It was said that when the newly-made Countess was presented to Queen Charlotte, she could not altogether forget her theatrical phraseology and remarked "that the most blissful moment of her life was that in which she had the honour of appearing before Her Majesty in a new character." Whether she ever actually used these words, it is impossible to say, for envy, malice, and all uncharitableness were unusually busy at the time of her elevation to the peerage.
It was on her way to Windsor, one winter's night, that her coach broke down, and she had to get out and sit by the roadside. Another coach was following behind, and an elderly gentleman, who was inside, put out his head to see what was the matter. He offered to give the lady a seat until her servants had repaired the damage. She accepted, and, to her amazement, she found out that the stranger, was no other than Chief Justice Burroughs, who, as a boy, had befriended her in the predicament of her childhood, outside Salisbury Jail.
Such a coincidence seems almost too good to be true. But anyway, the story is told, and strange things do happen, as we all know, in everyday life. Lady Derby died at Knowsley Park, on the 28th April, 1829. In her latter years she lost her good looks, and became very fond of snuff taking. Her husband only survived her five years.
