Barry, the painter, was with Nollekens at Rome in 1760, and they were
extremely intimate. Barry took the liberty one night, when they were
about to leave the English Coffee-house, to exchange hats with him;
Barry’s being edged with lace, and Nollekens’s a very shabby, plain one.
Upon his returning the hat next morning, he was requested by Nollekens
to let him know why he left him his gold-laced hat. “Why, to tell you
the truth, my dear Joey,” answered Barry, “I fully expected
assassination last night, and I was to have been known by my laced hat.”
Nollekens often used to relate the story, adding: “It’s what the Old
Bailey people would call a true bill against Jem.”