70 KEW GARDENS 



from the young Duke of Clarence, our future 

 sovereign, of \vhich_the diarist jotted down a long 

 and most amusing description, though she has to 

 apologise for not giving a full " idea of the 

 energy of His Royal Highness's language." He 

 insisted upon them all drinking the King's health 

 in champagne so often that some of the courtly 

 attendants were a little shaky on their legs ; and 

 as for the Sailor Prince, he got so drunk that, 

 as he told his sister next morning, " You may 

 think how far I was gone, for I kissed the 

 Schwellenberg's hand" and he might have 

 added, bid her " Hold your potato jaw, my dear ! " 

 If this be a true sketch from high life, the 

 novelist need not be accused of exaggerating 

 the manners of her Braughtons and Captain 

 Mirvans. 



Among her last duties was expounding to the 

 inquisitive King and Queen the allusions in 

 Boswell's Dr. Johnson, in 1791 the book of the 

 day, which Miss Burney hardly approved of, 

 being one of the few who " by acquaintance with 

 the power of the moment over his unguarded 

 conversation, know how little of his solid opinion 

 was to be gathered from his accidental assertions." 

 Now she was at pains to vindicate to her royal 



