Florizel's Folly Author:John Ashton Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. Brighton becomes fashionable—Duke of Cumberland there— His character—The Royal Marriage Act—His influence over the Prince of Wales—The Duke ... more »and the King—Bad conduct of the Prince of Wales. RIGHTON rapidly became fashionable, and we find the announcement on June 1, 1761, of Lord Abergavenny, Lord Bruce, Mr. and Lady Jane Evelyn, Lady Sophia Egerton, etc.; and on June 25, 1775, arrived here the Duke and Duchess of Richmond, Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, Ladies Caroline and Eliza Spencer, etc. In 1782 it was patronized by Royalty, for the somewhat eccentric Princess Amelia Sophia Eleonora, the second daughter of George II., paid the town a visit, and Henry Frederick, brother to George III. and Duke of Cumberland, took up his residence there at Grove House. An extract from a letter from Brighthelmstone published in the Morning Herald, September 28, 1782, describes the state of society there at that time : ' Sep. 26.—This place is, at last, as full as an egg, but the company is a motley groupe, I assure you. TheDuke of C is at the head of the whole, and condescendingly associates with all, from the Baron down to the Blackleg!—Play runs high, particularly at Whist; his Royal Highness has touched a few hundreds by betting adverse to Major B gs, who, apparently, is not like to make a very profitable campaign of it. We have every kind of amusement that fancy can desire for the train of folly and dissipation; and all are crowded beyond measure ! Barfhelemon has had two or three boreish concerts entirely of his own music, by which he has made much more than he merited. Lady Worsley, who is among us, is the life and soul of equestrian parties, riding sixteen miles within the hour every morning with all imaginable ease! Her Ladyship made a match the other da...« less