rs. Her dress is frightful. Her waist is absolutely
between her shoulders." Nelson measured her by a different standard.
"In every point of view," he tells herself, "from Ambassatrice to the
duties of domestic life, I never saw your equal. That elegance of
manners, accomplishments, and, above all, your goodness of heart, is
unparalleled." The same lady describes her personal appearance, at the
time when his devotion had reached the height from which it never
declined. "Her figure is colossal, but, excepting her feet, which are
hideous, well shaped. Her bones are large, and she is exceedingly
_embonpoint_. The shape of all her features is fine, as is the form of
her head, and particularly her ears; her teeth are a little irregular,
but tolerably white; her eyes light blue, with a brown spot in one,
which, though a defect, takes nothing away from her beauty or
expression. Her eyebrows and hair (which, by the bye, is never clean)
are dark, and her complexion coarse. Her expression is strongly
marked, variable, and interesting; her movements in common life
ungraceful; her voice loud, yet not disagreeable." Elliot's briefer
mention of her appearance is at once confirmatory and complementary of
that of Mrs. St. George: "Her person is nothing short of monstrous for
its enormity, and is growing every day. Her face is beautiful."

To these opinions it may be not uninteresting to add the critical
estimate of William Beckford, uttered many years later. Beckford was
not an admirable character, far from it; but he had known good
society, and he had cultivated tastes. Nelson accepted his
hospitality, and, with the Hamiltons, spent several days under his
roof, about Christmas time, 1800. In reply to the question, "Was the
second Lady Hamilton a fascinating woman?" he said, "I never thought
her so. She was somewhat masculine, but symmetrical in figure, so that
Sir William called her his Grecian. She was full in person, not fat,
but _embonpoint_. Her carriage often majestic, rather than feminine.
Not at all delicate, ill-bred, often very affected, a devil in temper
when set on edge. She had beautiful hair and displayed it. Her
countenance was agreeable,--fine, hardly beautiful, but the outline
excellent. She affected sensibility, but felt none--was artful; and no
wonder, she had been trained in the Court of Naples--a fine school for
an English woman of any stamp. Nelson was infatuated. She could make
him believe anything, that the profl