who died a few years
ago; she had something, he nothing; he got into Parliament,
belonged to the Whigs, displayed a good deal of shrewdness and
humour, and was for some time very troublesome to the Tory
Government by continually attacking abuses. After some time he
lost his seat, and went to live at Brussels, where he became
intimate with the Duke of Wellington. Then his wife died, upon
which event he was thrown upon the world with about L200 a year
or less, no home, few connections, a great many acquaintance, a
good constitution, and extraordinary spirits. He possesses
nothing but his clothes, no property of any sort; he leads a
vagrant life, visiting a number of people who are delighted to
have him, and sometimes roving about to various places, as fancy
happens to direct, and staying till he has spent what money he
has in his pocket. He has no servant, no home, no creditors; he
buys everything as he wants it at the place he is at; he has no
ties upon him, and has his time entirely at his own disposal and
that of his friends. He is certainly a living proof that a man
may be perfectly happy and exceedingly poor, or rather without
riches, for he suffers none of the privations of poverty and
enjoys many of the advantages of wealth. I think he is the only
man I know in society who possesses nothing.

Captain Dickinson's trial[6] ended last week, with a sentence
which was levelled against Codrington, and which called the
charges groundless, frivolous, and vexatious. It is generally
thought that this sentence might have been spared, though the
acquittal was proper; that Codrington behaved very foolishly, and
in ever mentioning the round robin after he had forgiven it, very
inexcusably; but that, on the other hand, the Admiralty had
displayed a spirit of hostility and rancour against him which
is very disgusting, and that Blackwood was sent down to the
court-martial for the express purpose of bullying and thwarting
him. I saw him after the sentence; he seemed annoyed, but said
that such a sentence made it necessary the matter should not stop
there, and that it must be taken up in Parliament. I cannot see
what he is to gain by that; he may prove that the Ministry of
that day (which was not the Duke's) behaved very ill, but that
has nothing to do with the court-martial.

[6] [Captain Dickinson fought the 'Genoa' at the battle of
Navarino after Captain Bathurst, the commander of the
ship, was kill