'"Well, my lord, and what does this mean?" said I, half angrily.
'"Can you not guess the writer?" said Lord Malden.
'"Perhaps yourself, my lord," cried I, gravely.
'"Upon my honour, no," said the Viscount. "I should not have dared so to address you on so short an acquaintance."
'I pressed him to tell me from whom the letter came. He again hesitated; he seemed confused, and sorry that he had undertaken to deliver it.
'"I hope I shall not forfeit your good opinion," said he; "but——"
'"But what, my lord?"
'"I could not refuse—for the letter is from the Prince of Wales."
'I was astonished; I confess that I was agitated; but I was, also, somewhat sceptical as to the truth of Lord Malden's assertion. I returned a formal and a doubtful answer, and his lordship shortly after took his leave.'
It is not worth while pursuing the details of this woman's fall; she says her husband was neglectful of her, and unfaithful; and, besides, the Prince gave her a bond for £20,000, payable when he came of age. He soon tired of her, and terminated the connection in 1781. The lady seems to have been far from inconsolable, for in 1782 she was under the protection of Colonel Tarleton, and a caricature, said to be by Gillray, called 'The Thunderer' (August 20, 1782), thus shows the then situation.