A Biographical Sketch 



gentlemenandmarquises,"sothat hehadhis hands full. In his letters 

 to Dawe he gives some amusing anecdotes of his experiences. At 

 Calais, with his usual genius for tumbling into scrapes, he tumbled 

 over the string of a kite which some French soldiers were flying, 

 and was roundly abused "in all sorts of French fashion." He was 

 amazed at the size of the bed, "so very high I had to jump into 

 it " ; at the dirtiness of the French friars, "who never change their 

 clothes till they drop off their backs"; at the Church music, in 

 which he seemed to recognise the English air of " Nancy Dawson " ; 

 and at the French women, who went out of doors in rain or sun 

 without hats. 



His love of fine dress led him to the haberdashers' shops, where 

 he purchased some clothes at a price which astonished him. 



" I bought a fine satin coat yesterday," he writes, " for a quarter 

 price of what it would have cost in London : leather breeches are 

 only half-a-guinea per pair, shoes three shillings, cotton stockings 

 half-a-crown, worsted stockings are dear and very bad. They 

 make them of one piece without any distinction for the foot ; that 

 must be formed by putting the stocking on." 



In spite of his commissions to paint the portraits of " many 

 gentlemen and marquises," Morland did not stay more than a few 

 weeks in France, for Mrs. Hill returned to Margate and he with 

 her. At this time, however, there seems to have been a danger of 

 the lady falling out with her friend. George was at the impres- 

 sionable age when a pretty face was worth more than prudence, 

 and at the risk of mortal offence to " Mrs. H.," as he called her 

 in his letters, he was carrying on a very ardent flirtation with her 

 waiting-maid Jenny. 



This girl had attracted him upon his first arrival at Margate, 

 and he described her as "one of the sweetest creatures that ever 

 was seen by man. She is upwards of six feet in height, and so 

 extremely handsome that I have fell desperately in love, and what 

 is charming, I find it returned ; she has not been long come from 

 Liverpool, and is but seventeen years of age." 



It is likely that Mrs. Hill discovered the affection existing 

 between the two young people, for Jenny suddenly left Margate 

 and went to live with her brother in London. Morland, in a brief 



15 



