Another example of what Lord Brougham called the King's "very minute economy" is given in the present writer's _The First Gentleman of Europe_, vol. I, p. 105. "The modern bard, quoth Tom, sublimely sings Of sharp and prudent economic kings, Who rams, and ewes, and lambs, and bullocks feed. And pigs of every sort of breed: "Of Kings who pride themselves on fruitful sows; Who sell skim milk, and keep a guard so stout To drive the geese, the thievish rascals, out, That ev'ry morning us'd to suck the cows; "Of Kings who cabbages and carrots plant For such as wholesome vegetables want; Who feed, too, poultry for the people's sake, Then send it through the villages in carts, To cheer (how wondrous kind!) the hungry hearts Of such as _only pay_ for what they take."[214] [214] _Ode upon Ode; or, A Peep at St. James's._ [Illustration: _From a drawing by Isaac Cruikshank, 1791_ SUMMER AMUSEMENTS AT FARMER GEORGE'S] The reason for the unpopularity of the Court may be traced, not to the King's lack of appreciation of what was best in art and letters, not even to his stupidity, but to the lack of wisdom in the sovereigns who, in their zeal for reform, carried their love of decorum to excess (although the Queen's Puritanism was not so deep but that she could for her own ends aid and abet such a frail, designing baggage as Lady Jersey[215]), and to a parsimony unpardonable when exercised in conjunction with a large Civil List.[216] Their miserly tendencies were noted and commented upon with disgust at the Queen's first party, given on November 26, 1762, a "gingerbread affair," which, including the ladies-and-gentlemen-in-waiting, did not consist of more than a baker's dozen of couples. On this occasion, though dancing began before seven o'clock and went on uninterrupted till long after midnight, there was no supper, an omission that furnished Lord Chesterfield with the opportunity for a _bon-mot_ in a subsequent conversation as to possible additions to the peerage on the King's next birthday. "I suppose," said some one, "there will be no dukes made." "Oh, yes," said Lord Chesterfield, "there is to be _one_. Lord Talbot is to be created Duke Humphrey, and there is to be no table kept at Court but his!" Those who attended the royal functions fully appreciated this reference to "dining with Duke Humphrey"; and Peter Pindar voiced the public feeling in his "Odes to Kien Long": "The pocket is a very serious matter, _Small beer_ allayeth thirst--nay, _simple water_. The splendour of a chase, or feast, or ball, Though strong, are passing momentary rays-- The lustre of a little hour; that's all-- While _guineas_ with _eternal_ splendour blaze." [215] The "beautiful Miss Twysden" who married in 1770 George Bussy, fourth Earl of Jersey, and was subsequently a mistress of the Prince of Wales.