The Sun.
London, England, 1829-08-07 00:00:00

BEAU BRUMMELL DEFEATED.

The autocrat of modern dandies, in the height
of his despotism, and long before he took it into
his head to turn auctioneer, formed the pivot of
many a jeu d'esprit and bon mot to his witty
companions. An anecdote in which he formed
a pretty prominent figure was often narrated with
great glee by Brinsley Sheridan ; but as to the
veracity of the author of the School for Scandal
in regard to this matter, it would he foolish to
give any voucher. One evening after a dull de-
bate upon some commercial matters, on which
occasion Sherry was always ready to become
" glorious," he came in contact with Brummell,
over a bottle of Madeira, in a coffee-room ad-
joining St. Stephen's. Entering into conver-
sation, the subject, after taking the usual turn-
ings and windings, made a dead pause upon the
fashions of the day. The punctilious beau was
by no means remarkable for a loquacity in the
discussion of this his favourite text. But She-
ridan had a game to play, and he easily contrived
to kindle the pride of Brummell—who was, in
the heat of the moment, induced to forego his
usual calmness and demeanour, and with a very
prim to lay a bet to a considerable amount,
that he would, in the course of a week, introduce
a new fashion among the beau monde. Sheri-
dan was not slow in taking up the bet ; and, on
the instant, Brummell's snip was sent for, and
received due directions regarding the cut and
colour of the new costume, which was suffi-
ciently metre. The appointed day arrived, and
Brummell made his appearance o►► the pave of
Bond-street in his novel apparel. He had not
walked thirty yards when, as if actuated by a de-
mon, a bevy of chimney-sweeps, with the ►nstru-
ments of office, and faces as black as soot could
make them, rushed from an ambush, and made
past the astonished beau, who was promenading,
with his usual dignity and ►nonchalance of de-
meanour. Each was dressed in the exact cos-
tume of Brummcll—a circumstance which hor-
rified him in the extreme. To add to his per-
plexity, they simultaneously burst out with a
stentorian cry of " Soot 0!" A mob of quiz-
zing dandies was speedily collected around the
cavalcade, and the laughter and merriment of the
on-lookers were by no means decreased by the
visible chagrin of Brummell. Just at this crisis,
Sheridan, with a party of friends, arrived on the
ground ; and, as he had anticipated, his friend
the beau, after an attempt to cut the senator.
made a hasty retreat to the nearest hotel. His
new fashion, which, by the bye, was by no means
unbecoming, was of course universally scouted,
and the inventor subjected to the ridicule of the
" world." Sheridan gained his bet, but he lost
—for a time—the friendship of Brummell. As
for the machinery of the affair, the sweeps were
well paid, and a considerable surplus was left
for the use of the " triksy spirit" himself.—
Edinburgh Paper.

The approaching season will afford abundant
amusement to the sportsman. Partridges are already
strong on the wing, and in numerous coveys: the great
growth of turnips has materially contributed to their in-
crease. Hares are also in greater number than has been
known for some years past.—Dorset Chronicle.

PLYMOUTH, JULY 27.----Marvellous is the
influence of beautiful scenery on the develope-
ment of mind. Out of this delightful migh.-
bourhood poets and painters spring as ositurally
as the elms are clad in verdure, the ocean in
freshness, the fields in green, or the skies in their
" plighted clouds." Beyond the circle of work-
liness you may discover a buoyancy—an imagina-
, tiveness—a decoration of thought pervading
many spirits. It is but the infection of Natm:::'s
beauty—the imagining back of her charms.
Gazing often and intently on her loveliness, wo
imbibe a portion of it, and our inward visions
become lovely too. The happy atmosphere
bathes, as it were, our tempers and tones in
happiness, and we live as though we had re-
ceived a new infusion of life. The purity and
the glory of the scene pass into our emotions,
and we realise some of the abstractions which
elevate us above the contaminations of man.
We drink in a portion of the immortality of
immortal nature ; and learn that, though we may
pass away, like the leaves and flowers, and
clouds, and winds, and waves which surround
us, yet, as the forests, and the heaven, and the
ocean, and the elements, are eteni4l, man is eter-
nal too ; a part, an imperishable part, of the stu-
rodioiguhs machinery e r
ndless time.
movedne:An
byd the °nl-4?:c
theblessedthought, that when the ctip of our enjoymentpoured out, and we drink its last drops on the last
tl't
is
verge of our pilgrimage, other cups arefillin for
other pilgrims, and a succession of blessedness
is provided for unbounded generations.
Thank Heaven I am not among those wretch
ones who see a futurity rolling forward towards
darkness and misery. On the wings of hope and
joy I fly onward to the time to come. The
whole world is pregnant pith bliss, whose birth
is visible from hour to hour. The very evil we
observe is the source of good ; and pain itself is
not wasted, but made the producer of pleasure.
Such and similar thoughts are awakened by
the objects around me ; nor to my mind is the
intellectual position of this place less satisfactory
than the external. A painter of some eminence
told me that he well remembered when a small
number of lovers of art subscribed the stun (if
two guineas each to purchase one picture ut
London which might be worthy of being studied
—" and now," added he, " there arc several col-
lections about us worth 30,0001. or 40,000/."
The painter was one of those fine enthusiasts
who create around them the atmosphere they
enjoy ; fitted by the discipline of habitual thou hr
to read the book of nature, and give to its fleet-
ing pages an eternal monument and memory.
In this respect most high and holy is the pain
ter's calling—to give permanence to those flitting
beauties—the outpouring of the Omnipotent
One—which just show themselves and pass
away—caught in their passage by the eye of the
penetrating, and transferred in perpetuity by the
hand of art to the long living tablet.
Equal') encouraging was the report of an in-
telligent bookseller. " When I came to Ply-
mouth," said he, "a board of a few inches
square would hold the stock in trade of all onv
fraternity ; and now our shops (there are several
excellent ones) will best speak of and for the
improvement of the public taste." If facts of
this sort were gathered together, they would
gladden the hearts of all who are really interested
in the improvement of man.
I remember being at Plymouth at the conclu-
sion of the war. Every body had a gloomy
downward look, as if " the evil day " had really
arrived. To others, they said, peace might be a
blessing—to them, at least, it was a bane ; and,
had their voices been omnipotent, they would
have converted France and England into dens of
lions and tigers, and set them to wage battles of
extermination, thinking only of the jackall's
spoil. When peace came ruin was to fly on its
wings, and the God of War was invoked as the
sole worthy Deity of a Plymouth man's Pantheon.
And what is the result ?—and what are the mis-
chiefs peace has brought with it ? Wholly ima-
ginary. No town ever bore such marks of im-
provement as this. The streets are widened—
the country is covered with new edifices—the
population has marched with astounding strides
—and still the vessels of war " repose on their
shadows," and the sweetness of quiet is added to
the display of power.
The magnificent Breakwater you have often
heard described. Whether it will ever repay
its cost, by the protection it will afford to
shipping, is another matter. I heard the opinion
expressed that one of its effects would be to
make mariners less prudent than before. I went
off in a boat pulled by a lusty fellow, who
pledged himself to reach it in three quarters of
an hour. He erred 50 per cent. in his calcula-
tion ; but we landed on it in an hour and a
quarter—this great high road in the middle of
the ocean, nearly a mile long, and wide enough
for six or eight carriages to pass abreast. The
principal masses are of the Devonshire lime-
stone or marble ; and, as it is washed -by the
water, its variegated lines and strata are very
beautiful ; but the surface of the Breakwater is
of gray granite, and the stupendous stones are
bound together by iron cranks, and look as if
they would defy all the shocks of the storm.
But in the centre of the Breakwater is that ter-
rible fracture made some years ago—showing
' how idle are all the calculations of the powers of
wind and wave. It is not by cement, nor me-
tallic grasping, that the Breakwater will become
impregnable, but by the million nothings with
which nature, by and bye, will bind it. The sand
will drop into the interstices grain by grain—the
sea-weeds will put forth their appliances tendril
by tendril—the water-drops will bed the pebbles
into another—and then the alliance between hu-
man ingenuity and the influence of time may
make an immortal thing.
A light and fast-sailing yacht took us round
and round the Breakwater. What sanatory—
salutary enjoyment in this ! purchased at so
cheap a cost !

That the tobacco plant may be produced to
any extent in the British islands, is beyond a question. It
grows in all the temperates zones to a high latitude. It is
cultivated extensively in Germany and the Low Countries,
and even in Sweden. It required all the intemperate laws
of King JAMES, and his successors, to repress its pro •
gress in England. During the American Nvar, and pre-
vious to the application to Scotland of the prohibitory laws
by the Act of 1782, it was cultivated on the hacks oft he
Tweed and Teviot with the most promising results. This
Act overtook the planters in the midst of their labou►s,
and compelled theta to root up their plantations, zud
dispose of the produce to Government at a third parto
its ►market price.— Quarterly Journal of Commerce.
SKELETON.—The skeleton of a woman, about
five feet seven inches in length, was found on Friday,i n
the ground now excavating for cellars in Whitefriar-gate.
It has lain from six to seven feet below the surface of tha
ground, and has been preserved entire. Of the strength
and extent of the Priory once standing in this situation,
an idea may be formed from the fact that the workmen, in
getting down to the proper depth, have encountered the
foundation of walls six and eight feet thick, as solid as a
rock.— Hull Packet.