"And the first lion thinks the last a bore,"
and rightly so thinks. No; the best and safest plan is to work out your own ends, independent of aid which at best is foreign, and is likely to be formidable.
I may perhaps resume this subject more at large at a future time. My space at present is limited, but I feel I have hardly as yet entered upon the subject.
Ye banks and braes o' Buckingham, How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair, When I am on my latest legs, And may not bask amang ye mair! And you, sweet maids of honour,--come, Come, darlings, let us jointly mourn, For your old flame must now depart, Depart, oh! never to return!
Oft have I roam'd o'er Buckingham, From room to room, from height to height; It was such pleasant exercise, And gave me _such_ an appetite! Yes! when the _dinner-hour_ arrived, For me they never had to wait, I was the first to take my chair, And spread my ample napkin straight.
And if they did not quickly come, After the dinner-bell had knoll'd, I just ran up my _private stairs_, To say the things were getting cold! But now, farewell, ye pantry steams, (The sweets of premiership to me), Ye gravies, relishes, and creams, Malmsey and Port, and Burgundy!
Full well I mind the days gone by,-- 'Twas nought but sleep, and wake, and dine; Then _John_ and _Pal_ sang o' _their_ luck, And fondly sae sang I o' mine! But now, how sad the scene, and changed! _Johnny_ and _Pal_ are glad nae mair! Oh! banks and braes o' Buckingham! How _can_ you bloom sae fresh and fair!
This delightful watering-place is filling rapidly. The steam-boats bring down hundreds every day, and in the evening take them all back again. Mr. Jones has engaged a lodging for the week, and other families are spoken of. A ball is also talked about; but it is not yet settled who is to give it, nor where it is to be given. The promenading along the wooden pier is very general at the leaving of the packets, and on their arrival a great number of persons pass over it. There are whispers of a band being engaged for the season; but, as there will not be room on the pier for more than one musician, it has been suggested to negotiate with the talented artist who plays the drum with his knee, the cymbals with his elbow, the triangle with his shoulder, the bells with this head, and the Pan's pipes with his mouth--thus uniting the powers of a full orchestra with the compactness of an individual. An immense number of Margate slippers and donkeys have been imported within the last few days, and there is every probability of this pretty little peninsula becoming a formidable rival to the old-established watering-places.