252 THE PRINCESS OF WALES [1814. 



times heard to run over it with such haste as to make 

 it unintelligible, in order to give her feelings vent. 

 There can be no doubt that, with his extreme discre- 

 tion and good temper, and the perfect affection pre- 

 vailing between them, Prince Leopold succeeded in 

 removing the only defect that was ever imputed to 

 her. From her mother she inherited another great 

 quality besides her courage she was free from any- 

 thing mean, or spiteful, or revengeful, in an extraor- 

 dinary degree. She was entirely without affectation 

 or pretence ; she had no pride ; her manners were 

 natural and playful; her affections were warm and 

 constant. Her attachment to her mother resisted all 

 attempts which were made by art or violence (for 

 both were used) to alter or lessen it. Their tastes 

 were similar; both were fond of reading and of the 

 arts, especially sculpture, in which the young Princess 

 had considerable excellence. There was a story in 

 ^circulation that she had formed an attachment ; I be- 

 lieve it was put about by the Prince's friends, and 

 those of the Prince of Orange, to account for her refus- 

 ing him. It was quite groundless, the only colour 

 for it Toeing that she had frequently met at her 

 mother's Captain Hesse, a very clever and spirited 

 young man, afterwards killed in a duel at Paris; and 

 she had been greatly struck with his manners and 

 conversation, as every one was. It was one of the 

 many calumnies against her mother circulated by 

 Carl ton House, that she had encouraged a flirtation 

 with Hesse in order to defeat the Prince of Orange. 



o 



Another of the calumnies charged the mother herself 

 with a fancy for Hesse, he having been for some time 

 in her household at Naples. 



It was one of the great misfortunes of this admirable 



