next time I appeared before her I was little better; standing, however, for a few moments, I rallied my spirits by a great effort, and managed to say,-“ I feel myself highly honoured, in being deemed worthy once again to wait upon your Grace." Her Grace, I will take the liberty of saying, was not unmoved herself, and her answer was,-" D'Amour, it seems now as though you had never been absent; things appear just as they used to be!"

Most of the servants had already set off for Gordon Castle. We soon followed, and the morning after we got there they all crowded around me, with kind looks and hearty welcomes. One of the first questions I was asked was,— What have you done with your black swine?" I was prepared for the question. I told them that I had brought its chap along with me in my trunk, and if they pleased to meet me in the steward's room at twelve o'clock, I would in the meantime provide beans from the garden, and it should be ready cooked, and they should all have the pleasure of partaking off it to lunch. All agreed most heartily to the proposal, and our good humoured meeting, to commemorate my black swine, passed off in excellent style.

We spent the season at the Castle much to my satisfaction ; but I do not recollect any circumstances particularly worthy of being recorded. When we were about to return to London, I wrote to my wife desiring her to meet me there, and take a lodging, which she did. As Gordon Castle is near the sea coast, many of our servants, with our plate,

&c., always went backwards and forwards by water. When the Duchess and her immediate attendants got to town, the vessel had not arrived; neither did it come in for several days. I desired my wife to come into the kitchen, and take the place of cook till the official one arrived. She did so, and actually had the honour, during the short period, of cooking a supper for his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.

The Duchess, on one of the days in question, asking her footman who had dressed dinner, was answered "Mrs. D'Amour." A few days after a messenger was sent from the Duchess to ask my wife if she was willing to come into her family, and and if she would be town housekeeper! Of course the offer was accepted, and thus, if my readers can receive it so, the words which were spoken by me at Woodhall, when I was so transported with the Duchess's letter, appeared not to have been the effect of common joyous phrenzy, but rather something like prescience.

As my account is already, perhaps, sufficiently long, I will not weary my reader's patience by particular details of my second servitude with the Duchess. And, in fact, the circumstances which took place, being of a similar nature to what passed before, such an attempt could not fail to be tedious. Suffice it to say, we spent two more years in the service of this noble family.

I am bound to confess that the Duke of Gordon never seemed entirely to forget the unpleasant circumstances of our former separation, which made things

Another thing was, we

rather unpleasant to me. had brought a Mrs. Keats, a sister to my wife, into a situation of some distinction in the household; and although she was an excellent servant, and behaved herself with great propriety, yet, prosperity being almost sure to cause envy, we were looked on rather with jealous eyes by several of our fellowservants.

Things being in this unpleasant condition, and I seeing no way of curing them, I consulted with my wife, and we agreed, that upon the whole, we had best leave altogether. We considered that as our vessel was now finished, we should have something to turn our hands to, without again falling into the unhappy predicament of gentlefolks. When I told the Duchess our resolution, she kindly asked me if I would like to take a situation in another family? I told her Grace in reply, that I should not; "that after I had done serving her Grace, I should have no mind to serve any one else." And thus I finally left her Grace's service.

Should this account, by any possibility, fall into the hands of, and be read by, any of the noble personages whom I have taken the liberty of introducing into my account, although they cannot be expected, after the bustling and gay scenes of high life through which they have passed, to recollect every circumstance which I have here recorded, yet, I am sure the narrative will recall to mind some things by which they will recognize the legitimate nature of my history. Should I be mistaken, the recital of the following will be sufficient, at least, as

regards several of the Daughters of her whose memory I shall ever most profoundly revere.

On a certain occasion, the Duchess of Gordon being in the way of increasing her family, proceeded to Edinburgh, where she intended her accouchement to take place. She was, of course, accompanied by all the younger branches of her family. It happened, during this period, that the small pox broke out in Edinburgh, and became uncommonly virulent. To avoid the danger, it was arranged that the children, with their governors, should take up their residence, for a time, in a country situation near to Dalkeith. The temporary residence was a cottage belonging to Mr. Dundas. Her Grace, as I will venture to assert, had great confidence in my prudence and care; and she sent me along with them as a kind of provider and governor of the whole. Here I had the honour of superintending the whole delightful little colony, and of several times preparing dinner, in the best manner which our circumstances allowed, for her Grace herself, when she came over to see the children. One circumstance which occurred while we were there, will not be forgotten. Melville Castle was about to be re-built, and our Duchess was requested to lay the first stone, which she did. The cottage was within a mile of the place, and we were all allowed to be present. The little Lady Georgiana, now Duchess of Bedford, and mother-in-law to Lord John Russell, was then two years of age, and I carried her in my arms to see the ceremony! A great company of Freemasons attended, to whom I,

by her Grace's order, gave entertainment at our cottage.

To conclude the account of my connection with this noble family, I may say, that though during my sojourn in this world of chance I have no reason to complain of not having enjoyed my full share of the blessings of a good Providence, yet I consider the time I spent in their service as the "Golden Age," if I may so say, of my life. I believe, could I have been made acquainted before I left my father's house, with every situation in every family in the wide world to which I might reasonably aspire, I should have chosen the one which actually fell to my lot. I am now 87 years of age; a grey-headed old man; yet, through the goodness of God, my health is so good and my faculties so far are unimpaired, that, would my circumstances allow, nothing would please me better, before I am called hence, than to undertake a journey to London, or even further from home, to obtain an interview with any of the noble branches of the illustrious house which I was so long honoured to serve.

I believe it was in the year 1793 that we both finally left our situations and came and settled at Retford. I immediately took possession of my vessel, put on a blue smock frock; got a man as an assistant, and turned coal merchant; trading from Whittington and Norwood collieries to Retford. I soon, under the instruction of the man I had, acquired sufficient skill in the art of navigation; and that too, as my readers will be aware,