upon her the favour of the populace, and she was suffered to proceed without further molestation.[1]
An eminent goldsmith of the early part of the last century was often heard to relate a striking instance which he himself remembered of Nelly's popularity. His master, when he was an apprentice, had made a most expensive service of plate as a present from the King to the Duchess of Portsmouth: great numbers of people crowded the shop to see what the plate was like; some indulged in curses against the Duchess, while all were unanimous in wishing the present had been for the use of Mrs. Gwyn.[2] With the London apprentices, long an influential body both east and west of Temple Bar, Nell was always a favourite.
She and the Duchess frequently met at Whitehall, often in good humour, but oftener not in the best temper one with the other, for Nelly was a wit and loved to laugh at her Grace. The nature of these bickerings between them has been well but coarsely described in a single half-sheet of contemporary verses printed in 1682—"A Dialogue between the Duchess of Portsmouth and Madam Gwyn at
- ↑ The great Lord Peterborough, when mistaken for the Duke of Marlborough, made a similar escape. "Gentlemen, I can convince you by two reasons that I am not the Duke. In the first place, I have only five guineas in my pocket; and in the second they are heartily at your service."
- ↑ The London Chronicle—Aug. 15, 18 1778.
