friends shoAvn into the mess-room," said a gaUant brother in arms, " By all means," responded two or three others. So the order was given, and the interpreter Avith three wUd-looking men, not at aU improved by theb' haK-Canadian and haK-European costume, were ushered in. One of them came forward, and taking a pocket-book out of his belt, presented it to me ; upon opening it I found my own name, Avritten by myseK, Avith the date, Quebec, January, 1819. It was then explained to me that, when purchasing some fancy mocassins, at the Indian vUlage of Lorrette, I had given the book in question to the man now before me. I expressed my satis faction, and ordering some luncheon for the "darkie" guests, we all commenced operations. It was pro posed to take the foreign Adsitors to the riding- school, and show them some of the horses. To this VOL, I. s 258 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. they gladly acceded, and as we were anxious to pay them every attention in our power, I gave my parti cular fidend an old regulation dress sword, which had lately been exchanged for a new pattern. This gift was foUowed by two of my brother officers, and the three Indians were soon armed Avith splendid brass scabbard swords. Theb deUght was immense, and, added to the Uquor they had imbibed, produced such an effect, that, Uke so many Tam O'Shanters, they — "were glorious, O'er a' the Uls o' life 'victorious," Thus armed, they crossed the barrack-yard, and, Avith swords draAvn, cut and slashed away at the ab untU they reached the doors of the riding-house. There they were met by the worthy instructor of equitation to the regiment, the popular and kind- hearted Lieutenant Brunt, who seemed not a Uttle surprised at theb eccentric demeanour. " Lovely morning, gentlemen," said he; " I've got some of the recruits and young horses for your inspection, as the others have aU been out at the field day." After some Uttle difficulty on the part of the Indians (who, as Brunt remarked, seemed unfit for duty), we entered the gaUery, and were paying every attention to the horses, when who should rush in, Avith a face as long and woe-begone as that of Don Quisote, but Higgins the waiter. " Oh, my Lord ! INDIAN MORALITY. 259 Mr. BeU is in such a state. Please, my Lord, we don't suspect your fidends ; but, my Lord, such a thing has happened ; oh dear ! " " Why, what can have happened ?" I exclaimed. " Is the officers' house on ffi-e ?" " Please, my Lord, no, not fire, worse than ffi-e, robbery!" "Eobbery!" I echoed. " Tes, my Lord; on counting up the plate, BeU finds haK a dozen sUver forks and four spoons missing." " EeaUy ! " I answered. " Tes, my Lord, and not a soul has been in the room except the officers and your Lordship's fidends." KnoAving that many of the Indians did not respect the meum and tuum principle, my suspicions were aroused, and, calling the interpreter aside, I laid them before him. " We must act warily," responded he, "for in theb present state of excitement Adolent measures might lead to more mischief." Our first object was to disarm them quietly, which we did Avithout theb knowledge, whUe they were intent upon the long-taUed blacks. HaAdng accom plished this, theb guide addressed them a few words in theb OAvn language, and, after sundry angry s2 260 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. gesticulations, they produced the missing plate out of theb sleeves, theb neckcloths,, and theb boots. In the meantime we had ordered the armourer to pack up the swords in a piece of green baize, and to send them to the residence of the Indians, who departed rather crest-fallen, much to my deUght and greatly to the relief of poor Higgins. Brunt drew himseK up erect, and did not condescend to reply to the eulogiums of the interpreter, and the words of approbation of his black gang; aU the worthy riding-master was heard to mutter was — "A drum-head court martial — a hundred, lashes — but no, I should be ashamed to see our farriers employed in flogging such niggers." A party of Indians had appeared before this in England. In June, 1818, the foUoAving native American Indian warriors were introduced in a baUet at the Theatte Eoyal, EngUsh Opera House : — Senungogis, the Chief (Long Homs); Ne-gui- cet-twassane (Little Bear); Uc-tau-goh (Black Squbrel); Se-guos-ken-ace (I Uke her); Sta-eute (Steep Eock); Ne-gun-ne-an-goh (Beaver); Te-ki- cue-doga (Two Guns), They afterwards appeared in "La Perouse," a grand historical ballet drama, in which T. P. Cooke acted the hero, and in the revived comic opera of AN INDIAN TRAGEDY, 261 " The Americans," in which Mrs. H, Kemble and Harley had parts. The Indians were also introduced in a piece called " The Death of Captain Cook," in which Captain Cook was acted by T. P. Cooke. These "dark" stars acted sixty-six nights. On a later occasion an Indian visit was associated with a domestic ti-agedy, as recorded in the foUoAving exttact from a newspaper : — "In 1835, a party of the Michigan tribe, under theb chief, Muk Coonee, or Little Boar, came over to negotiate the sale of certain lands, and it was arranged that they should be presented to King WilUam the Fourth. Unfortunately, the chief's squaw. Diving Mouse, aged twenty-six, died at theb lodgings in Waterloo Eoad, and the royal visit was abandoned. The funeral of the young Indian took place at St, John's, Waterloo Eoad, the clergyman performing the serAdce in English, Shaw "Whash (Big Sword) pronounced an oration over the grave ; and the great grief of the poor chief, who was terribly cut up by the death of his favourite, was considerably increased by the fear that the honoured remains of her he loved so weU would be disturbed, A promise on the part of the minister of the church that such would not be the case, in some sUght degree lessened his heart- Avithering affliction." CHAPTER "VE. HENEY FATINTLEEOY — ^A DINNEE AT GEE's FARM — THEODORE HOOK, INGOLDSBY, STEPHEN PRICE, EICHAEl) JONES, SIS ANDREW BAEXARD — TURTLE SOUP — CANTfON AlfD THE PEEN-CE— STORY OF A MIUTAET JEEEMY^ DLDDLEE — LORD FITZHAEDINGE AND THE DEAD DUTCH OFFICER— EXTEMPOBE SONG GOD PEOSPEE O'CONNELL— SYDNEY SMITH'S COUSINS— -AN EPIGEAM OF LUT- TEELL'S — SIE MATTHEW L0P:EZ — OANNO-'S BAECAEOLE — DDTNEE AT HOOK'S — SLR EOBEET PEBi'S SCRAPE — ^PROFESSOR MILLINGTON's CUBE POE A SMOKY CHQCSET — F.F.T.-PTF. ISLAND — EOBIN HOOD — BURLESQUE (AS yO"W) LN" THE ASCENDENCY — AN ADVENTURE 'WITH THEODGEE fiOOK — ""WHEN GEEEK MEETS GEEEK." CHAPTEE VI. In the year 1824 I was acquainted Avith a gentle man of the name of Eouse, who was connected Avith an insurance office in Bridge Stteet, Blackfriars, and I was an occasional visitor at his house, where I met some most agreeable and inteUectual people. Among others Avith whom Mr. Eouse was on friendly terms of business was Henry Fauntleroy, who suffered the extieme penalty of the law for forgery, on the 30th of November of the same year. The trial of this celebrated banker had created a great sensation in London, where he had been con spicuous as what is termed " a sweU about toAvn." I had heard of his dinner parties in Berners Stteet, of his " turn-out " in the park, and of those extta- vagances which led to the commission of the crime for which he was ttied and convicted, and I felt a curiosity — a morbid one, I oavu — to see him. One morning, towards the end of the suicidal month. 266 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. business took me into the City, and I caUed upon my fiiend Eouse, whom I found in the passage, hat in hand. "Pray walk in," said he. "I have an appoint ment at three o'clock, but I shaU be back in less than haK-an-hour." "I AvUl caU some other day," I repUed. "I know you are a man of business, and I should be sorry to interfere Avith any arrangement you have made." " The fact is," he continued, " Fauntleroy, who is now under sentence of death, has expressed a Avish to see me, and I am on my way to the Old BaUey." " I AviU walk part of the way Avith you," I repUed, anxious to hear some particulars of the private character of this iU-fated criminal. In this Avish I was gratified. But there was Uttle novelty in the career of Fauntleroy ; it was the old story of dissipation, exttavagance, and proffigacy. He waa a George BamweU Avithout the murder, or a Macheath not addicted to highway robbery; and, in the words of the " Beggar's Opera," "women and drink had been the ruin of him." As I was about to leave my companion at the comer of that stteet, so famed in the annals of crime, he said, — A CONDEMNED CRIMINAL. 267 "Perhaps you would like to see the Avretched man ; if so, this order will admit us." I readily accepted. After entering the prison, and passing through several dark passages, we reached the cell in which the prisoner was confined, under the charge of two warders. Not Avishing to obtrude myseK upon one whose hours were num bered, I remained just inside the door, while Eouse went up and shook hands Avith him. Fauntleroy, who observed me, qidetly remarked, — . " A fiiend of yours ? Perhaps he would Uke to come nearer the fire." I advanced, held out my hand, remarking that I did not wish to interfere Avith any conversation he might be anxious to have Avith my companion. " Oh, we have nothing of a private nature," he repUed. " I merely felt desbous to take leave of a kind and true friend." Here his voice faltered a Uttle; but he soon recovered his composure, and talked upon indifferent subjects. Indeed, any one who had Ustened would have imagined we were paying a visit to the affiuent banker in Berners Stteet, and not to the criminal in the condemned ceU at Newgate. After a time, Eouse rose to depart, and I moved towards the door to make a few remarks to the gaoler, thus giving my companion an opportunity of taking a 268 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. last leave of his former acquaintance. But this deUcacy upon my part was unheeded. Fauntleroy got up from his seat, Avished me good morning in the most poUte manner, then turning to Eouse said, Avith warmth of feeling, — ' ' A thousand thanks for your visit. God bless you." In less than eight-and-forty hours the object of our visit had expiated his crime upon the scaffold. It was said at the time, and generally beUeved, that a friend, oi; the agent of a friend, had called upon Fauntleroy in prison, Avith a view of pointing out a method of escape ; but as it entaUed a heavy faU from some great height, which might have heen attended Avith fatal consequences, the prisoner decUned avaUing himseK of the proffered assistance. If the above story was true, it is a marvel Fauntleroy did not run every risk, even that of his Ufe, to save himseK from an ignominious death ; and as plenty of money was supposed to be forthcoming, the plan arranged might have been one of no danger. For the ends of justice, however, it was better that the sentence should be executed. Many people had an idea at the time — an idea which has unfortunately been strengthened by a recent case — ^that money Avill save a criminal ; and the escape of Fauntleroy might have had the same effect on the AnUgar as the reprieve of ToAvnley. A story is told of Fauntleroy's last moments A LAST REQUEST. 269 which does not redound to the credit of all his friends. Among the deUcacies he was in the habit of giAdng at his table was some remarkably fine Lunel, imported by himseK, and kept to himseK so far that he would never put any of his friends on the scent of it. The day before his execution some of his oldest friends came to take leave of him, and one outstayed the rest, " Fauntleroy," said this last visitor, Avith due solemnity, " we have tried all means to save you, we have done everything in our power, but all is in vain, and we have only to take leave of you for ever. Consider the position in which you stand. The dread veU of Ibe is about to be AvithdraAvn, Tou are on the brink of that ¦ chasm which separates time from eternity. If there is anything you leave unsaid in this world you avUI have no chance of saying it then. Is there nothing more you have to say to us ? Do you not think you owe us some return for our exertions ? It will soon be too late. Tell us where you get that Lunel." But Fauntleroy was resolute. He died and made no sign. I should have been very glad of some of it, though I should never have inqubed for it of a dying man, at a dinner I gave at Gee's Farm, a small suburban vUla I had rented near Cricklewood, on the Edgware Eoad. The party consisted of the Eev. Edward Cannon, Eev. E. Barham, author of 270 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. the " Ingoldsby Legends," Theodore Hook, Stephen Price, then lessee of Drury Lane Theatte, and Eichard Jones, of the rival house, who had acci dentally dropped in during the afternoon, and, last not least, my highly-valued friend the gallant Andrew Barnard, of the old 95th Eegiment, now Eifle Brigade. I was most anxious to give as -good a dinner as I could possibly manage Avith a Umited establishment, and I told my cook that I should spare her as much trouble as I could, by procuring turtle soup from Lynn's, at Liverpool, which would only reqube heating, cold lamb, ham, lobsters, and a terrine de foie gras. Her duties were to be con- fimed to boUing a turbot, roasting a haunch of venison, for I had adopted a suggestion of Mr. Walker's in the original, and had "jobbed" an aitch-bone of beef from a celebrated shop near Leicester Square, for which I was to be charged according to the quantity eaten, and the joint itseK was to be retumed the foUoAving day. A man from the estahUshment was to attend to its heating. The Dean of Patcham, as Hook called Cannon, had attended to the Avine department, the champagne was well iced under his superintendence, and some excellent punch concocted by him. Before dinner was served, I myself went into the kitchen, and asked Mrs. Smithson, whether she had attended to my orders, and had placed the contents of FATAL MISTAKE. 271 one brown jar, the turtle, into the saucepan, and had dbected the other, the terrine de foie gras, to be sent in Avith the second course. " All right, my Lord," said my Meg Dodds. " I have paid every attention to your Lordship's orders, and I think even the Eeverend Mr. Cannon avUI not complain to-day, as he did last week, of the grUled fowl he had for supper after the play. He declared it was so hot Avith pepper, that it was a sort of first lesson in fire eating, but I assure you, my Lord — " How long the cook would have kept on vindicating her charactor I know not, but I put an end to the con versation by assuring her that my friend had re- ttacted, and had ascertained that he had considerably increased the heat of the fowl by adding essence of cayenne, instead of Harvey's sauce. This restored Mrs. Smithson to her usual equanimity, and I left the kitchen to attend to my guests. Dinner was shortly afterwards announced, and by way of badinage, I apologised to the Dean for the absence of his favourite soup, some mistake having occurred in the deUvery of it. " I'm not very particular," said Cannon, " espe ciaUy as I hear you have a wonderful fine haunch of venison, one that comes up to that described by Goldsmith." "A Uttle spring soup," said I, as the cover of the tureen was removed, and I began stirring up what 272 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. I considered to be the , green fat. A plate was abeady filled, when to my horror I saw a greasy surface floating about. "What can it be?" I exclaimed. " Some slight mistake," said Barham, " "Why it looks like truffle soup." " Truffle soup !" I echoed, and quitting my chair rushed into the kitchen. : " 'What have you done ?" I asked. "All right, my Lord, I put the contents of that jar into hot water, and added two glasses of madeba," " It's the Avrong one," I replied, as I saw terrine de foie gras on the paper label, " Never mind — mistakes Avill happen in the best-regulated families. That's the soup — :get that ready — ^put back the turbot, and all Avill be well," Happily all was weU, the turtle after a short pause appeared, the cook sent a most humble apology, I helped my hungry guests, gave Cannon an extra aldermanic allowance of green fat to conciliate him, filled a tumbler of punch for Hook, which inspbed him Avith the first pun of the even ing, " Never mind," said he, as I was deploring the ruinous effect that the absence of turtle would produce on the feast, "we do not judge of the dinner by the test-u-do (test you do)," Would that I could remember 'one-twentieth part of the good things that were said on that evening. CANNON AND GEORGE IV. 273 Every one was anxious to please Sb Andrew Bar nard, whose brUliant character as a soldier was well knoAvn. The Dean had an additional motive, which was to attempt through the gaUant rifieman to get back into the good graces of George IV., Sb Andrew haAdng a situation about court, which brought him into constant proximity Avith the monarch. Cannon had in his early days been upon most intimate terms Avith the fourth George, when Prince Eegent, and although the cessation of that intimacy was at- ttibuted to caprice upon the part of the Prince, that was really not the ease. The fact is, the Dean was made so much of at that time, both by young and old of either sex, that he became spoilt, and showed some Uttle outbursts of temper, which led him to indulge in satbical remarks, not palatable to royal ears. Cannon was very fond of shoAving off his vocal powers in an old EngUsh baUad, describing the adventures of one Bishop of Hereford, and K not caUed upon on every occasion to sing that baUad, he got fidgety and cross. "Accompany me. Cannon," said his royal patton, " in that beautiful ab of Storace's; it suits my voice admbably," The Dean obeyed, but it seemed to go against the grain, for instead of assisting the singer, he rather threw difficulties in his way. "Piano, piano, your Eoyal Highness," said he in a petulant tone; then stamp- VOL. I. T 274 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. ing his foot indicated that the time was not correctly kept. The Prince was patient, went through the song most creditably for an amateur, was applauded by the sateUites who shined under the rays of the " Eising Sun," a term then much in vogue — ^when, elated Avith his success, he tumed round to his clerical pianist, and said, "Eh — eh — eh — dammy," an oath often uppermost in the royal Ups, "Cannon, did I not sing that weU?" "Excuse me, your Eoyal Highness, but I never heard it so indifferently sung." The good breeding of the "first gentieman in the land " did not desert him, he was courteous but rather formal to his protege during the re mainder of the night, but never again invited him to the PaviUon. Indeed, Cannon never met the Prince afterwards. In this instance the Prince had just cause to com plain, for Cannon's remark was, to say the least, uncourteous. The satbical curl of the Up, the manner, the voice, and the look accompanying the cutting remark, would have gaUed many a man, even one who had not been spoUed by such constant adulation. But the Prince was famed for the friends he had deserted, as is shoAvn by the subjoined epigram. After an attempt on his Ufe in 1817, addresses of congratulation were presented to him by many toAvns SENDING TO COVENTRY. 275 throughout the United Kingdom. The city of Peeping Tom and Lady Godiva did not foUow the example, and hence the foUoAving Unes : — " Cities and towns t' address the Prince agree On his escape : why sUent, Coventry : No duteous words firom thee ¦ no tribute paid To the gr'' This time, too, the Prince did not forget, and did forgive. Cannon iu after Ufe was wom doAvn by Ul health and poverty, and had taken refuge at Eyde, where, from his constant attendance on the pier, he was caUed the Pier Gun. When George IV. went to Ireland. Cannon was instrumental in getting up an address to him at Eyde ; and shortly afterwards, in a moment of despab at the entbe faUure of his resources, he An-ote to the king asking for some temporary assistance. By retiim of post a cheque for £100 was transmitted to the "dean"' by the king's orders. But I have digressed from my dinner. Cannon was in the highest good-humour, Sb Andrew having iuAdted aU the party to dine Avith him upon the foUoAving day at the AJbany. Hook was never more brilUant. The punch, which he drank in preference to Avine throughout the dinner, elated his spirits considerably. Barham found great t2 276 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. comfort in a bottle of fine old bees' -Aving port ; Price in one of Madeba, which he declared must have gone so often to the East Indies and back that it had got tbed of the voyage. Jones, who, albeit a most gentlemanly member of society, was no farceur off the stage, acted as audience, and proved himseK as good a Ustener as he was an artist. Andrew Barnard told us anecdote after anecdote, and some exceUent Irish stories among the number. At one part of the dinner, when the ham was put on the table, Barham told an apropos story of Scarlett, afterwards Lord Abinger. "What we should now term a very loud cockney sweU was giving his evidence, and in answer to some question of Scarlett's, he replied very pompously, " I ham," The counsel put his glass to his eye, looked fuU at the Avitness, and remarked in a quiet tone, Avith a smUe on his good-humoured countenance, "Tou are unquestionably the finest and best dressed ham I ever met Avith," One of Sb Andrew Barnard's stories was about a miUtary Jeremy Diddler, who had served in the Peninsular Campaign. One day Captain , of the regiment, rode over to a brother officer's quar ters Avith a view, as he caUed it, of " cruising for a cutlet;" and upon reaching his destination was warmly welcomed, and iuAdted to stay and dine, to CAMPAIGNING. 277 meet a smaU party of friends. It was during the Avinter months, when aU AvarUke operations had been suspended, and when hospitaUty prevaUed to a great degree. Unfortunately for Captain , he had got soaked to the skin, and was so covered Avith dirt and mud that he looked more Uke Sb Walter Blunt on his retum from HoUnedon — " new Ughted from his horse, Stain'd 'with the variation of each soU," than an officer of Wellington's army. "Tou can dry your clothes, and have a wash in my room," said his fidend. " We're not very particular at out- quarters, although the Beau expects every one to be properly dressed at head-quarters." Captain gladly avaUed himseK of the proposition, and made his way to his host's room, where, to his deUght, he found a roaring fire. And here a temptation met him which few could have resisted. Upon a temporary clothes-horse were laid out a clean shirt, pab of socks and drawers, and a basket which looked as K it had recently come from the wash showed that his friend was not deficient in linen. "What was to be done ? To appropriate that which was airing before the fire was easy enough ; but the difficulty was to prevent discovery. A happy, though not a high-principled, thought came across his mind. He doffed his wet 278 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. under garments, and donned those of his fidend; then opening the door of the room which faced the north, whence a sttong Avind was bloAving, he let the clothes-horse fall into the fire, Avith his wet linen. In justice to the gaUant captain, we are bound to say that in a few days he retumed the Unen he had borrowed, Avith a letter of apology, saying the temptation was too sttong to be resisted, and that he had AvUUngly sacrificed his oavu linen to procure that luxury of aU luxuries, a clean shirt. Those who have never gone through a campaign in foreign lands are not aware of the shifts officers and men are put to for food, lodging, and clothing. Loot ing, though strictly forbidden in most cases, is stiU carried on, and to appropriate any article from the dead foe is a crime excused by the usages of war. I can quote a case in point, shoAving a distinction more than a difference. The present Lord Fitz hardinge, when a midshipman, was at the attack on Curagoa ; and seeing a guard chain protrude from the pocket of a dead Dutch officer, he possessed himseK of a very handsome gold watch, which is stiU preserved by one of his sisters. A joUy jack-tar who Avitnessed the ttansaction approached another dead man, and changed shoes Avith him, observing, loud enough to be heard by the middy, and evi dently meant as a "dig" at him, "Exchange is no robbery." ' cox : 279 After Sb Andrew Bamard"s story the f loth was removed, and Hook was caUed upon for an extem porary song. -Wliat shaU the subject be?" he asked. "The King of the Cannibal Islands," re joined Cannon. " He"s no subject; try another," said Hook. "That's an old joke, Hookems," ex claimed the dean. "Would Sb Andrew suggest a subject ?"' asked Barham, who was afraid that col lusion would be suspected if any of Hook's friends provided the theme. Thus appealed to, the gaUant officer gave the name of a young lady Avith whom he and I were acquainted, and whose name was Jane Cox. Hook, after remarking that he had once met her at Brighton, broke into the. foUoAving song: — " When sizaying alone on the shore, A picking of weeds from the rocks, I beheld (I ne'er saw her before) Thfi charming and pretty Miss Cox. " I follow'd this grace to a door, AVhere she gave to the rapper some knocks ; She enter d ; I dared do no more. But learn that her name was Miss Cox. " There is sugar that grows in iie West ; There is mm in the ships in the docks ; But none of these eqnal at beet The sweetness and spirit of Cox. " Oh, were she immured in a care. Confined by bars, fetters, and locks. Every danger on earth would I brave. To liberate pretty Miss Cox- 280 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. " I saw her once traveUing the road, Sitting placidly up on the box ; I en'vied the carriage its load. And long'd to be sitting by Cox. " I once saw her nursing a dog. The whitest of aU Uttle Shocks. I'd consent to be even a hog, To be fondled and petted by Cox. " Men who never unmoved can behold Such a creature must surely be blocks. The hearts of the old and the cold Must be warm'd by the beauties of Cox. " If I go by myself to the pier, Which the bUlow insultingly mocks. And see other females appear, I cannot help thinking of Cox. ^' ' Pretty chickens' Macduff caU'd his brood. To which cruel Macbeth gave such shocks ; But I'm sure, were they never so good. That none of his hens were Uke Co:?. " I'm wearing and wasting away ; And had I the strength of an ox. To a shadow I soon should decay. If fro'wn'd on by charming Miss Cox. " But she knows not my name nor my means. If I'nj poor, or have cash in the stocks. She's hunted by lords and by deans. And I shaU be robb'd of my Cox. " I'm shy, and I'm pale, and I'm thin. And I wear fleecy hosiery socks. Fleecy hosiery next to my skin. Which perhaps might not please sweet Miss Cox. " My hair is perhaps getting grey ; I'm pitted a bit 'with smaU pox ; My Umbs, too, are wasting away ; But aU may be cured by Miss Cox. EGGING HIM ON. 281 " If she's kind, I shaU quickly get sound ; My hair 'wiU grow curly in looks ; No flannel about me be found, If warm'd by the smile of Miss Cox. " AiVhen I walk on the beach, and I see Little chUdren a playing in frocks, I think what a thing it would be. If I should get married to Cox. " But though she is so coy and shy, I fancy her sometimes a fox ; Tet, though beautiful girls can be sly. Sure not such a beauty as Cox. *' There are lovers who say, yet wont do, (The nihil prceterea vox); But such is not he who would sue For the Uly-white hand of Miss Cox. "When the moon is all bright in the sky, AVhat deUght, under cover of rwx. Just to walk, and to talk, and to sigh. With that charmer, the lovely Miss Cox ! " The young Eoman virgin, when press'd. Used to blush, and to whisper out, ' Mox,' How truly would that man be bless'd Who could get such an answer from Cox I " To church let me lead her, and there. With a service the most orthodox. Put an end to this teasing affair By changing the name of Miss Cox." Another instance of Hook's readiness Avith verse and puns was furnished immediately after. The Dean of Patcham, as Cannon was familiarly caUed from the AdUage of that name, which was close to the PaviUon at Brighton, and which Hook had always said should be made into a deanery for 282 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. Cannon, asked — " Hookems, have you seen the Eecaleobion, or the place where breeding is made easy to the meanest capacity ?" " ^static thought ! " responded Theodore. " But where is it ?" we all inqubed. " Next to some book-shop," replied Cannon. " Ah ! " said Hook, " I understand — " The Egg-aledbion, where by heat. Dean of Patcham, By chicken-lie foul, birds by dozen they hatch 'em. Is next to a book shop, the address, never mind it. For, failing a,-t Egg's, you at Hatch-hard's'' vnH find it." Price foUowed suit with an Irish story. It appears that some EngUsh gentleman was Adsiting DubUn, when an Irish porter volunteered his services as guide. After pointing out the "iUigant" Castle, the venerable Christ Church Cathedral, that of the patton saint, St. Pattick, the colossal statue of Nelson, the Blue Coat Hospital, the Four Courts, the Welling ton ObeUsk, the custom-house, and the Liffey, Paddy saw the letters G. P. 0. over a buUding, which he looked at as if greatly puzzled. After a cbcuit of a mUe or so, the same mysterious letters appeared. " I have it, yer honor," said the Emeralder — "it's' ' God prosper O'Connell ' tAvioe over." ¦ Barham related a bon-mot atttibuted to Sydney * Tegg and Hatohard being two celebrated bookseUers of the period. HEADS AND TAILS. 283 Smith, which I beUeve has never appeared in print. In Avi-iting to a friend he said, " Unfortimately the house is full of cousins — would they were once removed." He also told us of a remark made by the late Lord Lyttelton after visiting, in company Avith the head-master. Dr. Wool, the room at Eugby in which corporal punishments were inflicted. ""What motto would be appropriate?" asked the Dominie. " Great cry and Uttle wool," responded the other, looking at the diminutive form of the doctor.* So many head-njiasters have been made bishops, that there was singular appropriateness in Cannon's next story, Blomfield, the Bishop of London — the " farmer's boy," as Cannon nicknamed him from his patronymic — ^was an especial butt of the " Dean's ; " but this time he came rather weU out of the joke. It seems he had been preaching him seK morning and afternoon, and was rather drowsy during a lengthy evening discourse from another divine. A companion seeing the bishop nodding, and fearing it was about to be succeeded by unepis- copal snoring, gave him an occasional nudge ; and when the discourse was finished, the Bishop shook * This story has appeared in a work caUed " The Book of Eugby School," part of which is from the pen of a son of Dr. Arnold, the successor of Dr. Wool; but I dare say my readers wUl be glad to have it here. 284 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. his neighbour warmly by the hand, and said, " One of the most aAvakening sermons I ever heard." The story was followed by Luttrell's epigram : — " On Eeskine bexng made a Knight of St. Andeew. " What heavy penalties men pay When prudence they outrun. Let Adam and Lord Erskine say. Each by his taste undone. " In equal scales if justice had 'em, SmaU difference would be seen : For a green apple feU poor Adam, Tom for an Apple Green." Barnard told us a good story of a former Sb Matthew Lopes, who resided at Mariston House, near Plymouth, and who, having been troubled Avith two kinds of visitors, warned both of them off hy a board Avith the foUoAving notice : — " No dogs or sailors admitted." A wag belonging to the fleet, after reading this very offensive remark — albeit, as far as bull-dog courage goes, the comparison is no bad compUment — ^Avrote in chalk these racy lines : — "A fine park 'without deer, A fine ceUar 'without beer : Sir Matthew Lopes lives here." Shortly afterwards the "notice was AvithdraAvn." Cannon's good things were so much indebted for theb point to his humorous way of saying them that I fear they rather suffer in the teUing. But this is not the case with Hook's, which were equaUy RIVAL WITS. 285 neat, whether uttered in extempore rhyme, or com mitted calmly to paper. As an instance of the latter kind, I avUI quote an epigram Avritten in my album in Hook's well-knoAvn hand : — "When Anacreon would fight, as the poets have said, A reverse he displayed in his vapour ; For while aU his poems are loaded 'with lead. His pistols were loaded 'with paper. " For excuses Anacreon old custom may thank — The indulgence don't let him abuse — For the cartridge, 'tis kno'wn, is always made blank. That is iired away at Eeviews. " These lines were 'written by me when a duel between Thomas Moore, and Mr. Jeffrey, the Edinburgh re'yiewer, was stopped by the poUce. Upon that occasion some sUly jokes were made about the mode of loading the pistols, which, however untrue, axe good, since they gave rise to the above quibble. "T. E. Hook, / his mark." StUl there was a sttong vein of comic humour in everything Cannon said, and I must dwell on it the more as his sayings scarcely do him justice. One that may rank as an exception to this rule, and which led Cannon and Hook to a keen encoun ter of Avits, shall be told here. Some forty years ago an ancestor of the present Earl of Stab was. assaulted by some haK-crazed individual who tried to cane him. But the canny Scot defended himself gallantly, and the assailant was baulked. The affair was much discussed at the time, and particularly at an evening party at Hook's. 286 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. " "What a fuss they make about it ! " said Cannon ; " after all, it is only Dibdin's song, ' Wapping Old Stabs ' Ulustrated." " Or," chimed in the host, " ' Cain, a Mystery,' by Byron." " Hookems," said the Dean, " you take the jokes out of my mouth." " In retum for the good things of mine you are putting in it," responded Theodore. "I was going to say," continued Cannon, "that the assaUant, when forcibly ejected from his lord ship's presence, might have quoted the lines, — " Perhaps you were right to dissemble your love ; But why did you kick me do'wn — Stair ?" Cannon and I were most mercifully saved by Pro- Addence from being crushed by the fall of the bon roof of the New BrunsAviek Theatte, on the 28th of February, 1828. This theatre, which was erected on the site of the Old Eoyalty, had formed the topic of conversation between Camion, Duruset, a young comet of the Blues, and two others — one a celebrity of the day — and we made up a party to attend the opening. We were to drive to Wellclose Square in the middle of the day, inspect the new buUding, dine at the City of London Tavern, and be present before the draAving up of the curtain. In the meantime, I had Avritten to secure a private box, and Cannon had arranged Avith the architect to show us over the NEW BRUNSWICK THE.iTRE, 287 new buUding. The morning arrived ; and, as my brother officer and myseK were detained during the early part of it at the barracks, the scheme of look ing OA^er the theatre was abandoned, but we were stUl to dine and attend the performance. Just as we were about to leave the West End on our pil grimage to the East, we heard of the dreadful catas trophe that had occurred. Fortunately it had taken place early in the day, when comparatively speaking few were in the building. As it was, eleven dead bodies were dug out of the ruins, and twenty-two were severely hurt, so that some of them afterwards died in the hospital from the injuries they had received. There was more than common interest excited at the anticipated opening of the new the atte, and as many places were secured, and a full house expected, it is aAvful to think of the calamities that might have ensued if the roof had fallen later. So shocked were we that we postponed the dinner to a future occasion, when we wound up the evening by a Adsit to the Surrey Theatre, Cannon spent a good deal of time at my house when I was living at Gee's Farm, He was remark ably fond of dogs, and would pass hours with an Irish setter I had, frying to teach him as many tticks as the celebrated canine wonder Jocko, His great object was to get him to sit upright, with a short pipe in his mouth; and when Count Siton- 288 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. stem, as he caUed his favourite, accompUshed that, he was weU rewarded Avith Uver and other luxu ries. Some miscreants ttied to rob the stables upon one occasion; and I should have probably been minus a valuable gig-horse and harness but for the fidelity of Glendalough, as I named him, whose barking awoke me. Arming myself Avith a brace of pistols, I took two fiying shots at the scoundrels, as they, disturbed in theb plans, ran across the fields. Fortunately for them, they were more than five-and-twenty paces off, or they might have re ceived a bullet in a part of the body where it would have been equally uncomfortable and disgraceful. To revenge this, they threw a piece of poisoned meat to the faithful guardian, and in the course of a few days he showed evident signs of madness. No sooner was this reported to me than, fearing another case of hydrophobia — ^fo'r my father had died of that dreadful malady — I ordered the dog to be caught and desttoyed. In vain did the gardener and a man employed about the farm attempt to drive him into an empty bam — ^for I had warned them against coming in contact Avith him — when I came to theb aid armed Avith the same pistols I had used on the occasion alluded to. Glendalough ran away the moment he saw me, as K conscious I was about to do him harm. I called him by his name, in the same DEATH OF A FAVOURITE, 289 friendly tone he had been accustomed to hear and obey, when all of a sudden he stopped and laid doAvn, playfully waiting my approach, I knew ftiU well that K I did not coax him he would probably escape down the road, and do fatal mischief to any chUdren or groAvn-up people that might be on the pubUc common at the end of it ; so, acting a ttea- cherous part, and one which I own I felt ashamed of, I stUl continued to caU him by his famUiar title, " Glenny," until I got Avithin a few yards of him, then levelling the fatal tubes, there was a howl, and aU was over. Upon a post-mortem examination, it was found that he had swallowed arsenic enough to have killed nearly aU the dogs in the parish. "When Cannon heard of the catasttophe, at break fast, he cried as K he had lost a near and dear rela tion, Glendalough was buried in the garden. Time cbcled on, when one morning my landlord came to me, and protested against the damage that had been done to the only umbrageous ttee on the premises, by my friend the "Dean," I promised to put an end to such proceedings, and was not a Uttle "ryled" Avith Cannon for his breach of con- ttact. He had promised not to interfere again with the property, as he had often done, in lopping off branches that impeded his Adew, or breaking doAvn palings that prevented a free egress from the garden VOL. I. u 290 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. into the fields. ""Where is Mr. Cannon?" I asked, in no very good humour. "He's stUl at the beech tree," responded my landlord. I ran towards the spot, and as I approached it I heard unmistakable signs that he was not attending to the poUte request contained in the popular ballad, "Woodman, spare that ttee;" for, saw in hand, he was at work on one of the branches. ""What are you about?" said I, in an angry tone. " More mischief. Tou've broken your word ; and I shaU have no end of money to pay for damages." Cannon looked at me in the most placid manner, gave me one of his most Avinning smUes, and, accompanied by the rasping saw, sang forth, in a voice full of pathos and harmony, a parody on Moore's exquisite Irish melody : — ' ' I saw from the heech, now the morning is shining. This hark on its branches cling gloriously on ; If you come when the sun o'er this heech is declining. The ha/rk won't be there, and the branch -wUl be gone." There was something so irresistibly ludicrous in his manner, so pathetic in his appeal, that I burst out laughing, and then quietly asked him his object m thus docking my frees of theb fab proportions. "I'm not a had feller, after aU," said he. " I Avish to put up a rude memento over the spot where Glenda lough is buried. I was nearly sttanded on the beach." Then bursting forth, wdth genuine feeling, DOGGREL LINES. 291 into the same air he had been singing, he added : — " Ne'er teU me of glories of the huntsman's deep haUoo, Of Boatswain the faithful, of Gelert's renown ; Give me back, give me back the 'wUd tones of Glendalough ; How lone is tiiis beach, now that bark has gone down ! " " There's a pretty barkarole for you," continued Cannon; " regular Joj^grel lines. But I know you Avill forgive me, if 1 have not ' spared that tree,' I know, before I sawed off a Umh, I ought to have axed your leaf." "Who could resist such a clever appeal ? — I could not; and, for the thousandth time, I forgave the Dean for the Uberty he had taken Avith my property. So far from tempting others to emulate the bril Uancy that proceeded so spontaneously from them, the presence of such veteran punsters as Hook and Cannon was calculated to reduce the rest to shyness and sUence. I must, however, in spite of Colman's line, '.' On theb OAvn merits modest men are dumb," give myseK credit for one joke I made at a dinner given by Hook. I had been a silent listener during the early part of the dinner, and great was the sur prise of the company on my hazarding a pun, and then subsiding into sUence. But, perhaps, it is better to quote another person's account. I take it from the "LKe and Eeminiscences of T. E. Hook," by the Eev. E, H. Dalton Barham, B,A,, u2 292 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. son of the author of " Ingoldsby : " — " May 5, 1829, dined at Hook's. Lord WiUiam Lennox, Mathews, Tates, Cannon, Allan Cunningham, Professor MiUington, Horace TavIss present; Sb Andrew Barnard being engaged Avith the King, and Charles Kemble Ul. Hook had hung black crape over Peel's picture, which was on one side of the room, and Horace TavIss, being Under Secretary of State, thought it incumbent on him to remove it. He found the piece of mourning more sttongly fastened than he had anticipated, which in duced Lord WilUam Lennox, on seeing him hungUng at it, to say, ' Ah, it's of no use ; you AviU never he able to get him out of his s-crape !' " ¦ Professor MUlington, who was one of the company on this occasion, told me a good story of George the Fourth. The chimney of a favourite room which the Eegent occupied at Carlton House was constantly smoking, so much so that its royal denizen was nearly smothered. MiUington was consulted on the subject, and recommended a very simple remedy, namely, to affix a haK-bloAvn bladder, by a Avbe, in the upper part of the chimney, so as to be moved about by the current of ab, and thus enable the smoke to escape. For some weeks it answered perfectly, and the Eegent was loud in praise of the scientific acqubements of the Professor. One unfor- hook's villa. 293 tunate morning the Prince was " cheAving the cud of sweet or bitter fancy," his weU-formed legs resting on the highly -polished grate, when all of a sudden something like a black imp came darting doAvn the chimney, enveloped in soot, and ffiling the room Avith that black and unsavoury compound. The grimy Ariel bounded up and doAvn the room, covering the iUustrious individual from top to toe. The bell was hastily rung, a faithful valet answered it, and the evU spbit, which had suddenly lost its energies, was found crouching under a gilded table. On being carefully extiacted from its retreat it proved to be the Professor's bladder. Hook's viUa, where he retbed in the summer, stood just below Putney Bridge, and many a pleasant excursion up the river began from the bottom of his garden. London does not form bad head-quarters for the foUowers of Isaac Walton. Henley, Oxford, Newbury, Esher, Basingstoke, Cobham, Weybridge, Shepperton Pool, and a variety of other places equaUy renoAvned for piscatorial pursuits, are now easUy attainable by rail ; not to forget the suburban spots — ^Brentford, Isleworth, TAvickenham, Tedding- ton, Eichmond, Lea Bridge, Eel Pie Island, or Battersea Eeach. Since the introduction of raU and steam the lover of the "gentle crafte" can have a day's recreation by the side of the Avinding Isis, 294 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY, lunch at that seat of learning, Oxford, and be back for a late dinner in London, Basingstoke, too, furnishes a capital morning's sport, and a guide may be found at the railway station, who, for a smaU consideration, Avill conduct the fisherman to the most approved streams, Shepperton Pool and Walton Deeps are, perhaps, the best places in the " fruitful Thames" for the angler, who, K expert, may have his labour rewarded by a good basket of perch or trout. To those who merely Avish to idle away a few hours, or enjoy the fresh breeze from the Thames in a punt, and are satisfied Avith the not very exhUarating sport of line fishing for dace, roach, and gudgeons, we sttongly recommend Eichmond; it was a favourite spot of Cannon's, and I enjoyed many a deUghtful day there with him, Theodore Hook, Barham, Edmund Kean, Beazley, and other chosen spbits. One day among many is especiaUy memorable to me, and I cannot refrain from laying it before my readers. The above party, Avith the exception of the great tragedian, had agreed to dine at TAvickenham, Cannon being, as he breverently termed it, eel-pieous-lj inclined. Dinner was ordered in an arbour at the celebrated Eel Pie Island, and at six o'clock on a bright summer's evening, we were ferried across the water. " "What fish have you, waiter?" was the Dean's first question. STRAWS SHOW WHICH WAY THE AVIND BLOWS, 295 " Soles and Heels," responded the attendant. "Can't dine off shoe leather," he responded. " Is the sherry cobbler well iced ? " "Tes, Sb," " Are the sttaw tubes clean ? " " Tes, Sb," " Hookems," continued Cannon, " Dryden must have had a prescient idea of this American drink, for he remarks — ' Sttaws may be made the instru ments of happiness.' " After dinner, when the mist from the river had risen, which caused Cannon to quote the conceit of Lord Chesterfield's, — " The dews of the evening most carefully shun ; They're the tears of the sky for the loss of the sun," we returned into the hotel to finish our punch. Hook was in wonderful high spbits, and indeed such was the case Avith the whole party. " We must have the 'Bishop of Hereford,' Deanums," •said Theodore, after delighting us Avith an extempo raneous song. "It's my caU, and you sang it better than Incledon ever did," Cannon responded to the caU, and chirrupped forth the Eobin Hood baUad. " "What say you to an extempore play ? " said Beazley, "Excellent idea," responded Barham. "What shaU be the subject?" "Eobin Hood," responded Hook. " I'll cast it ; " and taking out a pencU, he Avrote as follows : — 296 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. "Friar Tuck, the Dean of Patcham ; Little John, Sam Beazley, Esq., architect: the modem Wren — not an inappropriate friend to Robin — ^though it is to be hoped in his buUdings he won't be robbing this Wren; Robin Hood, the Eev. E. Barham; Will Scarlet, Lord WiUiam Lennox, who, being a " Blue " (a Eoyal Horse-Guard one), is, sttange to say, deeper read than the original ; outlaws, fo resters, &c., by T, E. Hook." " Hook must have a more prominent character," exclaimed aU, and as Beazley modestly decUned acting, his part was ttansferred to the great impro- visatore. " Fbst music on," said Hook, humming the usual symphony that in country theaties pre cedes the draAving of the curtain. " AU for the first scene," he continued. " We must invent the plot and words as we proceed." The actors stood in theb- places, when Theodore, imitating the sound of a beU Avith a key against his tumbler of punch, commenced the performance to what the players would term a shocking bad house, as it consisted only of two waiters, the man cook, a house and scuUery maid, who had placed themselves behind a door which they purposely left partiaUy open. I do not vouch for an exact reproduction of the words as they were spoken, for I have but few notes to refer to ; where my memory failed, I have fiUed ROBIN HOOD. 297 them up to the best of my abUity, leaAdng the spbit, if not the letter, of a style of di-ama that has lately become so popular. Ciirfejifi risf^, and discovers Eobln" Hood. ^cdic — Sherwood Forest. Bobin Hood. {Parodi/ oh Bertram's sj'^ech in Boktl/.) An idle outcast for some time I stray'd. More fit for pUlage than for lawful trade, Deem'd, like the steel of lance quite rusted. Useless and dangerous, never to be trusted. The women fBar'd to meet my hardy look ; At my approach the peaceful peasant shook ; The merchant sa-w my glance of fire and flame. And lock'd his hoards when outlaw'd Eobin came. SONG. I. The antler'd monarch is my theme, AVhate'er the 'wise may say, My morning thought, my midnight dream. My d«T-est hope through day. Youth's JMci-some spirits, manhood's fire. Strong arm, and eagle eye, Must he possess who doe's aspire To see the wild stag die. Chorus. Then sound the hom, the merry horn. And fiU your horns 'with ale. Here's to the jovial hunting mom, AVhether in wood or 'vale. n. We fawn not to the king or peer; We covet not their wealth. With bow and arrow, and the spear, We seek alone for health. Chorus. Then sound the hom. [A horn is heard at the distance. 298 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. Robin Hood, Hear you yon sound ? it teUs us of some traffic. Will Scarlet I'U be a Scarlet runner. Your song's a lie-tho'- graphic, [Will Scarlet rums off. Robin Hood. StUl in our sylvan bower, we may enjoy That best bower anchor hope, 'without aUoy. Enter Feiae Tuck. To judge of looks, which generaUy are right. Our jovial friar is no crocAor-ite ; And, what with draughts of ale and good Oporto, He makes a, pint (point), I mean " imperial quarto," * If we've no palaces, mansions, squares, what then ? We've many rural dweUings snugly buUt by Wren, Here, in our greefa retreat, we find no dara-ners. With short accounts, long faces, bailiff runners. UnUke yon to'wu, where folks go county court-xng. We court the long bills when we're out a sporting. No clamorous cry we have for ready payment For lodging, Uquor, victuals, hats, and raiment. There taUors take strong meas'Ures, legal suits. And bailiffs hunt poor debtors do'wn like brutes ; And to the market should you daily ramble, You'U find the butcher's smaU account no sham hill (shamble). Fria/r Tuck, The baker, too, quite waKw-bread, is crusty ; The iron-monger ir-OM-ically is rusty ; Cobblers wax warm, and hatters quite xai-nappy ; Tobacconists are up to snuff — ^pray taste this rappee, [Offers snuff-box, Bobin Hood. We roam at large ; our motto is "Pro rege ;" And on this mossy green we've mos pro lege. We boast of freedom for this ample reason. That here the birds do always hatch high trees on. But to my love, Edith of Lincoln, fair — Friar Tuck, The greatest hell of Lincoln is Great Tom the rare. Robin Hood, Who can describe her features, form, and grace, , The peerless beauty of that lovely face P How mild her looks ! * It may be worth noting, by the way, that this joke anticipated one in Mr. Frank Talfouid's " Atalanta." BURLESQUE LOVES. 299 Friar Tuck, Pray draw it very mild, for it ain't good That you should yield so much to woman-//ood. Robin IIouil. Her eyo of melting blue — Friar Tink. Have done, good lack ! [Asidel A itof/c-guard husband soon may tum it black, Robin Hood, Her golden auburn ringlots — Friar Tuck. AVhat? again ? Deep red, not auburn, "loveliest of the plain." Robin Hood. Such cherry tips — Friar Tuck. Nay, hold. There's many a sUp, The proverb says, bet'wixt tho cup and lip. Eohin Hood. Her eyes so bright, worthy tho brush of Etty. Friar Tuck. Another proverb says, " My eye and Betty." Robin Hood. A smile so guUeless, every heart she 'wins. Friar Tuck. I much prefer horse-laughs, and such ' ' broad grins. ' ' [Qrins as if through a collar. Eohin Hood, Her neck Uke marble, poUsh'd clear as Parian — Friar Tuck, Oh ! that's a bounce ; she ain't so fair as Marian. Robin Hood. Her cheek as bright as brightest orient da'wn — \ Friar Tuck. Yes, lots of cheek. Robin Hood, Her motions Uke a faun. Friar Tuck, Fawn not, deer stalker, for I think such braggers Are quite enough to give us folks the stag-gerB, Enter Little John, Will Soaelet, and other Foeestees. : Air — " Foresters, sound the cheerful hom ; Hark ! from the woods we come." Robin Hood, Man wants but little here below, but — . Little John, Wants that Little John. We shot these 'widgeons in the osier bed. These pintails near the foaming river head. For fuU two hours in the snow lay we, A shivering case of fleecy hosiery, I was benumbed, my hands and feet quite dull. WiU Scarlet. Dull as ditch-water. SUence, you nttm-skuU. 2nd Forester, I miss'd a stag. Robin Hood. You surely must be bUnd. It 'wUl not cervuB (serve us) if it's left he-hind. Will Scarlet, I shot a pheasant soaring high on wing. And that 'ere hare was caught in -wiry springe ; And now, again, on forest laws encroaching. We took these eggs. 300 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. Friar Tuck, A regular case of poaching. 3rd Forester, Look at this sheep ; it is a charming wether. Whether 'tis tup or not, ewe're gone beyond your tether. Robin Hood, Sheep stealing is a erime ; and much, good friends, I fear You'U find cheap stealing most uncommon dear, [Shouts heard outsidcj^ WiU Scarlet. They shout for Robin Hood through every to'wu and vUlage; Robbing, I fear, reminds them much of pillage. Friar Tuck, The pubUcans are loud. Robin Hood. List not to their oration ; For that would surely be an inn-ovation. What ales the 'wretches ? I'm too stout to fear. Would they were Qlarenced in their watery bier (beer) ! Now to our sports, morris and country dances, Poussette, cast off, and down-the-middle prances ; Change sides — Little John, Oh, cease ; 'with such a case don't grapple. For changing sides, go to St. Stephen's chapel. But I must drop the subject, lest, in fact, I Become that bore, laudator temporis acti. Let's caU on Cannon, midst the cannon's roar, » To chant another lay. Friar Tuck, Oh, what a bore ! I have a cold ; I'm hoarse ; excuse me, pray. Robin Hood, Lose not your time ; 'twiU be a round delay. [Advances, Kind, generous friends, be but your smile conferr'd ou Our labours here, we ask no richer guerdon. - And by your plaudits, Eobin Hood reviving. To "keep the game aUve " alone we're striving. That Scarlet runner has bean — ^I'm not mistaken — Has bean, I say, anxious to save his bacon ; And Patcham's dean, anxious your smUes to "'winnimi," WUl drink your health in a strong glass of " ginnum." Let but a herd of pretty deers each night Shout for brave Eobin the motto "Might not right." The Friar then came forward and sung the finale, to the ab of " Auld Eobin Grey," substituting Hood for Grey. The dramatis personoe joined in the THE DERBY WEEK. 301 chorus, and the performance ended amidst the shouts of the unpaying audience out of doors, for, in addition to those abeady named, many had gathered together under the open window to listen to the extempore play. Another time our excursion did not terminate so peacefuUy. I had agreed with Hook, the late Stephen Price, and another friend, to spend the Derby week at Epsom ; and we started thither on a lovely morning in the spring of 183 — , no cloud on our spbits, and no cloud on the day. The worthy American, Avrapped in a huge fur coat, was comfortably ensconced in the corner of a smaU britska, grumbling, however, not a Uttle at the English climate. " One day, sir, hot enough to roast an ox; fol- loAving morning at freezing point, sir." " Come along," said the other man, " come along. King Stephen, or we shaU be late — ^hate to be late." Suiting the action to the word, he took the re maining place in the ex-manager's britska. "Hook and 1, then, wUl go together," I observed, as my buggy drove to the door. " Of course. Hook and eye always go together," was the response of my companion, and he got into the vehicle. Thus commenced the sport, and off we went. To 302 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. repeat aU that was said during our drive would form a large edition of facetiae ; the celebrated abridgment of the statutes in fifty volumes foUo would be nothing to it. Hook kept up a regular running fire. Pun, anecdote, song, improvise; jests, a century old, disinterred, as good as new ; venerable Joe MUlers, revived and decked out in modem fashionable attbe; jokes manufactured on the spot, of every conceivable variety and pattern, some bad enough to take rank Avith the very best. So far from recounting them, I despab of conveying an idea of theb profusion. The plainest of pedes trians, or the commonest name over a shop door, was sufficient to start him off. " Ah ! " said my companion, " ' Hawes, surgeon; ' that reminds me of two lines I made on a sawhone of that name during the severe Avinter of 1814 : — ' Perpetual freezings and perpetual thaws. Though bad for hips, are good for Hawes,' " As we reached VauxhaU Bridge, " I wonder if this bridge pays ? " I remarked. "Go over it, and you'U be tolled," repUed the ever-ready punster. "So," said he, addressing the gatekeeper, who was hoarse, "Tou haven't recovered your voice yet?" " No, sb," was the answer, " I've caught a fresh cold." PUNNING AS HE AVENT. 303 " But why did you catch a fresh one ? " asked Hook ; " why didn't you have, it cured ? " On we went fi-om subject to subject, and pun to pun. The sign of the " Three Eavens," at Sutton, as we passed it, suggested the refiection, " That feUow must be raven mad." Immediately after, we discerned a party of laboui-ers employed in sinking a weU. " What are you ahout ? " inqubed Hook. " Boring for water," repUed a gaping clod. "Water's a bore at any time," rejoined Hook; " besides, you're quite Avrong ; remember the old proverb, ' Let well alone.' " These must serve to convey a passing notion of the spbit of my companion's commentary on every object we encountered ; and this spbit carried us gaUy into the toAvn of Epsom, which we found crowded to excess. Stteams of many-coloured Ufe were everywhere mingling and separating. High IKe and low Ufe ; the thorough-bred team, the barouche and four, the Ught dennet, the heaA^y 'bus, the gaudy van, the hack cab, and the tUted cart. But to describe this scene would be to go over old ground, as it has been pictured a thousand times ; and the reader, perhaps, avUI prefer returning Avith our party to the house we had engaged for the week. On arriAdng at the gate, we found seated on a 304 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. rustic bench a certain individual, having a cigar in his mouth, and by his side a glass of water, Avith (for this should not be altogether omitted) just a sufficient quantity of Glenlivet in it to destroy, as he said, the animalctdse it might contain. His countenance brightened at our approach. " Ha ! Dean ! " said Theodore. " Ha ! Hookems ! " responded the other ; " have you brought the ginnums and the mackarelums ? " " I have, most reverend. But where were you last Sunday ? I missed you at your accustomed haunt — ^lunch after chapel." " Lame, lame, could not get there." " As usual," said Hook. " Why's the Dean Uke England? D'ye give it up? — eh? Because he expects every man to do his duty." Dinner was shortly after announced. The cloth was removed amidst a rapid shower of smart, caustic, and Avitty sayings, droU stories, retort and repartee; the Avine cbculated freely, the tide of good-humour " knew no retbing ebb," Plays and poUtics, Avine and women, debts and duels, were discussed Avith an absence of all resttaint ; and then commenced a call for a song. This was pretty soon responded to by the accomplished Theodore, whose talent in this respect is no secret to the world, although the world, unfortunately, possesses so A SONG OF PRICES. 305 little evidence of it beyond the assertions of the more forttmate few who enjoyed his intimacy, and Avitnessed the astonishing ease Avith which he com posed whUe he sang. In this instance he took for the subject of his song the worthy manager of New Tork and Drury Lane celebrity ; and, after pre paring us by ringing the changes on his name, he broke into a measure, and gave us the foUoAving, which, however, I cannot pretend to say is strictly verbatim et literatim : — " Come, fiU your glasses up, whUe I sing a song of prices. And show men's market value at the date of last ad-yices ; For, since 'tis pretty clear, you know, that every man has his price, 'Tis weU to make inquiries before the terms are riz, Price. " Some shabby rogues there are, that are knock'd do'wn at a low price; Some blockheads so superlative they can't be sold at no price ; Some, free of soxU in youth, seU in middle life at half-price ; And some go when they're old — ^why the devU don't you laugh. Price? " The world is but an auction ; if to-day we fetch a shy price. To-morrow turns the lot about, and shows us "worth a high price. You want to know what learning's worth, you ask me what is "wif s price ; I answer, ' Push the claret round, whatever may be its price.' " The shortest actors now contrive to get a rather long price ; And singers, too, although sometimes they're hardly worth a song. Price ; With fiddles, dancers, fresh from France, weU liking a John BuU price. Though some, when they get nothing, may be said to fetch their foU price. VOL. I, X 306 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. "Where'er you seU, whate'er you seU, in seUing seek a higher price ; But times are changed", I need not say, when yo\i become the buyer. Price ; For then this truth should in your mind be uppermost and clear. Price — There are some things and lessons that at nothing would be dear, Price. " Don't buy a poUtician, don't have him at a loan. Price ; Nor lawyer, when they teU you you may take them at your O'wn price ; Nor doctors, who, if fashionable, always fetch an even price ; And, clear of these, the ' deil him sei' ' can never fetch a Stephen Price. "Your sneaking, sour, insidious knaves, I hope you won't find many. Price. Your OautweUs on the stage of Ufe, don't buy 'em in at any price. Go seU your brains, if brains you have, and seU 'em at a fair price. But give away your hearts, my boys — don't seU 'em at whate'er price. "And, be men's prices what they may, I now shall just make bold. Price, To sing it in your presence — ^there is nothing Uke the old Price. As each man has his O'wn, since the days of Madame Eve,- Price, Why, we have ours, and here he is ! Your health, my joUy Steph Price!" "Bravo, sir!" exclaimed the deUghted hero of the song, at its conclusion, "Sir, avUI you take forty pounds a-night, sir, to appear at Drury Lane, in your OAvn very particular and deAdlishly-admbed piece of ' Killing no Murder ?' " "Forty pounds a-night?" cried Hook. "No, I wouldn't take half the money to commit such a barbarity; nay, ten pounds a-night should not tempt me. KUling may be no murder, when the HOOK A DERBY PROPHET, 307 regular actors combine to destroy an author's pro duction ; but for the dramatist to appear himseK in his OAvn farce — ^to assist at the assassination of his OAvn chUd — to slaughter his tender offspring in pubUc with maUce aforethought — ^this is the worst of killing : — ' Murder most foul as in the best it is. But this most foul, strange, and unnatural,' " ""What d'ye say, sir?" " Nothing ; but I make up for it by singing" — and here, Avith barely the pause of a minute, foUowed another song on the forthcoming Derby, ending Avith a Une which not even the best sporting prophet of our day could have improved upon, either in neat ness of point or truth of prediction. In aUusion to the Avinner in the approaching race (Mr, Forth being the oAvner of the horse), the singer feUcitously pro phesied — " The FouHh shaU be flrst !" About ten o'clock at night, a ramble through the toAvn was proposed, and Hook, Price, and myself sttoUed towards the " Spread Eagle," to hear the state of the odds on the approaching Derby. Just as we reached the door of that most excellent hos- tellerie, I was accosted by a man dressed in a gaudy Uvery, Ught green coat, red belcher handkerchief, a huge gold hatband, white corduroy "shorts," and x2 308 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY, glazed top-boots, who, placing in my hands a card, hoped he should have the honour of conducting me to his master's house. By the aid of a ' large red lamp at a surgeon's door, looking Uke a bull's eye bloodshot, I read the card, which ran as foUows : — " Corinthian Club, Foster's Cottage, Woodcot Green. French hazard. Bank £5,000 !! !" "Let's have some fun!" exclaimed Hook, on reading this, "Price and I avUI be drunk on the premises. Come along, Stephen !" and, in a regular gin-broken voice, he hiccupped out the words of lago's song : — " Eng Stephen was a worthy peer. His breeches cost bim but a crown. He held them sixpence aU too dear. With that he caUed the taUor lotm." The "touter" of the rural Pandemonium now approached, and again importuned us, Seebig the reeling state of my companions, he suggested a glass of iced soda, which he declared was always ready Avith the supper at the cottage, " Hurrah for the cottage ! " said Hook : " hut what shaU I do Avith my hundred-pound note ? — I must deposit that at home," " Never mind that, sir," responded the manager; "I'U ensure you against losing that hundred." And weU he might, seeing that the hundred- pound note was a " forgery of the brain" — a draft on the bank of fiction, merely cbculated to raise us HURRAH FOR THE COTTAGE ! 309 in the estimation of the members of the Corinthian Club. • . ' , Eeeling, shouting, singing, we approached Wood- cot Green ; and, passing a small publichouse, our guide pointed out the haU of Eblis. " Excuse me, gentlemen, one moment," he said, and, . rushing into the bar of the " Eunning Horse," returned almost instantaneously, with a quart-bottle peeping out of his coat-pocket. ; " " Brandy, sir," said Price-^ — (aside) " I smell it,- sir." "AU right!" whispered Hook. The room we entered was dbty and Ul-Ughted ; the dingy waUs and barred Avindows formed a locale not Ul-associated Avith' the, crime and Avretchedness it harboured. The " party assembled consisted of four individuals,- — two croupiers and two "bonnets" — ^which, for the benefit of the uninitiated, I beg to mention are confederates, dressed as players, to assist in pigeoning the public. In the centre of the room hung a gaudy lamp, which threw its oUy rays on a large oblong table covered, with green baize, on which were painted various figures arid dbeetions for those who "stood the hazard. of the die;" smaU bowls of maple-wood, two wooden rakes, and smidry ivory counters, formed its furniture. On a side- table, graced by a cloth whose particular hue it might be difficult to define, the supper was spread. 310 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY, It consisted of a coarse-looking ham of Brobdignag size, a few slices of raw, gristly beef, and a boAvl of gritty -looking salad. Then there were two bottles of home-made gooseberry, called champagne, a few ditto of soda in a stable-pail, and the identical brandy that we had seen purchased at the " Eunning Horse." " Now, gentlemen, make your game !" exclaimed the croupier, taking his station on a high-backed chab at the side of the table. " We bet the odds against nicks and doublets. The dice, Mr, Dunlop." Upon which Mr, Dunlop, who was vice-croupier, opened a packet of dice, containing three pab, and shook them together in one of the bowls. Hook took the box, and, putting a few haK-croAvns upon the table, cried, " Seven's the main !" " Seven's a nick," said the croupier, at the same time paying the stake. "Eight's the mam!" " Eight the carter has to five — eight Avith the quatres. No gentleman on the doublets." Again the stake was paid. During this proceeding, I rather fancied Mr. Dunlop, who had raked the dice towards him, fin gered them in a peculiar manner. In my zeal to prevent Price putting doAvn his money, I trod so heavUy upon his gouty foot as to Avring from him FOUL PLAY. 311 an exclamation ; but he took the hint, and putting his money "contre," waited the result of the throw. " Seven's the main," cried the caster. " Deuce ace," shouted the croupier, raking up the Avinnings ; " the caster's out," " Give me the dice," drawled out one of the " bonnets." " Five's the main !" " Seven the caster has to five — die doAvn, Mr. Dunlop !" for in the throwing, one of the dice (as I thought purposely) went off the table, "I've got it," he continued, as he went on throw ing. " Sis to four in favour of the caster — ^we take it in halves," " I'U bet it," exclaimed Hook. Up came a deuce ace, twos, three aces. I tried in vain to see a four, five, or a six, and determined at the end of the throw to inspect the dice ; but the "bonnet" was too wary, for, as he threw ttay- deuce, he, in a pretended passion, anathematised the dice, and threw them into the comer of the room, where they were immediately pounced upon by Mr. Tomkins, the Uvery servant. "WUl you take any refreshment, gentlemen?" asked the croupier: "we've a beautiful ham. Tomkins, offer the gentlemen some soda and brandy." 5J 312 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. After this oblation the other "bonnet," who was caUed Captain Denscol, took the box, and appeared, as far as I could judge, to hold one die between his thbd finger and the box, making a prodigious rattUng Avith the other — " Seven's the main !" The two bona fide players. Hook and Price, went against him, despite my looks and nudges — ^though the result would have been equally the same, as the caster could evidently land the dice as he pleased. " Seven's a nick." "A cup of weak tea," said the croupier. "A glass of sherry and water," exclaimed Mr. Dunlop. " Tomkins, open the champagne." In a minute a pop and a whiz were heard, and, as the ballad says — " The juice of ripe (gooseberries) flow'd in our glasses," The senses of my companions being rather more under conttol than they had intended them to ap pear, the Uttle we imbibed did not disorder our Avits to the anticipated extent. We were more than a match for our antagonists, kept our eyes quite open, watched aU theb movements, and avoided defeat. After some perseverance, it was pretty clear to the knaves that we were further off than ever from being victims to theb devices, how ever knoAvingly laid, or dexterously executed. Nay, Price had even reaUsed a small capital, and "REVENGE!" TIMOTIIEUS CRIES. 313 was proposing our departure, when tho rural Crockford, ad(Jressing himself to me, said, in a tone of impertinence, "Do you, or do you not, gentlemen, intend giving us our revenge ? " " Certainly not," I replied "at a public gaming table ; such a thing is unheard of," " Nor you?" addressing himseK to the American, whose reply was more forcible than poUte, " Nor you ? " turning to the Ulustrious and fear less Theodore, who at once burst forth — " ' Eevenge ! ' he cries ; and the traitor dies," stamping his foot, and giAdng an imitation of Braham, " Good night, gentlemen," said King Stephen, " Waiter, what's to pay for the brandy ? " " Damn the brandy, sb ! " said the man Avith the diamond brooch, adjusting his substitute for a three- and-fourpenny gossamer fiercely upon his head ; "we neither want your money nor your company," and up he rose, rake in hand, from his seat. His companions also rose, muttering to each other, and evidently working themselves into an intensity of passion. "I told you what it would come to," said the landlady ; " you had better leave the house without making any disturbance — a set of horse jockeys coming here, to disturb quiet honest people ! " 314 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. Under other cbcumstances the Latin adag( "Bat venia/m corvis, vexat censwra colv/nbas," would have occurred to me, but I had no time for quotation ; for a fray was obviously about to ensue. However in those days my blood was hot, and I cared Uttle for the approaching contest. The only pang I felt was on poor Price's account, whose thews and sinews gout had somewhat weakened. I started up, however, on a signal from Hook, and sUently tumed my cuffs doAvn, an indication that I was ready K necessary. " Tou shan't leave the house," said the croupier, advancing towards me. " That remains to be proved," I repUed, suiting the action to the word, i.e. putting myseK in a posture of defence. Stephen Price, meanwhUe, as he saw the taUest " leg " confront him, behaved Avith the stoutest mettle, or, as Hook would have said, " metal ; " for to my infinite amusement, he seized the poker, and brandishing it in the ab, exclaimed after the manner of the celebrated M'Kay, the only repre sentative of Scotch characters I ever saw — "Ma conscience ! what would my father the deacon say?" Upon this Hook, seizing the top of a smaU sauce pan, Avhich he employed as a. target, and the tongs, which he flourished sword-fashion in the most gro tesque way, assumed the form of the Dougal crea- A MEDLEY, 315 ture, rushed forward, and throAving himself on one knee, raised his eyes to the ceiling ; then putting himseK into a regular ttarispontine-theatre cut-and- thrust attitude, spluttered forth some mock Gaelic, ending Avith " Hur nainseU has eaten the toAvn pread at the Cross o'Glasgow, and py her troth she'll fight for BaUie Sharvie at the Clachan of AberfoU — tat AvUl she e'en." This said, he made his weapon clatter aAvfuUy about the ears of the taU " leg." The fray now became general, Greek met Greek, and the tug of war was terrible; the tables were overthroAvn, the dice boxes rattled against the Avindows, counters fiew, and tongs clattered. Hook's voice was heard, shouting passages from haK a dozen plays at a time : — "Lay on, Macduff!" " Approach thou Uke the rugged ruffian BUl, The arm'd Mendoza, or the late Dutch Sam," " Oh, this is sweet. When in one line two crafts together meet ! Come, Signer Eoderigo, I'm for you ! " " Nay, ru so maid you and your toasting irons. That you shall think the de'vU has come from heU,' "Hands off! murder! poUce ! " exclaimed the landlady, mshing in, foUowed by a sUp-shod kitchen wench. With the presence of the fury, sttange to say, came peace, spreading her Avings over the scene of strKe and desolation. It was not, of course, our 31*6 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. Avish, to protract the fray, and our adversaries seemed equally disposed to capitulate. We stood still ; a truce was by common consent established. One of the party, acting on the principle of a com missioner in a recent national afbay, proposed the suspension of hostilities, provided we would refund the numerous dollars we had won ; thus, as in China, making it as Hook declared a most dolorous affab. This mercantUe proposition, however, we decUned, and commenced a retreat which, like that of the great warrior of the age, was in our estima tion so well conducted as to "ecUpse the very glory of our advance." So signal a victory was not, of course, to be gained Avithout incurring a few casualties in the Anglo-American force. Our retum of wounded was Field Marshal Hook, sUghtly; manager Price severely in his gouty foot; myseK, not at all dangerously. The loss sustained by the enemy cannot be so accurately reported ; but it is certain, that the heads of several legs were broken, and various glasses were numbered Avith the incurable. We had succeeded in capturing sundry rakes, dice- boxes, maple bowls, and other implements of the war against society; but these prizes were sub sequently abandoned, and left scattered over the battle field. CHAPTER VII. EEEEMASOHEY — ^TOM COOKE — CARL MAEIA VON 'WEBBE — A POP'DXAE. SYEEN — THE DEAMA — JOE GEIMALDI — YOUNG GEIMALDI — COLONEL (commonly CALLED DAN) MACErNNON, OF THE GUARDS — FEATS OP ACTIVITY— MADAME VESTEIS — EDMUND AND CHAELES KEAN — COUNTESS OF HAEEINGTON — SIE HENEY ELLIS. CHAPTEE VII. In the year 1829 I was initiated into the mysteries of Freemasonry. At that period I had the honour of being personaUy acquainted Avith the late Duke of Sussex; and calUng one day upon his Eoyal Highness at Kensington Palace, where I found him in his extensively stocked Ubrary, velvet cap on head, and cigar in mouth, the conversation tumed upon the "craft." "Tou ought to belong to us," said the Duke, good-naturedly. " There is an exceUent lodge named, after me, the ' Eoyal Inverness,' which would suit you admbably. Welch and Hawes take great pains Avith the singing, which is second only to the 'Catch Club;' and many of your friends belong to it." "I shaU be most happy," I responded. "Then," said the noble Duke, " I'U take an early opportunity of attending it, make you a free and accepted Mason, and dine Avith you afterwards." This was accordingly agreed 320 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. to, and in less than a fortnight I became a brother Mason. The mysteries of the craft must be re spected ; but I may mention that the Duke dined Avith us, that .we had a most delightful evening, and that in proposing my health his Eoyal Highness proved himseK as kind as he was eloquent. It is impossible to find a better commentary on Freemasonry than that conveyed in the remarks of Benjamin FrankUn : — " Freemasonry, I admit, has its secrets. It has secrets pecuUar to itseK; but of what do these prin cipally consist ? They consist of signs and tokens, which serve as testimonials of character and qualifi cation, which are only conferred after a due course of instruction and examination. These are of no smaU value. They speak a universal language, and act as a passport to the attention and support of the initiated in all parts of the world. They cannot be lost so long as memory retains its power. Let the possessor of them be expatriated, shipAvrecked, or imprisoned ; let him be stripped of everything he has got in the world, stiU these credentials remain, and are available for use as cbcumstances reqube. The good effects which ' they have produced are estabUshed by the most incontestable facts of history. They have stayed the upUfted hand of the destroyer ; they have softened the asperities of the tyrant ; they FREEMASONRY. 321 have mitigated the horrors of captivity ; they have subdued the rancoiu- of malevolence ; and broken down the hairier of political animosity and sectarian alienation. On the field of battle, in the solitudes of the imcultivated forest, or in the busy haunts of the crowded city, they have made men of the most hostUe feeUngs, most distant regions, and most diversified conditions, rush to the aid of each other, and feel special joy and satisfaction that they have been able to afford relief to a brother Mason," In confirmation of this, I must recount a cbcum stance that occurred while I was Master of " The Eoyal Inverness Lodge." During dinner I was reminded by Brother Sb Andrew Barnard that a gentleman to whom. I had been inttodueed before entering our lodge was a distinguished French officer, who had served during the war that ended in 1814, and a most zealous Mason, No sooner was the cloth removed, and the usual toasts given, than I rose to propose Colonel 's health, who, in reply, informed us that among other advan tages possessed by Freemasons, he would mention one of a personal nature. " In a skirmish Avith the enemy, now, happily, our allies and friends, I had a horse shot under me, and was taken prisoner by a detachment of Hussars, I was at that time a subaltern, and in due course of VOL, I. Y 322 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY, time found myself in England, at Dartmoor Prison, anxious for my liberty, I appUed to the authorities to be let out on parole ; but, OAving to some unprin cipled men haAdng broken thebs, I was informed that unless some one would become security for me such a privilege could not be granted. Alone, friend less, and Avithout money, I despabed of my freedom, when an idea occurred to me which I lost no time in carrying out. I sought an interview with the gover nor of the prison, who happened fortunately to be a brother Mason. I urged him to give me a few hours' leave, that I might apply to the nearest lodge for aid. He agreed, and accompanied me to the toAvn, where I worked my way into the presence of the Master and officers of the lodge. My tale was soon told, and, to the honour of Englishmen and English Free masons, be it recorded that they became security for me, and I was permitted to roam at large. Grateful to this countty, it was Avith a pang of regret that in 1815 I was again called upon to draw a sword against my former friends, I served at Waterloo, and happily, after escaping the dangers of that day, had the good fortune to be of some service to two wounded artillerymen of the British army, who, in asking me for some water to quench theb slaking Ups, showed the well-knoAvn sign of our craft. The surgeon of my regiment attended to WEBER'S " UBEKON." ;j'J3 theb wants, and a most grateful k'tter Avritten to me a year after from WoolAvich proved that grati tude was not wanting in an EngUsh soldier," Another distinguished foreigner whom 1 had the pleasure of meeting, and who Avas indebted to another species of fi-eemasomy — that of genius — for his reception in England, was Carl Maria von Weber. I was present at Tom Cooke's when this distin guished composer played the music of his new opera, " Oberon," for the first time. The principal singers were assembled there; and the grand maestro, usuaUy pale and wan, looked doubly so from ner- A'ousness and anxiety. He knew fuU weU that he had a double task to perform — ^that of pleasing the performers as weU as the taste of the EngUsh pubUc ; and he soon discovered that the latter part was much easier than the former. Weber had been informed by Cooke that Braham, the unrivaUed tenor, had declined to play Rudolph, in "Der Frei- sehiitz," unless an extta song was inttodueed for him, and the difficulty lay in finding one worthy of the composer and appUcable to the situation. There seemed every chance of the opera being abandoned, when Braham came to his oavu rescue, by suggest ing that a song, to the ab of a popular chorus in "Der Freischiitz" should be appropriated to him. y2 324 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. This was finally agreed to ; and the " Hebrew melo dist" gained his object, that of having a certain encore. The music of " Oberon" was highly ap proved of by the soprano, the contralto, tenor, and bass, and all were warm in theb praises of it. Weber looked pleased, and a sUght hectic colour rose on his care-worn cheek. Tom Cooke was hUa- rious with joy, and aU "went merry as a marriage beU," untU Braham proposed an alteration, in which he was shortly afterwards followed by the popular Madame Yestris, then at the height of her dramatic and operatic fame. " I think," said the tenor, taking Weber aside, "that good as is my part of Sir Huon, it requbes a grand scena, a recitative, and some popular melody ; something in the style of the portrait song in the " Siege of Belgrade." The German looked horrified, replying in a tremu lous tone, " I scarcely know any situation open for such a piece of music." " Oh, leave that to me, I can arrange a situation," responded Braham. "It AvUl ensure the success of your opera. Without an encore all would go flat," The song was inttodueed, "Joy to the high-bom dames of France," and fully justified Braham's interference, as it was beautifully composed, and nightly drew doAvn " thunders of applause," Carl Maria von Weber was bom in December, A COMPOSER'S LIFE, 325 1786, at Eutin, in Holstein, His father had ac qubed a reputation as a violinist, and probably bifiuenced his son in the choice of music as a pro fession, although in early Ufe he had evinced no little talent as a painter, 'When eleven years of age, the youth was taken by his father to Salzburg, and placed under the tiution of Michael Haydn, brother of the Ulustrious composer of " The Crea tion," "The Seasons," and some of the finest sym phonies, sonatas, concertos, and canzonets ever pro duced. Here, however, the pupU did not make much progress. In 1798, Carl Maria produced sis Fughetti, which were printed at Salzburg, and favourably received. Hence he proceeded to Munich, where he received lessons in singing from Yalesi, and in composition from the organist of the Chapel Eoyal, Kalcher, to whom he ever expressed his gratitude. Under the eye of his master, he com posed an opera, "Die Macht der Liebe und des Wems" ("The Power of Love and Wine"). He also Avrote a grand mass, and other works, which, according to the composer's testimony, were com mitted to the flames. From music he tumed to lithography, then re cently, discovered, but soon became tbed of that pursuit. Between the years 1800 and 1822, Weber set to music Steinberg's opera "Das Waldmadchen" 326 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY, (" The Wood Maiden"), composed " Peter SchmoU," "Eiibezahl," "Sylvana," remodelled on his former work, "Das Waldmadchen," "Abou Hassan," seve ral symphonies and concertos. During the above period, he visited Leipzig, Hamburgh, Holstein, Yienna (where he spent nearly two years in the study of the great masters), Breslau, Carlsrtdie, Stuttgard, Darmstadt, Prague, Dresden, and Berlin, where he produced his grandest work, "Der Frei schiitz." This wonderful effort of genius excited an extraordinary sensation, not alone in the north of Germany, but in London, where it was first per formed July 23rd, 1824, and soon became one of the most popular operas ever produced in this coun try. In November, 1823, the great master produced "Euryanthe," at Yienna; and, in 1825, agreed, for the sum of £500, to compose an original opera for Covent Garden Theatre, the subject being founded on Wieland's celebrated poem, and admbably dra matised by Mr. Blanche, under the title of "Oberon; or, the EK King's Oath." This opera was brought out April 12th, 1826, Avith Weber himseK as con ductor. Never was a greater ovation paid to any individual ; there was a perfect furore throughout the house, which was crammed to the ceiUng. His visit to London unhappily aggravated a dis order, which proved to be of a pulmonary nature. "CHERRY RIPE." ,327 and the patient sank rapidly. At his benefit con cert at the ArgyU Eooms, Eegent Street, now no longer in existence, poor Weber had scarcely sttength enough to go through his duties as conductor, and Avithin two months of his ttiumph at Covent Garden Theatte, he was found Ufeless in his bed. Permis sion to inter him in St. Paul's Cathedral was refused on account of his reUgion, and his honoured remains were buried in the Eoman CathoUc Chapel, Moor- fields, whence, however, they were removed, in 1844, to Dresden. "WhUe upon the subject of singers, let me aUude to a very talented young lady, weU knoAvn in the Norfolk theattical cbcuit. Miss M was the representative of aU the best prima-donna characters in English opera; and having met Avith just and un bounded applause in a popular baUad of the day, inttodueed it into every performance. It mattered Uttle what the situation was, for, Avith the preface, " I cannot do better than sing my popular melody of ' Cherry ripe,' " Miss M always lugged in her fevourite. "Whether she personated Rosetta, in "Love in a YUlage;" LAlla, in "The Siege of Bel grade;" Polly Peachum, in "The Beggar's Opera;" Susannah, in " The Marriage of Figaro ; " or Rosina, in "The Barber of SeviUe;" the same ballad re curred. And the audience was equaUy enthusiastic 328 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. whether the rural Rosetta, the Turkish Lilla, the highwayman's Avife, the lively Spanish waiting-maid, or the ward of Bartholo and AvKe of Count Almaviva, warbled the ripe cherries. It never struck the play goers of that time as at all inconsistent that these sttains should resound amidst the roars of Christian and Turkish camion, in the closely-watched house in Seville, from which Count Almaviva carries off Bartholo' s ward, or the chateau of Aguas Frescas, three leagues from Seville, where Almaviva is tbed of the Countess he won Avith such difficulty, and is courting her maid. Some might excuse this pecuUar taste by par tiaUty for the old EngUsh baUad school; but though I cannot agree Avith them there, I must oAvn that I feel a pang of native regret at the changes through which the drama has passed during my career. In the metropoUs Shakespeare has been driven from Covent Garden Theatte, and " Throats from Italy, and feet from France," usurp those boards where once the Kemble family majestically trod. I would not be misunderstood ; nothing can have been more satisfactory or more delightful than the operatic performances under the management of Mr. Gye ; still; I for one regret that so splendid a temple should have ceased to be dedi cated to Melpomene and Thalia. Let me reeaU the THE PALMY DAYS, 329 extraordinary dramatic talent that appeared at Covent Gai-den between the years 1809 and 1822, The prmcipal performers were, in tragedy, Messrs, Kemble, Cooke, Toung, Macready, C, Kemble, Conway, Betty, Terry, Abbott, Egerton, and Barry- more. Mesdames Siddons, O'NeiU, Bunn, Powel, Smitb, afterwai-ds Mrs. Bartley, and Faucit, In comedy, Messrs, Munden, J, Johnstone, Listen, Jones, LeAvis, C, Kemble, W. Farren, Fawcett, Mathews, Blanchard, Terry, Emery, Tates, Farley, Tokely, and Simmons. Mesdames Jordan, Davison, O'NeUl, Brunton, Gibbs, Clara Fisher, C. Kemble, H. Johnstone, Foote, and Davenport. In opera, Messrs. Braham, Incledon, Sinclab, Bellamy, PhiUips, Pyne, Broadhurst, Taylor, Hunt, and Duruset. Mesdames Catalani, Dickons, Stephens, M. Tree, Bolton, Feron, Mathews, Carew, Listen, HaUande, and Love. In pantomime and ballet, Messrs. Noble, Byrne, Farley, Grimaldi, sen., Grimaldi, jun., Bologna, Norman, and EUar. Mes dames Lupine, Parker, Searle, Adams, and Dennetts. At Drury Lane the companies, including the Kean's name, "that tower of strength, which they of the adverse faction knew," were nearly equally good, especially in comedy, when DoAvton, Knight, EUiston, Decamp, and Mrs. Orger, aided the cause of ThaUa. 330 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. In those "palmy days" of the drama, the actors and actresses of both the patent theatres trans ferred theb services to the " little Haymarket," or devoted theb summer to the provinces ; hence, in almost every country theatre, the London stock pieces were acted, and weU acted. What a melancholy contrast does the present time afford ! Cheap coii,certs, sensation plays in perambulating theatres, cheerless cbcuses, aided by pugUistic art, negro melodists, and dancing rooms, furnish the amusement of the miUion. Of course, even then everything was not perfect. I remember seeing Grimaldi act Bob Acres in Sheridan's inimit able comedy of the "Eivals" on the occasion ofhis benefit, June 25th, 1811, and a more Avretched performance I never Avitnessed. Perhaps it was that I had identified this first-rate pantomimist Avith his cloAvnish propensities of purloining sausages, opening his mouth to the utmost possible extent, turning his toes in, and warbling forth his Tippity- Avitchit. I OAvn I could not divest myseK of the idea that the unrivalled representative of Squire Bugle, afterwards Clown, in "Mother Goose," was before me, at least in the more comic part of the play, while in other parts of less humour, I traced, or fancied I traced, the walk or movements of the inimitable Joe, in melodramatic characters associated Avith him, namely, Kanko, in " La Perouse," Orson, GEIMALDI AS ACRES. 331 in "Yalentine and Orson," Robert, in "Eaymond and Agnes," Hock, a drunken prisoner, in the romance of " Sises, or the Fiend," Kasrac, in "Aladdin," the Shipwrecked Mariner, in "Eobinson Crusoe," and Tojxtc, in "Cherry and Fab Star." I am fully aware that many excuses might be made for Grimaldi thus going out of his acknowledged Une ; in that he never had, and never avUI have, an equal, though Tom Matthews came nearer to him than any one else. It is on record that Fawcett, who ought to have knoAvn better, urged Grimaldi to act Boivkit, in the " Son-in-Law," for his benefit, and his refusal gave dbe offence to honest John. Country managers, too, are great cormorants, and when they engage a "star" look much to the profits; iu order to ensure a good ffi^st piece, they set theb Avits to work to inttoduce the actor or actress into theb opening piece. It was this feeling, the quantity not the quaUty, that induced the incom parable Joe to attempt such a part as Acres. His Moll Flagon was less objectionable, stUl it always made one feel that he had donned the petticoat pantomimic fashion, I went one night Avith the late Colonel Mackinnon, commonly caUed Dan Mackinnon, of the Guards, and a few others, to Ball Hughes's private box at Covent Garden Theatre, to Avitness the debut of Grimaldi's son as Clown in the pantomime of 332 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. "Harlequin and Poor Eobin.; or, the House that Jack BuUt." His success was great, for although he lacked the humour of his sbe, he possessed much physical strength and actiAdty. During the harle quinade, one or two feats were performed by the senior of the great Genoese family, which drew doAvn shouts of applause. " It's all very well," said Dan, "but. a little goes a great way with an English audience. I'll be bound to do all young Grimaldi has done this evening ; and, moreover, to take EUar's leap through the clock." " I should like to put that to the test," re pUed the Golden BaU, " I'll bet you five pounds you do not." " A wager is always an Englishman's argument," responded the Guardsman. "I don't Avishto risk my money and my neck, but I'll bet you a guinea I do, the loser to pay the men behind the scenes for theb trouble." At the termination of the pantomime we went upon the stage, where we found the veteran Joe congratulating his son upon his triumph, which he had witnessed from the front. We added our meed of praise, and I quietly hinted to Grimaldi senior the object of our visit. "Perhaps," said Dan, "you will act as umpire. AN AMATEUR CLOAVN. 333 I am to leap through the clock, and to perform the same feats your son did, difficult as 1 oavu they are, in a manner that would be well received by an EngUsh audience." Grimaldi readily consented, and we left it to him to have the clock scene set, and the men Avith blankets ready. Toung Grimaldi soon went off to his dressing-room, and Avith the assistance of a few stage carpenters and firemen, the stage was cleared. Dan's coat was soon off, and, finding all prepared, he made his leap in admbable style. He then commenced his other evolutions, which were equaUy successful, ending Avith a feat even more difficult than those he had performed. There was no doubt whatever that the wager was fably won, and old Joe remarked, "that he meant no offence, but K the gentleman ever wanted an engagement, he could put him in the way of getting one," " Tou must teU your son," said the Guardsman, " to secm-e me a private box on the night of his benefit," "And I should Uke one," added Ball Hughes, " that is, I AviU retain my OAvn, and forward your son the amount." Having paid the servants of the estahUshment Uberally, we took our departure, but not before Dan Mackinnon had again shoAvn his cat-like 334 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY, activity, by running along the sides of the boxes, proving to our entbe satisfaction that the numerous stories told of his agUity were not exaggerated. Among others, I AviU quote one which is said to have occurred during the Peninsular Campaign. Dan Mackinnon, anxious to see the inside of a convent, managed to get into one of those small turnstUes through which provisions are passed. DoubUng himseK up, he succeeded in making an enttance, much to the horror of the inmates, espe ciaUy the elder ones. A complaint was made to the Duke of Wellington, who tteated it as a froUc, and took no serious notice of it, I do not vouch for the accuracy of this story, but, from the veracity of my informant, I place fuU credence in it. Grimaldi's faUure in serious parts is not the only instance of talent being limited to one sphere. It is a remarkable fact how few singers, either male or female, have proved good actors and acttesses. Just as Grimaldi feU short in Acres, though thoroughly at home in such pieces as the " New Comic Melodramatic Burletta of the Duke and the DevU," which, as the song said, — " With shouts and encores. And thirty-two roars Of laughter, and glorious fun. Has four times been greeted, And 'wUl be repeated. As long as you'U grant it a run ;" A VALU.VBLF INTEODT'CTION. 335 SO Braham, though he sang tho music of the Seras- kier, of Rodolph, of Henry Bertram, of Captain Macheath, of Prince Orlando, exquisitely, was Aoi-y indifferent in his representation of the characters. The same remai-k applies to many others. But there ai-e two glorious exceptions to it. Miss Maiia Tree, afterwards Mrs. Bradshaw, and the late Madame Yestris. I feel not a little proud of the accidental share I took in inttoducing Madame Yestids to the theati-e where she gained such distinction. LeaAdng Driu-y Lane one evening I found Madame Yesttis, to whom I had been inttodueed, waiting in the pas sage of the private box for her cairiage. Seeing no one Avith her except her sister, then Miss Baitolozzi, I offered to send for her eairiage, and in the mean time recommended the two ladies to wait my retm-n in the large lower box next to the proscenium. It was a cold Avintry night, and haAdng despatched a Unk-boy to look out for the missing vehicle, I retumed to the OAvner of it. "Are you acquainted Avith Mr, EUiston?" asked Madame Yesttis, "lam, sUghtly," I repUed; "but why do you Avish to know?" "Because," she responded, "I am most desbous of coming out in this theatte," 336 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. " I shall be delighted to Avrite to him upon the subject," I continued, "and Avill forward you his reply." Before I had time to inqube into tiie lino of cluu-acters she wished to take, the lessee himself, enveloped in his fui- coat, crossed tiie stage, nnd heai-ing voices in the boxes, stood atti-aoted by the sound. Ascertaining that the conversation pro ceeded fi-om the private box I have referred to, he folded his ai-ms together, gave a knowing Avink to one of the firemen Avho Avas close by him, and in u pompous voice said, "1 myself Avill ascertain who is on the property at tlus late hom-." Walking doAvn the stage very much after the maimer ho was Avout to put on Avheu representing royalty, he approached the oi'chestra, and while peering over to discover the inmates of the box, very nearly lost his balaueo. I saved him all further trouble by exclaiming, "Mr. EUiston, I must put your gallantry to the test by asking you to assist a lady who has taken refuge here wMle her carriage is being looked for. It is only a few moments ago that she expressed a Avish to be presented to you." Tho great Eobert WiUiam took off his hat most graciously, came round to the box, recognised me, and was introduced to the syren who afterwards was of such vital benefit to his theatre. Madame made her wishes knoAvn in BEGINNING AS PROSERPINE. 337 the most winning manner, but was told that there was Uttle prospect of any opening during the remainder of the season. Nothing daunted, she retumed to the chai-ge, and obtained the promise of an interview. Others then backed her claims, and finaUy she entered into an engagement, which at once stamped her reputation, and brought money to the tteasury. Madame Yesttis made her first appearance on the 20th of July, 1815, at the King's Theatre, in the Haymarket, for the benefit of her first husband. Monsieur Armand Yestris, baUet master, as Pro serpine, in Winter's opera of "II Eatto di Pro serpina." Her success was not great at the ItaUan Opera, so she abandoned that line of singing and took to French comedy, being a perfect misttess of that language. I recoUect once seeing her in a French comedietta at the Argyll Eooms, in Eegent Stteet, at that time a fashionable resort. After a Adsit to Kance she retumed to England in 1819, and for some time was Avithout an engagement. It was shortly after the adventure I have recounted that sRe>appeared at Drury Lane, where her success in "Don Giovanni," Avith Harley as Leporello, was great. From that period, until the year 1854, she was a leading favourite, as a singer and an actress, at Drury Lane, Covent Garden, and the Olympic, VOL. I. z 338 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY, of which latter theatre she became lessee in 1829. In 1838 she married Charles Mathews, and her death took place on the 8th of August, 1856. My experience of the theatre has been unusually large. I have seen every actor and actress of the day since the evening I first visited the Chichester Theatre down to the present time. With all I have been personally acquainted, with many on terms of friendship; and never did I witness an ungentle- manlike or unladylike action on theb parts. In referring to the performances of those who have "shuffied off their mortal coil," 1 shall give the characters in which, according to my judgment, they excelled, and draw a comparison between the stage as it was and as it is. Let me head the list Avith John Kemble, whose Coriolanus and Brutus were faultless representations. Next Cooke, as Shylock and Sir Pertinax MacSycophant (the latter may be considered as one of the most perfect repre sentations ever Avitnessed on the stage) ; Edmund Kean, as Othello and Sir Giles Overreach ; Macready, as King Lear and Orestes; Young, Pierre and Cassius ; Charles Kemble, Romeo and Mirabel; Bannister, Colonel Feignwell, and Walter in the " ChUdren in the Wood " ; EUiston, Captain Abso lute and the Three Singles; Dowton, Sir Anthony Absolute and Dr. Cantwell ; Munden, Marrall and ONE MAN PLAYS MANY PARTS, 339 Nipperkin ; Fawcett, as Job Thornbury, and Rolamo in "Clari"; Johnstone, Sir Lucius 0' Trigger and Major 0' Flaherty ; Power (whose name naturaUy associates itseK Avith Irish Johnstone, as he was usuaUy caUed), Rory O'More and Teddy the Tiler; Harley, as Leporello (his first character in London) ; Emery, Tyke and Dandle Dinmont ; EusseU, Jerry Sneak ; the late Charles Mathews, Goldfinch, and Morbleu in Moncrieff 's farce of " Monsieur Ton- son " ; W. Farren, Lord Ogleby and Sir Peter Teazle ; John EeeA^e, Marmaduke Magog ; T, P. Cooke, William in "Black-eyed Susan," and Long Tom Coffin; Eichard Jones, Alfred Highflyer, and Puffvn "The Critic " ; Blanchard, as Polonius ; F. Tates, in "Cozening"; Liston, as Mawworm and Lubin Log; Bartley, Falstaff; Wright, in "The Spitalfields Weaver"; Wallack, as the Brigand; Talma, in Sylla; Siddons, as Lady\Macbeth and Queen Eatherine; O'NeiU, Juliet and Belvidera — ^in comedy, Mrs. Oakley ; Mrs. Bartley, Mrs. Haller, and Lsa- bella in " The Fatal Marriage " ; Mrs. Davison, Juliana, and Maria in " The Citizen " ; Mrs. Gibbs, Kitty, m " High LKe Below Stabs " ; Mrs. Liston, Sally in "The ShipAvreck," and Queen Dollalolla ; Mrs. Nisbett, Lady Teazle and Widow Cheerly ; Miss Stephens (the present Dowager Countess of Essex), as Polly and Lucy Bertram ; Mrs. Daven- z2 340 DRAFTS ON 3IY MEMORY. port, Mrs. Hardcastle, and Nurse in " Eomeo and JuUet " ; Mrs. Glover, Mrs. Malaprop and Widow Green; Fanny Kemble, Juliet; Mrs. C. Kemble, Lady Elizabeth Freelove ; Mrs. Tates, Letitia Hardy and Ernestine ; Miss M. Tree (afterwards Mrs. Bradshaw), Viola, Rosalind, and Clari; Eachel, Camille in "Les Horaces," and Phedre; Mars in the "Tartuffe," audi Betti in "La Jeunesse de Henry Y." — Betti being the Mary Copp of our "Charles the Second ; " but as exUed monarchs were not tolerated on the French stage, Henry Y. when Prince of Wales was substituted for the Merry Monarch. I am perfectly aware that it is the feshion to draw invidious distinctions between the stage as it is, and as it was, and many of those who remember the Kembles, Siddons, Jordan, O'NeUl, DoAvton, and others to whom I have abeady aUuded, de nounce aU modem talent. I do not at aU Avish to dettact from those who have deUghted me in my day, and must candidly OAvn that I consider the talent which is now employed or has been employed during the last twenty years, far from inferior to that which deUghted our ancestors ; and that in regard to clas sical scenery and dresses, attention to the costume of the time, and the grouping of the characters, we are as superior as Charles Kean's dress in Eichard II. F.VTlIER AND SON. 341 is to Garrick's court suit in Macbeth. " Compari sons ai-e odorous," as Mrs. Malaprop says, therefore lAviU not mdulge in them; but as one who has Avitnessed the famous actors of the last generation, I assert fe;irlessly that there are some living actors, and some recently passed away, whose performances were never exceUed, I think, however, that it would be invidious to name them here. Impossible as it would be to take a complete survey of the whole stage talent of the time in the short compass I can here devote to it, it is the less needed as my readers haA'e stiU the power of enjoying theb favourite pieces and theb favourite actors. One of the most interesting performances I ever saw was the meeting of two stars — one belonging to the past, the other to the present. It was the link between old and new, the point where they touched before diverging. I aUude to the performance at Covent Garden Theatte on the night of the 25th of March, 1833, when Edmund and Charles Kean acted together for the first and only time in London. The play was " Othello," in which Edmund acted the hero, Charles, Lago, and Miss Ellen Tree, Desdemona. The melancholy scene has been so graphicaUy described by Barry Cornwall, that I transfer his account to these pages : — "There was no rehearsal, nor any arrangement 342 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. as to the mode of play; but when the son arrived at the theatte in the evening, he was told that his father desbed to see him. He went accordingly to his dressing-room, and found him shivering and exceedingly weak. " I am very ill," he said ; "I am afraid I shaU not be able to act." The actors who were present cheered him up ; but to proAdde against the worst, a servant was desbed to ab a dress (such as Othello wears) in order that Mr, Warde might take up the part in case Kean should actually break doAvn before the conclusion. The play com menced. After the first scene, Kean observed, ' Charles is getting on to-night — ^he's acting very well ; I suppose that's because he is acting Avith me.' He himseK was very feeble. He was, how ever, persuaded to proceed, and brandy-and-water was administered to him as usual. By this help he went on pretty weU, until the commencement of the thbd act ; but before the drop-curtain rose, he said to his son, ' Mind, Charles, that you keep before me ; don't get behind me in this act, I don't know that I shall be able to kneel ; but if I do, be sure that you Uft me up,' Still, he pursued his way Avithout faltering. He went off Avith Desdemona, and no one observed any change. But on entering again, when he says, ' "What, false to me' &c., he was scarcely able to walk across the stage. He A CAREER ENDED, 343 held up, however, until the celebrated 'Farewell,' which he uttered Avith all his former pathos ; but on concluding it, after making one or two steps towards his son (who took care to be near him) and attempt ing the speech, 'YUlain, be sure,' &c,, his head sank upon his son's shoulder, and the ttagedian's acting was at an end. He was able to groan out a few words in Charles's ear, ' I am dying — speak to them for me,' After which (the audience refusing in kindness to hear any apology) he was borne from the stage. His son, assisted by other persons, carried him to his dressing-room, and laid him on the sofa. He was as cold as ice; his pulse was scarcely perceptible, and he was unconscious of aU that was going on around him. In this state he remained some time, when the remedies which were appUed having restored him to his senses, he was taken to the Wrekin Tavern, near the theatte, and Messrs. Carpue and Duchez (the surgeons) were sent for. "After a week's stay he was removed to Eichmond, when he raUied a Uttle, and was soon enabled to go out in a carriage. But the weather was cold, and he fancied that this abing gave him his death blow. On the 13th of May he died." Kean's genius as an actor cannot be doubted for a moment by any that ever Avitnessed his 344 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. performance. Of his character in private IKe I AviU only say that great aUowances ought to be made for him ; and his biographer, from whom I have abeady quoted, has spoken most sen sibly upon the subject. "As a man" (he says) "Kean, Avith all his faults, possessed redeeming points. He had an independent spbit; he was proud in his OAvn way ; he gave away large sums of money to his fellow actors in disttess ; he exerted himseK for , charities ; he stood up for the cause of his profession. If his delinquencies be retorted upon us, we may reply that his unchecked chUd- hood was of itseK sufficient to extenuate many errors ; that years of penury and suffering should also be taken into the account in his favour; and that the sudden and almost unparalleled fortune that met and lifted him, in a moment, from obscurity and want to the very summit of prosperity and fame, was such as scarcely any man, Avith the common weakness of humanity, could have en countered Avithout rendering himseK Uable to some Uttle reproach." Through the fiUal affection of the son, a reconciliation was brought about between his father and mother, and a tablet erected to his memory bears the foUoAving inscription : — "Edmund Kean, died May 15th, 1833, aged forty-six. A me morial erected by his son, Charles John Kean, 1839." SMTTTEN. 34 j I once dined Avith Edmund Kean at his oavu house ; his friendship with Cannon had often made him my guest. Many were the stories he told us of his eaily career, and of his ttiumph on the London boards. Few persons haA'e been more adnibed upon the stage, not alone for beauty, and ladylike deportment, but for artless natural manner, than Miss Foote, afterwards Countess of Harrington. From the evening of the 24th of June, 1814, when she made her appearance as Amanthis, in the " ChUd of Nature," to her fareweU performance, she was the reigning toast, and many a bumper has been quaffed to the health of Maria Foote. I remember upon one occasion, when dining at the Catch Club, where the old fashion of caUing upon each person present for a toast existed, that no less than fiAe noblemen gave her name, varying it when reminded by the chairman that it had abeady been drunk, hy giving the name of one of her favourite characters, Amanthis, Rosalind, Maria Darlington, and Undine. As a matter of course, in my eighteenth year I became a victim to her charms, and never omitted an oppor tunity of attending Covent Garden Theatte when ever she acted. As I was then quartered at Windsor, my gallantry was often put to the test, and on many a cold raw Avinter's afternoon, Avith the east 346 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. Avind nearly cutting me to pieces, have I ttavelled up outside the coach just in time to dine at the Piazza, and be in my place in the stage-box of the dress cbcle before the curtain rose, having pre- Adously purchased at Covent Garden Market a choice bouquet, with orders to have it sent anony mously to the charmer, at the stage-door. "What histories could the Cerberus of this place recount of the impassioned notes, of the choice exotics, of the cases of jewels, entrusted to his care for some leading actress, talented prima donna, graceful danseuse, or sprightly columbine ! "What tales could he tell of noble lords, military and naval heroes, fashionable dandies, men about toAvn, and amateurs of distinction, hovering about his den, presenting him Avith gratuities, in the hopes of his saying a good word as to the appearance and manner of the donors, or waiting in the fond hope of catch ing a gUmpse of the admbed fab one ! He might add how, in many instances, the gifts were retumed Avith a feeUng prompted by proper pride and due seK-respect, when accompanied by expressions of lawless love — ^how others were received and shoAvn publicly in the first or second green-rooms, causing laughter and derision at the infatuated indiAddual who declared that he nightly sat decked Avith a rose or camelia in his button-hole, to mark his identity. AT THE STAGE-DOOR. o47 The guardian of the stage-door, whom not even gold could bribe to -- open" his " ses;ime," could describe the haughty contempt of some high-minded, yet perhaps poor player, as she indignantly told him never again to receive a letter for her ; or the anger of a husband, fether, lover, or brother, as. tearing up a highly-scented pink note, he declared that a sound horse-whipping would he the result K he discovered the writer ; or the calm remark of some innate virtuous mind, as she desbed the impassioned Lothario might he informed that anonymous com munications would be tteated Avith sUent scorn, and that her relations would alone grant the interview so urgently sought. To assert that the stage has been and is free from immoraUty, would be going too far ; but, taking into consideration the tempta tions to which acttesses are exposed, reflecting upon the p«:'verty that many have to struggle against, it appears wonderful that the great majority should have kept themselves free from stain, conducting themselves throughout Ufe in conformity to the Divine law, and shining forth in moral exceUence. I am aware that there are a class of individuals who, at one feU swoop, denounce aU stage-players and "singing women" (as they reproachfuUy term them) for theb impurities, but they ought to bear in mind — ^for it is a fact which cannot be denied — 348 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. that calumny has often assailed an innocent Adctim ; that the fab fame of many a vbtuous creature has been ruined through the boasting falsehoods of some unprincipled rejected admber, and that many a frail one, by hanging about the stage-doors, has passed herseK off to some unsuspecting youth as an artiste, though humble, belonging to the establishment. I could myself name many an instance where "a dbect untruth — to speak mildly, an indbect insinuation, or artful inuendo, has ruined the reputation of the purest-minded ornaments of the stage. To return to my OAvn adventure. After attend ing the theatre nightly — after wandering about for weeks in the neighbourhood of Keppel Street and Covent Garden, in the hopes of getting a gUmpse of the lovely Maria Foote — I give her the name by which she is knoAvn to fame — I gained one day, by pure accident, the object I had so long desbed. My account Avith Messrs. Cox and Greenwood, the army agents, not being quite as flourishing as it might have been, induced me to walk doAvn to Craig's Court to look into it ; and I left the British Hotel, in Jermyn Stteet, where I had been staying for a few days, about eleven o'clock on a bright early spring morning, lamenting that this business would keep me from my usual haunts. "WhUe cal culating in my OAvn mind whether the balance would IS HE A RIVAL? 349 be for or against me, and AA'hat the amount of my biU Avould be at the hotel, 1 found myself opposite the " Golden Ball " (the sign of a sUk mercer's in Pall Mall, not the dandy of that name), when all of a sudden I caught a glimpse of a fab creature who I fancied was the object of my love chase, and who hurried into the shop. My first impulse was to follow her in, under the pretext of purchasing some ttifle ; but, upon calmer reflection, I determined to wait outside. "WhUst carrying out this plan at a respectful distance, I observed a gentleman walking up and doAvn in front of the shop, CAddently absorbed in thought. A jealous pang came across me, and I hated the very look of my supposed rival. After a time the lady came forth, and although her head was bent doAvn to avoid the gaze of the " gentleman- in- waiting," I at once satisfied myseK that it was the beauteous Maria Darlington, She proceeded westAvard along PaU Mall — for the " Golden BaU " stood on the present opening between the United SerAdce and Athenaeum Clubs — ^Avith her admber foUoAving at what is termed in the army "close- column distance," and myself keeping upon the opposite side of the street. Without wishing to act as a Paul Pry, or to appear to be so doing, I only took an occasional look at the two ; but in that brief look I fancied that the gentleman was trying to 350 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. obtrude his company upon one evidently aimoyed at his attentions. Determined to satisfy myself as to whether my suppositions were correct before I took an active part by offering my services, I kept my eyes upon the couple, and followed them up St. James's and Bond Streets. Upon reaching Brook Street the lady turned to the right, towards Hanover Square, and exclaiming loud enough for me to hear, " I insist upon your not persecuting me," rushed up the stone steps of a house then tenanted by a fashionable milliner, and pretended to ring the bell, thus hoping to escape the importunities of her admber. My time for action had arrived, so, quickly following her steps, I took off my hat, and, amidst great trepidation, delivered myself of a speech to the following effect : — "Although, Miss Foote, I have not tho pleasm-e of your acquaintance, I often hear of you from my friends the Marquis of Worcester and Mr, Eowland Stephenson, and, seeing how much you have b(>on annoyed, I beg to offer you any assistance in my power," I then mentioned my name, and offered my arm until I could procure a hackney coach for her. The look of contempt Avith which she had treated the audacity of the man who had harassed her with TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ANOTHER. ¦iiil soUcitations changed to a kind one, as she accepted my proffered arm. "^ire you acquainted with the gentleman?" I asked, as we crossed the square in front of the statue of my respected godfather, William Pitt. "Not in tlic least," she responded; "he has made himseK very conspicuous at the stage-door, and has waylaid me cA'cry morning." "Eeally!" said I, not a little surprised at never haAdng noticed him when similarly employed. "His plan of operations," she continued, "has been to ensconce himseK in a hackney coach near my house, or the theatte, so as not to attract the attention of my father or mother, and when he finds me alone, which is seldom the case,, to descend and address me." I then remembered that I had often seen one of these lumbering public vehicles draAvn up when similarly waiting, and the thought for the first time fiashed across my mind, that my rival could not have failed to know me by sight, and that, being thwarted, he would vent his be upon me. With this idea I looked round and saw him still foUoAving, his eyebrows contracted, his lip curled, and his "dial plate," as Sam SUck caUs it, the reverse of " set fair." " It would give me great pleasure, Miss Foote," 352 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. I said, "to escort you home to Keppel Stteet, but as the world is so censorious, it may be more agree able to your feelings K I placed you in a hackney coach." This I said as we gained Oxford Street. " I thank you much," repUed my fab charge, " for your kind consideration ; it AviU, perhaps, be better for me not to be seen walking through the stteets with you, for I cannot, in my profession, be too circumspect. Tou may have been surprised," she proceeded, "at seeing me alone in the West End this morning ; the fact is, I had an appointment Avith a female friend to meet me in PaU Mall, and as she was to come from Cavendish Square, we agreed to the line we were to take through the streets, so as not to miss one another. Some unfore seen engagement must have prevented her coming ; hence the annoyance I have suffered, which, but for your timely interference, would have been much greater than it has been." I soon called a coach, opened the door, handed the young lady in, and, respectfuUy boAving, ordered the man to drive to Keppel Stteet. I then stood my ground patiently, expecting to be accosted by my rival, for, in the days I Avrite of, much less a cause of complaint led to a meeting at Chalk Farm; but my anticipations, I rejoiced to find, were ground less, for, instead of noticing me Mr. (afterwards OLD COACHES. 353 Sb Henry) EUis, for such was the name of this hero of the adventure, rushed to the stand, jumped into a coach, and was CAddently in pm-suit of the fab lady. I afterwards heard that he gained upon the object of his chase, and reached Keppel Stteet in time to ¦ pour in an abject apology through the Avindow of one door, whUe the coachman was going through the tedious process of pulUng up his horses, descend ing fix)m his box, Umping up to the house door. fdmbUng at the knocker and beU handle, and open ing the creaking door of his rickety convevance. No answer Avas given to the above appeal, and from that time Sb Henry ceased his importunities. For the next twelve hours, K the truth is to be spoken, I felt a trepidation whenever a letter was brought me, fearfol that it might contain a caU to arms. But this never came, and I was rcAvarded for the danger I had run by receiving a message from the lady, through a fidend, expressing her thanks for my conduct. On the foUoAving evening I dined Avith Eowland Stephenson, and accompanied him to his private box at Covent Garden Theatte. After the play was over he went, as was his custom, into the green-room, and upon his retum expressed his surprise that I had never aUuded to the interview Avith Miss Foote, adding that if I Uked to go Avith him behind the scenes he would inttoduce me to VOL. I. A A 354 DRAFTS ON MT MEMORY. her. To this I eheerfolly agreed, ^id had the plea sure of being inttodueed to her and lier fether. Shortly afterwards I proceeded to Canada, and although I have only had the pleasure of meeting ' the Countess of Harrington occasionally since, I have alAvays entertained, and ever shaU entertain, the highest respect for one who was as attractive and captivating on the stage as off it. I did not meet Sb Henry for at least five-and-twenty years after the above incident occurred, and when I was introduced to him, his remark, '¦ I believe we have met before," was said in a tone that made me doubt whether he did not stUl retain some angry feelings. That idea, however, soon passed away, for he was a&ble and fiiendly, we drank a glass of Avine together, and when the ladies had retired, and I found myseK next to my former rival, he, Avith very good taste, alluded to the adventure, — " I was awfully angry," he said, " at your inter- feiing, and, as Major Sturgeon says in the ferce, I thought of 'blades, buUets, and Bagshot,' but on reflection, I felt that I had no just casus helU,; for you had an unquestionable right to address any lady of your acquaintance whom you accidentally met." ' I was silent, for I did not Avish it to be known that I had never heen inttodueed to Miss Foote, SIR HENRY ELLIS. 355 and that, moreover, I had foUowed her and her tormentor for more than a quarter of an hour. " I fear," continued Sb Henry, '' that had I been aAvare you were a yoimg officer, I might have appealed to arms, but, not being acquainted Avitb your person, I took into my head you were a rela tive." "All's weU that ends weU," I repUed, and the subject changed. Sb Henry, who died at Brighton, September, 1855, had held many diplomatic appointments. He accompanied the Earl of Amherst in his embassy to China, and published an account of the embassy. He was Avrecked Avith that nobleman in the Alceste on theb return, and had to make for Java in an open boat, reaching Batavia after a perilous voyage of several hundred mUes. In 1814 he was Minister Plenipotentiary, ad interim, in Persia, from whence he returned, bringing a tteaty of peace. He held the office of Clerk of the PeUs from 1825 untU its aboUtion in 1834 ; and was appointed one of the Commissioners of the Board of Conttol by the late Earl Grey, in 1830. In July, 1835, he was appointed Ambassador to Persia, and resigned that appoint ment in the foUoAving November. He was sent on an extraordinary and special mission to the Brazils in August, 1842, and in 1849 was appointed by the aa2 356 DRAFTS ON MT MEMORY. British Government to attend the Conference at Brussels on the afiairs of Italy. He was made a Privy CounciUor in 1832, and in 1848 was nomi nated a K.C.B. He Uved in the good old days of pensions, being in the receipt of a pension of £1A00 for his diplomatic service, and another for the abolished office of derk of the PeUs. CHAPTER YCIL PANIC OF ISOl — ^SCKASTEES AGATS^ST ETTASIOX — ^l' ESXADE OB NOT X" nrVADE PASIC OF lSo9 PEETCK LOnS XAPOLEON — LA Gocaou — Dm. peevesxed— ktsd tbahs of xapoleon — GOBZ HOrSZ. KESSrSGTON — ^THZ COL-MiSS OF ET.TSSES'GTOy COOfT D'oESAT — DDTSEE AT GOES HOUSE — ^THE HOST r^TDEE MFFTCUXHES — BAUfOEAL BBOSE — THE T.ATR LOED EOBEBTSOX " THOSE ¦WEEK THE DATS OF BraCPEE TOASTS " — A SCOTCH 3IXSISTEE ASS A HIGHLASD T.tTRTl. CHAPTEE YIIL Few of us are old enough — I candidly confess that I am not — ^to remember the panic that pervaded England in 1801 at the time of Napoleon I. and his threatened invasion. The French had formed camps between Bruges and Ostend, between GraveUnes and Dunkirk, at Brest and St, Male, and had con- centtated a principal force at Boulogne, where theb fiotiUa was moored. Such an open menace to Eng land produced corresponding results. From Caithness to the Land's End aU glowed Avith ardour to resist invasion. "All the French exploits," says a con temporary Avriter, "were found insufficient to over come the inveterate and salutary prejudice that one EngUshman is fully a match for two Frenchmen." The king declared that in event of the enemy landing he would put himseK at the head of his ttoops, and the Prince of Wales Avrote to his father for permission- to take the command of part of the 360 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. forces. Orders were given by the ministry to con struct gunboats Avith all possible speed. AppUcation was made to the East India Company for the pur chase of such ships as were not actuaUy needed. As it was said that men who were Uable to serve in the navy evaded theb duty by taking refuge in the city of London, the Lord Mayor permitted the exer cise of press warrants Avithin his jurisdiction. The toAvn of Liverpool asked permission to proAdde means for its OAvn defence, and its example was followed in other parts of the kingdom. The mouths of navigable rivers were to be protected by placing batteries on shore, mooring hulks in the river, and removing buoys. A system of night signals was adopted along the sea-coast from the Nore to Falmouth. A stop was put to aU intercourse between England and the opposite coasts, and no one was aUowed to land from France, Flanders, or HoUand. "WhUe such was the state of the coast, further pre cautions were taken in the inland places. Measures were adopted for calling out the miUtary force of every description. The supplementary militias were embodied. Horses were mustered for mounting cavaby, waggons provided for the conveyance of baggage and necessaries, and aU cattle were to be driven from the neighbourhood of the coast to the 1801 AND 1859. 361 interior. Four parks of ai-tUlery were arranged at WoolAvieh so as to start at a moment's warning. They formed a large hollow squai-e, in the centre of which the horses stood ready harnessed, and the drivers and engineers slept on the spot. But in addition to these pubUc measures, the Government enlisted aU kinds of private and local aid. A cbcular was sent to the lords-Ueutenant of counties requesting them to keep the volunteer companies ready for immediate service, and to exer cise them as frequently as possible. The whole country answered to the caU, and assumed an atti tude of defiance. There were field days and reviews at every toAvn and in almost every parish. Hand- biUs were printed, and ordered to be distributed among the people in case of necessity, calling upon them to take up arms, and do all in theb power to obstruct the enemy. As Lord-Lieutenant of the county of Sussex, the Duke of Eichmond issued the subjoined cbcular : — "Goodwood, 29^A of August, 1801. " The meeting of the Lieutenancy, held at Lewes on the 13th instant, having found it would be impracticable in case of invasion to remove the dead stock and inhabitants from any considerable part of this county, and, being of opinion that it 362 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. would be more advisable to dbect the attention of the county in the first instance to the removal, on such event, of Uve stock, particularly draft cattle and carriages, which might be most useful to the enemy, and which, K undertaken by such gentle men as are not engaged in the miUtary, yeomanry, or volunteer corps, and who have influence in theb neighbourhood, might by proper arrangements be, to a considerable degree, carried into execution ; several gentlemen there present offered themselves for this service. And the proceedings of the Lieu tenancy having now received the approbation of Govemment, I am to request the favour of you to inform me whether you would lend your assistance on this pubUc occasion, and the parishes you would undertake for. "It is intended by the Lieutenancy, first to re qube (as by the Act of the 38th of George IIL, chap. 27, they are authorised to do) returns from each parish of the number of horses, draft oxen, waggons and carts, that there are at the time Avithin the parish, and also of the carters and drivers who AviU engage to attend each team or cart, specifying theb names. And UkcAvise the names of such gentlemen, clergy, or principal far mers, who are AvilUng to undertake the management of the removal of such Uve stock from such parish. A CIECrLAR FBOM GOODWOOD. 363 under the direction of S' me ^i ntleman who would soperintend the removals from the hundred or such other Iar:^t r district in which it might be foimd advisable Xo ela.>s a number of parishes for this p'UTfMjse. •'The orders for removal would be signified to the superintending gentiemen for the whole, or such parts, of theb districts as ixoasion might re- q[iiire, by such deputy-Ueutenant as would be appointed for the rape or division in which such districts would be situated. And the places to which each removal is to be made, and the roads they are to take, would be previously fixed upon. Under agents would also be appointed in each parish to assist the gentieman. clergyman, or prin cipal fermer, who Avfll undertake the removals. Those who would undertake for a parish, would be denominated. Parish Directors of Removah, Those for toger districts. .Superintendents of Removals. " I have- thought it right to ttouble you so fer ¦with the detafl of the proposed plan, that you might form some idea how the business was to be con ducted. The fevour of your answer, transmitted to me, so that I may receive it before the 13th of next month, is requested, as another general meeting of the Lieatenancy AviU be held at Lewes on the llth of September, when it Avfll be necessary to know 364 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. what gentlemen Avill lend theb aid on this occasion, and for what number of parishes. "I have the honour to be," &c. I have stated these facts in order to heighten the contrast between the threatened invasion of Napo leon the Fbst, and the suspected threats of the in vasion of Napoleon the Thbd. The panic of 1859 is perhaps the most recent, and has not yet departed from the memory of the youngest inhabitant. "When the war broke out between France and Austria, the whole of England felt insecure, and dreaded that the next blow would be aimed against it. The Poet Laureate caUed on the riflemen to form, and warned us that the storm in the south might roU our way. His caU was obeyed, and the volunteers fiocked to arms. Since then the volun teer movement has become a "great fact." There are yearly rcAdews of the whole body, constant practice on Wimbledon Common, and prizes to the best shots. On certain days the dusky purUeus of the law are given up to drill and exercise. The muskets that hang in bank parlours are exchanged for the rifle. Nor is it unusual to meet grey tunics, knickerbockers, and caps, in stteets generaUy devoted to business or pleasure, streets where for merly the bravest of men would not have appeared T INVADE OR NOT T INVADE. 3Gj Avithout the orthodox black coat and hat f >r fear of hooting fiijm street boys, and the dead cut from his dearest fidends. We may welcome the invasion-panic if it was needed to give us this saristaotory result ; yet I hope I may safely s;iy. that it was unfounded, and that our brave aUies of the Crimea had long forgotten any old-standing grudge against us. They look on us. and we look on them. Avith other eyes than during the conquests of the First Empbe. "What were the feelings on onr side at that time may be judged fixim the foUoAving parody, which I found in a very old work, and which, I beUeve, AviU he a novelty to my readers. I need not say, that I am far frx>m endorsing many of the expressions contained in it. No Englishman of the present day would applv the word •' coward " to the brave French, hy whose side we have so recently fought, and whose valour on the Li :>mbard Plains reUeved Italy of the burden of centuries. But many parts of the ' ' skit " are so clever and harmless, that I do not Uke to lop off any of the excrescences that defece it. " T" invade or not t' in'vade, that is the question : — Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The stings uf en-vy, and of foU'd ambition ; Or to take arms against a host of Britons, And, by opposing, end them. T' in'yade, — to fight, — No more ; — and, by a fight, to say we end Our 'warfeie, and a thousand British taunts 366 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. That France submits to,— 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be 'wish'd. T' invade; — to fight; — To fight ! perchance to feU ; — ay, there's the rub ; For in that fight what hearts of oak may strike. When we have shuffled off our ships from port. Must give US pause ; there's the respect That makes our armaments of so short life : For who would bear the jests and laugh of the isle. The people's scorn, the press's contumely. The pangs of prolong'd war, the cannon's roar. The insolence of conqu'rors, and the spurns That vanquish'd France so oft of England takes, AVhen we ourselves might our quietus make By an invasion ? AVho would capture bear. And strike his colours to a British arm. But that the dread of something on those shores — That yet tmconquer'd country, from whose bourne No enemy returns — ^puzzles the 'wiU, And makes us rather keep those powers we have Than strive for others that we know not of ? Thus Britons do make cowards of us aU ; And thus th' ambitious views of an invasion Are set at nought by one resisting isle ; And enterprises of great invading armies. With this regard, their gun-boats tum aside. And lose the name of action." Even K some of the French nation have stUl a longing to Avipe out the memory of ancient defeats, I can never beUeve that theb great ruler would be forgetful of our kindness to him, and of the days he spent among us. On the throne of France, he may weU look back Avith wonder to the time when he was only knoAvn to few of the society of London, and conttast that time Avith the present, when the first thought that enters the mind of every man in Europe is, what AviU the Emperor of the French say Byron's truest love. 367 oi- do at any particular crisis? Let a war break out in America, and England waits to see what judgment AviU proceed from the Tuileries. Let Prussia and Austria menace Denmark, and again the first word uttered is the Emperor Napoleon, And this man was the exUe of SAvitzerland and America, the conspbator of Sttasbourg and Boulogne, the prisoner of Ham. My first acquaintance Avith him was at an evening party at the Countess of Blessington's, in Seymour Place. On arriving there, my attention was at tracted to two individuals, whom I had never pre viously seen. The one was a lady, who appeared to have numbered nearly forty years, Avith the most luxuriant gold-coloured hab, blue eyes, and fresh complexion, that I ever saw. The other a gentle man, who, from the deference paid him, was evi dently a distinguished foreigner. Before I had time to ascertain the name of the latter, a friend re marked, " How handsome the GuiccioU is looking this evening ! " " Splendidly," I repUed, as the idea flashed across my mind that the incognita must be BjTon's "fab- habed daughter of Italia," Teresa Gamba, Countess GuiccioU, "Do you know Madame Guicoioli?" I asked, " Tes," responded my companion ; "I met her at 368 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. Yenice, and shall be delighted to present you to her." This was accordingly done, and I was shortly in conversation Avith one in whom I had taken the deepest interest, Byron's only real love, Avith one signal exception, the Eomagnese fab one of whom he Avrote, " In that word, Amor mio, is comprised my existence here and hereafter. Think of me some times when the Alps and the ocean divide us, — ^but they never AviU, unless you wish it." Of him, too, she Avrote on her flrst inttoduction, — " La nobile e bellissima sua fisionomia, il suono della sua voce, le sue maniere, e mille incanti che lo circondavano lo rendevano un essere cost differente, cosl superiore a tutti quelli che io aveva sino allora veduti che non potei a mano di non provarne la piu profonda impressione." "While conversingAvith the GuiccioU, Count d'Orsay approached us, and, apologising for his intrusion, said that Prince Louis Napoleon was anxious to be inttodueed to me, Avith a view of thanking me for my kind adAdce. Accordingly I took leave of madame, but not before I had received her permis sion to call upon her at Sabloniere's Hotel, in what the ordinary frequenters of Leicester Square call " le plus beau quartier de Londres." The Prince, who I need scarcely add was the distinguished foreigner I had observed on entering, received me A CHALLENGE TO PEDfCE LOUIS. 369 most graciously, and thanked me for the interest I had taken in his welfere. The service, to which I shaU presently aUude, Avas so trifling that it had nearly escaped my memory, until brought back to it by D'Orsay and the fature ruler of France. Trifling as it was, I cleariy saw that it had created a fevourable impression on the mind of the Prince, who requested that I would caU upon him in Carlton Gardens. Soon after the Prince arrived in London, he was followed by a pugnacious Frenchman, who, for some public grievance or private pique, was anxious to fix a quarrel upon him- A chaUenge ensued, and the Prince's foe was looked upon as an expert shot Aidth pistols. Although brave as a lion, Napoleon felt that he ought not to throw away a chance, and named the broadsword as his weapon. This led to some dis- cn^on. lieutenant-Colonel EadcUffe, the French challenger's second, held a commission in the Tnnis- TrilliTig Dragoons, a regiment which had recently been commanded by my brother George; and anxious, upon so importaiit an occasion, to consult a friend as to the line he ought to take, he requested Louis Napoleon to allow him haK an hour to con sider the matter. With this view he caUed upon my brother, who was then lodging in the same house as myseK in St. James's Stteet, but not finding him VOL, I. B B 370 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY, at home, he asked for me. He narrated the cbcum stance, and I at once took upon myseK to say, that unquestionably the Prince, being the chaUenged party, had the right to name the weapons, EadcUffe adopted my suggestion, and the duel was arranged to take place Avith swords on Wimble don Common. The combatants met there at seven o'clock on the 3rd of March, 1840, but the poUce interfered, and all parties concerned were taken to Bow Stteet. The principals were released on entering into theb OAvn recognisances of £500 each, and one security each of the same amount. Hearing that I had adAdsed the use of the sword, Louis Napoleon expressed much gratitude to me, and to this sUght cause I was indebted for an acquaintance of a most friendly nature, which brought about many social meetings,* One of these is especiaUy memorable, as it occurred a few days before the expedition to Boulogne. I am aware that many people denounce that enter prise as an act of folly ; but I beUeve that, had it not been for an unforeseen event, the plan would have succeeded. It is generally acknowledged that a sudden change in the garrison of Boulogne, of which Napoleon was not aware, was the cause of * And, since this was 'written, I have to acknowledge a farther result of our acquaintance, in the shape of a presentation copy of the Histoire de Jules Cesar. FAILURE AT BOULOGNE, 371 his failure. The French Government suspected something, and knoAving that the troops at Boulogne favoured the cause of Prince Louis, replaced them by a garrison whicli was hostUe to him. Among the ttaits of kind feeling and poUteness that characterised the Emperor of the French, when residing in England as Prince Louis Napoleon, let me mention the foUoAving. He was residing at an hotel at Bath, and occupied a suite of apartments upon the ground-floor, which opened into the garden, and had always been selected by the late Marchioness of Anglesey, who was in an infirm state, whenever she visited the city of Bladud. Being on one occa sion recoinmended by her London medical adviser to proceed to Bath Avithout loss of time. Lady An glesey sent to the proprietor of the hotel to engage her usual apartments, and there being no telegraph in that day, she took her chance of theb being empty, and arrived the foUoAving morning. Upon driving up to the hotel, the oAvner informed her Ladyship that the rooms were, unfortunately, occu pied by Prince Louis Napoleon, and that the house was so crowded that he had only a smaU bedroom on the upper floor, and the use of the coffee-room? which accommodation he felt he could not offer the Prince in exchange for his commodious suite. "WhUe this conversation was going on, the Prince heard bb2 372 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY, from his valet the state of consternation Lady An glesey had been placed in, and lost not a minute in sending for the landlord, and telUng him not to disappoint an EngUsh lady, especiaUy the wKe of so distinguished an officer as the Marquis of Anglesey. Instead of leaving the hotel, the Prince slept au quatriemCj giving up his rooms au premier to the invaUd. Another ttait redounds equally to his credit. A horse at Tattersall's was knocked doAvn to him, after a strong competition, and while congratulating him self upon the purchase, he was told that Lord Mac donald had bid against him, and was very anxious to secure the animal, which was a perfect ladies' horse, for Lady Macdonald. "Had I been aware^" said the Prince to a friend who was acquainted with Lord Macdonald, "that a lady was in the case, I would not have persevered, and I beg that you Avill convey to his Lordship my AviUingness at once to hand over the horse to him." It is impossible for any one who ever partook of it to forget the hospitality of Gore House, while inhabited by Lady Blessington. One of the most beautiful women of her time, aided by one of the Avittiest men of his — I need hardly name Count d'Orsay — collected round her aU who were most remarkable in a most remarkable society. In youth. GORE HOUSE. 373 sttange to say. Lady Blessington did not give any promise of the charms for which she was afterwards so conspicuous, and which were shared to such au extent by the rest of her fanuly. She was deUcate and weakly, exttemely sensitiAe and precocious, both in talent and feeUng, An unhappy marriage at an eaily age to a man subject to hereditary insanity, was terminated by her husband's sudden death; and, in 1818, she married the Earl of Blessington, So many pens have described the briUiancy of Gore House, and the fascinations of its hostess, that I am afraid of ttenching on ground too weU occupied abeady. But among my memories of Count d'Orsay there are some which AviU be new to my readers. His readiness at verbal repartee may appear from the foUoAving story. D'Orsay, "King" Allen, and myseK were en gaged to dine at the house of a rich milUonabe of the JcAvish persuasion, and the Count agreed to caU for us in his carriage. "We shaU be late," said AUen, who was not in one of his best humours, for he had lost flve-and-twenty pounds- "punting" at a gaming-house the night before; moreover, his diges tive powers had been impabed by a late heavy supper, and a throbbing pain about his feet foretold an attack of his old enemy the gout. "Tou're never in time, D'Orsay," continued the grumbler. 374 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY, "Ton shaU see," responded the weU-bred French man, as we drove off at a rattUng pace. Upon reaching our destination, "his majesty" found fault with the footman, • for not putting doAvn the step properly ; then Avith the porter, for not opening the door almost before the bell had been rung ; then Avith the Hebrew groom of the chambers, for nearly treading on his foot; then Avith the butler, for not saying what time the carriage was to be ordered ; in short, like all ill-tempered persons, he vented his anger upon everything and everybody, " I thought we should be in time," said D'Orsay blandly. This was answered by a grunt. At this moment AJlen, whose ears were Avide open, and who was looking out for a grievance, heard one of the servants say in a low voice to one of his brethren of the shoulder- knot, " The gents are come," " Gents !" echoed the King : what a Avretched low fellow ! it's only worthy a public-house," "I beg your pardon," responded the Count; "it is quite correct. The man is a Jew. He means to say the GentUes have arrived. Gent is short for GentUe." Poor Allen forgot his loss, his gout, his indignation, and burst out into a hearty laugh, at what UteraUy may be caUed a Jew d'esprit. But D'Orsay's wit did not lie in verbal pleasantries alone. I well remember a dinner at Lady Blessing- ton's, when an event occurred that proved how ready d'orsay's avit. 375 the Cupidon diichaine, as Byron called him, was to extticate himseK from any difficulty. The party consisted of ten, and out of them there were about six who enjoyed what is caUed a glass of Avine, meaning a bottle. Before dinner the Count had aUuded to some splendid Clicquot champagne and claret of celebrated vintage. 'While we were wait ing to sit doAvn, D'Orsay was more than once called out of the room, and a quick-sighted indiAddual hinted to me that he feared some unpleasant visitors of the dun famUy were importunate for some "small account." StUl, there was nothing on the Ught- hearted Frenchman's face to show that he was at all put out. Dinner was announced, and aU promised to go weU, as the soup and fish were unexception able, when my quick-sighted friend, who was a great gourmet, remarked to me that he saw no champagne. "Perhaps," I repUed, sotto voce, " it is being kept in ice outside." The sherry was handed round, and repeated looks passed between the hostess and the Count, and between the same and the head servant. The entrees were handed round, and a thbsty soul, Avith rather bad tact, for he was too gentleman-Uke to be deficient in taste, asked in an under-tone for a glass of champagne. The servant looked confused; D'Orsay saw it, and exclaimed aloud, "No champagne to-day; my Lady and I have 376 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. a treat for you — a royal, treat. Tou know that the Queen has lately patronised what is called the Balmoral brose, and here is some." At this moment one of the servants entered Avith a large jug con taining this Scotch delicacy, which, of course, fol- loAving the example of our hostess, we all declared to be excellent. " Far better than Avine," said the late Lord Pembroke, a sentiment, I need scarcely say, in which the rest did not agree. Balmoral brose did duty for champagne and claret, and the only. Avine upon that memorable occasion was sherry. Wbether the butler was absent Avithout leave, or the key of the ceUar lost or mislaid, or, as was hinted by my neighbour at dinner, the wine- merchant had been seized Avith a sudden fit of hard- heartedness, I know not, AU I do know is, that a mixture of Highland whisky and honey was substituted for the foaming grape of eastern France. Our loyalty led us to emulate that good lady who considered a glass of rum-shrub better than all your Maraschinos and Curasosos. But there is no saying what we should have done in Scotland, or whether the climate and the mixture in its native place would not have reconciled us to its substitu tion for champagne. If my friend Pattick Eobertson had mised it — but I must not dismiss the late Lord Eobertson so briefly. PATRICK ROBERTSON, 377 It Avas during the Avinter of 1S32 that I became first acquainted Avith him at Edinburgh ; he was then one of the leading advocates of the Scotch bar, and his social and Avitty qualities were never exceUed. Patrick Maconochie, also an advocate, George EusseU, Liston the surgeon, aU of whom are now no more, and myseK, were in the habit of dining together four or five times during the week, for nearly a month; Eobertson entertained us at his house in Drummond Street, Maconochie at his '-flat" in Princes Stteet, Liston, EusseU, and myseK giving our retum dinners at Gibb"s Hotel, or at the best taverns of that day. A joint-stock meeting took place every Monday at a house famed for the ex ceUence of its '-haggis," the tenderness of its '•rump-steaks," the potency of its whisky-punch, and the beauty of the Avaiteress. It was situated up at least six flights of stairs, near the Flesh market, which, difficult as th^ were to ascend by some of us, were more difficult stUl to descend, after, what is termed by Avinebibbers, a wet evening. I weU remember Patrick Eobertson gaining a law suit for a family of the name of Eoy, who, in return for his forensic exertions invited him to a dinner at an hotel in Princes Stteet. I was asked, with EusseU, Maconochie, and Ldston, to meet him, and a most splendid entertainment was given. The guest of 378 DRAFTS ON MY MEMORY. the evening was in the highest spirits, and kept us aUve untU a very late hour, Avith his fund of anec dote and powers of imitating his countrymen in the pulpit in a GaeUc sermon, or at the bar. Before parting we were aU iuAdted to dine the next day but one at Eobertson's house. Fortunately none of us were engaged, and at haK-past sis on a cold, frosty day in December we assembled in Drummond Stteet. Having devoted aU the morning to skating at Duddeston Loch, both EusseU and myseK were as "hungry as hunters;" nor were the appetites of the others less keen, as after finishing theb avoca tions, they had one and aU taken a constitutional walk of some miles. No sooner was the cloth removed than toasts were proposed, speeches made, and songs sung. Eleven o'clock struck, and I made a movement, haAdng imbibed quite as much Avine and punch as was good for me, when to my horror I was informed by my neighbour, who had pre viously tried to make his escape, that the old Irish fashion of locking the stteet door, and putting away the great coats and hats, had been adopted. "Excuse me for a moment," said I to my host, "I am anxious to know whether the glass is rising or faUing." "All right," he responded, chuckling over his scheme to keep us prisoners. Before leaving the room, I took a napkin in my hand, and quietly removed a green baize cover from a BREAKING OUT OF A HOUSE. 379 smaU table, which had been temporarily placed near the door, to hold the dishes before they were placed on the board. Ai-nied Avith these, one of which I tAvisted into a ttirban, and the other I threw over my shoulders as a cloak, I made my way doAvn stabs, and bribing a kitchen wench Avith haK-a-croAvn to show me the back-way out, soon found myseK in the cold bitter ab, which, biting as it was, proved truly refreshing after the heat of Eobertson's dining- room. As I had some Uttle distance to walk before I reached the hotel, I was afraid that my extta- ordinary costume might atttact the attention of the guardians of the night ; but such was not the case, and I arrived at Gibb's without any interference. Having explained to the worthy proprietor the reason for my exttaordinary costume, I despatched a mauAvith a letter to my host, saying — "Exchange is no robbery ; return my hat and cloak, and I avUI forward your napkin and table cover." This was done, and I was loudly extolled for my successful sttategy in making my escape. Eobertson's answer ran as foUows : — "My Dear Lord, "We return your Gibus hat, don't gibe us K we, in the 'editorial plural say, upon Joseph MiUer's authority, that the loss was scarcely /eZ^. We grieve that you should have been left without 'your 380 DRAFTS' ON MY MEMORY. martial cloak around you.' Forward the napkin at your leisure, but keep the table cover, as after your clever exploit you richly merit to be croAvned with green bays (baize). "Tours, ever and truly, "Patrick Eobertson." I constantly met Eobertson afterwards in London at the table of the late Marquis of Anglesey, and although raised to the dignity of a Law Lord he was as amusing and unaffected as ever. Poor Eobertson died of apoplexy at his house in Drummond Street, January, 1855, at the age of sixty. It is gratifying to record his progress through Ufe, and to refiect that the honours he attained were not attributable to patronage, but to his OAvn merits. He was the son of James Eobertson, Esq., a Avriter to the Signet, and in 1842 was elected Dean of the Faculty of Advocates. On the retbement of Lord Meadowbank in Novem ber, 1843, he was appointed a Lord of the Court of Session, and five years afterwards was elected Eector of Marischal College, Aberdeen. I heard him teU two good stories, but they lose much in Avriting, as his manner and accent were inimitable. One was of a "pub minister" who walked to his kbk, attended by his trusty servant AN EVENT TRANSPIRED. 381 Margaret M'Allister. Being rather late, he had to walk fast, and the weather being " wat" and sultry, the minister broke out into what the fashionable people term a transpiration. "WhUe preparing in the vestt-y, he commenced the operation of "mop ping" his forehead. "Maggie, Maggie," said he — and we must remark that he was famed for dulness and dryness in his sermons — " I canna gang into that pulpit for twa hours. I'm aAvfu' wat." " Hech ! dinna fash yourseP," responded Maggie, "when you're once in the pulpit you'U be dry eneuch there." The other was a story of a Highland labd who was addicted to card-playing, and had been engaged in it untU a late hour on a Saturday evening. Next morning in church he accidentaUy pulled out of his pocket Avith his handkerchief a pack of cards, which fiew in every dbection. The attention of the minister was caUed to this untoward cbcumstance, and looking sttaight at the offender, he exclaimed, "Hoot, mon, but your psawlm book is unco Ul bound," END of vol. I. TIKTUB AMD 00., PBIHTBES, CITY BOAS, LOMDOW. YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 9002 03747 7040 ^•"5*u^cfc "'¦' -J w/.'>f..-*ts^ --^ >V*^ ^^ :•-' • ^ (ftf .