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 was edged with lace, and Nollekens' was a very shabby plain
one. Upon his returning the hat the 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."--_Nollekens's Life
and Times_.
* * * * *
Napoleon's Roman bed at Malmaison was without curtains, and his arms
were hung on the walls of the chamber.
* * * * *