THE DUKE'S CHARITY. 23 of the park at Welbeck. At this lodge his Grace stationed a porter whose business it was to give relief to every indigent applicant for it—a pint of beer and half a loaf of bread for a man, and half a pint of beer and the same quantity of bread for a woman. To children a slice of cake and a little wine-and-water were in each case dispensed. At Harcourt House, in London, his Grace's charities were absolutely boundless. I have often been present when Mrs Jones, the housekeeper, received letters from Welbeck, written by the fourth Duke and by his Duchess, giving instructions for the distribution of clothing, food, coals, and money among the poor inhabitants of his Grace's London property. The Duke died at Welbeck on the 27th March 1854, at the advanced age of eighty-five years. His last words, addressed to his regular medical attendant, were these: "Dr Ward, in a few minutes the poorest labourer who worked on my estate, and has gone before me, will be my equal in every respect." Throughout his protracted life. his Grace was in the enjoyment of perfect health, the result of abundant exercise and of many hours passed every day in the open air without regard to the weather. The Duke preferred walking to riding; but when he rode, it was invariably on a stout trotting cob, which nothing could ever induce him to urge into a canter or gallop. In the |