but in which, once informed to whom it belongs, you are at no loss to discover a thousand marks of vigorous intellect and fancy too. Of this last quality, indeed, his eyes are at all times full to overflowing. In the midst of the sombre gravity of his usual look, there are always little flashes of enthusiasm breaking through the cloud, and, I think, adorning it; and, in this respect, he forms a striking contrast to the calm, tranquil uniformity of Mr P's physiognomy and deportment. In thinking of this afterwards, I could not help recollecting a great many passages of richly-coloured writing in his scientific Essays in the Edinburgh Review, which I remember struck me at the time I first read them, as being rather misplaced. But this, perhaps, may be merely the effect of the sterile way of writing employed by almost all the philosophers of these late times, to which we have now become so much accustomed, that we with difficulty approve of any thing in a warmer taste, introduced into such kinds of disquisition. They managed these things better in Greece. By and bye, we were summoned to the drawing-room, where we found several ladies with Mrs J. She, you know, is an American, and J went across the Atlantic for - her a few years ago, while we were at war with her country. She is a very pleasing person; and they have one extremely interesting little girl. J— made no alteration in his dress, but joined the ladies exactly in his morning costume, the little green jacket aforesaid, grey worsted pantaloons, and Hessian boots, and a black silk handkerchief. How had Grub-street stared to see the prince of reviewers in such a garb! The dinner was excellent-a glorious turbot and oyster-sauce for one thing; and (sitesco referens) there was no want of champaigne -the very wine, by the way, which I should have guessed to be Jeffrey's favourite. It is impossible to conceive of him as being a lover of the genuine old black-strap, or even of the quiet balminess of Burgundy. The true reviewing diet is certainly Champaigne, and devilled biscuit. Had there been any blue-stocking lady present, she would have been sadly shocked with the material cast of the conversation during dinner-not a single word about "The sweet new poem! Most of the company, though all men of literary habits, seemed to be as alive to the delights of the table, as if they had been "let in" (to use Dandie's phrase,) by Monsieur Viard,-knowing in sauces, and delightfully reviewing every glass before they would suffer it to go down. It put me in mind of some lines of my friend W 'Tis a bookseller that speaks "The days of Tonson, Lintot, Curll, are over, The time's gone by when we our coaches kept, And authors were contented with umbrellas- Too glad if cantos two could fill two bellies- Unless the quire was covered-Happy fellows! The introduction of the claret and desert made, for a long time, very little alteration in the subject matter of the discourse; but by degrees the natural feelings and interests of the company did begin to shine through the cloud of babillage, and various matters, in which I was much better pleased to hear their opinions, were successively tabled-none of them, how * Modern Dunciad, Canto II. |