The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-10-16 00:00:00

ORIGIN OF THE NOCTES.

Mr. Willis, in his "Pencillings by the Way," thus
relates the origin of the Noctes Ambrosiana?, in Black-
wood's Magazine, as stated to him in conversation by
Professor Wilson :—" Do you know Lockhart?"No,
'1 do not.' * * * have known him long. He was
in Edinboro' a great while, and when he was writing
Valerius we were in the habit of walking out together
every morning, and when we reached a quiet spot in the
country, he read to me the chapters as be wrote them.
He finished it in three weeks. I heard it all thus by
Piecemeal as it went on, and had much difficulty in per-
suading hith that it was worth publishing. He wrote it
very rapidly, and thought nothing of it. We used to sup
together with Blackwood, and that was the real origin of
the Noctes.' At Ambrose's?" At Ambrose's'. 'But
is there such a tavern, really ?" Olt, certainly. Anybody
will show it you. It is a small house, kept in an out-of-
the-way corner of the town, by Ambrose, who is an ex-
cellent fellow in his way, and has had a great influx of
custom in consequence of his celebrity in the Noctes.
We were there one night very late, and had all been.
remarkably gay and agreeable. What a pity,' said
Lockhart, ',that some short-hand writer had not been
here to take clown the good things that had been said at
this supper.' The next day he produced a paper called
Noctes Ambros-ianw, and that was the first. I continued
them afterwards.' "

"Speaking of passports, which are a necessary evil,
invariably accompany ing all foreign excursions, brings
to my recollection the following anecdotes :—A poor
Gascon, who bad committed himself at Marseilles, by
some imprudent bravadoes for Napoleon, wished to get
out of the town before any danger happened. He got a
passport, by means of twa francs and the signatures of
two friends. Having shaved himself that morning, they
'lescribed -him, "beard, none ;' complexion, none.' Per-
haps he was not very blooming. On tire second evening
a:gendarme inspected his passport. His beard hadgrown.•
'Beard, none ? said the gendarme—'you have a black
beard. Complexion, none ? and you are perfectly,y-ellow.
The passport is false; you must wait here for another.' In
vain the Gascon protested; he was obliged to send his
paper back to Marseilles, where they added, complexion,
pale;' beard, black.' He was on foot. The third day
he fell down, and several contusions dreadfully inflamed
hiS face. 'Complexion, pale ?' said the inspector, in the
evening, ',you have tire reddest face I ever saw. Nose,
middling? and your nose is enormous. You have also
a scar on your chin. This passport is false; send. for
another.' Again the paper was sent to Marseilles; and
the poor man was two months on his journey, instead of
twenty days. Another time, an old pensioner returned
rather late to Paris, after dining in the country. At the
harrier he was asked for his admission ticket. He pulled
ont of his pocket the bill of fare he had just paid, and pre-
sented it. The inspector put on his spectacles, and began
h a
to read. • Calf's head; hem I that is good; theyhave
amused themselves in describing him. 'Pigs feet;' ha,
ha! not-very polite: sheep's eat s;' 'duck's breast;' that
is odd. Pass on, citizen ; • with such a description, you
cannot be very dangerous.' "—Letters from Brussels.