The Life Of George Brummell Commonly Called Beau Brummell By William Jesse PDF Download

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1844 edition. Excerpt: ... chapter xvii. Estimation in which Brummell was held by clever men--The Poet Crabbe's opinion of him--The Butterfly's Funeral--Brummell the Author of it--Julia Storer--The Beau's Verses on her child--An anecdote from the Clubs of London--A rencontre between Sheridan and Brummell--Sheridan's fugitive poetry--Lines addressed to the Countess of Besborough--Tom Sheridan--The loss of the Saldanha Frigate--His stanzas on the event--Lines to Julia. That Brummell possessed a refined taste, not merely in dress and manners, but on subjects more worthy of his intellect, is proved by his being admitted on intimate terms to the society of such women as the late Duchesses of Devonshire and Rutland; and men whose pursuits were of a much higher order than those of the idlers of Watier's, or the flaneur? of Bond-street and St. James's. Had he indeed been nothing better than an elegant automaton, he would never have acquired the influence that he decidedly obtained; he would not have enjoyed the society of clever men, neither would they have thought it worth their while to bestow a word upon him, even in their moments of relaxation.--But the reverse was the case: his acquaintance was not limited to men of fashion only; it comprised a great portion of the most intellectual men of his time, and at what period of our history was there such a constellation of genii? His acquirements, of which I have already spoken, were sufficient to make him a most delightful accession to any society; his reading, though desultory, was extensive, and therefore he could always, in one way or other, take a respectable, if not a leading part in conversation;--that he showed admirable tact in adapting it to the taste of those in whose society he might happen to be, appears by the...