part in many scenes of domestic life which I do not
wish to reveal. I may, however, observe that the Prince Regent sent
the late Admiral Lord Keith to Hesse's lodgings, who demanded, in his
Royal Highness's name, the restitution of the watch and letters which
had been sent him when in Spain. After a considerable amount of
hesitation, the Admiral obtained what he wanted the following day;
whereupon Lord Keith assured him that the Prince Regent would never
forget so great a mark of confidence, and that the heir to the throne
would ever afterwards be his friend. I regret to say, from personal
knowledge, that, upon this occasion the Prince behaved most
ungratefully and unfeelingly; for, after having obtained all he wanted,
he positively refused to receive Hesse at Carlton House.

Hesse's life was full of singular incidents. He was a great friend of
the Queen of Naples, grandmother of the ex-Sovereign of the Two
Sicilies; in fact, so notorious was that liaison, that Hesse was
eventually expelled from Naples under an escort of gendarmes. He was
engaged in several affairs of honour, in which he always displayed the
utmost courage; and his romantic career terminated by his being killed
in a duel by Count L--, natural son of the first Napoleon. He died as
he had lived, beloved by his friends, and leaving behind him little but
his name and the kind thoughts of those who survived him.

VISITING IN THE COUNTRY

When I returned to London from Paris, in 1815, upon promotion, I was
accompanied by Colonel Brooke, who was good enough to invite me to pass
some time at his brother's, Sir R. Brookes, in Cheshire, upon the
occasion of the christening of his eldest son. The fete was truly
magnificent, and worthy of our excellent host; and all the great people
of the neighbouring counties were present.

Soon afterwards I went to the Hale, a country house near Liverpool,
belonging to Mr. Blackburn, one of the oldest members of the House of
Commons, where many persons, who had been at Sir Richard Brookes's, met
again. Mr. Blackburn was extremely absent and otherwise odd: upon one
occasion I gave him a letter to frank, which he deliberately opened and
read in my presence; and on my asking him if it amused him, he replied
that he did not understand what it meant. Upon another occasion the
Duke of Gloucester, accompanied by Mr. Blackburn, went out to shoot
pheasants in the preserves near the Hale; when all of a sudden, Mr. B.
o