CH AMPION.
favourite song, "Tory Phillpotts,"* with more energy than taste. But those scandal-mongers who tell tales of her revels should know that the reputation of the dame is immaculate—pure as
was coming to pay his respects to Alma Mater, and take the head
of the table as her protector and champion,—" her fancy man;' the
low fellows in the town call him,—the old lady was besieged with therefore manageable; just such a Government as this Las:snows:E- D:nes and calls from all the neighbours round, who now professed A
the highest respect for her—more than even she believed—begging for the honour of an invitation. This made her very proud ; and perfectly satisfied.
she had the double satisfaction of showing her courtesy to those But then, say you, We want a strong Government to deal with the she knew had a friendly feeling towards her, and of snubbing Tory Lords. I answer, It would be well, provided such a Govern- those whose professions she suspected. She sent to invite all her meat were inclined to deal properly with the Tory Lords, but not other- adopted sons to come down to the hall, and counted on her fingers wise. There's the point: Lord GREY is attached to his order, and the numbers of titled personages she had on her visiting list. The would dislike as much as any man or lord, to see them roughly handled. butler brought out all the old filmily plate ; the porter furbished Instead of even affronting them, you see, he tells them that he is their up his gold-headed staff; and the old lady laid out all her finery, most obedient, humble servant. Early in the Reform struggle, he and had the gold-laced dressing-gown and the velvet cap with might easily have swamped them ; and since then, it has been in his gold tassel, which she keeps for the man whom she delighteth to power at any time to starve them into submission, by merely dismissing
honour, well aired for her dear Luke. every opponent, and the relatives and dependents of every opponent,
The happy day at length dawned. The old lady got no sleep from post and place, and saying to the lot, a la WELLINGTON, Support all night with thinking of her darling. So great was her me, or keep out ; support me, and you shall have.a share of the good joy, tbat she consented to receive as a guest the scapegrace things. He has no inclination to correct them ; and on that account I BRINIEST Guli ten, and had a high-backed chair set for him ; and rejoice in his present weakness. If he were strong, Mr. Croaker, she would have even held out hand to the old ex-Bishop, who with his prejudices and predilections, then might you reasonably stripped off his gown and tossed away his mitre to put on a grumble. court livery and become lackey to the King of France, but lie Talking of his inclinations, I should like to know whether Lord was sulky at not being adopted, and would not come. GREY, or any one of the present set, except ELLICE perhaps, sincerely
As soon as the dear Duke's arrival in the place was made wishes to reform "all proved abuses." Don't they, rather, nearly known to her, the old lady, dressed in her best bib and tucker, and every one of them, find the temper of the Lords of the Court a very wearing her smartest cap and her longest train, walked staff in convenient excuse for maintaining the old system in all things impor- hand down the avenue to meet him, at the head of her whole household, in their state liveries; and after a tender ern- tant ? for treating the Reform 13111 as a final measure? Why do you
brace, proceeded, hanging on the arm of her hero, between stop there ? says the Nation to Lord GREY: quoth he, Think of my a line formed by her sons, to the great hall, which was thronged difficulties! and then the whole pack cry, Aye, think of our difficul- with visiters, amidst the vociferous shoutings of the crowd; and ties ! Those are an odd sort of difficulties that give to one man's fa- as they died away, the venerable dame, with tears of joy in her mily 70,000/. a year of the public money. Besides, if you do butre- eyes, cried out in a voice feeble with age and ecstaey, "One cheer mind a Whig Minister of his hostility, when in Opposition, to some snorer and fell on the shoulders of her gallant champion, to hide prover! abuse, Oh, you are a Parliamentary resurrection-man ! That her emotion. While the company was getting seated, and the phrase, with which STANLEY (who himself never uttered an opinion preliminary arrangements were made for the installation of the much opposed to his conduct in office) sought to cover the renegades, Duke in the master's chair, and even during the ceremony, the has done a world of good : echoed by them all, and cheered by their boys in the galleries, who were uproarious with joy, kept bawling supporters, it has shown that they do not intend, that they have no out the names of the different foster-sons of their Alma Mater, and wish to reform those abuses which they were once so loud in con- cheering or hooting as they liked or disliked them. Ennosn demning. While in office, as Lord A LTHORP says, they have gained NEWC A STLE, and Wirtc HI LSE A, were received with shouts, and much experience ; that is, either they have changed their minds, or GREY, BROUGHAM, and A LTHOR P, With hisses and groans; but their Opposition outcry was not sincere. On this account again, I am when the Bishops were named, the thunders of applause glad of their weakness. At present, we can and will whip them as made the old lattices shake again. The Duke then proceeded, they deserve. Read the Times day after day, and then croak over on the part 41 Alma Mater, to adopt several of his private the want of something to croak over. That must be a manageable Mi. Which his character has sustained from his zigzag courses. At the friends of whom the old lady approved, as her sons. Most risk et' being again accused of treating him unfairly, we have of them were dressed in uniform, in compliment ta the taste of spoken plainly to Lord BROUGHAM ad VAUX. their foster-mother for scarlet ; which she makes no secret of,
though it exposes her to the sneers of the ill-natured, who say it ALMA MITER'S RECEPTION OF HER smacks of the " tcarlet abomination." As the Duke pronounced with tolerably good emphasis the Latin words, making corn- paratively few mistakes in their quantities, the old lady's eyes
ALMA 11. \ TER has had a gala day at her scat, Oxford, such as she twinkled with delight, and she nodded to the chaplain, as much has not enjoyed these twenty years ; and the dear old soul has as to say, " He has not quite forgot his learning, though they 1:2C11 nigh demented with joy. She has been, as we must needs say he has made little use of it." Fillmore the steward, who think, in a prodigtais bustle, fluttering about in her silk gown, introduced the guests, then paid his respects to the Duke in form, seeing tl:at the cook and the butler hail got all ready for the feast, and welcomed him to the house ; and the head boys having read and that the beds were all well aired, even to the attics, and every- their themes, the Duke, giving his arm to the old lady, retited thing in order to receive her guests, the Hero of Waterloo—her to the drawing-room to receive the visiters. He afterwards ad- dear Duke, as she loves to call tutu—and his friends w'aorn she was journed, with a select few, to the dining-room, where a sumptuous
to adopt as her sons. banquet was spread. The old lady sat at the foot of the table,
The old lady dearly loves a red coat, whether worn by a and the dear Duke at the head. And here decency requires that huntsman or a soldier, though she has a tender preference for we drop the curtain. We will not call up a blush upon the the latter; and she never heeds the tearing her petticoats with parchment cheeks of dear old Alma Mater, by recording what spurs, in flirting with her beaux or rompins; with her great boys. took place after dinner, when the fumes of her favourite Bishop For though very prudish in some things, and especially particular had mounted into her brain. about a list of flinty-nine articles, the breaking of which she The only circumstance that occurred to ruffle the serenity of never forgives, she has been known to allow her neat stiff' her brow, was so trivial as only to deserve mention in order to orthodox cap to be crushed on her head by a coronet or a helmet show the all but perfect felicity that reigned throughout the day— clapped on it, in a frolicsome moment, by some roystering dra- and night. One of her foster-sons, named LONDON DERRY—a goon or hoozhig old lord, when the old dame has been in her cups. hussar, who is very vain of his cap and feather—would insist They do, indeed, tell strange tales of her vagaries in the hall on wearing it instead of the trencher-cap : a frown for a moment after slipper, when she has got maudlin with toasting "Church clouded the brow of Alma Mater, at this breach of discipline and and State " in flowing bowls of Bishop—a hot, inflammatory corn- decorum ; but it was quickly dispelled, by a glimpse of the face pound of which she is doatingly fond—and how she sings her of the wearer.
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