Virginia advocate. [volume] (Charlottesville, Va.) 1827-1860, 1829-08-07
from the New York Evening Post 7

From the New York Evening Post
CoBnETT.--This eccentric and singular
ola man continues to iningle in all the DO
liticai movements iu his own country, with
as much violent party feeling as ever
marked his career at any former period of
ms lie. Take the following for example.
CONFETTI WESTMINSTER CELEBRA-
TIoN. The following is Cobbett's account
OF the proceedings at the Dinner in the
Strand.
To THE ELECTORS OF WESTMINSTER
Barn Elm Farm, 81 May, 1929.
Gentlemen-A band of Mrcd ruifians.
assuming your names, assembled at the
Crown and Anchor, i'm the Strand. on
Monday last, to celebrate what they called
the purity NJ election.
The moment went into the room. |
was convinced, and told Mr.. Hunt and
several, that it was an asscmblage of fe-
lows that had been hired and paid for being
there. Since the dinner have been as
sured, on what thiak very good authori.
'y, that hundred and forty pounds were
Land out an tickets to he gircn acoy. do
not kn0" this TO be true but verify be-
lieve 1t to be true and it rests upon evil
dence as good as that OH which nine YER
diets out ot ten arc given in courts of JUS
tee. At Ill the dinners which have cy-
er seen, the tables are filed by dcprees
promlscuously, leaving vacant places here
ana there; but, upon this occasion, all the
upper ends of all the four tables that run
!"ng-ways the room, were completely filled
bGfore t0H, O'Clock, although the dinner
ma not take place till six. /, who was sit
ting on the elevated part at the upper end
1T the room, and who had to sit there
nearly an hour before the dinner began.
!'ad time to survey these people, who were
IN appearance. all of precisely the same
stamp; middle.aged, shabby, and vulgar
looking men, tolerabIy clean, but having
coarse linen, some OF 4 yellow-looking hue
and some extremely blue, and having
cats. the seams of which were rather
white. |, who knew where to look for the
characteristics in such cases, looked n,
their hands, which were, generally, wash
ed pretty clean; but saw the deep veins.
with tie dirt at the bottom still, and Ger.
tam roughness between the fore-finger and
the thumb. They looked like people with
whom bellyiul was serious ohiec, and
| observed, that when looking at me thew
had an unanimous scowl on their visages.
"hen the victuals came covered, they,
before the signal was given for uncoveripo,
and before the walters came to uncover
lifted up the sides OF the cover to peep UNI
der to enjoy the sight as it were, before.
hand; and when the covers were taken
Oft, they pitched on in way to convince
you that the eating part of the affair was
to be no sham. They gave proofs of real
hunger, while the awkward manner in
which they carved the articles, proved
that they were got amongst rarities. |
saw one fellow endeavoring to cut a roast
fowl asunder crossways, while another had
bis fork stuck in the neck end, to be rea
dy to take away one Of the halves. I'm the
quarter where Mr.. French was. he want
ed to get at some fish, he being a Catho-
lie; and it not being meat day. They
were all Catholics as far as related to the
hsh, and being unable to get any fish, he
aimed at piece of pudding, but fellow
had just then drawn the pudding I'D to-
wards his body, and had bent his arm
round y, go as,,to form a rampant against
all assaiants. With great begging Mr..
Frencj got piece Of pudding about the
size OF an egg. Another gentleman, who
was sitting in the neighborhood of some
salmon, of which he unfortunately happen
cd to be very fond, was preparing his plate
Tor portion of it; but in the twinklinp
of an eye it was snapped up, the gentle.
man having the grief to behold no less
than seven persons at one time driving
their knives or spoons into the salmon. and
thrustlng or endeavoring to thrust their
plates up to the sides of the dish.-So
quick was the operation, that the walters
had not had time to put down the sauce
and when the sauce boats came, three in
number, one Of them was seized hold of
by one OF the hired brutes, and the whole
OF the contents tipped into his own plate,
over the sides Of which part Of the sauce
found ITS way upon the table. A gentle
man has told me, and another told me the
same thing in the room, that some of the
fellows cut up the asparagus with their |
knives, and eat IT stumps and all which, |
however, IS not quite so bad as the conduct |
OF Nova Scotian who once came to New |
York, and who began eating the aspara-
gus at the wong end. However, he had |