THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 HARRY DRAVO PARKIN
 
 2- 
 
 & 
 
 Pf. P. PARKIN
 
 RALPH HEATHCOTE
 
 RALPH HEATHCOTE, 1814 
 (From a Miniature 0/ A. zan der EutMe)
 
 I ' I 
 
 RALPH HEATH 
 
 LETTERS OF A YOUNG 
 DIPLOMATIST AND SOLDIER 
 DURING THE TIME OF NAPOLEON 
 
 GIVING AN ACCOUNT OF THE 
 DISPUTE BETWEEN THE EMPEROR 
 AND THE ELECTOR OF HESSE 
 BY COUNTESS GUNTHER GROBEN 
 WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 LONDON : JOHN LANE THE BODLET HEAD 
 
 NEW YORK : JOHN LANE COMPANY MDCCCCVII
 
 Plymouth: william brendon and son, limited, printers
 
 College 
 library 
 
 DC 
 
 m 
 
 DEDICATED TO 
 
 MY DEAR CHILDREN 
 
 COUNT GEORGE AND COUNTESS ILSA WEDEL 
 
 BY THEIR AFFECTIONATE MOTHER 
 
 LOUISA COUNTESS GROBEN 
 
 111G001
 
 The publisher desires to express his warm thanks to Mr. Brook 
 Taylor, Miss Deedes, and Mr. Francis Steuart, for their kind 
 assistance in contributing many valuable documents, illustrations, 
 and notes.
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 i 
 
 Some time ago, whilst looking for a paper in my 
 grandfather's old writing-table, I happened to 
 light upon a drawer which none of us had ever 
 observed before. Quite at the back, hidden by 
 bundles of old business papers, lay a small packet 
 carefully tied up and sealed, which bore the follow- 
 ing inscription in faded ink : " Letters written by 
 myself, at different periods of my life, to my 
 beloved mother ; found at her demise, 2 Novem- 
 ber, 1830." 
 
 It is needless to describe the curiosity and 
 interest with which I opened and read the letters. 
 Some of them were over a hundred years old, 
 and evidently no one had set eyes upon them since 
 Ralph Heathcote himself had sealed them up 
 long ago. Until then my grandfather had been 
 little more than a name to me, when suddenly 
 and unexpectedly I was, so to say, enabled to live 
 with him during the most thrilling and important 
 period of his life. Instead of being an utter 
 stranger, he had become an intimate friend. My 
 one regret was that my dear mother his only 
 daughter had never seen these records of her 
 father's youth. 
 
 2 vii
 
 Introduction 
 
 Although I know that these letters cannot be 
 of the same value to others as they are to me, 
 yet many of my friends consider them interest- 
 ing on account of the times and the situations 
 they so vividly picture, and have persuaded me 
 to have them published. 
 
 In presenting them to the reader, I must add a 
 few words of explanation. 
 
 When my grandfather, Ralph Heathcote, died 
 in 1854 in Cassel then the capital of Hesse 
 I was quite a little girl. Yet I still have a dis- 
 tinct recollection of a stately gentleman, who let 
 me sit upon his knees and fed me with sugar- 
 plums, which my grandmother wanted to prevent, 
 saying, " Don't, don't, you will make little Loo 
 sick." I also remember the same stately gentle- 
 man, dressed in a black coat and tall hat, riding a 
 chestnut horse and waving his hand to me, when 
 I was told to " curtsey to grandpapa." Probably 
 his appearance remains so vividly impressed 
 upon my memory because my own father, 1 then 
 aide-de-camp to the Elector of Hesse, invariably 
 rode in uniform. These are my only personal 
 recollections ; but my mother who, though born 
 and bred in Germany, remained English heart 
 and soul, used often to tell me about her family 
 about her grandfather and father. 
 
 According to her account, the Heathcotes are 
 
 1 Baron Hermann von Eschwege (later Master of the Horse 
 to the Elector of Hesse).
 
 Introduction 
 
 descended from Thorkell, a brother of Canute, 
 who married a fair Saxon named Hedcota. The 
 crest and arms borne by the family were granted 
 to a Hedcote by King Richard, as a reward for 
 his behaviour at the siege of Acre in 1 191. This 
 last fact seems to have been historical. Accord- 
 ing to The Family of Heathcote, a certain Godfrey 
 de Hedcote is mentioned in the reign of Henry 1 1, 
 and in the time of Edward II we find a William de 
 Heathcote repeatedly spoken of. In the reign of 
 Henry I the office of " Custos Cambii," keeper 
 of the King's Exchanges in London and Canter- 
 bury, was held by Robert Hethcote. His will, 
 dated 1403, still exists ; and his numerous lega- 
 cies, his connexion with the Saviles and Water- 
 tons, and the fact of his bequeathing his sword 
 and collar to the King, prove him to have been 
 a person of considerable importance. 
 
 A direct descendant of this Hethcote was in 
 1782, Ralph Heathcote, 1 Minister Plenipotentiary 
 of George III at the Court of the Archbishop 
 Elector of Cologne at Bonn, as well as being ac- 
 credited to the Hessian Court at Cassel. In this 
 year his only child, my grandfather, Ralph Heath- 
 cote, was born in Bonn. His wife was an Alsatian, 
 Baroness Antoinette de Wolter, and they had 
 been married in 1776 at Munich, where my great- 
 grandfather was Secretary to the British Legation. 
 
 1 We find him mentioned in the Hessian State Almanac, of 
 1796, under the description of " Sir Ralph Heathcote, bevollmacht. 
 Minister Sr. gross, britt. Majestat."
 
 Introduction 
 
 She was a Roman Catholic, but her husband and 
 son belonged to the Church of England. A very- 
 clever and handsome woman, Antoinette Heath- 
 cote was the grande dame de rancien regime, and 
 accustomed to be surrounded by gay and elegant 
 society. My great-grandfather was an accom- 
 plished man of the world. Some verses written 
 by him in a light, witty, and often frivolous vein 
 several of them in fluent French show him to 
 have been devoted to the beauties of nature and 
 well up in the classics. 
 
 The brilliant Court of the handsome and intel- 
 lectual young Archbishop Elector was a mixture 
 of ecclesiastical pomp, worldly gaiety, and the 
 philosophical spirit of the time. Maximilian Franz 
 was the youngest son of the Empress Maria 
 Theresa. An injury caused by a fall from his 
 horse during a campaign bringing his military 
 career to a close, his mother induced the Pope to 
 appoint him (then twenty-four years old) to be 
 the coadjutor of the Archbishop Elector of 
 Cologne. Five years later he succeeded to the 
 archiepiscopal principality with the special per- 
 mission of remaining an unconsecrated layman for 
 the space of ten years. He, however, preferred 
 to be fully ordained shortly after attaining the 
 position of Prince Primate of the Church. 
 
 He is an interesting and characteristic figure. 
 Brought up according to enlightened and humani- 
 tarian principles, a contemporary speaks of him
 
 Introduction 
 
 as " the best and most benevolent prince of his 
 time." He anxiously endeavoured to put an end to 
 the corrupt wastefullness of his predecessors and 
 tried to promote prosperity and order. Devoted 
 to literary and scientific pursuits, he opened a public 
 reading-room, and was often to be seen making 
 use of it like one of his own subjects. His chief 
 claims to be remembered are that he founded the 
 University of Bonn ; and was Beethoven's first 
 benefactor. In the year of my grandfather's birth 
 (1782), Ludwig van Beethoven, a boy of eleven 
 years, was appointed assistant to the electoral 
 organist, and two years later he filled this im- 
 portant position himself and directed the far- 
 famed choir. It is easy to perceive the influence 
 this atmosphere of culture had in moulding 
 Beethoven's tastes and inclinations. Not only 
 was the very best classical music to be heard at 
 the castle of Bonn, but the opera and drama were 
 there produced in rare perfection. 
 
 Our family traditions show that Beethoven at- 
 tracted a certain amount of attention even then, as 
 the wives of two of the most influential diplomats, 
 my great-grandmother and her friend, Countess 
 Westphalen, the Austrian Minister's wife, joined 
 in presenting him with a harpsichord, of which he 
 stood in need. Little did they think, however, 
 that a hundred years later, when they, the brilliant 
 Court, and the Elector would long be forgotten, 
 there would be no spot in the world in which
 
 Introduction 
 
 the name of this penniless boy would not be 
 known. 
 
 But with all these musical, intellectual, and 
 benevolent pursuits, the young Archbishop Elec- 
 tor was a very gay and pleasure-loving prince, 
 and as his income exceeded two and a half 
 million florins he was able to gratify his tastes. 
 His Court at Bonn was magnificent. Over three 
 hundred chamberlains, all of noble family, were 
 in his service, and amongst them many foreigners. 
 Almost all the noble Rhenish families the 
 Salms, the Nesselrodes, the Croys, the Hatzfelds, 
 the Metternichs had their own palaces at Bonn. 
 The sumptuous entertainments at the electoral 
 palace at Bonn vied with the feasts at the 
 chateaux of Poppelsdorf and Bruhl ; they were 
 little like ecclesiastical assemblies, and much more 
 resembled the gay fetes given by the Elector's 
 sister, Queen Marie Antoinette, at Versailles or 
 the Trianons. 
 
 Undoubtedly he took his clerical duties lightly, 
 and it was no unusual sight to see the Archbishop 
 driving himself in a four-in-hand, stopping under 
 an open church window, or riding into the porch, 
 in order to hear the Mass he was bound to attend. 
 Like his brother, the Emperor Joseph, he was 
 a freethinker, and mostly on a bad footing with 
 Rome. It was in opposition to the very orthodox 
 University of Cologne that he founded the famous 
 University of Bonn. 
 
 xii
 
 Introduction 
 
 I enter so fully into the history of this prince, as 
 an unusual friendship existed between him and my 
 great-grandparents. After the French Republican 
 armies took possession of his territories, he fled 
 first to Minister and then to his palace at Ellin- 
 gen, not far from Nuremberg. The Heathcotes 
 followed him there, and it was here that in 1801 
 my great-grandfather died, 1 whilst in the same year 
 a sudden illness carried off the Archbishop Elector, 
 Maximilian Franz, during a journey to Vienna. 
 
 Mrs. Heathcote stayed on for some time at Ellin- 
 gen, until she settled in Cassel. As her husband 
 had been accredited to this Court, she found many 
 friends there, and it had the further advantage of 
 being close to Gottingen, at the university of 
 which town her son Ralph was then studying. 
 
 Only a few of her letters remain. Two of 
 these open the series of Ralph's letters, and bring 
 the figure of his mother, the recipient of the 
 following collection, closer before us. 
 
 II 
 
 The chief interest of these letters seems to me 
 to lie in their unusual point of view. Ralph 
 Heathcote was English, and proud of the fact, 
 yet he felt more at home in Germany, where his 
 
 1 His obituary in the "Annual Register," of 1801, is as follows : 
 [January] "15th, in his 49th year, Ralph Heathcote, Esq., His 
 Majesty's minister plenipotentiary to the Elector of Cologne, and 
 to the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel ; eldest son of the late Ralph 
 Heathcote, d.d."
 
 Introduction 
 
 childhood and the greater part of his youth had 
 been spent. 
 
 It is accordingly from the Continental stand- 
 point that he described England, English habits 
 and customs, to his Alsatian mother, who had 
 apparently never visited her husband's country. 
 It is the fresh, unbiassed view of the outsider, and 
 yet it is an Englishman, living as such amongst 
 his own people, who wrote. Some of his observa- 
 tions, as for instance his comparison between the 
 lives of officers in the English and German 
 armies, are very curious. 
 
 Again, it is hardly usual to find officers in the 
 midst of warfare producing careful, conscientious, 
 and yet not inartistic drawings, of their surround- 
 ings. It gives one a certain thrill to come across 
 the view of "Copenhagen in Flames," the inscrip- 
 tion simply stating that it was taken during the 
 siege of that city on September 7, 1807, the day 
 of the capitulation. It is interesting to see 
 sketches of the embarkment of the expedition to 
 the Baltic at Yarmouth, and of the Peninsular 
 landscapes, some of which were taken imme- 
 diately after well-known engagements. 
 
 A few unimportant letters, uninteresting details, 
 
 and repetitions, have been left out, otherwise the 
 
 letters are as they were found in the unopened, 
 
 forgotten drawer. 
 
 L. C. G. 
 Berlin, 1906.
 
 Introduction 
 
 Two letters of Mrs. Heathcote to her son Ralph. 
 
 Bonn, April 21, 1794. 
 Dear Ralph, 
 
 Your letter pleased me, as all that I hear 
 from you does, and it confirms my conviction 
 that your stay in England 1 will do you good. This 
 enables me to bear with more resignation the 
 pain of being separated from my dear child. 
 The day will come, dear Ralph, when your 
 mother will never leave you, and will only be too 
 happy to give up everything in order to be and to 
 remain with you ; but circumstances do not per- 
 mit this for the present. 
 
 I implore you, by all that is dear to you, often 
 to remember the sacrifice I made in having you 
 educated far away from home. It would be impos- 
 sible to give you the education here in Bonn that I 
 desire, one that will enable you to be useful to 
 others and at the same time contribute to your own 
 happiness in life. When I see your little friends, 
 Max Trotti 2 and his brothers, and Max Nessel- 
 rode, I am delighted to know that you are away 
 from here. The Trottis are without a tutor, they 
 are naughtier than ever, and learn nothing ; their 
 
 1 Ralph had been sent to England, in order to be educated at 
 the house of a Dr. Benson. 
 
 2 Sons of Marquis de Trotti, member of a well-known Milanese 
 family, Lord Chamberlain of the Archbishop Elector of Cologne.
 
 Introduction 
 
 father and mother scold them, and the poor 
 children are much to be pitied. 
 
 And then, my dear child, we are menaced by 
 the French. The Elector dare not return to his 
 states, as he might be obliged to leave them at 
 any moment, and you can imagine how this 
 distresses us all. The dearness of everything is 
 making itself markedly felt ; altogether Bonn is 
 very different from what it was when you left, 
 although even then we were afraid of the French. 
 Max Nesselrode talks of nothing but war and 
 soldiering, and does not care for anything else. 
 
 ELLINGEN, le i May, 1800. 
 
 1 J'ai eu la joie la plus grande, en apprennant 
 votre heureuse arrivee a Gottingen, mon cher 
 Rodolphe. Soyez assur que je prends a tout ce 
 qui vous arrive un interdt qui fait une partie 
 de mon existence. Je ne pense et je ne suis 
 occupy que de vous et de vos actions. C'est mon 
 excessive tendresse qui m'a engage pour votre 
 bien-etre, a vous envoyer a Gottingen, mais vous 
 ne pouvez pas vous meme avoir une idee du 
 tourment que j'^prouve d'etre separe" de vous. 
 Comme, bien jeune, je vous ai laisse en Angle- 
 terre vous savez le chagrin que cela ma cout 
 dans ce temps la. A present que vous etes assez 
 
 1 This letter and that announcing the death of Marianne 
 (pp. 70-2) are left in the original French to show the style of 
 Mrs. Heathcote's correspondence. 
 
 xvi
 
 Introduction 
 
 forme" pour n'avoir plus besoin des soins que 
 demande la grande jeunesse, j'ai sans doute 
 moins de douleur et d'inquidtude, mais content je 
 ne puis letre que quand j'aurai le bonheur de vous 
 voir. 
 
 Votre pere est content que vos lettres me soient 
 adresse'es. Sa sante est comme toujours, le soir 
 nous soupons avec lui. II a 6t6 tres content de 
 votre style, mais il vous prie d'^crire en Allemand 
 a Monsieur Doerfeld et de vous rendre le francais 
 plus familier. Le bon Dorfeld dit, que les talents 
 ne vous manquent pas, que si vous vouliez 
 vous appliquer, vous feriez un homme essentiel. 
 II a lu plusieurs fois votre lettre et, en riant, nous 
 a assure^ qu'il n'eut pas cru que votre style fut si 
 bien. Je suis charm que vous soyez satisfait 
 de votre fournisseur avec Monsieur Floret. A 
 l'universite" tous les marchands profitent de 
 l'inexperience des jeunes gens. Je vous prie 
 d'acheter sans scrupule tout ce qui vous est 
 ndcessaire, des depenses inutiles sont les seules que 
 Ton doit eviter, r^ftechissez, mon cher Rodolph, 
 et vous ne trouverez pas les choses trop cheres. 
 Pour un qui paye, il y en a six qui doivent. J'ai 
 demande a Monsieur Doerfeld au sujet de Lord 
 North, il s'en informera. Votre presentation chez 
 les professeurs nous a amuse\ Continuez je vous 
 prie a nous mander tout cela. 
 
 J'ai 6t6 ces jours ci a l'Abbaye de Kaisenhaim ; 
 les moines nous ont recus avec politesse. J'^tais 
 
 xvii
 
 Introduction 
 
 avec le Comte Persico, le Commandeur Hettes- 
 dorf et The>ese. Voila tout. J-y ai couch^ deux 
 nuits dans un lit plus sale que vous ne pouvez 
 imaginer. Nous avons 6te a Donauthverth, y 
 voir, un camp forme de soldats et officiers bava- 
 rois, au nombre de 5000, pay 6s par les anglais ; 
 Comme Donauthverth n'est qua une lieue de 
 l'abbaye, nous y sommes toujours retourn^s pour 
 trouver le lit. Les soldats et les officiers sont tres 
 m^contents. Tous disent que leur souverain les a 
 vendus et qu'ils deserteront a la premiere occasion. 
 Le Prelat nous a fait donner un concert execut6 
 par les moines, excellent ; II y a un de ces Mes- 
 sieurs qui jouent sup^rieurement du violon. Jugez 
 si nous avons parle" et pense a vous! Therese a eu 
 beaucoup de plaisir de cette excursion. Je vous 
 assure qu'elle ne vous oubliera jamais. Comme 
 elle est la premiere a courir pour aller au devant 
 de la fille qui apporte les lettres, elle m'a remis 
 votre paquet, ne pouvant attendre que je lui 
 donne de vos nouvelles. Elle s'acquittera de 
 votre commission. Mademoiselle de Welden a un 
 caractere plus solide que vous ne le supposez. 
 Elle m'aime comme sa mere. 
 
 J'ai recu des lettres de l'Electeur, 1 de Ratisbonne 
 et de Linz. II est tres bien, a soutenu la fatigue 
 a merveille. Monsieur Floret m'a aussi donne" de 
 ses nouvelles et il se rappelle a votre souvenir. 
 
 1 The Elector Max Franz of Cologne, who was a great friend 
 of Mrs. H. 
 
 xviii
 
 Introduction 
 
 Vous devez lui 6crire aussitot que vous pouvez, 
 tout simplement a son adresse a Vienne, en anglais. 
 N'oubliez pas de lui recommander de vous mettre 
 au pied de son auguste maftre pr^cisement qu'il 
 peut montrer votre lettre a- 1'Electeur. Cela fera 
 plaisir au Prince. 
 
 Votre ^cuyer, dont je ne sais dcrire le nom, a 
 ete deux fois chez moi pour me demander de vos 
 nouvelles. Je l'ai vu ce matin et je lui ai dit de 
 votre part de belles choses. La famille . . . vous 
 regrette et Madame K. travaille a force pour 
 vous. Les enfants de la Comtesse Persico ont 
 ete hier inoculs dans mes bras. Pere et Mere 
 n'ayant pas le courage de voir la grande c6r6- 
 monie. Antoinette, comme un ange, a souffert 
 la lancette, la petite comme un diable m'a jet6 
 tout au visage. Dieu veuille que cela r^uississe ! 
 mais moi, mon cher fils, je vous promets que 
 votre mere ni maintenant ni a l'avenir jamais ne 
 sera innocul^e ! Madame Porty, jadis la belle 
 Hellerman, est accouchde d'un fils, il y a trois jours. 
 Elle et l'enfant ne se portent pas bien. A present 
 adieu. Je vous recommande de menager votre 
 sante, car si vous etes malade, je suis en veVite 
 desole\ ainsi pour mon interet personnel, ayez 
 soins de vous. Je vous donne ma benediction. 
 Puisse-t-elle tre un heureux presage de la grace 
 et de la fdlicit^ que nous vous souhaitons, cher 
 Rodolph, votre bonne et tendre mere, 
 
 Antoinette Heathcote. 
 
 b xix
 
 Introduction 
 
 P.S. Le malheur arriv^ au violon est triste. 
 TheVese a eu en present le chien de Monsieur 
 Floret j 1 elle Taime a. la folie. Je 1'appelle souvent 
 " Vixen." A ce souvenir il doit de bons moments 
 et maintes caresses. 
 
 1 M. Floret, who is so often mentioned in these letters, was then 
 in the service of the Elector Archbishop, after whose death he 
 entered the Austrian service. He must have been a very able 
 man, for it was he who was sent to Paris in 1810 as Privy Coun- 
 cillor to arrange the marriage settlements between the Emperor 
 Napoleon and Marie Louise.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 I. Early Times . . . 
 
 PAGE 
 I 
 
 II. 
 
 The Brook Taylor Incident 
 
 32 
 
 III. 
 
 Marianne . . . 
 
 . 62 
 
 IV. 
 
 London English Military Life and 
 Copenhagen Expedition 
 
 THE 
 
 74 
 
 V. 
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 . 196 
 
 
 Conclusion . . . 
 
 . 282 
 
 
 Appendix . . . 
 
 . 289 
 
 
 Index . . . 
 
 293
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Ralph Heathcote, 1814 . . . Frontispiece 
 
 (From a miniature by A. van der Embde.) 
 
 TO FACE PACK 
 
 Ralph Heathcote . . . ... 6 
 
 Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of H.B.M. King 
 George III to the Courts of the Elector of Cologne and the Elector of 
 Hesse-Cassel. 
 
 Maximilian Franz . . . ... 10 
 
 Elector and Archbishop of Cologne, Archduke of Austria. (From a 
 miniature by Isabey belonging to Countess Groben.) 
 
 Ralph Heathcote . . . . . . 12 
 
 (Painted at Bonn in 1790.) 
 
 Mrs. Heathcote, nie Antoinette de Wolter . . . 16 
 
 Mother of Ralph Heathcote. 
 
 Brook Taylor, afterwards Sir Brook Taylor . . 32 
 
 British Minister at the Court of Hesse-Cassel. 
 
 William I, Elector of Hesse-Cassel . . . . 60 
 
 Yarmouth . . . . ... 154 
 
 Where Lord Cathcart and his suite embarked on board the "Africaine" 
 frigate and " Bellette " sloop of war for the Expedition to the Baltic, 
 July 5th, 1807. 
 
 The Siege of Copenhagen . . ... 158 
 
 From a sketch taken from the country house belonging to Mr. Erichson, 
 a banker of Copenhagen, the headquarters of the British Army, on the 
 7th of September, 1807, the day that the capitulation was signed. 
 
 S alton Hall . . . . . . 168 
 
 (Drawn July 16th, 1808.) 
 
 The Grampian Mountains . . ... 176 
 
 (Drawn August 16th, 1808.) 
 
 A View of the Tagus . . ... 212 
 
 (Drawn March 19th, 1810.) 
 
 ABRANTES . . . . ... 218 
 
 (Drawn February 20th, 18x0.) 
 
 xxiii
 
 Illustrations 
 
 Castello de Vide and Maiivao 
 
 (Drawn March 20th, 18 10.) 
 
 TO FACE PAGE 
 . 222 
 
 Stewart's Monument 
 
 (Drawn September 3rd, 1810.) 
 
 . 226 
 
 The Sierra de Busaco 
 
 (Drawn September 28th, 1810.) 
 
 232 
 
 Albuquerque 
 
 (Drawn March 8th, 1S10.) 
 
 238 
 
 Elvas .... 
 (Drawn July, 1811.) 
 
 . 240 
 
 ClUDAD RODRIGO 
 
 (Drawn January 25th, 1812.) 
 
 . 242 
 
 Louise de Trott zu Solz 
 
 . 282 
 
 Wife of Ralph Heathcote. (From a miniature by A. van der Embde.)
 
 RALPH HEATHCOTE
 
 RALPH HEATHGOTE 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 EARLY TIMES 
 
 RALPH'S first letter is written in un- 
 formed characters, and is rather senten- 
 tiously expressed. He was then only 
 nineteen. His style soon becomes 
 easy and simple compared with many of the 
 productions of those days. A collection of letters 
 from Baron Handel, a German gentleman in the 
 service of the Archbishop- Elector, to Ralph, 
 beginning at a time when he was only fifteen, 
 prove him to have been unusually advanced for 
 his years. Handel treats him entirely as he 
 would a companion of his own age. 
 
 Doerfeld had evidently described to Ralph the 
 difficulty his mother had had in recovering from 
 the shock of his father's death. " Madame de 
 Heathcote," as her son usually addresses her, 
 was still staying on at Ellingen, the Archbishop- 
 Elector's Palace.
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 G6TTINGEN, January 29, 1801. 
 
 This morning I have received Doerfeld's letter, 
 by which it appears that you have not yet re- 
 covered from the shock which the last unfortunate 
 event has caused. I am confident that time and 
 our joint endeavours will succeed in restoring 
 your peace of mind. Though I was at first very 
 much shocked, yet reason alleviated my grief and 
 convinced me that the dear deceased is in every 
 respect much happier than before, indeed a life 
 like his constantly afflicted with diseases is by no 
 means to be envied. I eagerly count the days of 
 my residence at Gottingen. 
 
 Hoping ere long to convince my dear remain- 
 ing parent of the warmest sentiments of filial 
 affection with which I shall ever glow, a few 
 weeks will bring me to this dreadful and yet dear 
 town. 
 
 My dear mother, pray be not offended with 
 the shortness of my letter, as it does not proceed 
 from idleness or want of affection, but rather 
 from very contrary opposite motives ; think that 
 every moment I lose now [is] not to be made 
 amends for. My compliment to all friends, especi- 
 ally to dear D. Pray tell him I shall not fail to 
 answer his last letter by the next post. 
 
 I remain your ever affectionate son, 
 
 R. H.
 
 Early Times 
 
 Gottingen, September 6, 1801. 
 
 Perhaps you remember one evening at Court, 
 Breuning 1 said he wondered how long it would 
 be before we all met again. I replied most prob- 
 ably never. My father was the first who left us, 
 and the Prince to whom he was accredited 
 followed him soon after. We who remain look 
 down upon the ruins and say like Wieland, 
 "Auch diese waren in Arkadien." If ever I 
 return to the Court of Cologne, if ever I behold 
 once more the walls in which the years of my 
 infant age slided along in youthful plays, I shall 
 behold a world quite new, quite strange to me. 
 It is just as if a mine had sprung beneath us. 
 We are dispersed ; some are living, others dead. 
 I am sorry I am not a novel-writer. Nobody 
 has surely ever had a better subject to write his 
 own biography than I ; taking the word as it is 
 now generally taken, namely, saying very little of 
 myself, but all I know of others in other words, 
 " Une histoire de mon temps," taking the short- 
 ness of the action in consideration, of course. 
 
 This half-year, according to the academical 
 expression, is now almost over. Some lectures 
 are finished, or near their end. I have made 
 
 1 Herr von Breuning was afterwards chamberlain to the Arch- 
 duke Charles of Vienna, after the Elector of Cologne's death, to 
 whose Court he had belonged.
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 great plans for the next ; if I could put one-half 
 of them into execution I have reason to be satis- 
 fied. As for the vacation, I think I shall spend it 
 within doors. Dull as the time is at Gottingen, 
 I do not feel disposed to make any excursions, 
 though I can assure you I begin to feel tired of 
 the place. Studying for ever may give satisfac- 
 tion in as far as it gratifies our vanity, but it 
 gives little pleasure in the main. Smollett, in his 
 Humphry Clinker says, " The correspondence 
 of an acadamion is poor ; the want of variety, 
 the necessary attendant of his life, does not afford 
 him subject-matter to write upon." No academic 
 has ever felt the truth of this assertion more 
 than I do at present, for I spend the whole stock 
 of my ideas. 
 
 I am very sensible of the kindness of His 
 Royal Highness, and hope that his intercessions 
 will be of some use. With regard to myself 
 particularly, though very much obliged for his 
 goodness, I am determined to follow a line of life 
 in which his protection as well as that of any 
 man living can be of very little, nay, even of no 
 use to me. My father, when about my time of 
 life, despised the law and preferred the diplo- 
 matic line ; whatever his reasons might be for 
 preferring the latter, I am resolved to follow the 
 first, convinced as I am of the little solid ad- 
 vantage the line can possibly afford me, for sup- 
 posing I was made Minister Plenipotentiary, what 
 
 4
 
 Early Times 
 
 then ? I will take my chance in a much more 
 difficult road, I confess, but which shows me a 
 prospect which ten to one I can never attain [but] 
 will yet keep me in spirits and hope. Another 
 mighty reason, if you might think the other- 
 mentioned ones too trivial, is that the greatest 
 activity is necessary to keep me from a kind of 
 apathy to which I am very liable. 
 
 GOTTINGEN, December 24, 1801. 
 
 Some weeks ago I made a visit to Doerfeld at 
 Cassel, whom I found very comfortably lodged at 
 the Minister's new house. Mr. Taylor was not in 
 town, and I was not happy enough to find out 
 Madame de Lauterbach's lodgings, for she had 
 left the inn, or else I should certainly have paid 
 her my respects. She is the first woman of fashion 
 I have seen since I left home, and has behaved 
 very civilly to me, reasons enough for a young man, 
 who is yet very far from having acquired le ton de 
 la so^Ute", to cultivate her acquaintance. I saw, and 
 what's more, spoke to her daughter 1 at the play. 
 
 1 Madame de Lauterbach's daughter Louise was soon to be the 
 object of Ralph Heathcote's fervent, though inconstant affections. 
 Louise de Lauterbach afterwards played a great part in society, and 
 died as Princess Putbus, at an advanced age, at her house in Berlin. 
 She had, soon after the events these letters chronicle, married 
 Count Veltheim ; a year and a half later she was divorced, and 
 married her husband's best friend, Count (afterwards Prince) 
 Putbus. The town of Putbus and part of the Isle of Riigen 
 were his property. 
 
 5
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 This little journey is the only occurrence worth 
 mentioning which has happened to me since my 
 last ; living the droning life of a student, without 
 frequenting any assemblies or public places, the 
 concerts excepted, my materials for letter-writing 
 are so few, that if I was not convinced you would 
 put up with trifles, I should only be ashamed of 
 taking up my pen. 
 
 I send you, dear mother, the compliments of 
 the season. May I live to wish you many New 
 Years to come ; to make them as agreeable as lies 
 in my power will be my most ardent endeavours, 
 my earnest desire. As a souvenir of Gottingen, I 
 send you an almanack which, having consulted 
 your taste for politics, may be of some use to you. 
 
 Mrs. Heathcote, like many other foreigners, 
 settled at Cassel, where owing to her late hus- 
 band's position as English Minister at that Court 
 she found many old friends and led a very pleasant 
 life. 
 
 Cassel was then one of the brightest and most 
 attractive German Courts. The taste and lavish 
 expenditure of the Electors had embellished the 
 capital of Hesse with fine palaces, parks, and art 
 collections. There was an excellent opera, and 
 brilliant court entertainments. Even now Wil- 
 helmshohe is still one of the most beautiful royal 
 residences in Europe. As the cost of living was 
 also cheap, it is no wonder that foreigners of dis- 
 
 6
 
 RALPH HEATHCOTE 
 Envoy Extraordinary and Min- 
 ister Plenipotentiary of H.B.M. 
 King George III to the Courts of 
 t/;e Elector of Cologne and the 
 
 Elector of Hesse-Cassel.
 
 Early Times 
 
 tinction settled there ; and these letters often men- 
 tion foreign names belonging to Cassel society. 
 
 The reigning Electress was a Danish princess ; 
 and the fact of the Elector's mother having been 
 a daughter of George II of England may account 
 for the large number of English residents. 
 
 G6TTINGEN, February 14, 1802. 
 
 It was with the greatest pleasure I received 
 your last letter, which contributed not a little to 
 alleviate my fears, on account of your health, 
 which had been occasioned by your long silence. 
 At present I am convinced you are perfectly 
 recovered. Change of air and of situation cannot 
 fail of producing the most salutary effects, and 
 will undoubtedly remove all the evil consequences 
 of an unpleasant season spent in a solitary recess, 
 whence the little amusements which had formerly 
 served in some measure to enliven it are fled, 
 perhaps for ever. Munich, the most pleasant 
 town I know in Germany, will I trust entirely 
 dissipate the remaining seeds of melancholy, which 
 I am afraid still prey upon your mind. 
 
 We have had great disturbances occasioned by 
 riots among the students lately at Gottingen, 
 which induced me to go to Cassel for a few days. 
 I found D. very well, dined with the Minister, 1 
 
 1 Taylor. 
 7
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 and am now returned as well as ever, the tumults 
 having been perfectly appeased. Probably you 
 may have heard of it. I have not now room 
 or time enough to enter into any details ; this 
 much I must tell you, that the military has 
 been called upon to act against the students, 
 who all rose in a body and threatened to leave 
 the University. No lectures were read for a 
 couple of days, and the consequences might have 
 been fatal in case the Academical Senate had not 
 submitted in some measure to their demands. I 
 need not tell you how tired I am of this blessed 
 University, which in less than ten weeks will 
 no longer have the honour to look upon me as 
 one of its members, and which since the last 
 tumult has changed considerably for the worse, 
 orders and Landsmannschaften having been re- 
 introduced. 
 
 J'espere bien que vous ferez mes compliments 
 a la nouvelle mariee dont le souvenir me flatte 
 infiniment. S'il n'6tait pas ridicule pour un jeune 
 homme comme moi de faire des prophecies sur 
 un eVenement dont il ne peut guere etre suppose 
 d'avoir de l'experience, je ne manquerai pas d'en 
 hasarder des plus favorables. Le bonheur que 
 ma cousine ressent de son mariage m'autorise de 
 lui faire mes congratulations les plus sinceres. 
 Quoique je n'ai pas l'honneur d'etre connu de 
 Monsieur de E., ayant seulement eu l'occasion 
 de le voir une fois a Munich, j'espere qu'il voudra 
 
 8
 
 Early Times 
 
 agreer mes compliments que je vous prie de lui 
 faire de ma part. 
 
 This, if I am not mistaken, is the first time I 
 have written to you in French to spare you the 
 trouble of a translation. I hope Theresa will 
 follow her sister's example and will cease to be 
 so very nice with regard to years. 
 
 The following letters were written when Ralph 
 Heathcote was on his way to England. 
 
 Heiligenstadt, August 31, 1803. 
 
 I arrived at this place about eight o'clock in the 
 morning, perfectly well, though most completely 
 shaken about during the night, the roads being as 
 bad as possible. To complete the misfortune 
 I can nowhere get horses, though the drivers go 
 on well enough ; this prevents my getting on as 
 I could wish. 
 
 Pray present my best compliments to the 
 charming Miss Lauterbach. Tell her a great 
 many fine things for me, especially how very 
 sorry I was at not being able to take leave of 
 her, as according to all probability she will have 
 left Cassel by the time I return. However, to 
 comfort myself in some measure, I shall look out 
 for another beauty at London to repair the loss 
 I have sustained. I am writing in a dirty room,
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 a party of noisy boys and girls staring at me 
 whilst they are dressing and eating their break- 
 fast, so I am glad to conclude. With great 
 affection. 
 
 Stockay. 
 
 I would not send off my letter this morning, 
 but took it on with me for two posts more. It is 
 now half-past-three and I have no chance of 
 setting off this hour yet. The few houses com- 
 posing this place are very poor ; it must have 
 been some country seat or other. However, the 
 roads leading to it are bad beyond description, 
 and I am convinced that the Miss Berrys could 
 not have gone on with it. I fancy no English 
 carriage could stand it, and now good-bye. 
 
 Ralph wrote amongst quaint surroundings. 
 Husum, then belonging to Danish Holstein, was 
 a picturesque little port, from which the sea was 
 receding more and more. Even now it has a par- 
 ticular charm, with its tiled roofs, curious stoves, 
 and vestiges of the Holstein costume, which was 
 then universally worn. Here he waited for wind 
 and tide, and here he had the good fortune to 
 find the pleasantest of travelling companions in 
 the shape of the Miss Berrys. 
 
 We have no difficulty in recalling the Miss 
 Berrys. As quite young girls, they were the 
 intimate friends of the septuagenarian Horace 
 
 IO
 
 MAXIMILIAN FRANZ 
 ELECTOR AND ARCHBISHOr 
 OF COLOGNE, ARCHDUKE 
 
 OF AUSTRIA 
 (From a miniature by Isabey 
 belonging to Countess Groben)
 
 Early Times 
 
 Walpole, who occasionally called them his little 
 wives, and sometimes his darling children. Very 
 attractive, cultivated, and agreeable, they were 
 made much of by the best society, and many 
 old people still talk of the house at Curzon 
 Street, where a lighted lamp invited passing 
 friends to a cup of tea and a chat with those two 
 charming hostesses. 
 
 In the course of a Continental journey they 
 passed Cassel (May 14, 1804). Miss Berry, the 
 cleverer of the two sisters, was just forty, still 
 good-looking, and of a striking personality. She 
 mentions dining at Mr. Brook Taylor's and meet- 
 ing his secretary, Mr. Heathcote, and her diary 
 gives us a vivid little picture of life at Cassel : 
 "Went to the parade. Nothing can exceed the 
 clockwork regularity of their movements." [Miss 
 Berry had severely criticized the parade, which 
 she had lately witnessed in Paris, before the First 
 Consul.] " Their regimentals are very handsome, 
 and their whole appearance very clean and mili- 
 tary. In short, their prince does nothing else and 
 thinks of nothing else, and is, I believe, the 
 greatest adept in every branch of the art of what 
 is called 'German discipline/ Nothing can ex- 
 ceed the fitness of the ! locale ' for such a parade : 
 a large plain of fine short grass, bounded by 
 a high wood at one end and by the gay buildings 
 of the Orangerie at the other ; it really is one of 
 the prettiest military scenes that can be seen." 
 
 11
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 Of Wilhelmshohe she says that nothing can be 
 more magnificent than this palace. 
 
 She was introduced to the Elector's mistress, 
 the Countess of Hessenstein, and describes her as 
 a very good-looking woman, with simple, un- 
 affected manners, who looked heartily tired of the 
 position of maztresse en litre. So runs Miss 
 Berry's diary. 
 
 Countess Hessenstein's story throws a sad 
 light on the morals of a time not so very 
 distant. She was the orphan daughter of a 
 Baron Schlotheim, and lived with her uncle in 
 the country. When almost a child not quite 
 sixteen she went to visit an aunt belonging to 
 the Court of Wilhelmshohe. The Elector saw 
 her and fell in love with her. Frightened at the 
 sovereign's proposals, she fled by night, disguised 
 in a farm-girl's clothes, from the palace, and ran on 
 and on until too wearied to go farther ; then a 
 farmer found her and took her in his cart to her 
 uncle's place. 
 
 But the Elector, who had never been daunted 
 in love, found means to make her return to 
 Wilhelmshohe ; people even affirm that her 
 uncle himself took her there. It is certain that 
 she was forced into a private marriage with the 
 Elector on the day of her return. It took place 
 in the chapel of the Lowenburg, where a clergy- 
 man was compelled to hold a service resembling 
 the marriage ceremony, and the poor little girl 
 
 12
 
 RALPH HEATHCOTE 
 (Painted at Bonn in 1790J
 
 Early Times 
 
 was told she was now married to the Elector. 
 Until his death she lived with him in one palace, 
 while close by in another his lawful wife, the 
 Electress, resided ; but the latter, as well as 
 the Electoral Prince and his wife and family, 
 associated in the most amiable way with the 
 Countess of Hessenstein and her five children. 
 She always had a good influence on the Elector, 
 and died universally esteemed at an advanced age 
 at Cassel nearly twenty-five years after him. In 
 later years her house remained one of the centres 
 of court society, and the young Elector never 
 failed to appear at her fetes. 
 
 HUSUM, September 5, 1803. 
 
 Thanks to the gods, I have at last arrived at 
 the end of my German and Danish journey, for 
 I began to be heartily tired of my solitary ex- 
 pedition, jogging on day and night without 
 having any diversion but hurrying the drivers 
 at every stage I came to. I hope you received 
 the two letters I wrote to you on the road, and 
 should have written more if I had not found it 
 too inconvenient, for if once I sat down to write, 
 nobody thought of getting the horses ready; that 
 was also the reason I never took any regular 
 meals whilst I travelled post, for in Denmark 
 they have no such things as post horses. You 
 
 13
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 stop at the inn and they provide you with horses 
 which they hire in the town. 
 
 It is very strange that, though I have been 
 travelling on five days and five nights and a half 
 without stopping anywhere, I should not be tired 
 in the least, but I can assure you I am as fresh 
 as the day I set out. 
 
 Pray tell Doerfeld I have had another adven- 
 ture with robbers, in which the hero almost began 
 to be afraid. You must know that the road from 
 Burgstall to Stendal goes over a long heath, 
 excessively sandy, with fir woods intermingled 
 here and there. To this road I came in the middle 
 of night, and was as usual fast asleep, when 
 the postillion woke me and made me observe 
 a fire in the wood close by the place we were to 
 pass. I prepared accordingly, but was too idle 
 to get out of the carriage. We drove on hearing 
 loud laughing and screaming ; I took them for 
 a band of gypsies or robbers ; but we had 
 scarcely got near them when we were surrounded 
 by about fifteen fellows, who stopped the carriage 
 and asked the driver what right he had to drive 
 that road. The driver jumped off the box, and 
 I, not being able to get out of the carriage now, 
 took aim with my pistol at the fellow nearest me, 
 swearing I would fire immediately if they did not 
 make off; the driver had in the meantime made 
 up to those who held the horses, threatening to 
 horsewhip them if they offered to frighten us any 
 
 14
 
 Early Times 
 
 longer. The thing was very serious, and I was 
 already determined to shoot the fellow when they 
 thought proper to run away. They were, as we 
 found afterwards, peasants watching their horses 
 feeding in the woods, who wanted to frighten us 
 and get a little money out of us if they could. 
 Ever after I always had my pistols lying on the 
 seat next me all night, and I was determined to 
 get out in time ; for had they been robbers I 
 should have shot too, but unable to defend my- 
 self with my broadsword or to make my escape 
 would have been slain like Ibycus by the 
 survivors. 
 
 My compliments to the beauty of beauties, 
 the fair Miss Lauterbach, of whom, by the bye, 
 I never thought when going to engage with the 
 robbers. It is very strange and makes me doubt 
 of the custom having existed among the old 
 knights. I swear I only thought of myself who 
 was going to be slain ! 
 
 HUSUM, September 8, 1803. 
 
 The winds have still kept me a prisoner in 
 Denmark, and our hopes for a speedy delivery are 
 less than ever. In the meantime I am suffering 
 most cruelly from ennui, a sad evil indeed, which 
 exercises its arbitrary sway over all who have 
 entered these regions of expectation. In want of 
 
 is
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 books, for Tom Jones is my only companion, I eat a 
 great deal, and am a long time about it, besides 
 taking two regular pilgrimages to the seashore 
 every dayand calling on the charming Miss Berrys. 
 The twelve hours which I am awake in Denmark 
 out of the twenty-four are passed in yawning and 
 dozing. Past events are now reappearing to my 
 mind, and I have had occasion to find in Husum 
 a quality diametrically opposite to that which the 
 ancients have attributed to the Leucadian Rock. 
 You must know that I am now recommencing to 
 think of the charming Miss Lauterbach, for I had 
 quite forgotten her from the day I knew of my 
 journey to England to my arrival at this place, and 
 should be very much obliged if you would acquaint 
 me if the marriage is yet to take place, and when 
 and where. It is one of the events I cannot 
 well believe till they have actually happened. It 
 had been my intention to have taken leave of 
 Miss L. and of Countess Bohlen at the play, 
 but was prevented by the horses coming sooner 
 than they had been ordered. I hope the ladies 
 were not offended at the apparent want of re- 
 spect, but if they were there is no great harm 
 done, as I shall probably never see them again, 
 at least not her I most care about. By the bye, 
 is it not odd that all her admirers, at least those 
 of our acquaintance, should be so strangely dis- 
 persed as they are ? She has two in France, one 
 in England, one in Italy, and poor me up to my 
 
 16
 
 MRS. HEATHCOTE, NEE ANTOINETTE 
 
 DE WOLTER 
 
 (Mother of Ralph Heathcote)
 
 Early Times 
 
 neck in Denmark, who were all a year ago very 
 quietly at Cassel. She has, it seems, a quality 
 similar to that of Medusa. She turns all her 
 lovers into travellers. All I hope is that this 
 influence may not be extended to her husband, 
 for by what I know of him he is little qualified for 
 a roving life, and No. i is more than sufficient for 
 the noble Count. 1 
 
 Perhaps it may interest you to know that 
 Mr. Liston arrived at this place not many days 
 ago. Had I had the least idea of having a 
 chance of being with him in the same town, I 
 should certainly have requested Doerfeld to 
 favour me with a letter of introduction to that 
 gentleman. As it is, I was very near paying him 
 a visit, but as his brother is dying in the same 
 house with him, joined to some other considera- 
 tions, I thought it proper to stay away. Though 
 it is said that he intends to return to Copenhagen 
 after having seen his wife's sister with her hus- 
 band, who, as I have mentioned before, is not 
 expected to reach England alive, safely em- 
 barked, I do not believe it, and fancy he wishes 
 to make a secret of his journey to England. 
 
 Some days previous to my departure from 
 Cassel I wrote a letter to Esslinger at Frank- 
 fort giving some commission relative to books, 
 with which, unless I am very much mistaken, I 
 have already acquainted you. I expect him 
 
 1 Count Veltheim, from whom she was very soon divorced. 
 c 17
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 consequently to send me a box full of these, 
 which I have desired him to direct to be delivered 
 to Mr. Taylor's house. I must request the favour 
 of you to open his letter for me, which will 
 either accompany or precede the books, and beg 
 Doerfeld to get the value of them paid to Ess. 
 at Frankfort. The money I entrusted to your 
 care will be much more than what is necessary, 
 and should this even not be the case, you will 
 advance as much as is requisite. . . . 
 
 I forgot that this letter would be opened, and 
 therefore was obliged to erase what I had written 
 and leave out what I was going to write. Pray 
 present my best compliments to all my acquaint- 
 ance at Cassel, especially to Mrs. Rowe, and tell 
 her that for my sake she may not wish the packet 
 taking over the Berrys to be taken, for I am 
 going to sail in company with them. I intend to 
 take this letter over to England with me and 
 there to finish it, unless my stay in this blessed 
 country is prolonged too much. 
 
 In the afternoon of the same day. 
 I have seen my captain to-day. He tells me 
 there is little or no chance of sailing to-morrow ; 
 if that be the case I shall put this letter into the 
 post office here. I called this morning on the 
 Miss Berrys and Lady Prescot, with whom I am 
 to go in the same packet. He had told those 
 ladies we were to go on board this evening ; 
 
 18
 
 Early Times 
 
 this, however, I found afterwards to be false. 
 Yesterday another packet-boat arrived from Eng- 
 land ; by it we are informed that they believe us 
 to be taken by the French in that country ; and 
 well they may, for there are at present six packets 
 all to sail at the same time. I find I have grown 
 fond of writing here at Husum ; however, I must 
 now give it up for to-day, as the hour of my 
 afternoon's pilgrimage to the seashore has struck 
 already. As you may perhaps be curious to know 
 what I shall do with myself after my return, I 
 must tell you that I am engaged to drink tea 
 with my Miss Berrys. What should you say if 
 I was to marry one of those ladies ? I swear I 
 should do all my endeavours to get one of them, 
 if they were only ten years younger than they 
 are, for I never in my life made the acquaintance 
 of such agreeable people. 
 
 HUSUM, September 9, 1803. 
 
 The wind has been blowing very hard all night, 
 and as I believe still from the same quarter, so 
 that there is no chance of sailing to-day at least. 
 As I have nothing better to do with myself, I am 
 going to give you an account of Husum and its 
 neighbourhood. You must know then that this 
 town contains about five thousand inhabitants, 
 most of whom appear to be very much at their 
 ease ; indeed I have not yet seen a beggar or any 
 pauvre honteux in the place. The houses also are 
 
 19
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 very well built, and, as well as the streets, kept 
 very clean and neat. The inhabitants are very 
 civil, but impose upon strangers without mercy ; 
 the language they speak is a mixture of German 
 and Danish, though most of them are able to 
 speak good German. So much for the good of 
 this place ; but now comes the bad, which over- 
 balances the former in a very great degree. It 
 is called a seaport, but lies at eighteen English 
 miles distant from the open sea, though the mouth 
 of the river, where the packets lie and which 
 forms the port, is very large and broad. This 
 lies at about the distance of six English miles 
 from the town, and a river which in low water is 
 not above ten feet across leads to it. The mouth 
 of the river, though it has good anchoring- 
 ground, is intercepted with islands and sand- 
 banks without number, so that a very favourable 
 wind indeed is required to get out of it, besides 
 which the land lies so very low that not even the 
 church steeple of Husum is to be seen from the 
 ships, the shore presenting one flat surface, with- 
 out any hill or any other remarkable object to go 
 by, nothing but the dykes, which are about forty 
 feet above the surface of the ground, being 
 visible. To complete the misfortune, the winds 
 are remarkably steady in this part of the world 
 and generally blowing from the sea, when it is 
 impossible, by reason of the difficult navigation, 
 to get out of the port. So much for the town 
 
 20
 
 Early Times 
 
 and port ; as to the environs, the description is 
 easily made, for it is nothing but heath all around, 
 without either tree, bush, or hill of any kind. 
 Indeed, by what I have seen of Denmark, I am 
 inclined to divide the country into four parts : 
 two of these consist of barren heath, the third of 
 wood and lakes, and the fourth and last of fertile 
 lands and towns or, in short, inhabited places. So 
 much for Denmark, of which I have only seen 
 the finest and most cultivated part, namely, Hol- 
 stein and part of Schleswig. 
 
 HUSUM, September 10, 1803. 
 
 The wind has changed a little to the north this 
 night past, and I flatter myself we shall be able 
 to sail to-morrow ; at all events I shall put this 
 letter into the post office at Husum, as it is long 
 enough at least, in all conscience sake. I was 
 a-shopping this morning with one of the Miss 
 Berrys, and discovered that she is a perfect 
 mistress of drawing, the dress of the peasants of 
 this country furnishing her with excellent subjects. 
 
 P.S. The wind is directly contrary, and I 
 cannot say yet when we shall set off. I have 
 engaged my passage on the Diana Captain 
 Osborne. However, I amuse myself perfectly 
 here at Husum, having been so fortunate as to 
 meet the Miss Berrys, who having been four days 
 at sea were obliged to put back to port. Those 
 
 21
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 ladies have introduced me to Lord and Lady 
 Prescot and Sir John, with whom I am to go in 
 the same packet, and who are very agreeable 
 people. The Miss B. have taken their places on 
 board another packet, the same on which Mr. 
 Paget, our Minister at Vienna, is returning to 
 England. Pray inform Mr. Taylor of this par- 
 ticular, for I have already sent off the letter to 
 him I had written, as all people in this country 
 are in expectation of a speedy rupture with 
 England, which supposition is supported by 
 several little incidents, but which appear all to 
 be tending to one object. At Tonningen the 
 Danes have made themselves masters of a ship 
 which we had taken and maintained it by force of 
 arms against the boats of some of our ships of 
 war that had been assigned for the purpose, and 
 which were ordered to take her out at all hazards ; 
 the garrison has been reinforced there, and we 
 have since been informed that the detention had 
 been effected in consequence of an express order 
 from Copenhagen. Our sailors, even at this 
 place, are very ill-treated, so much so that all the 
 endeavours of their commanders can scarcely 
 restrain them from taking bloody revenge on the 
 insults they are but too frequently subjected to. 
 Some days ago a boat from one of the packets 
 happening to land in a place some hundred yards 
 distant from that assigned for that purpose, and 
 which was only occasioned by the very boisterous
 
 Early Times 
 
 weather, was instantly fired at by the Danish 
 batteries, which, by the bye, have only been 
 erected since the arrival of our ships at this place, 
 and which are daily reinforced and augmented. 
 
 It is remarkably cold here, and I am inclined to 
 attribute it more to the situation of this country 
 than to the general temperature now existing in 
 Germany. The harvest has been remarkably 
 plentiful in these countries, and is now quite 
 over. 
 
 Good-bye. 
 
 As the British Government laid an embargo 
 on all French ships in British ports, great 
 numbers of English, who had taken the oppor- 
 tunity of the Peace to visit France, either for 
 business or for pleasure, were by the order of 
 Napoleon made prisoners of war and kept for 
 years in captivity, so that for the time being 
 travelling was rather a difficult undertaking. 
 
 Yarmouth, September 20. 
 
 After a most tedious passage of six nights and 
 five days, I am at last safely arrived in Old 
 England, perfectly well and totally recovered 
 from all remains of sea-sickness. I am just 
 setting off for London, where I shall write more 
 to you as soon as I have arrived. In the mean- 
 
 23
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 time present my best compliments to all my 
 friends, and believe me 
 
 Ever yours, 
 
 Ralph Heathcote. 
 
 I am afraid the packet with the Miss Berrys 
 has been captured. 
 
 Ralph rejoiced in being in England, and 
 described himself as "the happiest fellow living." 
 His feelings during a play are very characteristic 
 of that period, combining, as they did, hysterical 
 emotion with the most robust common-sense. 
 
 Warren's Hotel, October 5, 1803. 
 
 My stay in town having been prolonged above 
 my expectation, and there being little hopes of 
 my being dispatched soon, I sit down to acknow- 
 ledge yours of the 7th and 18th of last month, 
 which I received a few days ago. Believe me I 
 am very sorry you should give yourself such un- 
 necessary trouble on my account, and look upon 
 the fatigues of the journey undertaken by a 
 young man of twenty-one as at all to be com- 
 pared with the pleasure of seeing Old England 
 again. If it may at all tend to alleviate your 
 uneasiness, I give you a most sacred assurance, 
 not only that I slept much quieter on my journey 
 
 24
 
 Early Times 
 
 than you did at Cassel, but also that I am at 
 present the happiest fellow living. I am really 
 quite amazed how anybody can believe I should 
 ever repent of this journey ; but in all respects 
 relative to Doerfeld's scruples, you may assure 
 him that he was mistaken. Together with myself, 
 three secretaries came over with dispatches ; but 
 receiving messengers is so much a thing of course 
 at the office, that the Under-Secretary of 
 State, with whom I have spoken, never once 
 thought of expressing the least astonishment at 
 my arrival. 
 
 I yesterday returned from Bifrons, Mr. Taylor's 1 
 seat near Canterbury, where I was received with 
 all the friendship and attention imaginable ; indeed 
 I cannot sufficiently express the high sense of 
 gratitude and friendship I feel for that truly 
 estimable family. Mrs. Taylor, a young mother 
 of but just seventeen, is the most interesting 
 creature I ever saw ; however, I believe by what 
 I have seen it is better not to marry quite so 
 young a woman. She was only sixteen years 
 and two weeks old when she married. My busi- 
 ness in town prevented my enjoying the society 
 of this charming couple above two days, when I 
 parted, firmly determined to retire from business 
 as soon as I conveniently can, being convinced 
 
 1 Edward Taylor of Bifrons, married, September 6, 1802, Louisa 
 only child of Rev. John Charles Beckingham of Bourne House 
 Kent. He was the eldest brother of Sir Brook Taylor. 
 
 25
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 that true happiness is only to be found in the 
 country, far from the disagreeable bustle of 
 towns, but above all of courts, with all their ap- 
 pendages of assemblies, balls, and card parties. 
 
 Your last letter alarmed me very much for your 
 health ; however, I must hope that by this time 
 you are perfectly recovered. As to my com- 
 plaint, it fled as soon as I set off for England, and 
 the wholesome air of this country has entirely 
 cured me of all diseases, past, present, and to 
 come. You desire me to give you some account 
 of my passage, but indeed I shall do no such 
 thing, as the very recollection makes me shudder, 
 the more so as I shall soon have to cross that 
 detestable element again. As for Miss Berry, 
 she was not on the same packet with myself, and 
 I have not seen her since my arrival in England ; 
 indeed I called once at her lodgings, and intend 
 to go there once more, but I did not find them at 
 home, so you may perceive I am not yet on the 
 point of being married to either of them, and con- 
 sidering I am at present in England, where they 
 lose much of their value by daily comparison, 
 there is no danger, I hope, of any such thing 
 happening. 
 
 Mentioning the theatre in one of your last 
 letters, I cannot help saying a few words on our 
 stage at this moment at London. Here once 
 more I feel all the pleasure which, when a boy, 
 the playhouse afforded me, and at the mercy of 
 
 26
 
 Early Times 
 
 the man on high, I either dissolve in tears, burst 
 my sides with laughter, or rub my hands in a 
 trance of delight at the sight of some favourite 
 fighting scene. At Cassel my heart was steeled 
 and I was brave, but I must own that I was 
 heartily frightened, my hairs standing on end, 
 when some evenings ago the Castle Spectre trod 
 the boards. But what above all things highly 
 amused me was to see the pantomime of Don 
 Juan performed with the same music I had seen 
 and heard it seven years ago, and all the jokes of 
 Scaramourt being still the very same, attended 
 with all his grins and faces, gained more interest 
 by recalling past events, and I felt myself young 
 again. But, however I do ample justice to our 
 actors, I am far from being blind to their defects, 
 and however high they may have pushed their 
 art, I am sorry to say they have rather lost sight 
 of plain, unaffected nature. Our lovers sigh and 
 talk affectedly soft and sweet ; our hero talks big, 
 casts his arms about, and makes long strides, and 
 whenever he wishes to be applauded he roars like 
 a mad man, stamps the ground, then suddenly 
 stops short, and remaining fixed like a statue, 
 stares up to the gallery, which instantly re-echoes 
 his noise tenfold throughout the whole house. 
 This, just to show you that I am still a critic ; 
 however, the great degree of grace and dignity, 
 distinct elocution, perfectness in their part, and 
 constant attention to what may be called the 
 
 27
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 pantomime of acting cannot sufficiently be ex- 
 tolled. Doerfeld was right : " L 'excellence nest 
 pas venue." I ought to have sent a card, but 
 never thought of that expedient. Many thanks 
 for your care of the books, but pray open and read 
 them if at all agreeable to yourself. 
 
 P.S. I am perfectly of Mr. Taylor's opinion 
 with regard to the fate of my letters, and as by 
 what you write it appears he has received none, 
 I beg you to acquaint him that the one in 
 which the present is enclosed is at least the fifth 
 I have written to him since my departure from 
 Cassel. 
 
 P.S. You must, I am sure, be thankful for 
 this long epistle, as I have sacrificed a London 
 play to the writing of it more, I am sure, than 
 it is worth. I have forgotten to acquaint Mr. 
 Taylor that the last letters from the Captain in- 
 formed his brother at Bifrons that he was well, 
 was cruising off Newfoundland, and had made 
 two, but inconsiderable, captures. 
 
 Charles Street, October 22, 1803. 
 
 Contrary to all our expectations, I am still in 
 town, where in all probability I shall remain 
 some days, or perhaps some weeks, longer. 
 When we meet again at Cassel you shall be 
 
 28
 
 Early Times 
 
 fully informed of the reasons which so materi- 
 ally prolonged my absence ; but as in the mean- 
 time you may be desirous to know in what 
 manner I spend my time, I shall, according to 
 my promise, give you a short detail of the 
 occurrences of my day. To begin, therefore, in 
 all regularity, I must inform you that I generally 
 get up at about half-past eight or nine o'clock, 
 when I go down to breakfast and read the news- 
 paper. This, together with some other book, 
 takes me up to eleven, at which time my hair- 
 dresser comes and I get dressed. After dressing 
 I sit down again to read till half-past twelve or 
 one o'clock; I then go to the office, where I 
 generally stay a couple of hours and then take 
 a walk or lounge about the streets. At four I 
 am generally back again, and amuse myself either 
 with reading or writing till half-past five, when 
 I go to dine at some coffee-house, from whence 
 I mostly remove to the playhouse and thence 
 home again and to bed, this being about twelve 
 o'clock; should I not go to the play, I go directly 
 home and read till bedtime. Having now given 
 you an extract of the life I lead in this "dear 
 damned city," I have only to mention a few words 
 respecting your commissions before I close this 
 descriptive epistle. Mr. Taylor informed me you 
 wished me to bring out a pair of spectacles for 
 you, and though you forgot to send your eyes for 
 trying them this shall be done. As for the 
 
 29
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 silver candlesticks you mention in your last, I 
 think it is better not to buy them. You do 
 not wish to have high ones, which alone are 
 in the fashion, and unfashionable ones, at half 
 the price they would cost here, you may get at 
 Cassel. 
 
 Ralph's stay in London proved successful ; he 
 was appointed Secretary to the British Legation 
 at Cassel, and accompanied his chief to Berlin. 
 
 Berlin, January 10, 1804. 
 My dear Mother, 
 
 My time ever since my departure from 
 
 Cassel having been taken up with travelling, 
 
 visiting, etc., I have not been able hitherto to 
 
 acquaint you with the success of our journey ; 
 
 but am very happy to acquaint you at present 
 
 that after a very cold but prosperous journey 
 
 we arrived the day before yesterday at Berlin, 
 
 and considering that I yesterday paid 120 visits, 
 
 dined at a Minister's house, from thence went 
 
 to the courts of two princesses one after the 
 
 other, and closed the evening by going to an 
 
 assembly at Baron Struensee's house, you will 
 
 excuse my not having informed you sooner of 
 
 our arrival at this place, which, I am sorry to 
 
 30
 
 Early Times 
 
 say, is one of the finest towns I have ever 
 seen. 
 Pray remember me to Doerfeld, and believe me 
 
 Your affectionate son, 
 
 Ralph Heathcote. 
 
 P.S. I forgot to inform you that Mr. Taylor 
 and I had an attack of the libramania at Leipzig, 
 so that we did not leave that place before I 
 had purchased Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Les 
 Amours, etc. de Faublas. 
 
 31
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE BROOK TAYLOR INCIDENT 
 
 NO letters are forthcoming for a year 
 and a half, Ralph having probably 
 spent the whole of this time at Cassel 
 with his mother. This, nevertheless, 
 was one of the most interesting periods of his 
 life. Only twenty -two years old, the young 
 English diplomatist found himself involved in 
 one of the most stirring political transactions of 
 that day, his chief, Mr. Brook Taylor, having 
 braved Napoleon himself. 
 
 As the incident may not be familiar to all, it 
 is perhaps as well to recall the facts. The un- 
 justifiable execution of the Due d'Enghien had 
 filled Europe with the profoundest distrust of 
 Napoleon. The Emperor tried to palliate the 
 act by declaring himself to be surrounded by 
 conspirators against his life. New plots were 
 continually "discovered." The French Minister 
 of Justice declared that they had seized a secret 
 correspondence between the English Ministers 
 Drake in Munich, Spencer Smith in Stuttgart, 
 and Wickham in Switzerland, which proved that 
 
 32
 
 BROOK TAYLOR, AFTERWARDS SIR BROOK TAYLOR 
 British Minister at the Court of Hesse-Cassel
 
 The Brook Taylor Incident 
 
 these Ministers had employed agents in France, 
 in order to murder the then First Consul. 
 
 The English Minister in Cassel, Mr. Taylor, 
 was thereupon accused on the strength of a 
 correspondence between him and some French 
 dtnigrds published by the Hamburg and Frank- 
 furt newspapers of being implicated in this plot. 
 
 Mr. Taylor was at the time in England on 
 leave of absence, Ralph Heathcote having been 
 left charge d'affaires at Cassel. The French 
 Minister in Cassel, M. de Bignon, now requested 
 the Hessian Minister, von Baumbach, to under- 
 take to prevent the Elector from receiving Mr. 
 Taylor on his return, and to order the Hessian 
 Minister in London to make this known to Lord 
 Mulgrave. Taylor hereupon declared that no 
 proof of his pretended guilt was forthcoming, and 
 that his honour required him to return to Cassel, 
 in order to refute the accusation. So he returned. 
 
 Bignon immediately presented himself to the 
 Minister von Baumbach, in order to find out 
 whether the Elector really intended to receive 
 Taylor or not. 
 
 The Minister tried to temporise, but the Elector 
 promptly decreed : "As I intend neither to 
 accommodate myself to the presumptuous bearing 
 of the French Minister nor to sever the old links 
 with England in such a noticeable manner, I 
 shall see the Minister Taylor next Friday, the 
 5th, at dinner, without any formal audience, this 
 
 d 33
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 being unnecessary, in order to receive the com- 
 pliments of the Royal House of Great Britain, 
 to which I am closely related. I trust that 
 Monsieur Bignon will take no offence at this, 
 and I fail to see the necessity of carefully inform- 
 ing him of this fact beforehand, all the more as 
 his spies will probably have acquainted him with 
 
 the same. 
 
 Wilhelm, Elector. 
 
 " WlLHELMSHOHE, July 3, 1805." 
 
 At the same time the Elector caused his 
 Minister in London urgently to request the 
 Government to appoint another English repre- 
 sentative, in order to spare him further difficulties 
 and complications. George III answered : 
 
 My Cousin, 
 
 I have duly received the letter of Your 
 Electoral Highness dated July 5th. If Mr. Tay- 
 lor, my Minister at the Court of Your Electoral 
 Highness, had failed in any way in the duties 
 of his mission ; if he had allowed himself to relax 
 in the assiduous attentions which he is enjoined 
 to observe towards Your Electoral Highness ; 
 if he had failed to cultivate that good under- 
 standing the preservation of which is the chief 
 object of his instructions, I should have antici- 
 pated the demand of Your Electoral Highness 
 for the recall of Mr. Taylor. But it would be 
 
 34
 
 The Brook Taylor Incident 
 
 incompatible with my Dignity, and contrary to 
 the Principles of Equity and Justice which form 
 the rule of my conduct, to recall my accredited 
 Minister to degrade a faithful and zealous 
 servant at the suggestion of the Minister of any 
 Foreign Power resident at the Court of Your 
 Electoral Highness. Still less can I lend myself 
 to such a course at the demand which has been 
 made to Your Electoral Highness based on 
 charges which you may regard (with the rest of 
 Europe) as devoid of all proof. 
 
 It is not therefore the legitimate demand of 
 Your Electoral Highness I refuse, but the arro- 
 gant claims of my Enemies. 
 
 I have no doubt that the conduct of Mr. Taylor 
 will screen him from any just cause for Complaint, 
 and will ensure to him a continuance of the 
 cordiality which Your Electoral Highness was 
 good enough to show at his Reception. 
 
 I am, 
 
 My Cousin, 
 
 Your good Cousin, 
 
 Weymouth, George R. 1 
 
 ist August, 1805. 
 
 H.E.H. the Elector of Hesse. 
 
 1 The above is a translation of the despatch which Miss 
 Deedes has kindly placed at the disposal of the editor : 
 Mon Cousin, 
 
 J'ai bien recu la Lettre de V.A.E. en date du 5 Juillet. Si 
 Mons r - Taylor, mon ministre aupres de Votre Altesse Electorale, 
 avait manqu^ essentiellement aux devoirs de sa mission, s'il s'etoit 
 
 35
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 The Elector had left his residence for the 
 waters of Nenndorf, when M. de Bignon delivered 
 a categorical message to Baumbach, stating that 
 a courier from Talleyrand had informed him that, 
 under these circumstances, the Emperor looked 
 upon the presence of Mr. Taylor at Cassel as 
 an insult. H.I.M. demanded the same not to 
 be received, and if this peremptory request should 
 be disregarded, M. de Bignon would be recalled, 
 and the Emperor would take a secret alliance 
 between Hesse and England for granted. This 
 would imply a declaration of war, and would 
 
 permis d'omettre les attentions assidues qu'il lui est enjoint 
 d'observer sans cesse aupres de V.A.E., s'il avoit failli de cultiver 
 cette bonne intelligence dont la conservation fait le chef objet 
 de ses instructions, j'aurois preVenu la demande de V.A.E. 
 pour le rappel de M r - Taylor. Mais il seroit incompatible avec 
 ma D ignite* et contraire aux Principes d'Equite" et de Justice qui 
 font la regie de ma conduite, de rappeller mon Ministre accrdditd 
 de ddgrader un Serviteur fidele et zele a la suggestion du Ministre 
 d'une Puissance Etrangere quelconque residant a la Cour de 
 V.A.E. Encore moins puis je me prater a cette d-marche sur 
 la demande qui eu a e^e" faite a V.A.E. base*e sur des Inculpations 
 qu'Elle regarde (avec le reste de l'Europe) comme denude de 
 toute preuve. 
 
 Ce n'est done pas a la demande legitime de V.A.E. que je me 
 refuse, mais a la Pretension arrogante de mes Ennemis. 
 
 Je ne doute nullement que la conduite de M r - Taylor le mettra a 
 l'abri de tout juste sujet de Plainte, et lui vaudra la continuation de 
 cette cordiality que V.AE.a bien voulu lui temoigner a sa Reception. 
 
 Je suis, 
 
 Mon Cousin, 
 
 Votre bon Cousin, 
 
 A Weymouth, George R. 
 
 ce i r Aout, 1805. 
 
 S.AE. PElecteur de Hesse. 
 
 36
 
 The Brook Taylor Incident 
 
 cause H.I.M. to march his troops into the Elec- 
 toral States. 
 
 On the 3rd of August Taylor had left for the 
 waters at Driburg, leaving Ralph Heathcote 
 charge" d'affaires, and in this critical state of 
 things the Prussian Minister, Prince Wittgen- 
 stein, went to the Elector in order to smooth 
 matters over, and above all to induce Taylor to 
 continue to remain away from Cassel. When, 
 nothing daunted, Taylor, in spite of everything, 
 returned to his post, the Elector then ordered his 
 son, the Electoral Prince, to invite the English 
 Minister to a shooting party at Hanau, hoping to 
 keep Taylor away from Cassel some time longer. 
 
 As the following letters show, the invitation 
 was accepted, and Heathcote accompanied his 
 chief. 
 
 Hanau, August 17, 1805. 
 
 We arrived at this place yesterday evening in 
 perfect good health and spirits. Our journey 
 was very pleasant. We had no disagreeable 
 accidents of what kind soever, excepting indeed 
 the first evening, when Mr. Salto, 1 who was sit- 
 ting on my knee, chose to discharge the super- 
 fluous contents of his stomach all over my breeches 
 and stockings. Fortunately, however, this did 
 
 1 His favourite dog. 
 37
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 not happen till we were a few yards from the inn 
 where we stayed the first night, so the damage 
 was easily repaired. As yet nothing at all has 
 happened here, we having only just sent off our 
 cards to Philipsruhe, and as I have all hands full 
 with copying our Cassel dispatches I shall only 
 inform you that we are very well lodged. 
 
 Beg to be kindly remembered to Doerfeld, the 
 Heskeths, etc. etc., and that I am, with the most 
 sincere affection. 
 
 The Electoral Prince resided at Hanau, a town 
 near Frankfurt a. Maine. He was married to 
 Princess Augusta of Prussia, daughter of the late 
 King Frederick William II, and therefore sister- 
 in-law of Queen Louise. The son and heir 
 lately born to them became the last Elector of 
 Hesse. After the war of 1866 Prussia annexed 
 this principality, which now forms the province of 
 Hesse Cassel. 
 
 The summer palace of the Electoral Prince 
 was Philipsruhe, near Wilhelmsbad. This water- 
 ing place is charmingly situated on the Maine, 
 and in those days, before Wiesbaden or Hom- 
 burg had been " discovered," it was the most 
 fashionable and popular resort of those parts. 
 Now it is all but deserted, and only the fine park 
 and avenues speak of the past. 
 
 38
 
 The Brook Taylor Incident 
 
 Hanau, August 20, 1805. 
 
 In my first of Saturday last, I informed you of 
 our safe arrival at this place, and of our having 
 sent cards to the principal people of the Electoral 
 Prince's Court. I shall now endeavour to give 
 you an exact detail of everything that has passed 
 since you heard from me. Soon after I had 
 closed my letter we received an invitation from 
 the Prince to dine with him the day after, and 
 were invited in return by the above-mentioned 
 gentlemen. We then took a walk about the town 
 and spent the evening at home. About half-past 
 one on Sunday we repaired to Philipsruhe, where 
 a large party was already assembled, consisting 
 mostly, besides the people attached to the Court, 
 of officers belonging to the Prince's regiment, 
 and about four ladies, Madame de Buttlar, Doern- 
 berg, etc. Soon after our arrival the Prince and 
 then the Princess made their appearance. Both 
 were as gracious, civil, and attentive as it was 
 possible to be. At dinner I sat next to Madame 
 de Buttlar, who was very entertaining and polite, 
 asked many questions about you, and desired me 
 to remember her to you. On the whole the 
 dinner was very amusing and tolerably void of 
 the stiffness but too remarkable at several other 
 places. The Electoral Princess is quite charming ; 
 
 39
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 it is easy to perceive that she endeavours to 
 imitate the manners of her royal sister-in-law, in 
 which I must do her the justice to say she 
 succeeds very well. After we got up from table, 
 Mr. Taylor being engaged in close conference 
 with the Prince, I had the honour of a long 
 conference with the Princess, who inquired in the 
 kindest terms after yourself, and expressed herself 
 in the most decided manner on the present 
 political discussions at Cassel. From Philipsruhe 
 the whole party repaired to Wilhelmsbad, where, 
 the day being fine, a large concourse of people, 
 both from Hanau and Frankfort, were assembled. 
 The Electoral Princess soon formed a circle of 
 ladies and gentlemen, to most of whom, however, 
 I was a perfect stranger, the old Princess of 
 Stolberg * (as great a quiz as ever) and Mr. and 
 Mme. de Liitzow excepted, who desired to be 
 kindly remembered to you. Mr. de Liitzow in- 
 formed us that a grande partie de chasse was 
 already arranged for the Friday, and another 
 ordered Monday next. Before I take leave of 
 Wilhelmsbad, I feel myself bound in justice to say 
 
 1 The mother-in-law of Charles Edward Stuart, the Pretender, 
 ne'e Princess de Homes, widow of Gustavus-Adolphus, Prince of 
 Stolberg- Guedern. Her daughter, Princess Gustave de Stolberg, 
 wrote of her at the age of ninety, in 1823, as "occupied in choos- 
 ing her winter gowns. . . . What a pity it is she never attached 
 herself with the same tenacity to what is highest and best in 
 life" (Vitelleschis' Court in Exile, Vol. II, pp. 386-7). Prince 
 Charlie's unhappy wife, the Princess of Albany, was the devoted 
 friend of Alfieri, and died in Italy, 1824. 
 
 40
 
 The Brook Taylor Incident 
 
 that I scarcely ever saw finer women assembled 
 on so small a piece of ground ; most of these, I 
 was told, were Dutch women and Jewesses. We 
 returned home about 8J o'clock. 
 
 Monday morning we spent making some visits, 
 walking over the ramparts, and going up the 
 chief church steeple, from whence we had a very 
 distinct view of Frankfort and the neighbouring 
 country. However, the weather was far from 
 being favourable for this kind of amusement. 
 At half-past six in the evening we again went, 
 according to invitation, to Philipsruhe to drink 
 tea with their Highnesses. Besides ourselves, 
 only Count Ingelheim, with his mother and 
 another lady whom I did not then know, had 
 been invited. I renewed my acquaintance with 
 the Count and the maids of honour, especially 
 Mile, de Witzleben, being very pleasant girls, spent 
 a very pleasant afternoon. At half-past seven 
 o'clock the Princess took leave and we retired. 
 Our carriage not having yet arrived, we walked 
 about the gardens with M. de Buttlar, but the 
 Electoral Prince, having observed us from the 
 window, sent Mr. de Schlotheim, just when the 
 carriage was seen arriving at a distance (we had 
 not been waiting five minutes), to ask us to walk 
 up and eat a family supper with him. This very 
 gracious invitation was, of course, immediately 
 complied with, and we spent a most delightful 
 evening in the society of this august couple. 
 
 41
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 You will be astonished to hear that upon 
 inquiry to know who the other lady that had 
 accompanied the old Countess of Ingelheim was, 
 I should find it to be no other than the young 
 Countess (Antonia Westphalen that was). She 
 must be excessively altered that I should not 
 have known her again, though to be sure I 
 scarcely looked at her, taking her to be an old 
 woman, excessively fat the latter circumstance 
 is easily explained, for she is in the very last 
 stage of pregnancy and my not having seen much 
 of her proceeds partly from her being in a small 
 cabinet with the Princess and her mother-in-law, 
 whilst the Prince, maids of honour, and gentle- 
 men remained in the other room. If the weather 
 renders it anyway practicable, we mean this 
 morning to pay our respects to that family, 
 who reside at Wilhelmsbad, when I shall 
 do my utmost to repair the blunder I have 
 committed through ignorance. It will amuse 
 you if I tell you that as soon as I saw the 
 Count I had been looking out for the beautiful, 
 fine-shaped Countess whom I have been once 
 smitten with. 
 
 This morning we have already been invited to 
 dine at Philipsruhe to-morrow, so that you must 
 perceive we are treated on ne pent pas mieux by 
 the Electoral family, who have shown themselves 
 in such a light as must do them the greatest 
 honour in the eyes of all Europe, giving the most 
 
 42
 
 The Brook Taylor Incident 
 
 noble example to the other sovereigns of the 
 Continent, in resisting the imperious demand of 
 an upstart tyrant. 
 
 Hanau, August 24, 1805. 
 
 I yesterday received yours of the 20th inst., 
 and must beg you to accept my best thanks for 
 the information contained in it, both with regard 
 to our friend Bignon and the sale of my mare ; 
 but I will continue the diary I began in my last 
 letter. 
 
 If I remember right, I had got to Tuesday, 
 when we called upon Ct. Ingelheim in the morn- 
 ing, and were confined to our room for the rest 
 of the day by a very heavy rain. On Wednes- 
 day, after having taken a walk in the morning, 
 we waited upon their Highnesses to dinner at 
 Philipsruhe, where we were received as graciously 
 as ever, and I had the pleasure (?) of sitting next 
 to a not very good-looking, but very clever and 
 talkative lady, a certain Mme. de Constance, 
 whose husband is governor to the children of the 
 Prince of Orange. 1 From Philipsruhe we pro- 
 ceeded directly to Wilhelmsbad, to which place 
 the Prince followed us directly, and invited Mr. 
 
 1 Afterwards King William I of the Netherlands. He was 
 married to Wilhelmine, Princess of Prussia, sister of the Electoral 
 Princess of Hesse. Having been forced to leave the Netherlands 
 by the French, he received from 1 802-6 the principality of Fulda 
 as a compensation, and resided in this old town during the period 
 mentioned. 
 
 43
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 Taylor and myself to a shooting-party for the two 
 next days at a country seat of his called Baben- 
 hausen, about five leagues from Hanau and one 
 and a half from Seeligenstadt. Elated by this 
 agreeable prospect, I followed His Highness into 
 the gambling-room, where I contrived to lose five 
 French crowns before the Electoral Princess 
 arrived. After walking about the grounds in her 
 suite for about half an hour, we went into the ball- 
 room, where I was presented to the Landgravine 
 Frederick, who was very gracious, asked after you, 
 and mentioned having heard me play the violin 
 at Frankfort when Maurer was of the party. I 
 afterwards had the honour of dancing with the 
 Electoral Princess, by whose orders it was that 
 I had danced that evening, contrary to my 
 resolution not to dance any more. She had said 
 that that was abominable, that the scarcity of 
 gentlemen rendered my breaking it necessary, 
 and afterwards, after I had danced the first with 
 a Dutch ugly old maid, asked me if I would 
 refuse her the second. 
 
 Thursday morning. At five we set off in a 
 carriage for Babenhausen, where we arrived at 
 eight, and began the diversion with partridge 
 shooting, when Salto behaved very well, consider- 
 ing his youth. We found a good deal of game, 
 but were too many sportsmen to do much execu- 
 tion, however. I killed a partridge and one hare, 
 having only had four shots in all. Just before 
 
 44
 
 The Brook Taylor Incident 
 
 we gave up for the day, poor Bartle 1 had an 
 accident whilst pursuing a hare rather too closely. 
 A Dutch gentleman fired his piece, missed the 
 hare, but hit the poor old dog, who was knocked 
 over head and heels. You may easily conceive 
 the fright we were in ; the poor fellow received 
 eight shot-corns into his body and about five 
 about his neck and ears, but it has done him no 
 harm whatever except a momentary smart and 
 fright. He is now as well as ever, his thick 
 skin having prevented the lead from entering 
 deeply into the flesh. Mr. Taylor and I were 
 lodged at the palace, where the two other Dutch 
 gentlemen who had been of the party only dined. 
 The Prince was attended only by M. de Buttlar, 
 who is a great acquisition for this Court, does the 
 honours very well, and is much liked by the 
 Prince. After dinner we were shown all over 
 the old palace and its fortifications by an old 
 Major of Invalids, half crazy, a completely origi- 
 nal and second Uncle Toby. This lasted till 
 eight, when the Prince retired for the night, and 
 we accompanied the Dutch gentlemen to their 
 lodgings, where we had a game of whist and 
 I won a crown. M. de Liitzow had now arrived 
 with a M. de Motz, a gentleman of the chase. 
 
 At ten we went back to the castle and to bed. 
 
 Friday at eight we set out again to shoot stags, 
 
 wild boar, and a wolf, who has been in this neigh- 
 
 1 Taylor's dog. 
 
 45
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 bourhood for some weeks past. However, though 
 we had a hundred peasants to track, not a shot was 
 fired, and we gave over at two in the afternoon, 
 the carriages having been ordered to join us at 
 a certain place in the wood on the road to Hanau. 
 Thomas, Mr. Taylor's servant, going up to that 
 spot before the carriages, the wolf crossed the 
 road about thirty yards before him, to his great 
 fright and amazement. Several peasants and a 
 Forst-laufer, who had, unfortunately, no gun with 
 him, had also seen him, but fortune did not favour 
 us with a sight, which would have been fatal to 
 the poor fellow. 
 
 We reached Hanau about four o'clock, when I 
 received your letter, and went to bed at nine. 
 
 We have no plans for to-day, but I shall not fail 
 to continue my journal on Monday, hoping that 
 it will not be disagreeable to you to be informed 
 of everything that regards me, and this being 
 now the only means I have of convincing you of 
 the sentiments of love and regard with which I 
 remain, dear mother, 
 
 Your most affectionate son, 
 
 Ralph Heathcote. 
 
 P.S. I had forgotten to inform you that when 
 we arrived at Wilhelmsbad on Wednesday last, 
 we were informed that Countess Ingelheim had 
 been brought to bed of a daughter about one 
 hour before. As they already have two sons, 
 
 46
 
 The Brook Taylor Incident 
 
 their wishes have been totally fulfilled. The 
 Countess is as well as can be expected for a 
 woman in her situation. I do not mention all the 
 compliments I am desired to make to you, nor 
 those I wish you to make in my name, which 
 are general to all my acquaintances, Mme. de 
 Deken's family in particular. As I remember, 
 you showed some of my letters from England. 
 I beg you not to communicate the present to 
 anybody except Doerfield, as I shall otherwise 
 reduce them to a perfect laconic style. 
 
 P.S. You will perceive from what I have said 
 that we have not been received anywhere, only 
 leaving our cards. Visiting is not so fashionable 
 here as even at Cassel ; the place where people 
 usually meet is Wilhelmsbad ; there the Electoral 
 Princess spends her evenings twice a week 
 (Sundays and Wednesdays), the rest of the time 
 she is generally alone. The Prince goes there 
 also. He is very fond of gambling and loses 
 pretty regularly between 50 to 100 Carolines. 
 Mr. Taylor has hitherto lost 20 louis. I am 
 afraid he will lose as many more, as he intends to 
 win them again, a plan which I have not adopted, 
 being determined to sit down with my loss. 
 
 R. H. 
 
 47
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 Hanau, August 26, 1805. 
 
 In continuation of the account I have given 
 you of the manner in which I spend my time 
 at this place, in which, if I am not mistaken, 
 I had come down to Saturday last, I have now to 
 add that we stayed at home the whole of that 
 day, except indeed a couple of hours in the 
 afternoon, when we took a walk in the fields. 
 Sunday morning I spent at home, and we were 
 rather astonished that no invitation to dine at 
 Philipsruhe had been received, that being one of 
 the great court days. However, you may easily 
 guess at our extreme distress when a footman 
 arrived from that place at three o'clock, with a 
 message that the Electoral Prince was still wait- 
 ing for us (he dines at two) ; it was now too late 
 to dress, and nothing left to be done but to write 
 to one of the aides-de-camp, informing him of 
 the mistake which the fourrier de la cour had 
 probably been guilty of. Though perfectly inno- 
 cent, this affair was very disagreeable, both to 
 Mr. Taylor and myself, and it was not with a very 
 easy heart that the latter, accompanied by me, 
 repaired to Wilhelmsbad in the afternoon, where 
 everything was soon cleared up. 
 
 At that place everything passed on as usual : 
 walking, tea, and dancing took up the evening, 
 
 48
 
 The Brook Taylor Incident 
 
 and it was about nine o'clock when we got home. 
 The Electoral Prince invited us to a grande 
 chasse for to-morrow, and the Princess to tea 
 after the same. Her sister, the Princess of 
 Orange, accompanied by her husband, are ex- 
 pected to arrive here on that day, to stay the 
 Wednesday, and to set off the day after. This, 
 of course, will not tend a little to render this 
 neighbourhood more lively and amusing than it 
 even has been hitherto, and I shall not fail to 
 give you an exact account of everything that 
 passes on that occasion. At present I have 
 only to add that we went to take a walk this 
 morning, and shall spend this evening at home. 
 If I have time I shall acquaint you in a few 
 words of what passes to-morrow at our shooting- 
 party. 
 
 I yesterday saw old Countess Ingelheim ; 
 she was very civil, and desired to be remem- 
 bered to you. Her daughter-in-law, I hear, 
 is going on very well. I have made no new 
 acquaintances at this place, and those I have 
 formerly made you are already acquainted with 
 from my former letters, except a Mile, de Motz, 
 a very pretty, good-tempered miss, a little young, 
 a little thin, and a little stupid ; so there is no 
 danger of losing one's heart at this place. Pray 
 present my respects to Mme. de Deken and the 
 belle Cruelle. The day I left Cassel, and going 
 to take leave of her mother, I was blessed with 
 
 E 49
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 a sight of her en dishabille", very far from being 
 favourable to her, and proper for a leave-taking 
 scene. 
 
 I am, with great respect and regards, dear 
 mother, 
 
 Your most dutiful and affectionate son, 
 
 Ralph Heathcote. 
 
 P.S. August 27. We have been out the whole 
 morning without getting a shot, and am on the 
 point of setting out for Philipsruhe to tea. 
 
 The English Minister at Cassel still formed the 
 centre of critical negotiations. In a lengthy- 
 interview, Bignon demanded a definite rupture 
 with the obnoxious Mr. Taylor, declaring the 
 subterfuge of his staying at another town in the 
 Elector's dominions to be so puerile that it would 
 compel him (Bignon) to leave the country. Prince 
 Wittgenstein, the Prussian Minister, hereupon 
 implored Taylor not to return to Cassel until he 
 had had an opportunity of conferring with him. 
 He even went so far as to send two post officials 
 to two towns, that the English Minister was 
 bound to pass, with orders from the Elector to 
 persuade Mr. Taylor to await Prince Wittgen- 
 stein's arrival. If persuasion were of no avail, 
 no post-horses were to be supplied until the 
 Prussian Minister's arrival. They met, and 
 
 50
 
 The Brook Taylor Incident 
 
 Prince Wittgenstein finally persuaded him to give 
 up Cassel and stay at Geismar. 1 
 
 Hanau, August 29, 1805. 
 
 It is with many thanks I sit down to acknow- 
 ledge the receipt of your letters of the 24th and 
 27th inst, which give me a perfect idea of what 
 is going forward in a place 2 where, I entirely 
 agree with you, I have but a very little chance of 
 making any considerable stay for the future. 
 Though, from all accounts, our affairs do not take 
 so favourable a turn as the ardent expectations of 
 Mr. Taylor had almost induced me to believe 
 they would, you are very much to blame in giving 
 way to apprehensions, which, highly improbable 
 in themselves, appear to me entirely opposite to 
 the views and interests of our enemy. Believe 
 me, Mr. Taylor has nothing to fear for his per- 
 sonal safety, and Bonaparte, so far from prevent- 
 
 1 Geismar (now called Hofgeismar), not far from Cassel, was a 
 very popular resort in those days. It could boast of a regiment of 
 cavalry, of waters, and last, but not least, of gaming-tables ! 
 Everybody belonging to Cassel Court society, as well as the county 
 families, spent several weeks each summer at Geismar losing their 
 money, drinking the waters, listening to the band, walking and 
 flirting in the beautiful park, in the midst of which the Elector had 
 a little palace, where he used to reside for some time during the 
 season. Afterwards Geismar was not so fashionable, as the last 
 Elector avoided going there, this summer resort being too closely 
 associated with the ill-famed Countess Reichenbach, his father's 
 favourite. 2 Cassel. 
 
 5i
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 ing him, would willingly furnish him with horses 
 to convey him back to Cassel, his return being a 
 circumstance most favourable for his plans of ex- 
 torting money from a quarter where he is sure it 
 may be found a reason which has given rise to 
 all the discussions and negotiations that have re- 
 cently taken place, to effect which Bignon is at 
 present apparently quiet, and to facilitate which, 
 both the Elector and Mr. Taylor have unknow- 
 ingly contributed. 
 
 Such are my opinions on the present state of 
 affairs ; time must show if I am or am not mis- 
 taken. Nay, I'll e'en go further, and venture a 
 prediction of what will happen. In a short time 
 Lucchesini's 1 messenger will arrive with a nugatory 
 answer ; this will be interpreted in the most favour- 
 able manner by Jackson and Taylor, and we shall 
 consequently return to Cassel. Should the Elec- 
 tor have a sufficient portion of energy, we shall 
 then be sent away, but in a very civil manner, and 
 return to England. However, I am more inclined 
 to believe that the Elector will persevere in what 
 he believes his attachment to England. Bignon 
 will be suffered to depart, and French troops will 
 soon oblige us to take the same road, which we 
 should otherwise, perhaps, have already finished. 
 These, however, are only my own opinions. 
 Taylor is in better spirits than ever ; he thinks all 
 
 1 The Marquis of Lucchesini was the Prussian Ambassador at 
 Paris. 
 
 52
 
 The Brook Taylor Incident 
 
 Europe will join in supporting his cause, and is in 
 anxious expectation of the Prussian messenger's 
 return to commence his journey and subsequent 
 triumphant entry into Cassel. 
 
 I was very happy to see by your last that 
 your fall has had no bad consequences, and that 
 you are so well entertained by the Heskeths at 
 the play. As for the answer Lloyd gave to Miss 
 Jeannetta, I don't think him so much to blame ; 
 the actions and words of men must be judged by 
 their respective characters : this, in a Frenchman, 
 would have been the very height of impertinence ; 
 in a German, a mark of ill-manner and stupidity ; 
 but in a young Englishman just come from school, 
 the natural result of impatience of control and 
 check imposed upon his liberty by the word of a 
 governor, expressed in the energetic language of 
 his country. To this we owe the blessings of our 
 Constitution, the respect we bear abroad, and the 
 happiness we enjoy at home. 
 
 But to proceed with my journal. After we had 
 dined on Tuesday, we proceeded to the Fasa- 
 nerie (not to Philipsruhe, as I mentioned by mis- 
 take in my last), at which place the Electoral 
 Prince and Princess, accompanied by the Princess 
 of Orange, arrived soon after us. The Prince of 
 Orange had made no stay whatever at Hanau, 
 but had immediately proceeded on his journey to 
 Fulda, pretending indisposition as the reason for 
 not staying with their Highnesses. Besides our- 
 
 53
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 selves, only Linden with his three sisters, the 
 ladies mentioned in some of my letters, were of 
 this party. I was again presented to the Princess 
 of Orange, who was very gracious, and remem- 
 bered, or pretended to remember, having seen 
 me at Berlin. The party on the whole was a 
 little formal, and the chief actors appeared to be 
 a little ginds. I fancy you know that the Courts 
 of Fulda and Cassel are not on the best of foot- 
 ings. We were terribly stung by gnats, and not 
 at all sorry when we got home. 
 
 Yesterday we dined at Philipsruhe with the 
 same party, the Landgravine of Hesse, and another 
 Dutchman, formerly in the Dutch, now Colonel 
 d la suite in the Hessian service. The Princess 
 of Orange 1 was very well dressed and showed off 
 to much advantage. She is remarkably well made, 
 must have been very handsome some years ago, 
 and does not want sense, though not always em- 
 ployed in the most good-natured way. The first and 
 only thing she said to the above-mentioned Colonel 
 van Slicher, who had been formerly a good deal 
 about the Stadthouder's Court, a very sensible, good- 
 mannered man, was : "A present que vous avez 
 change" d'uniforme, je ne vous aurais pas reconnu." 
 
 The Landgravine Frederick 2 was remarkably 
 
 1 Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia (1774-1837) married, 1791, 
 William, afterward King of Holland. 
 
 2 The Landgravine Frederick of Hesse was the mother of the 
 Langrave William, who married Princess Louise Charlotte of Den- 
 mark, and was grandfather of Queen Alexandra of England. 
 
 54 
 /
 
 The Brook Taylor Incident 
 
 civil and kind to me at dinner, inquired much 
 about you and Therese, and was in all respects 
 as gracious as it was possible to be. After dinner 
 we, of course, went again to Wilhelmsbad, where 
 I contrived to lose another ten louis before the 
 Princess arrived, when the evening was passed in 
 dancing. Taylor had the honour of being the 
 partner of the Princess of Orange for one country 
 dance, and I of the Electoral Princess for a double 
 one ; I mean one that was danced twice down 
 and up again. Buttlar is master of the cere- 
 monies on these occasions, and regularly leads 
 every dance. He goes through this new office 
 remarkably well, and appears to be more destined 
 by nature for a courtier than a soldier. Almost 
 every time he sees me he desires to be remem- 
 bered to you, who appear to be very high in his 
 good graces. The ball lasted rather longer than 
 usual, though the Princess of Orange danced but 
 once, an object of admiration to all beholders. It 
 was almost quite dark when we got home. 
 
 The Princess leaves Hanau this morning. 
 Nothing is going forward to-day. I shall there- 
 fore close for the present, to finish my letter when 
 I shall have collected materials for proceeding. 
 
 August 30. News has just been received 
 here of a declaration of war made by Bonaparte 
 against Austria. Doerfeld's letter contains all the 
 particulars that have as yet come to my know- 
 ledge. This evening we shall go to a concert, 
 
 55
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 where the Electoral Prince and Princess are also 
 to be present, and another Treibjagd is appointed 
 for to-morrow, at the close of which you shall 
 hear more from me. 
 
 August 31. We have just returned safe and 
 sound from our chasse, which has ended in the 
 same manner as the preceding ones. 
 
 GEISMAR, September 5, 1805. 
 My dear Doerfeld, 
 
 I think it right to inform you in a few 
 words that Mr. Taylor, not believing that there 
 can be any danger for him at this place, has 
 determined to wait here the course of the present 
 affair. I believe I shall be with you soon ; but 
 should anything of importance come to your 
 knowledge, pray let us hear from you by Estaf- 
 fette. Jackson is not to go this day perhaps 
 to-morrow. y 
 
 Ralph Heathcote. 
 
 When Mr. Taylor announced his arrival at 
 Cassel, Prince Wittgenstein again persuaded him 
 to leave and to go to Gotha, thereby finally 
 quitting the Elector's States. 
 
 His charge" d'affaires, Heathcote, informed him 
 
 56
 
 The Brook Taylor Incident 
 
 that French troops were about to march through 
 neutral Hessian territory. As the Elector had 
 assembled a corps of 37,000 men, the French 
 were willing to be on the most friendly terms, 
 and General Berthier, as well as Bernadotte, were 
 employed in negotiating the terms. The Elector, 
 however, relying on his troops, was extremely 
 reluctant to accede to the French requests ; and 
 this firm attitude, in the face of the overwhelm- 
 ing French army, awakened enthusiastic admira- 
 tion in Berlin. 
 
 On the 26th September Heathcote announced 
 to the Cassel authorities that, according to infor- 
 mation from London, Mr. Taylor's absence from 
 his post had given displeasure, and that he was 
 ordered to return to the same by the 1st October. 
 Heathcote was thereupon requested by the Elector 
 to beg his chief personally to delay his arrival 
 until the 15th October, as by that time the march 
 of the French troops through the territory would 
 have come to an end. Heathcote refused to 
 transmit this electoral message, stating that under 
 the circumstances the peremptory order of Mr. 
 Taylor's Government would have to be obeyed, 
 and he could not recommend a course of action 
 to his chief which would evoke the Sovereign's 
 displeasure. Accordingly, Mr. Taylor arrived at 
 Cassel on the 12th October, and after fruitless 
 negotiations Bignon left his post on the 18th 
 of that month. 
 
 57
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 In January (1806) the Elector's representative 
 in London urged Lord Mulgrave to replace Mr. 
 Taylor. The Emperor could not forget that the 
 Elector had supported a man whom H. I. M. 
 qualified as an "assassin," and vented his ill will 
 on every occasion. 
 
 The terrible experiences of these last three 
 months had altered the face of Europe. Napoleon's 
 brilliant South German campaign had dissolved 
 the coalition between England, Austria, Russia, 
 and Sweden, and the battle of Austerlitz had 
 destroyed the combined Russian and Austrian 
 armies. As the French troops surrounded the 
 electorate, the English Government felt that Mr. 
 Taylor's presence was embarrassing in the ex- 
 treme. In vain the Prussian Court tried to prove 
 Taylor's innocence in Paris ; his transfer to 
 another post would seem the only way out of the 
 difficulty. The Elector himself wrote in similar 
 terms to George III, but neither the King nor 
 the Government vouchsafed an answer. 
 
 Thereupon a new French Minister arrived from 
 Paris, presenting a communication from Talley- 
 rand, who desired in the most forcible terms a 
 declaration that the Elector would not receive 
 Mr. Taylor, nor any other English agent "known 
 to conspire against France." If this demand was 
 not acceded to, diplomatic relations would be 
 severed. 
 
 M. Corbon de St. Genest reported that the 
 
 58
 
 The Brook Taylor Incident 
 
 Cassel authorities were beginning to realise that 
 England had made use of Cassel for its own 
 ends and purposes, and that as Berlin required 
 Cassel implicitly to follow her lead the Prussian 
 influence was also on the wane. The moment 
 was therefore auspicious for strengthening the 
 relations between France and Hesse. 
 
 At last Heathcote was able to state : " The 
 Taylor affair is settled. The Elector has let him 
 know that he will no longer be received as the 
 representative of England, and that all diplomatic 
 relations have ceased. He has not been invited 
 to Court, and though he was not positively asked 
 to leave Cassel, he was given to understand that 
 it would no longer be desirable for him to remain 
 in the place. 
 
 "Accordingly, he stated his intention of leav- 
 ing within three days, but the favour shown him 
 by the Electoral Princess (a favour, I am inclined 
 to think, not based on political sentiments) in- 
 duced him to disregard the pointed coldness of 
 the Elector and the Electoral Prince. He was 
 so delighted at being asked to an assembly of 
 the Electoral Princess, that he believed he could 
 obtain the public goodwill by giving entertain- 
 ments himself. On this very evening he had a 
 masked ball, to which he invited the Electoral 
 Prince and Princess and all belonging to the 
 Court. They, however, refused ; only the young 
 people went ; and he found it very difficult to 
 
 59
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 preserve the necessary cheerful demeanour and 
 bearing of a host." 
 
 On the night of this ball, Mr. Taylor, whose 
 head had perhaps been slightly turned by being 
 for so long the centre of the intrigues and 
 negotiations of four European Courts, not to 
 speak of the effects of the smiles of his royal 
 hostess of Hanau and Philipsruhe, finally and 
 definitely left Cassel. According to tradition, 
 the travelling-carriage stood waiting in a dark 
 corner of the courtyard, and whilst the violins 
 were still playing, the last guests still dancing, 
 the Minister and his secretary, Ralph Heathcote, 
 drove away for good and all. 
 
 The Elector made a great sacrifice in giving 
 way to France. He was closely bound to the 
 House of Hanover by the traditions of his child- 
 hood, and the memory of his mother carried con- 
 siderable weight. But he had at last begun to 
 mistrust English promises, and even at the risk 
 of giving England an excuse for withholding the 
 enormous sums (21,276,778 thalers) due for the 
 Hessian troops supplied by him, he determined 
 to throw in his lot with Napoleon. 
 
 St. Genest, Lucchesini, and Waitz (the Hessian 
 Minister) at last managed to pacify the Emperor. 
 Waitz was sent to Paris, and gives the following 
 interesting description of his audience : " The 
 Chief Master of the Ceremonies informed me 
 this morning that H.I.M. would receive the 
 
 60
 
 WILLIAM I, ELECTOR OF HESSE-CASSEL
 
 The Brook Taylor Incident 
 
 letter from my hands at eleven o'clock. I accord- 
 ingly at this time presented myself in the Am- 
 bassadors' Room, where I found General von 
 Pappenheim (the Darmstadt Minister). Shortly 
 after the Master of the Ceremonies and an aide- 
 de-camp conducted us to the last antechamber, 
 where the Crown Prince of Bavaria, the Chan- 
 cellor of the Empire Dalberg, as well as other 
 ministers, senators, and generals, were waiting. 
 The Chief Master of the Ceremonies went into 
 the Emperor's room in order to announce us, 
 but returned soon and told us that H.I.M would 
 receive us in the antechamber in passing through 
 on his way to Mass. The Emperor entered, 
 approached me, and did not give me time to 
 express Your Electoral Highness's congratulations 
 on the occasion of his brilliant victories, but inter- 
 rupted me, in order to express his dissatisfaction 
 at Mr. Taylor having been again received. 
 1 How is it possible to countenance an assassin ? 
 The Elector had better realise that I am the 
 more powerful, that I command forty millions, 
 and that I shall not forget.' " 
 
 But at last matters were smoothed over ; 
 Napoleon and the Elector exchanged letters, and in 
 June, 1806, Bignon put in his appearance in Cassel. 
 
 Taylor had lost the game, and Bignon had won ! 
 
 Ralph Heathcote, finding himself, like his chief, 
 deprived of both his place and his position, fol- 
 lowed Mr. Taylor to England. 
 
 61
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 MARIANNE 
 
 LIVING at Cassel, at the same place as his 
 mother, there are no letters from Ralph 
 J to her during the winter of 1805-6. 
 There is reason, however, to believe 
 that the time passed only too quickly. 
 
 We have seen Ralph involved in an exciting 
 political complication ; and chance enables us to 
 follow the pathetic tale of an entanglement of a 
 very different nature. 
 
 Some of these letters now just a century old 
 from Countess Marianne X, follow. They were 
 found quite at the back of the forgotten drawer. 
 Even their exterior is characteristic of the time : 
 a small-sized note-paper with scalloped edges and 
 pale pink rim ; a very small, graceful, feminine 
 handwriting which was then called patte de 
 mouche. They are written in French, and only 
 signed " Marianne." 
 
 The husband of the writer held an important 
 post at the Court of Cassel. She seems to have 
 been unhappy in her marriage, and was nearly 
 ten years older than Ralph. A miniature found 
 
 62
 
 Marianne 
 
 with her letters shows a handsome, elegant young 
 woman with brown wavy hair and big blue eyes 
 with a tender expression. 
 
 Her feeling is the feeling of all ages, but 
 many of the attendant circumstances are typical 
 of those lenient times. Those were the days in 
 which society delighted to countenance every 
 affection, legitimate or the reverse, without, how- 
 ever, when it came to the point, being prepared 
 to make greater sacrifices, or exacting greater 
 constancy, than our more serious and less romantic 
 generation. 
 
 The first letter is dated "22nd, six o'clock in 
 the morning." It is probably written at Cassel 
 on the 22nd of February, just before Mr. Taylor's 
 masked ball and before his final departure. 
 
 The reports I hear terrify me, as they regard 
 the person who has my happiness in his hands. 
 Can he be obliged to set off without my having 
 bid him good-bye? As I believe him to be 
 a little displeased with me, that would be the 
 torment of my life. Dearest of friends, you 
 must reassure me. I have passed a cruel night ; 
 my anxiety made the hours appear a century. 
 How I longed for the moment in which I could 
 talk to you ! My dearest one, do not refuse me 
 this satisfaction. It cannot well be managed 
 here at my house. But you must let me read in 
 your eyes all that I wish to see! Will the ball 
 
 63
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 take place ? And at what time are we expected ? 
 My only attraction is the hope of seeing you, and 
 of finding you such as you have always been to 
 me, and such as I deserve. Far rather would I 
 die than be undeserving of your love than give 
 you the least suspicion. M. 
 
 Ralph having left for England, Marianne and 
 her children were staying with her mother at a 
 country place, then, as now, belonging to her 
 family. 
 
 Burg Sch gen, May 17, 1806. 
 
 My very dear Friend, 
 
 Your letter of the 30th April only reached 
 me the day before yesterday. You can imagine 
 that I had awaited it with all the impatience that 
 the warmth of my affection can call forth. Your 
 friendly and tender words gave me infinite plea- 
 sure. Truly do I share all your feelings, and 
 shall do so for the rest of my life that life that 
 you only have taught me to live. ... If this 
 assurance makes you happy there is nothing left 
 for me to desire. . . . 
 
 If I had the presumption to believe that in 
 breaking my iron chains I could contribute to 
 your happiness and welfare that welfare which 
 is more precious to me than my life no effort 
 exists that I would not make. But as long as 
 
 64
 
 Marianne 
 
 the illusion that you have awakened in me 
 through too much love is not transformed into an 
 intimate conviction that by so doing happiness 
 would be assured to you, as certainly as it ought 
 to be, according to your merits, so long I shall 
 never undertake a step which you might after- 
 wards regret, and which would therefore cause me 
 bitter remorse. Your happiness is my joy this 
 is my way of loving you ! . . . 
 
 I lead a very quiet life here, trying gradually to 
 lessen the grief my poor eldest brother is in, 
 owing to the loss of his wife. ... As soon as 
 you send me instructions I shall occupy myself 
 with my affairs, and possibly Heaven may give 
 me new duties, both happy and sacred. I do not 
 venture to believe in all this ; you know my 
 reasons. 
 
 Here is the lock of my hair that you ask for 
 the one that you gave me always lies on my 
 heart. . . . Farewell, my more than beloved 
 friend. Marianne. 
 
 Burg Sch gen, May 20, 1806. 
 
 Impossible to be more amiable than my dear 
 friend Heathcote ! Your note from Husum gave 
 me infinite pleasure. How I hope that the wind 
 will have been favourable that you will not be 
 ill ! My best wishes accompany you, above all, 
 whilst you are on board the ship. 
 f 65
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 You will have received my letter of the 17th 
 through your mother, and this one will reach you 
 in the same way. Your mother had the kindness 
 to add a few lines in sending me your letter. 
 There is not an hour of the day in which I do 
 not think of you. During the days that I was 
 alone at Cassel I had at least the consolation of 
 seeing your mother. You remember, dearest 
 friend, that I have often mentioned my brother 
 Malte 1 to you, and have dwelt upon his sterling 
 merits. I have now told him all about our 
 friendship, in order to be able to speak about you 
 to somebody. He told me that in case of diffi- 
 culties in conveying my letters to " Madame votre 
 mere " he would be delighted to see to our corre- 
 sponding safely. He has really the most excellent 
 character that could anywhere be found, and is 
 most universally esteemed. ... I am often in 
 the garden, now delightful with all the nightin- 
 gales singing. 
 
 The day before yesterday I visited my uncle, 
 who is no longer as active as I used to describe 
 him to you. I found him in bed, with one arm 
 and one leg paralysed, in a most pitiable condi- 
 tion, but tenderly nursed, and surrounded by the 
 really exemplary attentions of his sons. The 
 eldest is a capital young man ; but notwith- 
 standing that he is known to be steady, he had 
 a most unpleasant duel the other day with a 
 
 1 Chanoine, Count Malte X. 
 66
 
 Marianne 
 
 young Livonian, M. de Griittner, whom unfortu- 
 nately he wounded seriously. The whole elbow is 
 cut open, and the poor young man is quite penni- 
 less, so much so that my cousin feels himself 
 bound to give him a pension, and has in the 
 most delicate manner approached his family on 
 the subject. I tell you this, dearest friend, 
 knowing your taste for all kind of fighting ! 
 
 Besides, my solitary life provides scanty 
 material for writing. The heart speaks all the 
 louder ! If only you could read in it you would 
 be fully contented. Will these happy times ever 
 return ? I have now only their memory, and 
 that memory is eternally dear to my heart. . . . 
 I delay the moment of taking any decisive step, 
 waiting for the news from you, which will de- 
 termine my future. 
 
 Do give me details of all that concerns you 
 . . . your letters are my only consolation ; if you 
 saw the pleasure they caused me you would pro- 
 cure me the pleasure more often ! Oh, that I 
 could persuade you of this, as also of the warmth 
 of my feelings for you. These feelings will last 
 all my life, in spite of a most barbarous fate. 
 
 Good-bye, my most beloved friend. 
 
 Marianne. 
 
 Burg Sch gen, June 22, 1806. 
 
 Yes, dear friend, I am more satisfied now that 
 your letter of the 3rd has arrived. ... I see 
 
 67
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 that the happiness of my life is assured, that 
 your friendship remains. How is it possible for 
 you to doubt the strength of my feelings for you? 
 Surely my perseverance in carrying out what I 
 felt to be my duty will convince you of my con- 
 stancy in friendship and in love ! 
 
 The day before my departure from Cassel I 
 had a long talk with the Electress, 1 who quite 
 suddenly began to speak to me in the kindest 
 way about myself and my affairs in a tone that 
 shows me she knows all. She told me quite 
 openly that she advised me, as a friend, not to 
 return, at least for a year or two, to Cassel. My 
 relations here say the same ; they want to estab- 
 lish me on one of the estates of my brother. I 
 cannot make up my mind, you know why, to any 
 step as yet. There are moments in life hard to 
 bear, and as you once said, "The roses are hidden 
 under thorns," it must be stood, hard as my lot 
 has been since the last years. And all this works 
 upon my health ; I feel weaker than at former 
 times, and look on to the end of November 2 with 
 a certain anxiety. . . . 
 
 The fate of my letters is too dreadful. Any- 
 how, it gives me satisfaction to find that you 
 attach the same importance to my letters that I 
 do to yours. This reciprocity proves our senti- 
 ments to be mutual, and this consoles me for the 
 
 1 The Electress of Hesse, a princess of Denmark. 
 3 This seems like a forecast of her death. 
 
 68
 
 Marianne 
 
 apparent loss of my letters. After all, these did 
 little otherwise than repeat the same thing that 
 I love you, esteem you, in all the significance of 
 the terms, with all the warmth of this my one and 
 only affection ; and this affection will not alter as 
 long as I live. ... M. 
 
 Burg Sch gen, August 10, 1806. 
 
 With all my heart I congratulate you upon 
 your new career. May you always be as satisfied 
 as you seem to be at this moment. Your mother 
 is delighted to find you so contented; her letters 
 to me show a kindness and friendship which 
 draws me more and more towards her. . . . 
 
 The "beautiful" Countess Gyldensteen 1 has 
 been staying at Geismar. There have been 
 several duels between the students (of Gottingen) 
 and Hessian officers, not, as far as I can make 
 out, on account of her; nevertheless she took the 
 keenest interest in them, being present on horse- 
 back. . . . The Countess in a fit of temper has 
 suddenly sent off her lady's maid, her butler, and 
 her Danish coachman, your faithful Anton re- 
 placing the latter. . . . One of the duels was 
 
 1 Countess Gyldensteen was neither beautiful nor young ; she 
 was over fifty, unmarried, and very rich, being sole heir to her 
 father's great estates in Denmark ; her mother had been a Countess 
 of Nassau. She seems to have led a very adventurous life and 
 after other flirtations she had a love affair with Brook Taylor, who 
 was many years her junior. 
 
 69
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 quite a little battle, three officers were wounded. 
 The duel I mentioned to you, which took place 
 between my cousin and Baron G .... is threaten- 
 ing to turn out a very serious matter; they talk 
 of applying the law against duelling, which would 
 mean eight years' fortress. It would be doubly 
 hard upon my cousin to be imprisoned now that 
 his father is on the point of death. 
 
 .... If I have to go to Cassel, let me find 
 your portrait there, it will be such a consolation 
 and help. 
 
 I must close, as I am called away to make tea. 
 How many remembrances this brings before me ! 
 
 Good-bye, my dearest and only friend ; may you 
 remain well and happy. Marianne. 
 
 This is the last letter from poor Marianne ; the 
 following one, from Mrs. Heathcote to her son, 
 tells him of her untimely death. 
 
 Cassel, le 26 De'cembre, 1806. 
 
 Je ne neglige aucun moyen de vous faire 
 parvenir de mes nouvelles, mon cher fils. Ma 
 derniere vous parviendra par la voie de Hollande, 
 Dieu sait si vous la recevrez. Je vous ai annonce 
 la maladie de votre pauvre amie. . . . Les forces 
 de la malade sont 6puis6es de maniere qu'on la 
 dit dans le plus grand danger. Vous ne devez 
 pas espeVer de la conserver. Pour ses pauvres 
 
 70
 
 Marianne 
 
 enfants c'est une perte, a moins que son frere qui 
 va se remarier, ne les prenne chez lui et les 
 fasse elever avec ses enfants, qui sont du meme 
 age. Le mari est tres triste. II est venu me 
 lire la lettre qu'il a recue de sa belle-mere et que 
 j'ai parcourue. Cette femme est dans une 
 douleur extreme de perdre sa fille, elle a eu tous 
 les soins que l'art ait pu procurer, mais en vain ; 
 car elle n'a a 34 ans pu ^chapper a. la violence de 
 la ' maladie. C'est un bonheur pour elle, vu 
 qu'elle eut du par les circonstances rejoindre son 
 mari. . . . Vous savez que cela l'eut rendu tres 
 malheureuse. J'ai par faiblesse donne des larmes 
 pour sa mort. Aujourd'hui je conviens qu'elle a 
 eu une destined qui a du lui faire envisager sa 
 ddlivrance de ce monde avec resignation et joie. 
 Je vous ai dit assez. Votre raison doit vous faire 
 connaitre davantage, que c'est la derniere liaison 
 de ce genre que vous aurez a. vous reprocher. 
 Voila ce que deja vous m'avez promis et j'y 
 compte. . . . Vous pouvez m'^crire par Monsieur 
 de Lorenz, Ministre de TElecteur; sa femme rec,oit 
 de ses lettres regulierement. Nous sommes 
 tranquilles ici. Marescotti est conduit a Paris 
 comme espion, de maniere que je ne prevois pas 
 qu'il puisse eViter la mort. C'est affreux! Le 
 malheureux est a. plaindre. II a agi comme un 
 imbecile de ne pas etre parti, car il devait 
 s'attendre a cet evenement. II a 6t6 deux jours 
 arretd et garde dans la maison du Commandant, 
 
 71
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 le troisieme il fut jete dans une voiture, a ses 
 cotes un officier, et vis a vis un soldat avec un 
 fusil sous le bras, quatre chevaux de poste. On 
 lui a permis six chemises et l'habit qu'il a sur le 
 corps. Le Major I. a et^ le voir, il a pleure 
 comme un enfant. A propos du Majeur, il 
 s'est bien mal conduit. On est honteux de 
 prononcer son nom. J'ai toujours eu mauvaise 
 opinion de lui. II surpasse ce qu'on devait en 
 attendre. 
 
 J 'attends de vos lettres avec une impatience 
 que ma tendresse peut vous faire concevoir. 
 Mon cher fils, je vous aime comme peu de 
 meres aiment et il y en a peu de plus a, plaindre, 
 car je ne sais entrevoir le moment ou je me 
 retrouverai avec vous. Ma resignation est 
 grande, mais je souffre d'une douleur trop 
 naturelle pour la dissimuler. Je reste ici parce 
 que je vous y espere. Je desire etre avec vous 
 Ou peu m'importe ! 
 
 Adieu mon cher fils, je ne puis que vous 
 conjurer de me donner vite de vos nouvelles. 
 
 Je fatigue Dieu de lui demander le retour de 
 l'Electeur et du votre. Je vous embrasse. 
 
 We hear nothing more of Marianne. Ralph's 
 answer to his mother's letter informing him of 
 her death has evidently been lost. The next 
 letter we find is dated six months later (July, 
 1807). Was the love greater on her side than 
 
 72
 
 Marianne 
 
 on his, or did he mourn her deeply ? A hundred 
 years have passed since her death, but her feel- 
 ings, her letters, seem as fresh as if written 
 to-day. 
 
 73
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 LONDON ENGLISH MILITARY LIFE AND THE 
 COPENHAGEN EXPEDITION 
 
 I 
 
 N April, 1806, Ralph was on his way to 
 London, after his appointment at Cassel 
 had come to such an untimely end. 
 
 Hamburg, April 29, 1806. 
 
 This afternoon I arrived at Hamburg in perfect 
 good health, without any accident having befallen 
 me on the road. Our journey might, indeed, 
 have been much shorter if my companion had 
 been a little more accustomed to travel at night. 
 As it was, however, he was completely knocked 
 up after the first night, and the two last we spent 
 in two very bad inns shocking beds! I have 
 seen nothing of this place except the German 
 play, which is very bad ; the theatre wretched 
 beyond description. The last is, without doubt, 
 the very worst I ever saw. 
 
 Pray order Anton to bring you my breakfasting 
 cup, and write me a word about it. I do not 
 
 74
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 intend to stay beyond two days at this place, and 
 shall write to you again from Husum. Should 
 you not hear from me then, depend upon it I 
 shall have set off for England immediately after 
 my arrival. I am so tired, I can hardly see what 
 I am writing. 
 Good night ! 
 
 Hamburg, April 30. 
 
 The post does not set off yet, and I have time 
 to add a few lines more. I have seen Mr. 
 Thornton this morning ; he received me in the 
 most civil manner possible. I shall dine at his 
 house to-day, shall remain here to-morrow, and 
 set off the day after for Husum, our packets no 
 longer going to Cuxhaven. As for myself, I am 
 in as good health as ever I was, and hope you 
 are as well. My intentions relative to my future 
 plans are still the same ; however, built as they 
 are upon contingencies, they are liable to changes. 
 My carriage I have disposed of without much 
 loss. I believe at Cassel I should not have got 
 so much, and at Husum certainly not half the 
 sum. However, this has occasioned me to take 
 a voiturier to Husum. He will take us to that 
 place in two days, and, as my military friend is 
 not partial to night expeditions, it will prove a 
 saving to our purse without occasioning a loss 
 of time. 
 
 Of Hamburg I have not seen much yet ; the 
 
 75
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 weather being too unfavourable ; however, the 
 little that has presented itself very ill agrees with 
 Mme. de Waitz's description. The town is very 
 badly built narrow streets and the harbour, 
 though superior to that of Cassel, cannot be 
 compared with any seaport town. 
 
 I live at the Hotel de St. Petersbourg, on 
 the Jungfernsteg, a very pretty walk near the 
 river, which is covered with pleasure boats of 
 all descriptions, but mostly built like sea boats 
 and rigged like frigates. It is a fine sight to see 
 the elegants and belles walking about here, the 
 view covered with these boats, some sailing on 
 all points of the compass, others rowing matches, 
 and the whole bordered by a view down the 
 Elbe, the decorations on both sides consisting of 
 houses, churches, etc. It would form an excellent 
 scene for a playhouse. In short, for a person who 
 has never seen sea views it must be grand, but 
 far below a view down Westminster Bridge. If 
 the port of Hamburg does not bear a comparison 
 with London, the manners, dress, etc., of its 
 inhabitants certainly do so, and it would not 
 require a very heated imagination to fancy one- 
 self in England, so much do the people in general 
 look like Englishmen. They have the same 
 pli, and do the town justice. If London had 
 not Westminster and Southwark, no docks, and 
 only one-eighth part of its shipping, if the town 
 were also sunk below the surface of the earth, 
 
 76
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 Hamburg would be like it. In other words, 
 London was like Hamburg three or four centuries 
 ago. Hamburg wants large edifices ; it has only 
 shops, shops, shops ! 
 
 Hamburg, May 2, 1806. 
 
 We have deferred our journey to Husum for 
 one day, and shall only leave this place to- 
 morrow. I shall therefore make use of this 
 interval to give you some further account of 
 what happened to me since I wrote last. 
 
 I believe I left off by informing you that I was 
 to dine at Mr. Thornton's, which I accordingly 
 did. We sat down five of us Mr. T., Mr. F. 
 his secretary, Col. Sonntag, formerly in our 
 service, Lt.-Col. Mosheim, and myself. For 
 the dinner itself I cannot say much, though 
 the wine was good, three sorts, the discourse 
 during table ruling principally upon Cassel and 
 our late political transactions there. In the 
 evening we went to Mr. T.'s box at the French 
 playhouse. ... Mr. T. is well lodged, but wants 
 room, and keeps but a very small establishment, 
 not even allowing himself an equipage. He tells 
 me Hamburg is such a very expensive place that 
 he cannot afford it. He is a man of about thirty- 
 five years of age, does not want sense, and is very 
 well suited for his place at H. I believe he is 
 less qualified for a court. To me he has shown 
 
 77
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 great civility, perfectly approved of my conduct at 
 Cassel, but blamed Taylor's throughout, especi- 
 ally his returning to Germany last summer. His 
 secretary is a young, unthinking coxcomb, a man 
 of fortune, does not want sense perhaps, but 
 discretion. So much for our Legation. 
 
 The French play is far superior to the German 
 one in all respects. I was highly diverted with 
 this first specimen of the French drama that 
 I have ever seen. They act so much in the Eng- 
 lish style that I should have taken them for 
 English had I been out of hearing. Their operas 
 and ballets are bad. 
 
 Yesterday I dined at Altona, a Danish town 
 quite close to Hamburg, from which circumstance 
 it derives its name All-too-nah (much too near). 
 Col. Sonntag had invited us to dine there at 
 a French hotel kept by M. Rainville, one of 
 Dumourier's aides-de-camp. The view out of 
 the gardens is very fine ; they consist of a terrace 
 going down to the Elbe, furnished up in a very 
 elegant style. 
 
 Returned to Hamburg, we went once more to 
 the German theatre ; they represented Figaro s 
 Hochzeit, Figaro performed by our old friend 
 Schroeder, who is still as well as ever, and does 
 not appear to me to have lost anything since last 
 I saw him. Mile. Lohrs is very handsome and 
 acts well, but the whole is worse than I believed 
 it to be the first night I was there. Their first 
 
 78
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 singer (who is applauded whenever she comes 
 out) screams so horribly that she would most 
 assuredly be hissed at Cassel and not permitted 
 to go through with her first air ; but their chorus 
 is only to be compared to the howling of a set of 
 hungry dogs it is frightful beyond description. 
 Still they applauded ! 
 
 Harwich, May 7, 1806. 
 
 This morning I arrived safe and sound on the 
 shores of Old England, having had a most 
 fortunate passage of forty-eight hours fine 
 weather and no hard gales ; nevertheless I was 
 most terribly sick for the first nine or ten hours, 
 after which I managed very well. This evening 
 at six o'clock I shall proceed on my journey to 
 London, and heartily glad I shall be to find myself 
 at the end of my peregrination. Col. Mosheim 
 left me about an hour ago, being too impatient to 
 reach London to wait for the coach (besides his 
 dread of travelling at night), and has taken post. 
 On the whole I am not sorry at having got rid of 
 my companion, who has most certainly not proved 
 very saving to me, and has considerably detained 
 me whilst travelling in Germany. He was always 
 ill on shore, once of a sore throat, the next time 
 of a swelled face. Your powders, however, suc- 
 ceeded in setting him to rights again, but on board 
 
 79
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 he was the only man who was well. I hope you 
 will let me hear from you soon, and you may 
 depend upon receiving very exact intelligence 
 from me at least once a week. 
 
 P.S. We have had another successful engage- 
 ment with a French fleet and have taken two 
 ships. 
 
 Pray forward the enclosed, and present my 
 best compliments to all my friends at Cassel, 
 especially to Marescotti. 
 
 In 1805 Lord Melville, who had already been 
 accused of unduly favouring his Scotch country- 
 men, as well as of parliamentary corruption, was 
 charged in the House of Commons with the mis- 
 application of public funds. 
 
 His trial in the House of Lords took place in 
 May, 1806; on June the 12th he was acquitted, 
 and became Privy Councillor in the following 
 year. 
 
 London, May 15, 1806. 
 
 Yesterday I went to Lord Melville's trial, no 
 doubt the most interesting sight possible. Both 
 Houses of Parliament, the Prince of Wales, all 
 the Royal Dukes, most of the Peers, besides three 
 thousand spectators of both sexes being assembled 
 in Westminster Hall, arranged for the occasion. 
 
 80
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 No doubt Lord Melville will be acquitted. I only- 
 wish his accusers could be punished for thus 
 exposing a man of merit, who has for so many 
 years been in the service of the public. 
 
 This morning I called upon Colonel Taylor l at 
 the Queen's house, he having come to town for a 
 couple of days. We three, his brother being 
 present, consulted again on what I was to do, in 
 consequence of which, they went to the Office for 
 Foreign Affairs to make a trial whether it were 
 possible for me to be placed there. As we 
 expected, it has turned out ineffectual. Mr. Fox 
 has refused all the applications that have been 
 made to him of a similar nature, even those made 
 by the Prince of Wales in person, and he has just 
 abolished the only situation that was vacant in his 
 office, distributing the appointments attached to it 
 amongst the junior clerks. It has therefore been 
 determined that I should enter into the Horse 
 Guards, as I mentioned in my last letter, and the 
 necessary steps for that purpose are now actually 
 taking place. 
 
 The Colonel told me that no officer in the 
 above-mentioned regiment was permitted to spend 
 more than ^150 p. a. above his pay, but that it was 
 very easy to live merely upon that, which is very 
 great indeed, being no less than ^250 p. a., besides 
 the allowance for horses, and free lodging, for the 
 cornet. Even a private has 2s. 55-d. a day, 
 
 1 The brother of Mr. Brook Taylor (see p. 262). 
 G 81
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 which is equal to 17 groschen at Cassel ! Pray 
 inform Zeppelin of this, which makes a private's 
 income a year amount to ^44. 17s. 3d., more 
 than a lieutenant's of the Guards at Cassel. 
 However, no other regiment in England receives 
 such pay: mine as cornet being equal to that of 
 a major in the infantry and of a captain in the 
 cavalry, without considering free quarters. You 
 shall know all the details as soon as they come to 
 my own knowledge so much I can tell you, that 
 Windsor is one of the most agreeable towns in 
 England. 
 
 May 16, 1806. 
 
 I have changed my lodgings, and live at present 
 in the same house with Taylor, viz. at Warren's 
 Hotel, Charles Street, St. James's Square. 
 Looking at your letter, I find you wish me to 
 inform you of what is believed here respecting 
 peace. Nobody thinks of it! Our trade, in 
 despite of Bonaparte's endeavours, is more 
 flourishing than ever. We have just declared 
 war with Prussia. The people are all perfectly 
 satisfied with the war ; the taxes are high it is true, 
 but not severely felt on account of the vast riches 
 procured by it. I have already told you that 
 plenty of money (coin) is in circulation. You 
 may easily conceive how the Powers of the 
 Continent are despised for their conduct in the 
 
 82
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 late war between Austria. Our commerce with 
 France alone is sufficient to defray the expenses 
 occasioned by the war. How this is carried on 
 Heaven and our merchants know. I have dined 
 at home to-day with Taylor. We afterwards 
 played some duos, and did not go out again. 
 
 May 17. 
 
 No doubt you will be astonished to hear that 
 Mrs. Sutherland is still living. Taylor met her 
 yesterday in the streets by mere chance he had 
 thought her dead ever so long ago. The nature 
 of their meeting permitted him only to exchange 
 a few words with her, when she gave him her 
 directions, and he has actually gone to pay her a 
 visit. According to all appearances, she is in 
 very good circumstances. Pray inform Marescotti 
 of these particulars. I have another more in- 
 teresting point to mention to you. Col. Taylor 
 told his brother that as soon as I was sufficiently 
 acquainted with the duties of my regiment, he 
 would get me some advantageous situation in the 
 Duke of York's department this, however, must 
 remain entre nous. The Colonel is a man on 
 whom we may depend. He does not promise 
 what he will not and cannot hold. To me he has 
 made no mention of it, only expressing himself in 
 the strongest terms of friendship and regard. 
 
 I shall go to the opera to-night, and will not 
 
 83
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 fail to give you an account of it. Your carpets, 
 etc., I have not forgotten. Broughton does not 
 know what has become of them, but inquiries are 
 being made whether they are still at the office, 
 or what has become of them. 
 
 May 1 8. 
 
 I was highly amused by going to the opera 
 the first time I was ever there and will en- 
 deavour to give you a short description of it. 
 The house is much larger than any of the other 
 theatres : it contains 195 boxes and four galleries, 
 besides a proportionately large pit. No lady is 
 allowed to go either into the pit or boxes (which 
 cost the same) who is not dressed, and that much 
 stricter than at a Cassel assembly, no hats being 
 allowed to be worn in short, the dress you 
 would wear at a common court day at Cassel ; 
 the gentlemen in silk stockings and cocked hats. 
 The entrance half a guinea, the house being as 
 full as it could hold. The managers cleared 
 at least ^1000 last night. So much for the 
 audience ! Now for the performance (which 
 begins at half-past eight). The orchestra is very 
 full and excellent. I think I am a tolerably 
 good judge of this part of an opera, and must 
 own myself quite satisfied. It is just double the 
 strength of that at Munich. The effect this pro- 
 duces is admirable, for none of the musicians 
 being ever obliged to overstrain his instrument
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 the whole sound is mellow, though it may be 
 ever so loud ; the contrast with the pianos very 
 fine and great. They can produce two kinds, by 
 the whole or only half the orchestra accompany- 
 ing. 
 
 The first singer I heard was Signora Grassini ; 
 her voice is the finest I have ever heard ; her 
 manner original and excellent. She sings bari- 
 tone, but has also very high notes at her com- 
 mand. All her endeavours are directed upon 
 doing justice to the composer and delivering her 
 part with sweetness of tone, which last is fine 
 beyond description. It is very seldom (not three 
 times the whole evening) that she allowed herself 
 any introduction of her own, any metode, but 
 never in the recitation, in which her chief force 
 consists. Very different, you will find, from Mme. 
 Willman, and in the style of Mme. Haploch. 
 However, when she chose to show her skill in 
 this, it answered the expectation one had formed. 
 However, to do Mme. Willman justice, I believe 
 Grassini could not easily imitate her cadenzas, 
 but the latter is too good a musician to think 
 of spoiling the effect of the opera for the sake 
 of a quaver; but the tone of Grassini is too 
 superior to Willman's to admit of any comparison. 
 Braham I had heard before. You will remember 
 what I said of him. He went through with his 
 part very well. Signor Righi is the next. He 
 is also a very good performer. Of the rest I 
 
 85
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 cannot say much. Perhaps they had no oppor- 
 tunity of showing their abilities. The chorus 
 was very good. 
 
 The name of the opera is Gli Orazzi e Curi- 
 azzi, by Cimarosa. I did not much like it. The 
 ballet which followed really astonished me ; such 
 dancing I had not only never seen, but had not 
 believed possible. A Frenchman, whose name 
 I have forgotten, did not appear to touch the 
 ground, but to fly. It's amazing. I had ex- 
 pected to see something superior to what I had 
 hitherto seen, but not like what I saw ; he would 
 turn round so quickly that you could scarcely 
 distinguish the different parts of his body without 
 touching the ground with his other foot, stand 
 firm in an attitude, firm like a statue. The ballet 
 was called Tamer Ian and Bajazet, had three acts, 
 and the whole was over at half-past twelve. I 
 intend to go once more to the opera to hear 
 Mrs. Billington. 
 
 When at home I am more generally occupied 
 in studying the Cavalry Regulations, that I may 
 be a little au fait when I join my regiment. The 
 thing is not so difficult as I thought it was, and 
 I hope in six months hence to be a pretty good 
 officer. Taylor is to receive a full indemnification 
 for the loss he has sustained by being obliged to 
 leave Cassel so suddenly. He has valued it at 
 ;iooo, which, I believe, is very fair; Drake 
 got ^"4000 and Spencer Smith ^3000 for their 
 
 86
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 losses, 1 and he might consequently have brought 
 in a much larger bill. 
 
 May 19. 
 
 I this morning took a long walk through the 
 town with Taylor, and we saw two new squares, 
 and streets without number, that have only been 
 built since his stay at Cassel. It is astonishing 
 how this city is increasing in size. We have 
 walked more streets than Cassel contains in one 
 part of the town only, which were only meadows 
 when I left England in 1796, and are marked 
 down as such in my map ; now they form the 
 finest part of the town. We went out to look at 
 carriages, T. meaning to buy a chaise instead of 
 the one he had at Cassel and which he sold after 
 his return. We went to all the principal coach- 
 makers. The average price for a second-hand 
 chaise still in fashion (about two years ago) and 
 good order, newly painted, etc., is ^150. I men- 
 tion this as you wished me to bring one over 
 when peace is made, and which I shall most likely 
 do, not having at all changed the plan I formed 
 before I left you. 
 
 How it is I cannot tell, but I am certainly 
 growing fatter, especially in the face, and am not 
 sorry for it. However, if it continues to increase 
 in the same proportion as it has begun, you will 
 
 1 The English Ministers in Munich and Stuttgart, who had 
 shared Mr. Taylor's fate. 
 
 87
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 soon scarcely know me again, and it will become 
 necessary to take some precautions against it. 
 Old England makes me thrive, you see, and your 
 recommending me to take care of my health is 
 not very necessary. 
 
 Charles Street, May 21, 1806. 
 
 Many thanks for your letter of the 7th inst. 
 I again received it soon after mine was put into 
 the post office. Pray continue to be as regular 
 in your correspondence, and depend upon it that 
 every Tuesday a packet leaves London for you. 
 I was sorry to find by your letter that you still 
 wish me to retire to a private life in Germany ; if 
 peace were made and I had any chance of being 
 able to do so, to please you, I would ; but now it 
 is impossible. Our inveterate enemy 1 has even 
 arrested Mrs. Smith, 2 a German lady, the wife of 
 Spencer Smith. How then is it to be expected 
 that he would ever permit me to live quietly 
 in Germany ? It would be folly on his part to 
 do so. 
 
 1 Bonaparte. 
 
 2 Mrs. Spencer Smith, Byron's "New Calypso," was the 
 daughter of Baron Herbert, Austrian Ambassador at Constanti- 
 nople. She married Spencer Smith, British Minister at Stuttgart, 
 brother of Sir Sidney Smith. In 1806 she was arrested by 
 M. de La Garde, Napoleon's Prefect of the Police, at Venice, and 
 taken to Brescia, but by the help of M. de Salvo she escaped to 
 Austria in boy's clothes. 
 
 88
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 Another consideration prevents me. What 
 would be the end of such a life without friends, 
 connexions, and relations? What a miserable 
 old age I would have, tormented by the idea of 
 what I might have been, if I had not been 
 deterred by the view of a short separation from 
 my mother, or attracted by the giddy pleasures 
 of the social amusements of the Continent ; how- 
 ever, I repeat it : if at the close of the war I do 
 not find myself in a situation to enable you to 
 live agreeably in England, I shall sell my com- 
 mission and settle in Germany, for with ^500 
 a year I do not believe you can live reputably in 
 this country. I shall then be able to do so, and 
 not have to reproach myself with want of conduct 
 on my part. I suppose you know that selling a com- 
 mission is as easy as buying one, the price being 
 regulated by Government. 
 
 Taylor and I were very much amused by your 
 letter and particulars it contained. I have only to 
 say that it was rather short. I am sure that mine 
 are twice as long. Every particular, if of ever so 
 trifling a nature, from a place I like so much 
 as Cassel, written by a mother I so tenderly 
 revere, must always be highly interesting. Pray 
 tell Z. 1 that if the lady is worth the trouble I 
 heartily wish he may succeed. I have got 
 another lady to propose to my friends at Cassel ; 
 Z. being already engaged, Marescotti ought to 
 
 1 Zeppelin.
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 marry her, and after the particulars I am going to 
 state, I fancy he will think her worth the trouble 
 and expense of a journey to England. Her 
 name is Miss Smith (only daughter and heiress 
 of the late Sir F. Smith, Bart). She is eighteen 
 years old and has ,60,000 a year. Nobody talks 
 of her accomplishments, beauty, etc., because she 
 has ^60,000 a year, this great virtue containing 
 and drowning all the rest. Tell him that if he 
 succeeds I hope he will build a good fencing- 
 room for his friends to comfort themselves in. 
 
 But now to continue my journal. 
 
 Yesterday morning I was introduced by my 
 friend Taylor to his brother-in-law and his sister, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bootle. 1 I was very cordially 
 received. They treated me like an old friend. 
 Both are very pleasant and accomplished people. 
 I do not know why, but I had formed an idea 
 that Mrs. Bootle was a tall, thin woman. Judge 
 of my astonishment when I saw a little, fat 
 woman, with no marks about her of having been 
 abroad, looking as English as anything could be. 
 I suppose you know that Mr. Bootle is a man of 
 a good fortune and Member of Parliament. 
 
 In the evening I went to a play near Leicester 
 Square, the late Dibdin's, now the Juvenile Com- 
 
 1 May Elizabeth, eldest daughter of the Rev. Edward Taylor, 
 married, April 19, 1796, Edward Wilbraham Bootle, Esq., of 
 Lathom House, created Lord Skelmersdale. 
 
 90
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 pany (the oldest performer not above twelve years 
 of age). I was highly entertained ; the little men 
 acted very well indeed, so much so that if they 
 continue as they are now, they will, when grown 
 up, be very good actors. The girls were rather 
 below this standard, and it was easy to see that 
 they were not very fond of their lovers, but, as is 
 commonly the case at that age, bore a tolerable 
 hatred to each other. However, as they were all 
 very handsome, they did not fail to please ; one 
 especially promises to turn out a first-rate beauty. 
 This Juvenile Company consists both of an 
 English and German company, who act alter- 
 nately. 1 saw the English yesterday ; to-day 
 I mean to see the Germans. You would have 
 been amused to see the gravity, ease, and grace- 
 fulness with which these diminutive actors trod 
 the stage. I was only sorry that their ladies were 
 almost a head taller than they. Their children 
 were infants of two or three years old. Only think, 
 they performed The Stranger a translation of 
 Kotzebue's Menschenhass und Reue. I can assure 
 you I never went with more expectations of 
 amusement to any theatre than I shall do this 
 evening. 
 
 May 22. 
 
 After what I have just been saying, no doubt 
 you will be astonished to hear that the German 
 Juvenile Company was as bad as the English 
 
 91
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 had been good. The children were awkward in 
 the highest degree, did not know their parts, and 
 were scarcely able to speak their own language. 
 The whole was so stupid that I went away before 
 it was half over. Though, to make it quite 
 German, they had erected an immense box for 
 the prompter, who was not there the evening 
 before when the English performed. But let us 
 have done with it ! The very recollection makes 
 me sick, and I have much more interesting 
 matters to relate to you. 
 
 This morning, in company with Mr. Taylor 
 and some other gentlemen, I went to see the 
 London and West India Docks, the most noble 
 work ever performed by merchants. We first 
 went to the London Docks ; these only six years 
 ago were streets and houses, inhabited by many 
 thousands of people. Now on this same spot 
 the largest vessels are lying at anchor in a basin 
 of water covering twenty-five acres of land close 
 to the warehouses, which are built in a most 
 noble style; that for tobacco alone is a quarter of 
 a mile long. This stupendous work (the whole 
 is surrounded by a very high wall to prevent 
 thefts and dilapidations) was begun and finished 
 in two years time. The West India Docks are 
 still larger ; they were begun a little sooner, but 
 finished in the same time. They are built on a 
 ground which six years ago was a morass, a 
 swamp; now palaces in appearance (warehouses 
 
 92
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 in reality) cover this spot. The basin of water is 
 fourteen feet deep and covers forty acres of land ! 
 An acre contains 4840 square yards a yard 
 consisting of three feet. The whole is sur- 
 rounded like a fortified town by a wet ditch and 
 a low wall, on the top of which runs an iron 
 railing of about six feet in height, guarded all 
 round by sentinels placed at equal distances. 
 From thence we went to the East India Docks, 
 which are only begun. Above two thousand 
 people are working at them, and they will be 
 finished in less than fifteen months. 
 
 We were now at a distance of eight miles from 
 London, though to judge from appearances we 
 had never left the town. Therefore, after having 
 taken luncheon, we embarked in a boat on the 
 Thames and returned home. We passed the 
 Royal Hospital of Greenwich and the beautiful 
 Kentish and Surrey shores. I have never seen 
 Italy. To me this is the finest landscape I have 
 ever beheld ! I think you have seen this noble 
 mansion, destined for the last home of our brave 
 tars maimed in the victories they have gained for 
 their country. I shall not therefore enlarge upon 
 the beauty of this structure, which is one of the 
 finest palaces I have seen, and is most like the 
 Opera House at Berlin of course much larger 
 I mean it is built in that style of noble architec- 
 ture. It lies close to the Thames, which now 
 bears the weight of eight hundred ships taken 
 
 93
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 within these last three months, and moored oppo- 
 site the hospital. 
 
 I never felt so proud as on this day, passing 
 along our conquered enemies, and coming from 
 the stupendous works performed by English 
 industry. The whole river was covered with 
 ships coming from and going to all different 
 quarters of the globe. They are anchored in 
 rows, one behind the other. We passed between 
 them ; on one side we saw the innumerable flags 
 of all our enemies, with British colours hoisted 
 above them, whilst on the other, old men-of-war 
 showed their shattered sides torn in the battles 
 they had sustained for the honour of their country. 
 
 When we got nearer to the port of London 
 nothing but English merchantmen bearing home 
 the riches of the world presented themselves to 
 our view. There was not one amongst us, from 
 the waterman to the first gentleman, who did not 
 break out in involuntary exclamations of joy and 
 astonishment at the greatness of our country. 
 We had two Dutchmen amongst us they sighed ! 
 
 I was in hopes of receiving the description of 
 the new Docks before sitting down to write to 
 you, as I might then have been enabled to give 
 you some estimates of the riches they contain. 
 I have been disappointed, and shall therefore 
 only state what I was informed of by the gentle- 
 man at the head of the London Docks Depart- 
 ment. You may form an estimate of the value 
 
 94
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 of the whole by being told that the duty paid 
 to the Government for the tobacco warehoused 
 (not including the vaults below it) amounts to no 
 less than ,16,000 sterling a year ! That for one 
 house, out of the many hundreds which covered 
 the space now occupied by water and ships, 
 between ^700 and ,800 were paid. These 
 were then to be pulled down, the ground to be 
 taken away to the depth of fourteen feet, and 
 this was done. New buildings equal to palaces 
 were built, and these again filled with the pro- 
 duce of the Indies in two years time ! And this 
 was the work of some great prince, performed 
 at the expense and by the sweat and labour of 
 his bleeding subjects ? No ! it was done by a 
 company of merchants, performed during a most 
 serious war, performed for their own private and 
 certain gain and advantage. Show me the nation 
 that can show the like, and I will own it equal 
 to England. To punish Bonaparte for his many 
 crimes, I only wish he had been in our company 
 to-day. 
 
 Taylor and I have been so much delighted 
 with this day's excursion that we mean to make 
 the round of London, taking every day some 
 part of it into peculiar consideration. West- 
 minster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral are to 
 occupy our next attention. We have now ad- 
 mired the works of our fellow subjects and con- 
 temporaries ; we will next pay a tribute to the 
 
 95
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 names of our brave ancestors, to whom we stand 
 indebted for the degree of eminence on which 
 we are placed. Should I succeed in making you 
 a sharer of the heartfelt satisfaction I enjoy in 
 these perambulations, or only make you a par- 
 taker in the pleasure I feel in retracing them, 
 believe me it will add the greatest delight I am 
 capable of, after what I have already felt. 
 
 May 23. 
 
 Having received the book I mentioned above, 
 I believe it will not be disagreeable to you to 
 receive some short statements about edifices and 
 amusements. I have already cursorily mentioned, 
 to begin with, the West India Dock. The great 
 basin alone will hold 300 ships, the smaller one 
 170 ships. By ships, West Indiamen are meant, 
 of course. The undertaking was begun with a 
 capital of ,500,000. The Opera House (its 
 interior is only within two feet in dimensions of 
 the great theatre at Milan), the receipts of a full 
 house, holding 2500 persons, amount to ^1092 
 a night. Drury Lane Theatre holds 3948 per- 
 sons, besides the company who fill the private 
 boxes ; the receipts of the house on a full night 
 are upwards of ^752. Covent Garden Theatre 
 holds 3015 persons; the receipts of the house 
 on a full night amount to ^634 (exclusive of 
 renters and persons on the free list). The ex- 
 
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 London English Military Life 
 
 penses of this house to a performer on a benefit 
 night are nearly ,200 (they are 30 dollars at 
 Cassel). By the same book I learn that since 
 my last departure from England two playhouses, 
 the Circus and Astley's, have been burnt down 
 and rebuilt. 
 
 The present annual value of the exports and 
 imports of London may be stated at ^60,500,000; 
 the annual amount of the customs at more than 
 ,6,000,000. On an average there are constantly 
 1 100 ships in the river 3419 barges employed 
 in lading and unlading these ; 2288 barges em- 
 ployed in the inland trade ; and 3000 wherries 
 and small boats for passengers. To this active 
 scene are to be added 8000 watermen employed 
 in navigating the wherries and small craft only ; 
 4000 labourers lading and unlading ; and 1 200 
 revenue officers constantly doing duty on the 
 river. All these, besides the crews of the several 
 vessels, are the inhabitants of the Thames near 
 London. 
 
 May 24. 
 
 Taylor has just received a letter from his 
 brother, the Colonel, about me. Having taken 
 further information about the Blues, he now 
 strongly advises me not to enter into this regiment. 
 The reasons he gives are that the purchase is 
 above the sum at first mentioned (it amounting 
 to 1800 guineas), without the necessary expenses 
 h 97
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 for equipment, horses, etc. ; that the exchange 
 from this regiment into any other is very difficult, 
 few people liking it on account of its perpetually 
 remaining at Windsor; and what causes the 
 greatest weight with my military friend, who, it 
 seems, is determined to make a general of me, is 
 that there is little or no chance of promotion in 
 it. He again strongly recommends the infantry, 
 where he could procure me a commission without 
 purchase, and in which promotion is more rapid 
 than in the cavalry (because being sent to the 
 Indies they die in shoals ! ). However, as I am 
 one of those strange unambitious fellows who 
 would rather be a living captain in England than 
 a dead field-marshal in the West Indies, I have 
 given a flat refusal to this proposition. He next 
 proposes (if, as he expresses it, I am absolutely 
 bent against the infantry), to enter into the ist 
 Regt. of Dragoons, in which the commission 
 only costs ^735 (but the pay amounts to only 
 ^150 per annum), and in which promotion is 
 much more rapid. With this proposal I have 
 again closed. He knows all the officers of the 
 regiment, having himself been in it, though for 
 my part I would have preferred the Blues ; but 
 I must not altogether shock my friend, who, of 
 course, knows much better what is good for me 
 than I do myself. This answer has now been 
 sent, and we must expect what he will write next. 
 If peace were made and there were any chance 
 
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 London English Military Life 
 
 of my being able to remain quietly abroad, I 
 know very well what I would do ; but, as it is, 
 il faut faire bonne mine a mauvais jeu. So 
 much for my private affairs, which are wavering 
 like the wind. Fortunately, as you say, my 
 private fortune enables me to wait until it will 
 blow favourably for me. 
 
 Yesterday evening I again went to the opera. 
 They performed // Ratio di Proserpina. I can 
 now lay my head down in peace, for I have 
 heard what music is. I have heard duos sung by 
 Billington and Grassini those names speak for 
 themselves. Of the first you have already heard 
 too much, and of the latter I wrote to you in my 
 last, to enter into any more particulars about 
 them. I shall only say one thing, as it refers to 
 our friend Mrs. Willman. Mrs. Billington some- 
 times introduces Manieren, but always in a 
 secondary style done with a kind of negligence, 
 with a lowered voice, and only to combine the 
 different parts of her air. Cadenzas she never 
 introduced, even where they would not have been 
 out of place. The music being by Winter, there 
 were some opportunities for them, which she 
 evidently perfectly avoided. That Mrs. Billington 
 is able to make them I believe nobody will dis- 
 pute. Some of her Manieren were like those 
 of Mme. Willman. Those of Grassini, who is 
 still more sparing of them, are quite original. 
 Should I be able to catch any, I will send them 
 
 99
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 to you for Mrs. Willman ; they are quite charming. 
 Grassini last year cleared ^8000 by the opera 
 alone. I do not know whether her charms have, 
 and are, turned to account ; I believe not. This 
 is not the case with Mile. Parisot, the finest 
 dancer, I believe, in the universe. Lord Chol- 
 mondeley paid her a hundred guineas for a tUe-a- 
 tUe between the acts of an opera-play ! 
 
 I have another history for you, which you may 
 publish as much as you please. Mrs. Sutherland 
 is now called Mrs. Bishop, and is kept by a 
 young lawyer. She is very happy in this situation. 
 I hear she has grown excessively fat ; this is also 
 the case with Mrs. Billington. 
 
 May 25. 
 
 I have this moment returned from a visit I paid 
 to our old friend, Mr. Pine Coffin. His ladies 
 have not accompanied him in this expedition 
 to London, and he did not seem sorry for it. He 
 is just the same as he used to be at Cassel : 
 inquires a good deal after his German friends, 
 and has his head as full of projects and new 
 inventions and contrivances as ever. Upon in- 
 quiry, he told me that his lately acquired estates 
 had not turned out so profitable as had at first 
 been expected. It seems they are charged with 
 very heavy burdens annuities, etc. etc. The old 
 gentleman is going out of town again on Tuesday 
 next, so that I shall not see him again so soon. 
 
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 London English Military Life 
 
 Last night Taylor and I went to Astley's. This 
 new theatre has been very elegantly rebuilt. The 
 performance, as usual, consisted chiefly in battles, 
 and what I had never seen before, a combat 
 of an infantryman with a dragoon mounted on 
 a living horse, was brought upon the stage (not, 
 as formerly, in the ring of the pit). Thanks to 
 a tree, around which the foot-soldier kept turning, 
 the dragoon galloping round in masterly style, 
 the first escaped and, taking a proper oppor- 
 tunity, shot the poor fellow off his horse. Of 
 course the blood gushed through his waistcoat 
 and covered his breeches, etc. etc. The whole 
 closed with a harlequinade, in which the clown 
 did wonders. 
 
 May 26. 
 
 I dined yesterday at Mr. Bootle's house. We 
 had an excellent dinner, and I was glad to have 
 an opportunity of seeing more of Mrs. Bootle, 
 for visiting, you know, is not very customary in 
 England, excepting one is very well and inti- 
 mately acquainted. I discovered that she may 
 have been very handsome. She is now much 
 too fat ; is about forty years old, but has des 
 beaux restes, and is very pleasant when she 
 chooses to be, though she has on the whole a 
 little too much of her brother's insouciance about 
 her. He is a very amusing, talkative man. To 
 please him, I believe you have only to be silent 
 
 IOI
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 and let him run on alone. He appears to be 
 very well informed, has seen much of the world, 
 has travelled through most parts of Europe, and 
 is the complete gentleman. Our party consisted, 
 besides the master and mistress of the house, of 
 old Mrs. Bootle, who keeps a separate house, Mr. 
 Taylor (an officer in the 52 nd), Taylor, and 
 myself. To answer your first question : on these 
 occasions, I believe we were not very gay until 
 the ladies retired. On the whole, I spent a very 
 pleasant evening as pleasant a one as an English 
 Sunday can afford. We left the house at 10J 
 o'clock at night. 
 
 Mr. Maynard has come to town. We have 
 called upon each other without ever meeting, a 
 very common case in London, where one is so 
 little at home. If I do not find him this after- 
 noon, I shall leave a note requesting him to 
 inform me when I shall find him at his lodgings. 
 
 I have just seen Mr. Maynard ; he has grown 
 terribly fat. He was very civil, and pressed me 
 to come down to him at Chesterfield. 
 
 This moment I have received yours of the 15 th 
 inst., and heartily thank you for it and its en- 
 closures. You were perfectly right in sending me 
 the bank receipt, but am sorry no other letter was 
 enclosed. Your mentioning my travelling com- 
 panion occasions me to give you some intelli- 
 gence of him, which I am sorry for on account of 
 his family. He is rather a spendthrift, and I 
 
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 London English Military Life 
 
 hope for his own sake that his stay in this country 
 will not be long, for, living at the rate I saw him 
 do, he cannot afford it for any length of time. 
 Marescotti has not yet written to either Taylor 
 or myself. I hope my friend will hear from him 
 soon. Countess Gyldensteen is a wretch ; I 
 cannot bear to think of her. As for my friend 
 Zeppelin, I hope you understood the article which 
 concerned him. As things stand now, I suppose 
 he is not sorry for it, but should it be otherwise, 
 however much disposed to serve him his friend 
 has shown himself the thing is impossible. I 
 am now taking lessons in drawing together with 
 Taylor. We are working in another line now. 
 How things have changed ! I hope and trust 
 only for the better. 
 
 Taylor and I were talking it over again yester- 
 day evening, as you may suppose we are doing 
 pretty often. We were laughing at our brilliant 
 exit, and our tragic diplomatic death, dying 
 {id est leaving Cassel) as conquerors; dying I say, 
 for our life as conquerors was but short. Taylor 
 wondered how it happened that we both, having 
 so long lived quietly and unregarded at Cassel, 
 should both towards the end have turned out such 
 rou^s ; it's true it was high time for us to return 
 to Old England into the bosom of our Church, 
 for had we stayed much longer abroad (as I said) 
 our morals would have been quite corrupted, and 
 it would have been a pity for two such chaste 
 
 103
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 youths to be corrupted. Here we are safe, for 
 we have grown too nice to wish pleasing the 
 common, and are too poor to have any chance of 
 pleasing the virtuous of our countrywomen. So, 
 as Lord Rochester says, " we must e'en repent, 
 and being good for nothing else, be wise " ; and 
 so much for this chapter. 
 
 Many thanks for the receipt of your powders. 
 I have been so remarkably well ever since we 
 parted, that I have no use for it at present ; how- 
 ever, it's always well to be provided for the worst, 
 and they have done wonders, having cured 
 Lt.-Col. Moshein no less than twice, once before 
 we reached and once after we left Hamburg. 
 You say you are growing generous. If so, I need 
 make no excuse for the length of this epistle, 
 which looks more like a newspaper than a letter. 
 
 May 27. 
 
 I have little or nothing to add to the above, 
 only to request you always to continue to address 
 your letters as you have done. Broughton being 
 your agent, may well be at the trouble of sending 
 them to me, and he does not pay for the postage, 
 the Under Secretary, to whom they are addressed 
 in the first instance, being exempt. By this 
 means I save the expense of a French crown on 
 every letter. Ctess. Gyldensteen has again writ- 
 ten to Taylor. I have seen the letter ; it is well 
 
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 London English Military Life 
 
 written. She compliments him on having now 
 met his " Fanny " (the name he invented on a 
 certain occasion). We have been laughing most 
 heartily at all the tender things she said on the 
 subject of this ideal beauty. He means to answer 
 the letter, but does not know yet whether he will 
 send her his desired picture. Poor woman, I am 
 sorry for what has happened, and for being the 
 innocent cause of some affliction to her. Now 
 adieu. My best respects to all my female ac- 
 quaintances and compliments to all my friends. 
 
 London, June 14, 1806. 
 
 I this morning returned to town from Bifrons, 
 Mr. Taylor's estate in Kent, where I had just 
 been for one week, when Broughton gave me 
 your letter of the 25th of last month, together 
 with its enclosures. I am astonished to learn by 
 this that you have not received the two letters I 
 wrote immediately after my arrival, the one from 
 Harwich the same hour that I landed, the other 
 upon my reaching London, though perhaps you 
 received them still after the departure of your 
 letter, for I am not at all astonished that some 
 delays respecting my letters should take place at 
 Cassel, and pledge my honour they were written 
 and put into the post office. In case the like 
 should happen again, I should advise you to 
 apply to M. de Kunchell on the subject. 
 
 105
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 I went down to Bifrons together with our 
 friend Taylor, who stayed there after me, and was 
 received in a very friendly manner both by his 
 brother and his lady. The infant I had seen two 
 years ago was now, of course, able to run about, 
 speak, etc. ; the one next to her died a few weeks 
 ago ; and a third is about the age the eldest was when 
 I was last in Kent. These events, you may easily 
 imagine, have not a little contributed to change 
 Mrs. Taylor, who is now quite what she should be. 
 Of course there is less to say of her than before. 
 
 During my stay with them I dined out at 
 gentlemen's houses three different times. The 
 weather was remarkably favourable, and every 
 circumstance contributed to set off a country life. 
 However, I found that my taste was altered, and 
 did not like it at all, so that having prolonged my 
 stay a couple of days beyond what I had at first 
 intended, in consequence of their earnest en- 
 treaties, I was very happy to return to town, 
 where I am at present waiting for my commission 
 to be made out, and then to set off for Edin- 
 burgh, where the Royals are at present quartered. 
 On my way thither I shall see my uncles Heath- 
 cote and Maynard, and spend some days with 
 them, and if it is possible, see Dewar, to talk 
 about old times at Cassel, which I am sure he 
 must lament as much as myself. How long I 
 shall be detained in town I cannot tell, probably 
 three or four weeks more. 
 
 106
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 During my stay in the country I have been 
 taking some information respecting the prices of 
 things in general, and find that you might live 
 here upon your income, though it would but 
 barely cover your expenses ; but I must request 
 you not to think of doing it, for a country life in 
 England, unless you have a very good fortune or 
 are accustomed to it from your youth, must be 
 insupportable. At the same time, you must con- 
 sider that I would see very little more of you for 
 it. English regiments are always moving about ; 
 you would not therefore settle at the same place 
 with me. Besides, I am determined, as soon as 
 peace will permit me, to live in Germany, to 
 return to that country, unless indeed my rise in 
 the army should be very great and rapid. 
 
 You will see from this letter that I am very 
 much out of humour with the idle life I am lead- 
 ing, and long most heartily to join my regiment, 
 where, by forming connexions and studying the 
 duties of my new profession, I shall again hope to 
 find myself at home, which, since my tossing 
 about on the ocean, in coaches and chaises, inns 
 and hotels, I have been very much in want of. 
 
 June iy. 
 
 I yesterday received your letter of the 28th of 
 last month, and am happy to find that my letters 
 have not miscarried. As I constantly number 
 
 107
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 them, you will be able to know when any are 
 lost, and to inform me of it. I shall also request 
 you always to mention the numbers of those you 
 have received last. You cannot conceive how 
 happy I am that you approve of my entering the 
 army : it was the only line left me. Colonel 
 Taylor did everything in his power to place me 
 in another department, but in vain, as he thought 
 me rather old for the army, especially upon my 
 obstinately refusing to enter into the infantry, 
 which was his wish ; that by going to the Indies 
 I might rise to command in a very few years. 
 The Colonel has no idea of a man's being satisfied 
 with moderate rank in Europe, preferable to ex- 
 posing himself to a desperate climate in a paltry 
 little island abroad. However, he has spared me 
 since the present application has been made, that 
 I need not be afraid of not getting on, saying, 
 " I shall take care of that." 
 
 It will amuse you to know that when Brook 
 Taylor, to whom I repeated it, thanked his 
 brother for his kindness, he pretended ignorance, 
 saying, "How should I be able to do it?" 
 Brook laughed most heartily, and told me that 
 this was his way. He is so much of a soldier 
 that to all who are not in the army, though his 
 own brothers, he will not own the power of 
 patronage in this line, which you know very well 
 is as great in this as in every other profession. 
 
 Be very guarded in your expressions on this 
 1 08
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 subject, however, your letters might fall into bad 
 hands, and those things may be guessed at, but 
 must not be known. 
 
 I am happy to know that Wangenheim's 
 marriage has succeeded so well, but am far from 
 envying him his wife. Good God ! how miser- 
 able I should be now, had I had my own way. 
 However, this does not excuse Mile. Lotte's 
 conduct though in the Church. I shall hence- 
 forth class all chanoinesses amongst monks, nuns, 
 Brahmins, etc., and beware of them accordingly. 
 Gundlach I look upon as incorrigible. What 
 does he intend to do, I wonder ! and Zeppelin too 
 I am afraid is running mad. How can he seri- 
 ously think of marrying such a . . . makes me 
 tremble to think I might some day or other 
 commit the same folly. However, I hope not. 
 And redcoats are so much dreaded by parents in 
 England that my dress even will stand my friend 
 on such an occasion. Apropos of my dress, I 
 will send you a drawing of it soon. 
 
 I hope you regularly forward my letters to my 
 dear friend Doerfeld, for whom they are intended 
 as well as yourself. In consequenee of what I 
 stated in one of my last letters, I hope he will 
 soon be able to join you at Cassel. Taylor has 
 not yet answered Ctess. Gyldensteen's letter ; 
 he is too idle to set about it, but still intends doing 
 so. Pray let me hear how she is going on at 
 Cassel, and whether she has found anybody to 
 
 109
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 make up for her unfaithful swain. I don't know 
 whether I told you that Taylor showed me her 
 letter ; it was remarkably well written in every 
 respect. I am rather afraid our mutual experience 
 has not cured him of his inclination to intrigue, as 
 it has done me, and hope most heartily that I 
 may be mistaken in the remarks I lately made in 
 the country. Mrs. X. is still but very young ; has 
 had no experience, no education to protect her, 
 and if his principles don't secure her, I look upon 
 the thing as certain. I, in his case, would not 
 remain constantly in the same house, and in the 
 country too. 
 
 Marescotti is certainly behaving very ill. Taylor 
 has as yet received no account whatever of the 
 sale of his effects, except what you gave me in 
 your letters. If he did not wish to engage in this 
 business, why not have told me at once and I 
 should have entrusted somebody else with it. 
 However, I think that after the many professions 
 of friendship he made to him whilst in Germany, 
 he is bound in honour to pay more regard to his 
 interests and surely it must interest Taylor to 
 know the state of his affairs in that country. He 
 is very much hurt by the Marquis's conduct. 
 
 I am still waiting in town for my commission 
 to be made out, which will probably keep me a 
 fortnight longer at least. My uncle having re- 
 turned to Southwell, I shall now very easily be 
 able to see him and Maynard on my way to Scot- 
 no
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 land, and shall make a point of seeing Dewar, at 
 all events. I think I owe it to the memory of his 
 father to give Mrs. D. a full account of her son's 
 state of health, etc. 
 
 P.S. Pray forward the enclosed. 
 
 London, June 18, 1806. 
 
 In giving you a faithful account of all the 
 various incidents which take place during our 
 absence, I must not omit to mention an event 
 which almost put an end to my existence and to 
 my journal. From this beginning, you will per- 
 haps imagine I was engaged in some perilous ad- 
 venture nothing less I only went to the play ! 
 to the small theatre in the Haymarket, when I 
 was last night on the point of being suffocated 
 with laughing, the greater part of the house being 
 in the same situation. I was not particularly 
 noticed, though I was in a much more violent 
 situation than I once was in at Cassel in Kotzebue's 
 Pagenstreiche, as I could not make my escape, as 
 I did on that occasion. I don't know what would 
 have become of me, if a violent flood of tears had 
 not come to my relief. A gentleman sitting next 
 to me was obliged to shut his eyes and stop his 
 ears to get the better of laughing, and several 
 ladies in the boxes left the house for a few 
 minutes on the same account. The farce which 
 
 in
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 produced this amazing effect was called The 
 Agreeable Surprise Mr. Fawcett, an inimitable 
 actor, the immediate cause of it. 
 
 If omens may be believed in, my soldier's life 
 must turn out very pleasant, for I was gazetted 
 cornet in the ist or Royal Dragoons the very 
 time that I was at the play. (I suppose that you 
 know that being gazetted is the way that people 
 are appointed to any office, commission, etc. ?) 
 I shall consequently leave town in a few days for 
 Scotland, as I mentioned to you in my last. 
 
 This morning I also received the expenses of 
 my journey paid me, the sum allowed me by 
 Government. All fees deducted, it amounts to 
 yo. I make a clear gain of 26 by it. If the 
 Colonel had not accompanied me, I should have 
 made more by it, but his persuading me to take 
 the after-cabin to ourselves made the expenses of 
 the voyage (the passage from Husum to Harwich) 
 amount to ^18 for each. 
 
 June 19. 
 
 I have a curious anecdote to relate to you. 
 About three weeks ago, walking with Taylor, we 
 went into a seal-engraver's shop, the most fashion- 
 able one in London, and meeting some dashing 
 young fellows, I was foolishly drawn into ordering 
 a seal to the tip-top of fashion ; to-day I called 
 for it and brought it home, together with the little 
 box containing the impression. The first thing 
 
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 London English Military Life 
 
 that struck me on coming home was the old 
 impression-box of my father's dispatch seal, which 
 laid upon my table. Having been packing up in 
 the morning, I had left it there to make room for 
 something better worth keeping, and upon taking 
 the new one out my pocket, the similarity of 
 these boxes was so great that I was tempted to 
 open them both, and found they both came from 
 the same shop. The one my father bought was 
 made by the father of the present engraver, who 
 made the one with which I shall seal the present 
 letter. This will occasion my preserving both 
 the boxes ; I should otherwise both have thrown 
 away as useless. 
 
 June 21. 
 
 This morning I take my departure from this 
 confounded sweet city ; I hope you will congratu- 
 late me upon my escape. To-morrow, at about 
 five in the afternoon, I hope to be at Southwell, 
 where I mean to stay two days, and from thence 
 I shall go to Chesterfield. There too I may per- 
 haps stay two days, and then proceed to York, if 
 Dewar will meet me there ; if not, I shall go on 
 directly to Edinburgh. I travel in the mail-coach, 
 my servant on the outside. I forgot to inform 
 you that I have parted with Dietrich, who, unable 
 to get a place in England, has taken his passage 
 for Holland. In his place I have engaged an 
 i n3
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 English servant, who is both groom and valet, 
 with whom I am very well satisfied. 
 
 With regard to my address, you will continue 
 to address my letters as formerly. Broughton 
 will forward them to me, which means that I shall 
 save considerable expense and gain also, they 
 going duty free in England. Pray continue to 
 inform me of everything that happens at Cassel ; 
 nothing will amuse me more than to know how 
 my old friends are going on. Remember me to 
 all of them. Don't forget also to acquaint me 
 how things are going on with Willman, whether 
 the stage improves or not ; who are the reign- 
 ing beauties ; how Ctess. Veltheim is ; how 
 Mme. de Wille goes on ; in short, of everything. 
 
 P.S. Perhaps you would like to know my 
 uniform. I can give you a tolerably good de- 
 scription of it. The jacket (coats we have not) 
 is cut exactly like that of the yellow jacket the 
 Gardes du Corps wear at Cassel. It is scarlet ; 
 collar and cuffs dark blue ; white waistcoat ; 
 white leather breeches ; and boots something like 
 those of the Hessian officers, but not stiff. The 
 jacket has a great deal of gold lace upon it. It 
 is very handsome. The jacket costs ;io. 
 
 Newcastle, June 29, 1806. 
 
 I left London on the 21st, at eight in the even- 
 ing, in the mail-coach. There happened to be 
 
 114
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 but one inside passenger besides myself, and we 
 had a very pleasant journey, going at the rate of 
 eight miles an hour, stoppage included, a thing 
 scarcely credible to a person accustomed to Ger- 
 man roads and horses (eight English miles being 
 equal to two German miles). We arrived at 
 Newark at twelve the next morning, having made 
 1 24 miles in sixteen hours. There I left the mail, 
 and after I had stayed to dine at Newark took 
 chaise for Southwell, which is only eight miles 
 off, and where I arrived at five o'clock. I found 
 my uncle and family very well, and happy to see 
 me. He looks just the same as when I left him. 
 My aunt also appeared to be very little changed, 
 though she has had six children since I saw her, 
 they having now eleven children living (eight 
 boys and three girls). 
 
 Godfrey is a very fine young man, of engaging 
 address, and by no means wanting sense. He is 
 studying physic. Ralph is with his regiment (the 
 14th Foot), so that I had not the pleasure of 
 seeing him. Chappel is the finest lad I ever 
 saw. He is now almost sixteen years old, and 
 living with a merchant at Mansfield to learn the 
 trade. I was very sorry for the poor fellow, who 
 detests the life for which he is intended, and longs 
 for nothing more than going into the army. All 
 the others are still at home the girls decidedly 
 ugly Heaven knows what he will do with them 
 all. My uncle, however, is far from feeling so 
 
 "5
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 uncomfortable as one would suppose. He has 
 built a good house at Southwell and goes on his 
 old pace. My aunt does everything for him, and 
 is undoubtedly a good mother and even wife for 
 such a poor object as my uncle is, but a sad vixen 
 at the bottom. She has quarrelled with every- 
 body in the place, and is actually upon good 
 terms with nobody, not even with her relations, 
 but particularly civil to me. 
 
 I had not been twelve hours at J. when I 
 was visited by almost everybody there, to the 
 great annoyance of my aunt, who hated them all. 
 The Beechers were amongst the first that called, 
 but the only person whom I had expected did not 
 come. You may easily guess whom I mean my 
 old friend, Cranfield Beecher. You must remem- 
 ber him ; he was so handsome a lad ! I was, 
 however, immediately informed of the reason. 
 The poor fellow was quite deranged about four 
 years ago, and though under the care of Dr. 
 Willis, 1 he is so far recovered as to live quietly 
 with his family. He is no longer the same 
 creature. Supping at his father's house, I met 
 him. At first he was very cold, scarcely knowing 
 me again ; but when we took a walk together 
 after tea, he recovered his spirits a little and got 
 into the old way. However, it did not last long. 
 
 1 Dr. Willis was the celebrated doctor for mental diseases who 
 first advocated gentle and kind treatment. He proved very suc- 
 cessful in the first phases of the lunacy of George III. 
 
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 London English Military Life 
 
 I was very much affected indeed. His sisters 
 are not married. They have grown a little old, 
 of course, but are still very pleasant. 
 
 I also went to Bilsthorp, where I found every- 
 thing as of old, except Benson, my old school- 
 master. Having given up the school, and his 
 youngest daughter having married their servant, 
 her family has renounced and takes no notice of 
 her. The others were very little altered. Of my 
 old schoolfellows, I found that most of them had 
 gone into the army. Of the Holbeches I have 
 heard. Two of the boys are in the army, one in 
 the Church (my old friend Henry). None of the 
 girls married astonishing ! I am anxious to see 
 one of my cousins Holbeches and to renew my 
 acquaintance with that truly amiable family. 
 
 I left Southwell on the 25th; having stayed 
 two whole days with my uncle, I went to 
 Chesterfield to see aunt Maynard and my cousins 
 (the Ned Heathcotes). The old Maynards were 
 very civil to me ; they have grown immensely 
 rich, have hot-houses, etc. etc., everything in the 
 first style. I like the Ned Heathcotes very well 
 myself, but the old story of the will my uncle 
 Godfrey made in their favour, and which is 
 constantly repeated, must ever keep us at a dis- 
 tance, though they are very friendly to me. My 
 aunt Maynard talked to me a great deal of old 
 times, etc. etc. However, as you know none of 
 these people, it would not interest you to be 
 
 "7
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 acquainted with all these particulars ; it will be 
 enough for me to say in general that I found 
 them all very friendly. 
 
 I left Chesterfield on the 26th, in the evening, 
 and as I called at my old aunts Heathcote at 
 Dronfield, with whom I stayed about an hour, I 
 arrived very late at Sheffield, and stayed there 
 the night ; went to York the next day, and from 
 thence I arrived yesterday evening at this place, 
 where I shall stay till to-morrow and then pro- 
 ceed to Edinburgh. I travelled in different stage- 
 coaches. For these two last stages I have found 
 the country changing its appearance very much, 
 and I do not doubt that the difference will be 
 more striking the farther I get to the north. 
 
 I have been walking about this city, which is 
 the ugliest town I ever saw, built in the finest 
 situation. Being built on several very steep hills, 
 some of the streets are naturally almost perpen- 
 dicular, several consisting of one continuous stair- 
 case from the top to the bottom. The Tyne, a 
 river of considerable breadth and depth, flows 
 through the town and facilitates its communica- 
 tion with the sea. The waters of the Tyne are 
 of a dark colour, tainted by the coals over which 
 it flows and which it carries in such large quan- 
 tities down to the ocean. The town and its 
 vicinity are, indeed, all tinged with this article, 
 which occasions the wealth, and constitutes the 
 chief trading commodity of the neighbourhood of 
 
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 London English Military Life 
 
 Newcastle. Some remains of the wall built by 
 the Romans as a bulwark against the inroads of 
 the Scots are still existing near to it. The 
 weather did not permit me to visit them. The 
 language of the people is already mixed with the 
 Scotch dialect, and almost unintelligible. I saw 
 a very curious sight : two girls, of about sixteen 
 years of age, bathing this cold day, with their 
 clothes on, in the river, within the town. They 
 took several dips over head and ears, and when 
 they came out of the water ran home to shift, 
 amidst the hootings of a mob of boys assembled 
 on the occasion. This shows a wildness of man- 
 ners which is not to be met with in the more 
 southern parts of England. 
 
 I 
 
 Edinburgh, July i, 1806. 
 
 Last night, at about half-past ten o'clock, I 
 reached this city. I had set out from Newcastle 
 at five in the morning in the stage-coach, and had 
 a most pleasant journey, all the way being along 
 the sea-coast. I dined at Berwick at about two, 
 and then entered the land of Ossian. Poor Scot- 
 land, so much abused on the other side of the 
 Tweed, appears to be very far from deserving it ; 
 what it lacks in fertility and richness of soil the 
 beauty of its rocky mountains amply compen- 
 sates, at least to the eye of the traveller. The 
 barbarous English spoken here excepted, the 
 
 119
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 manners of the people, as far as I could judge 
 in so short a time, little differ from our own ; the 
 accommodations on the road are the same, the 
 roads themselves very little worse, the travelling 
 fully as expeditious. 
 
 Edinburgh is situated in a most romantic spot, 
 surrounded in part by very high and steep rocks, 
 between which the town is built and through 
 which the ocean shows to great advantage. The 
 old castle, standing on its rocky foundation, con- 
 siderably adds to the beauty of the place, and 
 though part of the old town looks ill and poor, 
 the new one is as well and regularly built as any 
 I ever saw. So much for E. at present. When 
 I get better acquainted with it, you shall receive 
 full information of every particular worth know- 
 ing ; but at present you have heard all I have to 
 say about it, for of course I was most anxious to 
 see the value of my future residence, from whence 
 I am just returned. 
 
 Our barracks are built on Piers Hill, a mile 
 from Edinburgh, very near the sea, and in a 
 most delightful situation. I had intended to see 
 them incognito first, but being once there, I 
 thought it as well to report myself to my com- 
 manding officer, especially as a sergeant, who 
 guessed who I was, told me it was necessary, it 
 being just return-day of the regt. Col. Grey 
 received me remarkably well, though I had not 
 my letters of recommendation upon me, and gave 
 
 1 20
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 me leave to look about me as much as I pleased 
 before I actually joined. I am now going to buy 
 horses, and in my next you will probably receive 
 a full account of the regiment. 
 
 I cannot close this letter without mentioning 
 Alnwick Castle, the seat of the Duke of North- 
 umberland, which I passed yesterday. It was 
 built many centuries ago as a place of defence 
 against the Scotch, but is still complete in all its 
 parts. The inside has of course been altered and 
 made more comfortable, but from without it is a 
 completely old castle, as you would suppose them 
 to have been in the times of knight-errantry. 
 The fosses have been filled up, however, though 
 not to be brought to a level with the ramparts, 
 and they together form a most beautiful lawn 
 which loses itself in the park many miles in cir- 
 cumference. In more modern times the wall and 
 turrets of the castle were crowded with stone 
 figures representing ancient knights defending 
 the castle in all kinds of attitudes. At a dis- 
 tance, you really believe them to be living persons 
 (their number exceeds three hundred). The 
 effect is curious. If the place were mine, how- 
 ever, I would take them down. You may easily 
 imagine that this castle beats the Loewenburg 
 hollow ; besides, it is ten times as large. It has 
 stood many sieges in its time, and is now a 
 country seat. What improves the effect beyond 
 everything is that the lawn, which is kept in 
 
 121
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 the highest order, begins close to the old castle 
 walls. Here are no artificial ruins and rubbish 
 scattered about to make the place look ancient. 
 No ; everything of the kind is removed. You 
 see a gentleman's house kept in the highest state 
 of perfection and order, with its pleasure-grounds 
 before it, but this house is an old castle. The 
 contrast is very fine. 
 
 Looking out of the window this afternoon, 
 whom should I see but old Cunnynghame. We 
 were most happy to meet, and he requested his 
 best compliments to be presented both to your- 
 self and to our friend Doerfeld. His father is 
 expected to arrive very shortly from London. 
 They are going to stay at Edinburgh. 
 
 Piers Hill Barracks, /##/ 12, 1806. 
 
 Many thanks for your letters of the 15 th and 
 7th ulto., which Broughton forwarded to me, 
 and which I received this morning. By the date 
 of my letter you will see that I have joined my 
 regiment, and I can most sincerely assure you 
 that the situation in which I am placed is as 
 pleasant as any one can have at a distance from 
 you. Believe me, I feel your absence as much 
 as it is possible for you to do mine, and as your 
 coming over to England is quite impossible, I 
 am determined, in case I should even not be put 
 on half-pay at the reduction of our regiment to 
 
 122
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 the peace establishment, a thing most probable, 
 to sell out again and come to fix myself in 
 Germany as soon as a permanent peace permits 
 me to live in that country. So much for the 
 future, and I hope, if I succeed in giving you a 
 faithful description of my present life, to calm all 
 the fears you may still entertain. All the officers 
 of our regiment are perfectly well bred, polite 
 and gentlemanly men, some indeed far superior 
 to most people I have yet seen. The manner in 
 which I was received astonished me. The style 
 in which we live is very elegant, though not 
 expensive ; but to give you the best idea of it, 
 I will go through with a description of a day, 
 they varying only in very few points. 
 
 At about nine o'clock the trumpets sound for 
 foot-parade, when the different troops being 
 formed before the stable doors march towards 
 the centre of the barrack-yard, and after having 
 been formed in a line are examined by the 
 Major (viz. their dress and arms are inspected) ; 
 then the Serjeant's guard mounts and the 
 officers leave the regiment, their business being 
 done ; then the Serjeant- Major exercises the 
 regiment, with which we have nothing to do. 
 At ten o'clock I breakfast with some others in 
 the mess-room, many officers preferring to break- 
 fast in their own rooms. At eleven all the 
 subaltern officers (those below the rank of 
 captain) are to go to the riding-school, but if you 
 
 123
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 don't go no notice is taken of it, excepting you 
 were perhaps to stay away for weeks together, 
 and at twelve the same subaltern officers have to 
 attend the foot-drill, and then your business is 
 done for the day. If a field-day is ordered (we 
 have about four a week) there is neither riding- 
 school nor foot-drill. By field-day is meant 
 exercising the whole regiment on horseback. 
 As we exercise on the sands of the seashore, 
 we must regulate our time according to the tides 
 of the ocean, and then I leave you to judge how 
 fine it must be riding on the hard sand, having 
 a most beautiful sea view before you, adorned by 
 the shores of Fife. I have heard the Firth of 
 Forth (Bay of Edinburgh) compared with the 
 Bay of Naples, and am certain it is the most 
 picturesque country I ever saw. At five the 
 trumpet sounds for dinner (for the officers I 
 mean, the privates dine at twelve). We generally 
 sit down twelve of us, married officers not be- 
 longing to the mess. Our dinner is excellent ; 
 our knives and forks and spoons are silver, with 
 the cypher of the regiment upon them ; this is 
 upon all the plates, glasses, decanters, etc., and 
 forms a most elegant effect. This is the drawing 
 of it: 
 
 The Royal Garter and Crown with a Latin motto 
 upon the Garter, the English of which is : 
 " When in action we must be seen." 
 
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 London English Military Life 
 
 There are no hard drinkers in the regiment, 
 and the greatest regularity is preserved. To 
 dinner we go dressed, and if Count Bohlen could 
 just come in for a moment, he would be aston- 
 ished, I believe. Horses (horses no longer 
 thought fit for the regiment) were sold last week 
 by auction at Edinburgh; they fetched ^17 on 
 an average. Of course they were only privates' 
 horses. I have bought a very nice horse for 
 fifty-five guineas, and do not intend for the 
 present to have more than one horse. All the 
 horses in our regiment are black without excep- 
 tion. So much for the regiment this time. 
 
 I have seen Sir William Cunnynghame, who 
 was very civil to me, inviting me to his house in 
 the country for as long a time as I could obtain 
 leave from the commanding officer, and offering 
 me the use of his house in Edinburgh next 
 winter in short, to use his own expression, 
 desiring me to look upon his house as my home. 
 He has now gone to London, but is expected to 
 return very shortly. 1 expect to derive great 
 advantage from this acquaintance. Sir William, 
 having been a staunch Opposition man for these 
 twenty years past, has been rewarded by the 
 present administration, by appointing him Re- 
 ceiver-General for Scotland, an office with many 
 thousands a year, and which obliged him to 
 change his abode from Richmond to Edin- 
 burgh. 
 
 125
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 Last night I went to a ball at Edinburgh, 
 where I was most highly diverted by seeing the 
 masterly style in which the Scotch ladies dance. 
 I made the acquaintance of several pleasant, 
 though not handsome young ladies the difference 
 between them and the English girls is very 
 great ; they are thinner, pleasanter, but not 
 nearly so beautiful. Their manners are more 
 French ; they talk and laugh prodigiously. You 
 must know that we are looked upon as foreigners 
 in this country, fully as much as we should be 
 if quartered in Hesse. The consequence is that 
 the men are by no means partial to us, their 
 women, for the same reason perhaps, being of a 
 different mind, and that circumstance added to 
 our red jackets and dancing in boots and spurs gave 
 us pretty good success. (We are never allowed to 
 appear in these except at Court, where the dress- 
 coat of the regiment is worn.) 
 
 The day before I dined with Col. Grey, 
 our commanding officer, who lives a mile from 
 our barracks at Porto Bello, a beautiful little 
 town close to the sea. He is a man of great 
 fortune, married to a very handsome woman, who 
 did the honours of her table in a superior 
 manner. He himself is a very pleasant, polite 
 man, who has seen very much of the world, both 
 in Europe and the Indies. Lt.-Col. Windham 
 commands in barracks ; he too is a very pleasant 
 man, but not being married, he messes with the 
 
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 London English Military Life 
 
 rest of the officers. The Edinburgh Races 
 (when the Players with young Roscius at their 
 head will return) are to begin at next month so 
 you see that I lead rather a gay life, even at this 
 season of the year, and have to expect a very 
 pleasant winter. 
 
 I must not close this letter without giving you 
 an account of the force of this regiment. It 
 consists at this moment (it having been reduced 
 by Mr. Windham's late regulations) of 750 rank 
 and file, divided into five squadrons and ten 
 troops. Only two squadrons are quartered at 
 Piers Hill Barracks, where the head-quarters 
 are, the others being stationed at Perth, Had- 
 dington, etc. The squadrons change their 
 quarters every two months, relieving each other. 
 However, I shall not change my quarters for the 
 first six months, young officers remaining with 
 head-quarters until perfectly acquainted with 
 their duties. 
 
 Looking over what I have written, I find that 
 I forgot to give you an account of Dewar. I 
 informed you in one of my former letters that I 
 had written to him, requesting him to give me a 
 meeting at York. Since my joining my regiment. 
 I received his answer, dated London, July 2nd. 
 The following is an extract from his letter : "I 
 am here to take advice on the subject of my head, 
 in which I have again had such pains that I could 
 scarcely bear it ; indeed, it is with difficulty that I 
 
 127
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 write at all." He then informs me that he has 
 prospects of being appointed aide-de-camp to a 
 Lt. -General a palpable lie no militia officer 
 being entitled to a staff appointment ; it's an old 
 story of his, but I did not believe him foolish 
 enough to repeat it to me now that I am in the 
 army, which he is not. He ends his letter thus : 
 " When you write to Mrs. Heathcote, do not 
 mention my absence from my regiment, or the 
 cause of it." You will take care not to let poor 
 Mrs. D. know how he goes on. I am afraid the 
 cause of his absence is debt. Some of the York 
 Militia are now quartered at Edinburgh and are a 
 most blackguard set ; none of our officers associ- 
 ate with them. Their discipline is so bad that 
 they are a disgrace to the militia (we won't say 
 army). It indeed exceeds all belief. I suppose 
 you know that Dewar belongs to this corps. 
 
 There is a great talk of peace at this moment, 
 but I fear little prospect of it. We have of late 
 been very much disappointed. Mr. Windham 
 having mentioned his intention of increasing the 
 pay of the army, we of course flattered our- 
 selves to enjoy the same advantage ; but we now 
 find that it is only the pay of the infantry which 
 is to be increased. I am one of the few in our 
 regiment who think we receive more than we 
 deserve for parading about England, Holland, 
 and Ireland. In case of a continuous war, we 
 are certainly liable to be sent abroad ; but never- 
 
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 London English Military Life 
 
 theless our services cannot be compared with 
 those of the infantry, who are sent to the colonies, 
 every regiment of which loses more men in 
 a year than the whole cavalry put together lost 
 in ten times that period. 
 
 From the little I have seen of our army, I am 
 nevertheless confident that the French can never 
 hazard a landing our troops must be seen in 
 England ; nothing could resist a charge of our 
 regiment in the state we turn out for a field- 
 day ; but every officer amongst us allows that 
 our men are too well fed, clothed, etc., to accus- 
 tom themselves easily to a campaign abroad ; our 
 horses are in the same predicament. I am highly 
 pleased with every part of our duty and manner 
 of living, which must do me a great deal of good, 
 who am so averse to early rising and exercise. 
 The only part I dislike is the looking on at 
 punishments ; though they are not so cruel as 
 abroad, it is still very disagreeable. In my next 
 I will give you an account of them. 
 
 Piers Hill Barracks, July 29, 1806. 
 
 I this moment received your letter of the 10th 
 inst., and am most distressed to find that you still 
 persist in the very erroneous opinion you once 
 had formed of the situation and life of an English 
 officer of Dragoons. If my word still has any 
 credit with you, if you require the most sacred 
 k 129
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 oaths I am ready to give them that I prefer 
 my present situation to any other whatsoever ; 
 that if I were not separated from you and Doer- 
 feld, nothing would make me leave my regiment. 
 But that, as soon as peace permits me to live 
 with any safety in Germany, I shall come over 
 and remain with you there. In the meantime, 
 I must beg you to believe me when I tell you 
 that I was never less gn than I am since my 
 entering the army, and that your much-dreaded 
 subordination and Heaven knows what besides 
 is a bugbear of your own fancy, unknown to us. 
 Except on parade, every officer is perfectly equal ; 
 and if a man were mad enough even then to 
 refuse to march to the right, because his colonel 
 commanded it, let him put up his sword, go home, 
 and sell his commission, and then he will be as 
 free as ever. English officers are not to be com- 
 pared with German ones. It is not the King who 
 has given us our rank. We have bought it 
 from the cornet up to the colonel. That makes 
 a most essential difference. 
 
 Not long ago an officer was broke by a court- 
 martial for cowardice, but allowed to sell his 
 commission nevertheless. He went to law with 
 the officers of the regiment for having complained 
 against and having refused to serve with him any 
 longer, in consequence of which he was obliged 
 to sell out. (In Germany he would have been 
 sent to the fortress for life.) An English jury 
 
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 London English Military Life 
 
 fined him ^"iooo damages, which those who 
 broke him were made to pay. Yesterday Colonel 
 Windham came five minutes too late to dinner, 
 after the other officers of the mess had sat down. 
 The president of the day (Cornet Foster) fined 
 his colonel one bottle of wine for this offence. So 
 much for subordination. 
 
 Now for an instance of the terrible fatigue, 
 etc., to which we are exposed : 
 
 The Sergeant- Major brought me a list of the 
 words of command for the manual exercise. I 
 wished to learn it myself before I was to com- 
 mand the men. He told me I need not give 
 myself the trouble ; if I only gave the words of 
 command, the men would know what they meant. 
 I need not add (I hope) that I nevertheless had 
 it shown to me for half an hour. I hope you 
 will not repeat this to anybody. It is true ; 
 whether the army is the better for it I will not 
 decide, but you will find by it that the fatigue of 
 an English officer is not very great. Our ser- 
 geants drill the men, etc. etc., and do the greater 
 part of the duty of a German officer. Officers 
 never attend the foot drills of the regiment when 
 the whole is commanded by the sergeants. We 
 only attend on parades (they last about a quarter 
 of an hour) and on field days when the regiment is 
 mounted and exercises on horseback : the fatigue 
 then is nothing. You know how soon and easily 
 I perspire ; you may therefore guess at the fatigue, 
 
 131
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 when I tell you that I have never been brought 
 to sweat ever so little by it. It is not so 
 fatiguing as a common airing on horseback. 
 Nevertheless our regiment is far above any 
 foreign regiment of cavalry I ever saw. There 
 is but one way to account for it, viz. though we 
 never work so hard as the Germans, our men 
 remain constantly with the regiment the whole 
 year round, and are unquestionably worked much 
 more. An English soldier never does any kind 
 of work, as the Germans do, for money. They 
 are too well paid for that, and a dragoon has not 
 time for it. They consequently never get out of 
 practice. Our officers are not teased' with the 
 petty minutiae of the service, they are and live 
 like gentlemen. All we have to do is to know 
 and to learn the manoeuvres, which are amusing 
 to everybody who has any taste for the army, 
 and those who have not this taste sell their com- 
 missions. Complaining of the service is a thing 
 unknown to us. 
 
 As I am most anxious to convince you of your 
 mistake in believing that I suffer any fatigue, 
 hardship, or inconvenience from my present situa- 
 tion, I have again been reading over what I 
 wrote, and will only add that the regimental 
 duty, one day with another, does not take up 
 above two hours when there is a field day and 
 half an hour when there is foot parade. The 
 rest of the time we have quite to ourselves, 
 
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 London English Military Life 
 
 except about three-quarters of an hour, when we 
 go to the manege. As for the foot drill, viz. the 
 broadsword exercise, mentioned in one of my 
 preceding letters, I have done with it. The rest 
 of the day is occupied in reading (there is a very 
 good circulating library near our barracks), draw- 
 ing, music, etc. Captain Radcliff and I have 
 formed a musical society, and play quartettes two 
 or three times a week. I generally go to bed at 
 my old hour, ten, and get up at eight. In short, 
 I amuse myself so well, that time passes away 
 without my scarcely knowing how. 
 
 In the winter, in case we remain here, the 
 neighbourhood of Edinburgh will make it still 
 pleasanter; at present, as all the families reside 
 in the country, we draw no advantage from it, 
 except the theatre there, which was opened last 
 week, and which I, of course, attend pretty regu- 
 larly. It is tolerably good, though inferior to the 
 London stage. The house itself is about the size 
 of that at Cassel, and, like there, not very well 
 attended, which may be owing to most families 
 being at their country seats. 
 
 Sir William Cunnynghame being gone to 
 London for a few weeks, I have formed no 
 acquaintance yet at Edinburgh, except that of 
 my old friend Cunnynghame, who is so much 
 occupied with his studies that he attends no 
 parties, or has formed any connexions to which 
 he might introduce me. Indeed, I am perfectly 
 
 133
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 contented to await his father's return, who has 
 begged me to look upon his house, both in the 
 country and in the town of Edinburgh, as my 
 home, promising in the most kind manner to do 
 everything in his power to make my residence as 
 agreeable as possible. Living in the same house 
 with the other officers, two of whom are married, 
 we form a society of our own, which does not 
 make us feel the want of any other for the 
 present. What will perhaps astonish you is that 
 we never play at cards or any other game (except 
 at ball, coits, etc., and that for nothing) ; but 
 most of us having seen the Continent and 
 travelled a good deal, the time between dinner 
 (at five in the afternoon) and bed-time slips away 
 one does not know how in talking of foreign 
 parts, discussing politics, etc., and you would be 
 astonished to hear that many of the officers 
 understand German and Italian; all know French. 
 Indeed, I never saw so many men of taste and 
 knowledge of the polite arts assembled as I do 
 every day at and after dinner, and I will venture 
 to say that each individual officer of our regiment 
 (myself excepted) would make a most distin- 
 guished figure at Cassel, or indeed in any society 
 whatever. 
 
 So much for myself, and now to answer your 
 letter. 
 
 With regard to your intention of going to 
 Munich, I have only one thing to say, which is, 
 
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 London English Military Life 
 
 that it is high time for you to think of fixing 
 yourself somewhere or other. At Cassel you are 
 so already, but if you dislike the place it would be 
 folly for you to remain there, and as you said 
 yourself, it is quite as easy for me to join you at 
 Munich as at Cassel, and at all events I must 
 make new acquaintances, let me go to either ; 
 to me it is therefore perfectly indifferent. I 
 shall only wish to remain where once I have 
 settled myself, and where I intend to make my- 
 self comfortable. Pray consult Doerfeld upon 
 the subject. I daresay he will advise you to go 
 to Munich, where he too will be permitted to 
 remain in safety and quiet. I have not heard 
 from him ever since I left Cassel. I hope you 
 send my letters to him, as I begged you would 
 do. I wrote to him twice since my leaving you, 
 but think it useless to put him and myself to the 
 expense of double postage, when, by your send- 
 ing my letters to him, he will be fully informed of 
 everything that concerns me. 
 
 Countess Gyldensteen must be mad to enter- 
 tain any further ideas of Mr. Taylor's marrying 
 her ; he never loved her ; does not intend 
 even to keep up his correspondence with her ; 
 has told his friends in England the whole 
 intrigue with her. He told me he expected 
 and would advise her to marry Marescotti. As 
 he is one of those men who are pretty generally 
 liked by women, it will be no difficult matter 
 
 i3S
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 for him to find a young girl of Countess 
 Gyldensteen's fortune who will marry him ; but 
 I question whether he will ever marry, and 
 believe rather that he never will. He and I 
 are not made for the matrimonial state. From 
 all appearances there is every reason to believe 
 that Mr. Fox intends to make peace with France, 
 and that he will succeed before the end of this 
 year, an event which was not at all believed in 
 when I left London. I hope to God it will be so 
 honourable and lasting a one that we gentlemen 
 of the red cloth will become entirely useless. I 
 already indulge myself with the agreeable pros- 
 pect of joining you before or about next spring. 
 I have not gained my object of belonging to 
 some profession ; in time of peace I am useless 
 as such, and shall be most happy to follow your 
 advice in its full extent. I always thought we 
 might some day settle in England, but having 
 fully examined it, I have found that the immense 
 load of taxes, and the increased prices of all the 
 necessaries of life hence arising, have made it, if 
 not impossible, at least very unpleasant for people 
 of any moderate income to stay there. It has 
 induced almost all young men of that description 
 to go into the army, where they are able to live 
 in a very genteel manner on what would scarcely 
 support them out of it, and will cause numbers 
 to emigrate as soon as peace will put it in their 
 power. 
 
 136
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 My servant, the cook, behaved very well and 
 faithfully all the time he was with me, and I 
 should recommend him most strongly to every- 
 body who wants either a valet or cook. He has 
 returned to Germany. I have a very good, steady 
 man at present, who, I suppose, will remain with 
 me for ever, for I venture to give myself a good 
 character as a master, and he had a most excel- 
 lent one given to him by his last master, who was 
 also an officer, so that he has been of very great 
 use to me, by putting me in the way how to go on 
 at first in a line of life with which he was so well 
 acquainted. 
 
 As I am now settled, and there is little variety 
 for the present in my way of living, I intend to 
 write to you only once a fortnight. Besides, I 
 could not well trouble Broughton with too many 
 letters, and if I had not him to forward my letters 
 (for mine to him are directed to one of the Under 
 Secretaries of State), each letter would cost me 
 half a guinea. I fancy it will come to almost the 
 same to you, and if anything particular occurs you 
 will hear from me oftener. 
 
 I have heard lately from Taylor ; he is at 
 present in Lancashire with his sister, Mrs. 
 Bootle, and complains very much of not hearing 
 from Marescotti. I regularly inform him of all the 
 Cassel news you impart to me, which he is very 
 anxious to obtain. He is very desirous to return 
 there. Who knows what a peace may effect ! 
 
 J37
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 I forgot to inform you of a curious anecdote. 
 The first time I appeared on parade our band 
 played Figaro's song, " Jetzt gehts nicht mehr zu 
 Damen Toiletten," etc. It was mere chance, for 
 they don't know the words. 
 
 Piers Hill Barracks, August 10, 1806. 
 
 This last week has been very gay in this part 
 of the world, the races having attracted vast 
 numbers to Edinburgh, both ladies and gentle- 
 men being, as you know, passionately fond of an 
 amusement which certainly deserves the encour- 
 agement it meets with. These are the first races I 
 ever was at, and I may truly say the first public 
 entertainment which afforded me more pleasure 
 than my expectation had promised. They lasted 
 a week, the horses running about three hours a 
 day. The evenings, or rather nights, were occu- 
 pied with balls, plays, concerts, and assemblies, 
 to none of which I went, for two reasons. The 
 plays are about half an hour's walk from our 
 barracks, and riding about the races, I was too 
 idle to stir out immediately after dinner, and the 
 other amusements began at too late an hour for 
 me between ten and eleven at night the balls 
 lasting till seven the next morning. 
 
 I shall endeavour to give you a short descrip- 
 tion of the races. 
 
 They are held on the sands of Leith, of course 
 
 138
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 close to the sea, the water, when the tide returns, 
 covering the whole course. On these sands four 
 wooden towers are built at equal distances, in 
 which the judges (clerks of the course) are 
 stationed ; each two are connected with ropes to 
 prevent the people from getting on to the course ; 
 the rest of the course is marked out by flags stuck 
 in the ground. Behind these ropes, which are about 
 four hundred yards in length, innumerable quanti- 
 ties of carriages of all descriptions are stationed, 
 containing ladies and children, the handsome ones 
 on the coach-boxes, the ugly ones in the inside. 
 The sight is really very fine. Thousands of 
 horsemen spectators are galloping about the 
 ground between the course (which is one and a 
 quarter miles in circumference) to bet upon the 
 horses, as the chances are varying. The racers 
 are first led about with all their clothes on, the 
 jockeys following them on other horses, grooms 
 leading the racers. After the jockeys are 
 weighed, the horses are stripped, led about to be 
 seen again with the jockeys on their backs. They 
 then assemble at the starting-post, and set off 
 at the word of command given by the judge. 
 The public races for the prizes were all four-mile 
 heats or rather the best horse of three four- 
 mile heats was the conqueror. Between every 
 four miles, or three times round the course, they 
 stopped, when the horses were rubbed down and 
 led about to breathe a little, and half an hour 
 
 139
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 after they started again. It being very hard 
 work for horses to run on the sands, as you may 
 easily imagine, they did not go quite so fast as 
 they otherwise would have done the average was 
 fifteen minutes to four miles (four miles are very 
 near one German mile). Two horses broke down 
 that is, the tendons of their legs broke, owing 
 to the sands in great measure. However, it is 
 a very common accident ; it prevents the horse 
 from ever running again, but does not disable 
 him from going quietly along the road, though 
 for some time they will go lame. The horse 
 does not fall down when the accident happens, 
 but his pace slackens instantaneously, and the 
 jockey stops him and leads him away. Besides 
 these public heats we had several private matches, 
 only once round the course, run between the 
 heats. Most of these were run by horses belong- 
 ing to officers of our regiment, and ridden by 
 them themselves, which, from knowing the horses, 
 were more amusing than the others. I won half 
 a guinea by them, upon private bets toujours 
 quelque chose. We said the matches were for 
 ^ioo 1 each, but they were only for ^5. 
 
 So much for the races. Now to give you an 
 account of a spectacle that I attended, far more 
 extraordinary, though not so amusing. This was 
 nothing less than a competition of the pipers of 
 the various Highland Scotch clans for a prize of 
 
 1 ;ioo Scots is equal to ,5 sterling. 
 140
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 a bagpipe ornamented with ribbons. The place 
 selected for this competition was the theatre at 
 Edinburgh. Proper judges were appointed, and 
 the entrde the same as at the play. The time 
 for its beginning was the second day of the races, 
 at two o'clock in the afternoon. The house was 
 as crowded as it could be, the Scotch still ad- 
 hering with ardour to their ancient customs. The 
 pipers came upon the stage one by one in their 
 own dress (without breeches) and played their 
 warlike tunes (the noise was horrible to me and 
 to everybody but a Scotchman) with the greatest 
 exertion. The whole lasted three hours. I could 
 not distinguish any music or even any time in 
 the noise they made, and if I had been put upon 
 the rack could not have distinguished one from 
 the other. The sound was like what twenty or 
 thirty pigs would make who were all put together 
 to some terrible torture. Yet I saw some Scotch- 
 men affected almost to tears! They danced to 
 their reels, screaming all the time, and I believe 
 I have now a perfect idea of the war-dances 
 of the North American savages. I mean this 
 autumn to make a short excursion into the Scotch 
 Highlands, for after their pipers, whom I now 
 have heard, I believe they must be most curious 
 and interesting to behold. In the neighbourhood 
 of Edinburgh the manners of the people are very 
 little different from those of the English ; they 
 have been civilized in dress and in most other 
 
 141
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 things. However, they still retain some nasty 
 customs. 
 
 My health is most excellent, better than I have 
 known it to be this long time, all the sickness 
 with which I was troubled at Cassel in the morn- 
 ing having quite disappeared. Regular exercise 
 and sea-bathing, which is very good here, I take 
 to be the cause of it. In my next letter I will 
 give you an account of the manner in which this 
 is taken. At present I shall only repeat what I 
 have already so often said, that the line of life 
 which I have chosen not only agrees perfectly 
 well with me, but is far pleasanter than I even 
 had imagined. Time passes I don't know how 
 myself, and without being confined by any par- 
 ticular duty I can scarcely find time to read or 
 write, which I believe is the best proof a person 
 can possibly give of his leading a pleasant life, 
 for perpetual occupation I look upon as being 
 one of the most desirable things, being the surest 
 way to happiness. 
 
 Pray remember me to all my friends at Cassel. 
 If possible, get Marescotti to write to Taylor. 
 
 Piers Hill Barracks, August 23, 1806. 
 
 Since my writing last, nothing extraordinary 
 has happened ; day after day has passed on in 
 the same way, and a perfect calm has succeeded 
 to the bustle of the race-week. I continue to be 
 
 142
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 perfectly satisfied with my present line of life, and 
 have every reason to believe that I shall never 
 change my opinion on that head. As I, however, 
 infinitely prefer the pleasure of your society to 
 every other consideration, it is my fixed deter- 
 mination to leave the army as soon as peace 
 is made, and to come and live quietly with you 
 wherever you choose to fix yourself. According 
 to all accounts, this period is not very far removed. 
 Lord Lauderdale is negotiating. However, the 
 French troops in Germany are said to have been 
 augmented and to approach the Austrian fron- 
 tiers. These are inconsistencies which it is difficult 
 to reconcile. Our papers talk again of a Conti- 
 nental war. Surely the Emperor is not mad 
 enough to engage in it again ! If so, the House 
 of Austria is ruined. 
 
 I have written to Taylor on the subject of 
 Countess Gyldensteen, who has so perfectly 
 succeeded in imposing herself upon you for a 
 pattern of virtue, but am confident that he will 
 never marry her, and much doubt whether he 
 will be at the trouble of ever writing to her, 
 though I really begged he would. The woman 
 certainly is mad ; Taylor is convinced of it, and 
 expected her to follow him to England. He had 
 taken the precaution to inform his brothers and 
 friends about his connection with her, not even 
 concealing her name, so that if she had made her 
 appearance, you may judge of the manner in 
 
 143
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 which she would have been received. I am sorry 
 for her, but cannot excuse her conduct. 
 
 Taylor is very anxious to learn whether the 
 hats which the Electoral Princess ordered him to 
 send to her, and which left England several 
 months ago, have reached their place of destina- 
 tion. Being addressed to Mme. de Gundlach, 
 perhaps you might find it out and let me know 
 of it. 
 
 The questions you ask me in your last letter 
 of the 25th ult. have already been answered by 
 my subsequent letters. During the absence of 
 some officers of my troop (Compagnie de Dragons) 
 I have had the sole command of it, without ever 
 having learnt to march, etc. I myself am perfectly 
 persuaded that the German method of teaching 
 an officer the duty of a private, before he learns 
 that of an officer, is far better than our own, but 
 as we have nothing to do with the drilling of the 
 men, which is only the duty of the sergeants, it is 
 not absolutely necessary for us to know it. Besides 
 the manual exercise (the exercise with the macket 
 or carbine) is not attended to much by the 
 cavalry. Our parades too are very different. 
 We do not exercise the men there as it is done in 
 Germany. The men are only examined to see 
 that they are clean, etc. etc. To this the greatest 
 attention is paid. A man had better exercise ill 
 than have a dirty shirt on. 
 
 With respect to my servant, I am happy to say 
 144
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 that I have an excellent one, whom, I believe, 
 I shall never part with if I can help it. He is a 
 steady, middle-aged, honest, and sober fellow, 
 very much attached to me and to my interests. 
 To him I am indebted for having purchased an 
 excellent charger, whom I might already have 
 sold for ten guineas clear profit. I gave fifty-five 
 guineas for him. 
 
 I believe I shall manage very well as to my 
 finances. Besides my pay, I have lodgings, coals, 
 and candles gratis, and am allowed forage for two 
 horses at the rate of one guinea a month per 
 horse. At Cassel it cost me i\ guineas a month. 
 I only keep one horse at present, but shall buy 
 another as soon as I can meet with another that 
 suits me. Horses are not so dear in this country 
 as in Germany, but are valued very differently. 
 A horse which at Cassel would sell for fifty louis 
 I can get for thirty-five here ; but a horse for 
 which I could get two hundred here would not 
 sell for thirty at Cassel, and would not be worth 
 more there. On account of its speed, it would 
 be worth it in a country where racing is so much 
 in fashion. Beauty is not considered so much as 
 strength and speed, as horses of any value (I mean 
 above seventy guineas) are only used for hunting 
 and racing. 
 
 The German Legion behaving so excessively 
 ill in Ireland, it is reported that it will be recalled 
 very soon. In that case we shall be sent to the 
 l 145
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 Land of Blunders and Potatoes ; at all events our 
 next quarters are in Ireland, but we have some 
 hopes of remaining here this winter. The begin- 
 ning of next month I intend to make a tour to 
 the Highlands, which I look upon as the most 
 curious country, the manners of the people there 
 differing so entirely from those of the rest of 
 Europe. It being harvest time at present, many 
 of the Highlanders descend their mountains for 
 the purpose of cutting the corn and assisting the 
 farmers in the Lowlands of Scotland. I have seen 
 several of them, all without breeches. Though 
 an Act of Parliament orders them to wear breeches, 
 nothing can induce them to do so. 
 
 The country in this neighbourhood, though 
 wild, still bears the mark of Europe, farming not 
 having been carried yet to the same degree of 
 perfection at which it has arrived in England. 
 The country looks more like Germany than Eng- 
 land. Here we have no enclosures, hedges, etc. 
 The few enclosures they have in Scotland are of 
 stone. Within a few hundred yards of our 
 barracks, a very high rocky mountain rises out 
 of the earth and extends as far as Edinburgh, 
 which is built on and between some hills that 
 appear to terminate it on that side. It is called 
 Arthur's Seat, from one king of that name, and 
 on account of its steepness, rather difficult to 
 ascend. The view from thence is, however, very 
 fine, as you may easily imagine Edinburgh with 
 
 146
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 its ancient castle and bridges on one side, the 
 Firth of Forth and ocean on the other, and 
 beyond the Firth the shores of Fife and the 
 distant Highlands rearing their aged heads above 
 the clouds. A mountain so very high and close 
 to the town might perhaps induce you to believe 
 that it must add to the beauty of the city. No 
 doubt it would do so if, like the German hills, it 
 were covered with wood, but a true Scotch 
 mountain, it is rocky, bleak, and barren, producing 
 nothing but a poor shrivelled grass. 
 
 In former times all the Scotch mountains 
 were covered with wood ; at the present day 
 not the slightest vestige remains. The baneful 
 custom of cutting down without replanting, which 
 has rendered our English forests barren heaths, 
 has reduced the Scotch to the present state. 
 Birnam Wood, by Shakespeare's pen immor- 
 talized, like the tyrant Macbeth himself, lives but 
 in our great poet's works. A few straggling 
 trees, already in a dying state, inform the traveller 
 where Birnam Wood once stood. Thus far I 
 mean to push my wanderings in Ossian's land, 
 and from the ruins of Dunsinane Castle, where 
 Macbeth lived, I mean to bend my way back 
 again towards Edinburgh. To enable myself to 
 enjoy all the advantages to be derived from this 
 excursion, I have been reading several tours 
 through the Highlands. At present I have seen 
 little or nothing of the ground rendered classical 
 
 H7
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 by history, except Holyrood House, the palace 
 at Edinburgh, where Rizzio, the favourite of 
 Mary, Queen of Scots, was murdered ; the very 
 room is there where she was so ill-treated in the 
 person of her friend. 
 
 I have been highly amused by the account you 
 gave me of the students of Gottingen. The officers 
 were fools to fight with such boys. Whilst I 
 was at G. I should never have thought of 
 challenging an officer, and now I should certainly 
 not fight a student. Remember me to all my 
 friends at Cassel. 
 
 P.S. In my No. 9, which is lost, you would 
 have found a long account of the new seal, which 
 I suppose you know to be my crest, with the 
 cypher of my name. 
 
 Piers Hill Barracks, September 14, 1806. 
 
 The political intelligence contained in your last 
 has not failed to astonish me very much. It is 
 too unsafe to trust to Prussia to form any great 
 expectations from the show of vigour that Power 
 is again adopting. Should, however, a Conti- 
 nental war be again ventured, you may depend 
 upon it that John Bull will have a hand in it, and 
 I sincerely hope and trust the Royals will not be 
 the last to join in the fray. The glorious victory 
 we have just obtained over a very superior French 
 
 148
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 force in Calabria, though in itself of little im- 
 portance, must have convinced the Continental 
 Powers that the French are not invincible, and that 
 the English soldier, in Europe as well as in Egypt, 
 knows how to convince his enemies at least of 
 his importance. The joy this victory has caused 
 in these kingdoms is very great indeed ; you may 
 easily imagine that the army do not feel a little 
 proud on the occasion. On the other side, we 
 are on the point of losing a very great genius 
 and able statesman. Fox, by the time you re- 
 ceive this letter, is probably no more, and the 
 influence this event will have on the great ques- 
 tion of peace with France it is supposed will be 
 very great. 
 
 I am going on in my old way, liking my pro- 
 fession as well as ever, and am now principally 
 engaged in examining the country in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Edinburgh. I lately bought a very 
 nice blood-mare, five years old, the pleasantest 
 animal I ever crossed far superior, I believe, to 
 anything you ever saw so that what with her and 
 my charger, riding out twice a day, I shall soon be 
 able, having seen everything remarkable in this 
 neighbourhood, to undertake my tour to the 
 Highlands. As yet I am unable to fix upon the 
 day, for Ld. Cathcart, having at last come down 
 to Scotland (he is the Commander-in-Chief in this 
 country), we are to be reviewed in a very short 
 time, and after the review I mean to ask my leave. 
 
 149
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 Sir William Cunnynghame has not yet returned 
 from England, and his son has left Edinburgh 
 for his brother's seat, about fifty miles off, so that 
 I have not yet formed any acquaintances in that 
 town. Taylor is still in Lancashire at his brother- 
 in-law's house. He has at last received Mares- 
 cotti's letter, and was very much disappointed 
 to find that, instead of having to receive money 
 from Cassel, he was to send a considerable sum 
 down towards the liquidation of his debts. He 
 has not answered Countess Gyldensteen's letters, 
 but has written to Marescotti on the subject in 
 a manner, as he expresses himself to me, to put 
 an end to that ridiculous business. I am sorry 
 for the poor woman, for duels are not fought 
 every day, where, attending on horseback, she 
 may have occasion to divert her melancholy. If 
 I were at Cassel I would persuade Marescotti to 
 follow and to marry her. I am sure she would 
 be happier with him than with Taylor. 
 
 I was very sorry to find by your last that Doer- 
 feld was unwell when you wrote. I hope that he 
 is well again long before this time. Pray why 
 does he not return to Cassel ? Quite alone in a 
 strange town, he must lead a very unpleasant 
 life. I wish to God they had done fighting, 
 and that things were once settled in some 
 way or another. I shall then lose no time in 
 coming over to join you, and we shall then 
 be able to settle quietly in some place or other 
 
 150
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 Cassel or Munich, it is all quite indifferent 
 to me. 
 
 I trust the many letters I have written to you 
 will have quieted your fears upon the subject of 
 the line of life I have for the present embraced. 
 However, as you mentioned your apprehensions 
 with regard to drinking in yours of the 3rd of 
 July, I shall add a few words on this particularly. 
 No doubt more wine is drunk in England than in 
 Germany ; the climate being more damp may 
 be one cause. However, at our mess drinking is 
 very uncommon, and I can assure you most sin- 
 cerely that I do not drink more wine than I did 
 at Cassel, and that since I have joined the regi- 
 ment I have not seen one of our officers drunk. 
 If you consider that we pay five shillings (or a 
 French crown) for a bottle of wine, you cannot 
 think it likely that we should take much to drink- 
 ing. In short, make yourself quite easy on the 
 subject of my health, which is much better than 
 I ever knew it to be at Cassel. Pray remember 
 me to all my friends at C, to Marescotti and 
 Buttlar especially. Pray tell the latter that par- 
 tridge-shooting is famous in Scotland. 
 
 Piers Hill Barracks, October 22, 1806. 
 
 Many thanks for your letter of the 29th of last 
 month, which reached me some days ago. It 
 appears at last certain that Prussia will be drawn 
 
 151
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 into a war with France, and I am heartily sorry 
 for it ; the consequences of so ill-advised a 
 measure are too evident to need a comment. 
 Our papers, as usual, anticipate the defeat of our 
 enemies, and have actually announced a signal 
 victory obtained by the Prussians. How far this 
 country will participate in the Continental broils I 
 am yet utterly unacquainted with. All I know is 
 that our regiment has as yet received no orders 
 whatever which might tend at all to an embarka- 
 tion, and the country itself will in a few weeks be 
 in general commotion for the election of a new 
 Parliament, so that Ministers can scarcely have 
 time left for the planning and executing of any 
 efficacious diversion in favour of Prussia. Our 
 army, whatever the public papers may say, does 
 not feel very anxious in sharing the fatigues of a 
 German campaign, which is generally considered 
 by the men of the profession as likely to termi- 
 nate in the destruction of another once-formidable 
 Power. Should Government, however, think 
 proper to send a British army of any force to the 
 Continent, believe me it will do wonders, and 
 convince the foreign officers that the army of 
 1806 is no longer the same as that of 1793. I 
 have seen a good many different troops, but can 
 positively assure you that it would be impossible 
 for any to resist the charge of our cavalry, and 
 what our infantry can do Egypt and Italy have 
 long since shown. 
 
 152
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 So much for politics. I shall only add that you 
 cannot oblige me more than by letting me know 
 as much of it as you can possibly pick up. 
 Remember I am no longer on the Continent, but 
 concealed in the wilds of Scotland. 
 
 My life is so monotonous that I have nothing 
 to add respecting myself, except that I am very 
 well, and that the bad weather is reducing the 
 number of our field days and parades, so that all 
 our military duties are now almost reduced to the 
 riding-school. I expect Cunnynghame to return 
 very soon to Edinburgh, as his father's presence 
 will, I suppose, become necessary on the ap- 
 proaching election, and I shall feel inclined to 
 participate in the winter amusements of that 
 capital, which, I am informed, are very multi- 
 farious. I have not heard from him since he set 
 out for his brother's seat. 
 
 Having no acquaintance in Edinburgh, my 
 visits have been confined to Sir Alexander 
 Purvis, 1 who lives near Musselborough, about 
 four miles from our barracks, and keeps a very 
 pleasant house. He himself is a very old soldier, 
 as he calls himself, though he has left the army 
 these forty years, and is very much attached to 
 every red coat, especially the Dragoons. His 
 wife, a thorough Scotchwoman, whose brogue is 
 
 1 Of Abbeyhill, fifth Baronet, died November 13, 181 2, aged 
 seventy-four. He married fourthly, 1789, Isabella, daughter of 
 James Hunter of Frankfield. 
 
 *53
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 merely intelligible, is a good-humoured old lady, 
 and his daughters, six in number, are very enter- 
 taining girls. Truly Scotch : they are gai comme 
 un pinson. One of them, an elegant brunette with 
 sparkling blue eyes, almost made a conquest of 
 me. With them I sometimes play Macedoine, 
 which reminds me of the very agreeable parties 
 of H.E.H. at Cassel. The worst of it is that 
 we have to ride home four miles after supper, 
 which is never forgotten in Scotland. When I 
 say "we" I mean Colonel Wyndham and myself, 
 who are the only officers of our regiment now at 
 head-quarters that are acquainted with that 
 family. Captain Purvis with his family has been 
 sent farther north, in the late exchange of 
 quarters, which, as I told you before, takes place 
 every two months, only young officers being kept 
 at head-quarters for the first six months after their 
 joining the regiment. 
 
 For want of better, I shall talk to you of my 
 horses. I have now got two, a black charger, 
 and a thoroughbred bay mare, a hunter. The 
 charger, the same I first bought on joining the 
 regiment, has turned out remarkably well, but the 
 mare is the finest creature I ever rode, only five 
 years old. Before she came into my possession 
 she won several cups at the Newcastle races 
 and two private matches at the last Leith races. 
 I gave sixty guineas for her, and have broke her 
 regularly in the manege. She has the finest 
 
 i54
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 mouth I ever knew, a thing very scarce in a horse 
 that has been raced, and is so perfect upon her 
 haunches that she goes like a German manege 
 horse : the only difference is that she would 
 canter up to Wilhelmshohe and back again with 
 the greatest ease in twenty minutes without 
 sweating at all. Her speed (full gallop) is an 
 English mile in three minutes, with Colonel 
 Wyndham on her back, riding ten stone (about 
 140 pounds) saddle included, which she kept up 
 for two miles, the race being no farther. Two 
 miles are about as far as from Cassel to Wilhelms- 
 hohe, which she went in six minutes, and could 
 have done it in much less, but the horse that 
 rode against her not being able to keep up, she 
 was of course not put to the greatest speed, not 
 having either felt the whip or spur the whole of 
 the race. 
 
 I am quite ashamed of not having an enclosure 
 to send, but believe the next time will do as well. 
 Pray desire Marescotti to purchase the following 
 book : HuhnersdorfFs Anleitung zur Reitkunst. 
 He will know what I mean, although it may not 
 be the exact title of the book. Keep it until you 
 have an opportunity to send it. 
 
 Gotemitz,//^ 24, 1807. 
 
 I dare say you will be greatly astonished to 
 learn that I am at present in the Island of Riigen, 
 
 i55
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 in Germany, not four miles distant from Putbus, 
 the seat of the ci-devant Louise Lauterbach, to 
 whom I propose paying a visit very shortly. The 
 appointment to which I alluded in some of my last 
 letters was no other than that of aide-de-camp 
 and assistant military secretary to Lord Cath- 
 cart (General-in-Chief of the expedition), part of 
 which has left England lately. Our expectations 
 on leaving England were great, but are now 
 most likely going to water, as the late peace 
 concluded on the Continent by our allies must 
 put a stop to all further proceedings. I hope 
 that a general peace will put an end to all war's 
 alarms, and will soon allow me to return to my 
 much-beloved mother. At present I am living 
 very quietly at this place, the seat of a nobleman, 
 who has been obliged to give up half his house 
 to the English General, whilst his brother-in-law, 
 who lives on the other side of the water in 
 Pomerania, has Marshal Brune living with him. 
 With regard to danger, you may make yourself 
 perfectly easy. We are not likely to have any- 
 thing to do with the French, who are divided 
 from us by the sea, and my situation about the 
 Commander-in-Chief would, if even peace had 
 not been made, and we had advanced into the 
 country, have guarded me from all mischief. As 
 it is, we expect to set off again for England in a 
 very short time. Our voyage, which lasted only 
 eleven days, was a very pleasant one. I was on 
 
 156
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 board the Bellette, sloop of war of twenty guns, 
 and only sick the second day. We had the finest 
 weather, and our sail through the Sound and 
 past Copenhagen was very restful. We passed 
 over the same spot where Nelson engaged the 
 Danes, and had a full view of the town. Its 
 steeples brought the poor Countess of Gylden- 
 steen to my recollection. I have been presented 
 to his Swedish Majesty (the living image of 
 Charles the Twelfth, as far at least as it was in 
 the power of his tailor, bootmaker, and hatter, 
 and his hairdresser to make him resemble my 
 favourite hero). I am closing, as the messenger 
 is just going off. This letter I send to England 
 to be forwarded by Taylor. I hope my next will 
 find a speedier conveyance. 
 
 P.S. Count Putbus has been created 1 a Prince 
 by the King of Sweden, so that my former belle 
 is at present a Princess ! 
 
 Unfortunately, almost all Ralph's letters from 
 Sweden and Denmark, telling of his warlike 
 actions as well as his deeds of mercy during the 
 " murdering " fire of the Copenhagen bombard- 
 ment, are missing. Knowing the anxiety of his 
 mother, as well as her dislike of the military 
 profession, he had possibly avoided writing more 
 than was absolutely necessary. 
 
 1 The title of Fiirst af Putbus was granted at Stralsund, 
 May 27, 1807. 
 
 157
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 One letter that remains shows that he had 
 done well. 
 
 Mother and son were more than usually de- 
 voted to each other. In one of her few remain- 
 ing letters she says : "I look forward to your 
 letters with an impatience you can imagine, 
 knowing as you do my devotion. My dear son, 
 I love you as few mothers love, and few are so 
 much to be pitied, for I cannot foresee the 
 moment when we shall again be together. I am 
 resigned, but the grief I suffer is too natural to be 
 hidden. . . 
 
 It is needless to state the facts of the Copen- 
 hagen expedition, "inglorious, though successful," 
 as it has been called. 
 
 Ralph's sketch-book contains the views of 
 " Copenhagen in flames " and " The Embark- 
 ment of Lord Cathcart from Yarmouth," which 
 are reproduced in these pages. 
 
 LONDON, November 3, 1807. 
 
 I this moment received your two letters of the 
 15th and 27th of July. Many, many thanks for 
 these proofs of your tender regard for a son who, 
 if love, attachment, and esteem for the best of 
 parents can render him such, certainly deserves 
 your kindness. You wish to know my occupations ? 
 The letters that I wrote to you from Sweden 
 and Denmark will have informed you of them. 
 
 158
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 Thanks to that Power who protects the soldier 
 fighting in his country's cause, I have been able 
 to fulfil them with credit to myself and, I am 
 proud and happy to say it, not without use to 
 others. Of this hereafter ; but, dear mother, it 
 will give you some consolation to know that on 
 some of those nights when you have been think- 
 ing of, perhaps praying for the welfare of your 
 son, the sick, the aged, and the helpless exposed 
 to the murdering fire of the batteries of Copen- 
 hagen may perhaps have had reason to thank 
 Providence for having driven him from your 
 arms. 
 
 The scene is changed and the farce is over. 
 Crowned with success, we have returned to our 
 happy isle. I landed on Wednesday last, and 
 I am happy to tell you that I am now perma- 
 nently placed on the staff of North Britain. 
 I shall accompany Lord Cathcart 1 (Commander- 
 in-Chief in Scotland) to the place of his resi- 
 dence, and shall accordingly in a few weeks visit 
 Edinburgh once more, not as a cornet of a 
 Dragoon regiment, as I did last year, but as 
 aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief, a 
 position which gives me the rank of Captain. 
 Living in the family of the first man of that 
 kingdom, whom I have already accompanied in 
 the heat of battle, whose son and I, nearly of the 
 same age, exposed to the same hardships and 
 
 1 William, ist Earl Cathcart, 175 5 -1843. 
 159
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 dangers, are intimate friends, my residence at 
 Edinburgh presents a most pleasant prospect. 
 My promotion is certain and rapid, and I have 
 every prospect of doing honour to the memory of 
 my father. With the end of the war my military 
 career will cease, and I can, with honour, retire 
 to my mother's house and enjoy the blessings of 
 peace. Such are my views. May Heaven be 
 propitious to my wishes ! 
 
 I am heartily glad to find that you intend to fix 
 yourself at Munich ; this is a very rational plan. 
 In England we cannot live together, the neces- 
 saries of life are much too dear for our income, 
 considering our rank in life. You could never 
 like the manners of a country which differ so 
 essentially from those to which, from an early age, 
 you have been accustomed. Convinced that you 
 will be happy at Munich, I shall live there with 
 the greatest pleasure, and look forward to that 
 period with true pleasure. I shall never be quite 
 happy until we join in a family circle, when you 
 will find Capitaine Tempete 1 cured of many faults, 
 a better and more amiable companion than he 
 was before. Adieu ! My love to all who re- 
 member me. 
 
 As soon as I reach E., which will be in about 
 fourteen days, you will hear from me, till when, 
 farewell. 
 
 1 Ralph Heathcote had been named " Capitaine Tempete " by 
 his Cassel friends. 
 
 160
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 London, le 15 Novembre, 1807. 
 
 Ne pouvant guere esperer que les lettres que je 
 vous ai adress^s par la voie ordinaire vous 
 seront parvenues, j'ai pris la liberte" de prier 
 Md. de Bigot de vous presenter celle-ci. C'est 
 pour vous informer de mon retour heureux de 
 notre derniere expedition que je vous ecris celle-ci, 
 et en meme temps d'obvier les difficultes dans 
 lesquelles vous vous trouvez peut-etre, a cause des 
 papiers que Broughton ne vous a pas encore 
 envoye, et que vous aurez des grandes difficultes 
 a pouvoir lui faire parvenir de retour. 
 
 Ne pouvant tirer votre pension qu'apres cette 
 Demarche a eu lieu, je dois vous avertir que j'ai 
 pris les d-marches ncessaires, que vous pouvez 
 tirer sur Broughton pour autant qu'il vous plaira, 
 a trois semaines apres la reception de votre note 
 (at three weeks' sight). 
 
 Je me porte bien et je suis au point de partir 
 pour Edinburgh, pour rejoindre Lord Cathcart, 
 en quality d'aide de camp, le General Maynard 
 n'ayant pas fait un long sejour a Londres apres 
 son arrive. II ne me reste qua vous mander 
 que notre Prize Money, sera tres considerable, 
 notre Gouvernement proposant de nous donner la 
 pleine valeur des vaisseaux, etc. 
 
 Faites mes compliments a tous mes amis, con- 
 naissances, etc., a Cassel, et soyez persuade de 
 mon attachement kernel. 
 m 161
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 London, November 15, 1807. 
 
 I have seen Broughton, who informs me that 
 the Treasury refused to pay him your pension, as 
 he is not furnished with a regular Power of 
 Attorney for that purpose. Till now he has 
 made use of another one, drawn up for a different 
 purpose. I have advised him to send you the 
 paper which is wanted for signature by Mr. 
 Smithson, and we must run the hazard of its 
 reaching you, and returning again to this country. 
 Mr. de Lorentz refuses to assist us any longer in 
 forwarding letters, and I therefore strongly advise 
 you to have it forwarded by Mr. Smithson. 
 Should he be gone, give it to a banker, and have 
 it addressed to Mr. Baumer, No. 7, Queen's Row, 
 Grove Lane, Camberwell, London. At all 
 events, draw on Broughton, at three weeks' sight, 
 for any money you may want. I have taken the 
 necessary steps to have your Bills honoured. I 
 am sadly afraid that you want money and are too 
 good to draw on me, thinking perhaps that I am 
 short of cash. Believe me, this is not the case. 
 My pay amounts now to fully ^400 a year, 
 besides douche en cour, so that I cannot be in 
 want. Far from obliging, believe me, you distress 
 me by not drawing for money, and I hope you 
 will relieve me from this most unpleasant sensa- 
 tion. 
 
 162
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 Next Wednesday, I shall be off for Edinburgh ; 
 the enclosed will tell you the cause, etc. I shall 
 write to you by Mr. Smithson's means ; these are 
 the only ones left. If they fail, adieu till peace. 
 Though general opinion here is against the proba- 
 bility of a speedy conclusion of the present war, 
 I still flatter myself that before next midsummer 
 peace will be made. Thank Ministers we are 
 now at war with almost all Europe, to the great 
 satisfaction of our navy : the more the better is 
 their motto, and if you were here, perhaps I 
 should be of their opinion. For we do not feel 
 the effects of the war, and as soldiers we are con- 
 siderably the gainers by it. Our stocks are as 
 high as ever, plenty of money is in currency, and 
 we are in want of nothing. We can do without 
 the Continent is the general opinion. Should the 
 French honour us with a visit tant mieux, we 
 shall receive them to the best of our power, and 
 perhaps our entertainment will astonish these 
 gentlemen. If conquered, we shall only share the 
 fate of more powerful armies ; if conquerors, we 
 shall have reason to be proud indeed, and Egypt 
 and Maida present a favourable prospect. You 
 will have heard that we have lately been un- 
 successful in America, but Genl. Whitelock, it 
 is supposed, will share the fate of Byng, as 
 Voltaire said "pour encourager les autres." 
 
 I find that we Copenhagen gentry are violently 
 abused in all the foreign papers. Soldiers, you 
 
 163
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 know, have nothing to do with the causes and 
 motives or justice of a war. We were sent, and 
 succeeded ; got prize-money, came home again, 
 and so far all was well. We attacked a weak 
 point, 'tis true, but surely B. would not have us 
 lay hold of the bull by his horns. If we don't 
 land in France, why does he not land in England ? 
 Pray do you know Mile, de Drechsel at Cassel ? 
 I was told she was one of the Muses at the last 
 masquerade at that place ; however, I never 
 noticed her, though I have some confused ideas 
 about her. Her brother was a brother aide-de- 
 camp of mine in Denmark. He is now in 
 London, going to join his regiment, and we have 
 been talking of Cassel very frequently together. 
 He and I slept on the same sofa together, for 
 about six weeks, wrapped up in our cloaks. 
 Adieu ! 
 
 LONDON, November 16, 1807. 
 
 To have some chance of letting you hear from 
 me, I have devised another channel of com- 
 munication, which has been offered to me by 
 Lieut, de Drechsel, the brother of a young lady 
 living at Cassel. He is in the German legion 
 (was one of Lord Cathcart's aides-de-camp on the 
 late expedition), and we have slept on the same 
 sofa together for six weeks running, wrapped 
 up in our cloaks. As the other letters I have 
 
 164
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 written to you may perhaps never reach you, 
 I must repeat what I said in some of them. I 
 am now permanently placed on Lord Cathcart's 
 staff as aide-de-camp. His lordship being Com- 
 mander of the Forces in Scotland, and having 
 already set out for Edinburgh, I shall follow him 
 on Wednesday next. My stay at that place will 
 be a very pleasant one in my present situation, 
 and I have every prospect of speedy promotion, 
 besides a very liberal income ; my pay amounting 
 to about ^"400 a year, besides dining with my 
 General, and forage for three horses. My pros- 
 pects are therefore very promising. I am, how- 
 ever, tormented by the idea that you may be in 
 want of money, as you have not drawn on me 
 ever since I left you, and as Broughton cannot 
 take your pension until he receives the power 
 of attorney he sent you back again duly signed. 
 I must therefore entreat you to draw on Brough- 
 ton for any sum you may want at three weeks' 
 sight, having arranged everything with him for 
 that purpose, and I can assure you that I shall 
 not be easy till I know that you have as much 
 money as you wish for. Taylor is well, and 
 desires to be kindly remembered both to your- 
 self and to Doerfeld. His pension amounts to 
 about ;8oo net, so that living at his brother's 
 house his income exceeds his expenses consider- 
 ably. However, he regrets the Continent, and 
 I believe he will be one of the first who leave 
 
 165
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 England after the conclusion of the peace. 
 Heaven knows when this event will take place. 
 I hope very soon. When retiring on half-pay, 
 Capitaine Tempete will hurry abroad to join you 
 and his dear old friend Doerfeld, settling quietly 
 for life, after all the hurry and bustle in which 
 the whole of my career has hitherto been engaged. 
 I received your two letters of July last, and 
 believe, though I am not certain, they were for- 
 warded by M. Lorentz. 1 This gentleman, how- 
 ever, now refuses to assist us any longer in 
 facilitating our correspondence, and I very much 
 fear that no letters of yours will for the future 
 be able to reach me. Pray address them under 
 cover to M. Baumer, No. 7 Queen's Row, 
 Grove Lane, Camberwell, London. He will for- 
 ward them to me. I should be very happy to 
 contribute everything that is in my power towards 
 calming Mrs. Dewar's [anxiety], but I have not 
 heard anything of her son. He must have good 
 friends, however, for he could never have got his 
 present commission otherwise. Taylor thinks it 
 was Col. Imhoff, who is the lieutenant-colonel 
 of the 4th Garrison Battalion, Dewar's corps, 
 who told Taylor D. had been placed there, to 
 keep him out of the way of expense. I am 
 astonished they could not get him on the staff of 
 some general in the late expedition. 
 
 1 M. de Lorentz was the Minister of the Elector of Hesse in 
 London. 
 
 166
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 And now, dear mother, farewell for the present. 
 Remember me to all our friends. 
 
 Edinburgh, May i, 1808. 
 
 Since your last, of September 5th, not a line 
 has reached me from Germany, and though Mr. 
 Baumer assures me that my letters will be more 
 fortunate, I much fear that your uncertainty 
 relative to my proceedings will not be less than 
 mine are on your account. What distresses me 
 most is the fear that you may want money, as the 
 bankers in Germany may perhaps refuse to cash 
 " English Bills " ; fortunately the Vienna papers, 
 against which I formerly declaimed so much, will 
 afford you some assistance till the restoration of 
 peace between this country and France enables 
 you to draw your arrears, now in Broughton's 
 hands, which are very considerable, besides those 
 I owe you, which are about ^400, ready in my 
 banker's hands at a moment's sight. 
 
 I have again returned to this place, having 
 spent a couple of months in London, where Lord 
 Cathcart was obliged to attend on account of the 
 then General Whitelock's 1 court-martial. I sup- 
 pose you have heard of that unfortunate man's 
 
 1 1807. Expeditions were sent to the Dardanelles, to Egypt, 
 and against the Spanish settlements on the River Plate in South 
 America, but no advantage was obtained by any of them. The 
 most disastrous was the expedition to the River Plate ; it was 
 supposed to have failed through the misconduct of Genera 
 Whitelock, the commander. 
 
 167
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 sentence. He was cashiered (infamcassiert), a 
 sentence which, in robbing him of his honour, 
 has at the same time deprived him of an income 
 of about ^4000, which he drew from his military- 
 appointments. He has a large family, and almost 
 no private fortune. Shooting him would have 
 been an act of charity, under these circumstances. 
 However, it was done, as Voltaire says, "pour 
 encourager les autres" and I trust will prove suc- 
 cessful. 
 
 Having in former letters given you all the 
 details worthy of notice with which my acquaint- 
 ance of Edinburgh has furnished me, I shall at 
 present pass them over in silence. Indeed, my 
 manner of life here is very simple, and affords 
 little anecdote. It is entirely spent in Lord C.'s 
 family, and, except wearing uniform, participates 
 little of the military profession. Attending re- 
 views occasionally and parades but seldom, and 
 that only as a spectator attending the General 
 in one word, leading the life of Captain Bastinello, 
 whose chief occupation and duty was dining at 
 Court. In a fortnight at the latest we are going 
 into the country for the summer. Lord Cathcart 
 has taken a villa called " Salton," about fifteen 
 miles from hence, where he means to reside 
 during his command in Scotland, and as in all 
 probability I shall remain on his staff as long as 
 he is employed, at least till peace is made, Salton 
 Hall will be my abode during the remaining 
 
 168
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 period of our separation. Most of the families 
 here have already gone into the country. The 
 balls, plays, etc., are all over, and the gay world 
 in Scotland is resting after the fatigues of the 
 winter. 
 
 Taylor, the Heskeths, Cunnynghame and the 
 Coffins, the ImhofTs, 1 etc., are all well, and all talk 
 with regret of the pleasant moments spent in 
 Hesse. Of Dewar I have never been able to 
 learn anything. All I know is that he is in 
 the battalion commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Imhoff, and he is quartered, I believe, in J amy, a 
 place where I should think he cannot possibly 
 ruin himself. 
 
 I have finished the sale of my landed property 
 to great advantage, it having fetched considerably 
 more than its evaluation, and the money hence 
 arising has been placed in the 3 per cent Consols, 
 where I leave it to accumulate, as I at present am 
 very well able to live on my pay, amounting to 
 upwards of 1 per day, besides lodging and table, 
 etc. This will enable me to spend the more when 
 I retire to rest on my laurels in Germany. I am 
 sorry to say there is little talk at present of peace. 
 We seem to carry on the war with great ease, 
 and, our merchants excepted, nobody feels the 
 effect of it, and those gentlemen, after the amaz- 
 ing profits they have made for the last years, can 
 very well afford to lay by a little. Indeed, they 
 
 1 Sir Charles Imhoff was stepson of Warren Hastings. 
 169
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 lose nothing, they only cannot go on getting 
 ioo per cent as they used to do. 
 
 In your last you mentioned an intention of 
 going to Munich, and that in March. I have, 
 however, continued to address my letters to 
 Cassel, trusting that you will have taken pressing 
 measures to secure their being forwarded to you, 
 in case you have left Cassel. I also mean to 
 write a few lines to Mme. d'Effner, requesting 
 her to let you know I am living and well, for fear 
 my letters to you should have miscarried. I 
 should prefer writing to TheVese, but cannot 
 remember her husband's name. In future, address 
 your letters to (under an envelope) Messrs. 
 Greenwood, Cox & Co., Craig's Court, Charing 
 Cross, London. This method is better than that 
 of sending them to Broughton. 
 
 Salton Hall, July 17, 1808. 
 
 It is now full seven months since a single line 
 of yours has come to my hands, and having but 
 too much reason to suppose that my letters have 
 not met with better success than those you have 
 written, the distress and anxiety this unfortunate 
 state of uncertainty must have occasioned you 
 only adds to the disappointment I am daily ex- 
 periencing myself. Baumer, who at present has 
 the charge of forwarding my epistles to you, con- 
 fidently relies on their coming safe to hand. I 
 
 170
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 shall not therefore be remiss on my part, and go 
 on writing as though a return of post would favour 
 me with your answer. 
 
 From Lorentz I have also heard indirectly 
 that he had lately heard from Count Bohlen, and 
 as neither you nor Mrs. Dewar are mentioned in 
 his letter, I flatter myself you are well and happy. 
 Should you ever read these lines, the assurance 
 of my being as much so as it is possible for me 
 to be whilst away from the best of parents, I 
 make no doubt that it will considerably add to 
 your satisfaction. The fact is that I am now, 
 and have for the last six weeks been, living at 
 this place, a charming country seat Lord Cathcart 
 has taken about fifteen miles from Edinburgh, to 
 which place we only go once or twice a week for 
 the purpose of transacting business. This, and 
 a few occasional reviews, constitute my official 
 employment ; the rest of my time is occupied 
 much as usual ; drawing, music, and reading fill 
 the hours I am not either on horseback or stroll- 
 ing about the park. 
 
 'Tis a great pity that the death of poor Com- 
 tesse 1 has disgusted me with shooting, for a finer 
 opportunity for this diversion I never enjoyed, 
 nor ever saw a country so well stocked with game. 
 As it is, I now never fire a gun. However, know- 
 ing your passion for a regular detail of the manner 
 
 1 He had the misfortune to shoot his own favourite pointer, 
 Comtesse. 
 
 171
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 in which I spend my time, let me now attempt to 
 lay down the history of a day. 
 
 I generally take a ride before breakfast, which 
 is held en famille at 9 o'clock and lasts about an 
 hour. Then I go upstairs to my room, read, etc., 
 till about 2, when I am sent for to assist Lord C. 
 in making up the letters for the post, which are 
 dispatched to the next post town, Haddington, 
 at 4. We dine at 5. Dinner over at about 6J, 
 then we either walk or ride till 8-J-, when we all 
 assemble once more for tea, after which our con- 
 cert begins. Miss Cathcart (seventeen years old) 
 plays the harpsichord, her father the violoncello, 
 and I lead the trio. We sup at 1 1 and go to bed 
 at 12. Such is the history of my days, five out 
 of seven at least. Edinburgh excursions, re- 
 views, or dining out in the neighbourhood, make 
 the only variations to this regular mode of living. 
 
 Now for my establishment. I keep three 
 saddle-horses, one poodle (a black Copenhagen 
 youth), and two servants ; " c'est bon et pas cher" 
 as Marescotti used to say, for, except my servants' 
 wages and washing, I am literally at no expense, 
 and for this my hard service I regularly pocket 
 one pound sterling a day. Edward Holbech, my 
 cousin, about my age, is at present here in my old 
 quarters at Piers Hill Barracks with his regt. (the 
 6th, or Inniskilling, Dragoons), in which he is a 
 lieutenant. I am still in the Royals, but expect 
 soon to be promoted out of it. His brother, the 
 
 172
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 eldest, is a major of militia ; his sister, Mary Ann, 
 my belle, of tender memory, has married Sir 
 [Charles] Mordaunt, 1 and is now a Lady. The first 
 opportunity I have, I mean to go and see the family 
 at E. Of Dewar I have heard that he is at present 
 aide-de-camp to Gen. Grey at the Cape of Good 
 Hope a very good thing for him, though rather 
 out of the way. Taylor is travelling about the 
 Highlands. I saw him a few days ago. He is 
 quite well, and desires to be remembered. Hesketh 
 is going to pay the French a visit in Spain with 
 his regiment, the Guards, and I am going to spend 
 a few weeks in the Highlands, at the Duke of 
 Atholl's place. I shall set off in about three 
 weeks' time. 
 
 And now having exhausted my whole stock of 
 news, let me again entreat you to ease my fears 
 on your account by drawing on Broughton for 
 any sum you may want. If it were not for the 
 Vienna papers, I should be terribly alarmed, but 
 as you can dispose of them as necessary, I trust 
 you will not find yourself in any difficulty, though, 
 as I suspect, you are unable to negotiate your 
 Bills on England. Doerfeld too, to whom I need 
 not say how much I wish to be with him once 
 more, will find a supply there whilst this unfor- 
 tunate war continues, and as soon as it is over 
 we will settle quietly and peaceably together, 
 
 1 The daughter of William Holbech, of Mollington. She married 
 in 1807 Sir Charles Mordaunt, Bart., of Walton D'Evile. 
 
 173
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 Capitaine Tempete retiring from war's alarms 
 with as much satisfaction as you can feel in 
 receiving him. Though I would not wish to 
 say anything against my cloth, no, as I honour 
 and love my profession, and whenever the brazen 
 trumpet sounds again to war I shall assuredly 
 not be the last man to offer my services to my 
 King and my country. But in peace I shall be 
 inseparable from you, and that peace may long, 
 very long, continue will be my constant prayer. 
 And now farewell, dearest mother. Communicate 
 my letters to Doerfeld as the agreement was at 
 
 parting. Direct your letters to B , No. 52 
 
 Cannon Street. Remember me to all old friends 
 or soi-disant friends. 
 
 P.S. My uncle and family are all well, and 
 regularly present their best respects. My cousin, 
 the captain, has lately been made a major. Ralph, 
 who is married, has gone to the East Indies with 
 his regiment ; his wife made une fatisse couche 
 en route. 
 
 S alton Hall, August 31, 1808. 
 
 I have not received a single line from Ger- 
 many ever since September last. Heaven grant 
 that you are well, as also Doerfeld, and all my 
 other friends, and that you may not exist in the 
 same most unpleasant state of uncertainty in 
 which I seem condemned to remain ! I know 
 
 174
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 my letters reach some part of the Continent 
 which I am ignorant of, and can only hope they 
 may arrive at Cassel and come to your hands. 
 However, trusting to chance or rather to Pro- 
 vidence for their safe conveyance, I will suppose 
 you to be acquainted with the preceding occur- 
 rences of the last months, and taking up the 
 string of my narration where I left off again 
 commence the recital of what I have seen, heard, 
 or understood. 
 
 Down to the 9th of this month no material 
 change in the usual course of my train-train took 
 place. I quietly remained at Salton. On that 
 day, however, in consequence of an invitation I 
 had received from the Duke of Atholl, I set off 
 for Blair, in Perthshire, a country seat belonging 
 to His Grace, situated at about seventy-three 
 miles north of Edinburgh, in the renowned High- 
 lands of Scotland, a part of the world in which, 
 notwithstanding my pretty long residence in Scot- 
 land, I have never yet set my foot. The first 
 day I reached Perth, where I formerly had been 
 quartered, the second I went to Dunkeld, the 
 third to Blair. The compass of a letter does not 
 admit of the detailed narrative of a journal. You 
 cannot therefore now expect an account of this 
 mountainous tract of country, inhabited by the 
 Sansculottes of the north a task which I have 
 only begun to compile, and which at some future 
 period will come to your hands. At Blair I was 
 
 175
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 most hospitably received by the owners of that 
 mansion, renowned for its hospitality. 
 
 All the time I stayed there, about ten days, we 
 never sat down to dinner less than twenty-four 
 of us, number frequently considerably exceeded 
 by casual arrivals. Amongst the party were 
 Lord Cathcart and his family and Lady Find- 
 later, 1 an old acquaintance of Mrs. Dewar, from 
 Brunswick. The principal diversion, or rather 
 occupation, was shooting moor-fowl, ptarmigans, 
 and stags. This may indeed be called the country 
 of game, for perhaps, excepting some parts of 
 Russia, it would be difficult to find larger deserts 
 in Europe than Scotland can produce in its 
 Highlands. We spent four days at T., 2 a 
 shooting-lodge belonging to the Duke, in the 
 middle of the Grampian Mountains, at least ten 
 miles distance from the nearest cottage, above 
 fifteen miles from any hamlet or village; there 
 you see no trace of the steps of man, no tree 
 or wood of any kind. Huge masses of bleak 
 mountains piled one above the other form the 
 scenery of that land, where herds of three 
 or four hundred stags rove freely, unrestrained 
 by the encroachments of man. From Blair I re- 
 turned by the way of Loch Tay, Dochart, Awe, 
 
 1 She was Lady-in-Waiting to the Duchess of Brunswick, 
 sister of King George III. 
 
 2 Telair, a shooting-lodge belonging to the Duke of Atholl, 
 about a mile from where the view reproduced was taken. 
 
 176
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 and Lomond, by Inverary and Glasgow to Edin- 
 burgh and Salton. 
 
 Thus ended my excursion through one of the 
 most interesting and beautifully sublime parts of 
 Europe, the finest in that kind of mountain 
 scenery I have ever beheld. I came home again 
 on the 27th, having been absent nearly three 
 weeks. 
 
 I have for some time past been promoted to a 
 lieutenancy in my old regiment, now at Dublin, 
 and expect soon to get further promotion. And 
 having now brought up the sketch of my life 
 down to the present period, nothing remains for 
 me but to bid you adieu till the next opportunity 
 of writing. To Doerfeld I need not tell you 
 what to say. I hope you send him my letters to 
 read. To my friends at C. present my best love. 
 I shall never forget the poor Elector's words : 
 " that all those who have been at Cassel regretted 
 their departure." 'Tis true, we all do, T. and 
 all. ... As for T., having got a good pension, 
 he amuses himself by sauntering about the 
 country, in expectation of better times, for the 
 speedy arrival of which we all most fervently 
 hope. Many of our friends have gone to Spain. 
 Lord Cathcart, however, is not likely to be sent, 
 so that 1 remain quietly in Scotland, me re- 
 posant sur mes lauriers de Copenhagen. Perhaps 
 all the world may not think alike on those 
 lauriers. 
 
 n 177
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 SALTON Hall, February 12, 1809. 
 
 I have now again been some months without 
 hearing from you, and feel that you have been 
 equally unfortunate. If I were certain that you 
 were well and happy, and that you were informed 
 of my being likewise, I should not feel so much 
 regret at the probable loss of my epistles ; for 
 indeed what else can they contain that can be at 
 all a matter of interest to you. Secluded as I 
 have been for the last twelve-month from the 
 active scenes of life, and shut up almost entirely 
 within the limits of this estate, it would require 
 the genius of a SeVigne" to collect materials for 
 epistolary conversation ; deprived of that, you 
 must e'en put up with coarser fare and rest con- 
 tented with my best endeavours. 
 
 To speak seriously here I am, and here am 
 likely to remain, for Heaven knows how long ! 
 going on in the old train-train, which is only 
 occasionally disturbed by an expedition to Edin- 
 burgh for a day or two, to attend some ball or 
 dinner party. Though not long ago it was on 
 the point of being disturbed by an expedition of 
 a far different nature, the 1st Dragoons having 
 received orders for holding themselves in readi- 
 ness for foreign service, and I was in daily 
 expectation of being ordered to join. They 
 marched from Dublin to Cork, when they waited 
 for transports ; however, before these arrived our 
 
 178
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 army returned from Spain, and the old Royals 
 stay where they are. I would not alarm you by 
 informing you of our being under orders, and 
 should not have acquainted you of the danger till 
 it had really arrived, or now that it has blown over. 
 Eager as I am for seeing service, I never 
 longed for this particular kind, and gladly re- 
 signed all the honour of building des chateaux eft 
 Espagne to others ; and I daresay you are not 
 sorry at my having lost this opportunity of reap- 
 ing the honours of Bellona in the land of Don 
 Quixote. As for the infama plebs, as Sheridan 
 calls them, the noisy multitude, they are pleased 
 with every tragedy in which a sufficient quantity 
 of blood has been shed, and provided you can 
 furnish him with a good dishful of pitched 
 battles, with a long list of killed and wounded, it 
 will go hard but John Bull sits down contented. 
 Such is the case at present, and strange to say, 
 yet it's true, John Bull is more pleased at having 
 been driven out of Spain than at having some 
 months before conquered Portugal. He has had 
 a hard battle! General killed! etc. etc. etc., and 
 may now build a monument in Westminster 
 Abbey ! Perhaps I ought to have refrained from 
 politics, seeing that this is intended for the other 
 side of the water ; however, let it pass ; it is at 
 best but a trite remark, and fully as applicable to 
 any period of our history as that which may 
 boast of Capt. Tempete as one of its actors. 
 
 179
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 Pray remember me to all Cassel. (I mean that 
 town which in days of old was the residence of a 
 Landgrave of Hesse. What changes since that 
 period when first I knew it !) I daresay now I 
 should almost be an entire stranger in one of its 
 assemblies, and yet but three years ago et fy 
 jouais mon role ! Put them in mind of me 
 like Hamlet's ghost, bid them remember me ! 
 T. is well, and requests to be made a second 
 ghost of, or at least to come in at the last act. I 
 have not yet heard that Broughton has received 
 your draft. 
 
 Salton Hall, March 19, 1809. 
 
 No changes whatever have hitherto taken place 
 in my manner of living ; it is exactly the same as 
 described in all my letters for the last year past. 
 From you I have not heard this very long while. 
 Your last was of the 3rd of October, 1808. 
 However, trusting to Providence, I hope all is 
 well at Cassel. To a speedy peace we must look 
 forward for a termination of this cruel state of 
 suspense and torment, and the Demon of Carnage 
 having so long enjoyed his influence over the 
 devoted inhabitants of this world, we should 
 think that the expectation of better times being 
 near at hand cannot be construed into a too- 
 sanguine construction of our wishes. 
 
 All your friends on this side of the water are 
 well and in good spirits. To comfort Mrs. Dewar, 
 
 180
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 I may add that the last accounts received from 
 her son state him to be equally so. I had made 
 a mistake as to his appointment. On official 
 reference I find that he is aide-de-camp to Sir 
 J. Craig, Commander of the Forces in Canada, 
 and stationed at Quebec in every respect a 
 most advantageous situation. To you at Cassel 
 America sounds far off; here we talk of it as 
 you do of Frankfort. You never mention in 
 any of your letters the name of a very young 
 lady, about whom, however, it may be natural to 
 suppose I must be somewhat interested. Though 
 time dissipates many prejudices and may weaken 
 the testimony of witnesses, still facts remain un- 
 shaken and render questions of that kind ever 
 doubtful. If possible, communicate on the sub- 
 ject. I am also anxious to hear something about 
 TheVese and Mme. d'Effner. Though sadly dis- 
 gusted with the latter, I shall never forget how 
 pretty she looked when I saw her at Munich, 
 and that nothing but the charms of Mme. de N. 
 (I believe that's her name ; of Jeannette I am 
 certain) saved me from falling desperately in love 
 with her ; as it was, je me placais entre deux 
 chaises et cela me sauvai ! D., I hear from 
 Broughton, is well. I am anxious to receive an 
 answer from him. I am also very desirous of 
 getting more positive intelligence from his friend ; 
 the latter is now in town. He spends his summer 
 months in visiting his friends in the country, 
 
 181
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 leading an idle kind of life, and longing for an 
 opportunity of going abroad again. Indeed, daily 
 experience convinces me of the truth of one of 
 my father's favourite arguments, " that an English- 
 man who has spent some years abroad is spoilt 
 for living at home." I have never met any one 
 yet who did not regret his residence abroad, 
 though whilst he was there he only talked of 
 home. 
 
 I suppose the public papers have informed you 
 of the investigation into the conduct of our 
 Commander-in-Chief. He is hard run, but, de- 
 pend upon it, will come off with flying colours. 
 
 Pray remember me to all who are kind enough 
 to think sometimes of their old friend. I was 
 very happy to hear so good an account of 
 Bologna, but would not write for fear of bring- 
 ing his friends there into trouble. To Buttlar, 
 and the aunt, and Countess Bohlen I beg to 
 be particularly remembered, as well as to Mrs. 
 Dewar. 
 
 P.S. As you express great anxiety about my 
 health in some of your letters, I am happy to 
 inform you that I, as usual, am perfectly well. 
 
 S ALTON HALL, March 28, 1809. 
 
 I yesterday had the pleasure of receiving yours 
 of the 10th of December last, and of obtaining, 
 after so long a delay, a convincing proof of your 
 
 182
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 being still in good health and spirits. Aware as 
 you undoubtedly are of the high importance that 
 these objects are to your son, whose affection and 
 regard may perhaps be equalled but cannot be 
 surpassed, I hope and trust you will omit no 
 means in your power to preserve and cherish 
 them ; and as a patient resignation, founded on 
 religion, added to a well-founded expectation of 
 a speedy change in the affairs of Europe, must 
 evidently conduce in an eminent degree to the 
 attainment of so primary an object, surely, dearest 
 mother, I do not flatter myself in expecting that 
 to them you will entirely resign your cares and 
 troubles. Hard and severe as our lot most 
 certainly appears to us, it is shared by thousands, 
 and few indeed are the instances of a family never 
 dispersed by the accidents of fate. Numerous 
 are these when it occurs under circumstances more 
 afflicting than those which now oppress us. The 
 certainty of that great truth that " Whatever is, 
 is right," must comfort and relieve our present 
 distress. 
 
 For the interesting details you gave me of the 
 occurrences at Cassel I am much obliged to you, 
 and can only lament that it is not in my power to 
 give you an adequate return ; but a quiet English 
 country life furnishes little matter for conversation 
 and remark, and I am too well acquainted with 
 your abhorrence of the army to have recourse to 
 military anecdotes of reviews ; informed too of 
 
 183
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 your new aversion to politics, I can only have 
 recourse to the chronique scandaleuse for some 
 interesting particulars. To begin : the Duke of 
 York has resigned his command. An unfortunate 
 amour has brought about this change, and though 
 it appears clear as day that his mistress had no 
 hand in any army promotions whatever, still less 
 that H.R. Highness was privy to her receiv- 
 ing bribes for procuring the same, the publica- 
 tion of this scandalous connexion has made it 
 necessary for him to withdraw from public 
 business. Another of our generals, Lord Paget, 
 but just returned from Spain, where he com- 
 manded our cavalry with great credit to himself 
 and his people, has lately run away with Lady 
 Charlotte Wellesley, the wife of Sir Arthur 
 Wellesley's younger brother, though he himself 
 is a married man with a numerous family. This 
 most disgraceful transaction has not, however, as 
 yet had the fatal consequences at first appre- 
 hended. The lady has already returned to her 
 paternal friends. 1 She is the sister of the present 
 Earl Cadogan, and the storm will probably blow 
 over. His death would be a severe loss to the 
 army. 
 
 The letter I lately received from my old friend, 
 Joseph Andrews, has given me the greatest plea- 
 sure. I instantly sent it to our mutual friend in 
 Kent. Indeed, I shall never be able to express 
 
 1 They were married next year.
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 my gratitude for his attention, and he must even 
 wait till, having followed his advice, I may be 
 able at least to devolve that task on my wife, and 
 I promise in advance that I will be the best- 
 natured, easy husband the lady may require for 
 that purpose, and he must own that this is going 
 great lengths indeed, especially in a man who 
 remembers the account given of him by the pretty 
 shoemaker's daughter : " Er bezahlt schlecht und 
 verdirbt viel." May I soon have an opportunity 
 of talking over old stories with him. 
 
 My best respects to Countess Zabelitzky. So 
 detailed an account of her nephew it was not 
 necessary to give one ; surely I could not forget 
 my old travelling companion ; besides, I served a 
 campaign with him at Stralsund and in Denmark. 
 Ayez la bonte de mander a Mdme. la Comtesse, 
 que M. le Colonel se porte a merveille. Depuis 
 peu il vient de retourner de Suede, oil pendant 
 quelqes ann^es il avait surveille le recrutement 
 des regiments etrangers dans notre service, son 
 bataillon est encore dans les Indes Occidentals, 
 mais il se trouve a present a Londres, 6tant sur 
 l'Etat Major, je ne saurais dire en quelle 
 capacity. 
 
 Taylor was well when I last heard from him. 
 He begged to be kindly remembered both to D. 
 and yourself. Poor Anton, I was glad to hear, is 
 in a good place. The fellow in the main was, 
 I believe, attached to me, and I am much obliged 
 
 185
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 to him for his honest exclamation. Some of my 
 friends, less fortunate, have found an early 
 though an honourable grave in Spain. I have 
 to lament the death of three other brother officers 
 who were on the same staff with me in Denmark, 
 whilst others have got honours and promotion. 
 
 I have nothing new to tell you respecting 
 myself. We are still going on as usual at Salton, 
 except that, spring coming on, a few more reviews 
 help to pass the mornings. My regiment is still 
 in Ireland, from whence I suppose it will return 
 to England this year. However, expecting pro- 
 motion in the infantry, I don't suppose I shall go 
 there again. Pray have the goodness to make all 
 your letters a little better in future, the last I 
 received could with the greatest ease be read 
 through without breaking the seal a circum- 
 stance which is not exactly very pleasant. If 
 properly made up, those who want to examine 
 will be obliged to open and shut them again, but 
 idle, curious mortals will at least be kept from 
 poking their stupid heads into their contents. 
 
 P.S. My best love to Doerfeld and all my 
 friends at Cassel. 
 
 Salton Hall, May 29, 1809. 
 
 Since I last had the pleasure of writing to you, 
 nothing has occurred which could afford you the 
 least interest or amusement to be informed of of 
 
 186 v
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 course I mean only what regards myself in my 
 present retired situation, when the diurnal revo- 
 lutions of time suffer scarcely more changes than 
 what are brought about by the seasons and the 
 state of the weather. I always thought, and 
 have of late been thoroughly convinced, that 
 a country life is very little better than the vegeta- 
 tion of the trees and plants with which you 
 associate ; that in the present state of things it is 
 preferable to the more busy intercourse with the 
 world is a reflection upon the times, but no en- 
 comium on its real value. 
 
 As you so frequently expressed a desire to be 
 informed of every one of my actions and recur- 
 rences relating thereto, I thought it right to say 
 this much. By referring to former letters, you 
 may know accordingly how I have since been 
 spending my time. I sincerely hope yours may 
 answer the purpose equally well, for since Decem- 
 ber last I have in vain been looking out for 
 German letters your last, I mean, was of that 
 date. Patience and resignation have now become 
 very necessary qualifications, and, to own the 
 truth, they are virtues which, under more favour- 
 able circumstances, I should never perhaps have 
 acquired. 
 
 When I heard last from Taylor he was well, 
 and in town, where he meant to stay till after 
 the birthday. His eldest brother is now in Par- 
 liament for Canterbury, very much against the 
 
 187
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 advice of all his friends. However, he seems to 
 be going on better than they expected, for great 
 apprehensions had been entertained of his being 
 carried away by the vortex of dissipation, more 
 prevalent now than ever, and but little calculated 
 for the moderate income of a private gentleman. 
 The Colonel is still with the King, giving general 
 satisfaction to everybody connected with him, and 
 treads the prds de la cour with more than usual 
 address. Their younger brother, whom you 
 know, a captain in the navy, has been very 
 fortunate of late. He now commands one of the 
 finest frigates in the service, and has made above 
 ,20,000 prize money since you saw him. I have 
 not heard from Southwell this long time. My 
 uncle made some foolish mistake about the 
 purchase of my share of Southwell Park, and 
 then took it into his head that it was all my fault, 
 because I would not cut the knot for him, but left 
 him to settle the matter with my cousin Wood- 
 house, by which means he was only able to get 
 half of it, W. taking the remainder. However, 
 I will write to him when I have nothing better to 
 do. My cousin, Edward Holbech (of the 6th 
 Dragoons), is just leaving me, his regiment 
 having received orders to march to Ireland into 
 our old quarters there. He expects to be gazetted 
 immediately for a troop in his regiment (to be 
 made a captain). My regiment is still in Ireland, 
 where it will probably remain a year longer be- 
 
 188
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 fore it is recalled to England, a period anxiously 
 looked for by all the officers and men. 
 
 And now I believe I have given you my whole 
 budget of news, and scanty enough you will find 
 it, the main object of this epistle being to inform 
 you that I am alive and well, which a few lines 
 are adequate to do as well as a thousand. I hope 
 it will not be lost, but be allowed to find its way 
 and to pass, a poor innocent traveller, through the 
 hands of all the various persons it must visit on 
 its journey. 
 
 Remember me kindly to D., as well as to all my 
 Cassel friends, not forgetting Countess Zabelitzky, 
 who may depend upon receiving from you all the 
 information I may be able to collect respecting 
 her nephew. 
 
 S alton, July 27, 1809. 
 
 I this morning received your letter from Frank- 
 fort, and was most sorry to hear that your intended 
 journey to Munich, of which I had not had the 
 least idea, has unfortunately miscarried. I strongly 
 advise you, however, as soon as the state of things 
 will permit, to execute a plan which in every 
 respect is by far the wisest that you could possibly 
 have conceived. The idea of coming over to this 
 country I have already frequently attempted 
 to dissuade you from. Indeed, such a crowd of 
 reasons present themselves at once that it is 
 difficult to fix upon the most, or least, evident 
 
 189
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 and convincing ; to attempt to prove the light 
 of the sun or the heat of fire would be ridi- 
 culous, but indeed not more so than to enter 
 into the many proofs of the impracticability and 
 facility of your coming over and settling in 
 England, especially as the main object of our 
 being together would not by any means be thereby 
 obtained. 
 
 The dearness of everything in a country which 
 teems with an unnecessary influx of wealth and 
 riches can scarcely be conceived by persons un- 
 acquainted with the wondrous effects of commerce. 
 Every livery servant on an average spends sixty 
 pounds sterling a year, and your present lodging 
 would cost at least thirty pounds a month, even 
 at Edinburgh. But supposing this was no object, 
 my profession (without which I cannot live here) 
 is an insurmountable bar. I have already fre- 
 quently told you, and indeed you know from 
 experience, that our troops are never stationary 
 as those of the German Powers we are always 
 what they call at Cassel mobile ; but the other 
 day a regiment was ordered at a week's notice to 
 march from Perth (where I was quartered two 
 years ago) and embark at Edinburgh for Botany 
 Bay, about eight hundred miles farther off than 
 any of the most remote part of the East Indies. 
 Cavalry are not so much exposed, but equally 
 subject to distant embarkations. Pray therefore 
 never think of a plan which is so inconsistent 
 
 190
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 with all ideas of happiness, comfort, and ex- 
 pediency. 
 
 You will, no doubt, be happy to learn that 
 I am still with Lord Cathcart at Salton, and 
 that an expedition is again on the point of sailing 
 without me. More than half of the staff in North 
 Britain have gone with it. Lord C.'s eldest son 
 left us some time ago. The last letters received 
 from him mention his embarkation, and Lady 
 Cathcart has not less than him, two brothers, and 
 four nephews who are to go out on this occasion, 
 besides her husband and two younger sons, who 
 are liable at a moment's notice to be ordered 
 on the same service. You see, dearest mother, 
 that your lot is not worse than nine mothers out 
 of ten. Whatever Heaven decrees however 
 different it may appear to us short-sighted mortals 
 is doubtless all for our good and advantage ; 
 and is it right, is it so much as excusable, to 
 murmur when convinced of this great truth ? 
 
 I was most happy to hear so good an account 
 of my friend D. Pray tell him how anxious I am 
 for the happy day when we shall meet again, how 
 rejoiced whenever a few lines reach me concern- 
 ing him, and how much I deplore being deprived 
 of his society. Let him know that, thanks to his 
 advice, counsel, and instruction, I am getting 
 on in the world better than my deserts can claim 
 it. I was offered (without any application having 
 been made by my friends) a situation on the 
 
 191
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 staff of the expedition now preparing, but by 
 Ld. C.'s advice I declined it ; the proposal, 
 however, is honourable. 
 
 Pray remember me to those who may still 
 recollect their ci-devant charge^ d'affaires at Cassel. 
 
 CLONMEL, September 20, 1809. 
 
 Since writing to you last from Fort George, near 
 Inverness, the farthest place in the north that I 
 have ever yet been at, several most unexpected 
 changes have taken place, which prevented my 
 fulfilling the promise I then made of sending you 
 immediately on my return to Edinburgh the close 
 of my journal of this Highland expedition. To 
 be brief, I left Fort George on the 28th ulto., 
 and bending my course southward, proceeded by 
 easy stages through a most uninteresting and 
 bleak country by Granton, Cairn Shields, the 
 Spittle of Glenshields [Glenshee], to Cupar Angus, 
 where I bid adieu to the Highlands, went by 
 Dundee and St. Andrews to Kinghorn, from 
 which place I embarked, and in a couple of hours 
 landed at Leith on the 3rd inst. in the evening. 
 
 That very evening, on my entering the inn at 
 Edinburgh, I received the official order (which 
 had been received at Edinburgh a week before) 
 of joining my regiment, ordered for foreign ser- 
 vice. The next day I went to Salton to get my 
 things ready, to take leave of Lord Cathcart, 
 
 192
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 etc. His Lordship was most kind to me at 
 parting, desired me, however long my absence 
 might be, ever to consider myself as his aide-de- 
 camp, which situation he would keep vacant for 
 me, and, in short, behaved more like a father 
 to me. My horses, etc., with my faithful Thomas, 
 I left at Salton (Capt. Cathcart taking the super- 
 intendence into his own hands), and the day 
 following I set off for Ireland with my Scotch 
 servant (a journey of four hundred miles, including 
 the passage at Port Patrick), without a moment's 
 delay on the road, favourable wind, and a quick 
 passage of four hours. 
 
 I landed in Ireland and was at Dublin on the 
 morning of the 9th inst. There I learnt that my 
 regiment had embarked for Lisbon, and sailed on 
 the 3rd, the very day I first received my order 
 to join. I accordingly reported myself to the 
 Commander of the Forces in this country, and 
 was ordered by him to join our depot squadron 
 at Clonmel and to remain quietly at home with 
 them. No doubt you will be happy to be relieved 
 from your fright, but however short the absence 
 of my regiment will be most likely, I yet feel 
 very unhappy at being left at home with a few 
 recruits and old men and horses, whilst the 
 majority of my brother officers are seeing service 
 in Portugal. However, such are the chances of 
 a military life, and here I am, third in command. 
 My old friend, Captain Radclyffe, arrived a day 
 o 193
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 before me, from recruiting in England, and is in 
 the same predicament as myself. 
 
 We are in daily expectation of receiving orders 
 to commence our march to England, where we 
 are to go to a certainty, the regiment having been 
 taken off the Irish establishment, to our great 
 satisfaction. We shall probably be sent to Dor- 
 chester, and there remain snug and quiet till the 
 regiment comes home, when I return to Lord 
 Cathcart in Scotland. Of course we are lead- 
 ing an idle life enough, having only to take care 
 of about sixty young horses, and to see them 
 and about thirty recruits properly broken in. It 
 is provoking that without anything to do, being 
 quite a supernumerary on this squadron, I cannot 
 go back to Scotland, but the rules of the service 
 forbid it. What renders it tolerable, however, is 
 the sweets of authority, for, most of my seniors 
 having gone abroad, I am oldest subaltern, and 
 therefore a very great man in a depot squadron. 
 
 Pray lose no time in writing to my dear friend 
 D. to acquaint him with what has happened to 
 me lately, and tell him that I fear, as I have 
 never heard from him, my letters to him, for- 
 warded to Broughton, must have miscarried. 
 Remember me most kindly to Joseph Andrews 
 and all my other friends at Cassel. You may 
 inform Countess Zablitzky (I cannot spell her 
 name better) that her relation (Lt.-Col. Moshein) 
 has gone out with Lord Chatham as Asst. Adjt.- 
 
 194
 
 London English Military Life 
 
 Gen. to Holland. Shall write again as soon as 
 we receive our route. 
 
 It will be remembered that while Sir Arthur 
 Wellesley was Chief Secretary of the Lord Lieu- 
 tenant of Ireland, he laid an especial stress on 
 the importancee of inland magazines and depots 
 for stores. The people were dissatisfied and 
 restless, so that a French invasion of Ireland 
 would have been of the utmost danger to 
 England. 
 
 Ralph Heathcote was stationed at one of those 
 depots. 
 
 195
 
 CHAPTER V 
 SERVICE IN THE PENINSULA 
 
 TH E following letters, extending over a 
 period of more than four years, are 
 written during the Peninsular War, at 
 a time when the writer had great doubt 
 if any correspondence would reach his mother. 
 He mentions on July 20, 181 2, after an interval 
 of a whole year, that, to his greatest happiness, 
 he had again received a letter from her. As it 
 was so likely for these letters to be lost or to fall 
 into the hands of the enemy, they could contain 
 little else than the news that he was alive and 
 well. He never once speaks of the dangers sur- 
 rounding him, nor of his fatigues, but attempts to 
 give his mother comfort and quiet her fears. He 
 also goes on dating his letters from Lisbon even 
 when written from other places, as it was the 
 only safe direction for letters to reach him. It is 
 curious and touching to compare his rather super- 
 ficial letters from 18 10-13 with the bare and yet 
 eloquent facts noted down in these two little 
 brown leather sketch-books. 
 
 Ralph Heath cote, arriving in Lisbon, Novem- 
 196
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 ber, 1809, found the victors of Vimeira bitterly 
 resenting the Convention of Cintra, but satisfied 
 with the appointment of Sir Arthur Wellesley as 
 Commander-in-Chief. The brilliant passage of 
 the Douro, the terrible battle of Talavera, had 
 altered the aspect of affairs. Yet, as Heathcote 
 writes even in January, 18 10, "many believe 
 that the Commander-in-Chief is only waiting for 
 an opportunity to embark with good grace." 
 
 LISBON, November 2, 1809. 
 
 My last letter was, I believe, dated from 
 Clonmel, in Ireland. Little did I then expect 
 that my next would be written in Portugal. 
 However, so it is. The day after sending off 
 your letter orders arrived for Capt. Radclyffe and 
 myself to proceed without delay to England, 
 there to be embarked for Lisbon. This we ac- 
 cordingly did. I immediately bought a charger 
 of one of our officers, left behind on account of 
 ill-health, and the next morning we set off for 
 Waterford, where we embarked for Milford 
 Haven, in South Wales, and landed there the 
 following morning. We proceeded in the mail to 
 Bristol, our horses following us by easy stages. 
 There we remained till the 1st of October, when 
 our horses having come up, and I having bought 
 a second horse, we proceeded, according to fur- 
 ther orders we had received at Bristol, to Ports- 
 
 197
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 mouth. From thence I intended to write to you, 
 but had not time a few hours after our arrival, 
 which were of course taken up in equipping our- 
 selves for so long a voyage. 
 
 We embarked on board a horse-transport and 
 sailed the same day, the 4th of October, with the 
 great fleet for the Mediterranean and Portugal. 
 Besides Capt. Radclyffe and myself, only two other 
 officers were on board, Lieut. -Col. Bussche, of the 
 5th Batt. of the King's German Legion, and 
 Capt. Wade, of the 42 nd Regt., both on their 
 way to join their regiments in Spain. A plea- 
 santer society we could not have wished for, and 
 the weather being favourable almost during the 
 whole of our voyage, this proved by far the most 
 agreeable passage I have ever made, nor was I 
 even seasick for one moment only. Indeed, I am 
 now pretty well accustomed to the sea. 
 
 After having remained on board for sixteen 
 days, we landed at Lisbon on the 20th, where we 
 found our regiment very quietly quartered, with- 
 out the least probability of its being sent down to 
 the army, which is near two hundred miles off; 
 and here we have hitherto remained very quietly, 
 being in excellent quarters, our men and horses 
 in magnificent barracks and stables, and we our- 
 selves enjoying the luxuries of a delightful 
 climate and all the amusements of the capital. 
 
 And now, dearest mother, that I have a little 
 time to breathe and make all necessary arrange- 
 
 198
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 ments and get all possible intelligence, I at last 
 venture to inform you of my being in this 
 country. Ever since my first landing, whilst 
 there remained the slightest possibility of our 
 joining the army, I was afraid of writing, and 
 thought it better to defer my letter till such a 
 time as I could with some degree of certainty 
 pronounce upon our future movements. This 
 time has now arrived ; there no longer exists the 
 remotest possibility of our going to the army, and 
 I can now write to you as usual, looking upon 
 the expedition as a party of pleasure, and as an 
 opportunity of seeing a part of the world which 
 has not commonly been visited. 
 
 My reasons for pronouncing so decidedly 
 against our leaving Lisbon, except for our return 
 to England, are many ; but I cannot with any 
 regard to my duty enter into these particulars, 
 nor do I hope you will therefore be at all uneasy. 
 You may depend upon my being well informed 
 and having sufficient grounds to think as I do, 
 and that if there was the least chance of my 
 being mistaken I should not hesitate to commu- 
 nicate the same to you. Leaving therefore the 
 disagreeable subject (though it really is only a 
 bugbear, fit to frighten little children to sleep) 
 let me proceed to give you a description of my 
 present quarters, etc. 
 
 I live in a very pleasant little villa, my windows 
 looking into the garden, and commanding an ex- 
 
 199
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 tensive view of the Tagus and the opposite coast 
 of Alentija. The garden, still in full bloom, 
 though at this advanced season of the year, is full 
 of orange groves, olive trees, palm trees, etc. 
 You remember Persico always abused me for my 
 want of taste for flowers, shrubs, and so forth. 
 I am sorry to say it still continues so far, at 
 least, that I am utterly unable to describe a 
 garden. You must therefore fancy one, com- 
 posed of all the hot-house plants you have seen, 
 and me staring into it, with my pen in my hand, 
 admiring the whole, but ignorant of the par- 
 ticulars, and you will have the scene now before 
 me. This delightful little villa is about i J miles 
 from Lisbon, in a huge village called Belem, 
 where we are quartered, and not one hundred 
 yards from the new royal palace, which is not 
 yet quite finished, and at about the same distance 
 from our stables and parade. Belem itself, though 
 I called it a village, is a large place, extending 
 about three miles along the banks of the river, 
 and reaches almost up to Lisbon. 
 
 Of Lisbon itself I have little to say. All the 
 descriptions I ever read of this place agree in 
 representing it in its true colours, as a nasty, 
 straggling, dirty, and large city. Situated on the 
 banks of the Tagus, it rises like an amphitheatre 
 above the river, and it must be confessed forms 
 a magnificent appearance, which, however, upon 
 a closer investigation dwindles away to little or 
 
 200
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 nothing. From the nature of its situation, the 
 streets are steep, some of them scarcely prac- 
 ticable for miles, and most of them are too narrow 
 for a carriage to pass. To describe the filth of 
 all kinds, which remains accumulating in these 
 narrow passes till swept into the river below by 
 some heavy rain, would be impossible. The 
 stories told of Edinburgh some years ago are 
 here literally true, and every kind of nastiness is 
 constantly emptied out of the windows into the 
 street, nor are the Portuguese at all nice about 
 their hours for performing these emersions, and 
 you are as much exposed to a savoury shower at 
 twelve o'clock at noon as at midnight. Lisbon 
 may, however, boast of some good streets and 
 tolerable squares, but you must not expect to 
 meet with a single piece of fine architecture in 
 the whole precincts of the city. If any buildings 
 should, however, be found worthy of notice, they 
 are seen to be either churches or convents. Some 
 of these are shown, and are visited by strangers ; 
 however, fortunately for even these, dans le 
 royaume des aveugles les borgnes sont des 
 rots. They have here an Italian opera, which, 
 though not to be compared with the one at 
 London, is certainly far above mediocrity, and is 
 perhaps, to use a vulgar expression, more of a 
 piece than ours. 
 
 Ignorant of the Portuguese language, I am 
 unable to judge of the merit of their National
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 Theatre ; all the dancing there, however, was of 
 the grotesque kind and most notoriously in- 
 decent, so much so that I could scarcely advise 
 an Englishwoman to go there at all. However, 
 as this place is better attended than the Opera, 
 and we of course wish to see as much of the 
 natives as possible, it is much resorted to by our 
 officers. What astonished me most on my first 
 entrance into the theatre was the number of negro 
 ladies, dressed out in all the extravagance and 
 elegance of fashion, who crowded the boxes. I 
 believe I do not exaggerate in saying that about 
 one-third of the ladies present were blacks. The 
 Europeans (I can't call them the whites) were far 
 from making any great display of beauty or 
 elegance. They all look like Jewesses, and their 
 eyes excepted, which are fine, they can boast of 
 scarcely any charms. 
 
 I lately had an opportunity of seeing and 
 judging, better than I perhaps shall ever have 
 again, of the Portuguese ladies. Our Ambas- 
 sador gave a ball in honour of the King's acces- 
 sion. All the Portuguese nobility at Lisbon was 
 present, and I can truly say that I could not have 
 picked out one handsome woman amongst them 
 all, though, considering the candle-light, their 
 sallow complexions were shown off to the greatest 
 advantage. I expected to have found a great 
 difference in their manners from those of other 
 countries, but was disappointed ; they are fully as 
 
 202
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 free as the Germans, though rather awkward, and 
 might pass very well for boarding-school girls just 
 let loose in the world. Of course there is no rule 
 without exception, and I only mean to state the 
 appearance of the generality of the ladies present. 
 
 At Mr. Villers' (that is the Ambassador's name) 
 I experienced one of the great advantages of 
 having been on the Staff so long. I found myself 
 among a number of old friends whom I had not met 
 for many months, some not since our late expedi- 
 tion to Copenhagen, and spent there a most pleasant 
 evening. The entertainmentwas most magnificent. 
 Above five hundred persons sat down to supper, 
 served up in the most magnificent manner. Our 
 regiment furnished a guard of honour on the 
 occasion ; infantry lined the lower part of the 
 house ; and, in short, it was as fine as ever I saw 
 anything. I stayed till two, when I got into my 
 calesh, drawn by mules, and returned home. I am 
 told that everybody retired by four o'clock. Owing 
 to the great heat of the climate, there was very 
 little dancing, regiments' bands playing during 
 the intervals, and there was more walking through 
 the rooms than anything else going forward. 
 Card-tables had been prepared, but were not made 
 use of. 
 
 And now, dear mother, though the packet is not 
 going to sail this week, I shall close my epistle, 
 merely to begin another which I shall continue in 
 the shape of a journal, writing by conveyance, so 
 
 203
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 that at least some of my letters may come safe 
 into your hands. 
 
 Pray remember me to all my friends at Cassel 
 (though I hope you have succeeded by this time 
 in getting to Munich). Put Doerfeld in mind of 
 me though I have not written to him except 
 once (and then I had no answer). I almost forgot 
 to add that I am perfectly well, and that this warm 
 climate agrees most completely with me. You 
 know I always longed for Italy; well, though not 
 quite in that charming country, I am now at least 
 in the same climate. 
 
 LISBON, November 17, 1809. 
 
 Since writing my last, nothing of any con- 
 sequence has occurred to me, the usual routine of 
 regimental duty being excepted, and having been 
 a couple of times to the play, drawing has occu- 
 pied my time almost exclusively. We have in- 
 deed had several horse races, but these being 
 merely confined to the English, and of course the 
 sport in itself being poor enough, I only went to 
 them once, and that was more than they deserved. 
 
 For want therefore of a better subject, I shall 
 now give you a description of my late journey to 
 Cintra. This place, the favourite resort of the 
 natives from the intense heat of a Portuguese 
 summer, lies on the land side of the Cabo da 
 Rocca (by us called the Rock of Lisbon), about 
 fifteen English miles from the latter place. 
 
 204
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 Capt. Radclyfife and myself embarked on board of 
 a calisse, drawn by two mules, the one in the 
 shafts, the other carrying the driver, and being 
 also attached to the carriage. We started at six 
 in the morning and arrived at Cintra at about 
 ten. The road, uphill the greater part of our 
 journey, led through a bleak and miserable 
 country we could have counted the shrubs we 
 passed, and as for grass, there was none. It was 
 a chaussde, in other words, a very rough pave- 
 ment, and Heaven knows we were most heartily 
 pleased to have arrived at our journey's end. 
 
 Cintra is situated nearly at the base of this 
 immense rock or mountain, which is partly covered 
 with a scanty herbage, but rises towards the 
 centre into innumerable conical hills formed of 
 huge stones most singularly piled together. This 
 circumstance causes the environs of this place to 
 be called the Switzerland of Portugal. What 
 forms the principal characteristic of its scenery is 
 the abundance of wood with which it is sur- 
 rounded cork trees, oaks, elms ; the tall canes, 
 and lemon and orange gardens intermix with, 
 overshadow, and conceal the houses, which extend 
 all along the slope of the mountain downwards. 
 Upwards, the rocky region maintains its rigid 
 superiority, naked and bleak. Two huge conical 
 rocks overhang the peaceful town ; on one of 
 these the remnants of a Moorish fort are still 
 visible; the Penha Convent crowns the other. 
 
 205 

 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 To this I went toiling and labouring for an hour 
 at least, the heat being intense, the way almost 
 perpendicular. It is a convent in miniature ; 
 three old monks were its inhabitants, and these 
 are monthly relieved from another convent in the 
 valley beneath. The view from this spot is most 
 extensive over the wretched bleak grounds to 
 Lisbon on one side, to the distant convent of 
 Mafra on the other, the Atlantic Ocean bounding 
 the greater part of the horizon. Of this, how- 
 ever, I saw nothing, for a thick fog suddenly 
 involved us in utter darkness and obstinately 
 continued all the time. I remained above an 
 hour. However, I don't much lament the loss, 
 having afterwards had nearly the same view from 
 the Cork Convent. 
 
 There is a royal palace at Cintra, usually 
 visited by strangers. Of course our cicerone 
 conducted us to it, which is an ancient, irregular 
 building, in which they show the chair on which 
 Sebastian sat when he announced his African 
 expedition to his councillors, and the room in 
 which the wretched Alfonsus VI spent the 
 remnant of his days after his brother had robbed 
 him of his crown and queen. The brick floor- 
 ing is worn deep in one part of the room by the 
 steps of the captive monarch. This is all worth 
 seeing in the palace, however. I cannot dismiss 
 it without a general remark, applicable to all 
 Portuguese palaces I have hitherto seen, viz. that 
 
 206
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 they are without exception in a dilapidated state 
 and look as if they had been uninhabited for 
 half a century. They are like some German 
 hunting-seats I remember to have seen in the 
 early part of my youth Herzogsfreuth, Rottgen, 
 etc., near Bonn built in the same style, and not 
 kept in any manner of repair. This is also the 
 case with some magnificent-looking houses at 
 Lisbon : all show without ; all poverty, dirt, and 
 nastiness within, and would-be grandeur meets 
 you at every turn, so very different from the solid 
 comforts of an English mansion. 
 
 The next place we went to was a really elegant 
 building, surrounded by very fine gardens, belong- 
 ing to the Marquis de Marialve. In one of the 
 apartments of this palace the famous Convention 
 of Cintra was signed last year, by which we were 
 put into possession of this blessed land. In my 
 next I shall finish the description of Cintra ; for 
 want of room I close here for the present. 
 
 I am well and hearty, and so are my horses. 
 We have lately received official communication 
 that we are not to be moved up to the army, and 
 are now looking out for empty transports to 
 convey us home to England, for if, as it is said, 
 Austria has made peace, what are we to do here ? 
 Pray remember me to all who are kind enough to 
 inquire after their old charge d'affaires. 
 
 207
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 LISBON, December 17, 1809. 
 
 Here we still are, though the army having 
 fallen back, we are now in constant expectation 
 of a speedy embarkation. This state of uncer- 
 tainty, as our transports are lying within hail of 
 us, has prevented my carrying my researches 
 farther up the country, and since writing to you 
 last I have seen nothing new, with respect to the 
 country at least. As to the natives, I have been 
 more successful, having found means to be intro- 
 duced to several families, and I have now got 
 two houses, the one at Lisbon, the other at 
 Belem, where I can go to spend my evenings ; 
 these are Mme. de Dubatchefskey, the Russian 
 Ambassador's lady, and the Marchioness de 
 Angeja, one of the first families in Portugal, 
 both with respect to fortune and to rank. At 
 the former's, however, very few of the real Portu- 
 guese are to be seen, her parties being chiefly 
 composed of foreigners. Of course, those socie- 
 ties are exactly like yours at Cassel. Nothing 
 but French is spoken, and the evening passes in 
 drinking tea, playing at cards, talking, etc. How- 
 ever agreeable this may be in one respect, parti- 
 cularly as it reminds me of old times, it is not 
 exactly the thing one wishes to see in a country 
 like Portugal, and I was very anxious to get into 
 some thoroughbred Portuguese houses. This was 
 no easy matter, for they all live alone or in family 
 
 208
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 coteries, know little and care less of what is pass- 
 ing about them. 
 
 At last I succeeded, and was introduced to the 
 old Marchioness, whose husband has followed the 
 Court to the Brazils, whither she is preparing to 
 follow him with her family as soon as we leave 
 this country. I don't know how to describe these 
 people, nor the way in which they live. However, 
 I will attempt to give you some idea of it. In a 
 very large house, containing perhaps above two 
 hundred large rooms, very badly furnished, this 
 good old lady resides with her daughters, occupy- 
 ing one or two of the smallest rooms ; the rest 
 are empty and look deserted. However, through 
 twenty or forty of these, as it may happen, you 
 have to find your way, the doors being all open, 
 not a soul appearing, and the place looking more 
 like an old enchanted castle than anything else. 
 At last you stumble upon a room full of people ; 
 these are servants amusing themselves in their 
 own way, who don't even attempt to show you 
 the room where their ladies reside, whom you 
 find at last crowded together round a table, warm- 
 ing their hands with a silver ball full of hot water, 
 attended by five or six priests, whom they feed in 
 the house. They work sometimes, but I have 
 never seen them with cards. Occasionally their 
 servants come into the room and join in the con- 
 versation, which is entirely carried on in their own 
 ugly language, for, with the exception of two 
 p 209
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 young ladies, they none of them are acquainted 
 with any other language. They are besides 
 excessively awkward, and shy to the greatest 
 excess. Thus they spend their whole day, with- 
 out ever leaving the house, buried in the grossest 
 ignorance, and constantly expecting armies of one 
 hundred thousand English to land, in addition to 
 the forces we have already in this blessed land. Of 
 course, living with such people, you may natur- 
 ally suppose that we all look forward with anxiety 
 towards the happy moment when we are to re- 
 embark. 
 
 Here nothing but the climate is worthy of 
 praise, and that, I must own, is charming. At 
 this moment, when you are probably buried in 
 snow or deluged with water, we enjoy the 
 finest weather imaginable: almost perpetual sun- 
 shine, the air perfectly temperate, about as warm 
 as it generally is at Cassel in the middle of sum- 
 mer when the sun is not shining. The trees are 
 in full verdure and the orange groves in bloom, 
 the oranges just beginning to ripen. 
 
 My horses, my mule, and myself are all per- 
 fectly well. The mule I have got to carry 
 my baggage in case of a march, as well as the 
 forage for my horses ; however, in the meanwhile 
 I make use of him according to the manners of 
 the country, and ride him about everywhere. 
 This moment I received the pleasant intelli- 
 gence that all the camp, equipage, tents, etc., 
 
 2IO
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 are embarking. This promises us an early 
 move. 
 
 Pray remember me to D. and all our friends at 
 Cassel. 
 
 We find the clue to where the following letters 
 had been written in a statement contained beneath 
 a view of Santarem in Heathcote's sketch-book : 
 
 N.B. We marched from Belem December 31, 
 1809, and were distributed at Torres Novas, at 
 Santarem, and at Alcavara, where we remained 
 to the 1 8th February, 18 10. 
 
 The passage in this letter referring to the 
 enormous expense of the English armies recalls 
 the fact that, exactly contrary to Napoleon's 
 system of levying contributions everywhere, Wel- 
 lington paid for all supplies. 
 
 LISBON, January 20, 181 o. 
 
 I never was more at a loss for materials in 
 making up a letter than I am at this moment ; 
 indeed, nothing but the rule I have laid down of 
 writing at least once a fortnight during the whole 
 of my stay in this country would have induced 
 me to have again addressed you so soon after the 
 departure of my last packet; however, when I 
 consider the chances of about half of my letters 
 being lost, and the anxiety you undoubtedly are 
 
 211
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 under on my account, I am convinced that, how- 
 ever uninteresting their contents, as long as they 
 serve to convince you of my health and welfare 
 they will at least never be unwelcome. I am 
 happy to inform you that I never was better than 
 I am at this moment, or indeed have been ever 
 since my first arrival in this country. The climate 
 is so delightful that if the people were but barely 
 bearable it would be a terrestrial paradise ; how- 
 ever, I have indulged sufficiently already in abuse 
 against the poor natives, and will therefore let 
 them remain quietly in all their filth, stupidity, 
 and nastiness of every kind. As it is, I believe 
 there is but one opinion in the army, namely, that 
 the sooner we leave Portugal the better ! 
 
 All our preparations for some time past indi- 
 cate a speedy embarkation. The army has fallen 
 back from the Spanish frontiers, transports have 
 arrived to carry it home, and, entre nous, I 
 believe our Commander-in-Chief is only waiting 
 for an opportunity to embark with good grace. 
 As soon as the French are ready to advance we 
 shall be off, and it is generally reported that they 
 are forming magazines on the frontiers to enable 
 them to pay us an early visit, which we all 
 anxiously expect, though they may rely upon 
 finding us not at home. However, the scarcity 
 of provisions of every kind, both in Spain and in 
 this country, is such that it may perhaps take 
 them longer than we could wish to march 
 
 212
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 towards the frontiers. We are entirely supplied 
 from home and other countries (America and the 
 Barbary States), and are consequently in want of 
 nothing ; but the enemy, who are cut off from 
 every means of supply by water, must of course 
 have innumerable difficulties to contend with. 
 The sums which our army costs Government are, 
 however, immense, particularly our cavalry, which 
 is entirely supplied from home, straw excepted. 
 I am informed that every horse costs about ten 
 shillings a day, according to which our regiment 
 consumes forage to the amount of no less than 
 ^400 a day ! I doubt both Bonaparte's willing- 
 ness and ability to keep up an army at such 
 a rate ! 
 
 From some strange mistake or other, I have 
 received no letters since my arrival here, and am 
 sadly afraid that your letters must have been lost. 
 I sincerely hope and trust that you have been 
 more fortunate, for in general I find that a very 
 regular intercourse subsists between us and Eng- 
 land, I forming only an unfortunate exception 
 from the general rule. 
 
 Pray remember me to all my friends in your 
 part of the world, and assure them that I shall 
 ever think of my stay at Cassel with sentiments 
 of gratitude and regret. I have seen a good deal 
 of the world since I left that charming little town, 
 but never met with a spot which united more 
 advantages than we enjoyed there. 
 
 213
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 They talk less of a general peace. Heaven 
 grant it may soon be made. However, 1 own my 
 expectations on the subject are far from being 
 sanguine. When you write to my dear D., let 
 him know how anxiously I look forward to the 
 moment when we shall meet again. 
 
 LISBON, January 30, 1810. 
 
 I yesterday had the pleasure of receiving your 
 letter of the 2nd of December from Dillingen, 
 to which place I shall therefore, though at ran- 
 dom, address this letter, for, I am sorry to say, 
 you entirely forgot to inform me how I was to 
 direct my letters now that you have left Cassel. 
 Nothing could have delighted me more than 
 hearing that you had at last executed this plan, 
 which I had recommended in almost all my 
 letters, and if you will follow my advice you will 
 settle quietly at Munich, or Dillingen, or any- 
 where in that neighbourhood, where you may 
 find it most convenient, but the great and most 
 essential point is to form a home where you may 
 fix yourself comfortably. 
 
 I am sorry to find you so anxiously avoiding 
 expense, and living in a style to which you are 
 so little accustomed. If you do it with a view to 
 my advantage, nothing can be more oppressive 
 to my feelings or more unnecessary to both of us. 
 I have frequently told you that I had money 
 
 214
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 enough, much more than I want; that my private 
 fortune, in consequence of the late arrangements 
 I have made, has been much increased ; and that 
 I lay by annually a great deal. As to the exces- 
 sive dearness in a land of florins and Xrs., you 
 must excuse me, but it makes me smile. Poverty 
 and dearness cannot harmonize, and unless great 
 fortunes are now as common in Germany as they 
 used to be scarce, it is scarcely possible to account 
 for the existence of what you so much complain of; 
 that the march of armies has drained the country 
 and produced scarcity is natural, still I fancy if 
 your prices were known in England, people 
 would scarcely credit the possibility of such 
 cheapness. However, to have done with this 
 useless reasoning, let me intreat you to spare no 
 expense in making yourself comfortable, in which 
 the chief happiness of this world consists, at least 
 as far as regards the mere animal man. In 
 company with Therese 1 and Lilly, to whom I beg 
 to be most kindly remembered, you will, of 
 course, spend your time in a much pleasanter 
 manner than at Cassel, when the changes which 
 have of late taken place must have removed, 
 dispensed, and disharmonized the few friends 
 you had there, when the strangers were gone 
 who enlivened the place. The only circumstance 
 which you seem to allude to as the reason for 
 avoiding to make Munich a permanent place of 
 
 1 Mile, de Welden. 
 215
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 abode I should imagine you might ignorer, as 
 long as the person whom it concerns most takes 
 no offence at it. 
 
 As I am obliged to address this letter to 
 Dillingen, I would have written to my uncle, but 
 having unfortunately forgotten his rank in the 
 Austrian army, a circumstance which an old 
 soldier never forgives, I was so much afraid of 
 making a mistake in my address that I thought 
 it better to leave it to you to make the best apology 
 you can for my omitting this mark of respect. 
 
 Before I begin upon my own affairs I must 
 answer a question you put to me, viz. why I 
 left Lord Cathcart ? I thought you would have 
 known it as a matter of course, and therefore 
 very likely never expressly mentioned it. The 
 reason is this : that whenever a British regiment 
 is ordered on foreign service those officers be- 
 longing to the regiment who were employed on 
 the Staff at home (lEtat Major de la Grande 
 Bretagne) are ordered to join and do duty with 
 their regiment. I suppose you know that, as 
 aide-de-camp, I was on the Staff, and on the 
 Staff at home, Lord C. commanding in Scotland; 
 I was therefore obliged to join, but expect to 
 return to Lord C. as soon as we land in Old 
 England again. I have been thus explicit, as I 
 well remember how well you are acquainted with 
 the military profession, I think almost as well as 
 you like it ! 
 
 216
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 I am sorry to inform you that the French still 
 continue to disappoint us most grievously ; they 
 are most anxiously expected, but are still deferring 
 their arrival. We of course cannot go home 
 till we have an excuse for it, and are therefore 
 quietly remaining in this land of flies, olives, and 
 dirt ; for, as far as I can perceive, these three are 
 the chief articles of Portuguese wealth. The 
 country and climate, however, are so very fine 
 that I make no doubt, after the French have 
 taken possession of the country, it will in a few 
 years rival, if not surpass, the happiest parts of 
 Europe. As it is, I am going on just as usual, 
 the same round of occupations and amusements, 
 riding, drawing, fiddling, counting the trans- 
 ports, watching the changes of the wind, and 
 devouring the papers whenever an English mail 
 arrives. As for my personal safety, you may 
 make yourself quite easy ; as soon as the enemy 
 commences his march we commence ours into our 
 transports. Everything is ready for that purpose, 
 and the sooner the better is the general wish and 
 desire, for we cannot reasonably expect to do any 
 good where we are. 
 
 By this post I have written to my friend 
 Taylor to execute Her Majesty's commands. It 
 is now some months since I have heard from 
 him, and he was then, as he has now been doing 
 for some years past, travelling about the country 
 in summer and spending his winters in London. 
 
 217
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 You would scarcely believe that the shy Mr. T., 
 who, when clothed in all the pomp of ministerial 
 dignity, was literally afraid of going into a 
 strange house, now, and has been ever since his 
 return from the Continent, one of the gay charac- 
 ters of London, dining out at least six times a 
 week and going to a couple of parties every 
 night. The reason is simply this : at a London 
 party, where ten or twelve rooms are as crowded 
 as the pit of a theatre possibly can be, he has 
 only to go into the room, walk about, speak to 
 his friends, and then go to another party or to 
 bed. At C. it was quite the reverse, and he was 
 obliged to exert himself beyond what he liked. 
 If Ld. Grenville comes into office again I think 
 it very likely he will be employed, either at home 
 or abroad, but till that happens he will probably 
 continue his present mode of living, I never 
 hear from him without his requesting to be kindly 
 remembered to our dear friend D., and he has 
 frequently told me that he regretted nothing so 
 much as to have, however innocently, been the 
 cause of an alarm or inconvenience to him. I 
 was most happy to hear that you regularly trans- 
 mit my letters, or copies, to D. Soon to meet 
 you both again is my most ardent daily wish and 
 prayer ; and you may rely upon it that I shall 
 omit nothing in my power to accelerate that 
 happy moment. These times are bad, 'tis true, 
 but fortunately things cannot long remain in their 
 
 218
 
 

 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 present state, and I am almost inclined to think 
 that no change can be for the worse. In perfectly 
 good health and tolerable spirits. 
 
 Beneath a view of the Tagus Ralph writes : 
 N.B. "The enemy having threatened Badajoz, 
 our Brigade (i and 14 Drag.) were put under 
 Lt.-Gen. Hill's orders, and crossed the Tagus. 
 We left Santarem February 15th, and this and 
 the following views were drawn during my stay 
 at Niga." 
 
 One of these Abrantes 1 is reproduced, and 
 is interesting as showing the bridges, pontoons, 
 etc., of the day. 
 
 The view of Albuquerque shows Ralph's sur- 
 roundings for about a quarter of a year, the N.B. 
 stating: "April 15th. I left my regiment (1st 
 or Royal Dragoons), having been ordered in ad- 
 vance by Lt.-Gen. Hill to watch and communi- 
 cate the enemy's movements in his front. I first 
 waited upon the Marquis of Romana [the Spanish 
 
 1 Abrantes : " Domourier states that this place, if properly 
 fortified, would be the key of the Tagus, and one of the most 
 important posts for the defence of Portugal. At that time its only 
 fortifications consisted of an old citadel, almost in ruins, and in 
 that state it was suffered to remain till the French took possession 
 of the country, who immediately followed the advice given by the 
 General in 1766, and commenced a regular line of fortifications 
 round the town, which is at present continued with great energy, 
 but is still in a very backward state. N.B. Drawn the 3rd day's 
 march from Santarem to Niga." (Sketch Book.) 
 
 219
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 Commander-in-Chief] at Badajoz, and joined 
 M.-Gen. O'Donnell (a Spanish general), the 19th 
 remaining attached to his head-quarters." 
 
 A sketch of Caceres, a picturesque old town 
 in Estremadura, " full of large and handsome 
 edifices," ends with the N.B. : "The enemy 
 having moved from Merida towards Olivinca, 
 General O'Donnell's division was ordered to ad- 
 vance, in order to induce them to recross the 
 Guadiana. He commenced his march May 14th, 
 and proceeded as far as Caceres, where he halted. 
 Br.-Gen. d'Espana, being detached, made an un- 
 successful attempt upon Truxillo on the 1 8th, and 
 the general object of the movement having been 
 effected, the division returned to Albuquerque on 
 the 24th." 
 
 As Ralph was there from the 19th April until the 
 22nd July, he must have suffered acutely during 
 the fall of Ciudad Rodrigo, nth July. The 
 Spaniards were heart-broken and indignant at 
 having to watch the gallant garrison being aban- 
 doned to her fate ; but Wellington was firm in re- 
 fusing to involve himself in a relief action, which 
 he knew was bound to fail. 
 
 The following letter to his mother was there- 
 fore written in the midst of a good deal of mental 
 tension, as well as of exciting skirmishing expedi- 
 tions, in a mediaeval little mountain town, as the 
 writer was attached at the time to the head- 
 quarters of the Spanish army. 
 
 220
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 May 20, 1 8 10. 
 
 I suppose you remember the disappointment of 
 the whole family on opening the chest sent them 
 by the Vetter von Lissabon, and I never sit down 
 to address you but I feel evident apprehensions of 
 my letters producing similar effects on reaching the 
 place of their destination ; for the fact is simply 
 this, that except informing you of my being in per- 
 fectly good health and spirits, they contain nothing 
 from which any kind of interest can possibly be 
 derived. The society I frequent being prin- 
 cipally confined to that of my regiment and 
 horses, it furnishes me no materials for our corre- 
 spondence, for the dislike you have shown on all 
 occasions to the Gentry of the Cloth, and the in- 
 difference most ladies entertain towards their faith- 
 ful companions in the stable, banish both the one 
 and the other from our chit-chat. News ! Alas, 
 how can it be expected from Botany Bay, from 
 Lisbon, or from the confines of a prison ! Shut 
 out from the rest of the world, we eat, drink, 
 and sleep, and all in hopes of a joyful re-embarka- 
 tion ; indeed, most tombstones out of a country 
 churchyard, with a few trifling alterations, give the 
 very best description of our existence in this land 
 of milk and honey. For instance, supposing this 
 sheet to be one of those interesting narratives 
 of some fool's deeds and actions, you will 
 read :
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 Here vegetate, 
 
 in hopes of a joyful re-embarkation, 
 
 the bodies of 
 
 A., B., C, D., etc., who left England last year, 
 
 but hope by the grace of God 
 
 soon to come to life again 
 
 when the last trumpet 
 
 sounds to leave 
 
 this land 
 
 of 
 
 Vanity and Woe. 
 
 When this long-wished for moment will arrive 
 nobody knows, and I am sorry to add we see no 
 more chance of its speedy approach than the day 
 we first landed. This is the most extraordinary 
 kind of warfare I have ever heard of, and Buona- 
 parte, who could conquer whole empires, defended 
 by hundreds of thousands of Austrian and Russian 
 veterans, in less than six months time, seems 
 unable to drive a handful of British soldiers out of 
 Portugal in three times the length of that period. 
 However, sooner or later, there must be an end 
 of this inactivity, and as soon as all the wedding 
 ceremonies are over at Paris, we may perhaps 
 expect some of a different kind on the banks of 
 the Tagus. 
 
 Since I wrote last I have not received any of 
 your letters, but trust that you are well and happy, 
 wherever you are, for I am even in doubt as to 
 what place to direct my letter ; however, the 
 safest way will be, I believe, to send it to Dil- 
 
 222
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 lingen. If you should still be there, pray present 
 my best compliments to my uncle and aunt ; if 
 at Munich, to Therese and Lily ; and if at 
 Cassel, to all our old acquaintances. Pray tell 
 D. that I have been fortunate enough to be 
 again noticed, that I have succeeded in giving 
 satisfaction, and that, owing to his precepts and 
 instructions, I am even in this country enjoying 
 advantages which I little expected to meet with 
 on my first arrival. I daresay he remembers the 
 situation which Col. Crawford held at Frank- 
 fort. Similar ones of course must occur wherever 
 allied armies exist for fear of accidents precaution 
 is necessary. He will take the hint, and is well 
 aware that in the army swords are more plentiful 
 than pens, but that the latter being equally 
 necessary are, owing to their scarcity, more 
 valued than in another line, which we both have 
 been acquainted with ; my endeavours once 
 proved unnoticed, they are now very much the 
 reverse. He will rejoice to hear it, it is the only 
 news I can give him. 
 
 A despatch of Lord Wellington to Lieut. -Gen. 
 Hill, 28 May, 18 10, shows the atmosphere Ralph 
 found himself in : 
 
 " I am sorry to find that General O'Donnell 
 and his staff and the officers of his corps are so 
 much dissatisfied with us. Lieut. Heathcote, 
 however, should not allow these reproaches to 
 pass unnoticed. He might observe to them that 
 
 223
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 General O'Donnell himself upon one occasion, 
 and General Ballesteros himself again, lately, had 
 the advantage of your assistance, and were thereby 
 saved from being destroyed by the enemy. He 
 might ask whether, in case you were to move for- 
 ward into Estremadura, the General or the Yjunta 
 of Estremadura would insure for you even one 
 day's existence, a forage or any means of trans- 
 port to communicate with your magazines," etc., 
 etc. 
 
 June 20, 1 8 10. 
 
 All the news and interesting intelligence which 
 it is in my power to communicate may be com- 
 prised in a very few words, viz. that I am well 
 and in perfectly good spirits, and you may believe 
 me most sincerely, dearest mother, that I would 
 most willingly renounce all the remaining part of 
 your letters if only those few words reached me 
 regularly. It is now above three months since I 
 have received a letter from you, and that was of 
 so ancient a date that I don't like to think of it ; 
 indeed, I now am suffering for my juvenile follies 
 and past offences ; when indiscriminately levelling 
 the severest animadversions against letter- writing, 
 I foolishly despised what I now know alas, at my 
 own expense the value of too well. 
 
 I remember you some time ago thought fit to 
 praise my talent of letter writing. Praise from 
 you at all times must be most grateful, as it at 
 
 224
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 least is a proof of your being pleased with my 
 endeavours ; but from an adept like my mother 
 it ought to be doubly so. However, at present 
 I am almost ashamed to put pen to paper for fear 
 of doing away with the favourable impressions it 
 was once my good fortune to make. However, 
 be candid, and confess that the most difficult task 
 is that in which I am engaged : in other words, 
 writing a letter without having any subject to 
 write upon. Alas, all those that crowd into my 
 mind are forbidden fruit, apples of Paradise ; and 
 let them ever remain hanging to their parent 
 branches, for the juice they contain is but too 
 bitter. I could talk of a late wedding, but though 
 weddings are said to be a pleasing subject to both 
 widows and bachelors, who can dwell upon this same 
 unnatural connexion ? Peace to the ashes of our 
 friends ; happy for them they are no more. What 
 would have been their feelings at this moment ? 
 
 I have heard Persico frequently observing that 
 in our days we must not be astonished if both of 
 us made our exit on the gallows. By heaven, 
 I have lived to see more extraordinary events 
 taking place. Who would have expected a 
 Louise Lauterbach to become a Princess. Who 
 would have dreamed of an Archduchess of 
 Austria ! becoming the mistress, the kept mis- 
 tress, of one of the assassins of Marie Antoinette! 
 
 1 In December Napoleon's ambition made him divorce the wife 
 he loved and who for twelve years had shared his glorious career 
 
 Q 22s
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 I feel I have been hurried away by my feelings, 
 but shall neither efface what I have written nor 
 blush at the sentiment that dictated them. In- 
 deed, I cannot believe that even Bonaparte's 
 agents, should this letter fall into their hands, will 
 destroy it on that account ; to him it is a triumph, 
 to us a severe rebuke. We for these eighteen 
 years have been spending our blood, our treasures, 
 and our happiness, in supporting the cause of that 
 very same family, which in return is sacrificing 
 our common interests to obtain the momentary 
 smiles of the fellow that degrades it. But never 
 mind, John Bull is an animal, obstinate as stupid, 
 one of those singular productions of nature who 
 sticks to the cause of honour, of good faith, and 
 of loyalty, however unfashionable the terms may 
 be deemed on the Continent ; and though oceans 
 of blood have been spilt in vain, the source will 
 never be dried up to maintain the cause he has 
 once espoused, whilst an Englishman remains to 
 furnish a supply from that nearest his own heart. 
 I know England may fall ; but I triumph in the 
 thought that its fall will be recorded on the pages 
 
 the Empress Josephine. He was then in the height of his glory, and 
 wanted to be allied with real emperors and kings. He asked for the 
 Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria, and the Emperor, her father, 
 had not the courage to refuse him, but even forced his daughter to 
 unite herself to the hated usurper ! The above letter shows the 
 impression this then made. As Bonaparte, Josephine, and Marie 
 Louise were Roman Catholics, his second marriage, according to 
 this creed, was not legal. The Empress Josephine continued to live 
 at Paris, and Napoleon even went to see her from time to time ! 
 
 226
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 of history as the greatest triumph that Bonaparte 
 ever obtained the only one, indeed, that was 
 ever worthy of a genius like his. No wonder he 
 should be anxious to conquer our island, for that 
 contains his only admirers a slave can never be 
 the admirer of his master. 
 
 Having given a free vent to my passions, I 
 feel easier and less cramped than when I began 
 my letter. A heavy load is off my mind ! 
 
 You cannot conceive how happy I feel at the 
 thought that you are with Therese, Lilly, and 
 amongst all the rest of your friends. It was 
 always my wish that you would settle. I am 
 a bird of passage ; they are not. To you I shall 
 turn when our labours are over. Let me find 
 you comfortably established. 
 
 Pray remember me kindly to all those who 
 remember poor me. Soon I hope we shall all 
 meet again, and Capitaine Tempete will be able 
 to speak for himself. To D. I leave you to say 
 what you think best to my best of friends. 
 
 August 24, 1 8 10. 
 
 It was with the greatest pleasure I received 
 your letter of last June, which reached me in 
 a very short time, considering the very large 
 distance it had to go, and gives me some hopes 
 that some of mine, at least, may be equally fortu- 
 nate, and by convincing you of my perfectly good 
 
 227
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 health, may serve in great measure to diminish 
 and dispel the uneasiness which, I am sorry to 
 observe, you still continue to be under on my 
 account. For all the interesting details respect- 
 ing Munich pray accept my best thanks, particu- 
 larly for what you tell me about my old rival and 
 companion, Moltke. Poor fellow ! Fortune seems 
 to have been very severe upon him, for though 
 he escaped being married at Cassel, I fear he 
 runs a good chance of being assassinated in 
 Trioll. As for the Cundgonde of Voltaire, events 
 have exactly answered my expectations, and I 
 am only glad to find that she is wise enough to 
 faire bonne mine a mauvais jeu. 
 
 The dearness of Munich astonishes me, es- 
 pecially as I am totally at a loss to what it can be 
 ascribed, for the natural consequence of general 
 poverty, such as you describe, should of course 
 raise the value of specie. However, as Doerfeld 
 approves of your establishing yourself there, I 
 take it for granted that it does not exceed your 
 means, and shall accordingly be happy to hear of 
 your being quietly settled and established. I have 
 by this post written to Baumer, ordering him to 
 honour your drafts to whatever amount they may 
 be, and have only to add to what I have so fre- 
 quently stated in my letters, viz. that my income 
 considerably exceeds my expenses, that I have 
 during the course of this very year saved ^627, 
 which, as usual, Baumer has laid out for me in 
 
 228
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 the purchase of additional stock in the three 
 per cent Consols, which, by convincing you that 
 I really do not want the money, will be an addi- 
 tional reason for you to draw for whatever you 
 may require. At no period whatever since my 
 coming of age have I spent the whole of my 
 income ; but since I am in this country I live 
 almost entirely on my pay, which, when abroad, 
 is really very considerable, particularly now that 
 I hold a double situation. It is very odd, but 
 that abominable timiditd I really believe I shall 
 never be able to shake off entirely, and I actually 
 caught myself blushing when I read that part of 
 your letter which mentions Mme. de Westphalen 
 laughing at my former awkwardness ; however, 
 a blazing suit of regimentals goes a great way, 
 and I hope to be able to face her the next time I 
 am happy enough to meet the Countess. 
 
 I much fear our hopes of soon leaving this 
 country will be disappointed. Our preparations 
 have long ago been completed, but the enemy 
 actually seems to be afraid of meeting us, and 
 without some pretence at least, with the best will 
 in the world, it is impossible for us to go away. 
 I, however, am not without hopes of soon getting 
 promotion into a regiment at home, as, to say the 
 truth, I am heartily tired of this country. The 
 climate is very fine, but that is exactly all that 
 can be said for it. We have little or no society 
 except ourselves, no amusements whatever, and 
 
 229
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 nothing to do ; in constant expectation of embark- 
 ing, which, now for this year almost, has as con- 
 stantly been disappointed. Our chief amusement 
 consists in reading the English papers, and your 
 letters of course are a treat of the most superior 
 kind. But pray let me know something of our 
 belles of Cassel the next time you write, at least 
 of those that were such in my time, for Mile, de 
 Waitz, with all the other little infants, though I 
 perhaps remember having seen them making 
 themselves troublesome to everybody in the 
 room, cannot possibly afford me any entertain- 
 ment, and hearing of such children as grown-up 
 women only reminds me of my own age, which I 
 begin to conceal. As for the young lady herself, 
 I am sure she ought to be very much obliged to 
 you for choosing a husband for her quite old 
 enough to be her father. As you seem deter- 
 mined to choose a wife for me, it is but fair 
 I should give you your instructions on this head, 
 and these are : 
 
 i st. Your future daughter-in-law must at least 
 be twenty-five years old. 
 
 2nd. She must at least have ^300 a year, and 
 as for all the rest, you may suit your own taste ; 
 she must not be younger, because I have no 
 inclination to be a governess, and she must not 
 be poorer, because I otherwise cannot afford to 
 marry her. However, I have now so long done 
 without a wife, that I make not the least doubt I 
 
 230
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 shall be able to live without that article of luxury, 
 and therefore advise you not to be too eager in 
 your search, as I should probably, after all, be 
 obliged to disappoint you. 
 
 With regard to my books, when you leave 
 Cassel you had better sell them all, except the 
 English books of all description and the maps, 
 which I beg you to keep and take with you. I am 
 as fond of books as ever, and would not part with 
 my English books at Cassel for any price. The 
 rest may be bought again anywhere, and are 
 therefore not worth the carriage. 
 
 And now, dear mother, all that remains is to 
 request you to make yourself quite easy with 
 regard to my health, which was never better ; to 
 beg you to remember me kindly to all my friends 
 at Cassel, not forgetting Marescotti (whom I beg 
 to accept of as many foreign books as he may 
 choose to take) ; to send my best wishes to my 
 dear friend Doerfield ; and ever to believe me 
 Yours, R. H. 
 
 September 5, 18 10. 
 
 P.S. The packet has been so long detained by 
 contrary winds that I again open my letter to add 
 a few words, the chief import of which is that I 
 am in perfectly good health, the climate agreeing 
 with me ; the heat indeed is great, but owing to 
 the clearness and lightness of the atmosphere, it 
 
 231
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 is not felt so much as I have known in Germany. 
 We have here continual sunshine for six weeks 
 together, without seeing a single cloud ; a thing 
 unknown in your part of the world, and if neces- 
 sary I can, in imitation of the Italian who wrote 
 to his friend in London, present your compliments 
 to that luminary for the honour of his daily visits. 
 In return I request you to pay mine to all my 
 friends at Cassel. 
 
 Whilst ostensibly complaining of the dearth of 
 subject-matter, a note under a view of La 
 Zagala, a picturesque ruined castle on the banks 
 of the Alboragena, states : "It having been 
 reported the enemy had left Merida, Genl. 
 O'Donnell advanced to La Rona with part of his 
 division, but returning the next day, July ist, to 
 Albuquerque, we halted a few hours on the spot 
 from whence this view is taken." [A view of 
 Castello Novo, a mountain gorge, with an old 
 bridge thrown over the rushing river]. Reynier 
 crossed the Tagus on July 17th, and Genl. Hill 
 immediately followed him to the other side of 
 that river, marching by Castello Branco. This 
 having rendered my mission to the Spanish 
 armies useless, I left Genl. O'Donnell's head- 
 quarters at Albuquerque July 22nd and joined 
 Genl. Hill at Atalaya July 25th. I was soon 
 
 232
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 after appointed to his Division as Dept. Asst. 
 Quartermaster -General. Reynier threatening 
 that part of Portugal, Genl. Hill remained in 
 that neighbourhood ; he continued at Atalaya to 
 the 30th of July ; marched to Jenailhas that day, 
 remained there the next day, and marched to 
 Sarzedas August 1st. 
 
 Under the sketch of the young officer's grave 
 is noted: N.B. " Lt.-Genl. Hill remained at 
 Sarzedas till the 12th of October, when the 
 division marched to Sobreira Fermoza." 
 
 Sketch-book: " Pena Cova, a beautifully situ- 
 ated town in the valley of the Mondego, one of 
 the finest parts of Portugal. N.B. Lt.-Genl. 
 Hill's corps remained four days at Sobreira 
 Fermoza ; on the 1 7th September we continued 
 our march and reached the Mondego opposite 
 Pena Cova on the morning of the 23rd ; the 
 same day we occupied the position along the 
 Serra de Murcella, and the Serra de Seboya. 
 Genl. Hill established his head-quarters at Villa 
 Cham on the 2[]th, remained the night of the 23rd 
 in a quinta near the river." 
 
 The picture of the Sierra de Busaco 1 shows us 
 
 1 The Sierra de Busaco : " This high ridge of hills, extending 
 from the Mondego in a northern direction for about eight miles, 
 was chosen by Lord Wellington as the most favourable position for 
 opposing the further progress of the enemy towards the capital. 
 At six o'clock in the morning of 27 September, 1810, Massena 
 made two desperate attacks on our left and centre, in both of 
 which he completely failed, having been repulsed with great loss. 
 The action lasted till 8 a.m., though some firing hetween the light 
 
 233
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 the actual scene, taken by a participant in one of 
 the great battles of the campaign. General Hill 
 led a decisive attack, and Ralph found himself 
 assisting at a magnificent victory over an enemy 
 who fought splendidly under Mass6na and Ney. 
 
 Beneath a sketch of Coimbra, probably taken 
 shortly after the battle, there is the following 
 N.B. "In constant expectation of a second 
 attack we passed the 27th and the night following 
 in our position amongst the rocks. On the 
 morning of the 28th the enemy was seen 
 moving off towards our left. During the course 
 of the following night the army broke up ; Ld. 
 Wellington with the main body moving towards 
 Coimbra and Lt.-Genl. Hill returning to his 
 former position on the Serra de Murcella, where 
 we halted the 29th and 30th. October 1st our 
 retreat commenced to the lines, which was con- 
 tinued by Thomar and Santarem to Alhandra 
 without interruption : we reached Alhandra 
 October 8th." 
 
 Castle of Montemoro Novo. N.B. " From the 
 3rd of October to the 16th of November we 
 remained in the lines ; the enemy having retired 
 
 troops on the left was kept up till about noon. The enemy left 
 2000 dead on the field of battle ; his loss in killed, wounded and 
 prisoners was estimated at about 7000 men. Our loss amounted 
 in the whole to 1253 men hors de combat. 
 
 N.B. Lieut-Genl. Hill with the British, and Genl. Hamilton's 
 Portuguese division, marched from his former position 26 Sep- 
 tember, and that morning joined the army on the Sierra de Busaco, 
 forming the right of the line." 
 
 234
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 as far back as Santarem on the 15th, we ad- 
 vanced on that day. On the 18th Genl. Hill's 
 corps crossed the Tagus near Valada, entered 
 Chamusca on the 19th, and remained in that 
 neighbourhood till Massena commenced his final 
 retreat out of Portugal. Genl. Hill left his corps 
 December 1st on sick leave for Lisbon, from 
 whence he returned some weeks after to 
 England. Marshal Sir W. A. Beresford arrived 
 and took the command of the corps December 
 30th. This view was taken whilst detached on a 
 reconnaissance into the Alamtijo." 
 
 The surprise of Wellington's lines of Torres 
 Vedras was sprung upon the absolutely unsus- 
 pecting French. Behind these fifty miles of 
 fortifications, Lisbon and her harbour, connecting 
 the army with the mother country, formed a 
 perfect basis for all further operations. 
 
 LISBON, January 1, 181 1. 
 
 It would be equally impossible to begin this 
 commencement of the new season in a manner 
 more gratifying to my own feelings, or more 
 consonant with my dearest and most sacred 
 duties, than by wishing you an enviable return 
 of the same for many years to come. That I 
 may never more on similar occasions be con- 
 fined to the dull, long beaten, and yet not worn- 
 out, track of a common New Year's letter's style 
 
 235
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 I most sincerely hope and trust, and may almost 
 be said to comprise all the substance of the good 
 wishes you may form in return for mine. 
 
 Our situation is strange, though shared by 
 thousands, and I must think myself most happy 
 if a few lines can come to your hands which can 
 solely tend to acquaint you of my being in per- 
 fectly good health, both of body and mind. Not 
 to be obliged to cut short all at once, and to put 
 a sudden period both to my epistle and to the 
 pleasure I derive in conversing with my dearest 
 friend and parent, I will in return for the in- 
 teresting details contained in your letters inform 
 you of the present situation of old Capitaine 
 Tempete. 
 
 You must remember an old friend of mine, 
 who accompanied me back from Berlin and 
 Cassel, and whose rough outside contains an 
 interior all warm and grateful to master's feel- 
 ings. I mean my fur coat. This same fur coat, 
 which has been my faithful companion, sharing 
 all my campaigns and wanderings, being tightly 
 wrapped round me, enables me, together with the 
 assistance of a foraging cap, to write the present 
 lines. A New Year's day is generally a cold 
 day, but in this country, where fires and stoves 
 seem to be dreaded as much as the warm regions 
 underground or their goat-footed inhabitants, 
 winter wears, if possible, a more horrible aspect. 
 Indeed it does not last long, and to-morrow may 
 
 236
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 possibly be as warm a day as you may generally 
 have in the moderate seasons at Hesse-Cassel, 
 but the few cold ones I am doomed to experience 
 on this side the Pyrenees convince us most feel- 
 ingly that we have not escaped yet beyond the 
 reach of the surly old gentleman usually depicted 
 at the head of each almanack, and so to curry his 
 favour I can habit myself like Hibernius himself, 
 and fare the better for it. 
 
 To all my friends within your reach I beg to 
 be most kindly remembered, how many they may 
 be I know not, but hope the Bolognese Marquis 
 and Mrs. Dewar may be of the number. To 
 both, but particularly to the latter, I hope you 
 will present my best repects. What you said of 
 the Princess Putbus amused me. I rode past 
 her house during the Stralsund expedition, but 
 looked so warlike (viz. so dirty) that I did not 
 wish to introduce an old admirer in so bad a 
 trim. When I reached my quarters I actually 
 unpacked a new aide-de-camp uniform, in hopes 
 that the gold epaulettes would speak in my 
 favour; but Mars, jealous I suppose of my modern 
 Venus, prevented the rencounter by suddenly 
 ordering Neptune to snatch me away. The fact 
 is, however, simply this : we embarked sooner 
 than I expected, which prevented my paying my 
 respects to Her Highness, after I was cleansed 
 for the occasion. Vanity might have had its 
 share, but mauvaise honte had none, I can 
 
 237
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 assure you, in preventing me laying myself at her 
 feet. 
 
 Many compliments to your favourite Hanchen 
 the next time you meet. I have so frequently 
 been singed that I can hardly tell when I have 
 actually been burned, but to the best of my 
 knowledge, if I ever was in love, it was with her. 
 Now, like my Uncle Toby, I am cannon-proof 
 and defy the Devil and all his works, so all the 
 beauties you have in store for me must even 
 change their plans of operations. 
 
 I find my long letter to consist of nothing else 
 but verbiage, but such as it is, you will find it 
 the verbiage of a son who loves you, and who 
 under that conviction is confident that it will 
 meet with the best reception from the kind, in- 
 dulgent mother of yours, 
 
 R. H. 
 
 P.S. I omitted telling you that it is a long 
 while since I heard from T. When last he wrote 
 me he was well, and begged to be recalled to all 
 his friends in Germany. 
 
 May 12, 1811. 
 Nearly nine months have now elapsed since I 
 have received a single line from you. The edict 
 condemning all English letters to the flames has, 
 I fear, prevented mine from reaching their desti- 
 nation, and I see so little chance of even this 
 paper coming to your hands that I shall be as 
 
 238
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 short as possible. Its brevity may perhaps plead 
 and effect its pardon. 
 
 I am in perfectly good health, having never been 
 better during the whole course of my life, and this 
 climate agrees with me on ne peut pas mieux. 
 
 Pray remember me to all my acquaintances at 
 Cassel. Write to me by every opportunity. 
 
 Lord Wellington to the Earl of Liverpool^ Secretary 
 of State. 
 
 QUINTA DE GRANICHE, May 30, l8ll. 
 
 We invested Badajoz 1 on the 25th inst. on the 
 
 1 " Albuquerque has for these three months back been the head- 
 quarters of Don Carlos O'Donel, commanding the 2nd Division of 
 the Spanish Army, commanded by the Marquis de Romana. 
 April the 1 5th I left my regiment, having been ordered in advance 
 by Lieut.-Genl. Hill to watch and communicate the enemy's move- 
 ments in his tent. I first waited upon the Marquis de Romana at 
 Badajoz, and joined Maj.-Genl O'Donnel the 19th, remaining 
 attached to his head-quarters 8th May, 1812." 
 
 Elvas : This, one of the largest cities in Portugal, ranks as a 
 fortress among the first of the Peninsular. Its works are extensive 
 and are kept in good repair, but its streets are narrow and filthy 
 in the extreme ; its situation is elevated and picturesque. 
 
 N.B. Massdna commenced his retreat March 6 (181 1), and 
 whilst Ld. Wellington pursued him in the North, Marshal Beres- 
 ford received orders to lay siege to Badajoz. He assembled his 
 army near Arronches May 24th Affair of Campo Mayor, May 
 25 th from thence he moved to Elvas. I joined the Cavalry 
 under B.-Genl. Long April 1st. We advanced into Spain, sieged 
 Olivenga, taken April 14th Affair of Los Santos, April 16th 
 Skirmish of Santa Martha, May 15th Battle of Albuera, May 16th 
 Affair of Usagre, May 25th June 5th I joined Ld. Wellington's 
 Head-Quarters Siege of Bajadoz raised June 17th The Army 
 takes a Position near Campo Mayor, June 19th moves into 
 Cantonments, July 23d Lord Wellington Crosses the Tagus & 
 fixes his Hd. Qus. at Fuente Guinaldo August 12th." Sketch Book. 
 
 239
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 right of the Guadiana. The ordnance and stores 
 for the siege having been brought forward, we 
 broke ground last night. The enemy retired 
 their main body upon Llerena and hold the ad- 
 vanced posts of their cavalry of Usagra. I 
 enclose a copy of the report of Major-General 
 the Hon. W. Lumley of a very gallant affair of 
 the cavalry near that place on the 25th. The 
 Major- General has reported that he received very 
 great assistance upon this occasion from Major 
 Holmes, of the 3rd Dragoon Guards, who was 
 acting in the department of the Adjutant- 
 General, and from Lieut. Heathcote, who was 
 acting in the department of the Quartermaster- 
 General. 
 
 It seems very probable that this report induced 
 Wellington to attach Ralph to his head-quarters. 
 
 Considering the advantage enjoyed in being so 
 closely associated with the greatest general Eng- 
 land owns, we have all the more reason to regret 
 that he felt himself constrained to omit all the 
 information we should give much to possess. 
 
 The following letter may possibly have been 
 written at Lisbon, from whence the next is dated. 
 
 August 26, 181 1. 
 My letters, from the state of affairs, must neces- 
 sarily be everlasting repetitions. After I have 
 informed you that I am in perfectly good health 
 
 240
 
 
 
 
 \
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 and spirits, I am precluded from entering on 
 scarcely any other subject. It, however, occurs 
 to me that the public prints may of late have 
 rather proved alarming to you. Pray consider 
 on all such occasions that it necessarily comes 
 exactly to the same point, as far as danger at 
 least is concerned, whether I am at Lisbon or at 
 London. 
 
 Our stay in this country has, I fear, been pro- 
 longed, for I am very anxious to get back to Old 
 England. I was mistaken in the high opinion I 
 had of some generals, and except the Emperor 
 comes in person, we may yet remain a long while 
 in this country. However, I ought not to com- 
 plain ; my situation here is in every respect 
 advantageous. 
 
 I am still without hearing from you, and the 
 papers give us such a dreadful account of the pre- 
 cautions taken on the Continent against the 
 importation of English letters that I despair of 
 these lines ever coming to your hands. In case 
 they do, however, let them inform you that I am 
 quite well and happily situated. God knows 
 when first I trod these shores I little thought the 
 scene would be so long. In Portugal, however, 
 though eager to get home, we cannot in con- 
 science complain of our situation ; mine in parti- 
 cular is remarkably fortunate. I have plenty to 
 do, am relieved from the bodily fatigues of my 
 comrades with the regiment, and enjoy a most 
 r 241
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 ample income all the gaieties of the place do not 
 enable me to spend. I have, however, so long 
 been saving, having actually during the whole 
 course of my coming of age never spent the 
 whole of my income, that I begin to think of 
 enjoying the good things of this life and to retire 
 upon my laurels. Perhaps some changes may 
 follow the King's death, which is now soon to be 
 looked forward to, as may enable me to carry my 
 plan into execution. 
 
 Lisbon, November 3, 181 1. 
 
 Since writing to you last, I have not been for- 
 tunate enough to receive a single line from you, 
 and greatly fear the present system may continue 
 to prevent my receiving your letters for some 
 time to come. Trusting, however, that some of 
 the English bags may escape the vigilance of the 
 guards along your coasts, I shall continue to give 
 you regular information of my being still alive, 
 and in good health and spirits. Confining myself 
 entirely to this subject, which I should think can 
 be of no manner of interest to any human being 
 to prevent or impede your being made acquainted 
 with it, I can hope that in case this letter 
 should be so unfortunate as to fall into the hands 
 of any Gardes- Cotes, they will have the 
 charity to seal it up again and to forward it 
 to you. 
 
 242
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 With my kindest good wishes to all my friends 
 in your part of the world. 
 
 The sketch of Ciudad Rodrigo brings before 
 us the outlines which for six months Wellington 
 and his staff so anxiously surveyed, and learnt to 
 know by heart. 
 
 Ralph Heathcote wrote beneath it : 
 
 N.B. "From the 12th August Ld. Wellington 
 remained in the neighbourhood of this place 
 waiting for an opportunity of besieging it. In 
 September Marmont threw supplies into the 
 town ; action of El Boden September 25th, 181 1 ; 
 of Aldea de Ponte September 27th, after which 
 the enemy retired, and we occupied our former 
 cantonments. January 6th, 181 2, Ld. Wellington 
 moved his head qrs. to Gallegos. January 8th, 
 the town was invested, the advanced redoubt was 
 carried by storm, and the trenches were opened. 
 January 13th, the Convent of Sta. Clara was taken. 
 January 14th, the batteries of the 1st parallel 
 opened, and the Convent of St. Francisco was 
 taken the following night. January 19th, at 8 p.m., 
 Ciudad Rodrigo was carried by storm by the 
 Light Brigade and 3rd Division. Genl. McKinnon 
 kill'd, Genl. Crawford mortally wounded. This 
 view was taken January 25th, on my return from 
 M.-Genl. Crawford's funeral ; he died the evening 
 before." 
 
 243
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 It is possible that during these winter months a 
 little incident, which Ralph often used to relate to 
 his children, occurred. In crossing a mountain 
 ridge, he told a fellow-officer riding next to him 
 about his bad luck in losing, just a year before, a 
 valuable watch. " There was heavy snow on the 
 ground, and it could not be found ... it happened 
 on this very spot." As he emphasized these last 
 words by pointing to the roadside, he saw some- 
 thing glitter, got down from his horse, and picked 
 up the watch. 1 
 
 In April, 1812, Badajoz had been taken; in 
 July the victorious battle of Salamanca caused 
 Marmont to retreat, and in August the Allies had 
 entered Madrid. 
 
 The small sketch-book of 1812 shows that 
 Ralph was moving about in Estremadura, went 
 along the Tagus, was in Toledo, whilst sketches of 
 Madrid are dated October and November. 
 
 He returned to Portugal via Alcantara in 
 December, as notwithstanding all the victories, 
 for the third time a retreat was deemed advis- 
 able. 
 
 In September he notes : 
 
 N.B. "Zalamea. Poodel join'd me September 
 4th, 181 2, and remained my faithful companion to 
 the hour of his death, which took place at Hesse 
 Cassel, February 24th, 18 17, at 9J a.m." 
 
 1 The watch that lay a year under the snow is still existing. 
 L. C. G. 
 
 244
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 The letter beginning on page 266 tells more of 
 his devoted friend. 
 
 April 1, 1812. 
 
 I have long been in most anxious expectation 
 of receiving a few lines from you, but alas ! have 
 still been disappointed ; it is now eight months 
 since your last letter came to my hands. 
 
 I am assured by Mr. Baumer that my letters 
 will be more successful than yours, and that they 
 will elude the vigilance of the French police. 
 Heaven grant it may be so ! 
 
 Situated as we are, I am fearful of committing 
 anything to paper, and shall merely confine 
 myself to giving you information of my continu- 
 ing in excellent good health ; indeed, the climate 
 of this country agrees particularly well with 
 me. 
 
 Mr. B rough ton has upwards of seven hundred 
 pounds belonging to you in his hands, and you 
 have only to draw on him for any sum you may 
 want. 
 
 Therese's old prophecy has at last been realized, 
 me voila capitaine ! Who would have thought it 
 some years ago, during the happy days of the 
 Lauterbachs, the Deckens, and all the other 
 deities at whose shrines I once did bend my 
 knees ? In case you meet any of them, pray 
 remember me to these, as well as to all others, 
 both male and female, who formed part of the 
 
 245
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 ancienne Cour, and have not learnt as yet to for- 
 get their old acquaintances. 
 
 As for my old friend D., of course every line I 
 write to you is equally addressed to him. Heaven 
 grant the time will soon arrive when we may meet 
 again, or at least be able to correspond without 
 these follies of constraint. 
 
 P.S. Address your letters under cover to 
 
 C. Baumer, Esq., 
 
 No. 7 Austin Friars, London, 
 
 To Captain Heathcote, 
 
 i st (or Royal) Dragoons. 
 
 Lisbon, May i, 1812. 
 
 I have just received a letter from Mr. Baumer, 
 acquainting me that he had received a letter from 
 you, dated August 28 last, in which you request 
 him to inform me that you were well, but unable 
 to write to me. It is impossible for me to express 
 the pleasure these few lines gave me. They 
 contained all I wished to know. I am, however, 
 at a loss to conceive why you could not write to 
 me as well as to Mr. B. ; however this may be, 
 many thanks for what you did. 
 
 I conclude, from the manner you let me hear 
 from you, only a few insignificant lines are per- 
 mitted to pass, and shall therefore follow your 
 example. 
 
 246
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 I am in most excellent health, and present my 
 best good wishes to all who still remember me 
 abroad. 
 
 On May n, 1812, Mr. Perceval, First Lord of 
 the Treasury, was shot in the lobby of the House 
 of Commons by Mr. Bellingham. This murder 
 was bound to be especially interesting to Ralph 
 and his comrades, as Mr. Perceval had energeti- 
 cally, often in the face of vehement opposition, 
 furthered Wellington's campaign. 
 
 Lisbon, June 24, 18 12. 
 
 Custom has at length so habituated me to 
 writing without the smallest expectation of an 
 answer, and of inditing letters that have no 
 reference and contain no reply to any I might 
 previously have received, that, familiarized with 
 a state of existence as singular as it has been un- 
 expected, my epistles have naturally adopted the 
 shape and essence of private and recluse cogita- 
 tions, instead of that of familiar and social inter- 
 course. Happy if, escaping the harpies which 
 infest the continental coast, they succeeded in 
 acquainting you with my constant and hitherto 
 uninterrupted state of good health, I have for 
 some time past limited the intelligence they con- 
 tained to this single circumstance, which, judging 
 
 247
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 from my own feelings, would more than satisfy 
 the receiver. 
 
 However, at last a bright beam of sunshine 
 seems to open and promise a prospect of better 
 times. Probably the public prints have already 
 spread abroad the news of Mr. Perceval's horrid 
 assassination, but whatever colour ministerial 
 papers may give to this catastrophe, there is 
 little doubt that it was occasioned by the despair 
 and frenzy of a population reduced to the last 
 ebb, in consequence of the blind continuation and 
 perseverance in of Mr. Pitt's erroneous Continental 
 politics. 
 
 John Bull, you well know, like the animal that 
 personifies him, bears long and patiently the yoke 
 his masters have imposed, but once roused, his 
 fury becomes as terrible as his previous sub- 
 mission was abject, and the history of our nation 
 produces incontestible evidence that when once 
 he shows his horns he is sure to carry his point. 
 This period has at length arrived. It is not the 
 weight of our taxes, nor the blood spilt in a 
 Continental warfare a commercial nation feels no 
 taxes, and John Bull delights in bloodshed. To 
 have two or three bloody gazettes a year more, 
 he would readily pay five per cent more out of his 
 income, but it is work he wants. Our machines 
 supplied the want of hands Pitt found armies, 
 the Continent paid over taxes Pitt found money 
 and found work for John, in the destruction of 
 
 248
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 Continental commerce. John now bellows out for 
 work, Ministers must make peace to find him 
 work, and to that happy period I look forward 
 with anxiety, to introduce into your presence 
 Capitaine Tempete, who, as far as his own vanity 
 will allow him to judge, is as blooming as ever ; 
 a phenomenon easily settled, as a present lady 
 I met lately, told me in a few words : u Car Monr. 
 avec une figure comme la votre on ria jamais e"U 
 jeujie." 
 
 Lisbon, July 20, 18 12. 
 
 After an interval of a whole year, I this morn- 
 ing received your letter of the 20th of May last. 
 You may judge how happy I must have felt, and 
 it is no small augmentation to have a chance of 
 this letter coming to your hands. That my pro- 
 motion would give you no pleasure I was 
 perfectly aware of. However, believe me that 
 a captain of dragoons in our service enjoys a 
 very snug and comfortable situation. At present 
 I agree with you ; it is a chienne de carriere. 
 However, this Peninsular War cannot last for 
 ever, and whilst it does, pray inform my uncle 
 Walter, who you say enjoys those things a little 
 more than you do, that, besides being a captain, 
 I have the honour to be (what is called in the 
 French army) Chef de PEtat Major de la 2d 
 Division de Cavallerie. 
 
 249
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 I would advise you not to dread the dangers 
 of my position, but I know it is in vain. How- 
 ever, the life of man is in the hands of the 
 Almighty, and you may rely upon it that whether 
 I wear a blue or red coat, a hat or a helmet, I 
 shall not die a moment sooner or later than He 
 ordains I should. 
 
 You remind me of an unpleasant truth. I am 
 thirty years old, and, as you very justly believe, I 
 look upon myself as getting old, and therefore 
 mean to retire the first good opportunity I find to 
 enjoy the remainder of my days in peace and 
 quietness. My views and ambition are satisfied, 
 and I believe I have contributed my share in the 
 service every man owes his country. As I was 
 wise enough not to marry, I am quite rich enough 
 to live in the way that suits me best, and, without 
 finding fault with M. de Schall for fancying him- 
 self a young man, I have experience enough to 
 know that, though many years younger than him- 
 self, I am descending the ladder, and that it is 
 time for me to make way for the rising genera- 
 tion, sans la moindre pretension. 
 
 I am very sorry to hear of poor Buttlar's 
 untimely end, and really thought he had too much 
 sense to make the exit he has made. As his 
 children are not the losers by it, the event is only 
 to be regretted as far as he is concerned. In 
 different ages he would have been differently 
 judged. In ours, which with its prejudices has 
 
 250
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 lost its virtue, charity will forget and folly justify 
 the deed he has committed. 
 
 You will perceive by this that six years have 
 operated a change in Capt. Tempete. He is 
 what he always was, a philosopher who thinks for 
 himself, but one who, if he had children of his 
 own to educate, would bring them up in strict 
 conformity to the opinions of the country in 
 which they are to live. " Chretienne a Paris et 
 Musulman dans ces lieux," as Zaire expresses 
 herself. Indeed, in England this has been 
 followed pretty generally, and whatever may be 
 the private opinions of men of my age, the rising 
 generation are again taught to believe what their 
 great-grandfathers have believed before them. 
 The event has proved the advantage, and the 
 rock remains against which the waves of the 
 ocean dash in vain. 
 
 Pray remember me kindly to my old friend 
 Marescotti. I hope we shall soon shake hands 
 again. Being a great politician, he has probably 
 observed the changes that have taken place in 
 our Government. Peace is now looked forward 
 to with some degree of certainty, as it must be 
 to the interest of all Europe to put a stop to 
 the present system of devastation, murder, and 
 pillage, and as those men who then stood against 
 it are now no longer at the head of affairs. 
 
 Remember me to all my old friends. 
 
 251
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 LISBON, December 25, 1812. 
 
 I have just received your two letters of the 
 26th June and 19th July last, and shall com- 
 mence by answering the most important first, 
 namely, what regards your changing the place of 
 your residence. Whatever D. advises must meet 
 with my unlimited approbation, and I only advise 
 you not to be in too great a hurry in carrying 
 his plan into execution, as it appears to me that 
 we are fast approaching a crisis which may give 
 a most decided turn to the present state of affairs 
 in Europe, and must either one way or the other 
 terminate in a peace which will stamp its seal 
 on whatever face our poor unsettled and shaken 
 Europe may wear at the time. If I were you, 
 I would therefore wait the termination of the 
 present contest to see what will be best for you 
 to do. 
 
 As far as relates to the state of your finances, 
 I must request you to be under no alarm at all 
 on that head, but to spend just as much as you 
 may find convenient. My income amounts to 
 about ;iooo exclusive of my pay as captain of 
 dragoons, and as I live in this country entirely 
 on my pay that sum is regularly saved ; and you 
 will therefore agree with me that it would be the 
 height of folly to retrench yourself, as the so 
 doing cannot possibly lead to any good what- 
 ever. I should be sorry that in giving you this 
 
 252
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 advice you might be led to suppose from what 
 I said above that I myself was committing the 
 very error I am advising you against ; but the 
 fact is that a troop of dragoons abroad is worth 
 about ^400 a year, besides innumerable other 
 advantages, which make it more than equal to 
 twice that sum in any other profession. 
 
 And now for a reply to your other interesting 
 details, though only hinted at. . . . My own 
 vanity supplies the rest, and I can only thank 
 God and Mme. de Decken for having preserved 
 me from getting into the greatest scrape that ever 
 threatened me, for I really believe that at one 
 time I should have married her daughter, how- 
 ever well I am persuaded that I never was really 
 in love, et que ma vanite" seule itait piquee. 
 What the consequences would have been, saddled 
 with a wife, without a fortune, cramped in the 
 means of making one, and as things turned 
 out, without a profession, obliged to remain in 
 Germany leading a despicable existence instead 
 of being what I now am, I leave you to judge. 
 Nevertheless, I can assure you it will give me the 
 greatest pleasure to see Mme. de Wangenheim 
 again, as well as all the other actors of our former 
 stage. Like a wandering player, it has been my 
 fate to tread a great variety and to act various 
 parts in various places. Believe me, I regret 
 nothing more than my being prevented by cir- 
 cumstances from giving you a detail of our scenes, 
 
 253
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 which shift almost with the rapidity of a harle- 
 quinade. However, the French papers, as read 
 by an old diplomate like you, will in general 
 let you know enough of the main subject, and as 
 for the details, any old invalids of the garrison 
 will supply you, for a soldier's life is, and has 
 been, nearly the same at all times and in all 
 parts. Should any French regiment of dragoons 
 with brass helmets march through Cassel, they 
 will give you the best accounts, as I believe most 
 of them have been near us. 
 
 The last time I heard of Taylor he was still 
 in Sicily. My poor cousin, W. Heathcote, who 
 went out to India as a lieutenant in the 14th 
 Foot, died in that country, together with his wife. 
 Chapel, who was brought up for business, was 
 likewise seized with what we call the "scarlet 
 fever " and has entered the marines as a sub- 
 lieut., and his eldest brother Godfrey, who studied 
 medicine, has also entered the army and is now 
 captain of the 5th Foot ; my cousin, Edward 
 Holbech, is captain in the Inniskilling Dragoons. 
 His father 1 died a few months ago, and his 
 eldest brother has resigned his commission as 
 major in the Warwickshire Militia to take charge 
 and live upon his estate. My aunt, Mrs. May- 
 nard, died about six months ago. Thus much 
 
 1 William Holbech, of Mollington, M.P. for Banbury 1792-6 ; 
 married, 1772, Anne, daughter of William Woodhouse, of Lichfield, 
 died July 6, 1812. 
 
 254
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 for family news. In return pray let me know 
 what has become of all my old friends in your 
 part of the world Marescotti, Zeppelin, and the 
 other officers of the garrison we knew in short, 
 give me a brief history of our former circle. Like 
 me, I suppose, many have been dispersed. Re- 
 member me most kindly to those that remain. 
 
 P.S. I suppose you know of our war with 
 America. I hope Dewar, who is still in that 
 country, may get a lift by it. 
 
 Brozas, April 24, 1 81 3. 
 
 It was with the greatest pleasure I yesterday 
 received your letter of the 3rd of last month, and 
 as, both from its contents and from the general 
 appearance of affairs as stated in the last Conti- 
 nental papers that have come to our hands, there 
 is every reason to suppose that the free intercourse 
 between Cassel and England will have been re- 
 established by the time this letter reaches the 
 north of Europe, I shall now for the first time 
 these seven years past venture to write an open, 
 unembarrassed letter to you. 
 
 Thank God, the tide seems at last to be turning, 
 and if Germany only half does her duty the 
 happiness and peace of Europe will soon be firmly 
 established ; of course sacrifices must be made, 
 the spirit of modern philosophy, having its founda- 
 
 255
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 tion on egotism, which points to inactivity, double 
 dealing, and wavering policy, must be abandoned 
 or at least laid to sleep for some time, and in its 
 stead a vigorous, manly mode of thinking and 
 acting must be adopted. However, the specimens 
 produced bid fair for the future, and the arms of 
 England and Russia will, I trust, prop and support 
 a plant which, however luxurious in its growth, 
 sad experience has too often proved deficient in 
 firmness and true, devoted patriotism. 
 
 At home it appears preparations are making for 
 immediately sending over the disposable foreign 
 troops, and here we have the finest army England 
 ever produced, experienced and tried, which looks 
 down upon the French as much, or more, than in 
 Germany I have known them admired and 
 looked up to, which army, owing to our immense 
 navy, still more formidable from its organization 
 than its numbers, may, if Government chooses, 
 disembark in six weeks time on the coasts of 
 Germany. I say nothing of Lord Wellington, 
 let his actions speak for him. The French know 
 him as well as they do the troops he commands. 
 If we remain in this country, ours will be a very 
 inactive campaign. We are in very quiet quarters ; 
 the enemy, it is presumed, are making prepara- 
 tions for evacuating Spain. It is naturally our 
 game not to hurry them, for the longer their army 
 can be kept here, the better it must be for the 
 cause of the Continent, as the great game is 
 
 256
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 playing in Germany, not on the banks of the 
 Tagus or the Ebro. Individually speaking, how- 
 ever, the sooner we leave Spain the better, for 
 it is a sad country. 
 
 By this time you must have received my letter 
 informing you of the impossibility of sending you 
 my picture. I can assure you I have not seen a 
 painter since I left England, and shall probably be 
 in a better land before I shall. 
 
 I am glad you own that it was fortunate I have 
 acted as I did, but must only remark, that at no 
 time of my life could I have ever reconciled to 
 myself a life of sloth and idle ease, when the 
 existence of my country called for the active 
 exertions of all her sons. That once secured, I 
 shall be most happy to retire to a peaceful corner, 
 to enjoy the society of those most dear to my 
 heart, which the recollection of having done my 
 duty, and having assisted in obtaining, will only 
 render the sweeter. 
 
 I perfectly conceive you will have a trouble- 
 some time of it for a few months to come ; how- 
 ever, necessity has no law, and though women 
 are not expected to fight, they ought at least to 
 put up with some inconvenience for the good of 
 their country. Unwelcome lodgers are certainly 
 unpleasant, but remember they are exposing their 
 lives for your sake, and that your son is putting 
 others to the same inconvenience you are suffer- 
 ing ; let them find a hearty welcome, and rely 
 s 257
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 upon it you will be the gainer by it, and the poor 
 fellows deserve it for their sufferings, past, pre- 
 sent, and to come. 
 
 The accounts you give me of my old acquaint- 
 ance are sad indeed ; it was, however, only what 
 could be expected from those holiday parade 
 gentlemen, dressed like and fancying themselves 
 to be soldiers ; their first campaign was likely to 
 prove their grave. I am truly sorry they did not 
 fall in a better cause. Hessberg was a fine 
 fellow ; I am glad his death was different from the 
 ladies Schmidt. He died the death of a hero. 
 Peace be to his ashes ! Many, alas! are those who 
 have found an early grave since I saw you last, 
 many a friend of mine slumbers on the honoured 
 field, but living in the memory of their country 
 and their friends: sweet is the fate of those who 
 bled in their cause. Instead of mourning their 
 loss, let those who survive live worthy of their 
 memory. 
 
 With the greatest pleasure I have this day for- 
 warded your enclosure to Mjr. -General Low. The 
 address of your own writing was excellent, and 
 your reason for writing it truly good, croyant 
 que la lettre parviendrait plus tdt, en y mettant 
 I'adresse de mon dcriture ; it put me in mind of 
 a similar one, " A Monsieur mon Frere, vis-a-vis 
 du grand tas de neige a Paris / " 
 
 I have added a note to the Major-General, who 
 commands a brigade in this country, offering my 
 
 258
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 services in forwarding an answer to Mme. de 
 Schenk, and you may assure that lady her letter 
 will reach its destination. I am sorry it is not in 
 my power to give you any details respecting 
 officers in the German Legion. We are never 
 near them, even the German cavalry is a great 
 way off; of course their friends must have heard 
 that the legion has very frequently distinguished 
 itself, particularly the cavalry. 
 
 On consulting the Army List I find that 
 Colonel Mosheim is still Commandant of the 
 Foreign Recruiting Depot at Lymington, which 
 situation he obtained after our return from Copen- 
 hagen, since which I have neither seen nor heard 
 of him. He has been promoted to the rank of 
 colonel (being only lieut. -colonel when at Cassel). 
 He has never been actively employed since you 
 saw him, but has been on the recruiting service 
 ever since, first in Sweden and Denmark, after- 
 wards at Lymington. 
 
 Of Dewar I know only that he is still one of the 
 youngest lieutenants in the Canadian Fencibles. 
 I believe he is employed on the Staff in Canada, 
 but am not quite certain of it. He has played 
 his cards wretchedly ! However, now that we 
 are at war with America he may perhaps get on. 
 The folly of his not entering into a regular 
 regiment of the line is astonishing ; he has now 
 been pottering about in the militia, garrison batta- 
 lions, and fencibles for the last ten years without 
 
 259
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 doing any good to himself, and all for the vanity 
 of avoiding to be an ensign at first starting ! 
 
 I find that many of my letters must have been 
 lost, for I frequently gave you all the details I 
 was master of concerning people who have friends 
 at Cassel, and hope Countess Zabeliziky will do 
 me justice. I am glad to hear my uncle approves 
 of my conduct. Perhaps if our newspapers 
 reached Germany he would have been glad to 
 see my name mentioned in one of Lord Welling- 
 ton's dispatches in no very dishonourable terms, 
 on an occasion where we gave the brass-helmet 
 gentry a very pretty dressing about two years 
 ago. Talking of helmets, I can't help informing 
 you that the Prince, on coming into power, has 
 completely changed our appearance. We are 
 now dressed exactly like the old Hessian gardes 
 du corps, only in a different colour, wearing red 
 jackets and broad gold lace, and instead of our 
 hats we now wear helmets very like that of the 
 French Dragoons, a change which altogether is 
 rather for the better than otherwise. 
 
 I wonder after all that has passed you do not 
 expect a peace. I own I expect it now more 
 than ever, and fully expect the present to be the 
 last campaign. We are getting old, tired of the 
 war, and poorer every day, and Fortune has always 
 (being a woman) turned her back on the old, the 
 weary, and the poor. Some people who were deter- 
 mined to see Russia lately made that experience. 
 
 260
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 I almost forgot to add that I am in excellent 
 health and spirits, though getting old and bald. 
 As far as I can judge, I have not changed in the 
 least since I left you (except losing my hair) ; 
 however, before we meet I shall provide myself 
 with a good wig to cover my deficiency. As 
 yet, by good management, I contrive to keep my 
 pate pretty well covered, though a windy day 
 plays the devil with me. On consulting my glass 
 just now, I also find I grow rather snuffy about 
 the nose, but otherwise look very amiable. 
 
 Yours with and without hair. 
 
 Sanguessa, August 24, 1 81 3. 
 
 As I take it for granted that by the time this 
 letter reaches Germany the preliminaries of peace 
 have already been signed, I venture to date it 
 from the real place that I am at, which by a refer- 
 ence to the map of Spain you will perceive is 
 not above six leagues from the French frontiers. 
 Owing to this circumstance, which, as you may 
 naturally conclude, has not been effected without 
 some smart work, the enclosed only reached me 
 a few days ago, though from the accompanying 
 note to me I take it to be of a very old date ; all 
 I have to add on this subject is, M.-Genl. 
 has returned to England at the opening of the 
 campaign. 
 
 After all that has happened, I am happy to tell 
 261
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 you that I am safe and sound, and have never 
 had one moment's illness during the whole of our 
 operations. At present it appears our dangers 
 are all over, and we will expect to be in England 
 before Christmas ; indeed, if even the intelligence 
 sent over to our head-quarters from the French 
 army should prove incorrect, and the war still 
 continue, you need not be alarmed, as the 
 Pyrenees are no cavalry country, and we cavaliers 
 therefore are not likely to be again engaged. 
 
 I would not have you communicate the follow- 
 ing melancholy event to poor Mrs. Dewar, as it 
 perhaps may be a mistake, but according to the 
 public prints her son is no more. He died in 
 Canada about the beginning of last March ; his 
 name no longer appears in the Army List. I can 
 give you no other intelligence of any of your old 
 acquaintances ; Taylor's brother is now a major- 
 general. 1 He still remains about the Royal 
 Family at Windsor, and I am told the chronique 
 scandaleuse will have it that he is married to the 
 Pr . . . ess M . . . 2 Of his brother I have not heard 
 this long while, but I suppose he has long ago 
 returned from Sicily to England. 
 
 Of course at a moment like the present it 
 
 1 Sir Herbert Taylor, elder brother of Sir Brook Taylor. He 
 died in Rome, March, 1839, having married in 18 19, Charlotte 
 Albinia, daughter of Edward Disbrowe, Esq., Vice-Chamberlain 
 to Queen Charlotte. 
 
 2 Princess Mary, fourth daughter of King George III and 
 Queen Charlotte, was born in 1776. She married in 18 16 her 
 cousin, H.R.H. William, Duke of Gloucester, and died in 1857. 
 
 262
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 would be ridiculous to form any plans for the 
 future, but if peace is actually made, I shall 
 endeavour to join some of our missions in Ger- 
 many, that I may have an opportunity of being 
 near you without losing my rank in the regiment. 
 I am now above the break, that is, I shall not 
 be reduced on half-pay by the peace establish- 
 ment, having three captains under me, and after 
 seven years' hard service it would be foolish to 
 throw up all the fruits of my labour, when by a 
 little management both objects may be united. 
 
 My interest in the army is very considerable, 
 having been so long on the Staff. Lord Cath- 
 cart, my old friend, is now Ambassador to the 
 Court of Russia. Sir Charles Stewart (ce beau 
 Stewart de Mme. de Willich a Frankfort, anno 
 1 796) is Ambassador to the Court of Berlin, and 
 I know him very well likewise, having been so 
 long at Ld. Wellington's together with him. I 
 therefore think I have a good chance of succeed- 
 ing ; besides a captain of dragoons is no little 
 feather in a Minister's suite. The only difficulty 
 will be to get permission from the Horse Guards, 
 and then Genl. Taylor's interest must help me 
 through. Should, however, all chances fail, I shall 
 wait till the reduction has taken place, and then 
 receive about ^2000 on half-pay. 
 
 The information you give me respecting M. de 
 Schall is extraordinary ; he is certainly older than 
 I am, and you say he is still a beau ! All I can say 
 
 263
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 is, I am not. I am getting o\d,je me fats vieux, 
 and, according to La Rochefoucauld, have long 
 ago read my condemnation in the eyes of the 
 beauties of the present day. To give you a 
 picture of myself, I have only to make you 
 remember the Old Chevalier of the Teutonic 
 Order at Mergentheim, my father's old friend 
 Bentinck, me voila tout crache. And you may 
 now be prepared to know me, without making 
 some choking exclamation. Thank God, I bring 
 back my arms, legs, etc., without a wooden repre- 
 sentation, and that is more than many people can 
 say. 
 
 Pray make my best compliments to the few 
 people at Cassel who may have outlived the late 
 troublous times and remember Pancienne cour. 
 Inform D. of my views and intentions. 
 
 Ralph's reflections on his age were much the 
 same as any man of forty would make in any age. 
 
 Every collection of letters shows how much 
 sooner people formerly began life, and how much 
 sooner their youth in their own estimation and 
 in the estimation of others departed. 
 
 It is interesting to see Ralph notices the 
 universal change in England from freer views to 
 more orthodox beliefs. 
 
 264
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 Bonaparte's Russian disasters had caused him 
 to recall some of his best troops from the Penin- 
 sula, whereas, notwithstanding considerable dis- 
 couragement in England, admirable reinforcements 
 were sent to Wellington. 
 
 The conclusion of the Five Years' War was 
 drawing near. In May the English armies crossed 
 the frontier, leaving Portugal for good and all. 
 They outmanoeuvred the French, who had King 
 Joseph instead of Napoleon's very best marshal 
 as leader, and began to fall back. 
 
 Ralph Heathcote's letters which follow are 
 written from Navarre ; Pampeluna was being 
 blockaded in order to guard the passes of Ronces- 
 valles. 
 
 He had been present at the magnificent victory 
 of Vittoria (June 21st), and mentions his regi- 
 ment's share of the fabulous spoil which the 
 fleeing king and his generals had left behind 
 them. 
 
 Now that he believed peace to be at hand, he 
 ventured to "date from the real place" he is at, 
 still continuing, however, to keep his mother in 
 the dark as regards the amount of stiff fighting 
 that was going on and the dangers that he still 
 encountered. 
 
 265
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 Mr. Vaughan to Sir Charles Stuart. 
 
 Cadiz, August 3, 18 13. 
 
 The Spanish troops in Catalonia and elsewhere 
 are starving, and the Government is feeding them 
 with proclamations to intendants. Since I have 
 known Spain I have never known the seat of 
 government in a worse state. There is a strong 
 feeling against the English, and a miserable 
 Jacobin party, which is violent beyond measure. 
 
 TUNES, NEAR PAMPELUNA, November 12, 1813. 
 
 I yesterday received both your letters of the 
 7th of June and 26th of July. You may easily 
 fancy how very happy I was to hear so good 
 an account of your health, as well as that of my 
 dear friend Doerfeld, and sincerely hope that my 
 letters, by reaching their destination, will have 
 the same effect. I shall write by this post to 
 Mr. de Wessenberg to thank him for his attention. 
 I am sorry to say I see no chance of doing it in 
 person, for the turn affairs have taken renders our 
 return to England less likely than ever. I find 
 I was mistaken in my conjectures relative to 
 peace, but cannot say I am sorry for it. We owe 
 much to our country, and its interests must be 
 preferred to our own ; but when, as in this 
 instance, the interests of mankind, as well as 
 
 266
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 of future generations, are at stake, however soon 
 the blow may be, we must rejoice at receiving it. 
 However, a truce to reasonings, which only waste 
 paper. 
 
 I will begin by answering your several inquiries. 
 Colonel Mosheim is commander of the foreign 
 recruiting depot at Lymington a very lucrative 
 situation. He has not been actively employed 
 since leaving Cassel, and considering his rank in 
 the army is not likely to be employed again. 
 Poor Dewar is no more ; he died in America. 
 Peace be to his ashes ! His cousin, General 
 Mackinnon, whom you may remember having 
 seen in Cassel, was killed at the head of the 
 storming party, and fell in the breach of Ciudad 
 Rodrigo. 
 
 I have for the last two months been quartered 
 at this place a pleasant little country town of 
 Navarra amusing myself as I used to do at 
 Cassel, playing the violin and drawing, reading, 
 and riding during the day, and spending most 
 of my evenings at a sober party of whist amongst 
 ourselves ; for of course we associate but little with 
 the natives, national habits and mutual pride op- 
 posing their formidable barrier. They dine at one, 
 we at six o'clock, etc. etc. ; besides, we can hardly 
 make ourselves understood. At a certain age it 
 is too late to learn languages, and, though I can 
 read and understand Spanish very well, I cannot 
 speak it well enough to enjoy society. However, 
 
 267
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 we expect a speedy change in our present situa- 
 tion. The infantry and light cavalry have left 
 this country some weeks ago, and are amusing 
 themselves in France. Of course we expect to 
 follow very shortly. How far we are to advance I 
 hardly know. Events have taken such extraordi- 
 nary turns of late, all speculations are rendered vain. 
 
 Soult's army is weak, and very, very bad ; the 
 enemy were never a match for our men, but now 
 they run even before Spaniards and Portuguese. 
 We have it all in our own way here. Lord 
 Wellington is as absolute in the Peninsula as 
 Bonaparte is in France. His resources are 
 great, but I rather think we shall only act as 
 a division to the armies in Germany. 
 
 You see I write boldly, fully hoping that your 
 part of the world is cleared of the enemy before 
 this reaches Germany. The last accounts from 
 the Continent give us, at least, every reason to 
 expect that event, and I fully believe, by the time 
 you peruse these lines, I shall be making love to 
 some amiable French coquette. Though not 
 over superstitious, I cannot help trembling some- 
 times on reflecting on Therese's old predictions. 
 She always said Capitaine Tempete was to end 
 by marrying a Frenchwoman. However, I 
 hardly think I shall meet with any that comes up 
 to my price, for I am not to be had under 
 ^"20,000, and so must wait until I get back to 
 Old England. 
 
 268
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 My faithful friend and companion requests to 
 be introduced to you. Mr. Poodle, now fast 
 asleep behind my chair, snores his best wishes 
 to you. Last year, pursuing the enemy's rear- 
 guard, he, a poor deserted stranger, implored my 
 protection in the market-place of Zalamea. From 
 that moment to this he has never for a moment 
 left the master of his adoption ; in town or camp, 
 or picket or in action, he has been my constant 
 companion ; I never saw an instance of greater 
 attachment in a dog. That I love him as dearly as 
 my own self I need not add, for you well know I 
 have ever been a steady friend to the canine race. 
 
 And now to your last question about a servant. 
 You show your ignorance of my profession in 
 asking it. Dear mother, every situation in life 
 has its advantages and disadvantages ; in many 
 respects we gentlemen of the sword cannot com- 
 pare ourselves with your fat and pampered [corps] 
 diplomatique. Dining at Court, Monsieur Le 
 Ministre takes precedence before Monsieur le 
 Capitaine, but when Monsieur le Capitaine leaves 
 the audience chamber one hundred men watch his 
 nod and are obedient to his call. A troop is a 
 little world of which he is the sovereign, and 
 sovereignty has its advantages, whatever you 
 philosophers may say of it. Thus I am not in 
 want of as many servants as I please to have, 
 who are paid by the King, who cannot leave me, 
 and whose fate is entirely in my own hands. 
 
 269
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 Shoemakers, tailors, blacksmiths, etc., all attend 
 my motions, and wherever I am, I am surrounded 
 by my own people. 
 
 This likewise holds good with regard to my 
 house. Dragoons are generally distributed about 
 the country, and we take quarters for ourselves 
 according to seniority. Thus a captain is very 
 frequently commanding officer, when he takes 
 the best house in the town for himself, at all 
 events the best house in the cantonment of his 
 troop should even more troops be quartered to- 
 gether. Do not therefore fancy that a soldier's 
 life is so full of hardships ; sometimes, to be sure, 
 we must put up with a rub, but ten months in 
 the year at least we are very well off. 
 
 You must not compare an English captain of 
 dragoons with a French or German one the 
 respectability, the situation is quite different. For 
 instance, I keep four horses, three baggage-mules, 
 four servants, besides a woman cook, and can 
 give my friends port wine, claret, Madeira, and 
 vin de Grave any day, either in camp or in town, 
 carrying all this about with me ; and should I 
 even be out myself, our army is always attended 
 by merchants who supply us at a moment's warn- 
 ing. You know Lord Wellington was long in 
 India ; he therefore sanctions this kind of life. 
 Even Marlborough found out that Englishmen 
 fight like lions, but must be well fed. And even 
 so, our pay when abroad is more than sufficient to 
 
 270
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 answer all these demands. Having entered into 
 all these details, I hope you will no longer pity 
 me for imaginary hardships. True, on a retreat, 
 when the baggage is sent to the rear, I have 
 been without bread for some days, but I did not 
 want meat, rice, and wine. 
 
 With regard to the portrait you want me to 
 send you, there is nobody here to do it. How- 
 ever, the first painter I meet shall set to work 
 upon it. 
 
 Having now exhausted nearly every subject, 
 I shall take my leave of you. May I soon be able 
 to join you is the constant prayer of 
 
 R. H. 
 
 It may be as well to glance at the course of 
 events at Cassel. In 1806, shortly after Brook 
 Taylor had been sacrificed to Napoleon Bona- 
 parte's demand, the French marched into Cassel 
 and the Elector fled. 
 
 The kingdom of Westphalia, consisting of 
 Hesse, Westphalia, parts of Hanover, and Bruns- 
 wick, was created ; and Cassel, with its luxurious 
 palaces, was the designated capital of the new 
 kingdom, of which Napoleon's brother, Jerome, 
 was king. 
 
 To this day there are traditions of the reckless 
 extravagance and immorality of this amiable, 
 though utterly dissipated, king and his court. 
 
 Jerome's queen, Princess Catherine of Wiir- 
 271
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 temberg, was an admirable wife, and not even 
 his flagrant infidelity and his harem of favourites 
 could shake her affection. It is only fair to state 
 that afterwards, in the days of exile, he became 
 a devoted and excellent husband, and repaid her 
 constant affection. 
 
 The accounts of the festivities at Wilhelmshohe 
 sound like a rather disreputable fairy tale, and 
 by a strange irony of fate, it was there that 
 Jerome's nephew, Napoleon III, passed the 
 months of captivity after the catastrophe of Sedan. 
 
 The foreign dominion lasted seven long years. 
 Several attempts were made to cast off the yoke, 
 but the leaders lost their lives, and the usurpers 
 remained masters. 
 
 At last, after the Battle of the Nations, Leipzig 
 (18th October, 1813), the Cossacks appeared 
 before the gates of Cassel and drove out the 
 French. On the 21st November the old Elector 
 entered into his own again amid the enthusiastic 
 acclamations of his subjects. 
 
 To a certain degree the former life was re- 
 sumed, but all had become older, and the terrible 
 wars had led them not only to retrench, but to 
 look upon life under a more serious aspect. The 
 sovereign had returned, but not the ancien rigime. 
 
 Mrs. Heathcote, who had spent the greater 
 part of the interregnum at Munich, hastened 
 to Cassel to receive the Elector. 
 
 Marchese Marescotti had also returned to 
 272
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 Cassel, where he settled again and enjoyed life 
 as he had done hitherto. 
 
 Inheriting great estates near Bologna about 
 the year 1824, he returned to his native town, 
 and there his old friend Ralph Heathcote visited 
 him (1825), as he states in a letter to his mother. 
 
 " We saw Marescotti and his family at Bologna. 
 Though I knew what a rich fellow he was, I was 
 astonished at what I saw. Besides his estates 
 about Bologna, he has got three houses at 
 Pianore and six houses at Bologna drove us 
 about in his carriage and four, gave us a splendid 
 dinner at his apartments in his brother's palace, 
 consisting of about twelve beautifully furnished 
 rooms. He and his relations did all they could 
 to show their friendship and make our stay agree- 
 able." 
 
 The next and last news that came of the 
 unfortunate Marquis Marescotti was that he had 
 been found murdered in his bed. It was said 
 that his own valet de chambre, who had tried to 
 rob him and was later arrested, had been the 
 murderer. 
 
 TUNES, December 24, 181 3. 
 
 I have just received yours of August, together 
 with a letter from the " gallant Marquis " ; con- 
 trary winds have, I suppose, prevented your last 
 letters reaching me as yet, and 1 am in daily 
 expectation of receiving your interesting accounts 
 
 T 273
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 of the French expulsion from Hesse-Cassel, and 
 of the jubilee attending the gratifying return of 
 the legitimate sovereign, our good old Elector, 
 to his long-lost subjects and country. 
 
 As I take it for granted that even your 
 economical principles, as you are pleased to call 
 them, have permitted the dreadful expense and 
 waste of gute Groschen requisite for an ap- 
 pearance at Court on such an occasion, I hope 
 you will be enabled to express to His Electoral 
 Highness the sincere and heartiest congratula- 
 tions of a humble member of his former corps 
 diplomatique. I fancy it is not necessary to add 
 how truly painful it is to my feelings that I should 
 be under the necessity of leaving to another the 
 agreeable task of paying my devoirs to the lawful 
 sovereign of a country, to which circumstances 
 have so much attached me. Fortunately the re- 
 collection of the dread you have always been in 
 of fire arms removes the fears I might otherwise 
 have entertained of the consequences of my in- 
 ducing you to extravagance might have had, 
 particularly since Colonel Roux has set so bad an 
 example ; however, what with your fear, and the 
 prUre noir, I believe I can safely lead you into 
 the temptation of spending perhaps even a thaler 
 or two without running the risk of becoming a 
 parricide. Seriously speaking, I am very much 
 disappointed, having permitted myself to run away 
 with the idea of being one of the first to gallop 
 
 274
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 into Cassel at the head of a parcel of bearded 
 Cossacks. The event which has taken place, I 
 had expected long ago, and accordingly applied at 
 the Horse Guards to be employed in your part 
 of the world, as attached to some of the allied 
 corps darme'e ; however, I have not succeeded, 
 and must therefore trust to fortune, who has stood 
 my friend on so many occasions, to assist me 
 again on this. 
 
 Luckily I have more strings to my bow than 
 one. The expedition to Holland will drain 
 England of nearly all the cavalry regiments on 
 the home station, these must of course be replaced, 
 and we are now so very weak, both in men and 
 horses, that it is only fair to suppose this regi- 
 ment will be one of the first selected to return 
 home, in room of those sent to Holland. Once 
 landed on English ground, my interest will easily 
 secure me a staff situation in Germany, and you 
 may rely upon it, I shall leave no stone unturned 
 to get away. In my letter to Marescotti I have 
 stated the probable events to be expected here, to 
 him I therefore refer you on that head ; and how- 
 ever much I should like to gasconner un petit peu, 
 I shall refer you to our next meeting for a detail 
 of all my adventures during our late most success- 
 ful campaign. 
 
 I lately made a trip into France, where of course 
 you know our army has been these three months 
 past. I visited the tomb of Orlando Furioso at 
 
 275
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 Roncesvalles, climbed the Pyrenees, and entered 
 the sacred country de la grande nation. I could 
 not help being astonished that by some un- 
 accountable mistake, instead of having been driven 
 by these heroes into the sea four or five years 
 ago, they should have allowed a parcel of red- 
 coated militia shopkeepers to kick them out of 
 Portugal and Spain, and not satisfied with that, 
 carry their civility so far as to be thrashed by 
 them on their own sacred domain. However, so 
 it is ; their ladies swear they are no longer French- 
 men, and I can assure you, if sixteen or eighteen 
 years hence, the breed has not very materially 
 improved in that part of France, it is not the 
 fault of the fair sex, who do their best to regenerate 
 the nation. The men are equally civil with the 
 ladies, and Soult carries his good nature so far 
 that he actually sent 350 ladies, who had fled from 
 their homes on the first approach of the army, 
 back to our cantonments, one morning, all in a 
 batch. I must own I am very sorry the cavalry 
 is not likely to be sent into France. I long to im- 
 prove my French and learn good manners. 
 
 I presume you have had a few troublesome 
 days when the Cossacks first made their appear- 
 ance, and I believe there was a little skirmishing 
 at Cassel. However, il faut passer par la, and 
 I trust you will see and hear no more of the kind. 
 
 Bonaparte has fallen to rise no more, and 
 a few months hence I trust will be crushed 
 
 276
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 beneath the ruins of his fallen empire. The 
 spirit, unanimity, and exertions Parliament has 
 evinced during the last session are unrivalled in 
 history ; the opposition have to a man shown 
 that, whatever their opinions might be on some 
 political points, they were all true Britons at 
 heart, and it is really gratifying to find that their 
 very heads have rivalled Ministers in promoting 
 the views of Government. The contrast between 
 the two great rival nations is really astonishing ; 
 whilst all England is in a ferment, and our in- 
 numerable fleets are scarcely sufficient to convey 
 the people that are crowding to all our ports, the 
 French seem to have lost the very feelings of 
 men. Nobody hitherto denied the French soldier's 
 courage, and we honoured the enemy we fought 
 and conquered ; of late, however, they are com- 
 pletely changed. It is literally true that their 
 officers can scarcely make them stand a moment, 
 and are obliged to cane them like slaves to pre- 
 vent their running away before our men come 
 within musket-shot; nothing but the badness of 
 the roads, the intersected state of the country, 
 and the badness of the weather has hitherto saved 
 Soult and his wretched army from utter destruction. 
 Of course, you know that a regular communi- 
 cation has been established between Germany 
 through Holland, and that therefore there can be 
 no difficulty in sending your letters to England. 
 I would recommend you, however, to continue to 
 
 277
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 send them under cover to Baumer, and putting 
 them under an envelope instead of directing the 
 letter itself to him, which, of course, causes him 
 to open and read every letter you have yet sent 
 me. I think you had better get Marescotti to 
 direct and make all your letters. Don't be 
 offended, but your vivaciti makes you commit in- 
 numerable mistakes. Your last, now before me, 
 is directed to "Charles Baumer." Now you 
 would even address him "Mr. Charles Baumer" 
 if he were one of his principal's footmen. Pray 
 never forget in writing to him to put the Esq. 
 after his name, thus 
 
 To Charles Baumer Esq. 
 
 I should not tease you on this subject if it were 
 not necessary ; but you know people in England 
 are very particular in all these things, and it is 
 but too true that however free by our happy 
 Constitution, we are slaves to established forms, 
 fashions, and manners. Particularly as Baumer 
 is situated, it becomes doubly necessary to avoid 
 the appearance of treating him with disrespect. 
 
 Pray let me have Doerfeld's address. I see no 
 reason why I should not write to him now that 
 all is safe ; in the meantime pray communicate 
 the contents of this letter to him. Remember me 
 to all our old friends. 
 
 P.S. Of course you direct your letter to 
 me to 
 
 278
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 Captain Heathcote, 
 
 i st (or Royal) Dragoons, 
 
 leaving it to Baumer to enclose it in one of his, 
 with the address necessary for the military post 
 office. 
 
 Almost a whole year lies between these two 
 last letters. There was much hard righting to be 
 got through against Soult : the passage of the 
 Adour, the battle of Orthes ; afterwards the entry 
 at Bordeaux, Tarbes and the battle of Toulouse. 
 On the Emperor abdicating, the campaign was 
 at an end, and the army which the great 
 organizer and leader had pronounced "fit to go 
 anywhere and do anything " was dispersed. 
 
 BRISTOL, November 23, 18 14. 
 
 I received your letter of the 29th of last month 
 during the course of yesterday, and you may rest 
 assured your directions shall be punctually com- 
 plied with. I never heard you mention your 
 physician before, and thought you had given all 
 my books away. If I should be mistaken on 
 that subject, pray request the doctor to accept 
 of the whole of my Latin collection of books, at 
 least the classics ; to me they never can be of 
 any use, and I shall be most happy if they will 
 prove acceptable to him. I am happy to hear 
 
 279
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 that you have got a better lodging, though from 
 the price you pay for it I must own my expecta- 
 tions are not very sanguine. Pray inform me 
 what street it is in. You are very good to be 
 alarmed at the state of my finances, but you 
 forget the advantages a military man possesses. 
 My three servants cost me less than your one; His 
 Majesty pays the rest. When I come over to 
 you I mean to live in very good style. I shall 
 bring my carriage, etc. etc., and I only wish that 
 you would think a little less of money. With the 
 excessive cheapness of Hesse you ought to be 
 able to live in a very handsome manner. Indeed, 
 I cannot conceive the possibility of this extra- 
 ordinary cheapness, which even exceeds that of 
 France. Having just finished our stock of mess- 
 plate, glass, etc. etc., which our long absence 
 from home had rendered necessary to renew, you 
 will wonder perhaps to hear that we had to pay 
 three guineas for a mere decanter. We have 
 now certainly as handsome an establishment as 
 any private gentleman can boast of, and such as 
 Germany certainly does not possess. Our fund had 
 been accumulating during our absence ; we had 
 ;8oo in hand to furnish our sideboard, and 
 plenty besides to re-establish a band (orchestra), 
 thanks to the spoils of Vittoria, which furnished 
 ^500 for the purpose. 
 
 My first letters when I entered the army will 
 have made you acquainted with the system of 
 
 280
 
 Service in the Peninsula 
 
 messing. Indeed, an English regiment is like one 
 great family, which enables every officer to live 
 much cheaper and infinitely better than he other- 
 wise would. 
 
 Nothing new has happened since I wrote to 
 you last ; we are all anxiously expecting the 
 result of the Congress at Vienna. Of my private 
 adventures I have nothing to say ; going on just 
 as usual music, horses, and Mr. Poodle occupy 
 my time. The latter, known all over the town 
 by the name of French Cavalry Dog, is a 
 general favourite ; he is at this moment snoring 
 most sonorously on the sofa, which was very 
 clean before he took possession of it ; but in 
 defiance of the housemaid and her mistress, all 
 the covers in rapid succession adopt the colour 
 Mr. Poodle most delights in. If I dared take the 
 liberty of interrupting his slumbers, he would re- 
 quest to be remembered ; but that being totally 
 out of the question, you must accept my excuse 
 in his name, which I can assure you is no little 
 compliment. 
 
 Pray remember me to all my friends in your 
 part of the world. 
 
 281
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 FOR seven long years Mrs. Heathcote 
 had been separated from her only son. 
 It is needless to describe the transports 
 of delight with which she welcomed him 
 home, her pride in all he had accomplished, and 
 her gratitude at his safety after all the perils he 
 had encountered, 
 
 Since the night in 1806 on which Ralph Heath- 
 cote had fled with his chief from the British 
 Legation whilst the music was still playing and 
 the last couples were still dancing no English 
 Minister had been accredited to the Court at 
 Cassel. A great many business matters had 
 therefore accumulated, and it was Ralph Heath- 
 cote's task now to wind up affairs. 
 
 As so many Hessian officers and men had 
 fought for England in the King's German Legion, 
 there was a particularly large number of pension 
 claims to be settled. 
 
 One of these was to play a considerable part 
 in Ralph's life. 
 
 In the disastrous campaign, 1794, of the Allies 
 against the French Republican troops, the battle 
 
 282
 
 LOUISE DE TROTT ZU SOI.Z 
 Wife of Ralph Heathcote 
 
 (From a Miniature by A, van der limbde)
 
 Conclusion 
 
 of Tourcoin ended in a flight before the over- 
 whelming majority of the Republican French. 
 The Duke of York and most of his suite sud- 
 denly found themselves surrounded by the enemy. 
 They were all but overpowered, when the royal 
 Prince caught sight of a Hessian battalion com- 
 manded by Captain von Trott, and an aide-de^ 
 camp managed to call to their leader, " To the 
 rescue, brave Hessians ! Save the Duke ! " A 
 deadly hand-to-hand fight ensued ; eight officers 
 and forty-seven men of the Hessian battalion, 
 amongst them the intrepid Captain von Trott, 
 remained on the field of honour, but the Duke 
 and his suite were saved. 
 
 This deed of heroism was fully appreciated by 
 the English, and George III allowed Madame de 
 Trott a pension for life. She was left a young 
 widow with two daughters, one of whom had 
 married General Baron Haynau, an illegitimate 
 son of the Elector. Madame de Trott was stay- 
 ing with her son-in-law at Cassel, and sent her 
 younger daughter Louise as her agent in order to 
 inquire about the pension, as during the French 
 occupation the remittances had been stopped. 
 
 Ralph Heathcote often used to say that nothing 
 more exquisite than the innocence, grace, and 
 charm of this young girl could be imagined. 
 He, who had hitherto expressed frivolous and 
 cynical opinions upon love and marriage, instantly 
 lost his heart, and determined to try and win her. 
 
 283
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 Louise de Trott was the very reverse of 
 the type he had pictured to his mother. Quite 
 young and absolutely inexperienced, her beauty, 
 ancient name, and sweet character were the only 
 fortune she had to bestow. 
 
 Mrs. Heathcote was delighted at her son's 
 determination to marry and at his choice. The 
 wedding took place very quietly one morning, 
 with only the nearest relations present, Ralph 
 disliking the idea of a brilliant function. Cassel 
 society was completely taken by surprise. 
 
 His mother's house was the acknowledged 
 centre of Cassel diplomatic and court society ; 
 people used to meet there after the play for music 
 and boston. On the evening of the wedding 
 friends dropped in as usual, whereupon Mrs. 
 Heathcote mentioned that her son's bride, Louise 
 de Trott, who, as had been the case during all 
 these last evenings, was present and employed in 
 pouring out tea, was now her daughter-in-law, 
 having been married to her son that morning. 
 
 The union proved a very happy one. His 
 mother, as she had always planned, shared his 
 happy family life until her death. Such happy 
 plans are seldom fulfilled, but here all the fond 
 wishes so touchingly expressed in these letters 
 came to pass. His marriage made my grand- 
 father change all his plans. Although with his 
 family he repeatedly visited his native country and 
 his friends and intended to settle there altogether, 
 
 284
 
 Conclusion 
 
 the move was always deferred, and the idea finally 
 abandoned. 
 
 He died at Cassel ; and rests with all those he 
 loved in the peaceful old cemetery there, under 
 the shade of wide-spreading oaks. 
 
 THE END 
 
 285
 
 APPENDIX
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 Note on Sir Brook Taylor 
 
 SIR BROOK TAYLOR, born 30 December, 
 1776, was the third son of the Rev. Edward 
 Taylor, of Bifrons, near Canterbury (nephew 
 of Dr. Brook Taylor, LL.D., the friend of New- 
 ton), and of his wife, Margaret Payler. He and his 
 brothers were taken abroad to Germany and Italy 
 from 1786-92 by their father, who was, with Arthur 
 Young, interested in agriculture, and in the last year 
 three of them entered the Foreign Office. His im- 
 mediate elder brother, Sir Herbert Taylor, became 
 Secretary in succession to the Duke of York, George 
 III, Queen Charlotte, and William IV. On 1 Feb- 
 ruary, 1 80 1, Brook Taylor was appointed Minister 
 Plenipotentiary to the Elector of Cologne, and on 
 4 August to the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, with 
 the results that we read of in Ralph Heathcote's 
 letters. In 18 14 he for a time was in attendance on 
 the afflicted King George III, relieving his brother, and 
 was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to the King of 
 Wurtemberg. While in this position in 18 18 he was 
 commissioned (by power under the Great Seal which is 
 given in the Appendix) to treat for the marriage of the 
 Duke of Kent and the Princess Dowager of Leiningen, 
 the parents of Queen Victoria; and in 1820 he was 
 transferred to Munich. In 1822 he was created G.C.H., 
 
 u 289
 
 Ralph Heathcote 
 
 and in 1828 was Minister Plenipotentiary to Berlin, 
 being made a Privy Councillor in that year also. In 
 1 83 1 he was sent on a special mission to Italy to nego- 
 tiate with the Pope. This ended his official career, and 
 he died unmarried at Eaton Place, London, 15 October, 
 1846. 
 
 [copy] 
 
 Power under the Great Seal appointing Brook Taylor 
 Commissioner to arrange the marriage contract of the 
 Duke of Kent and the Princess Dowager of Lein- 
 ingen. 
 
 In the Name and on the Behalf of His Majesty, 
 (Signed) George P. R. 
 
 George the Third, by the Grace of God, King of the 
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender 
 of the Faith, King of Hanover, &c. &c. &c. To All and 
 Singular to whom these Presents shall come, Greeting ! 
 Having consented that a Marriage shall be solemnized 
 between His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent, and 
 Her Serene Highness The Princess Dowager of Lein- 
 ingen, Sister of His Serene Highness the Reigning 
 Duke of Saxe-Cobourg-Saalfeld ; And it being ex- 
 pedient to have the Marriage Contract drawn up in due 
 form, and signed without delay, We have judged it 
 proper to appoint some fit and able Person for that 
 purpose, to treat, conjointly with such Person or Per- 
 sons as shall be nominated on the part of His Serene 
 Highness The Reigning Duke of Saxe-Cobourg-Saal- 
 feld : Know Ye, therefore, that We reposing entire 
 Confidence in the Fidelity, Judgment, Skill, and Abili- 
 ties in managing great Affairs, of Our Trusty and Well 
 beloved Brook Taylor Esquire, His Majesty's Envoy 
 Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Our 
 
 290
 
 Appendix 
 
 Good Brother and Cousin The King of Wurtemberg, 
 have nominated, constituted, and appointed him, as We 
 do by these Presents nominate, constitute, and appoint 
 him His Majesty's true, certain, and undoubted Com- 
 missioner, Procurator, and Plenipotentiary : Giving and 
 Granting to him all and all manner of Power and 
 Authority to meet the Minister or Ministers of His said 
 Serene Highness The Reigning Duke of Saxe-Cobourg- 
 Saalfeld, properly vested with similar Power and Au- 
 thority, to treat with them on the Conditions of the 
 Marriage to be solemnized between His Royal High- 
 ness The Duke of Kent, and Her Serene Highness the 
 Princess Dowager of Leiningen, to sign, in His Majesty's 
 Name, the Instrument or Compact of Marriage thus 
 concluded, and to do and perform all other requisite 
 Acts in as ample manner and form and with the like 
 Validity and Effect, as We Ourself could do, if Person- 
 ally Present : Engaging and Promising on the part of 
 His Majesty, that whatever Things shall be transacted 
 and concluded by His Majesty's said Commissioner and 
 Plenipotentiary, shall be agreed upon, acknowledged, 
 and accepted by Us in the fullest manner, and that We 
 will never suffer, either in the whole or in part, any 
 Person whatsoever to infringe or act contrary thereto. 
 In witness whereof, We have signed these Presents in 
 the Name and on the Behalf of His Majesty, and have 
 caused to be affixed thereto, the Great Seal of the 
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Given 
 at the Palace of Carlton House, the thirty-first day of 
 July, in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Eight 
 Hundred and Eighteen, and in the Fifty-Eighth Year 
 of His Majesty's Reign. 
 
 291
 
 INDEX 
 
 Andrew, Joseph, 184, 194 
 Angeja, Marchioness of, 208 
 Atholl, Duke of, 175 
 Austria, Marie Louise, Arch- 
 duchess of, 225 
 
 Ballesteros, General, 224 
 Baumbach, Minister, de, 33, 36 
 Baumer, M., lawyer, 166, 245, 
 
 246, 278 
 Bavaria, Crown Prince of, 61 
 Beecher, Cranfield, 116 
 Beethoven, Ludwig van, ix 
 Bellingham, 247 
 Benson, Dr., 13, 117 
 Bentinck, Count, 264 
 Beresford, Sir A. W., 235 
 Bernadotte, General, 57 
 Berrys, the Miss, 10, II, 18, 19, 
 
 21. 22, 24, 26 
 
 Berthier, General, 57 
 Bignon, M. de, 33, 34, 36, 61 
 Bigot, Mme. de, 161 
 Billington, Mrs., 99 
 Bohlen, Count, 125, 171 
 Bohlen, Countess of, 16, 182 
 Bonaparte, Napoleon, Emperor, 
 
 55, 60, 61, 213, 227, 265, 271 
 Bonaparte, Joseph, King, 265 
 Bootle, Mr. and Mrs., 90, 101, 
 
 137. 
 Breuning, Fr. W , de, 3 
 Broughton, Mr., 161, 162, 245 
 Brune, Marshal, 156 
 Bussche, Lt.-Col., 198 
 Buttlar, Mme. de, 39 
 Buttlar, M. de Chambellan, 45, 
 
 151,250 
 Byng, General, 163 
 
 Cadogan, Earl of, 184 
 Cathcart, General Lord, 149, 
 
 156, 159, 161, 168, 177, 263 
 Cathcart, Lady, 191 
 Cathcart, Miss, 171 
 Cathcart, Captain, 193 
 Chatham, Earl of, 194 
 Cholmondeley, Lord, 100 
 Coffin, Mr. Pine, 100, 169 
 Constance, Mme. de, 43 
 Corbon de St. Genest, 58, 60 
 Craig, Sir J., 181 
 Crawford, Col., 223, 243 
 Cunnynghame, Sir William, 125, 
 
 133 
 Cunnynghame, Mr., 122, 153, 
 169 
 
 Dalberg, Baron Chancellor, 61 
 Decken, Mme. de, 47, 49, 
 
 253 
 
 Dewar, Mr., 106, 127, 166, 173, 
 262 
 
 Dewar, Mrs., 166, 180 
 
 Dorfeld, M., Secretary of Lega- 
 tion, xv, 5, 122, 150, 174 
 
 Dornberg, Mme. de, 39 
 
 Drake, Minister, 32, 86 
 
 Drechsel, Lieut, de, 164 
 
 Drechsel, Mile, de, 164 
 
 Dubatscheffsky, Russian Am- 
 bassador, 208 
 
 Dumourier, General, 78 
 
 d'Effner, Mme. de, 170 
 England, George III, King of, 
 
 35, 36, 242 
 Eschwege, Baron Herman, vi 
 l'Espana, General, 220 
 
 293
 
 Index 
 
 Findlater, Lady, 177 
 Floret, 15, 16, 17 
 Foster, Cornet, 131 
 Foy, 81, 136 
 
 Grassini, Signora, 85 
 Grenville, Lord, 218 
 Grey, General, 173 
 Gundlach, Mme. de, 144 
 Gyldensteen, Countess of, 69, 
 
 103, 104, 109, 135, 143, 150, 
 
 157 
 
 Hatzfeld, the Counts of, x 
 Haynau, General Baron de, 283 
 Heathcote, Ralph, Minister 
 
 Plenipotentiary, vii 
 Heathcote, Mrs., vii 
 Heathcote of Southwell, 106 
 Heathcote, Godfrey, 115, 254 
 Heathcote, Chappel, 115, 254 
 Heathcote, Ralph, 115 
 Heathcote, Ned, 117 
 Heathcote, Mrs., of Darfield, 
 
 118 
 Hesketh, 169 
 Hessberg, de, 258 
 Hessenstein, Countess of, 12 
 Hessia, Elector William I, 12, 
 
 33-7, 52, 57-6i 
 Hessia, Electress, Princess of 
 
 Denmark, 68 
 Hessia, Electoral Prince (later 
 
 Elector), 38-59 
 Hessia, Electoral Princess, tide 
 
 Princess of Prussia, 38-59, 61, 
 
 144 
 Hessia, Landgravine Frederick, 
 
 44, 54 
 Hettesdorf, Baron de, xv 
 Hill, General Sir William, 219, 
 
 223, 232, 234, 235 
 Holbech, Edward, 172, 188, 
 
 254 
 Holmes, Major, 240 
 
 Imhoff, Col., 166, 169 
 Ingelheim, Count, 41 
 Ingelheim, Countess Antonia, 46 
 
 Jackson, of the English Lega- 
 tion, 52, 56 
 
 Josephine, Empress of France, 
 226 
 
 Kent, Duke of, 290 
 
 Lauderdale, Lord, 143 
 Lauterbach, Louise de (Princess 
 
 Putbus), 5,9, 15, 156 
 Leiningen, Princess of, 290 
 Liston, Mr., 17 
 Liverpool, Earl of, 239 
 Lloyd, Mr., 53 
 Londonderry, son of the Earl of, 
 
 227 
 Long, General, 239 
 Lohrs, Mme., 78 
 Lorentz, M. de, Hessian 
 
 Minister Plenipotentiary, 71, 
 
 166, 171 
 Luchesini, Marquis de, 52, 60 
 Low, General de, 258 
 Lumley, the Hon. W, 240 
 Liitzow, M. de, 45 
 
 MacKinon, General, 243, 267 
 
 Marescotti, Marquis Joseph de, 
 
 Officer in the Guards of the 
 
 Elector of Hesse, 71, no, 135, 
 
 142, 150, 155, 231, 251, 272, 
 
 273 
 Marialve, Marquis de, 207 
 Mariane, Countess, x, 62-72 
 Marie Antoinette, Queen, x 
 Marie Louise, Empress, 226 
 Masse"na, Mare"chal, 239 
 Maynard, Mr. and Mrs., 102, 
 
 106, 117, 255 
 Maynard, General, 161 
 Melville, Lord, 80, 81 
 Metternich, Counts of, x 
 Moltke, Count, 228 
 Mordaunt, Lady, 173 
 Mosheim, Lt-Col., 77, 79, 195, 
 
 259, 267 
 Mulgrave, Lord, 33, 58 
 
 Napoleon III, Emperor, 272 
 
 294
 
 Index 
 
 Nesselrode, Count Max, x, xiii 
 North, Lord, xv 
 
 Northumberland, Duke of, 
 121 
 
 O'Donel, General Don Carlos, 
 
 220, 232, 239 
 Orange, Prince of (later King 
 
 William I of the Netherlands), 
 
 53 
 Orange, Princess of (sister of 
 
 the King of Prussia and the 
 
 Electoral Princess of Hesse), 
 
 49,55 
 Osborne, Capt., 21 
 
 Paget, Lord, 184 
 
 Paget, Mr., 22 
 
 Pappenheim, General de, 61 
 
 Parisot, Mile., 100 
 
 Percival, Mr., 247, 248 
 
 Persico, Count of, 15, 17 
 
 Pitt, William, 248 
 
 Prescott, Sir John and Lady, 
 
 18, 22 
 Purvis, Sir Alexander, 153 
 Purvis, Lady, 154 
 Purvis, Capt., 154 
 Putbus, Princess of, 5, 157 
 
 Radcliffe, Capt., 133, 193, 198, 
 
 205 
 Rainville, aide-de-camp, 78 
 Reynier, General, 233 
 Rhigi, Signora, 85 
 Romana, Marquesse de, 219, 
 
 239 
 Row, Mrs., 18 
 Roux, Col., 274 
 
 Salm, Prince of, 41 
 Schall, M. de, 263 
 Schenk, Mme. de, 259 
 Schlotheim, M. de, 41 
 Smithson, Mr., 163 
 Smith, Spencer, Minister Pleni- 
 potentiary, 32, 86 
 Smith, Mrs., 88 
 Smith, Miss, 90 
 
 Sontag, Col., 77, 78 
 
 Stewart, Sir Charles, Ambassa- 
 dor, 263 
 
 Stewart, Thomas, the Hon., 
 227 
 
 Stolberg, Princess of Stolberg, 
 40 
 
 Struensee, Baron, 30 
 
 Soult, Mare'chal, 268, 277, 279 
 
 Sutherland, Mrs., 83, 100 
 
 Sweden, King of, 157 
 
 Talleyrand, Comte de, 36 
 Taylor, Sir Brook, 5, 32, 33-61, 
 
 86, 87, 92, 101, 103, 109, no, 
 
 112, 135, 137, 143, 144, 150, 
 
 165, 187, 217 
 Taylor, of Bifrons, and Mrs., 
 
 25, 105 
 Taylor, Col., later General, 81, 
 
 97, 108, 263 
 Thornton, Minister, 75, 77 
 Trott, Capt. de, 283 
 Trott de, Mile. Louise, 283 
 Trotti, Marquis de, 203 
 
 Veltheim, Count, 5, 17 
 Villers, Ambassador, 203 
 
 Wade, Capt., 198 
 
 Wademoff, 114 
 
 Waitz, Baron de, Hessian 
 
 Minister, 60 
 Waitz, Mile, de, 231 
 Wales, Prince of, 80, 81 
 Wangenheim, Mme. de, 253 
 Welden, The'rese and Lilly de, 
 
 15, 17,215,227 
 Wellesley, Sir Arthur, 195, 
 
 197 
 Wellesley, Lady Charlotte, 184 
 Wellington, Duke of, 223, 234, 
 
 239, 260, 268, 270 
 Wessenberg, M. de, 266 
 Westfalen, Countess of, 9, 229 
 Westphalia, King Jerome of, 
 
 271 
 Whitelock, General, 163, 167 
 Wickham, 32 
 
 295
 
 Index 
 
 Windham, Col., 126, 127, 129, 
 
 154, 155 
 Wille, Mme. de, 1 14 
 Willis, Dr., 116 
 Willman, singer, 85, 99 
 Wittgenstein, Prince, 37, 50, 
 
 56 
 
 Witzleben, M. de, 41 
 Woodhouse, 188 
 
 York, Duke of, 184 
 
 Zabelitzky, Countess, 185, 260 
 Zeppelin, Count, 103 
 
 296
 
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