Page:010 Once a week Volume X Dec 1863 to Jun 64.pdf/253

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ONCE A WEEK. exclusive.

very

Country

were

gentlemen

bud •

1

(Licking.

—the favourite

But the play was game bei

Watier's

'<

at

It

last.

—And

J

I on various pon quitting the ball. Other occasions, the finest gentleman in Europe does not appear to much advantage. Th

this

I

sue

eventually, however, by as great a gambling known as Crockford's, built by Wyatt in

altogether was a great success. dandies," Byron wrote in his

clul),

After his

with

quarrel

the

i'

Brummell appeared more frequently clubs, and became known as a high

On one

at

the

player.

he rose up the winner of If the poor feltwenty-six thousand pounds. but it was all low could have stopped then Ho was completely gone in a night or two. red at last. The "myrmidons of the is some writers are fond of calling the Pa officers, were anxiously looking for him. He dined off a cold fowl and bottle of claret (from Watier's), showed himself at the Opera, left early, stepped into a post-chaise, travelled all night as fast as horses could take him, and was at Dover the next morning. lately on his arrival he hired a small occasion

!

1

placed his carriage on board, and in a few hours was safely landed at Calais. For some years he had maintained his high .

'

position in society, notwithstanding the notorious fact that the Prince had withdrawn all

favour from him. He bore up against his disgrace with great gallantry, assuming a lofty air giving out, indeed, that he had cut the Prince, and threatening to bring the old King into fashion again. To the last he maintained his friendship with the Duke and Duel; He met the Prince on various occasions York. without betraying the slightest desire to remind him of their former intimacy, or to regain his favour by any servile sort of conciliation. At

this time, indeed, the behaviour of the

Beau

ar more dignified than that of the Prince. The four chiefs of the dandy world were Lord Alvanley, Sir Henry Mildmay, Mr. Pierrepoint, and Mr. Brummell. They had won a

considerable

sum

at

play,

and,

elated with

entitled to his courtesy as

Brummell expressed his sense of the 'line-.;'-; breach of good manners by refusing to attend him to his carriage on his others.

terribly high

was

much

.

rigidly black-balled, Brummell declaring that their boots smelt .so strongly of horse-dung and

I

upon being the only

self

being overbearing, we ran quietly together."

ROUND THE

IRISH COAST.

PAUT IV. AND LAST. When Aran and Achill have been passed, there is a marked diminution in the number of islands all along the coast, which, howe still retains its stern and grand features, presenting for many miles a continuous barrier of precipice that bodes little good to any tempest-

caught vessel.

The first island that is met with is scarcely more than a rock, standing a little off the below Kilkee, and, from its savage inacwas called in Irish, with a grim kind of humour, Oilean-an-Easpoig-gortaigh, cliffs

cessibility,

the Island of the

Hungry

Who

this

by Dr. Petrie to be the

— —

Bishop.

abstemious ecclesiastic was, tradition does not tell us but the remains on the rock belong to a class that is the most interesting in Ireland,

express a strong desire to be present at the

were the providers of the entertainment. On his arrival he shook hands cordially with Lord Alvanley and Mr. Piorrepoint, but took no notice whatever of the presence of Brummell and Mildmay completely ignoring their existence, in fact although they were equally his

member of

had a tinge of dandyism in my minority and probably retained enough of it to conciliate the I had gamed great ones at five-and-twenty. and drunk, and taken my degree in most and having no pedantry, and not dissipations

date.

him

literary

the

from their rarity and

to

I

exception of Moore " both men of the Spencer, world," as he says ("polished William Spencer, _the Poet of So"The truth ciety," as he was often called). is, that though I gave up the business early, I Watier's, with

good fortune, determined to amaze their and the town in general by a magnificent fete and fancy ball at the Argyle Booms in July, 1813. The Prince had quarrelled not only with Brummell, but also with Sir Yet ho did not hesitate to Henry Mildmay. invitation was accordingly forwarded in the names of the foitr gentlemen who

M

friends

An

I liked the

were always very civil to me, though in general He- had apthey disliked literary people." peared at the masquerade in tin; character caloyer, or Eastern monk, and been the subject He congratulated himof much admiration.

their

ball.

"

diary

The ruins

their

are those

extremely early

know

There are only two or three hive Oratory." of these buildings in Ireland, and, singuin the same larly enough, they are all found corner of the country,

and were considered first

stone buildings

The shape, the circumThe exterior face of the wall ference 115 feet. at four different heights recedes to the depth and Mr. Wakeman considers that of a foot ted

as

its

for

name

Christian purposes. implies,

is

circular,

this peculiarity

was introduced with the view

of Lessening the weight of the roof,

dome-shaped

which was not formed on the principle of