338 



THE BROMPTON PAPERS. No. I. 



ST. MARY AXE has had its Pepys ; why should not Brompton ? It 

 would seem the spot to which Plato had transported all those ingenious 

 persons, whose lively wits he deemed too trifling for the high sobriety 

 of his republic. Fortunately, this is not an age when men are tied 

 down to dull, common-place rules of honesty : 



Aude aliquid brevibus Gyaris et carcere dignum, 

 Si vis esse aliquis ! 



Impressed with the beautiful truths enshrined in the ancient amber of 

 the satirist, we have only acted up to the spirit of the age, when we 

 assure our readers, that we have thought it worth our while to retain 

 the postmen, general and two-penny, of the neighbourhood of Brompton. 

 We do not wish to bring down the rents of landlords in that new Attica, 

 when we seriously state, and we trust that an increased circulation will 

 " honour our corruption " that no letter for this past month has been, 

 or, for many months to come, will be, delivered to any lady or gentle- 

 man " of any mark or likelihood" residing in or near Brompton, which 

 we have not, and shall not, continue to see. We shall, of course, exer- 

 cise the same privilege on every writer's communication sent from that 

 quarter to any part of the globe. We know that we have transgressed 

 what is called honesty; we are aware that we have put in jeopardy the 

 lives of the postmen ; but what is honesty what human life to our 

 increased circulation ? Let a man prove himself worthy of the cart's 

 tail, and from that moment, he takes his degree in the most worshipful 

 society. If a man has dared to steal plate, he is, of course, worthy to 

 dine off it. From the pillory to the drawing-room there is but a step. 

 Make a publication fit for the hands of the hangman, and it is promoted 

 to the intimacy of the Red Book and The Court Guide. Poetry, wit, 

 the Scotch Novels, all have had their day. Slander is now the staple 

 commodity. Like the Israelites of old, we look, for life and enjoyment, 

 to the snake ! 



Our first letter from the hands of the postman, runs as follows : 



A BROAD GRIN TO PUTOUTALLTHELIGHTSKY, CENSOR OF THE RUSSIAN 

 PRESS, ST. PETERSBURGH, GREETING. 



My dear Putoutallthelight,* I have received your letter, and cannot 

 but feel the keenest delight, that my humble official merits should have 

 recommended me to your august master. Little did I think that the 

 glimmering light of George's Wain could be visible to the eyes of Ursa 

 Major. It will afford me infinite pleasure to forward to you the results 

 of my experience ; and particularly to discuss with you the propriety of 

 licensing the two comedies originally written by a namesake of mine ;t 

 and, as it appears, recently translated for the Russian stage. I perfectly 

 agree with you, that they contain many very objectionable passages. In 

 fact, their whole construction I look upon as dangerous to every well- 



* A Russian diminutive of endearment. 



f These comedies, it appears, are John Hull oncl The Heir at Law ; ignorantly 

 imagined, by the Russian, to be the writings of the dramatic licenser. 



