The Flowers of Literature.

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DUELLISTS OF FORMER DAYS.

THE duellists of former times did not always stand upon those punctilios respecting equality of arms, which are now judged essential to fair combat. It is true, that in formal combats in the lists, the parties were, by the judges of the field, put as nearly as possible in the same circumstances. But in private duel it was often otherwise. In that desperate combat which was fought between Quelus, a minion of Henry III. of France, and Antraguet, with two seconds on each side, from which only two persons escaped alive, Quelus complained that his antagonist had over him the advantage of a poignard which he used in parrying, while his left hand, which he was forced to employ for the same purpose, was cruelly mangled. When he charged Antraguet with this odds, "Thou hast done wrong," answered he, "to forget thy dagger at home. We are here to fight, and not to settle punctilios of arms. In a similar duel, however, a younger brother of the house of Aubayne, in Angoulesnie, behaved more generously on the like occasion, and at once threw away his dagger when his enemy challenged it as an undue advantage. But at this time hardly any thing can be conceived more horridly brutal and savage, than the mode in which private quarrels were conducted in France. Those who were most jealous of the point of honour, and acquired the title of Raffinés, did not scruple to take every advantage of strength, numbers, surprise, and arms, to accomplish their revenge.

Signor Camillo, and Signor Alessandro, two Florentine Nobles, being at the Cassino, (a place of rendezvous in Florence, much like White's chocolate'house) happened to be betrayed into a warmth of language, upon an affair of no great importance. One word heated another; insomuch, that the expressions soon began to glow on either side. Camillo, finding the argument too hot for his constitution, thought the readiest way to cool it, would be to give Alessandro a box on the ear. This prompt expedient, accordingly, did indeed quench the debate: but then immediately the swords, not only of the disputants, but of all the noble company, were drawn : whereupon, think I, "None so backward

to fight, as those who are too forward." The company (to do them justice) were for preventing the rage of extempore Courage, in order to gain time to settle the forms of the combat. Nevertheless, when the by-standers perceived the two antagonists abate of their fury, by this interposition, the friends, on both sides, thought they might mediate a peace, with as much ease as a truce; and accommodate matters so as to prevent the effusion of ancient blood. Two persons therefore being first appointed to watch over Camillo and Alessandro, the learned duellists (so they term the men of speculative valour, skilled in sword-law) withdrew to argue the point. These casuists, the more they debated, the more they entangled the question in difficulties. The two gentlemen being adjudged to be men of extraordinary birth, and consequently men of scrupulous honour, a great many nice salvos, and specious alternatives, were proposed with much civility, and rejected with as great decorum. At last Signor Antonio, a man of great sagacity and invention, applying himself to the chairman, said, that in his opinion, a short memory was no more a derogation to a man of honour, than to a man of wit: that therefore, if the two worthies could be prevailed upon absolutely to forget what had past, all difficulties might be adjusted at once. This proposal was received with a general applause, and he was instantly dispatched to whisper it to the parties, who each of them separately agreed to the accommodation. This being reported to the board, the doors were thrown open: whereupon Signor Camillo and Signor Alessandro, advancing with equal paces, entered with a smile; and Camillo, addressing himself to the company, said; He was very much surprised at an idle surmise, as if he had been guilty of a breach of civility towards his worthy friend Signor Alessandro, by giving him a box on the ear: that he came there to right himself, and declare, Upon his honour, that he did not remember any such accident. And truly, said Signor Alessandro, I must do you the justice, before this honourable company, to declare likewise, that I know nothing of the matter; who, you must own, could never, in an instant, forget such a particular token, if I had received it. Thus they both stood acquitted: and their Honours were set much upon a level.

GARRETS,

And Associations connected with them,

[Concluded from p. 264.]

Ir is, we believe, generally known, that Johnson and Garrick resolved to try their fortunes in the metropolis at one and the same time. They reached London in a most pitiable condition, the one with a shirt and half a pair of breeches, the other with two brace of stockings without tops or bottoms, and took up their abode in an obscure corner of the metropolis, where they lived in a miserable garret, for some time subsequent to their arrival. The histrionic reputation of Garrick burst out at last in all its meridian refulgence, while the poor lexicographer was condemned to make the most of his solitary shirt, and lie in bed while the linen underwent the unusual but necessary ceremony of ablution. Many years afterwards, when both had attained unexampled celebrity, Johnson rallied Garrick at a dinner party on their early poverty, and the meanness of the garret they had occupied. Garrick's pride was nettled at so unwelcome a recollection, and he equivocally denied the assertion. «Come, come," said the surly philosopher to the mortified tragedian, "don't forget old friends, Davy; thou knowest that we lived in a garret for many months, and that I reached London with threepence in my pocket, whilst thou, Davy, hadst only three halfpence in thine."

What a ludicrous sight it must have been, to have suddenly popped upon Johnson as he stood in a listless attitude at the corner of some blind alley, with Savage, or divers other wits for his companions, to whom he was dictating the precepts of wisdom, and laying hold of their ragged coats in order to ensure attention! A contemporary satirist, we forget who it is, has somewhere mentioned, that he was standing with Savage and Johnson in the manner we have described, when a wag came up and informed the alarmed company, that he had seen an unpleasant looking gentleman skulking about like a hound in pursuit of a bag fox. The poets instantly decamped, Johnson waddling in the rear, afraid most probably of an unseasonable visit to the Bench, and fled to their garret with a celerity that set all competition at defiance. What a delicious sight to behold, though but for an instant, the undignified scampering of the grave big-wigged author of the

Rambler, followed by the galloping lankiness of Savage!

The famous satirist, Churchill, who, as Lord Byron observed, " once blazed the meteor of a season," was originally bred a clergyman, but whether from disgust to the sacred functions of a priest, or from despair of ever being able to obtain the loaves and fishes, or, what is still more probable, from the natural caprice of genius, resigned his profession, and commenced author and politician. He met with the usual concomitants of literature, and composed his "Rosciad" partly at an obscure tavern, and partly in a garret in a remote quarter of the metropolis. As he was once wandering home drunk to his mean abode, he encountered a woman of the town, who joined him, and seeing his gross inebriety, led him into a field in the neighbourhood of Battersea. On waking in the morning, the poet stretched out his arms, with the intention of undrawing the curtains of the bed in which he supposed himself to be, and grasped a bundle of cabbages: to increase, if possible, his surprise, he discovered that he had been deposited on the capacious summit of a dunghill, with a prostitute snoring by his side. His first thought was to tax her with robbing him, but on finding his pocketbook safe, he was so pleased with her unusual fit of honesty, that he gave her two thirds of his possessions, consisting at that time of about fifteen guineas (an enormous sum for a poet in those days), and took her to his garret, where she was ever afterwards a welcome visitor.

The late celebrated Peter Pindar was notorious for his frequent and facetious allusions to garrets, from which, however, his habitual parsimony generally enabled him to escape. When he could find no fault with the productions of an author, it was his common practice to tax him with poverty and a residence in Grub-street. Indigence was in his estimation on a par with guilt. Pope, in his Dunciad, has shown himself of the same way of thinking. -Par nobile fratrum.

Dr. Paul Hiffernan, a celebrated wit in the time of Johnson, once went to call on his friend Foote, or, as he was justly called, "the English Aristophanes," and, without inquiring for his room, ran precipitately up into the garret. Foote, who at that time resided in a less aërial situation, called after him. ""Tis no use," replied Hiffernan, "to show me your room: who ever thought of asking, when every one

THIS incident, like many other passages in the Lady of the Lake, illustrates the character of the ancient Gael, and is not imaginary, but borrowed from fact. The Highlanders, with the inconsistency of most nations in the same state, were alternately capable of great exertions of generosity, and of cruel revenge and perfidy. The following story I can only quote from tradition, but with such an assurance from those by whom it was communicated, as permits me little doubt of its authenticity. Early in the last century, John Gunn, a noted Catheran, or Highland robber, infested Inverness shire, and levied black mail * up to the walls of the provincial capital. A garrison was then maintained in the castle of that town, and their pay (country banks being unknown,) was usually transmitted in specie, under the guard of a small escort. It chanced that the officer who commanded this little party, was unexpectedly obliged to halt, about thirty miles from Inverness, at a miserable inn. About night-fall, a stranger, in the High. land dress, and of very prepossessing appearance, entered the same house, Separate accommodation being impossible, the Englishman offered the newlyarrived guest a part of his supper, which was accepted with reluctance By the conversation, he found his new acquaintance knew well all the passes of the country, which induced him eagerly to request his company on the ensuing morning. He neither disguised his business and charge, nor his apprehensions of that celebrated freebooter,

A tax levied by the chiefs of the various clans on their respective vassals-Ed.

John Gunn. The Highlander hesitated a moment, and then frankly consented to be his guide. Forth they set in the morning; and in travelling through a solitary and dreary glen, the discourse again turned on John Gunn. "Would you like to see him?" said the guide; and, without waiting an answer to this alarming question, he whistled, and the English officer, with his small party, were surrounded by a body of Highlanders, whose numbers put resistance out of question, and who were all well armed. "Strang☛," resumed the guide, "I am that very John Gunn by whom you feared to be intercepted, and not without cause; for I came to the inn last night with the express purpose of learning your route, that I and my followers might ease you of your charge by the road. But I am incapable of betraying the trust you reposed in me, and having convinced you that you were in my power, I can only dismiss you unplundered and uninjured." He then gave the officer directions for his journey, and disappeared with his party, as suddenly as they had presented themselves.

IMAGES.

THERE is a set of Italians now going about the streets, who sell busts, vases, and other casts in plaister. Every body may not be aware, that some of these casts are after the antique. There is a head, for instance, of the Apollo Belvedere from the statue at Rome; another of Homer; another of Antinous, another, we believe, of a Melpomene, crowned with vine leaves in allusion to the origin of tragedy; and a head of Sappho, which, if we are not mistaken, is from an ancient gem. They are more frequently seen with busts from statues by Canova, such as a Paris and a Venus; which latter, we confess, with its little scratches of curls in front, and its hair tied up behind like a lump of sausages, we cannot admire. But they will procure the antiques, if asked for. Some of the vases are from the antique; some Florentine, which are fine, but not so good; some French, which are the least in merit. The casts of figures, though copied from the antique, are inferior to the busts. The latter are from good old casts; sometimes worn, but still retaining the general spirit of the original. The figures are from slight and hasty moulds; feeble abridgments, yet not without their worth either, as resembling the originals, however faintly. There is the Venus de Medici, the Gladiator, the Quvit Player, the Antinous,

the Piping Faun, the Apollo Belvedere, all after the antique; and there is a Couching Venus, after John of Bologna, the original of which must have been like Venus re-appearing from the antique world.

Fewer people are aware how cheaply these things are sold. The little statues are three or four shillings apiece, perhaps less; and a profit is got upon the head of Sappho at eighteen-pence. You may set a price upon Paris's head, and have the knave brought you at two shillings.

Impressions from ancient gems are now also to be had with singular cheapness, in consequence of an invention of Mr. Tassie's, of Leicester-square. He has found out a composition, which enables him to procure, in a few days, for three-and-sixpence, an impression exactly resembling that of any gem you may select. This you may either have set for your watch-chain, or keep in your desk or pocket; for the composition is very hard, and does not easily wear or chip off, even at the edges. In a seal or a desk, it might last, we should think, as long as the gem itself. Mr. Tassie's collection of antiques appears to be very extensive. You may have your choice among all the gods and graces of the ancient world,-Jupiters, Apollos, Venuses, the Graces, the Muses, Lyres, Loves, Festivals, Pastorals, Patriots, Poets, and Philosophers.

It may be made an objection to the busts and other plaister casts, that being so white, and of such a material, they will not keep clean. But they will keep as clean and as long too as the seals, if taken care of. You have only to wash them lightly but completely over with a brush dipped in linseed oil; and besides their taking a fine yellowish hue, much better than the cold white, the dust may be brushed off ever after as easily as from an oil painting. Paint will secure them in the same way; but it is apt to injure the marking and expression, by thickening the outline, and filling up the more delicate hollows.

Thus for eighteen-pence, a room may be adorned with a cast after the antique. And it must be a very fine picture, in our opinion, which can equal the effect even of a bust, much less of a large statue. There is a kind of presence in sculpture, which there is not in the flat surface and more obvious artifice of painting. It is more companion-like; or rather, it is more god-like, intellectual, and predominant. The very beauty of its shape becomos meditative. There is a look in its calm, sightless eyes, that seems to dispense with the common

medium of vision ; a perceiving thought, an undisturbable depth of intuition.

A LOVE LETTER From a Pedantic Schoolmaster. My most Divine Angel.-How insufferably tedious has been the time, since I saw you deposited in that fatal machine, vulgo a coach; which propelled by horses swifter than those of the chariot of the sun, when Phaëton was the driver, harried from my distracted sight the most peerless beauty on this terrestrial globe. Ah! my dearest Matilda, you little imagine, when you were no longer visible to my ardent optics, and my voice failed to reach your auricular organs, the perspirative agony that enveloped me, upon account of your heartrending departure. Motionless, I was in a posture perpendicular, for a long period, ere I essayed to use those limbs, yclept legs, to bear me from that destructive spot where I bade you adieu. I then, my heart ponderous with grief, returned to that delectable bower, where so many times (all epochs to me,) your demulcent voice has soothed the vehemence of my love; but alas! most dolorously it now appeared, and obfuscated looked every thing flosculous around it. I then turned my steps due south towards that flagellatory dwelling, where boys are modelled smart, and young ideas shoot; but they were now in a state most steperous, which augmented on their visionary organs, beholding my dismal os frontis but too much cased in grief to evigilate or pensitate; I dismissed the boys with a discouse on the potentiality of almighty love; then being solus, I gave myself up to almost unquenchable despair, and the feracious tears coursed down my calamitous face, till I wished they would become a river, that I might swim in it to the feet of my angelic Matilda.

It is now by the fantastic hands of our village chronometer, ten hours since my soul's idol left me, and this is the fifth letter I have written to the celestial czarina of my heart, and could reproach the brachial part of my body for not swaying the feathered instrument with fleeter rapidity, in making known my transporting insisture.

As a concludency, beatific Matilda, have pity on my anhelation, caused by the diaphenity of my elevated passion, and hasten to me an opertaneous epistle consolatory, to allay the mighty ferment in the stormy region of my heart, and have faith that 1 remain, as long as my life's blood circulates in my system, Your estatic adorer,

Q. P