ZTbc Coftes of tbolfebam 203 



described as " one of the most punctilious dames of her 

 time." She had been a widow for some years, but she 

 abated not one jot of the stiff ceremonial state which 

 had been kept up in the Earl's lifetime, and probably 

 young Coke never passed a more wearisome time in his 

 life than those six weeks during which he was the 

 Countess's guest at Holkham. 



Among her ladyship's many fads was a rabid aversion 

 to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, which she 

 believed to be hotbeds of atheism, socialism, and im- 

 morality. She was so anxious to keep her great-nephew 

 away from these pestilent seats of learning that she 

 offered him a handsome annual allowance if he would 

 travel instead of graduating at either university. Thomas 

 William accepted the offer, and soon afterwards started 

 for the Continent. His good looks, his graceful figure 

 and attractive manners gained him friends among the 

 men and admirers among the women wherever he 

 went. 



At Rome, where he made a long stay, he was known as 

 the " handsome young Englishman," and it was rumoured 

 that he was a special favourite with the young and 

 beautiful Countess of Albany, then the newly wedded 

 bride of "Bonnie Prince Charlie," the last of the 

 Stuarts. 



Louisa von Stolberg had already repented of her 

 marriage to a man old enough to be her father and a 

 drunkard and a rake to boot. She was not yet twenty, 

 and was naturally attracted by the gallant and handsome 

 young Englishman, who was but a year her junior and 

 showed his admiration for her in most unmistakable 



