It was to the Duchess of Tyrconnel, as she then was, that James II. had to relate the melancholy story of his defeat at the battle of the Boyne: "Soon after sunset, James, escorted by two hundred cavalry, rode into the Castle [Dublin]. At the threshold he was met by the wife of Tyrconnel, once the gay and beautiful Fanny Jennings, the loveliest coquette in the brilliant Whitehall of the Restoration. To her the vanquished King had to relate the ruin of her fortunes and of his own."[21] Jesse regards the connection of the Duchess of Tyrconnel with the New Exchange as "apocryphal." But we have the authority of Walpole and Pennant for the anecdote, and I see no reason to doubt its accuracy. The romance of the White Milliner of the Adelphi afforded Douglas Jerrold material for a two-act comedy, which Madame Vestris produced at Covent Garden on February 9, 1841. The author of _Black-eyed Susan_ was apparently suffering from some slight at the hands of the critics, for he takes them to task soundly in his Preface to _The White Milliner_, as his play was called. Having related the incident which gave rise to the piece, he goes on to say: "In our day, the dramatist who keeps aloof from a small faction--which almost avowedly adopts for its motto the dogma of Molière,-- 'Nul n'aura de l'esprit, Hors nous et nos amis,'-- may look for the most unrelenting opposition from two or three stalwart critics, or, rather, literary vassals. Fortunately, however, the despicable partisanship of these people is now too well known to be hurtful. Whether they chronicle their injustice in bold falsehood, or with an affectation of candour, examine a drama to find in it nothing but what is contemptible, the disinterested motive is equally manifest. However, the abuse of these folks, like certain poisons long exposed to light, does not destroy--it only nauseates." The cast of _The White Milliner_ was remarkably strong. It contained, in addition to Madame Vestris, who played the heroine, Albina, Charles Mathews, James Vining, Robert Keeley, and William Farren. The opening scene is the "Exterior of England's Burse." The last scene of the first act is laid in the interior of the New Exchange. A crowd of milliners, with Doddles, the Beadle of the Burse, in the centre, fill the stage: "_Doddles._ Silence! Silence! _Betty._ Hear the Beadle! _1st Milliner._ Attention for Doddles! _2nd Milliner._ Does it concern us all? _Doddles._ All: maids, wives, widows, and young women. Silence! _Betty._ Now, then; we're still as mice. _Doddles._ Yes--when the cat's dead. Silence! and no winking. _Betty._ La! Make haste. _Doddles._ Manners, Betty Furbelow, manners! When I was in the army---- _Betty._ We've heard all about that. _Doddles._ Before sleeping in wet blankets, I gloriously lost my voice in the defence of my country---- _Betty._ I'm sure your country ought to be much obliged to you. But the rules! the rules! _Milliners._ The rules!