The Sun.
London, England, 1841-06-01 00:00:00

sianm," in Mackie °ad's .Magazine :—" I always
rather liked the descriptions of eating iii the
NOctes.' They were absurdly, 'erroneous in
many cases, but there was, a manliness about
them, and strong evidence of a great, though
mig-directedand uneducated, geniusfor vtctua
From the anecdotical article headed the "Greater
and Ltisser Star§ of Pall-Mall," we quote,a remi-
niscence of George IV; towards the close of his
career
A few weeks after this conversation with Mr. O'Reilly,
to whom his Majesty was very partial he seriously asked
him one night, as he was lying down upon his pillow,
" XoW look in my face and tell me, O'Reilly,—and I
know you will answer me as an honest man,—how long
do you think I may yet be made to last ?"
" That is a question that I dare not even think upon,
your Majesty ; much must depend upon yourself. A
steady observance of what is recommended by your Ma-
jesty's medicatadvisers, I should venture to presume,
must be most beneficial."
O'Reilly knew the habits of his illustrious patient too
well to place any reliance in his re-solves.
For a very short apace before his Majesty's decease—
only a few weeks, indeed-L-Mr. O'Reilly was in his bed-
chamber about ten at night, and had the honour to con-
'Verse familiarly and cheerfully with his Royal patient,
an honour which he frequently enjoyed at night. The
Kink, as all the Household l new, excepting latterly, was
condescending and most amiable to every
.one about him,
from the highest to the low est. In his infancy, during
his boyhood, in manhood, an d even whilst the infirmities
of age and decrepitude seized upon his unwieldy frame,
his generous nature prevailvd, and he was always de-
deservedly beloved.
His Majesty, late in his declining state, had held a con-
test with his physicians, and obtained the victory in part,
and was reluctantly perniitted to sup on stewed chickens.-
After these had retired from the Castle, Mr. O'Reilly
usually made his Majesty a visit ; sometimes for a few
minutes, and at others for an hour, more or less. .
The King was sitting, propped up in his bed, on
this visit, and two small. pullets were brought in;stewed
in rice and rich gravy, and:smelling most savouryly;
" Now, O'Reilly, my excellent doctor," said his Ma-
jesty, " which you certainly are, as is known to all the
world, never mind those departed doctors, they are a set
of prejudiced frumps, do let me have my favourite po-
tion" (wine, eggs, and spices) "to wash my sup-
per ' down. I • only ask for a pint ;—a pint, ray dear
O'Reilly, for me is so small a quantity, that I feel I can
taketit without apprehension.'
• O'Reilly shook his head, and observed : .
" Oh, your Majesty might as well venture upon ask-
ing For a quart !"
" Thank you 1" quickly returned the King ; then-I
will have a qudrt !" and he ordered that quantity ac,
coHingly.
Having dismissed his supper, he drained the china
bowl of the gravy, in which the chickens were .served,
and observed—
" Nov, O'Reilly, I feel as I aught, crop full, and shall
sleep comfortably."
Not so, alas ! the consequences of this rash indul-
gence had nearly proved fatal to the King before morning.

BENTLEY'S MISCELLANY.
" Guy Fawkes!' drags " its slow length on,"
with but little to redeem it: this month. Catesby
and the rest of the Papist conspirators are repre-
sented wandering up ana down the country, for
no earthly purpose, that we: can divine, except to fill
up space. The halt,. ho' never, of the traitors at
Leamington Priors, with t he confusion created in
the farm-yard by their arriv -al ,is amusingly enough
described. "Hours in Indostan," furnishes us
with some pleasant sketches of social life in India.
Here is an incident worth noticing. Colonel
Macaulay is a gentleman who has been in the
habit of making large sums by safe betting. One
day he is invited to dine with a friend, named
Gordon, in Calcutta, and while calling on him
the previous morning, observes some handsome
mahogany tables in the
.dining-room. Conceiv-
ing them to be a fit subject for betting on, he
takes their exact measurement—as he imagines,
unperceived by his host--and then adroitly in-
trodudes a notice of them after dinner. We
quote the upshot of thii affair, which is a clever
illustration of the old proverb, "the tables are
turned :"
At seven o'clock the dinner was served up, and a more
excellent one never was given in Calcutta ; but as every
pleasure must come to an end, so this excellent dinner at
last was finished ; the dessert was served up, and the
hookahs began to emit their guttural notes.
Many were the subjects
.broached, and got rid of ;
many the boasts which enlivened this fashionable feast.
At length by the most skilful manoeuvring, and with
infinite tact, Macaulay brought the beauty of the new
tables on the tapis : everyone admired them, and felt
grateful to them for having so lately supported the rich
dinner of their host.
" They, are of the finest mahogany I ever saw," said
Major Briscoe.
" They are perfect. I never saw any so well propor-
tioned in my life ; I must have some made like them,"
said a dinner-giving old civilian with half a liver.
" They are rather too high," chimed in Charles
Macaulay, with affected indifference ; " just a leetle too
high—don't you think so, Gordon ?"
" On the contrary," replied the host ; "if anything,
I consider them a shade too low."
" You are mistaken, my dear fellow ; I have an excel-
lent eye, and lam sure I am right ; no table should ex-
ceed two feet six, and these are at least one inch higher."
" You are in error ; they are not more than two feet
and a half." . _

" Don't bet, James, don't bet, for I am sure of the
fact ; I tell you I cannot be deceived,—my eye is always
correct."

" Not bet !—if it were not that the tables are my own,
and, consequently, I should bet on a certainty, I'd lay
you a lack of rupees they are not more than thirty inches
in height."
" Oh ! if you are willing, I'll make the bet ; but re-
member, gentlemen, I tell you beforehand, I am certain
of the fact ; I say these tables are at least thirty-one
inches from the ground."
" Done ! for a lack of rupees !" cried Gordon.
" Done !" re-echoed Charley.
Their betting-books were brought out, and the wager
duly registered. A servant was ordered to bring in a
yard measure, when Macaulay turned round with an air
of triumph,—
" You may save yourselves the trouble of measuring—
ha !ha !" and he chuckled with delight. " I warned
ou fairly I bet on a certainty, so you can't be off,
James."
" I stand to my bet," said Gordon.
Well, then pay me the money. I measured the tables
this morning' while you were shaving, and here is a me-
morandum of their height, thirty-one inches exactly !"
and the Colonel burst into a roaring fit of laughter as he
produced his pocket-book.
" I know you did," said James ; " I saw you do so in
my looking-glass." The Colonel started. So as soon
as you had gone away, knowing well your intentions, I
had an inch sawed off every leg ; so for once, my know-
ing friend, the tables are turned !"
Charles Macaulay left Calcutta next day 10,000/.
poorer than the day he arrived ; and, what is still worse,
the very youngest ensigns quiz him about the story to
this very day.
Ingoldsby'slegend of the " Old Woman clothed
in Grey," is here brought to a close. The de-
nouement is excellent, but, in the earlier para-
graphs of the present part, there are rather too
many digressions. The passing hit at the " mi-
raculous- keys" of St. Peter is- full of archness.
" Merrie England, in the Olden Time," is a de-
lightful melange, abounding in curious matters of
antiquarian information, and not devoid of grace-
ful snatches of poetry and criticism. The occa-
aerial ballads interspersed throughout this versa-
tile Mies of articles, are hit off with much
sprightliness. " The Porcelain Bath" is a Chi-
nese story, whose chief defect is, that it is much
too long. There are some smart hits in it, espe-
cially one at an old physician, who, in " a mo-
ment of infatuation," took a dose of physic pre-
scribed by himself. Of course he died ! Ghost
Gossips at Blakesley House" will interest all
who delight—and they area large class of read-
ers--;-in stories of diablerie. The horrors, how-
ever, are of rather too material a character.: The
fancy should be left to imagine at least half of
what is thrust under the reader's nose. The " Link-
man" is an amusing sketch of a class who, like the
flying dustman, are fast becoming extinct. Gas
has for ever put out the torches of the linkboys
at the theatres, just as cheap shoemaking—a per-
fect humbug—has destroyed. the useful calling
of the cobbler, the last of whom—ultimus Ro-
Manorum—still lingers, solitary and disconsolate,
in Great Ormond-street. " An Adventure in
the Fifteen Acres" is a lively Irish story. We
can readily believe that there is much truth in
this remark :—" It 6 very hard to deceive a
Galway man in a bailiff. Even the dumb
brutes of that lawless region are endowed with
an instinctive faculty of recognizing a member of
4-lie hated fraternity, I remember it was
uni-
allowed that the most trusty sentinel
ivne r
place -Cas a large Poland gander; his sa-
gacity to the matter ivas truly miraculous; and
whenever this gifted bird uttered his unmusical
d took the alarm
SfN. Ida It
wind, allow-blinds
nPtdhes VeS9
drawn igl t. OCr 9 I 14:0:wgrrni, wae,r4e lt)lai
er red,nla
sttlei er
bolted off to his sanctuary, like 4 detected pink-
locket."

UNITED SERVICE JOURNAL.
The most entertaining article in the Number
before us, is an account, of the " Operations of
Picton's Division in the ampaign of Waterloo,"
which, as the production of an officer who
.was
himself actively engaged in that memorable cam-
paign, is, we have every reason to believe, per-
fectly authentic. The author refutes the general
opinion that the Duke of Wellington was sur-
-prised on the eve of the great contiict, observing
that his Gvace was fully aware of all that was going
on on the part oft he enemy. From the interesting
narrative of the Voyages gf thp 4dventure and
the Beagle," we quote the details of the Elveadfill
earthquake that occasioned such havoc in Ame-
rica in the year 1835
On the morning of the fatal 'oth of
.February,
in beautiful weather, with a perfectly serene and cloud-
ity, much surprise was excited.by seeing immense
-40)4:it rass.frem the offing- towards the inte-
-- •