Turf Smoked.

clad—they are as a rule—there are , it is true , exceptions to Louey ' s rules , some of which I will presently point out ;—elderly—they seem to have nothing in the Avorld to do but to sit there for many hours at a time imbibing broAvn brandy and water , and silently smoking very long and very white " churchwarden" clay pipes . Occasionall y a silvery-headed taciturn waiter is seen approaching a couple of fogies , carrying in his arms , tenderly as if it Avere an infant , a very dusty , dirty-looking bottle . He deposits this precious charge horizontally on the table and retiresto reappear Avith a couple of

, squab-glasses , poHshing them with a snoAA'y Avhite cloth as he glides along . I haA'e been initiated solemnly into Freemasonry , as you knoAV , but I am not quite sine that that ceremony , grave as it is , is more impressive than tbe one Avith Avhich that cobwebby bottle is opened . There is a pause between the " glug " Avhich is beard Avhen the cork is—horizontally—drawn ancl the " guggle-guggle" sound accompanying the transfer of tbe Hquor to the drinking vessels . This interval is utilised by a solemn examination of

tbe withdrawn stopper . First tbe grey-beaded servitor scans it closely as held on the ponit- of the corkscrew . Then he smells it's stained disc . Then he solemnly shakes Ms venerable AA'hite nut , the Avhile the two greybeards seriously waggle theirs in sympathy . Then he holds the bung to each of those " grave ancl reA'erend seignors , " ancl , as if neither had expected such a great compliment , there is much parade in producing , and Aviping , and adjusting their respective tortoiseshell-rimmed " folders , " and then the corky examination ocularly ancl olfaetorily is close ancl keen—but , silent—a silence only broken by a peculiar percussive sound and the brief exclamation , "Ah ! " from each of the tAVO boon companions as " their spirits rush together at the "—Avell—smaclcimi

" of the lips ! . " There is something peculiarly irritating to me in this silent soaking—this antithesis to the fun ancl life of the Avidows' change-bouse , where the immortal Tarn and Soutter Johnnie noisily became " owre a' tb' ills of life victorious . " I like good eating and drinking —what brother of the square and compasses does not?—but I confess that I am repelled by men who ostentatiously exult , if only by gestures ancl incoherent sounds , over the cm

of their potations or the savour of their viands . It seems to me that , both being of the best quality , their excellence should cela va sans dire , or at least their peculiarities beexpatiated upon humbly , gratefully , and , above all , without" fuss . " Fancy those tAvo ancient fellows smacking , ancl winking , and clucking , ancl sipping , and smelling for—say —half an hour—together—not exchanging a Avord—ancl their contemporary , the A'enerable servitor , AA-ith his ivhite pate knowingly screwed on one side—magpie wisebending oi'er the two old bald sconces , and beaming in quite a paternal manner !

NOAV , it these venerable worthies Avould only tipple in tbe unobtrusive manner in which it is de rigueur to smoke at Louey ' s , I should not haA'e felt , bound to animadvert upon their manner of partaking their potations . No ! If ever smoking is elevated to the dignity of a fine art its professors must graduate in this pile-supported parlour . No " Divan" or club smoking-room or hotel lounge , Avith all its luxury , enjoyed with consummate insouciance , can display the dignity Avith which nicotine is consumed in the snowy white bowls , ancl its vapour draAvn through the graceful '

sealingwax tipped tubes at Louey ' s . It is enjoyed in silence , ancl deliberately , as I have said , ancl therein mi ght afford a- lesson to so-called smokers , mere puffers , or , as professors of the art , " duffers—Avho masticate Henry Clays at eighteen pennies each Aveed , crunch the amber of two-guinea meersbaum billiards , and create an atmosphere of rank choking gullet-gripping fog every time they essay to consume by fire the divine herb . Depend upon it these Avere the impostors Avho inspired King James ' s counterblast . Be certain be never saw Ealei gb . smoke , or that famous denunciation would have remained unwritten . Silence is golden , especially when yon "drink tobacco , " as the old writers have it .

But at Louey ' s this dignified taciturnity is not induced by the consumption of the weed in its pulverised state . On tbe contrary , snuff-takers cackle and tattle and sniff , and are generally as obtrusively noisy as Dame Partlet in the farmyard Avhen the avatar of an egg gives prospect of increasing the poultry population . I have already alluded to tbe portrait of Brother Louis , or Lewis , in his habit as