Indeed, "Lord Alvanley," wrote Lady Granville at a later date, "was quite charming. Le meilleur enfant, which does not mean homme, but I cannot persuade myself that he is much altered and that he will end by being a very good, as he is a most captivating, person. Such cleverness, si fin, si simple, without one grain of effort. What a receipt for being, as he is, quite charming!"
Moreover, if the tale be true of the affront which he is said to have offered to Mrs Beaumont, the great lady had manifold compensations. Mrs Stanhope relates:—
The Prince de Bauffremont [10] proposed à la française to Mrs Beaumont for one of her daughters, but she, not understanding the style, took it to herself, and answered with great dignity that she was extremely sorry she was not in a situation to be able to accept it!
While in Paris, the Stanhopes had a sad encounter with a former friend, which was curiously typical of existence in the gay city at that date. When Charles Stanhope was at Southampton he had there made the acquaintance of a charming old bachelor, Mr Hibbert. The latter showed him many kindnesses, and, in return, was invited to Cannon Hall for some shooting. John Stanhope records his subsequent history thus:—
"Poor Mr Hibbert! his was indeed a melancholy history. He lived near Southampton, an old bachelor, and then as happy a specimen of that race as I ever saw. He had been a very handsome man, but had unfortunately been bent almost double by a rheumatic fever; however, his face was still striking. He was full of taste and accomplishments, and apparently very well informed, clever and agreeable in society. He was not rich, but evidently possessed fortune enough to supply him with all the luxuries that in his single state he could require. When he visited Cannon Hall he was travelling in a very agreeable manner in his curricle with his own horses, the whole bien monté.
"Unfortunately he went to Paris when the Peace was signed, and he, who had never touched a card when in England, was persuaded to go to the Salon. He could not refrain from trying his luck, and from that moment he was never absent from the Salon when its dangerous doors were open. He was driven away from Paris by Napoleon's return; he went back there after the cent jours and lost every farthing that he possessed, ending his life as a miserable pensioner in the establishment—I believe within its walls."
Mr Hibbert's fate was indeed all too common at that date amongst those who once entered the dangerous doors of the Salon des Étrangers. This was an institution established for confirmed gamblers, and was kept by the celebrated Marquis de Livry, whose resemblance to the Regent was so remarkable that the latter sent Lord Fife over to Paris to ascertain if it could be so striking as report asserted. The Marquis did the honours of his club with a grace and courtesy for which he became renowned in Europe. He provided his clients with the most perfect cuisine and every possible luxury, while, on Sunday, those who had been most regular in their attendance, were rewarded by an invitation to his Villa near Paris, where ladies from the opera were welcomed to meet them, and the society was of the most doubtful description.
None, indeed, who found their way to the Salon issued thence unscathed, and its existence coloured the whole of Parisian society of that day. Fortunes were there staked and lost, many of the victims disappearing mysteriously, some having committed suicide, others, like Mr Hibbert, having become so deeply involved in debt that they could not leave the premises. Lord Thanet, for one, lost there a fortune of £50,000 a year, of which £120,000 was expended in a single night. When remonstrated with on his folly, and the probability pointed out to him that he had been cheated, he only exclaimed with the recklessness born of the fatal atmosphere of the place, "Well, I consider myself fortunate in not having lost twice that sum!"
Meanwhile Marianne and her sisters were observing the difference between the dandies of Almack's, whom they had deserted, and the beaux of French society with whom they were now to mingle. Later their conclusions were given to the world:—
Striking indeed is the difference between a true John Bull and a Continentalist in a ball-room. The first generally looks as if he could not help himself; he has adjourned to Almack's from the House of Lords, the House of Commons, or the Inns of Court; and business, with sad recollection, still pursues him at every step…. What excitation then will move his apathy? Why, that of vanity alone; a pretty woman must make love to him. And this is the best explanation that can be given why, in England, the women always make the first advances to the men; and if they did not, there would, I believe, be no love at all in the fashionable world.