[Sidenote: LORD MORPETH] Ld. Morpeth is perfect in person and manner; he has the _air noble_ without haughtiness, and his mirth is cheerful, not boisterous. What Ld. Wycombe said of him is very descriptive, ‘He is an excellent specimen of aristocracy.’ He has inherited a considerable portion of his father’s love of fashion, but as it does not run away with him, I see no fault in it, tho’ he sometimes allows his judgment to be guided by it. His understanding is excellent; he is fond of literature, and is reckoned a good scholar. He has rather too much diffidence of his own abilities, and will frequently be silent, tho’ he has a strong opinion upon the subject discussed, unless he has some established authority to support him. What he says is always well expressed, with great neatness and precision. He seldom enters into an argument at length, but his observations are invariably correct and judicious. He is a chaste poet, and has written many very pretty things. His passions are not strong; he can never enjoy the extreme of delight, or suffer excess of sorrow. Not that he is deficient of right feelings; he can be angry, but not vindictive. Lately he has given in to a love of play, by which his temper is at times irritated. He is exemplary as a son, and has such strong principles of honour that he will excel in every station. He is very much attached to Ld. H. Canning was very entertaining, he can be extremely so. I made him repeat his parody upon Lewis’s _Alonzo and Imogene_. It is comical, and goes very well with the music:--[273] A Parson so grave and a Baron so bold Conversed as the coach drove along; Many stories they heard, many stories they told, Parson Legge[274] was the parson, his stories were old, And ye Baron was Lord Boringdon. There is more, but I forget it. Ld. Lansdown came to see me yesterday. He looked very well, and appeared more cordial to me than he has done since Ld. W.’s affairs have worried him. There is certainly something very whimsical in my situation with respect to him and Ld. W.; each suspect I prefer the other, and both have taken an aversion to me on that account, for Ld. W. is really so displeased with me that in his letters he never names me, or does he write, as he used to do, frequently to me. Arduous would be the attempt to decipher Ld. W.’s character. The most predominant feature is the love of singularity. His success in that aim is most favourably aided by his possessing innately a large portion of it. He endeavours more to surprise than to please. His sarcastic humour is excellent, the gravity of his manner sets off his wit. It is difficult to ascertain whether he is in joke or earnest, and he frequently begins seriously a conversation which his love of persiflage makes him end ironically. [Sidenote: LORD MACARTNEY]