on the
rubber.]

[9] [The Duchess of York was born Princess Royal of
Prussia; she married the Duke of York in 1791, and died
on the 6th of August, 1820.]

[Page Head: DUKE AND DUCHESS OF YORK.]

The Duke of York is not clever, but he has a justness of
understanding, which enables him to avoid the errors into which
most of his brothers have fallen, and which have made them so
contemptible and unpopular. Although his talents are not
rated high, and in public life he has never been honourably
distinguished, the Duke of York is loved and respected. He is the
only one of the Princes who has the feelings of an English
gentleman; his amiable disposition and excellent temper have
conciliated for him the esteem and regard of men of all parties,
and he has endeared himself to his friends by the warmth and
steadiness of his attachments, and from the implicit confidence
they all have in his truth, straightforwardness, and sincerity.
He delights in the society of men of the world and in a life of
gaiety and pleasure. He is very easily amused, and particularly
with jokes full of coarseness and indelicacy; the men with whom
he lives most are _tres-polissons_, and _la polissonnerie_ is the
_ton_ of his society. But his aides-de-camp and friends, while
they do not scruple to say everything before and to him, always
treat him with attention and respect. The Duke and the Duchess
live upon the best terms; their manner to one another is cordial,
and while full of mutual respect and attention, they follow
separately their own occupations and amusements without
interfering with one another. Their friends are common to both,
and those who are most attached to the Duke are equally so to the
Duchess. One of her few foibles is an extreme tenaciousness of
her authority at Oatlands; one way in which this is shown is in
the stable, where, although there are always eight or ten
carriage-horses which seldom do any work, it is impossible ever
to procure a horse to ride or drive, because the Duchess
appropriates them all to herself. The other day one of the
aides-de-camp (Cooke) wanted to drive Burrell (who was there) to
Hampton Court; he spoke of this at breakfast, and the Duke
hearing it, desired he would take the curricle and two Spanish
horses which had been given to him. The Duchess, however, chose
to call these horses hers and to consider them as her own. The
curricle came to the door, and just as they we