It has been brought to the author’s attention of the late increase in clandestine marriages and elopements, brought about, it is certain, by the taste for novels and the opera.
The Price of Taverning, or, the Drunkard’s Prize.
When times be gray, Men do stray to the Tavern or the Inn;
and there betwixt the hustle mixed with scoundrel do reside;
oh gayest times til the clock does chime and off to bed they creep;
with a woman cursed by lowly birth with manners fit for none!
til morning comes when he undone, no money does remain,
thence he surmizes that slumber’s prizes has set his parts aflame!
Group of Well Known Connoisseurs at a Sale of Pictures. Mezzotint, 1773.
It is commonly known that there are those Persons desirous of laying claim to the title of a Person of good Taste and Quality. Labouring under the mistaken belief that good Taste is to be so easily acquired, these pretended Connoisseurs shew no discernment between the Vulgar or the Refined in Art and Musick. “Capital, Capital” they say at every Picture, so that they can neither discern between the one nor the other whether it be a Claude or a Poussin. I had once the misfortune of discussing the principles of History Painting with such a Man, he shewing so little knowledge of the subject to which he pretended to be a true Authority, that, had I turned upside down and stood upon my head, he would no sooner be a better judge in the discernment of rear and front than the True Principles of History Painting!
Anonymous, Slight of Hand by a Monkey - or the Lady’s Head Unloaded. Hand-coloured mezzotint. 1776.
The Modern stiles in Wigs have, in recent months, led to such excesses in proportion and adornment that the Writer cannot but relate a story in which is clearly demonstrated the folly of entertaining such vanities. It is common now amongst certain so called Persons of Fashion, particlarly amongst the fairer sex, to adopt wigs of such vast proportions as to hinder the free and easy movement of the body and for the wearer to take on the shape and size of one His Majesty’s warhips. In the Piazza on Monday last I sighted two young Ladies of Fashion, well known about the Town, whose shared dislike of one another is commonly known. It was recently heard that the one had slighted the other at an evening entertainment hosted by Lord K——-e by her refusal to recognize the superior rank of the other, the former of the two, being of a more distinguished title, repaid this in full when she struck the other about the face with her fan. These Ladies had adopted two of the most extravagant creations conceived by man, indeed these two Leviathans had been finished that morning and were fetched, nay! launched, from their berths on the wig-maker’s table. The passage of the other did at first go unnoticed, until across the Piazza the one sighted the other. At this these two great ships, for that is how they did appear, heaved to – the one, making a hasty turn to port in order that she might have a better view of the other – it was in these moments that the two were able to gain a clearer view of the other and gain what recconaissance she might in preparation for the coming onslaught. It took little time indeed before the first broadside was fired. “Madam” said one, “I see you are in a state of dress unfit to be seen in publick! Your stays are undone, your complexion ruddy and your skirts creas’d”. The other coloured a little and, provok’d by this challenge, replied: “And you Madam, I see, have adopted the fashions of a common Slut! You have been raised, ‘tis true, to a greater rank than that with which birth cursed you, but you have the air and manner of a Whore, and I am sure it was the skills of this trade which recommended you to your husband.” “Vile Slut”, said the other, for she had a vicious tongue, ”You may be be glad Madam that I am not of a meaner disposition, for had you said those words to me otherwise, I would be sure to have you beaten out of the town!” The two were engaged for near an hour, the bombardment set forth by one being equalled by the other, until the point was reached at which, as our Modern Generals and Admirals may attest to, the bitter climax of battle was reached when some cunning ruse or tactic is required that victory might be claimed. It was then, that through a bold maneuver, victory was to be assured, when one of the two dislodged the wig of the other, a most undignified sight indeed, particularly since its bulk outweighed the whole body of its wearer, who was dragged to the ground with tremendous force. Such a sight as I had never before seen - two Ladies of Quality indeed!
The theft of Great prose, contrary to the protections afforded it in a free and Civilized Nation
It has recently come to the Author’s attention that the theft of well-crafted, stimulating, tasteful, cultivated and it must be added fine prose has been increasing. These vile leering miscreants have taken it upon themselves to replicate - nay to openly copy from these fine pages, the elegant prose for which the Author has become renowned in this nation, and may it be added, will be remembered for in the great Annals of History. To acknowledge that prose and the great pleasure and entertainment which arises from such is the greatest payment which can be afforded to the author [to like], who seeks no financial return for his literary exertions. Instead the author requests that the readers of the said prose do not steal great passages [re-blog] of the text.
Joseph Highmore. Pamela, I: Mr. B Finds Pamela Writing, 1743-4.
It is well known that two of the greatest qualities which a Gentleman can possess are those of restraint and good manners, particularly when in company. It is not becoming of a person of good breeding to show a lack of composure in the display of the emotions. When it comes to the fairer sex, I am afraid to say, these two qualities are often absent. I had once the privilege of calling on a certain Gentleman, and he being out, his Lady asked if I might join her and take tea until his return. We sat in the parlour and were attended by the Lady’s maid, a sweet thing of seventeen, with the daintiest hands and such a graceful air as I had ever seen. On laying the table this maid dropped some of the Lady’s silver and furthermore, tipped some of the hot water from the pot onto Madam’s lap. At this she flew into such a fury that anyone who had borne witness would certainly have taken her to have been one who was possessed! “Vile B-tch” shouted she, so that even those in the street might hear, “You have burn’d me. G-d D-mn you! I shall have you turned out as soon as the Master is return’d”. This little young thing stood silent all the while, and was driven to the edge of tears. After a moment this timid young girl stirred and responded to Madam with such composure and dignity as I had ever witnessed in the other sex. “Madam”, says she, “You have used me most unkind. I am very sorry to have hurt you. Through no fault of my own a slip led me to knock the silver from the table and to scald you so. I hope that you might forgive me, as I am sure to forgive your unkind words”. At this Madam rose up, and would certainly have murthered this little creature, had the Gentleman of the house not made his entry at that moment. He being used to his wife’s vile temper immediately set about putting wrong to right and gave Madam such a scolding that she coloured, for she had been shewn the true qualities of a lady by a house maid.
A Lady in a Riding Habit, Enoch Seeman.
Having recently returned from the seat of a well-born Gentleman in the County of Derbyshire, I was most alarmed at the strange fashions adopted by certain Ladies when they go out a riding. I was surprised to see that this Gentleman’s wife, and many of her Lady friends, had taken up the riding dress of men. I was certainly alarmed at how this masculine attire concealed that fine carriage and graceful air so natural to Ladies of Quality, and had rendered this one sexless! This Lady shewed no shame in adopting the manner of a Gentleman, and walked with such a swagger, riding whip in hand, that I did take her to be a boy on first sighting her.
Frederick Lewis, Prince of Wales by Philip Mercier, 1735-1736.
The late Prince Frederick was a man of true taste and good character. Son of the late King George, and father of his Majesty, he made the cultivation of the Arts on these shores, for the benefit and glory of this Nation, his main object. The Prince and the King were often on bad terms; whereas his Majesty displayed that want of taste and great attachment to affairs in Hanover, as his father before him, the Prince was a most excellent patron of the arts.
King George III, studio of Allan Ramsay, 1760s.
News reached London, on Tuesday last, that the late stamp duties Act had raised a mighty clamor in the British dominions in North America. In the town of Boston, in particular, the whole place was in a mighty uproar, as has never been seen in those parts. All day a great mob assembled in the streets, making all manner of noises and huzzaing, showing no regard to the authorities duly appointed by His Majesty. One, a Mr. Hutchinson, Lieutenant-Governor, a Man of exceeding good character, and may it be added, good Taste, received the rage of this rabble in full. At about 6 o’clock this Gentleman had sat down to dinner when a great uproar was heard at the gate of his house, the cries being so loud that he thought them to be a pack of savages come from the woods. Shewing great composure, he proceeded to the door and presented himself to this wild assembly in order that they might disband, return to their houses, and see if this business could not be discussed at a more reasonable hour. No sooner had he presented himsef than the crowd flew into a frenzy and the Gentleman was pelted with stones and met with the coarsest language he, or any Person of Quality, had ever heard. The mob immediately charged forth and proceeded to storm the building. The Gentleman, fearing for his life, escaped through a window - for this wild mob would surely have murthered him had he stayed! These Devils soon made fine work of his house, removing the roof slates and making sure that not a single window remained in place. The greatest loss is surely to have been this Gentleman’s library, consisting of upward of one thousand volumes, which he had gathered for the benefit and posterity of His Majesty’s Colony, of which he had recently begun a history. These Devils made fine work of his library, burning many of the volumes, along with a number of pictures, amongst them a capital portrait of His Majesty, and were sure to indulge in the contents of Mr. Hutchinson’s well stocked cellar. The Ladies of the house were much frighted by events - Mrs. Hutchinson was sent into such a fit of terror that she was rendered unconscious for the whole day following, and laid so still that all present presumed her to be dead! The mob shewed no decency, respect for Civil government or indeed, for good Taste!
To be seen amongst persons of quality. The Chinese House, the Rotunda & the Company in Masquerade at Ranelagh Gardens, 1751.
His most Catholic Majesty’s Ambassador from Paris, recently arrived in London, and unfamiliar with the pleasure-gardens of our Capital, having received an invitation to the Masquerade at both Vauxhall and Ranelagh, sought advice as to which was more suited to a person of quality. Ranelagh, I said, was more suited to the elegance with which his Lordship was most familiar, he having resided at Versailles these five years past. I told him that, though Vauxhall was a place at which the fashionable desire to be seen, there were certain women of leisure, or shall I say pleasure, who plied their trade in the groves and avenues of that place. It was not fitting for a man in possession of such a high Character as his to be seen there. At this his Lordship exclaimed ‘Then, ‘tis to Vauxhall we shall go!’.
