184 DUTCH AND ENGLISH ON THE HUDSON
forms of debauchery, and incidentally proved as
foolish as he was wicked, one of his amusements, it
is said, being that of parading the streets of New
York in the evening, clad in woman's attire His
lady was as unpopular as he and it is said that
when the wheels of her coach were heard approach-
ing the house of any of the wealthy citizens of New
York, the family was hastily set to work hiding the
attractive ornaments to which her ladyship might
take a fancy, as she had no compunction in asking
for them as a gift. In an expedition to Albany in
1702, Cornbury's vanity led him to decorate his
barge with brilliant colors, to provide new uniforms
for the crew, and generally to play the peacock at
the expense of the colony. Rumor placed the sum
of his debts at £7000. Moreover he was charged
with the embezzlement of £1500 of government
money.
A long-suffering community finally demanded
the recall of Lord Cornbury and demanded it with
the same insistence which was to make itself felt
in revolution in the last half of the century. As is
usual with sovereigns when any right is demanded
with sufficient firmness, Queen Anne was graciously
pleased to withdraw Lord Cornbury in 1708. On
the arrival of his successor, Cornbury was placed