MT. 32.] PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF WALES. 135 



I was exceedingly pleased with his society. His con- 

 versation was that of a very clever person, and he had 

 considerable powers of mimicry. I recollect his taking 

 off Thurlow, who was then living, and also the Stadt- 

 holder, respecting whom his talk was very free ; and 

 the stories he told of that prince in reference to his 

 own mother and sisters, the English princesses, did 

 not seem quite fitting before persons whom he saw 

 for the first time. But altogether one should have 

 regarded him as a clever and agreeable member of 

 society had he been a common person, and might even 

 have been struck with him. This was in 1805. Next 

 year the Delicate Investigation took place, to the great 

 discredit of the Whig Ministry, and in which it was 

 very much to be lamented that Komilly's official posi- 

 tion compelled him to take a part the proceeding 

 being an inquiry, behind the Princess's back, whether 

 or not she had been guilty of high treason.* Having 

 an invitation to dine at Carlton House, I ventured to 

 avoid going by leaving home for a day or two, and 

 this made my declining to be presented at Kensington 

 the more natural. It was not till late in 1809 that 

 Dudley and Sir William Drummond, who were con- 

 stantly there, persuaded me to go as to a house where 

 agreeable society was always assembled. Canning 

 was constantly there, and I had no other opportunity 

 of seeing him, which I the rather wished, as we had 

 had some differences on the Orders in Council at the 

 time when I was counsel for the commercial interests. 

 His friend Charles Ellis (afterwards Lord Seaford) and 

 Granville Leveson (afterwards Lord Granville) also 

 frequented the Princess's society. A friend whom I 



* See above, p. 74. 



