and her cotemporaries. Lady M--, fortunately for her, lived in strange places, saw strange people, and had every means afforded her that could enable a mind of any discernment to keep an interesting diary, and render her amusing to her country people, who had not the same advantages. "There are three means by which every thing can be acquired in this world. "The first is opportunity; "The second is opportunity; "The third is likewise opportunity. 66 Lady Mary had these, and turned them to the fullest account. Of her genius I will not say how little I esteem it, lest you should be partial to her ladyship: and, O heavens! if you are, I shall already have offended you beyond measure by my impertinent criticisms. I crave pardon, and think I am most likely to obtain it by ending this babillage, and assuring you, my dear, how sincerely I am your faithful servant," &c. Saturday, the 27th.-I dined at Miss Lydia White's. The dinner party was small, consisting only of Mr. S--e, and Sir Cy and his beautiful wife. The latter, however, did not choose to converse. I am told she never does, except to gentlemen, think it worth while to exert herself to please by talking; and, in truth, her face is winning enough, it is so lovely to look upon, without the exercise of any other fascination. It is said she is clever and amusing when she becomes less reserved. Lady Cy's hand is of the most faultlessly perfect form I ever beheld, but her manners are not so pleasing as her personal appearance; they are brusque and haughty in general; yet occasionally, as if to make you feel she has the power to charm, when she pleases to exert her spells, she assumes a softer demeanour, and then her power is complete. Her husband's manners are supercilious. Miss W said to me, in speaking of Mr. H, "He has only two subjects of conversation-politics and admiration of beauty; so that his powers are very limited and unless the former of these topics happens to form the subject of discussion at a dinner-party, he has little to say for himseif in private society, clever as he is in public life." Miss White sat with the ladies in the dining-room till every body was nearly asleep. I never saw any one follow this system of remaining so long at table, except the Princess of Wales. It is high treason to say so; yet Miss White's house, which is reckoned so famous for its agreeable reunions, does not frequently afford me the amusement it is supposed to give all those who have the good fortune to obtain an entrée therein, At the dinnertable-sometimes the wits and mighty spirits collected round it display their conversational talents; but the evenings are often very dull, and I have been present at many a party, composed of insignificant persons, who have sung and danced, and diversified their amusements, which have been much more gay and enlivening than the learned and classic meetings held at Lydia White's. I was introduced to a Mr. S- -d, a clever, satirical person, one of the Duke of D--'s protegés. How angry he would be if he knew I had called him such! He is a gentleman who thinks he is all-powerful; with his own lance of wit, and his arrows barbed with satire, he imagines he keeps all the world in awe of him; and he does, I dare say, make many tremble. I do not think such a power can be pleasant to the possessor; but Mr. S-d appears perfectly well satisfied with his reputation for being a censor on men and manners. He was very gracious to me, but I felt, all the time that he was saying civil things to my face, that most likely the moment my back was turned he would not spare me any more than others. When Miss White introduced him to me, it was with the following whispered remark-" He dissects every body, my dear tears them limb from limb, and is the most sarcastic person in the world; but he is notwithstanding so clever and kind-hearted, that every one who knows him well, likes him exceedingly." "I tremble, dear Miss White," I replied, "for I am a timid person, and dread having my flesh peeled off by his sarcasm." "Nonsense," said she. "Do not pretend to say you are thin-skinned. Come here, Mr. S;" and she beckoned to the aufu man, and introduced us to one another. In general, or at least very frequently, those who are endowed with a spirit of sarcasm, endeavour, on a first acquaintance, to conceal their propensity, lest they should alarm their new friends; and they try to make their way, by assuming a kindliness of nature not their own, so as to make the stranger suppose the world has wronged them, by giving them the character of being satirical on their neighbours. But I discovered no such attempt in Mr. S; the first smile, with which he prefaced the first words addressed to me, betrayed the characteristic feature of his disposition; and the show of irony with which he observed, "Our hostess is a truly delightful person," as his eye glanced with disgust toward the unsightly object of his comments, betrayed the variance of his words from his inward thoughts. I answered with truth, that I thought Miss White was, indeed, an agreeable and an estimable person, and that she had great merit in the patience and good temper which she displayed under her trials. Again Mr. S sneered, as he replied, "Yes; but I wish she could have some better arrangement made for her personal appearance. She always puts me in mind of a mummy, or a dead body washed on shore, and swollen with the effects of having been for a length of time in the water." I could not answer this cross speech, and thought those who partake of her good dinners and her hospitality should refrain from such unkind remarks on her personal calamity. I endeavoured to extract some information from this wasp, on other persons and subjects, and named the Princesse L―n as a subject for him to play upon. I did not feel the least repugnance or scruple in presenting her as game for him to hunt; she is so cross and ill-natured herself, that she would be well matched with Mr. S-d. The latter was very eloquent on the theme I had given him, and he cut and slashed at the Princess in great style. In the course of his lecture on her E-y, he D'une reine de théâtre Des broderies, Des garnitures pour quatre: A la façon de Barbarie." ed my admiration of these lines with such that I appeared to have won Mr. Sd's began to grow quite confidential, as he told same lady had treated one of the greatest gland with such rudeness that the Englishshe never would speak to the Princess It the same time," added Mr. Sd, "it is ow, for the moment, this tawdry piece of rules the roast in London society, and all es are at her feet, cringing to her as if she nity. It is very amusing-nothing diverts an to observe Ladies and paying servile court. They must all be great fools en in by a little insignificant-looking fo= so it is." -d talked of Lady CL, and made er name, saying she was not as gentle as a his alludes to a well-known anecdote of the Princess vening, after her Excellency had herself executed on the ost brilliant and scientific piece of music, she pressed - play in her turn. The latter, whose musical powers or in point of feeling and expression, though less brut of the Russian, complied with her request; but the paid no attention to the music, and impertinently turned corn; yet her want of good breeding on this and many s was overlooked, and the Russian Princess continued to of the English aristocracy; and finally, when recalled h court, all the élite of female society united in presentvaluable tribute of their respect and remembrance. L he believed; and from her he alighted on Lady Hd, and left his sting on her; and he would have gone on, imparting his venom to every soul in London, I dare say, if I had not grown sleepy, and left the party. Monday, the 28th.-I received some letters from Italy which gave me great regret, for they speak in such disparaging terms of the poor Princess of Wales. In one I am told, "I went the other day to Bossi's, with Mdme. De Staël, and I cannot tell you how I was shocked at seeing him. He is hardly able to walk, and wholly incapable of holding a pen or a pencil. He said to me, the first thing, 'Je me meurs, et c'est la Princesse de Galle qui m'a tué.' He then told us that she wanted him to paint her picture, and desired him to draw several figures in different attitudes, that she might choose. This he accordingly did. I saw the sketches, and they are most beautifully designed. The Princess shuffled them over like a pack of dirty cards, and pretended not to be pleased with any one of them. The weather was intensely cold; and as she would insist on coming to sit in his studio instead of accepting his offer to go to her house, he was obliged to have the room heated to an amazing degree, from its size and damp atmosphere, that she might not catch cold so poor Bossi, who you know was already delicate, worked in that to him unwholesome temperature three or even six hours a-day, till at last it made him so ill that it reduced him to his present state. The Princess, he said, laughed when he complained of fatigue, and observed, I am not tired, Signor Bossi—'tis all nonsense; people do fancy dey cannot do half what they can do if they please.' Nevertheless, although she made him work thus expeditiously, and was in such a hurry to have the picture finished and sent home, she has never paid poor Bossi; so he is out of pocket as well as health by this transaction. I really think the Princess is gone mad. I received a summons, some days after my visit to Bossi, to visit her Royal Highness at Como, which I obeyed, I must own, rather reluc tantly; and I regret to say my visit was as unsatisfac ་ |