WASHINGTON, D. C., August 25th, 1862 Ever since the British chap read all that unpublished British poetry at the Club, my boy, I have been anxious to favor him with an "Idyl," written by a friend of mine who has traveled much in Albion, and writes _ex-cathedra_. Last night there was a fair chance, and I then introduced THE NEUTRAL BRITISH GENTLEMAN. Incrusted in his island home that lies beyond the sea, Behold the great original and genuine 'TIS HE; A paunchy, fuming Son of Beef, with double weight of chin, And eyes that were benevolent--but for their singular tendency to turn green whenever it is remarked that his irrepressible American cousins have made another Treaty with China ahead of him--and taken Albion in. This Neutral British Gentleman, one of the modern time. With William, Duke of Normandy, his ancestors, he boasts, Came over from the shores of France to whip the Saxon hosts; And this he makes a source of pride; but wherefore there should be Such credit to an Englishman--in the fact that he is descended from a nation which England is forever pretending to regard as slightly her inferior in everything, and particularly behind her in military and naval affairs--we really cannot see. This Neutral British Gentleman, one of the modern time. He deals in Christianity, Episcopalian brand, And sends his missionaries forth to bully heathen land; Just mention "Slavery" to him, and with a pious sigh He'll say it's 'orrid, scandalous--although he's ready to fight for the Cotton raised by slaves, and forgets how he butchered the Chinese to make them take Opium, and blew the Sepoys from the guns because the poor devils refused to be enslaved by the East India Company--or his phi-lan-thro-py. This Neutral British Gentleman, one of the modern time. He yields to Brother Jonathan a love that passeth show-- "We're Hanglo-Saxons, both of us, and carn't be foes, you know." But as a Christian Englishman, he cannot, cannot hide His horror of the spectacle--of four millions of black beings being held in bondage by a nation professing the largest liberty in the world, though in case of an anti-slavery crusade the interests of his Manchester factors would imperatively forbid him to--take part on either side. This Neutral British Gentleman, one of the modern time.