LITESABy COFFEE-HOUSES. 



283 



this subject : So long as his paper 

 lasted he remained rivetted to the 

 spot, fascinated by this peculiar 

 amusement ; all waste-paper was 

 rapidly consumed, then the covers 

 of letters, next letters of little 

 value ; the most precious contribu- 

 tions of the most esteemed corre- 

 spondents, although eyed wistfully 

 many times, and often returned to 

 the pocket, were sure to be sent at 

 last in pursuit of the former squa- 

 drons. Of the portable volumes 

 which were the companions of his 

 rambles, and he seldom- went out 

 without a book, the fly-leaves were 

 commonly wanting he had applied 

 them as our ancestor Noah applied 

 gopher-wood ; but learning was so 

 sacred in his eyes, that he never 

 trespassed further upoa the inte- 

 grity of the copy ; the work itself 

 was always respected. It has been 

 said that he once ftrand himself 

 on the north bank of the Serpen- 

 tine river without the materials for 

 indulging these inclinations which 

 the sight of water invariably in- 

 spired, for he had exhausted his 

 supplies on the round pond in Ken- 

 sington Gardens. Not a single 

 ecrap of paper could be found, save 

 only a bank post bill for fifty 

 pounds ; he hesitated long, but 

 yielded at last; he twisted it into 

 a boat with the extreme refinement 

 of his skill, and committed it with 

 the utmost dexterity to fortune 

 watching its progress, if possible, 

 with a still more intense anxiety 

 than usual. Fortune often favours 

 those who frankly and fully trust 

 her ; the north-east wind gently 

 wafted the costly skiff to the south 

 bank, where during the latter part 

 of the voyage the venturous owner 

 had waited its arrival with patient 

 solicitude. 



SIR WALTER SCOTT'S BREAKFASTS. 

 Sir Walter Scott's chief meal was 

 breakfast. No fox-hnuter over pre- 

 pared himself for the iield by more 



substantial appliances. His table 

 was always provided, in addition 

 to the usually plentiful delicacies of 

 a Scotch breakfast, with some solid 

 article, on which he did most lusty 

 execution ; a round of beef, a pasty 

 such as made Gil Bias' eyes water, 

 or, most welcome of all, a cold sheep's 

 head. A huge brown loaf flanked 

 his elbow, and it was placed upon 

 a broad wooden trencher, that he 

 might cut and come again with the 

 bolder knife. Often did the clerk's 

 coach commonly called among 

 themselves the "Lively," which 

 trundled round every morning to 

 pick up the brotherhood, and then 

 deposited them at the proper mi- 

 nute in the Parliament-close often 

 did this lumbering hackney arrive 

 at his door before he had fully ap- 

 peased what Homer calls the " sacred 

 rage of hunger," and vociferous was 

 the merriment of the learned scribes 

 when the surprised poet swung 

 forth to join them, with an extem- 

 porized sandwich, that looked like 

 a, ploughman's luncheon, in his 

 hand. But this robust supply 

 would have served him, in fact, for 

 the day. He never tasted anything 

 more before dinner, and at dinner 

 he ate almost as sparingly as Squire 

 Tovell's niece in Crabbe's tale. 

 (Lockhart.) 



WILL'S COFFEE-HOUSE, TOM'S, 



AND BUTTON'S. 



Three of the most celebrated re- 

 sorts of the literati of the last cen- 

 tury were the following : Will's 

 Coffee-house, No. 23, on the north 

 side of Great Russell Street, Covent 

 Garden, at the end of Bow Street. 

 This was the favourite resort of 

 Dryden, who had here his own 

 chair, in winter, by tho fin-side, in 

 summer in the balcony ; the com- 

 pany met on the first floor, and 

 there smoked ; and the young 

 beaux and wits were sometimes 

 honoured with a pinch out of Dry- 

 den's snuff-box. Will's was tho 



