He was very short,
disproportioned, thick and clumsily made; had a broad, rough-featured,
ugly face, with black teeth, and a head big enough for a Polyphemus. One
Ben Ashurst, who said a few good things, though admired for many, told
Lord Chesterfield once, that he was like a stunted giant--which was a
humorous idea and really apposite.'
Notwithstanding that Chesterfield, when young, injured both soul and
body by pleasure and dissipation, he always found time for serious
study: when he could not have it otherwise, he took it out of his sleep.
How late soever he went to bed, he resolved always to rise early; and
this resolution he adhered to so faithfully, that at the age of
fifty-eight he could declare that for more than forty years he had never
been in bed at nine o'clock in the morning, but had generally been up
before eight. He had the good sense, in this respect, not to exaggerate
even this homely virtue. He did not rise with the dawn, as many early
risers pride themselves in doing, putting all the engagements of
ordinary life out of their usual beat, just as if the clocks had been
set two hours forward. The man in ordinary society, who rises at four in
this country, and goes to bed at nine, is a social and family nuisance.
Pages:
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404