Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1855-08-29
Litt,eness of the Great.

anecdotes. we propose to pass away gosSiPP,'s
and not wholly an improbable halt hour IN Teia'
ing them to our readers
lis painfu to reflect upon the nordlnate van
itv which characterzes many ilustrIous llves.-
When Cesar became bald, he constantly wore tht
lanrel wreath with which we SEE him represented
on medals. in the hope Of concealing the deiecl
and Cicero's egotism was so great, that ne even
cornnosed Latin hexameer in his own pralse:-
oh fortunatam natam me Consule Roman, IN
ron fortunate Rome when was born her consul y
line which elected the just sarcasms OF Juvenal
Queen Elizabeth left 5000 different dresses In
her wardrobe when she died and during many
Years of the latter part of her life would not sunel
lookipp-qlass in her presence, for fear that she
should perceive the ravages of time upon her coun
tenance. Mecenas, the most egreglOus OF classic
exouisites. is said to have .'wielded tie Roman
empire with rings on his fingers" Sir Waller
RALEIGH was perhaps the greatest beau on record
His shoes on court days. were so gorgeously adorn-
ed with precious stones, as to have exceeded o,o-
loo quineas in value and he had suit OF armor
of solid silver, with jeweled sword and belt, the
worth of which was almost incalculable. The
great Descartes was very particular about his
wigs, and always kept four in his dressing closet
piece of vanity wherein he was Inflated by Slr
Richard Steele, who never expended less than
forty puineas upon one of his large black penwgs.
Mozart. whose hair was of fine quality, wore
it very LONG and flowing down his shoulders, win
tie of coored ribbon con6ning 1t at the neck
Poor Goldsmith's innocent dandyisms, and the
story of his peach blossom coat, are almost proven
bal. Pope's self love was so great, that, accord
ino 10 Johnson. he chad been fiattered till he
thought himself one of the moving powers in the
system of life" Allan Ramsay's egotism was
excessive. On one occasion, he modestly took
precedence of Peter the Great, in estimating their
comparative Importance with the public but
baud Thold proud Czar," he says, 81 wadna nlt-
fer exchanged fame" Napoleon was vain OF
his small foot. Salvador Rosa was once heard to
compare with Raphael and Michael Angelo, call
inp the former dry, and the latter coarse; and
Raphael, again, was jealous of the fame and skill
of Michael Angelo. Hogarih's, historical paint
ings-which were bad-equaled, in his own o.
pnon. those of the old masters. Sir Peter Lely's
vanity was so well known, that mlschlevous
wit resolving to try what amount of tiattery he
would believe, told him one day that If the Auth
or of Mankind could have had the benefit OF his
Hely's) opinions upon beauty, we would have
all been materially benefited in point of personal
appearance to which the painter emphailcaly
REPLIED: '"Fore Gotl, sare, believe you're
right" Bojardo, the Italian poet, ascrlbed SO
high an Importance to his poetry, that when he
had invented suitable name for one ofhls heroes,
he set the bells ringing in the village. Ko'zebue
was so vain and envous, that he could endure no
thing celebrated to be near him, though it were
but a picture of statue; and even Lamartlne, the
IoGtiesi and finest of the French poets, robs his
charming pages of half their beauty by the lnor-
dnate self-praise of his commentaries. Rousseau
has been called the "selftorturiug egotst;" and
Lord Byron's life was one long piece of egotlsm
from beginning to end. He was vain OF his gen
ius. his rank, his msan thropy, and even of his
vices and he was particularly proud of his good
riding and his handsome hands.
Penuriousness, unhappiIy, has been too com
monty associated with learning and fame. Cato
the censor, en- his return from Spain, was so par
simonious that he sold his field, horse 10 save the
expense of conveying the animal by sea to italy.
AtliIius Reguus,a the period of his greatest glory
in Africa, entreated permission to return home to
the management of his estate, which consisted but
of seven acres, alleging that his servants had been
defrauding him Of certain agricultural implements,
and that he was anxious to look after his affairs
Lord Bacon is a melancholy instance OF the dom
inion obtained by avarice over great mind
Swift, in his old age, was avarlcIouS, and had ao
solute terror of visitors. "When his friends oil
either sex came 10 hlm,I expectation OF dinner,
his custom was to give every one shilling, that
they might please themselves with their provl-
sion" OF the great Duke of Marlborough, it is
said by Macaulay, that "his splendid qualities
were mingled with alloy of the most sordld kind. "
We will now turn 10 the errors Of self indul-
gence. Socrates, Plato, Agathon, Arlsiophanes,
and others of the most celebrated Greeks, drank
wine to a surprising extent; and Plato says, IN
the Symposium, that Socrates kept sober longer
than anv. 1'iberius was so much addicted TO this
vice, that he had frequently 10 be carried from the
senate house Cato was fond of the bottle. Ben
Jonson delighted in copious draughts OF Canary
wine, and even contrived to have pipe OF that
liquor added to his yearly pension as post-Iaure-
ate. The fine intellect of Coleridge was clouded
over by this unhappy propensity. Montague IN
dulged in Sherry. The otherwise unexceptlOn
able morality of Addison was stained by this one
error Sir Richard Steele, Fielding, and Sterne
shared the prevailing taste for hard drinking
Mozart was no exception TO the rule. Churchill
was very Incorporate man; and Hogarth gave
a ludicrous immortality to the satris's love ofpor-
ter. by representing him in the character of bear
with a mug of that liquor in its paw. Tasso ag-
gravated his mental irritabily by the use OF
wines, despite the entreates of his physicians
During his long Imprisonment, he speaks grateful
ly in his letters Of some sweetmeats with which
he had been supplied, and after his release, he re-
Iates with delight the good things that were pro-
vided for him by his patron, the Duke OF Mantua
''the bread and fruit, the fish and flesh, the
wines, sharp and brisk, and the confectlons. p
Pope, who was somewhat of an epicure, when
E II .,rl al,
broke, would lie in bed for days together, unless
he heard there were TO be stewed lampreys Tor
dinner, when he would forthwith arise, and make
his appearance at table. DR.. Johnson had vor-
acous liking for leg of mutton. cat my Aunt
Ford's s." he said, 81 ate so much of leg OF NUT
tom that she used to talk of it," gentleman
once treated him to dish of new honey and clOu-
ted cream, of which he partooll so enormously that
his entertainer was alarmed.
Quin, the famous actor, has been known to ira
vel from London TO Bath, for the mere sake of
dining upon John DOry. Dr. Barr, in private
letter. confesses of his passionate love of hot boil
ed lobsters with profuson of shrimp-sauce.-
Shelley was for many years a vegetarian and in
the notes to his earliest edition of Queen Mao,
speaks with enthusiasm of a dinner Of "greens,
potatoes, and turnips" Ariosto was excessively
fond OF turnlpS. he ATE last, and OF Whatever
was nearest to him, often beginning with the
bread upon the table before the other dishes came.
Being visited one day by stranger, he devoured
all the dinner that was provided for both and
when afterward censured for his unpo!iteness, only
observed that "the gentleman should have taken
care of himself" Handel ate enormously and
DR.. Kitchener relates of him, that whenever he
dined at a tavern, he ordered dinner for three
a. ka;o Il .I,o oil Il.
company should arrive, he would exclaim: "Den
pring up he dinner prestissino-I AN DE COM
pANY" Lord Byron's favorite dish was eggs
and bacon and though he could never eat itwth-
out suffering from attack of indigestion, he had
not always sufficient frmness to resist the temp
tation. Lalande, the great French astronomer,
,,-nrd nat cninn-s ac n rnlish innnns Lal;HLaaI