THE LATE DUKE OF PORTLAND 105 



He carried his shyness to such an extent that in his 

 later years he would scarcely see anyone except a few 

 of his old domestics. I have some remembrance of his 

 town residence, Harcourt House, Cavendish Square, for 

 it was the first house I ever slept at in London. I 

 stayed there when on my way to Newmarket. Here, 

 too, his Grace carried his mania for seclusion to an 

 extreme pitch ; for he had the wall at the back raised to 

 a height that absolutely precluded his neighbours from 

 overlooking either himself or his mansion. ' A creaking 

 door hangs long on its hinges ;' and the late Duke, who 

 was always an invalid, lived to see the deaths of his two 

 robust brothers, Lord Henry and Lord George. 



None of the three ever married a circumstance 

 which is the more strange because all of them had 

 money and position, and one at least possessed the 

 fascinations which attract the regard of the fair sex. 

 Lord George, in particular, could make himself one of 

 their most agreeable companions. He was not only one 

 of the finest men that was to be seen, but he was ex- 

 tremely handsome ; and his politeness to ladies was 

 proverbial, and excited their general admiration. And 

 he was more fond of them than is, perhaps, generally 

 supposed, and of this partiality I had opportunities of 

 forming an opinion on the occasions when his lordship 

 brought visitors to Danebury and elsewhere. 



One of the most notable characters figuring on the 

 turf at this period was Mr. Fulwar Craven, of Beck- 

 hampton. He was a gentleman by birth and education, 

 if his eccentricities were beyond comparison at the time, 

 and have never been eclipsed since. His dress itself was 

 inimitable. He wore light-coloured kerseymere breeches 

 and gaiters, the tongues of the latter nearly covering his 

 boots, which, in their turn, were more dandified than 



