the Nore, which post he held till 1854. In the meantime I had married, and my naval experiences came to an end. I well recollect Talleyrand. On one occasion, Lord Westminster gave what was then called a breakfast, at Moor Park. King William IV. and Queen Adelaide were there, and the Corps Diplomatique came down from London to it. We children were sent to play in the garden while the party were at luncheon, and were illmannered enough to flatten our noses against the dining-room windows to see what was going on inside. The King saw us, and asked my father whose children we were, and, to his annoyance, he had to reply that we were his own. The King sent for my brother and myself, and kept us beside him, giving us ices and fruit, and was extremely kind to us. My father told me to look well at M. de Talleyrand, who was sitting opposite, as when I grew older I should read a great deal about him. He was deadly pale, and looked like a death's head. I also well remember Madame de Gontaut at The Grove, Lord Clarendon's place. She was a most amiable and amusing old lady. marriage, and danced with old Lord Huntly, who made a point of dancing with every débutante because he had danced with Marie Antoinette! I was present with my mother at the Queen's coronation in Westminster Abbey. We had to be in our places in the Abbey in low dresses, at four o'clock in the morning. I "came out" at the ball given at Stafford House on the night of the Queen's In the summer of 1847 my husband and I stayed in Grosvenor Square with his grandmother, Lady Mornington, in order that I might make acquaintance with the Wellesley family. My mother-in-law, Lady Mary Bagot, Lady Mornington's daughter, was dead, but while we were there the Duke of Wellington, Gerald Wellesley, who became Dean of Windsor, and Lord Cowley, our ambassador in Paris, were frequent visitors in the house. Having been brought up by my father to think of the Duke of Wellington as the greatest man living, or who ever lived, I naturally felt very shy of him. Lady Westmorland, my husband's aunt, asked me one night to go with her to her box at the opera, as my husband was on guard that night. The Duke came with us, and Lady Westmorland told him that I was very frightened of him, so he took my hand and held it throughout the first act of the opera, which only made me still more shy! However, my fear of him soon passed, and I asked him for a piece of his hair, and also for some of that of his famous charger, "Copenhagen," the horse he rode at Waterloo. Lady Mornington had already given me some of his hair as a young man, and next morning his valet brought me a packet containing his hair as an old man, and some cut off "Copen- was necessary to present hagen's" mane. This hair, and length of front to the enemy, the horse's, are set in the frame so I made them fall into line, of a miniature (now at Levens) four deep. That manœuvre of the Duke, which he gave to won the battle: it was never Lady Mornington when he went tried before.' to India as Sir Arthur Wellesley. He was at that time so "hard up" that Lady Mornington gave him his socks, and, indeed, most of his outfit. The Duke of Wellington said that, when he received the report at Brussels, on the night of the 15th June, that the French had driven back the Prussians and advanced to Quatre-Bras (thirtysix miles in one day, thirty miles of which were fought), he looked at the map, and would not believe it possible. The Duke told Lady Mornington: "I have taken a good deal of pains with many of my battles, but I never took half the pains I did at Waterloo. By God! there never was such a battle. 150,000 men hors de combat. Blucher lost 30,000I can account for 20,000, and the French loss may be fairly reckoned at 100,000 more. 99 General Arthur Upton (born 1777) asked the Duke what he should have done had the Prussians not come up in time. The Duke replied: "The Prussians were of the greatest use in the pursuit. If they had not come up in time, what should we have done? Why, we should have held our ground. That is what we should have done! Our army was drawn up into a great many squares, with the cavalry riding among them. I saw it a After the pursuit of the French army to Genappe, the Duke of Wellington and my uncle Henry Percy returned to Waterloo. The Duke was very low, and said to my uncle: "I believe that you are the only one of my A.D.C.'s left." My uncle replied, "But we ought to be thankful, sir, that you are safe!" "The finger of God was upon me all day-nothing else could have saved me," was the Duke's answer. My uncle replied that he had feared that the Duke was a prisoner when he had got amongst the French. "I got away through the 95th Regiment three times during the battle," said the Duke. Sir Peregrine Maitland told me that he had such a raging toothache during the battle of Waterloo, that he never knew how he got out of the wood in which the Guards lost so many of their officers and men, and that he could tell me absolutely nothing about the battle. His wife was the beautiful Lady Sarah Lennox, a daughter of the Duke of Richmond. It was a runaway match, and the Duchess, who was furious at the marriage, had the bad taste when speaking of her daughter to call her "Barrack Sall"! Sir Peregrine told me that the enthusiasm for the Allied Armies after they entered Paris was immense, and that the fickle Parisian mobs made themselves hoarse with shouting "Vive nos amis les ennemis!" Before Louis XVIII. was obliged to fly from Paris, the 19th March 1815, he sent for Fouché and wished him to take the department of the Police. Fouché informed the King that it was too late, and frankly told him his reasons for thinking so. M. Blacas, who was present, twice interrupted him by saying, "Monsieur Fouché, you forget that you are speaking to the King." Fouché, indignant at being interrupted, turned upon Blacas, and retorted: "Monsieur Blacas, your impertinence compels me to tell his Majesty that you were fourteen years in as a spy upon him when he was in England!" my pay The King burst into tears, and broke up the conference. When Talleyrand returned from the Congress, the Duc de Berry persuaded the King to dismiss him, and at his first audience with Louis XVIII. the King was markedly cold to the great Minister. Talleyrand demanded an explanation, and was informed that he was no longer in the King's confidence. Talleyrand went privately to the Duke of Wellington, with the result that the Duke told the King that the only condition upon which he would support his Majesty's interests was that M. de Talleyrand should be retained in office. The following is from a letter of my uncle, Lord Charles Percy, dated Paris, 8th July 1815: "Lord Wellington decided to enter Paris yesterday. I believe none of the Prussians knew of it; I am sure none of his A.D.C.'s did. They, poor souls, were left in a state of edifying ignorance of all his measures, even of those of the least importance, so much so that when we left headquarters upon our respective horses, not one of the company, except the Lord Paramount, knew how he was to enter it [Paris]-whether in state or not, and if there was to be a review previously. "The result was that he rode into Paris, followed by his suite, without demonstration of any kind, nor were there twenty people assembled. His house is situated at the extremity of the Champs Elysées and the Place Louis Quinze, therefore, before any rumour could reach the inhabitants, he was safely housed. The tricolor flag continued to fly over the Tuileries, the Invalides, and the Place Vendôme, and the Corps Législatif continued their sittings under the accursed ensign as if the city had not capitulated and they were still masters of their own proceedings. 66 'Twenty thousand Prussians marched immediately into the town, and the boulevards were crowded to see the sight; but no feeling was discoverable. The English troops are en camped in the Bois de Boulogne of York, Clarence, and Kent and have possession of the Barriers, but are not to take up their quarters at all within the walls of Paris." Extracts from Lord Charles Percy's Journal. "On Thursday, the 2nd May 1816, I received an order from Lord Hertford to command my attendance at Carlton House, to be present at the marriage of H.R.H. Princess Charlotte Augusta to the Prince of Coburg at 8, or between 8 and 9 o'clock P.M. "Accordingly, at half-past eight o'clock I reached Carlton House. Pall Mall was pretty full of people; guard of honour in the courtyard, &c. "I was conducted through the great hall to a room in which were the foreigners, great officers, &c., and in a few minutes Princess Charlotte's old and new establishment were ordered into the room, where the Queen's attendants were. Loud cheering announced the arrival of Prince Leopold, and in about a quarter of an hour we all moved forward to be present at the ceremony. "The Queen and the Princesses Augusta, Elizabeth, Mary, and Sophia of Gloucester were led out into the room appropriated for the ceremony, and there was, of course, considerable crowding after them. "When I got into the ballroom I went round behind the Queen and Royal Family. The Queen sat on a sofa to the left of the altar, the Princesses in a row on her right, the Dukes opposite. "The company stood in an elongated semicircle the whole length of the room. The Prince Regent stood in front of the altar, a little to the right. When everybody was settled in their place, the Lord Chamberlain returned to the closet and brought forward Prince Leopold dressed as a full general. He walked up to the altar, bowed to the Prince, Queen, and Royal Family, and looked a little distressed. The Lord Chamberlain then returned for Princess Charlotte, and every eye was fixed on the door in silence. She came forward, neither looking to the right nor to the left, dressed in white tissue, with diamonds round her head, and no feathers. The Prince Regent led her up to the altar and pressed her hand affectionately; she betrayed no other emotion than blushing deeply. The Archbishop of Canterbury commenced the service, which he read distinctly, though somewhat tremulously, and Princess Charlotte was very attentive to the service, repeating the prayers to herself after him. "When he addressed himself to Prince Leopold, 'Will you take this woman, Charlotte, to be your wedded wife?' the Prince answered in a low voice. When he addressed a similar question to Princess Charlotte, she answered, 'I will,' very decidedly, and in rather too loud a voice. She looked very handsome, and her manner was resolute and dignified, without being bold. 66 Immediately after the service she threw herself upon her knees, and seized the Prince Regent's hand, kissing it with every appearance of affection and gratitude. He, in return, kissed her on the forehead and raised her up. She then kissed the Queen's hand, and then the Princesses on the cheek. She kissed Princess Mary repeatedly, and said to her, 'You are a dear, good creature, and I love you very much!' She shook hands with the ladies who came up to congratulate her, saying to them, 'Did I not behave well? could you hear all my answers?' "The signatures then took place, by the Queen and the Royal Family, the Officers of State, &c. This was a tedious business, and after it was over the Royalties returned into the closet. The procession of Royalties closed with the Princess Charlotte and the Prince of Coburg, who received the congratulations of the company as they passed. Mr Disbrowe summoned me to the closet, where Princess Charlotte presented me to the Queen, and I kissed hands. "Princess Charlotte and her husband left the house and drove through the parks to Oatlands Park. I ought to have been there to hand H.R.H. into the carriage, but I did not know that I had to do so, and therefore was absent. After the departure a circle was made, and the Queen went round with the Prince Regent. "The Queen then played at cards. The Princesses sat in different rooms, and ices, tea, and bridecake were liberally dis pensed. About one o'clock the Royal Family returned to Buckingham House, and the Prince kept some of the Ministers and household to supper. "November the 6th was a heavy day in these kingdoms. Princess Charlotte died at 2 A.M., after being delivered of a stillborn son at 9 the previous evening, and having got through her labour favourably. The calamity was first announced to Lord Bathurst and the Duke of York, who were nearest to Claremont. The Duke and Lord Bathurst met at York House, and at once proceeded to Carlton House, having first of all sent an express thither to prepare the Prince Regent. When they arrived at Carlton House they found that the Prince, who had been absent, had already arrived, and was lying down, having missed the messenger on the road. Finding no tidings awaiting him at Carlton House, the Prince had sent to the 'Home Office, and there learned that Princess Charlotte had been delivered of a still-born son, but was going on very favourably. Bloomfield was immediately summoned, and told to communicate the deplorable event to the Prince. This he refused to do, saying that he thought it would kill him. The Duke of York therefore told him to go into the Prince's room and announce to him his and Lord Bathurst's arrival from Claremont, intending thereby to alarm him and in some manner prepare him for the intelligence. The message, unhappily, had no |