The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-12-25 00:00:00

THE 711.0 RATS OF ME.V.

/ROM 111./.IIWIN AN') CO.'S I..ONDnY nacitztsc
[Concluded front our Piper of Saturday.)
Reflections like the foregoing were forced upon my
intim! by the death of my old friend Ralph Bigot!,
Esq., who departed this life 'on Wednesday evening;
dying, as he had lived, without much trouble. lie
ta.astr.,: :siusse!, a descendant from mighty ancestors
of that name, who heretofore had ducal dignities in
this realm. In his actions and sentiments he belied
taut the stuck to which be pretended. Early in life he
found himself invested with ample revenues; which,
with that noble disinterestedness which I have no-
ticed as inherent in men of the great reec, he took al-
most immediate measures entirely to dissipate and
bring to nothing : for there is FilMethiliz revultinl in
the idea of a king holding a private purse ; and the
thoughts of Bigod were all regal. 'thus farnialied, by
the very act of disfurnishinent ; getting rid of the cum-
lk ciente luggage of riches, more apt (as one sings)
To shaken virtue, sad abate her edge.
Than prompt her to do aught may merit praise,
he set forth, like some Alexander, upon his great en-
fru prise, " borrowing, and to borrow !"
Innis periegesis, or triumphant ;tropess through-
out this island, it has been calculated that he laid a
tythe part of the inhabitants under contribntion. I
teloct titis estimate as greatly exaggerated: but hav-
iaq had the honour of accompanying n'v friend divers
tittles in his peransbnLitions atom this vast city, I own
IVs as greatly struck at first with the prang' mon-
k r of faces we met, who claimed a sort of respectful
;leo:tint:ince with us. lie was one day so obliging as
to.explain the phenomenon. It seems these were his
triltut tries ; feeders of his exchequer : gentlemen, Isis
good friends Oa he was pleased to express himself), to
%%hoot he had occasionally been beholden for a loan.
Their multitudes did no way disconcert hint. Ile ra-
ther took a pride in numbering them ; and, with
Collins, seemed pleased to be " stocked with so fair a
herd."
With suet sources, it was a wonder how he contriv-
ed to keep his treasury always empty. Ile did it by
free of an aphorism, which he had often in his month,
that " money kept longer than three days stinks.- SO
he made use of it while it was fresh. A good part he
drank away (for he was an excellent toss-pot), some he
gave away, the rest he threw away, literally tossing and
hurling it violently frutn him—as boys do burry, or as
if it had been infections—into ponds, or ditches, or
deep holes—into inscrutable cavities of the earth ; or
he would bury it (where he would never see it again)
by a river's side under some bank, whirls (he would fa-
Cetionsly observe) paid no interest ; but out away from
him it most go peremptorily, as Hagar's offspring into
the wilderness, while it was sweet. Ile never missed
it. The streams were perennial which fed his fise.—
When new supplies became necessary, the first person
that had the felicity to fall in with him, friend or
stranger, was sure to contribute to the deficiency. For
Bigod had an nadeniabk way with hint. Ile had a
cheerful, open exterior, a quick jovial eve, a bald fore-
head. just touched with grey (roma pea). lie antici-
pated no excuse, and foetid none. And, waiving for a
while my theory u to the gnat race, I would pat it
to the most un theorising reader, who may at times have
disposable coin in his pocket. whether it is not more
repugnant to the kindliness of his nature, to refuse
such a one as I am describing, than to say no to a poor
petitionary rogue (your bastard borrower), who by his
mewing visnonty tells you, that lie expects nothing
better ; and, therefore, whose preconceived notions
and expectations you do in reality so much less shock
in the refusal.
When I think of this man—his fiery glow of heart
—his swell of feeling—how magnificent. bow ideal
he was—how great at the midnight hour; and whets
/ compare with him the companions with whom I have
associated since, I grudge the saving of a few idle du.'
, cats, and think that I am fallen into the society of
lenders, and little men.
To one like Elia, whose treasures are rather mod
in leather covers, than closed in iron coffers, there is
a class of alienators more formidable than that which
I have touched upon ; I mean your borrowers of books
those mutilators of collections, spoilers of the synt-
irctry of shelves, and creators of odd volumes.—
'lbere is Cumin:thatch, matchless in his depreda.
Lions !
That foul gap in the bottom shelf facing you, like a
great eve-tooth knocked out—(you are now with me
in my little back study in Bloomsbury, reader !)--
with the huge Switser-like tomes on each side (like
the Onildhall giants, in their reformed posture, guard-
ing of nothing (once held the tallest of my folios)
Opera Denarentrrai, choice and massy divinity), to
which its two supporters (a school divinity also, but
of a lesser calla's..., Beltartnine, and holy '1 homaa),
skewed but as dwarfs—itself an Ascapart!---thur
Comberbatch abstracted upon the faith of a theory he
holds, which is more easy, I confess, for me to suffer
by than to refute, namely, " that the title to pro-
perty in a book (my llonaventnre, for instance), is in
exact ratio to a person's powers of understanding and
appreciating the state." Should he go on acting upon
this theory, which of our shelves is safe ?
Thnt slight vacuum in the left hand case—two
li
from tit.• ceiling—scircely distinguishable but
ity tiseatitio: eve of a loser—was whams' the rem-
" modions r stunt; place of Browne on Urn Burial. C.
. will allege that he knows more about that
treatiee'than I do, who introduced it to him, and was
indeed the first (of the moderns) to discover its beau-
ties—but so hu7l. I knowni foolish lover to praise his
mistress in the pre. trace of a rival more qu'alified to
carry her off than hintself. Just below. Dotisley's
chimes want their fourth volatile, ihere Vittoria Co.
rOnthoni is I The remainder nine are as distasteful
as Priam's refuse sons, when th.'Pates itorraired Hee-
. tin'. Here stood the Anatomy of Melinicholy, in sober
state. There loitered the Complete 'Angler; quietly
et in Nre ; by some stip= side. ft yonder nook.
John Bunch', It widower-valiant.' with 'eyes cloud.'
mourns his ravished mate. . •,
One justice I must downy Mood, that if he some-
Aimee, Mte . mewls away a treasure at sise.
thee time. ma-IWe. he throws up as rich an equivalent
to mateb ft. s small oodpr-tellettmo of this
nature Cm' y files. Ira gatherings in his various toffs),
pieked up ale has tiirgotteu at velist odd ploos ; asid
iglesieeda-witb es little memory at mine. 1 take is