The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-14 00:00:00

L I T ER AT UR

MRS. PERKINS'S MILL.

By Michad Anyelo

7 ittnarsh.
One of the tnerriest books of ti'e season is this
comical volume bv Mr. W. M. Thackery. Its drol-
lery, however, is rather pictorial then lit,-rary. The
le press is rather elucidative of the engravings
than the engravings illustrative of the letter-press.
If viewed with reference to its written humour,
,"&rs. Perkins's Ball" falls immeasurably be-
"sr the average talent of the recuntly pub-
lished Christmas-books; but if regarded with
an eye to its artistic merits, it is beyond
any of them exuberant in drollery. Mr. Thackeray
is always felicitous in his delineations of that intol-
lerable genus—the London snob. whether he flays
them alive with his pen, or impales them with the
Point of his pencil, he invariably educes merriment
from his dissection of the human tadpoles of Cock-
aigne. The little volume under notice—elegantly
glaaed and brilliantly coloured—is embelli,hed with a
profusion of laughter-moving engravings, depicting
the various epochs and events of the ball-room. There
is the taking off of the galoshes in the hall ; the
arrival of the negus upon the landing; the half-invi-
tation to dance ; the monotonous oscillation of
; the delightful maze of the chain-des-
dames; the horrible pas seul of rite ; the
quiet hand at ecarte :—the guzzling of the odd
bottle of sherry by the attendant greengrocer behind
the screen ;—and ultimately the wrapping up of the
recing lady in a shawl by the young gentleman,
akse "good people are scarce !"1 he interest of
the whole however is concentrated in an overgrown
laenster of an Irishman, christened " The Mulligan
Ballylnullingan ;" a fellow of infinite vulgarity mild consummate impudence. First of all, we have
1111 coolly including himself in the invitation to the
evening party at Mrs. Perkins's; then he is depicted,
after the gentlemanly fashion of Sir Mulberry Hawk,
o
fling Miss Perkins at the piano ; then, again he is
lunged into the whirlpool of the polka; and, finally,
ii„l3 Painted as drunk is the supper-room at Pock-
-on-square, his his cravat loose, his champagne glass
rased to his lips, his nose red, we may say very red,
Lc' his hair dishevelled. There is no doubt "The
is °lngle!' is a terrible caricature; the green island
th litot Populated by such hommes farouche. Never-
thees caricature will be productive of broader
grins than the broad grins of George Colman. As a
specimen of the smart hits contained in the book here
15 a Page :
,
LADY
BACON, THE MISSES BACON, AND

MR. FLAM.
ady B.—Leonora ! Maria ! Amelia ! here is the
4entletnan we met at Sir John Porkington's.
(The Misses Bacon, expecting to he asked to' dance, smile
simultaneously, and begin to smooth their tuckers.)
inu F—Lady Bacon ! I couldn't be mistaken
3"1! Wl
o'an'm.t you dance, Lady Bacon ?
" Lady B.—Go away you droll creature
10:311 r.Flam.—And these are your Ladyship's seven
Y sisters, to judge from their likenesses to the
charming Lady Bacon ?
P 1" Lady B.= My sisters, he ! he ! my daughters, Mr.
am, and they dance, Dont you girls?
" :t he Misses Bacon.— 0 yes-
1/fr• Flan.—Gad ! how I wish I was a dancing
tllan —[ Exit Flan:.
the po 'fereet is a skttch—accurate enough—of Mr. Hicks,

d It is worth twopence to see Miss Bunion and Posei-
ell
few Ricks, the great poet, conversing with one another,
itts hi to talk' of one to the other afterwards. How they
'licks each other ! I (in my wicked way) have sent
'licks almost raving mad, by praising Bunion to him in
t"eadence • and you can drive Bunion out of the room
"
I a judicious panegyrics of Hicks.
Ricks first burst upon the astonished world with
v°erns, in the Byronic manner :—" The Death-Shriek,"
The Bastard of Lira," " The Atabal," " The Fire-ship
of 13otzar. "andother works. Hi " Lore Lays," in Mr.
, is,
."'Wre s early style, were pronounced to be wonderfully
Precocious for a young gentleman then only thirteen,
and in a commercial academy, at Tooting.
~_"_ Subsequently, this great bard became less pas-
musoutte and more thoughtful ; and, at the age of twenty,
alur°4eprfqodiu:seYpnice,r,acy ' (in 40 books, 4t0.); ' Ararat,' ' a
litertur: as the reviews said ; and The Mega-
magnificent contribution to our pre adanatte
according to the same authorities. Not
having read these works, it would ill become me to
judge them • but I know that poor Jingle, the publisher,
always attributed his insolvency to the latter epic, which
Iva!, tnagnificently printed in elephant folio.
flicks has now taken a classical turn, and has
.1.
..orollght out Poseidon ;' " H
lacchus ;ephlstus,' and
dare say i_s. going through the mythology. But I
Should not like to try him at a passage of the Greek
belectus, any more than twenty thousand others of us
Who have had the advantage of a classical education.'
the" Hicks was taken in an inspired attitude, regarding
Pettiferwa chandeliselooking atr, and pretending he didn't know that Miss
" Her name is Anna Maria (dau4hter of Higgs and
`
Pe Her
solicitors, Bedford-row), but Hicks calls her
_` lanthe," in his album verses, and is himself an emi-
nent drysalter in the city."
here, again, is the account of all the domestic
Preliminaries to the ball :
1„" Following Mrs. Perkins's orders, the present writer
his appearance very early at Pocklington-square ;
it, e the tastiness of all the decorations elicited my
d~ning. .
aumfration. Supper, of course, was in the
Spue-r°"1"1, superbly arranged by Messrs. Grigg and
in t Spooner the confectioners ot the neighbourhood. I as-
dect teY respected friend Mr. Perkins, and his bull r,
tio-ecanting the sherry, and saw, not without satish.ic-
,ell? a large bath for wine under the sideboard, in which
Were already placed very many bottles of champagne.
ven" The back dining-room, Mr. P.'s study (where the
°n this man goes to sleep after dinner), aas arranged
this occasion as a tea-room rs. F ouncy (Miss
Fanny's,, maid) officiating in a 'cap and pink ribboris,
tu.p.en became her exceedingly. Long, long before the
1);?,a,1 of the company, I remarked Master Tht mss
qtf•_flis and Master Giles Bacon,apartment his cousin (son of Sir
Zati„ ar .) lhecn B t in his , busy
•-arootts. among lie
and Mr. Gregory, the butler, besides John the footman,
large man in the Bacon livery, mid
04_,-rilt.:tielestSirGGruinieds's sell, carpet-beater and green grocer, of
t Pocklington-buildings, had, at least, half a dozen
ttides-de-camp, in black and white neckcloths, like
eeters of divinity.
t The back drawing-room door on the landing being
Pen off the hinges (and placed up stairs under Mr.
festoonede
erkins's bed), the orifice was covered with muslin, and
d with elegant wreaths of flowers. This was the
dancing saloon. A linen was spread over the carpet,
I,°ti a: band, consisting of Mr. Clapperton, piano, Mr.
inch, harp, and Herr Spoff, cornet i•piston ; arrived at
Pretty early hour, and were accommodated with some
~,e4Qfortable negus in the tea-room, previous to the corn-
iterTernent of their delightful labours. The boudoir to
.e left was fitted up as a card-room ; the drawing-room
eh". of course, for the reception of the company ; the.
4.4l3cleliers and yellow damask being displayed, this
viagt4t? in all their splendour ; and the carming conser-
idjelY, over the landing, was ornamented by a few moon-
apt, arePs, and the flowers arranged, so that it had the
toZtrance of a fairy bower. And Mi:s Perkins (as I
the ft,he liberty of stating to her 1- amma), looked like
yeara l .lrY of that bower. It is this young creature's first
rnq,,,,,ePribile /ire , she has been eiucated, regardless of
tires; at• liaminersnltC. and a simple white muslin
spo_and blue ceinture se.;., )fl' charms, of which I beg to
Lwith respectful tvarniT'aticn.
wataly respeAed friend, Cie Mulligan of Bally mulligan,
ighoszt enough to come, the very first of the party.
Party! ay, how awkward it is to be the first of the
pan be and yet you know somebody must ; but, for my
stre,t hg timid, I always wait at the corner of the
coal the cab, and watch until some other carriage
es up.
Well
canter., as we were arranging the sherry, in the de-
`,4,11:, down the supper-tables, my friend arrived :
,s.-,res me friend, Mr. Titmarsh,' I heard him bawl-
su7,ll"..r. to Gregory in the passage, and presently he
kin floe the supper-room, where Mr. and Mrs. Per-
; kle .4 lid mu Y self were and as the waiter was announcing,
014 THE Mulligan of Ballimulligan, ye
aipei tor. jrsi•ng,,reared'ae, and stalked into the apartment,
as he said for introducing' himself.
seen and Mrs. Perkins did not perhaps wish to be
n this room b.
"Y a e room, which was for the present only lighted
y tae eof candles ; but he was not at all abashed
th circumstance, and grasping them both warmly by
friends
of he instantly made hi self at home. 'As
kleas,d to my dear and talented friend Mick,' so he is
,ilerwn ve.all ' I'm deloighted, Madam, to be made
quai--t-ezee ,
1-Vnt consider me in the light of a mere
eio much 'le for you, ray dear Madam, you put
re i 0
at ilra„niud of my
'.:'llo.atftrit soiguhl7l:l2l own blessed mother, now
\v`i 6 ather slam, tlligan Castle, that I begin to love
At which speech, Mr. Perkins get-
°old take
asked the Mulligan, whether he
florae
ale or go up stairs.
s .8
ith never too soon for good
tready)'han u (although he smelt very much of whiskey
'etit of drank a tumbler of wine, to the improve.
so ita u nee which comminces in a manner
ettle rghtuji. ee3te
hoble-evis go up stairs, Mulligan,' says I, and led the
Profrahrnall to the upper apartments, which were in
bid lief.'" gloom, the candles not being yet illuminated,
$l4, ,:„! r irprised Miss Fanny, seated in the twi-
nieh 14e pie o timidly trying the tunes of the Polka,
tot pa= dauc so exquisitely that evening. She did
eh th 'stranger at first ; but how she started,
"•
1 , 411111) an loomed upon her.
lloy at real, enchanthress !' says don't,
110, okew„ R.PP ,ch of the humblest of your sleeves .
mAklnoi;: 704,3)1eece at that insthrument, which weeps,
Ztre yui°llB? 04itnoils melojious, as you can charrum it.
.1, piahan ," ,8411',411ted with the Oirish Melodies ? Can
W.Jo Fears to talk of Nointy-eight ;' the?,
"•
. YtatVoght ;' or the 'Dirge of °liana Fodhlahho':
4 heave
.r,!(? this mad chap that Titmarsh brought?'
ug k
how 7j Xs'. Bacon exclaim to Master Perkins. Loo
gi t gghtened Fanny looks!'
ther rl/41
_00! gals are always frightened,' Fanny's bro-
; but Giles Bacon, more violent, said, I'll
1,• you'dal.' what, Tom ; if this goes on, we must pitch into
other „And SO I have no doubt the would, when an-
eouiubstlnderill, g knock coming, Gregory rushed into
stOtille:", anti began lighting all the candles, so as to
aad ansamazing brilliancy. Miss Fanny sprang up,
40 14 'l4l-',lma, and the young gentlemen slid
tho bannisters to reekitm the company in the hall.
book, 1411130 however, should be examined itself, its
%GA
•consisting mainly in its embellishments and

•