The mountain Democrat., 1863-04-25
xsesnarasa4iss sF Great axsp.
It is > tyite savlnr that no man is a

1t is tsite saylng that no man is he
ro to his valet ; and the greatest men thai
history records have had their little
weaknesses, fiattering to humanity, be.
cause proving them m0Ttals and not demi-
gods. Sir Walter Raleigh in his best
days had a strong dash of dandyism.-
When he appeared at court he wore six
thousand dollars worth of diamonds in
! his shoes his arinor was solid silver and
his sword.hllt and baldric were studded
,, xit6 precious stones of incalculable vaiuA.
Pass on, splendid shadow The great
philosopher, Descartes, had passion for
wigs, and Sir Richard Steel would some
times spend forty guineas for peruke -
Goldsmth's peach-colored coat is immor-
tai. According to Samuel johnson; Pope
had such high opinion Of himself as to
think he was one of the pivOts of the sys-
TEN Of the world. Napoleon I. prided
himself on the smallness of his hands and
feet. Sir Walter Scott was prOudeF of
being Sheriff of Selkirkshire than author
of Waverly. Kotzebue was so vain and
envious that he could not tolerate any
celebrated personages near him, even
when represented by portrait or stat
ue. Byron was vain to exceSs-vain Of
his genius, his rank, his misanthropy, and
even his vices. Spinoza took particular
delight in seeing spiders fight. The
Count de Grammont once surprised Car.
dinal Richelieu Jumping with his servant
to see which could leap highest. Saliva
tor Rosa often played in impromptu COM
edies, and Travelled the streets of Rome
dressed as mountebank. Antonia Mag
labecchi, the famous librarian Of the
Grand Duke Of Tuscany, was passionate
ly fond of spiders, had his room filed
with them, and would not allow his visit
ors to disturb them. Moses MendelIsohn,
called the Jewish Socrates, sometimes
sought relief from his meditations by sit.
ting at the window and counting the tiles
on the opposite root. Cowper bred rab
bits and made bird-cages Doctor JensOn
made an especial pet of his cat Mind,
the famous Swiss painter, always had a
room full Of cats, and one perched upon
his back when lie was drawing. Goethe
had tame adder, but held dogs in aver
sion. Thomson's S greatest deligh: was to
saunter in his garden and eat ripe peaches
off the trelises, with his hands in his
pockets. Gray said he would like to pass
his life on sofa reading French novels.
1t is said that Oliver Cromwell sometimes
laid aside his puritanic gravity and play
ed at blindman's buff with his attendants.
One of the most innocent amusements oi
Charles H., Of England, was to stroll in
st. James Park, surrounded by troop
Of those diminutive spaniels which bear
his name, and feed the ducks: Beethoven
loved to paddle in cold water, and carried
his passion to such an extent that the
floor of his room was flooded, and the
water would filter through the lower sto-
rieS. Sometimes, at morning and even
ing he would scamper barefooted through
the dewy meadows. Shelly was very
fond Of sailing payer boats. 1t is said
that he came to the Serpentine River
once, and having nothing in his pocket
but a fifty.pound note to make boat.
gave il at once the desired form, launched
it on the stream, watched his venture
with patcrnal anxiety, and finally ran
round to the other shore to receive his
money when it came to land. We might
easily extend our list, but have said
enough to prove the proposition with
which he started.