he hoped and expected to see justice done to Madame St. Laurent.  “She is,” he explained, “of very good family, and has never been an actress, and I am the first and only person who ever lived with her.  Her disinterestedness, too, has been equal to her fidelity.  When she first came to me it was upon L100 a year.  That sum was afterwards raised to L400 and finally to L1000; but when my debts made it necessary for me to sacrifice a great part of my income, Madame St. Laurent insisted upon again returning to her income of L400 a year.  If Madame St. Laurent is to return to live amongst her friends, it must be in such a state of independence as to command their respect.  I shall not require very much, but a certain number of servants and a carriage are essentials.”  As to his own settlement, the Duke observed that he would expect the Duke of York’s marriage to be considered the precedent.  “That,” he said, “was a marriage for the succession, and L25,000 for income was settled, in addition to all his other income, purely on that account.  I shall be contented with the same arrangement, without making any demands grounded on the difference of the value of money in 1792 and at present.  As for the payment of my debts,” the Duke concluded, “I don’t call them great.  The nation, on the contrary, is greatly my debtor.”  Here a clock struck, and seemed to remind the Duke that he had an appointment; he rose, and Mr. Creevey left him.

Who could keep such a communication secret?  Certainly not Mr. Creevey.  He hurried off to tell the Duke of Wellington, who was very much amused, and he wrote a long account of it to Lord Sefton, who received the letter “very apropos,” while a surgeon was sounding his bladder to ascertain whether he had a stone.  “I never saw a fellow more astonished than he was,” wrote Lord Sefton in his reply, “at seeing me laugh as soon as the operation was over.  Nothing could be more first-rate than the royal Edward’s ingenuousness.  One does not know which to admire most—­the delicacy of his attachment to Madame St. Laurent, the refinement of his sentiments towards the Duke of Clarence, or his own perfect disinterestedness in pecuniary matters.”

As it turned out, both the brothers decided to marry.  The Duke of Kent, selecting the Princess of Saxe-Coburg in preference to the Princess of Baden, was united to her on May 29, 1818.  On June 11, the Duke of Clarence followed suit with a daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen.  But they were disappointed in their financial expectations; for though the Government brought forward proposals to increase their allowances, together with that of the Duke of Cumberland, the motions were defeated in the House of Commons.  At this the Duke of Wellington was not surprised.  “By God!” he said, “there is a great deal to be said about that.  They are the damnedest millstones about the necks of any Government that can be imagined.  They have insulted—­personally insulted—­two-thirds of the gentlemen of England, and how can it be wondered at that they take their revenge upon them in the House of Commons?  It is their only opportunity, and I think, by God! they are quite right to use it.”  Eventually, however, Parliament increased the Duke of Kent’s annuity by L6000.  The subsequent history of Madame St. Laurent has not transpired.