MISCELLANEA.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume II, Issue 113, 29 August 1846, Page 3

MISCELLANEA.

Sir Robert Peel has been about thirty-six years a Member of Parliament.

Railway Compensation. — Sir George Hayter, who met with an accident near' Penhurst, in July last, has had a compensation paid him by the railway directors of £2000, A young author, Mr^ J. Christian Ross destroyed himself at a coffee-house in Alder-gate-street, London, by taking prussic acid, in consequence of the rejection of one of his articles by Blackwood. There were 400 candidates for the office of Secretary to the Manchester Athenaeum, the salary of which is only £150 a-year. The successful one was Mr. John Baxter Langley, of Blackburn, son of the Rev. J. Langley, rector of Wallingford. The association num- , bers 2000 members.

The Albert Cap. — "Never, since the day when men first armed their heads for the ! fight, has there been such a paltry, ugly, useless, bastard kind of a thing as the last cap turned out for the British army. With its peak before and behind, its conical top and i low elevation, it is a degraded cross between a Germano-Tyrolese cap and a policeman's ! hat — a bad mixture of both. May it be sent back to Germany, where the idea came from, and may it be stuffed into a barrel of sourcrout, not to come out till it is thoroughly rotted." — Blackwood's Magazine.

The Martello Towers of Jersey. — The MartelJo Towers which protect the shores of our is'and are now being subject to repair. A suitable number of workmen have been engaged for effecting the requisite improvements, and in various localities are now busily at work. The chief improvements alluded to consist in rendering the towers habitable, and in narrowing the loop holes, which' throughout the island are i» general too wide. A new iron ventilating apparatus is also being erected upon the summit of each. — Jersey Times. The Tortoise and his Foes. — Every animal has its enemies ; the land-tortoise has two — man and the bca-constrictor. Man takes him home and roasts him ; and the boa-constrictor swallows him whole, shell and all, and consumes him slowly in the interior, as the Court of Chancery does a great estate. — Sidney Smith.

The Wild Horse of Texas. — We rode through beds of, sun-flowers miles in extent, their dark seedy centres and radiating yellow leaves following the sun through the day from east to west, and drooping when the shadows fell over them. These were sometimes beautifully varied with a delicate flower, of an azure tint, yielding no perfume, bat forming a pleasant contrast to the bright yellow of the sun-flower. About half-past ten we discerned a creature in motion at an immense distance, and instantly started in pursuit. Fifteen minutes' riding brought us near enough to discover, by its fleetness, that it could not be • buffalo, yet it was too large for an antelope

or a deer. On we went, and soon distinguished the erect head, the flowing mane, and the beautiful proportions of the wild horse of the prairie. He saw us, and sped away with an arrowy fleetness till be gained a distant eminence, when he turned to gaze at us, and suffered us to approach within four hundred yards, when he bounded away again in another direction, with a graceful velocity delightful to behoM. We passed —for to pursue him with a view to capture, was clearly out of the question. When he discovered we were not following him, he also paused, and now seemed to be inspired with curiosity equal to our own; for, after making a slight turn, he came nearer, until we could distinguish the inquiring expression of his clear bright eye, and the quick curl of his inflated nostrils. We bad bo hopes of catching, and did not wish to kill him ; but our curiosity led us to approach him slowly. We had not advanced far, before he moved away, and, circling round, approached on the other side. It was a beautiful animal —a sorrel, with jet black mane and tail. As he moved, we could see the muscles quiver in his glossy limbs ; and when, half playfully, and half in fright, he tossed his flowing mane in the air, and flourished his long silky tail, our admiration knew no bounds, and we longed — hopelessly, vexatiously longed —to possess him. We might have shot him where we stood; but, had we been starving, we could scarcely have done it. He was free, and we lo^ed him for the very possession of that liberty we longed to take from him; but we would not kill him. We fired a rifle over his head j he heard the shot, and the whiz of the ball, and away he went, disappearing in the next hollow, showing himself again as he crossed the distant ridges, still seeming smaller, until he faded away to a speck on the fair horizon's verge. —Kennedy's Texas.

Anecdotes op Beau Brummelx.—Nature and art had been favourable to him; bis exterior, though not distinguished, was graceful, aud his countenance, though not handsome, was intelligent. He possessed in a certain degree the general accomplishments, and exactly in the degree, which produce a flattering reception in society. He was a tolerable musician, he used his pencil with tolerable skill, aud be wrote tolerable verses; more would have been worse than useless. He dressed admirably, and, as his cheval de battaile, he talked with a keenness of observation and a dexterity of language, scarcely less- rare than wit, and still more exciting among the exhausted minds, and in the vapid phraseology, of fashun. Brummeirs dress was finished with perfect skill, but without the slightest attempt at exaggeration. Plain Hessian boots and pantaloons, or top-boots and buckskins, which were then more in fashion than they are now; a blue coat, and a buff coloured waistcoat —for he somewhat leaned to Foxite politics for form's sake, however he despised all politics as unworthy the man born to give the tone to fashion —was his morning dress. In the evening, he appeared in a blue coat and white waistcoat, black pantaloons closely fitting, and buttoning tight to the ankle, striped silk stockings, and opera hat. Brummel, though not possessing the patronage of a secretary of state, had the power of making men's fortunes. His principal tailors were Schweitzer & Davidson of Cork Street, Weston, and Meyer of Conduit Street. Those names have since disappeared, but their memory is dear to dandyism; and many a superannuated man of elegance will give " the passing tribute of a sigh" to the incomparable neatness of their ** fit," and the unrivalled taste of their scissors. Schweitzer and Meyer worked for the Prince, and the latter was in some degree a royal favourite, and one of the household. He was a man of genius at his neeJle; an inventor, who even occasionally disputed the palm of originality with Brummell himself. The point is not yet settled to whom was due the happy conception of the trouser opening at the ankle and closed by buttons. ■ Brummell laid his claim openly, at least to its improvement; while Meyer, admitting the elegance given to it by the tact of Brummell, persisted in asserting his right to the invention. Yet if, as was said of gunpowder and printing, the true inventor is the man who first brings the discovery into renown, the honour is here Brummell r s, for he was the first who established the trouser in the Bond street world. Brummeirs style was in fact simplicity, but simplicity of the most studied kind. Lord Byron defined it, " a certain exquisite propriety of dress/ "No perfumes," the Beau used to say, " but fine linen, plenty of it, and country washing." His opinion on this subject, however, changed considerably in after time j for he used perfumes, and! attributed a characteristic importance to their use. Meeting* a gentleman at a ball with whom he conversed for a while', some of the p»rty enquired the stranger's name. ** Can't possibly tell," was the Beau's answer. " But he is evidently a gentleman —his perfumes are good." He objected to country gentlemtu being in-

troduced into Wader's, on the ground " that their boots always smelt of horse-dung and bad blacking." His taste in matters of virtu was one. of, the sources of his profusion ; but' it always had a reference to himself, He evidently preferred a snuff-box which be .could display in his hand, to a Raphael which he could exhibit only on his wall. His snuff-boxes were numerous and costly. But even in taking snuff he had his style: he always opened the box with one hand, the left. The Prince imitated him in this tour de grace. At Belvoir he was Vami de lafamitte, and at Cheveley, another seat of the Duke of Rutland's, his rooms were as sacred as the Duke of York's, who was a frequent visitor there. On the Duke of Rutland's coming of age, in 1799, great rejoicings took place at Belvoir, and Brummell was one of the distinguished party there, among whom were the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Argyll, the Marquis of Lorn, and the other chief fashionable people of the day. This f4te was memorable, for it was said to have cost 60,000/. Brummell was not altogether effeminate; he could both shoot and ride, but he liked neither: he was never a Melton man. He said that he could not bear to have his tops and leathers splashed by the greasy galloping farmers. The Duke of Rutland raised a corps of volunteers on the renewal of the war in 1803; and as Brummell had been a soldier the duke gave him a majority. In the course of the general inspections of the volunteer corps, an officer was sent from the Horse Guards to review the duke's regiment, the major being in command. On the day of the inspection every one was on parade except the majorcommandant. Where is Major Brummell, was the indignant enquiry ? He was not to be found. The inspection went on. When it was near its close, Brummell was seen, coming full gallop across the country in the uniform of the Belvoir Hunt, terribly splashed. He apologized for himself by saying, that having left Belvoir quite early, he had expected to be on parade in time, the meet being close at hand. However, his favourite hunter had landed him in a ditch, where, having been dreadfully shaken by the fall, he bad been lying for an hour. But the general was inexorable, aud Brummell used to give the worthy officer's speech in the following style —" Sir, this conduct is wholly inexcusable. If I remember right, sir, you once had the honour of holding a captain's commission under his royal highness the Prince of Wales, the heir-apparent himself, sir I Now, sir, I tell you ; I tell you sir, that I should be wanting, sir, if I did not this very evening report this disgraceful neglect of orders to the com-mander-in-chief, as well as the state in which you present yourself in front of your regiment ; and this shall bt done, sir. You may retire, sir." All this was very solemn and astounding; but BrummeJl's presence of mind was not often astounded. He had scarcely walked his horse a few paces from the spot, when he returned, and said in a subdued tone —" Excuse me, general; but, in my anxiety to explain ! this most unfortunate business, I forgot to deliver a message from the Duke of Rutland. It was to request the honour of your company at dinner." The culprit and the disciplinarian grinned together; the general coughed, and cleared bis throat sufficiently to exprees his thanks in these words — *' Ah! why, really I feel and am very much obliged to his grace. Pray, Major Brummell, tell the duke I shall be most happy ;" and melodiously raising his voice, (for the Beau had turned his horse once more towards Belvoir,) " Major Brummell, as to this little affair, I am sure no man can regret it more than you do. Assure His grace that I shall have great pleasure in accepting bis very kind invitation;" and they parted amid a shower of smiles. But Brummell had yet but half completed bis performance; for the invitation was extempore, and be must gallop to Belvoir to acquaint the duke of the guest he was to receive on that day. —Blacfncood's Magazine.

A Visit to the Pyramids. —The bunches of purpli ng dateswere pendingfromthe branches; grey cranes or berons were flying over the cool, shining lakes, that the river's overflow had left behind; water was gurgling through the courses by the rude locks and barriers formed there, and overflowing this potch of ground ; whilst the neighbouring field was fast budding into the more brilliant fresh green. Single dromedaries were stepping along, their riders lolling on their hunches ; low sailboats were lying in the canals: now, we crossed an old marble bridge; now, we went one by one, over a ridge of e-lippery earth ; now, we floundered through a small lake of mud. At last, at about half-a-mile off the Pyramid, we came to a piece of water some two score yards broad, where* a regiment of half-naked Arabs, seizing upon each individual of the party, bore us off on their sh»nlders,.to the laughter of all, and the great perplexity ofseveral, who every moment ex-, pected to be pitched into one of the many boles with' which the treacherous Ukt abounded. It

was nothing but joking and laughter, bullying of guides, shouting for interpreters, quarrelling about sixpences. We were acting a farce, ■with the Pyramids for the scene. There they rose up enormous under our eyes, and the most absurd, trivial things were going on under their shadow. The sublime had disappeared, vast as they were. Do you remember how Gulliver lost his awe of the tremendous Brobdigaag ladies ? Every traveller must go through all sorts of chaffering, and bargaining, and paltry experiences at this spot. You look up the tremendous steps, with a score of savage ruffians bellowing round you ; you hear faint cheers and cries high up, and catch sight of little reptiles crawling upwards ; or, having achieved the summit, they came hopping and bouncing down again from degree to degree, — the cheers and cries swell louder and more disagreeable; presently the little jumping thing, no bigger than an insect a moment ago, bounces down upon you expanded into a pan ting major *of Bengal cavalry. He drives off the Arabs ■with an oath, — wipes his red shining face with his yellow handkerchief, drops puffing on the sand in a shady corner, where cold fowl and hard eggs are awaiting him, and the next minute you see his nose pluuged in a foaming beaker of brandy and soda-water. He can say now arid for ever, he has been up the Pyramid. There is nothing sublime in it. You cast your eye once more up that staggering perspective of a zig-zag line, which ends at the summit, and wish you were up there, and down again. Torwards ! — Up with you !It must be done. Six Arabs are behind you, who won't let you escape, if you would. * * The ascent is not the least romantic, or difficult, or sublime : you walk up a great broken staircase, of which some of the steps are four feet high. It's not hard, only a little high. You see no better view from 4he -top 'than you behold from the bottom ; only a little more river, and sand, and rice field. — Ittmetrsh's Notes of a Journey. The Wild Caitle of Texas. — The settlers who have recently opened farms near the sources of the San Gabriel and Brushy, find the country well stocked with a singular breed of wild cattle. Large droves of these cattle are found not only on the San Gabriel, Leona, and other tributaries of Little River, but also on the San Saba, the Llaho, and many tributaries of the Upper Colorado, far above the settlements. They differ in form, colour, and habits from all the varieties of domestic cattle in Texas. They are invariably of a dark brown colour, with a slight tinge of dusky yellow on the tip of the nose and belly. Their horns are remarkably large, and stand out straight from the head. Although these cattle are generally much larger than the domestic cattle, they are more fleet and nimble, and, when pursued, often outstrip horses that easily outrun the buffalo ; they seldom venture far out into the prairies, but are generally found in or near the forests that skirt the streams in that section. Their meat is of an excellent flavour, and is preferred by the settlers to the meat of the domestic cattle. It is said that their fat is so hard and compact that it will not melt in the hottest days of summer, and the candles formed with it are far superior to those that are formed with the tallow of other cattle. Some persons have supposed that it is possible these cattle are a distinct race, indigenous to America ; and the immense skeletons of a species of fossil ox, with straight horns, that are often found in the beds of Brazos and Colorado would seem to strengthen this opinion. But as these cattle are now found only in the vicinity of the old missions, it is much more probable that they are the descendants of the cattle introduced by the early Spanish adventurers. It is said that a species of wild cattle, differing from all the domestic breeds of the Eastern continent, is found in the Sandwich Islands ; but it is well ascertained that this breed is derived from the domestic cattle that were left on those islands by Vancouver. These cattle are so wild that they can only be caught alive by entrapping them in disguised pits. The celebrated botanist, Douglas, while on a tour in one of those islands, fell into one of these pits, and was gored to death by a wild bull, who had been thus entrapped. Several attempts have been made by the settlers on the San Gabriel to domesticate the wild cattle in that section, but they have thus far been unsuccessful. As they are far superior to the domestic cattle of the country, not only in size, strength, and agility, but also in the flavour of their meat and the~density of their fat, they might, if once domesticated, become a valuable acquisition to the agriculturists of the country. — Houstoun Telegraph.

CORRECTED UF TO LAST NIOHT. The prices of Spirits and Tobacco are in bond.