In 1879 he appeared as witness at the Old Bailey, in a forgery case relating to authorship of a song, 'The Tar's Return', which had been written for Foli and sold to him for his public endorsement. He apparently possessed a frightening temper: the story is told of a disagreement with a head waiter in a well-known restaurant, in which Foli threw his dinner, plate and all, out of the window to make the point that the meal was unsatisfactory, shouting 'That's what's wrong with it, and now what are you going to do about it?' Amid the general laughter his anger soon evaporated. He is said to have been an inveterate gambler, and a successful one, and to have visited Monte Carlo annually.