Page:Memoirs of the Lady Hester Stanhope.djvu/28

 fault with, either in her looks or her understanding,' I began to know myself. Mr. Elliott, (who married Miss Pitt) used to say to me, dear man! in his bontonné manner, 'You must not be surprised, my love, if you make a great noise in the world.'

"Sir Sydney Smith said of me, after he had known me fifteen years, and when my looks were much changed by illness, 'When I see you now, I recall to my recollection what you were when you first came out. You entered the room in your pale shirt, exciting our admiration by your magnificent and majestic figure. The roses and lilies were blended in your face, and the ineffable smiles of your countenance diffused happiness around you.'

"The Duke of Cumberland used to say to me'You and Amelia (Princess Amelia) are two of the most spanking wenches I ever saw; but, if (alluding to my ill-health) you go on in this way, I do not know what the devil you will make of it.

When mentioning this, her ladyship added: "Doctor, at twenty, my complexion was like alabaster; and, at five paces' distance, the sharpest eye could not discover my pearl necklace from my skin: my lips were of such a beautiful carnation, that, without vanity, I can assure you very few women had the like. A dark blue shade under the eyes, and the blue veins that were observable through the transparent skin,