elsewhere, and the Lakes were at length chosen as his residence.
Probably the picturesque beauties of Cumberland compensated the
Laureate for the indignity put upon him by the Welshman.

An act of Vandalism perpetrated in the same Vale of Neath, and
reflecting no honour on my countrymen, deserves here to be noted with
reprobation. A natural cascade, called Dyllais, which was so beautiful
as to excite the admiration of travellers, was destroyed by an agent to
Lord Jersey, the proprietor of the estate, in order to build a few
cottages and the lock of a canal. The rock down which this beautiful
cascade had flowed from the time of the Flood, and which had created a
scene of beauty universally admired, was blown up with gunpowder by
this man, who could probably appreciate no more beautiful sight than
that which presents itself from a window in Gray's or Lincoln's Inn, of
which he was a member.

CAPTAIN HESSE, FORMERLY OF THE 18TH HUSSARS

One of my most intimate friends was the late Captain Hesse, generally
believed to be a son of the Duke of York, by a German lady of rank.
Though it is not my intention to disclose certain family secrets of
which I am in possession, I may, nevertheless, record some
circumstances connected with the life of my friend, which were familiar
to a large circle with whom I mixed. Hesse, in early youth, lived with
the Duke and Duchess of York; he was treated in such a manner by them
as to indicate an interest in him by their Royal Highnesses which could
scarcely be attributed to ordinary regard, and was gazetted a cornet in
the 18th Hussars at seventeen years of age. Shortly afterwards, he
went to Spain, and was present in all the battles in which his regiment
was engaged; receiving a severe wound in the wrist at the battle of
Vittoria. When this became known in England, a royal lady wrote to
Lord Wellington, requesting that he might be carefully attended to;
and, at the same time, a watch, with her portrait, was forwarded, which
was delivered to the wounded Hussar by Lord Wellington himself. When
he had sufficiently recovered, Hesse returned to England, and passed
much of his time at Oatlands, the residence of the Duchess of York; he
was also honoured with the confidence of the Princess Charlotte and her
mother, Queen Caroline.

Many delicate and important transactions were conducted through the
medium of Captain Hesse; in fact, it was perfectly well known that he
played a striking