admired, what
he termed 'the fine things which the prince had upon his shoulders.'
'Mighty fine, indeed,' replied another; 'but, mind me, they'll soon be
_upon our shoulders_, for all that.' 'Ah, you rogue!' exclaimed the
prince, laughing, 'that's a hit of your own, I am convinced:--but,
come, take some wine.'

"He had some inclination for scientific pursuits, and highly respected
those who were eminent for mechanical inventions. He contributed
largely towards the erection of a monument to the memory of Watt. Of
his medical information, slight as it undoubtedly was, he is said
to have been particularly proud. Carpue had demonstrated to him the
general anatomy of the human body, in his younger days; and for a
number of years, the ingenious Weiss submitted to his inspection all
the new surgical instruments, in one of which the king suggested some
valuable improvements.

"His talents were, undoubtedly, above the level of mediocrity: they
have, however, been greatly overrated, on the supposition that several
powerfully written documents, put forth under his name, but composed
by some of his more highly-gifted friends, were his own productions.
His style was, in fact, much beneath his station: it was inelegant,
destitute of force, and even occasionally incorrect. He read his
speeches well, but not excellently: he possessed no eloquence,
although, as a convivial orator, he is said to have been rather
successful.

"At one time, while an associate of Sheridan, Erskine, Fox, &c., he
affected, in conversation, to be brilliant, and so far succeeded,
as to colloquial liveliness, that during their festive intercourse,
according to the witty barrister's own admission, 'he fairly kept up
at saddle-skirts' even with Curran. Notwithstanding this compliment,
his pretensions to wit appear to have been but slender; the best
sayings attributed to him being a set of middling puns, of which the
following is a favourable selection:--When Langdale's distillery was
plundered, during the riots of 1780, he asked why the proprietor had
not defended his property. 'He did not possess the means to do so,'
was the reply. 'Not the means of defence!' exclaimed the prince,
'and he a brewer--a man who has been all his life at _cart_ and
_tierce_!--Sheridan having told him that Fox had _cooed_ in vain to
Miss Pulteney, the prince replied, 'that his friend's attempt on the
lady's heart was a _coup maoque_.'--He once quoted from Suetonius, the
words, '_J