plishments of the daughters,” observes a third. I (said a pale sickly-looking girly could never see any beauty in them; and I am sure they wore rouge and pearl powder. They gave devilish good dinners though, (said one of the beaux) and I must do B the justice to say, that he had one of the best cooks in London. Yes,

can't

'I thought his white hermitage better than his claret,' said a third; while another ex-. claimed, Well, give me his hock in preference to all his other wines, for that was unique.' 'I hope G- will buy B's wines, as he gives such good feeds: his is the only house in town where you may re ly on finding a perfect supréme de volaille; or where you get cotèlettes des pigeons a la champagne.' Oh! but (remarked the first speaker) G -'s cellar is not nearly so cool or well arranged as B- -'s, and the wine may get injured.' There won't be time enough for that, for Glast long; he will be done up in a short time,' was the reply. I did hear some hint of that,' said another. It's a fact, I assure you, I had it from his lawyer,' said the first speaker. Well, G- is a monstrous good fellow, and we must dine with him very often, that the wine mayn't be spoiled, before he is done up,' said one of the Exquisites; which friendly intention they all expressed their willingness to carry into effect. Have you any idea what is become of B. ?' interrogated one of the party. I did hear something, that he was in the Bench, or gone to France: but (yawning) I really forgot all about it.' I intend to bid for his curricle horses at Tattersal's.' And I (said another) will buy his Vandyke picture.' What! do you like, pictures ?' said a third. O no! I have not the least fancy for them; indeed I don't know a Titian from a Vandyke: but one must have pictures, and I know that R- who is a judge in things of that sort, wants to have this, and I am determined he sha'n't,' was the reply of the intended purchaser of one of the chef-d'œuvres of Vandyke.

"A young man of the party, who had hitherto been silent, and in whose countenance good nature and silliness strove for mastery, remarked, that it was a pity that people who gave such good dinners were so soon ruined.' A pity! (replied another) no, no; give me a short campaign, and a brisk one; for let the dinners and wines be ever so good, one gets so tired of seeing always the same faces, and the same kind of dishes for if a dinner-giving man holds out many seasons, he gives so often the same sort of dinners, and the same set of men, that it at last becomes as tiresome as dining at the mess of the Guards. Believe me, there is nothing like a fresh start; and no man, at least no dinner-giving man,

artist?

is it that would not give

"I left them, with feelings very similar to those excited in my mind by the fashionables; and, with more of anger than a Christian ought to feel, I exclaimed, ‘And this is an auction! a scene so often the resort of the old and the young, the grave and the gay, where human beings go to triumph in the ruin and misery of their fellow-creatures! and where those who have partaken of the hospitality of the once opúlent owner of the mansion, now come to witness his downfall, regardless of his misfortunes, or else to exult in their own contrasted prosperity! Never were mankind so low in my estimation; and I was hurrying from this scene of heartless selfishness, when I perceived two females engaged in conversation, whose looks were expressive of the sympathy which they felt in it.

"On approaching nearer, I heard the names of the Misses B pronounced in accents so full of pity and affection, that I paused to listen to the conversation. One of the females, whose appearance bespoke her to belong to the upper class of society, observed, in reply to an enquiry of the other, that The B- family were all at her house, and perfectly reconciled to their misfortunes; that she hoped enough would remain, after paying the creditors, to enable the family to enjoy the comforts of life, in some retired country residence; that the Misses B only regretted their change of fortune as dreading its effects on their parents, and as abridging their means of assisting their fellow-creatures.' Here the emotions of the other female became uncontrollable, and while the tears trickled down her cheeks, she exclaimed, with a fer

cheeked smiling daughters, whose bonnets look like beds of tulips, and whose white handkerchiefs, applied frequently to their foreheads, mark, in spite of their smiles, the yielding softness of their nature, and shew them to be in the melting mood. This is succeeded by the smart turn-out of some pretender to fashion, who desired to have a carriage exactly like Lady H***'s, but wished to have a little more brass on the harness, and more fringe on the hammer-cloth':the "coach-maker has been most liberal of both, and the poor would be fashionable sits perfectly happy, fancy ing the smiles with which the gazers regard her gaudy equipage, and ill-drest self, proceed from pure admiration. The Lord Mayor's coach, with all the paraphernalia of mayoralty finery, next fills up the line, while the smug faces of my Lord and Lady, with their offspring, the embryo Lord Mayor or Lady Mayoress, form a group that might be painted as a personification

of

Oh, the roast beef of Old England ! .. so visible are its nutritious effects on their countenances.

A brown landaulet with red wheels now advances, the wretched horses of which seem scarcely able to bear the weight of plated harness, under which they are literally bending; and, as if to increase their misery, the shabby rattle-trap is filled by a group that would require the pencil of Hogarth to paint :-In the centre sits an elderly gentleman, whose rubicund cheeks, fiery nose, and blue-black wiry locks and whiskers, give him a striking resemblance to the Saracen's Head, as pourtrayed on stage-coaches. On each side of him sits a comely, sultana-looking dame, large, languid, and listless-affecting all the easy negligence of high ton, which is ludicrous. ly contrasted by the absurd vulgarity of the carriage, and the whole set out. Five smiling babes, the images of their blushing sire, arranged in picturesque attitudes, complete the party within; but what pen can do justice to the coachman and footman! The thread-bare broad-cloth livery, that was once white, faced with a colour meant to be scarlet, but much less vivid than the old gentleman's countenance, made for men of tall stature, and now worn by such as are of comparatively dwarfish size, hired on job for a few weeks; the hats turned up all round, and totally bereft of the beaver that once covered them, strikingly evince the love of show, struggling with the parsimony and inherent vulgarity of the master. This turn out excites universal derision, and the Dandies declare that it must belong to some East India or Dublin Castle dubbed knight, who has tempted one of the fair dames by his side to become his wife, for the pleasure of being called My Lady.

74 The elegant curricle, driven by its more elegant owner, the beautiful Lady F, now follows, and attracts all eyesy while this lovely female Phaeton, enveloped in capes and veils, scarcely deigns to shew a portion of those beauteous features, that have never been seen without exciting ad miration. The fashionable and fascinating Lady S. H*** rolls along in her tasteful and splendid carriage, reclined in a corner of it, and covered by a transparent veil; while the crimson silk blinds, half drawn down, shed not a dim religious light, but love's own rosy hue, over her faultless figure; and admiring Dandies, with un covered heads, mark, by their low bows the profound feeling which she excites.

"Here may be seen the Gallant gar Lothario,' perhaps still more generally known as 'Romeo,' driving his car, which, alas! is no longer a triumphal one, being hailed by smiles of derision and contempt, instead of applause, whenever he makes his appearance in it. Its luckless owner sits elate, with head awry, and neck extended, looking round to meet the glances of admiration which he fancies he excites. Next to this fantastic vehicle follows the family coach of Mr ***, the plain substan-, tial elegance of which marks the good taste of its possessor; while the lady-like demeanour of his wife, and the cheerful, ingenuous countenances of his children, who accompany her, bespeak a well-orders ed and happy family.

"The line of carriages is now broken by a tilbury, driven by a city Dandy, who has chosen the Park to make his debut in as a whip: the horse becomes restive, and the want of skill in his driver excites the ridicule of his more dexterous brothers of the whip: the tilbury is entangled in the wheel of a coach, which causes a general stoppage, while heads are seen emerging from the windows of all the carriages round, anxious to ascertain the cause of delay; and the ladies in the next carriage are, between alarm and anger, almost un-1 intelligibly vociferating from the windows to their servants to let them out; while their terror only seems to increase tae merriment of the surrounding crowd, and to give fresh impetus to the unfortunate Dan. dy, who is malgré the advice of all the by-standers, with one hand reining back his impetuous steed, and with the other urging him on by applying the whip d

"Next advance a male and female equestrian, who are apparently as little, skilled in the riding, as the luckless Dan-, dy is in the driving-school; the horse of the lady becomes frightened at the crowd, and the lady more than participates in his alarms; while her cavalier servant is so occupied in endeavouring to restrain the ardour of his own charger, that he can afford her no assistance; and her distress is

heightened by hearing the peals of laugh. ter all round her, and seeing the ridicule which her situation excites. But, as if to redeem the female name from the imputation of want of skill in horsemanship, the pretty and graceful Lady G***, and the lovely Mrs F. S**, are seen darting along like meteors; while the perfect command that they evidently possess over their coursers, and the easy elegance with which they manage them, can alone quiet the alarms the spectators would otherwise feel at the velocity with which they move.

"To these succeeds a mighty host, including Peers, Commoners, the things yclept Dandies, Citizens who ride their own bits of blood, and Apprentices who hire them for the day, and bestride them as they would their counters. But vain would be the attempt to describe, or even to enumerate half the beauties, would-be beauties, fashionables, and apers of fashion, that are seen mixed up in the motley group of citizens, country folks, and trades-people, that figure in the Park on a fine Sunday, when every vehicle is put in requisition."

We must, we must once more visit London. Contented must old Christopher North be to lean back in a landa u-and look round him from his repose, just as old Q. used from his balcony, to admire the figures of the passing fair. Yet it is not quite with us yet as with old Q.-Much enjoyment are we still capable of—and while we gratefully look back on the past, we cheerfully look forward to the future, and hope to close a long life of usefulness, in tranquillity and ho

nour.

But the Magic Lantern now streams its dazzling light into the " EGYPTIAN TOMB," and we see the gigantic figure of Belzoni at the portal.-By the bye, does Belzoni remember drinking with us, hand to hand, five bottles of claret at Liverpool, in the year 1810, we think, when he was exhibiting himself before the philosophical, political, literary, and commercial society of that populous town?. Little did either of us think of the noise we were both afterwards to make in the world. We hope-Belzoni, thou hast not forgotten us, or how we imitated thee in the Passions by Le Brun, just as our single candle was going out in its socket, in a small room with a low roof and sanded floor, not far from the theatre. But to business. Hear our accomplished author.

"After mounting a steep and dark staircase, the first sentence we heard was uttered by a lady, who exclaimed, O dear,

how hot the Tomb is!' and another remarked, That there was not light sufficient to see the gods.' The groups scattered round formed a striking contrast to the scene itself:-at the entrance were two large animals, of the Sphinx species, formed of granite, with lions' heads, and between them was seated an elderly man, in the act of masticating tobacco, whose countenance bore a strong likeness to them. Two or three fine young women, simply but elegantly attired, with their graceful attitudes, and undulating draperies, formed an agreeable contrast to the stiff and disproportioned forms of the grotesque Egyp tian female figures.

"A party of schoolboys were amusing themselves by discovering likenesses to each other in the monstrous deities displayed on the wall; and a governess was answering the inquiries of her young pupils, 'If there ever existed men with lions', apes', and foxes' heads?' by sententiously reading extracts from Belzoni's Description, not a word of which the little innocents could understand. One old lady remarked, that The Tomb was not at all alarming when people got used to it ;' and another said, it made her melancholy, by reminding her of the death of her dear first husband, the worthy Alderman, to whose memory she had erected a very genteel one,' Two vulgar-looking old men declared their conviction that It was all a hum, for had there been such a place, Lord Nelson would have said summut about it in his dispatches; and another person of the same class said, that For his part, he did not like foreigners; and why did no Englishman ever find out this here place? he should not wonder if, in the end, Mr Belzoni, or whatever his name is, was found out to be like that Baron who wrote so many fibs.' The first speaker observed, that Any man, who would go for to say, as how men had apes' faces (though his own bore a striking likeness to one) would say any thing.'

"A gentleman, who appeared to be a tutor, and two young lads, were attentively examining the model, and comparing it with Belzoni's Narrative; and the questions they asked, and the observations which they made, shewed a spirit of inquiry and intelligence pleasing to witness: while his answers, full of good sense and information, marked how well qualified he was to convey instruction.

"The tomb levels all distinctions,'

though a trite observation, is one, the truth

of which has never been doubted; and, if it were, a visit to that of Psammis would convince the most incredulous: for here persons of all ranks meet, and jostle each other with impunity. The fine lady who holds her vinaigrette to her nostrils, and remarks to her attending beau, What a dreadfully shocking place it is! and that

• there is not a single person of fashion there,' is elbowed by a fat red-faced woman, who looks like the mistress of a gin-shop, and who declares to her spouse that She would give a shilling for a glass of aniseed; for looking at them there mummies has made her feel so queerish.'

"An old lady, and her two grand-daughters, are examining the Pyramid; the old lady has got on a pair of spectacles, and is, with evident labour, endeavouring to decypher a page of the Description; but, unfortunately, she has got at a wrong page, and having puzzled herself for some time, at last gives up the task in despair; and in answer to one of the children's questions of Grand-mamma, what is a Pyramid ? the good old lady replies, Why, a Pyramid, my dear, is a pretty ornament for the centre of a table, such as papa sometimes has instead of an epergne.'

6

"A simple-looking country girl is remarking to her companion, that This is not a bit like a tomb;' for that she has seen many, but they were all quite different, being small and much of the shape of a large trunk, or else they were head-stones; and all had Here lies the body,' or some such thing on them, with cross bones, death's heads, and hour glasses.'

"Two ladies of fashion now enter, attended by two Exquisites or Dandies of the first class, and their exclamations of • What an odd place!' O dear, how disagreeable the smell is !' attract the notice of the fine lady before mentioned, who has been engaged in a flirtation with her beau for the last half hour; they now recognize each other, and the languid How d'ye do? I'm delighted to see you; how very funny that we should meet in the Tomb!' are uttered at once by all three: and one of the Exquisites, who appears to be of the sentimental cast, takes this opportunity of lisp ing out, that The presence of such divinities converts the Tomb into a heaven.' A vulgar-looking man, who has been listening to their chit-chat, and eyeing them with derision, whispers, but in audible accents, to his wife, a pretty modest-looking woman, ⚫ My eye! did you hear what that there young pale-faced chap said to them there painted women, about going to heaven? They don't seem to have any more chance of that sort of place, than they have thoughts of it just now.' The wife gives him an imploring look to be quiet, and whispers, that she believes the ladies are no better than they should be, by their bold looks, and loud speaking, and urges him to go to the other side."

All this is excellent-two more short quotations, and we are done.

"The party of fashionables now approached, and one of the ladies exclaimed, 'Do pray let us leave this tiresome stupid place, where there is not a single thing to VOL. XI.

be seen worth looking at,' and where the company is so intolerably vulgar. I really fancied it was a fashionable morning lounge, where one would meet every soul worth meeting in town, for, as to looking at a set of Egyptian frights, it never entered into my head; I have not heard of Egypt since my governess used to bore me about it when I was learning geography; and as to tombs and pyramids, I have a perfect horror of them. Another of the ladies observed, that she hated every thing Egyptian ever since she had heard of the plagues.' And the third begged, that, in decrying Egypt and its productions, they would except Egyp tian pebbles, which were beautiful, and took an exquisite polish.'

"Oh! pray do look at the female ornaments,' exclaimed one of the ladies; ' did you ever see such horrid things? Only fancy any woman of taste wearing them: well, I declare those same Egyptians must have been dreadfully vulgar, and the women must have looked hideously when adorned in such finery. How surprised they would have been at seeing Wirgman's beautiful trinkets, or the sweet tasteful jewellery at Howel and James's!' I have always thought,' replied one of the Exquisites, these lines in Shakespeare very absurd, where he says

Loveliness
Needs not the foreign aid of ornament,
But is, when unadorned, adorned the most.

For no fine woman ever looks half so well, as when she wears diamonds and other valuable ornaments." "

The whole concludes thus:"

"Some young people, attended by their mother, a very showy-dressed woman, with many indications of vulgarity in her appearance, now stopped before the ruins of the temple of Erments;' and one of the children asked her what place the water before them was meant to represent.'The mamma replied, she 'believed it was the Red Sea, or some such place,' but recommended them not to ask questions, as it would lead people to think them ignorant. This sapient answer seemed very unsatisfactory to the children, who, having expressed their annoyance, were promised a copy of the Description, provided they did not look at it until they got home, as mama was in a hurry.

“A lady next us, enquired, if Egypt was near Switzerland?' and was informed by her friend that it was near Venice.' The ignorance displayed by the greater part of the visitors of the Tomb, on historical, geographical, and chronological points, was truly surprising, and the perfect apathy evinced, was even more so. It was plain that they came to the Tomb merely to pass away an hour, or in the expectation of meeting their acquaintances; but as to feeling any interest in the scene before

4 Y