His father had sent the family plate to be kept by
Messrs. Drummond, bankers, and it was the current belief that the son
never had it from the vaults of the bank to grace his tables at Welbeck
or Harcourt House.
His sisters seldom visited him, although one of them, Lady Ossington,
lived at Ossington Hall, about 15 miles away, in the same county as
Welbeck.
The gossips of his lifetime would have it that his pet aversions were
tobacco, women, and anyone in the garb of a gentleman; but he had a
taste for drinking stout and lived on a simple dietary.
These stories involve a tissue of inconsistencies. His correspondence
with Fanny Kemble when he was Marquis of Titchfield, already quoted,
shows his kind consideration, not only for her, but for other ladies who
moved in higher circles. There was his friendship with Lady Cork, who
was often seen by the workmen on the estate driving Shetland ponies. She
was a visitor at Cuckney Hall, which was part of the Welbeck domain.
Again there are instances on record of his courtesy to those of the
opposite sex whom he met in the park; besides which there were many
female servants engaged at the Abbey.
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