The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-06-04 00:00:00

I hid originally four d seated on the ir fa. I could no
catch her name, but from circumstances I was lid to believe

that she had bicn to the French play in Tottenham-street;
inasmuch as she observed that Laporfl reminded hei of
. . • .

liarh•y. Amelia tookyon, who sat on my right hand,
aski.ii me if I had sten thc. Diorama and told tot. that

she i.cferred it, upon the whole, tollr. Irvii,g. Atneka
and 1 got rather intimate during Ilintier. There oceurOd
two pauses from lack of conversation, This induced lur
to tell me in confidence, that her family were gewerall:

reckoned dull : her brother Charles, in'tleetl, Imo leas so
• -- • • --

than the r.•st : he once sent a kitty to the Brili4

signed " Truth," which was not inserted ; but still, upco
the whole, he was :lull. However, added she, we tut
reckoned very amiable. I now drank a glass of sherry
the young man in bloc from Hasingstoke, who informed
n,., that sherry was become a very Pis'hionable wine. Mr.
I Oliphant said it was the h: st wine for gouty inen, which
confirmed me in my original suspicidn'of his being afilieltd
with that complaint, Mr. C.)okson.i.skegl me if bad
7.,,roaster or the Exhili;tion ; and Mrs. Cookson breed T.
(lid not find the fire troul,lesome. fir John Dawson, rt.

tautly from Paris, said there was not a house in London Et
to he seen. I modestly suggested Devonshire Douse ; but
Lady Dawson ii,mared me, tlist it would Dot he endured
in the nue St. Dimon:. Arnelix Cook-mm talked to me a
her Scrap book. It was rmicliA, she told ire, with se-
veral trinitscript pieces of rare valtle. Yesterday s friend
in Devcrishire sent her some thing beginning with " 0 Sc-,
etude, romantic Maid then there was" O'er the vine-
covered bills and gay valleys of France," WhieN had. never
be etc published. I told her that I could let her have some-
thing of my own. Amelia expressed her gratitude, add
promised in return to Write 'me out "Grays Elegy writers
in a Country Church-yard," and something else very pretty,
beginning" Pity the sorrows of a poor old Man. I have
since kept my word by sending her " Hope, thou nurse.al
young Desire," and "As near Pats Bello lying." The
poor girl received them with tears of gra.itatte. I loelieyo
I I bare stated every thing of moment that took place their%
dinner. On the summons to ka I rejoined the ladies with
a benignant '.ow, which was meant to express a hope that
they had not been. very wretched during my .unsvoid-.
able absence. Mn. Oliphant supposed that we had been
talking politics. There were two manuscript books 1 i • ,
upon the drawing-mom table, viz. Amelia s &nip
and Litcy's Collection of Autographs. The latter had lately
enriched her collection by Colonel Scrape's tailor's bill ; a
notice from a vestry ClZvk to attend a pariah meeting; atl
a frank given by Alderman Wood.
Tea being (leap:itched, it was intimated to the thit
I could sing " Mailamina" its Loa Gi"ranai' and Mrs.
Cookson assured me that her 'daughter Lucy should amain.
;any me. I assured Mrs. Cookson that I had no vbice; and
Mrs. Cookson assured me that I was an excellent singer.
These two lies bring uttered, Lucy pulled off her gloves
tat preuare for action ; and Lady Dawson, recently from
Paris, took that opportunity to inform me that Signor Ros-
sini charged eighty guineas a night for attending concerti.
I was startrA at the magnitude of the sum, and hinted
that if he were relieved of part of his bur Then by the co-
operation of marrow-bones and cleavers, and a comb and a
piece of paper, he might probably be induced to come for
sixty. But no: I was assured by Lady Dawson, recently
from Paris, that he would not fiddle to his own father for
farthing less. I now started " litatlamina" to Miss Lucy
Cookson a, accompaniment. As the lady played in all sorts
of time, I deterininid at last to sing to my own, so that
by the period of my arrival at the slow movement, can-
t mencing Woods' " my divine Saint Cecilia had
st-
rived at "Vol sapete." We all agreed it was capital; and.
that the great beauty of Alczart'a music was the seem
uiment. Lucy Cookson now rose from her made-stool
reach " Nel cor non phi mi !lento," with variations by Max-
zinghi. Upon these occasions every-day mothers make it
a rude to play puss in a corner. Mrs. Oliphant seised her
opportunity, pounced upon the circular red-morocco, and
placed her daughter on the momentarily vacant seat. There
was not a moment to be lost. Away she started with
"Rousseau's Dream," with variations by Cramer • and
Saxon Sa. air with var;ations by ditto. " Now, my clear,"
said the mother, " sing, ' We're a' noddin ; and now
sing ' Charley is my darling ;' and when you've go!
through ' Home, sweet home,' and Oh, softly sleep,
I'm sure the company will be delighted to hear' Betty,
Betty Dell,'" (meaning, I presume, " Batt!, bath, o
bel.") The young lady wit too dutiful to disobey; and
we too civil to object. Lucy Cookson, Who bad bbrti "posh-
'td from her stool," bade Me observe, that all the allegro
movements were played in slow time: that the hands of
the fair usurper wcrc glut d to the keys during every rest :
and the Stactato was actually played Legato. I expressed
a suitable horror at this; grid assisted little Crosby (who
ought to have been in his bed three hours before) in ra.Ww
the lid of the piano, to give effect to " My pretty page
which was thundered forth like Beethoven a " Batik Si;t-
fonia." Crosby urged me to stand closer, to eye the move-
ments of the little red men under the wires; but I doubted
the stability of the dim rolhogany prop that supported the
cover of the instrument, and did not wish to- have what
little nose I possess knocked out of my head.
Upon a review of all that took place at Mr.Coolrastr's
dinner in Gower-street, it seems to me that "more com-
mon matters" were never discussed in the Court of Exche-
quer: right glad am I that it is so, and I hope soon to dine
there again. Nothing is so fatiguing as keeping one's facul-
ties on the constant stretch. When I dine with Sir Peter
Pallet, I am previously obliged to diVe into Reynolds's
Discourses, to qualify myself to talk about "the art," the
fact being that I don't kook xi Raphael from a red-
Jack Georgic puts my Latin to the proof; and at the Beef-
steak Club I sin momentarily obliged to belabour my in-
dignation, in order to create a repartee that shall set die
table in a roar, and blow my adversary to atoms. No vio-
lence like this takes place at the tables of every-day people.
There my memory puts on its night-gown, and my judg-
ment and imagination their red-morocco slippers. Let my
Aunt Edwardi take it as she likes, I will not sit down with-
out proposing the following toast—" lit 21th and prosperity
to Every-day People!"

MR. AND MRS. GRAIiAM'S ACCOLTAT OP

THEIR AERIAL•FOIAGE.

Shdrtly after their asec—...—nsion, Mi. Graham found it ne-
cessary to rid himself of all the ballast from the car, sad.
indeed, of every thing else of a weighty description ' • this
he attributes to the clouds being heavily charged with rain.
They kept the city in their sight for lien half an hour, anti
they then lost all earthly views by the balloon entering a
dense cloud, in which they experienced much cold. They
passed through several others, the effects of which emu.
pletely deprived them of hearing. The thermometer,
at this period, which was about ten minutes put sit
o'clock, stood at freezing point, and in about a quarter of
an hour after it was as low as 20. The thirst that they
now experienced was insupportable, which they bad no
way of decreasing, having no liquid in the car but brandy.
At length they reached a clear and serene atmosphere,
and the sun shone forth in its brightest rays, the cloud.,
below having their nsual appearance—thatet snow mow!.
tains heaped together. The tendency of the balloon to
ascend was very great, and it was found necessary to open
the valve a little., in order to discharge a portion of the gas,
and to prevent the vehicle ascending.
Having been in the air one hoar and tweery minutes,
they haven to descend, and threw out the grappling-irons,
which were fastened to a rope, 270 feet in length. Mrs.
Graham looked over the side of the car, and observed, that
the irons appeared like a table-knife. They now began 4111
gradually to descend as they had ascended, and having ob.
seined a gravity, in ten minutes they reached terra firma
in a fleld belonging to farmer Brown, in the village of'
enckfleld, about fourteen miles from Brighton, in one of
the most tremendous showers of rain ever remembered.
The air slightly rebounded three times on touching the
earth' but not to injure it or the adventurers.
There being a club at the house of Mr. Webber. doit
King's Heed, in the village, upwards of eighty persous
c. me run ring to their assistance, and they were assisted,
out of the cur, and conveyed immediately after to the
above house, where they experienced the most hospitable
treatment. J. Stolwin. Esq., near whose seat they de-
seetuletl, sent an invitation to them to Ida house, but big.
and Mrs. Graham, wishing to get to town. declined the
offer. At half-past nine o'clock they left Cuckfiekl in a
chaise and four, on the roof of which were the balloon aria,
car, and snared safe at their house in Poland-street.
Oxforel-street. at half-past two o'clock yesterday morning,
where they were received amid the greetings of their friends
and committee. It is Mr. Grahams intention to stake
another ascent shortly.