Tom Moore. 



Among their most intimate friends in the neighbourhood at this 

 time may be mentioned — in addition to Lord and Lady Lansdowne 

 facile joriucipes — the Phipps family, then of Wans; the Starkys, of 

 Spye ; the Lockes, of Rowdeford; the Hughes, of Buckhill ; the 

 Talbots, of Lacock ; the Moneys, of Whetham ; Watson Taylor, of 

 Erlestoke; Clutterbuck, of Hardenhuish ; Scrope, of Castlecombe ; 

 Merewether, of Castlefield ; the Awdrys ; Henry Drury, in charge 

 of Bromham ; and Canon Bowles, that most eccentric poet and 

 divine, who, on being asked by Mrs. Moore to write her name in a 

 bible he had given her, complied in these terms : — " Bessy Moore, 

 from the Author'' ! ! l We may not omit the Fieldings and the 

 Scotts, near Devizes — of whom Fanny Scott (the sister of the wit 

 Luttrell) was never without her pet dog. On one occasion, to in- 

 dulge her fancy, Moore gave her a toy spaniel, made of Dutch 

 pottery. The following accompanied the gift : — - 



" Here humbly to your care commends himself, — 

 Dear Fanny, treat him well, — this dog of delf. 

 Unlike all other dogs of flesh and blood 

 He silently obeys, in silence ever good : 



In fact, he's good as mortal hands can make him ! 



But, unlike other dogs, he's ruined if you break him," 



1 It need scarcely be said that Tom Moore was in the greatest request at all 

 the dinner parties in the neighbourhood, both for his brilliant conversation and 

 for his inimitable singing. That was in my youthful days, so that though I 

 often saw him, I never met him at dinner, or heard him sing ; but from my 

 father and mother, who were accustomed to meet him at some of the houses 

 mentioned above, I used to hear much of this brilliant and charming guest : and 

 I recollect that on one occasion, after a dinner party (I think at Rowdeford), we 

 were much amused by hearing that when Moore had delighted the company with 

 one of his beautiful songs (and I believe he could seldom be prevailed on to sing 

 more than once, or at most twice, of an evening), some other gentleman present 

 was asked in his turn for a song, when, with inconceivably bad taste, he had the 

 presumption to sing one of Moore's own well-known songs. Whilst this was 

 going on the company sat round aghast with dismay at the folly of the per- 

 former, and with terror as to the result. At the conclusion Moore walked up to 

 the offender, and in a severe voice said, " Pray, Sir, may I ask what was the 

 name of that song, and who was it by?" and then, without waiting for an 

 answer, turned upon his heel and called for his carriage. We may be sure that 

 the unhappy delinquent was never again invited to dinner to meet Tom Moore ! 

 [Ed.] 



