The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1855-08-28
Flaws in Diamonds.

Flaws in Dia almonds.
Ii is sometimes ins' ruc,Ive, and at all times in
IrrcsiIng, 10 learn sume hing of the eccentric!ies
iailTugs aud folbleS of remarkable PERSONS Such
traits form The most attractive and SaIieus points
oI biographical works; they may be called III"
,ooring of literary pnrtraiIure, and being endow.
ed with an Individual vitality, found to linger
longest in the memory of the general readers
Having gathered together ii number of these
personal anecdotes, we propose TO pass away il
e0ssiPpng, and not wholly unproii,able, half
hour IN relating them 10 our readers.
Il IS painful To reflect upon the innrdinafe vani-
- whrh charactcrizes many iIustrious lives
When CUsrr became bald, he constantly wore :he
L,urel-wrcaih with which we ST linn rrpresen ed
medals in the hope of concellng the defect
and ceroS cg"'I-m was sd grea:, that he even
compnsrd Latin hcxamiter in his ow II praise:
Oh iortGn ,tam natam ConsuIe Roman.
Ooh fortunate Rome when | was bora Ia T consul y
line which elected the just sarcasms of Juvcnal.
Queen EIz beth left three Ihuusa nd Jlf dress
- IN her wardrobe when she died; and. during
many years OF The latter part of her life, would
EoI suffer "nklng-glnss in her presercn for fear
lat she should perceive The ravages oc time upon
her countrna6ce. Mncrnas, the most egreginus
OF classic exqu>iies, is sld TO have wiold,d the
Roman Empire with rings his fingers. The
vanry Of BenvenuO CelIlni Is too well known TO
nreG repetition. Sir Walter Raleigh was, per-
haP> the greatest beau on record. HIS shoes on
C0ur, days, were so gorgeouSy adorned " ilh pre-
clcus stones as tn have CXcrcdrd SIX thousand
guIneaS in value and he had sui Of al mour, Of
s"!Id silver, "I we led sword aud belt the worth
"f hich was almost incnlcuIubI, The great
ID ScartCs was very pnruculrr about his wigs, and
always kept four lis dressing closet; a piece
Ol vanity in which he was lmintrd by Sir Rich.
ard Steele, who never expended l.sS than forty
guineas upon one If his large black periwigs.-
Mozart, whose light hair OF fine auay,
woEe 1t very lnng and nrwing down between his
shoulders Wi'h u tie of cuored ribbon confininp
it at The neck. Poor G.,Idsmh's innocent da ndv.
Isn, and the story OF his peach blossom coat are
s,Sss,<'St Proverb;a Pnp"'s seIf-ove was 50 great
that according tO JuhnS0n, he chad been GrItcred
I'LL he thought himself one Of the moving pow ers
in the 81 stem of Irr." Allan Ramsav'S cgo,i>m
was excessive. On one occasion, he mo1psIlv
to<'k precedence Of Peter the Great. in estimating
their comparative importance with the public -
But haud (hold) proud Czar," he says, II wanda
dlAar (exchangr) famp!' Napoleon vain
Of his small foot Srvarur Rosa was once heard
10 compare himself with Raphael and Michael
Angelo. calling the former dry, and the latter
coarse; and Raphael, again, I"alous of the
fame and skill of Michael Angelo. Hoghrth's bis
his own opinion, those Of the old masters. Sir
Peter LeIv's vanity was so well known, that a
a miSchievnns wit, resolving 10 try WHIT amount
sf Battery he would b-li"ve, told him one day that
If the Author Of Mankind could have had the ben.
eft Of his (Lrly'~) opinions upon beauty, We
should all have been materially benefited in point
ri iersonal appea rance to which the painter en-
;ha,icaiIy replied Fore Gott, sare, | believe
you're right" b jardo, the Italian poet, ascribrd
= high an importance to his Poe'ry, that when he
had iavrnled suitable name for of his heroes
ne set The bells ringing in The village. Kotsobap
<vas so vain and envious, that he could endure
nothing celebrated to be near him, though it were
hut picture or Il statue; and even l. Llmartine.
the Iotcst and finest Of French poets. rObs his
charming pages of half their beauty by the inor
dmate sell. praise OF his eomm"ntares ROssrau
has been called 'the sef.iorturing eg0tst :" and
Lord Byron's life has been called one continued
piece OF egotism from beginning to end. He was
vain OF his genius, his rank, his misa nthropy, and
even of his vices and he was particularly proud
OF his good riding and of his handsome hands
Penuriousness, unhapply, has been too COM
monty associated with learning and fame. Cato,
the censor, on his return from Spain, was 50 par
simo NOUS that hr sold his field horse, TO save the
expense of conveying the animal by sea to Italy,
AttIus RrSuluS, at the period of his greatest gIo-
ry In Africa, ehtreatcd permission 10 return home
W 'he """S''heh' Oh MS estate which couSl5iCd
but OF seven acres, a'l"ging that his servants had
been dcfrauding HIM of certain agricultural imp!e-
incnrs and that he anxious to look after his
aiiIirS. Lord Bacon is Il mrIanchoIv instance of
the dominion obtained by avarice ov:ra great
mind. Among artists. Noekrns and Norrhco,e
we're proverbialIv penurnus. Swift IN his old
aye, was avaricous, and had absolute terror
of visitors. "Whpn his friends of either sex came
10 him in expectation OF dinner, his custom was
10 give every shilling that they might please
themselves with their provision. OF the grea
Duke Of Marlborough, it is SAID by Miclulay. tha
his splendid qualities were mingled with alloy o
The most soriid kind