Page:Memoirs of the Lady Hester Stanhope.djvu/105

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Lady Hester Stanhope.
91

the bandbox, and pulled out a wig, which I even believe he had worn. 'There,' said he, 'as you are getting bald, is a very superior wig, made by—I forget the man’s name, but it was not Sugden.' The man could hardly contain himself, and was almost tempted to leave it in the hall as he went out. Did you ever hear of such meanness? Everybody who had to do with him was afraid of him. He was sure to get a horse, or a vis-à-vis, or a something, wherever he went, and never pay for them. He was a man without a heart,[1] who had not one good quality about him. Doctor," cried Lady Hester, "I have been intimate with those who spent their time with him from morning to night, and they have told me that it was impossible for any person who knew him to think well of him.[2]

"Look at his unfeeling conduct in deserting poor

  1. "The second day of the king’s illness, and when he was at his worst, the P. of W. went in the evening to a concert at Lady Hamilton’s, and there told Calonne (the rascally French ex-minister): 'Savez vous, Monsieur de Calonne, que mon pere est aussi fou que jamais.'"—Diaries and Correspondence, v. 4, p. 20.
  2. Audi alteram partem is a maxim that holds good whenever accusations are levelled against individuals, illustrious or mean. Lady Hester may have maligned the Prince from personal pique or from some other cause; and, whilst she placed his foibles and failings in a conspicuous point of view, may have