Page:Angelo's Pic Nic.djvu/69

LIFE OF THE CHEVALIER DE ST. GEORGE an adequate pension to his handsome Nanon, whom he brought to Paris. The remainder of his immense fortune went to a daughter of his, by a creole woman; but the various talents of St. George were like a mine of gold; he might have amassed considerable wealth, if he had united prudence to his other qualities. He was very liberal in money matters, and indulged freely in all the pleasures which then made Paris such a delightful residence: he mixed in every circle, and yet seemed to neglect nothing. His concertos, symphonies, quartettos, and some comic operas, are the best proofs of his extraordinary progress in music. Though he was very young, he was at the head of the concert of amateurs; he conducted the orchestras of Madame de Montesson and the Marquis of Montalembert. In 1779 he was received as an inmate in the house of the Duke of Orleans, and held the rank of Lieutenant de Chasse de Pine; he lost this place at the Duke's death:-this post of honour and of profit was obtained by St. George through no mean intrigue-no underhand proceedings. The loss was serious to him, and he felt it, and he was reduced again to apply himself to his favourite art. He came to London, and had the honour of fencing before His Royal Highness the Regent, with Fabian, a celebrated professor at Paris, and thrusting Carte and Tierce with Madame le Chevalier D'Eon. He returned to this country in 1780, and was again received by His Royal Highness at Brighton, and went to London, under an idea of establishing himself in this country; but his plans were so badly laid, that he was altogether unsuccessful. On his return to France, it was with ditficulty he could avoid uniting in that astonishing impulse, which then