Star.
London, England, 1826-09-05 00:00:00

THE DUBLIN TABINET. BALL.

FROM THE NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE.
At the Dublin Tabinet Ball, Lady Wellesley had no-
minated a certain number of Vice-Presidents of the
dance; who'were directed to appear with a head dress
of ostrich feathers, by way of distinguishing them from
the Ladies to whom that high function had not been
confided. Accordingly, about a dozen heads, stuck
with a profusion of waving plumage, lifted their nod-
ding honours above the crowd. These reminded me
of the Mexican Pi incesses in prints of Montezuma's
Cant, which I have seen in the History of New Spain.
The absence of any superfluity of attire, did not make
the resemblance less striking. It was pleasant to ob-
serve the authoritative simper with which they dischar-
ged their high plumed office, and intimated the impor-
tant part which they were appointed to play in this
fantastic scene. Upon the vulgar in the crowd, such as
the wives of rich Efurghers' of opulent attorneys, and of
stuff gown lawyers, they looked with ineffable disdain;
and even to the fat consorts of the Alderman, they
scarcely extended a smile of supercilious recognition.
Busily engaged among the latter, I observed Mr. Henry
Grattan, who was then a candidate, and is now a repre-
sentative of the city of Dublin. This Gentleman was
not a little strenuous at the Tabinet Ball, in his atten-
tions to the Ladies, both young and elderly, of the Cor-
poration. He hod, upon a former occasion, been de-
feated by Mr. Ellis, through the influence of the Civic
Authorities, and was determined to conciliate the lead-
ing Members of the powerful body by which he had
been successfully opposed.
He accordingly paid to the Orange potentates of the
Corporation a diligent and obsequious attention. I ob-
served him actively engaged in this part of his vocation
at the Tabinet Ball. No man laughed more loudly at
certain reminiscences from " Joe Miller," which Alder-
min was pouring, as original anecdotes, into his
ear. The new and graceful pleasantry of the worthy
corporator appeared to throw Mr. Grattan into convul-
sions of merriment, though now arid then, in the inter-
vals of laughter, I could perceive an expression of wea-
riness coining over his face, and that effort over the
oscitating organs, with which an incipient yawn is smo-
thered and kept in. My attention was suddenly diverted
from this political tete a tete by an ejaculation of ennui,
which was uttered by a young English Officer, who was
lounging, with two of his military compatriots, through
the room. This triumvirate of coxcombs trailed them-
' selves, with an affected listlessness, along, and vented
their depreciation of Ireland, in elaborately English in-
tonations. They were apparently anxious to give inti-
mation of their superior country ; for they put more of
their national accent into their voices than well bred
Englishmen are accustomed to do, and seemed vain of
the anti-Irish drawl, in which the spirit of mingled
tedium and of derision was expressed. One of them
was a handsome and well formed fellow, the manliness
of whose person made a singular contrast with the arti-
ficial effeminacy with which his countenance was in-
vested. He lisped in a deep guttural voice, and played
with his whiskers as if they were the bow strings of
Cupid. I was not a little amused by the languid com-
placency with which this athletic Narcissus seemed to
contemplate himself. His companion on the right was
the exact reverse of the Captain in manner and in as-
pect ; for, with a feeble and fragile form, and the cheek
of a woman, he put on an air of warlike defiance, and
look d as Madame Vestris would in the part of Pistol.
The other was a huge booby in gold an,i scarlet, with
great meanies: eyes falling out of their sockets, and with
features thrown in a chaos together. His business ap-
peared to be to grin at the Captain's wit, and turn up a
pair of dilated nostrils, through which he snorted his
disdain of Ireland.

These Gentlemen were joined by an old Officer, who
was evidently a man of rank, before whom they imme-
diately assumed an aspect of deference: like themselves
he was an Englishman, but of a very different sort. He
had the marks of long service on his face, which was of
a strongly martial cast. There was no exhibition of
haughty fierceness in his air; but his fine intelligent eye
had that calm intensity of observation which denotes the
"coup trod militaire: His features were aqueline, his
colour was tinged by the Spanish sun, and his physyog-
nomy united great natural sweetness of expression with
the familiar habits of command. He said that he had
been greatly delighted with all that he had seen, and
had no notion that Dublin could produce such a display
of elegance, opulence, and beauty. He rallied his young
friends upon the loss of their hearts, and the likelihood
of their carrying back Irish wives to England. Against
the possibilities of such a misadventure in matrimony
they vehemently protested, and enlarged upon the huge
feet and monstrosities of ankle exhibited by the Irish
fair. A ponderous Lady, the wife of an honest burgher,
was bouncing at the moment through the mazes of the
third set, and seemed to be in that interesting condition
which a Lady of fashion, in" The Vicar of Wakefield,"
describes as being " all over in a muck of sweat." To
make the matter worse, she took it into her head that
the Officers bad selected her as an object of admiration;
and throwing a look of greasy amativeness into her face,
renewed her efforts at the graceful with a desperate
agility. I felt some mortification at the opportunity for
ridicule, which was afforded to the young Englishmen
by this piece of animated corpulency ; but I was relieved
by the elder Officer, who pointed to a young Lady in
an adjoining circle of dancers, whom it was only neces-
sary to look at for an instant, in order to feel the influ-
ence which perfect beauty is ill create in the rudest mind.
With all their disposition to find fault, the party of mi-
litary critics at once admitted that the taste of the old
Colonel could not be impeached, and that such a face
and figure would almost justify the violation of the re-
gimental rule. "not to marry in Ireland." The impres-
sion produced by the girl whom the venerable veteran
had selected, diverted my attention from the commen-
taries of the English Officers. Though not tall, her
figure had the perfection of youthful symmetry. Her
limbs were of the finest mould, and with the round
plumpness of healthiunited an aerie) lightness and grace.
The beautiful epithet which Prospero applies to the
sweet minister of his spells, seemed to belong to this
fascinating person, who looked as "delicate" as Ariel.
Her dress was simple: it consisted merely of a pink
tabinet, without decoration. A wreath of fl Avers bound
the black hair, the ringlets of which just shaded the
marble of her forehead, but fell in "ambrosial plenty"
behini. tier features, although somewhat minute, had
the Siddontan character. Thought and sensibility were
mingled like the white ani red i wes in her cheek. Her
eyes were of the finest black; but, although they were
trail sweet and brilliant, there was an expression abc u
them which I was at first at some loss to define. I
afterwards perceived that it arose merely from a short
ness of sight. I could have remained, as Oroonoko
:Is, gazing " whole nights" upon her, when happily,