el of the citadel of
Carlisle, in paste, which he in person, and the maids of honour,
_bombarded with sugar plumbs_!

The Prince had disagreed with the king and queen early after his coming
to England, "not entirely," says Walpole, "by his own fault." The king
had refused to pay his debts in Hanover, and "it ran a little in the
blood of the family to hate the eldest son!" The queen exerted more
authority than he liked, and "the Princess Emily, who had been admitted
into his greatest confidence, had not," the historian bitterly observes,
"forfeited her duty to the queen, by concealing any of his secrets that
_might do him prejudice_."

Gaming was one of his passions; "but his style of play did him less
honour than even the amusement." He carried this _dexterity_ into
practice in more essential points, and was vain of it. "One day at
Kensington that he had just borrowed L5000 of Doddington, seeing him
pass under his window, he said to Hedges, his secretary, 'that man is
reckoned one of the most sensible men in England; yet, with all his
parts, I have just tricked him out of L5000!'" A line from Earl Stanhope
summed up his character,--"He has his father's head and his mother's
heart."

A smart hit is mentioned of Pelham, who, however, was not remarkable for
humour. One Ayscough, who had been preceptor to Prince George, and who
had "not taught him to read English, though eleven years old," was about
to be removed from the preceptorship. Lyttleton, whose sister he had
married, applied to Pelham to save him. Pelham answered, "I know nothing
of Dr. Ayscough--Oh, yes, I recollect, a very worthy man told me in this
room, two years ago, that he was a _great rogue_." This very worthy man
happened to be _Lyttleton himself_, who had then quarrelled with
Ayscough about election affairs. Walpole abounds in sketches of
character, and they are generally capital. Here is a kit-cat of Lord
Albemarle, then ambassador in Paris. "It was convenient to him to be any
where but in England. His debts were excessive, though he was
ambassador, groom of the stole, governor of Virginia, and colonel of a
regiment of guards. His figure was genteel, his manner noble and
agreeable. The rest of his merit was the interest Lady Albemarle had
with the king through Lady Yarmouth. He had all his life imitated the
French manners since he came to Paris, where he never conversed with a
Frenchman. If good breeding is not different from good sense, Lord
Albemar