LETTER XXIII.
Aristocracy and liberalism united in one person. Fête at the Duchess of ----'s. Wonderful tale of Mr. H----. Toads. The menagerie in Regent's Park. Marshal Beresford. Rural dinner in H---- Lodge. Zoological Garden. The patient witling. Uncomfortable customs. Dinner at H---- Lodge. Sir Walter Scott; his appearance and conversation. A charming girl. Tailors, butchers, and fishmongers. Crockford's. Spring-festival. Rural pleasures. Musical indigestion. Strawberry-Hill, the seat of Horace Walpole. German customs in England. Epsom races. Soirée at the King's. Historical portraits. Paintings in watercolour. The little paradise. The branch from Birnam Wood. Bonneau the Second. The Empress Josephine's Fortune-telling book. Introduction to the Duchess of Sachsen Meiningen. The Pigeon Club. The aquatic theatre. The Doomed. The new Ninon de l'Enclos. Another déjeuné champetre. The two Marshals......250