manners, o his dress, or his impudence, the favour and companionship--
friendship we cannot say--of the prince who commanded it.

By this step his reputation was made, and it was only necessary to keep
it up. He had an immense fund of good nature, and, as long as his money
lasted, of good spirits, too. Good sayings--that is, witty if not wise--
are recorded of him, and his friends pronounce him a charming companion.
Introduced, therefore, into the highest circles in England, he could
scarcely fail to succeed. Young Cornet Brummell became a great favourite
with the fair.

His rise in the regiment was of course rapid: in three years he was at
the head of a troop. The onerous duties of a military life, which
vacillated between Brighton and London, and consisted chiefly in making
oneself agreeable in the mess-room, were too much for our hero. He
neglected parade, or arrived too late: it was such a bore to have to
dress in a hurry. It is said that he knew the troop he commanded only by
the peculiar nose of one of the men, and that when a transfer of men had
once been made, rode up to the wrong troop, and supported his mistake by
pointing to the nose in question. No fault, however, was found with the
Regent's favourite, and Brummell might have risen to any rank if he
could have supported the terrific labour of dressing for parade. Then,
too, there came wars and rumours of wars, and our gallant captain
shuddered at the vulgarity of shedding blood: the supply of
smelling-salts would never have been liberal enough to keep him from
fainting on the battle-field. It is said, too, that the regiment was
ordered to Manchester. Could anything be more gross or more ill-bred?
The idea of figuring before the wives and daughters of cotton-spinners
was too fearful; and from one cause or another our brave young captain
determined to retire, which he did in 1798.