against itself. Any number of skits and pasquinades, some of them exceedingly scurrilous, were circulated in connection with it. The most popular was that

called An Excellent New Ballad, from which we have already quoted one verse, and may give a few more, omitting the coarsest :

God prosper long our noble King,
His Turks and Germans all;

A woeful christ'ning late there did
In James's house befal.

To name a child with might and mane
Newcastle took his way,

We all may rue the child was born,
Who christ'ned was that day.

His sturdy sire, the Prince of Wales,
A vow to God did make,

That if he dared his child to name
His heart full sore should ake.

But on the day straight to the Court
This Duke came with a staff;

Oh, how the Prince did stamp and stare,
At which the Duke did laugh.

Hereat the Prince did wax full wroth

Ev'n in his father's hall;

"I'll be revenged on thee," he said,
"Thou rogue and eke rascal."

The Duke ran straightway to the King,
Complaining of his son;

And the King sent three Dukes more

To know what he had done.

The King then took his grey goose quill
And dipt it o'er in gall,

And by Master Vice-Chamberlain

He sent to him this scrawl:

"Take hence yourself, and eke your spouse,

Your maidens, and your men,

Your trunks, and all your trumpery,

Except your children."

Then up the street they took their way,
And knocked up good Lord Grantham,
Higledy-pigledy they lay,

And all went rantum scantum.

Now sire and son had played their part;
What could befal beside ?—

Why, the babe took this to heart,
Kick'd up his heels, and died.

God grant the land may profit reap
From all this silly pother,

And send these fools may ne'er agree

Till they are at Han-o-ver."

As the Prince of Wales was now forbidden to live in any of the royal palaces, it became necessary for him to set up a house for himself and his consort. He remained at Lord Grantham's for a short time, and then took Savile House in Leicester Fields, and moved his effects thither from St. James's. But Savile House was too small for his requirements, so he took the house adjoining, Leicester House, from Lord Gower, at a rent of £500 a year, established a communication between it and Savile House, and with the Princess of Wales took up his residence there on Lady Day, 1718.

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CHAPTER VIII.

LEICESTER HOUSE AND RICHMOND LODGE.

1718-1719.

LEICESTER HOUSE, "the pouting place of princes," as Pennant wittily called it, is chiefly known in history as the residence of two successive Princes of Wales of the Hanoverian dynasty who were at feud with the head of the House, but it has other titles to fame. It was built in the reign of James the First by Lord Leicester, the famous ambassador, as his town house, and in subsequent reigns it became the residence, for short or long periods, of many celebrated personages, such as the patriot, Algernon Sidney, the Queen of Bohemia, during the last years of her life, Peter the Great, on his visit to England, and Prince Eugene of Savoy. It was situated on the north side of Leicester Fields, as the square was then called, and stood a little way back from the road, with gardens behind it. It was a long, twostoried house, shut off from the square by a large court-yard, and in front of the court-yard, on either side of the entrance gate, was a low range of shops. Inside, the house was large and spacious, with a fine staircase, and handsome reception rooms