the only daughter of Charles, Viscount Dungarvon, eldest son of John, fifth Earl of Cork. On the 18th of October 1777, she married John O'Neil, Esq., of Shanes Castle, near Antrim, in the streets of which town he was cruelly and brutally piked by the rebels in 1798.

MRS. O'NEILL.

"Ere raging seas between us roll,
Oh come and soothe my tortured soul!
Return once more to me;

Come, and each anxious fear remove,
Speak peace, and tell me that you love,
And bid me live for thee.

Come, and my wayward fancy cheat,
Persuade me by some dear deceit

That long I shall not mourn ;

Calm all my woes, subdue my sighs,
By some sweet lawful perjuries,
And be for once forsworn.

Swear, that ere three eternal weeks,
You'll kiss the tear from off my cheeks,
Though you mean twice the time;

Swear, that for worlds you would not be,
Another day or hour from me,—

Love will absolve the crime."

Mrs. O'Neill died on the 3rd of September 1793, and her husband was created a peer on the 30th of November following. This accomplished lady wrote some interesting poetry, amongst which, under the name of Geraldine Verney, was an Ode to the Poppy, originally printed in her friend Charlotte Smith's novel of "Desmond," and subsequently in the Rev. A. Dyce's "Specimens of British Poetesses."

CHAPTER XIX.

"Wales, ring the bell"-The Real Delinquent-Brummell's Quarrel with the Prince of Wales-Causes that Led to it—Ben and Benina -Mrs. Fitzherbert-The Beau's Impudence-" Who's your Fat Friend?"—Brummell's Intimacy with the Duke of York-Letters from the Duchess to Brummell-Her great Partiality for DogsFête at Oatlands-The Duke's Reply to his Servant—A Pastoral Dialogue by R. B. Sheridan-The Right Honourable George Rose.

NOTWITHSTANDING the great disparity of rank, the intimacy that was formed between Brummell and the Prince of Wales continued for some years uninterrupted. He was a constant guest at Carlton House, and was distinguished by many marks, never pecuniary ones, of his royal friend's partiality for him. At length however a rupture took place, but it was not caused by the circumstance to which it is usually attributed. The story of "Wales, ring the bell!" was always denied by Brummell: indeed he seemed indignant at its being generally credited; and I have heard him, in explanation of the subject, say, "I was on such intimate terms with the Prince, that if we had been alone I could have asked him to ring the bell without offence; but with a third person in the room I should never have done so; I knew the Regent too well."

The vulgar impudence of the action itself, without Brummell's denial of it, makes the anecdote extremely improbable; and he was also too good a judge of his own interests, to run the risk of being turned out of the Prince's society for the mere fun of enacting such a piece of tomfoolery.

Another version of the story is, that one evening, when Brummell and Lord Moira were engaged in earnest conversation at Carlton House, the Prince requested the former to ring the bell, and that he replied without reflection, "Your Royal Highness is close to it; upon which the Prince rang the bell and ordered his friend's carriage, but that Lord Moira's intervention caused the unintentional liberty to be overlooked.

This act of folly has, and I believe with more truth, been attributed to a young relation of Captain, afterwards Admiral Payne's,1 and under circumstances far more creditable to the Prince's good taste and good feeling. Admiral Payne, a wit and bon vivant, was comptroller of the household; and owing to the position he occupied, and his intimacy with the Prince, this lad, a midshipman in the navy, was sometimes asked to dine at Carlton House. Of course, boy-like, he boasted of the honour in the cock-pit; and one day, when rallied by his companions on the extremely

1 John Willett Payne was a Rear Admiral of the Red, Vice Admiral of the coasts of Devonshire and Cornwall, Treasurer of Greenwich Hospital, and Lord Warden of the Stannaries'; he died on the 17th of November 1803.

easy terms that he represented himself to be upon with his royal friend, he made a bet, that, the next time he dined with the Prince, he would tell him to ring the bell. A few days after he was again invited to Carlton House, and having primed himself with champagne, actually did ask the Regent to ring the bell. His Royal Highness immediately complied, and when the page in waiting, or some other subordinate, made his appearance, said good-humouredly, "Put that drunken boy to bed."

Brummell, as well as his friends, attributed his quarrel with the Prince of Wales to a series of sarcastic remarks, in which he had indulged at the expense of Mrs. Fitzherbert; indiscretions that he was led into by foolishly espousing the part of a noble lady, her rival; but his talent for ridicule once enlisted in her cause, he did not spare even the Prince himself. There was at that time a burly porter at Carlton House, nicknamed "Big Ben," who was so tall that he could look over the gates, and as the Regent was then increasing in size, Brummell often designated the master, by the appellation of the servant -and Mrs. Fitzherbert, by that of "Benina." 1 It is also said, that he annoyed her by various remarks of the same kind; and that, when desired by the Regent at a ball at Lady Jersey's to call her carriage, he obeyed, but in doing so, substituted the word mistress for the usual one of Mrs., and laid a strong emphasis on the insulting epithet. If this anecdote is true, no

1 See Vol. II., Appendix.