After he has breakfasted, he walks up and down the
terrace in the sunshine, humming an air, and hemming between every
stave, carrying one hand behind his back, and with the other touching
his cane to the ground, and then raising it up to his shoulder. Should
he, in these morning promenades, meet any of the elder ladies of the
family, as he frequently does Lady Lillycraft, his hat is immediately
in his hand, and it is enough to remind one of those courtly groups of
ladies and gentlemen, in old prints of Windsor terrace, or Kensington
garden.
He talks frequently about "the service," and is fond of humming the
old song,
Why, soldiers, why,
Should we be melancholy, boys?
Why, soldiers, why,
Whose business 't is to die!
I cannot discover, however, that the general has ever run any great
risk of dying, excepting from an apoplexy or an indigestion. He
criticises all the battles on the continent, and discusses the merits
of the commanders, but never fails to bring the conversation,
ultimately, to Tippoo Saib and Seringapatam. I am told that the
general was a perfect champion at drawing-rooms, parades, and
watering-places, during the late war, and was looked to with hope and
confidence by many an old lady, when labouring under the terror of
Buonaparte's invasion.
Pages:
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61