The Merry Past 



and, in spite of the earliness of the hour, all was mob, 

 riot, and confusion. Finally, however, victory de- 

 clared herself in favour of the knights of the bung, 

 who played their parts so well with their horse- 

 whips that Fitzgerald and Walker were completely 

 flogged out of their shoes, for they were seen re- 

 treating down Greek Street barefooted, and as fast 

 as their legs could carry them. Lord Lyttleton lost 

 a jewelled repeater worth a hundred guineas, and 

 many young bucks and green sprigs of nobility got a 

 drubbing, which they probably remembered to the 

 last day of their lives. 



By this time the company had disappeared from 

 Carlisle House, except a few young men of quality, 

 who had found their way into the cellars, where they 

 continued drinking till nine o'clock. Nothing could 

 shame these inordinate topers. Great scandal was 

 created by the riotous proceedings which have been 

 described, and the glories of Carlisle House rapidly 

 declined, which was further caused by the opening 

 of the Pantheon. The creditors of the proprietress 

 began to grow clamorous, and in 1785 she was at 

 length obliged to relinquish the concern, and seek 

 in concealment a refuge from legal prosecution. 

 For many years she remained in obscurity under an 

 assumed name. 



She purchased a house in Knightsbridge for five 

 hundred pounds, furnished it in an elegant manner 

 for the accommodation of the younger branches of 

 the royal family and the nobility, whom she served 

 with milk, calling herself Theresa Smith. 



233 



