Part 20 (1/2)

Be that as it may, it answered the purpose, and did not disturb the friends.h.i.+p of the parties. The honourable general has obtained the appellation of the Park Adonis, from his attractive figure and known gallantries.

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A-----------y mark, a batter'd beau,{11} Who'll still the fatal dice-box throw Till not a guinea's left.

Beyond's the brothers B-----e,{12} Of gold and acres quite as free, By gaming too bereft.

Here trips commercial dandy Ra-k-s,{13}

11 Lord A------y, the babe of honour--once the gayest of the gay, where fas.h.i.+on holds her bright enchanting court; now wrinkled and depressed, and plucked of every feather, by merciless Greek banditti. Such is the infatuation of play, that he still continues to linger round the fatal table, and finds a pleasure in recounting his enormous losses. A---y, who is certainly one of the most polished men in the world, was the leader of the dandy club, or the unique four, composed of Beau Brummell, Sir Henry Mildmay, and Henry Pierrepoint, the Amba.s.sador, as he is generally termed. When the celebrated dandy ball was given to his Majesty (then Prince of Wales), on that occasion the prince seemed disposed to cut Brummell, who, in revenge, coolly observed to A------y, when he was gone,--”Big Ben was vulgar as usual.” This was reported at Carlton House, and led to the disgrace of the exquisite.--Shortly afterwards he met the Prince and A------y in public, arm in arm, when the former, desirous of avoiding him, quitted the baron: Brummell, who observed his motive, said loud enough to be heard by the prince,--”Who is that fat friend of yours?” This expression sealed his doom; he was never afterwards permitted the honour of meeting the parties at the palace. The story of ”George, ring the bell,” and the reported conduct of the prince, who is said to have obeyed the request and ordered Mr. Brummell's carriage, is, we have strong reasons for thinking, altogether a fiction: Brummell knew the dignity of his host too well to have dared such an insult. The king since generously sent him 300L. when he heard of his distress at Calais. Brummell was the son of a tavern-keeper in St. James's, and is still living at Calais.

12 The brothers are part of a flock of R------r geese, who have afforded fine plucking for the Greeks. Parson Ambrose, the high priest of Pandemonium, had a leg of one and a wing of the other devilled for supper one night at the Gothic Hall. They have cut but a lame figure ever since.

13 A quaint cognomen given to the city banker by the west- end beaux;--he is a very amiable man.

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Who never plays for heavy stakes, But looks to the main chance.

There's Georgy W-b-ll, all the go,{14} The mould of fas.h.i.+on,--the court beau, Since Brummell fled to France: His bright bra.s.s harness, and the gray, The well known black cabriolet, Is always latest there; The reason,--George, with Captain P------ The lady-killing coterie, Come late--to catch the fair.

See W-s-r, who with pious love,{15} For her, who's sainted now above, A sister kindly takes; So, as the ancient proverb tells, ”The best of husbands, modern belles, Are your reformed rakes.”

In splendid mis'ry down the ride Alone,--see ****** lady glide,{16} Neglected for a--------.

What's fame, or t.i.tles, wealth's increase, Compared unto the bosom's peace?

They're bubbles,--nothing more.

14 George, although a _roue_ of the most superlative order, is not deficient in good sense and agreeable qualifications.

Since poor Beau Brummell's removal from the hemisphere of fas.h.i.+on, George has certainly shone a planet of the first magnitude: among the fair he is also considered like his friend, Captain P-r-y, a perfect lady-killer:--many a little milliner's girl has had cause to regret the seductive notes of A.Z.B. Limmer's Hotel.

15 The Marquis of W-c-t-r has, since his first wife's death, married her sister.--Reformation, we are happy to perceive, is the order of the day. The failure of Howard and Gibbs involved more than one n.o.ble family in embarra.s.sments.

16 The amours of this child of fortune are notorious both on the continent and in this country. It is very often the misfortune of great men to be degraded by great profligacy of conduct: the poor lady is a suffering angel.

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Observe yon graceful modest group{17} Who look like chaste Diana's troop, The Ladies Molineaux; With Sefton, the Nimrod of peers, As old in honesty,--as years, A stanch true buff' and blue.

”What portly looking man is that In plain blue coat,--to whom each hat Is moved in ride and walk!”

That pleasant fellow, be it known, Is heir presumptive to the throne, 'Tis Frederick of York.{18} A better, kinder hearted soul You will not And, upon the whole, Within the British isle.

But see where P-t's wife appears,{19} Who changed, though rather late in years, For honest George Ar-le.

Now by my faith it gives me pain

17 The female branches of the Sefton family are superior to the slightest breath of calumny, and present an example to the peerage worthy of more general imitation.

18 No member of the present royal family displays more agreeable qualifications in society than the heir presumptive.--Un-affected, affable, and free, the duke may be seen daily pacing St. James's-street, Pall-mall, or the Park, very often wholly un-attended: as his person is familiar to the public, he never experiences the slightest inconvenience from curiosity, and he is so generally beloved, that none pa.s.s him who know him without paying their tribute of respect. In all the private relations of life he is a most estimable man,--in his public situation indefatigable, prompt, and attentive to the meanest applica- tion.

19 A more lamentable instance of the profligacy of the age cannot be found than in the history of the transaction which produced this exchange of wives and persons. A wag of the day published a new list of promotions headed as follows,-- Lady B------n to be Lady A------r P-t,--by exchange--Lady P-t to be d.u.c.h.ess of A------e,--by promotion--Lady Charlotte W--y to be Lady P-t, vice Lady P-t, promoted.

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To see thee, cruel Lady J-,{20} Regret the golden Ball.

Tis useless now:--”the fox and grapes”

Remember, and avoid the apes Which wait an old maid's fall.