The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-01 00:00:00

THE LA TB LORD-SEYMOU.R.

One o •the. best-known Englishmen in Paris,
Lord Seymour, brother of Lord Hertford, has just
died in Paris 'rather unexpectedly, at the age of
54, of an attack: of gout. He was a man remark-
able in more than one respect, but, above all,.for his
gr.at and almost unique skill in handling sword
and pistol, for which reason his friends had nick-
named him the Chevalier de Saint George. In his
youth he was of herculean strength of body, and as
he was sent over to Paris early for the purposes of
education, and in the circles to which he was re-
commended men of equal muscular force were very
rare (then the same as they are now), he soon got
into the habit of making nocturnal excursions, and
trying "rounds" with hail porters, Savoyards, and
water-carriers. 'Many
are the stories still afloat
about the noble lord and his prowess ; among
others, of how he put seven policemen, who tried
to interfei e with his amusements, into a big tub,
and set a greengrecEr's stall, from the Marches des
Innocents, on the top of it ; and how, another time,
he floored a whole regiment of commissionaires,
who, attracted by his fame, had come expressly to
his residence to try "le box." But perhaps the
following is the best anecdote connected with the
late lord, though not showing his strength, but
his ever-ready wit :—About the year 1835 or
1836 there was one evening a great ball at the
house of Baron Rothschild, in the Rue Lafitte, and
the string of carriages containing the invited guests
was of such a length as to fill all the adjoining
streets, among them the Rue Lepelletier, where the
Opera is situated. Thus it happened that my
Lord Seymour, issuing with his friends from the
Maison d'Or, where they had just had their dinner,
and ready to enter the opera, suddenly found his
way interrupted. He waited—not patiently, but
the contrary—one, two, three minutes; but the file
of carriages keeping on increasing he suddenly be-
thought himself of ending the time of expectaEon
by seeking a new road to the theatre. Opening
the door of the biggest and most stately-looking
carriage, he made a profound bow to its inmates,
and, clearing the space above their knees in one ,
jump, he, again profoundly bowing, made his exit
as before. The .example of my lord was infecting.
First his friends, then the bystanders, who had
been waiting some time, then the idlers about the
streets, then the newsmen with their papers, and
the butcher-boys with their trays—all made their
way in rapid succession through the gilded carriage,
till at length its inside looked like a public
thoroughfare. All the while the owner of the car-
riage, a German baron, and accredited ambassador
of one of the most important members of the Con-
federation—had been reclining in his seat, at the
side of his better half, in perfect speechless astonish-
ment. That a revolution had thoroughly broken
out in Paris—that the mob was storming the
houses, and forming barricades of all the vehicles,
was the first thought entering his mind, and, fat
and helpless as he was, he already began giving
himself up for lost. Great, therefore, was his
astonishment, and equally his rage, when at length
the true cause of the invasion of his carriage
was made clear to him. Burning with anger he
at once ordered the coachman to drive, instead. of to
Baron Rothschild's, to the French Minister of
Foreign Affairs, to demand his passports for what he
imagined to be a public breach of diplomatic pri-
vilege. All the eloquence of Monsieur Guizot was
unable at first to soften the irate baron, and it was
only after an investigation had been made, in which
it was found that Lord Seymour was the sinner, and
after it had been shown to his excellency that if his
state should make war on France for the insult it
would have to attack England at the same time, on
account of the aggressor being a British subject,
that he allowed himself at length to be pacified. So
ended this important affair, another illustration of
the old truth, of how little causes often bring about
great events. It may be imagined Lord Seymour,
in his latter days, gave up amusements of this
kind; but he continued not the less an ardent ad-
mirer of games, field sports, and other manly exer-
cises. He was one of the founders of the Jockey
Club, and did a good deal towards the improvement
of the breed of horses, a science very little under-
stood in France.—Court Circular.