lly admitted to possess, not only great wit
and humour, but _l'esprit francais_ in its highest perfection; and no
greater compliment could be paid him by foreigners than this. He was one
of the rare examples (particularly rare in the days of the dandies, who
were generally sour and spiteful) of a man combining brilliant wit and
repartee with the most perfect good-nature. His manner, above all, was
irresistible; and the slight lisp, which might have been considered as a
blemish, only added piquancy and zest to his sayings.

In appearance he was about the middle height, and well and strongly
built, though he latterly became somewhat corpulent. He excelled in all
manly exercises, was a hard rider to hounds, and was what those who do
not belong to the upper ten thousand call "a good-plucked one." His face
had somewhat of the rotund form and smiling expression which
characterises the jolly friars one meets with in Italy. His hair and
eyes were dark, and he had a very small nose, to which, after deep
potations, his copious pinches of snuff had some difficulty in finding
their way, and were in consequence rather lavishly bestowed upon his
florid cheek. He resided in Park Street, St. James's, and his dinners
there and at Melton were considered to be the best in England. He never
invited more than eight people, and insisted upon having the somewhat
expensive luxury of an apricot-tart on the sideboard the whole year
round.

Alvanley was a good speaker; and, having made some allusion to O'Connell
in rather strong terms in the House of Lords, the latter very coarsely
and unjustly denounced him, in a speech he made in the House of Commons,
as a bloated buffoon. Alvanley thereupon called out the Liberator, who
would not meet him, but excused himself by saying, "There is blood
already on this hand"--alluding to his fatal duel with D'Esterre.

Alvanley then threatened O'Connell with personal chastisement. Upon
this, Morgan O'Connell, a very agreeable, gentlemanlike man, who had
been in the Austrian service, and whom I knew well, said he would take
his father's place. A meeting was accordingly agreed upon at Wimbledon
Common, Alvanley's second was Colonel George Dawson Damer, and our late
consul at Hamburgh, Colonel Hodges, acted for Morgan O'Connell. Several
shots were fired without effect, and the seconds then interfered and put
a stop to any further hostilities.

On their way home in a hackney-coach, Alvanley said, "What a clumsy