and Foreign. 



313 



the bent of their inclination as far as the 

 miserable circumstances of a long passage 

 allow ; match-making occupies the princi- 

 pal part of every body's attention. Our 

 heroine is as happy, in the attentions of 

 Oswald, as the malice and envy of the 

 other ladies will suffer her to be. 



At Madras we are introduced to the 

 chief official personages and superior set* 

 tiers ; and descriptions follow of the style 

 of the houses, the fetes, and the feastings 

 the mulligatawnee, and curry, and rice 

 profuse dinners, and tiffins, and breakfasts. 

 * multitudes of servants, some with punkahs 

 to fan the air, and others with chowdries, 

 or brushes of long horse-hair, to rout the 

 flies ; and tats, or wet mats, instead of 

 glass windows and curtains, to cool the 

 burning atmosphere, and generate a current 

 of air. - If the tale be true, and there is no 

 reason to discredit it, the society is of a 

 wretched description. Tittle-tattling is the 

 Border of the day and intrigues the chief 

 occupation, among the women especially, 

 plotting for and against to secure the best 

 Snatches, and supplanting rivals. The 

 English mix only among themselves, and 

 they are comparatively few. Every person 



how was he surprised and shocked at the early 

 commencement of the games on the Sunday! 

 As early as ten in the morning, Mr. Riddles- 

 worth's friends appeared, and, stripped to their 

 shirt sleeves, began a match at billiards ; then 

 followed the backgammon and chess, every one 

 calling for beer and brandy ad libitum; such 

 rattle, noise, and drawing of corks, Harcourt had 

 never before witnessed ; at first, he imagined 

 Mr. Riddlesworth kept rather low company; but 

 was soon undeceived, by learning that the guests 

 were composed of the principal people in the set- 

 tlement, civil and military. There was Tom Fow- 

 ler, the warehouse-keeper; George Jennings, the 

 treasurer; Mob-ray and Steward, the general's 

 aids-de-camp, &c. The important tiffin, caused a 

 cessation of the sports ; at this moment a few 

 more friends dropt in : there was Bob Lugrin, 

 the store-keeper, a celebrated character on the 

 toirf, and right hand man of Mr. Riddlesworth ; 

 he was hailed and welcomed most cordially. 



' Oh, Bob, how are you, old fellow ? Sit down, 

 Bob, here is some rare Hodson for you." And 

 Bob did as he was desired. 



The conversation soon turned on horses, and 

 bets made and taken on Riddlesworth's grey 

 Arab horse, against Mr. Manning's bay, and the 

 merits of each animal, as to speed, wind, and bot- 

 tom, scientifically discussed, until the beer began 



is of importance, and the arrival of a new to confuse poor Bob, who assented to every thing 

 ship creates a stir through the whole presi- 

 dency, as introducing new objects, to be 

 dreaded as rivals, or courted as prizes. 

 But the whole is a vulgar scene, relieved 

 only by the infusion of a little gentlemanly 

 Feeling through the officers of the king's 

 troops. The men, generally, if not quite 

 low by origin, are so by lack of edu- 

 cation, making their way by intrigues, and 

 sordid manoeuvres ; and the women, of 

 course, of a lower order still ; for the un- 

 derbred woman beats the underbred man 



out and out, in all the baser feelings of 

 nvy, spjte, and treachery. 



Take a scene 



Harcourt and Wiffen, on landing, proceeded to 

 the residences of the gentlemen to whom they 

 were specially recommended ; the former to a 

 Mr. Riddlesworth, an agent, and the latter to 

 Mr. Brasswaith, second member of council. 

 Harcourt was at once plunged into luxury and 

 extravagance. Mr. Riddlesworth's house was 

 filled with company ; gaming and feasting formed 

 their chief amusement. Billiards, chess, back- 

 gammon, and whist, were strong temptations to 

 a young man, especially when all the party were 

 engaged therein ; in short, it appeared to Har- 

 court as if every one was striving to get rid of 

 an already acquired fortune, instead of endea- 

 vouring to secure one. Mr. Riddlesworth kept 

 racehorse?, devoting much attention to the de- 

 lights of the turf; he was a bachelor, "and in- 

 tended to remain so, notwithstanding half the 

 young ladies of the place had endeavoured to 

 captivate him ; his partner, Mr. Stonehurst, lived 

 with him, and though he kept no horses for the 



that was said, and he rolled to a bench, whilst 

 the gamblers continued their billiards and back- 

 gammon. 



Suddenly a voice exclaimed 'the archdeacon, 

 by heavens!' Away flew all the conscious crew, 

 into Riddlesworth's bed room, and other parts of 

 the house, leaving no one to receive his reverence 

 but snoaring Bob Lugrin. The tiffin having been 

 fortunately cleared away, no traces of numerous 

 guests appeared, and Mr. Riddlesworth, with a 

 demure face, at length made his appearance, ex- 

 pressing the happiness he felt at the honour the 

 archdeacon had done him by thus calling upon 

 him ; he inquired how his wife did, and hoped 

 she bore the heat tolerably well. 



The archdeacon was civil, and apologized for 

 not having sooner returned Mr. Riddlesworth's 

 visit; and accounted for now doing so on a Sun- 

 day, by saying, " The meeting for establishing 

 charity schools met early in the morning, and he 

 was desirous of seeing as numerous a body as 

 could be collected, and therefore called to hope 

 Mr. Riddlesworth would attend." 



Mr. Riddlesworth assured his reverend friend 

 he might depend on his coming, and expressed 

 his hopes that a liberal subscription would be 

 raised. 



" Is that gentleman unwell?" inquired the 

 archdeacon, pointing to poor Bob on the couch. 



" Yes, poor fellow ! he has not very good health, 

 and the heat has overcome him." 



" Poor man !" said the archdeacon, " he should 

 be very careful." 



" He should, indeed, Sir," said Riddlesworth. 



Herbert Milton. 3 vols. 12mo. , 1827- 

 Never surely was any body so unlucky 



turf himself, entered most cordially into the sports in that important matter the title. The 



thereof. If Harcourt was astonished at the con 



stant rattle of the billiard balls and backgammon 



board on the Saturday, the day after his arrival, 



M.M." New Series VOL. V. No. 27. 



story was originally written, it seems, under 

 the title of " Almack's," but the palm and 

 glory were rudely snatched from his grasp by 

 2 S 



