2ND DUKE OF WELLINGTON 227

He was a man of considerable originality and
independence which manifested itself in his costume,
that in his latter years at least comprised an old soft
felt hat and an aged cloak of the sort once known as
a roquelaure, this, combined with his goggles, made
him a figure of a very noticeable and eccentric kind.
He was also eccentric in other ways, one of his odd
practices, for instance, was to use up half-sheets when
writing to his friends. All his fads and fancies were,
however, quite harmless, and it might have been said
of him, as it was of Ruskin, that he had not a bee
but a hive of bees in his bonnet, which nevertheless
buzzed so sweetly that it did not matter.
In spite of a slight tendency to affect cynicism, he
was a most charitable man with an excellent heart,
quite devoid of all cant.
Strathfieldsaye in his day was a delightful country-
house, of which the writer, who, owing to the Duke's
kindness, as a boy spent much of his holidays there,
will ever retain pleasant recollections. The Duke
loved to gather together interesting people of all sorts
— General Hamley, Lord Wolseley, Irving, the late
Lord Lytton, Mr. Escott, and many others, most of
whom have now passed away, were constant visitors.
This Duke, ever avid of knowledge, paid little
attention to class distinctions where cleverness was
concerned.
