THS BYRONS. 9>t 



hat, are inadmissible ; a spenser and corduroys, or black velvet 

 unmentionables, with pearl-coloured stockings and buckles iu the 

 shoes, are equally inconsistent. A dark pelisse, or frock-coat of 

 forester's green, with a vest of shadowy hue, and trowsers a la 

 Turque,viiih the thinnest and most exquisitely constructed pumps, 

 probably approximate to a befitting costume, and present some 

 trifling advantages to the figure. One thing, however, is indis- 

 pensably necessary — viz. a cloak of ample dimensions, not one of 

 those scanty and sack-like covertures which some men assume in 

 their humility (?) but one in which you could enfold some half- 

 dozen ordinary-sized individuals ; dark and sumptuous, trimmed 

 round the neck with fur, accommodated with two superb tassels, 

 large enough for window-curtains, and lined throughout with silk 

 of an irreproachable texture. By skilful manoeuvring you may 

 avoid laying this aside in company, and here its appearance will 

 work miracles in your favour ; but remember that a man sha- 

 dowless in sunshine would not be more remarkable than a Byron 

 in the street sans roquelaure. It is true that you may at first find 

 it oppressive in the dog-days, Sirius being an enemy to woollen 

 coverture, but ** ce nest que le premier pas qui coute,'' and you may 

 rest assured that custom, and the course of a few summers, will 

 go far to reconcile you to the burthen. 



Upon the subject of the hand, about which your great prototype 

 was exquisitely particular, a suggestion or two may not be without 

 value. Remember that the purity, the delicacy, and the beauty of 

 that conspicuous and important member are not more indispensa- 

 ble to a peeress than to a poet, to a Coventry than to a Byron. 

 Paint to yourself the frightful phantasm of a red, coarse, and 

 wart-bestudded fist penning a " Siege of Corinth" a " Mazeppa,'' 

 or a" Corsair,'' or inditing a confession similar to the following:— 



** She was a form of life and light 

 That seen became a part of sight, 

 And rose where'er I turn'd mine eye 

 The morning star of memory." 



Paint this enormity, and tremble at the consequences of even a 

 momentary neglect. At home and in private wear gloves of 

 chicken-skin, in which it would be prudent to pass the night, and 

 observe due discrimination in the choice of savon, " Almond," 

 with a regulated admixture of honey, is perhaps the safest ; but 

 some connoisseurs of distinction are of opinion that no objection 

 need be taken to " old brown Windsor," always provided that it is 

 Kendall's or Atkinsons. An occasional use of the " Kalydor" or 

 " Botanic Cream" will be judicious, especially if you are so malheu- 

 reux, through oversight, inheritance, or otherwise, to be the pos- 

 sessor of a thick, clumsy, colossal-sized pair of hands. Should 

 this be the case, it would be wise to devote proper attention to 

 their reform : and for this purpose three hours per diem, with 

 now and then a leisure hour or two in the evening, might be pro- 

 fitably and praiseworthily employed. If this plan be pursued with 



