see the bones in her poor, thin neck.' The writer concludes by mentioning she was the Duke of Cumberland's favourite. Moreover, this lady, whose attraction for the prince must have been her previous reputation, was coarse in manner and avaricious; the result was that His Royal Highness soon left her for the greater charms of Mrs. Crouch, the daughter of Peregrine Phillips, an actress and singer of considerable merits. Mrs. Billington, it may be mentioned, afterwards became devoted to the Church, as represented in the person of a bishop, who acted as her friend not only in a sense spiritual, but temporal. Mrs. Crouch, as may be supposed, had had a husband and several lovers, some of whom were young, ardent, and poetic; many of the latter had written her execrable effusions, 'On Mrs. Crouch in the character of Æneas,' and' On Mrs. Crouch on seeing her in the character of Venus,' and on beholding her clasping a rose, and engaged in various other occupations. One of these assured her, 'Clad like a modern courtly dame From Paphos isle fair Venus came.' She, of course, being the Venus; another gentleman, whose youth we may imagine was as tender as his heart, said of her, MRS. CROUCH. 'Methinks I see you in your iv'ry car, Sparkling in gems, like the bright morning star; 229 With the reckless extravagance which characterised him, the prince lavished vast sums upon her; in one instance to the amount of £10,000, independently of a profusion of jewellery to the value of £5,000. Moreover, this generosity, for which the nation was destined to pay, was not limited to such sums, and he finally made a settlement on her of £1,200 a year for life, which, however, like the bond given to Perdita Robinson, he refused to pay shortly afterwards, as 'no valuable consideration had been given,' he said. Mrs. Crouch, whilst she enjoyed his favour, removed from her rooms in Pall Mall, and took a house in the more fashionable quarter of Berkeley Square, where she gave charming entertainments and concerts that were patronised by the prince and his friends. Meanwhile, whilst he devoted his nights to the society of various sirens, England's future king spent his days at cock-fights, dog-fights, and pugilistic encounters, in all of which he took great interest and delight. He also estab lished a stud on a scale regardless of expense, ran his horses at all the celebrated courses, where he was to be seen backing his favourites with heavy stakes, and to hasten his route down this road to ruin, on which he had set out with such speed, he gambled night and day, and lost immense sums. 'His nights which were not otherwise employed,' says Huish, in his memoirs of George IV., were spent at the faro-table, whither he was often taken in a state of almost helpless intoxication, to render him the greater dupe of those who were then fattening on the unhallowed spoil obtained by their villainy.' The prince's personal friend, Major Hanger, in his life, mentions an incident regarding one of His Royal Highness's carousals, which happened at a time when his coffers were empty. In company with such merry men as the major afore-mentioned, Charles Fox, Sheridan, and Berkeley, the prince sought adventure at the 'Staffordshire Arms' tavern, from whence he sent for further company agreeable to himself and his friends, who, presently joining them, created much diversion. The night was passed A STORY OF SHERIDAN. 231 in a general carousal, and in the early hours of morning it was found there was not a sufficient sum amongst the united company to defray expenses. At this critical moment one of the party suggested that, as Sheridan was helplessly drunk, he should be left as a hostage for the debt, an idea at once acted on by the prince and his other friends, who thus avoided payment of the reckoning. Poor, reckless, brilliant spendthrift, good-hearted Sheridan, long years afterwards his corpse was arrested at the hands of the law for the sum of £500. 232 CHAPTER VI. Richard Brinsley Sheridan and Miss Betsy Linley-Sheridan Introduced to the Prince-Interview with a Child of Israel—The Royal Debts-Mrs. Fitzherbert-Flight to the Continent-The Prince's Tears and Despair— Letter from Charles Fox-Marriage of Mrs Fitzherbert-Cowardice and Deception of the Prince-The King's Social Life—His Original Criticisms on Shakespeare-Her Majesty's Opinion of the Sorrows of Werter '-Mrs Siddons at the Play and at Windsor— Signs of the King's Madness. HIS new companion of His Royal Highness, THIS Richard Brinsley Sheridan, was the son of old Tom Sheridan the player, and Frances, his wife, a lady who wrote some excellent novels and clever plays, one of which-to wit, The Discovery'-Garrick declared to be one of the best comedies he had ever read. From her, Richard Brinsley no doubt inherited a share of that talent which afterwards so highly distinguished him. He was educated at Harrow, |