HIS GRACE AS A SINGING INSTRUCTOR 217 



ment of his was to give instruction in singing. To 

 Mrs. Billington and Kelly he was kind enough to 

 offer his services, who no doubt enjoyed the fun 

 immensely, for he desired to make them proficient 

 in the roles of Polly and Macheath in the Beggars 

 Opera. To humour their patron, both actress and 

 actor would frequently ask his grace for a song, 

 which he would sing to the accompaniment of a paid 

 pianist, Ireland by name, who was a member of his 

 grace's establishment, but whom Kelly calls ' Job.' 



At last the failure' of his grace's sight and hearing 

 led to the cessation of his dinner-parties, as he told 

 Kelly that his hearing was so bad he could not follow 

 the conversation at table, which made him think of 

 reducing his dinner company to a Ute-a-Ute. At one 

 of these ' strictly -limited -to -two' entertainments, 

 Michael Kelly was his guest. His grace thus 

 recorded his increasing aural infirmity : ' Had I 

 at table more than one person now, they would be 

 talking one to the other and I sitting by not able to 

 hear what they were talking about, which would be 

 extremely aggravating ; now, if I have but one to dine 

 with me, that one must either talk to me or hold his 

 tongue.' In other words, his grace did not believe in 

 affording entertainment, in the form of ' paying the 

 piper and not being allowed to dance.' 



