The late Major-General Sir Alexander Dickson.
Lieutenant-General Strafford.
General Lord Hill.
The late Lord Bathurst.”
“Thank you for reading us the list. The company at the banquet, who fought at Waterloo, will be getting less and less every year. Where is Apsley House? we have often heard of it; no doubt it is a grand place.”
“Apsley House stands at the south-east entrance of Hyde Park, and near it may be seen the celebrated bronze statue of Achilles, erected in honour of the Duke of Wellington. The mansion is certainly a splendid one, though the strong musket-proof iron gratings, which defend the windows, are no ornament to it. Those gratings were placed there because a rude assemblage of people once threatened the duke, and demolished his windows. Popularity with the people is a very uncertain possession. The bronze palisading and gates in front are very strong. I can tell you a very curious anecdote about Apsley House, which appeared in the newspapers, if you should like to listen to it.”
“Oh yes! do let us hear it; we hope it is a very long one.”
“Not very long, but, as I said, very curious. As George II. was one day riding on horseback in Hyde-park, he met an old soldier who had fought with him in the battle of Dettingen. With this soldier he entered into free discourse. After talking together for some time, the King asked the old veteran what he could do for him? ‘Why, please your Majesty,’ said the soldier, ‘my wife keeps an apple-stall on the bit of waste ground as you enter the park, and if your Majesty would be pleased to make us a grant of it, we might build a little shed and improve our trade.’
“The request was a very moderate one, and was at once granted. In a little time the old apple-woman prospered greatly, for the shed was built, and her business surprisingly increased. The situation was a good one for the purpose, and she carried on a very profitable trade.
“In the course of years the old soldier died, and the lord-chancellor, who was looking around him at the time for a suitable piece of ground whereon he might build himself a mansion, fixed his mind on this very spot. The old woman was sadly alarmed when she saw her poor shed pulled down, and preparations made for building up a great house where it stood, so away she went to her son, an attorney’s clerk, to consult with him as to what course should be pursued. The son was shrewd enough to see at once the advantage that might be gained by remaining quiet in the matter, so he advised his mother to say nothing until the great mansion should be completed. No sooner was the house finished, than the son waited on the lord-chancellor to complain of the trespass committed on his mother’s property, and to claim a recompense for the injury that had been sustained.