Star.
London, England, 1829-11-14 00:00:00

BEFORE AND AFTER DINNER.

When Queen Elizabeth dined with Sir TI o .tai
Gee--
ham, before she proceeded to name the Royal Exchange, Sit Thi—
stles pledged her Majesty in a cup containing a prail nice 4tto
powder, of the value of stintO. So runs the story, but we should
think Sir Thomas superior to suck a piece of ostentatious sully.
The display of) his grasshopper cetr.t on the pinnacles of the Old
'Change was in much better taste.
The old fashion of trammeling public businers after dinner, is
sot unworthy of remark and contrast with the present custom. Iu
1696, the foundation-stone sf Greenwich Hospital was laid by
John Evelyn, with a select cmimitter of Coatmirlioners. and Sir
Christopher Wren, precisely at bye in the evening, a'ter they had
dined together, Flamstead, the royal astronomer. cbservng the
time punctually by his instruments. In our days the only public
business transacted after dinner is that of parliament, and the alter-
ation of this to the morning has eaten been suggested ; but if tl.e
motto in vino veritas hold good, it were better left as it i..
AU public business is England is an occasion of eating and
drinking, which gave rise to " wretches hang that jurymen may
dine." Gourmands of fruit all flock to the Horticultural Sale—
m% dinner, for the sake of its ; and by a revert regulation.
tea, coffee, and cakes are handed tumid at the evening'. meeting.
of the Antiquarian and other Societies.
Professor Jameson, in noticing the Berlin Geographical Society,
says, " it does not give prize., nor publish • j.wnwl, but coedit
itself to Its meetings, which. agreeably to the custom Ili Olt cow.-
try. are coneluded by a jovial banquet. Thu., we are not alone
in our festal predilections, and were all meetings of oar public
speleties terminated like those of the Fellows of Berlin, science
would become more popular, and the lovers of good living be
gainers. Still, we recommend the fellows to keep out of their
after-dinner conversatisos, all such topics as the. course of the
Niger. or the podtion of a new magnetic pole.—!Mirror.

The Lords of his lajesty's Mcst Honourable Privy
Council held their first meeting for the season yesterday
morning, in the Council Chamber, Whitehall. 7 h
Lords present were, the Lord PRESIDENT, Lord WY N -
FORD, the JUDGE-ADVOCATE-GENERAL, the
PAYMASTER OF TIIE FORCES. Mr. HULLER was in
attendance during the proceedings, as Clerk to the
Council.

Counsel were heard by their Lordships on different
cases of appeal from the decisions of several of the Colo-
nial Legislatures, which occupied their Lordships till
three o'clock, when ths,Court adjourned.
Report states, that the Russian Admiral, Count Hei-
den, has received orders from his own Government to
winter the fleet under his command in one of the ports
of the Mediterranean.—Plymouth Journal.
We have some authority fur stating, that it was the
intention of the Heir Presumptive to have honoured the
citizens of London with his preser.ce at the dinner which
took place at Guildhall on the 9th inst. but front some
mistake (we suppose) no card of invitation reached his
Royal Highness. We can only account for this apparent
mark of neglect, by a :supposition that the Invitation
Committee (the Lord Mayor has no concern with this
part of the arrangements) either neglected their duty, or
that, commencing their invitation from the last letter in
the Peerage, their cards were exhausted before they had
reached the Royal Family. Perhaps it was the aversion
to ask another " illustrious" personage that induced the
Committee to limit their invitations.—Times

Prince EsT Elt II zv returned to wen yesterday frau
the Marquis of SALIB BLI RV'S. His Excellency had, in
the course of the day, a conference mith the Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs.
The Loan CH A NcELLon was among the fashionable
pedestrians in Bond-street on Thursday, accompanied by
the author of " Tremaine."

The Journal des Debats of the 4th instant makes
itself very merry at the expense of the Times, and the
simplicity of its Paris Correspondent, who some-
times signs himself E. E. and whom the afore-
said Parisian Journalist describes as too profoundly
ignorant of men and things to be in the slightest
degree suspected of having any connection with the
French Cabinet, as had been maliciously insinuated.
The present King of France, Charles Louis Philip
X. was born on the 9th of October, 1757, consequently
his birth-day falls on the anniversary of that day. But
his Majesty being a Christian, and moreover a Roman
Catholic, he happened to be christened by the name of
Charles, and the Feast of Saint Charles falling, according.
to the calendar of the Romau Catholic Church, on the 4th
of November, the King celebrated his name-day an the
anniversary of his Saint, "more nufjorum," according.
to the usage of Catholic Courts and countries ; and
even our own Sovereign has of late years kept St.
George's Day. Now none of the French 'Ministers,
none of their Secretaries, or pettiest clerks, no, not
even a messenger or door-keeper attached to any of
the Secretaries of State, or other Cabinet Ministers*
offices at Paris, would have been so ignorant as to mietake
the Fete de St. Charles, or the King's name-day, for his
birth-day ; this device, or plunder, was reserved, therefore.
'for the English or Irish Correspondent of the Times at
Paris, who in Thuradav's Times, under the head of Pri-
vate Correspondence, dated Paris, Nov. 7, assumes the
character of a Frenchman, by talking of " cur Ministry,"
" out Journals," and the remainder of our troops
having returned from the Morea ;" after which comes
the following :--" The day of the 4th (the King's Birth-
day) was, like his Majesty's life, very chequered, being
rainy and lowering in the morning, and bright in the
evening. (Signed) X." After this, we hope we shall
hear no more of any close and dangerous intimacy be-
tween the correspondent of the " leading Journal" and
the French Cabinet —Morning Herald.