The principal entrance of this palace in Pall Mall, with its screen
of columns, will be remembered by many. In the rear of the mansion was
an extensive garden that reached from Warwick Street to Marlborough
House; green sward, stately trees, (probably two hundred years old),
and beds of the choicest flowers, gave to the grounds a picturesque
attraction perhaps unequalled. It was here that the heir to the throne
of England gave, in 1813, an open-air fete, in honour of the battle
of Vittoria. About three o'clock P.M. the elite of London society,
who had been honoured with an invitation, began to arrive - all in full
dress; the ladies particularly displaying their diamonds and pearls,
as if they were going to a drawing-room. The men were, of course, in
full dress, wearing knee-buckles. The regal circle was composed of
the Queen, the Regent, the Princess Sophia and Mary, the Princess Charlotte,
the Dukes of York, Clarence, Cumberland, and Cambridge.

This was the first day that her Royal Highness the Princess Charlotte
appeared in public. She was a young lady of more than ordinary personal
attractions; her features were regular, and her complexion fair, with
the rich bloom of youthful beauty; her eyes were blue and very expressive,
and her hair was abundant, and of that peculiar light brown which merges
into the golden: in fact, such hair as the Middle-Age Italian painters
associate with their conceptions of the Madonna. In figure her Royal
Highness was somewhat over the ordinary height of women, but finely
proportioned and well developed. Her manners were remarkable for a
simplicity and good-nature which would have won admiration and invited
affection in the most humble walks of life. She created universal admiration,
and I may say a feeling of national pride, amongst all who attended
the ball. The Prince Regent entered the gardens giving his arm to the
Queen, the rest of the royal family following. Tents had been erected
in various parts of the grounds, where the bands of the Guards were