82 A BOOK OF ENGLISH GARDENS 



a pretty nature for a lady's ear. His range oi 

 subject is immense, nothing is too small, too vulgar, 

 or too great for this fastidious gentleman's pen. 

 The murder of Miss Ray, the popular singer, is 

 given with coarse details ; and disease of every 

 kind is discussed. The old cynic's keen eye dis- 

 covers, however, some good points in women, for 

 in describing the illness of Lady Blandford he 

 makes particular mention of the devotion of Miss 

 Stapleton to her. He says that she tended Lady 

 Blandford from the first moment and has scarcely 

 been in bed since. " She is a virtue personified," 

 and a virtue " with ,30,000, while Lady Blandford 

 has nothing." He adds, " I wish we had some of 

 these exalted characters in breeches." 



Every birth, death, and marriage is recorded in 

 these chronicles. Good advice upon literature is 

 freely given by the writer who had seen Pope and 

 lived with Gray, and the fair recipient is scolded 

 for not admiring Madame de Se'vigne'. Old houses 

 are described with all the grace Walpole delights 

 to use when writing about anything old and 

 beautiful. The vision of a glorious Claude and 

 a fine Teniers is noted down. Gay breakfasts 

 and dull dinners are mixed up with the condemna- 

 tion of some popular actor and the lauding of a 

 pretty actress ; and though Lady Ossory had so 

 " little dogmanity " the illness of his favourite dog, 

 Rosette, is related to her. Anon his audacity even 



