Beau Brummel, George Bryan Brummel

brum'el, George Bryan Brummel (1778-1840), a famous leader of fashionable London society. He was a favorite of the Prince of Wales, afterward George IV. Inheriting a fortune, he lived in splendid style, gave magnificent dinners and enjoyed the most aristocratic society. For twenty-one years his word was law in all matters pertaining to court dress and etiquette. Then suddenly, the Prince's favor was withdrawn. Brummel's money, too, had been spent or lost at the gaming table, and the "Beau" retired to Calais to live his last years in poverty. His mind gave way under the strain and he died in a lunatic asylum.